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GR/^TIOT COUNTY, MICH, 









gOI^Tr>AITS AND BlOGF<APHI6AL Sl^E/TGHE 



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AKSf) CO.NTAINlN<; A COMI'I.KTK IIISIOKV OF I UK COUNTY, I- (tOM ITS liAK 1,( I'.S T SKTTI.KIIKN T 

Tf) Till-; I-KKSI'.NT TIMK. 



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HAVE completed our labors in writing and compiling the Portrait and Biograph- 
ical Album of Gratiot County, and wish, in presenting it to its patrons, tospeak. 
briefly of the importance of local works of this nature. It is certainly the duty 
of the present to commemorate the past, to perpetuate the names of the pioneers, 
to furnish a record of their early settlement, and to relate the story of their progress, 
civilization of our day, the enlightenment of the age, and this solemn duty which 
1 ■ h " ^ men of the present time owe to their ancestors, to themselves and to their posterity^ 
demand that a record of tlieir lives and deeds should be made. In local history is found a power 
to instruct man by precedent, to enliven the mental faculties, and to waft down the river of time a safe 
vessel in which the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise this region from its 
primitive state may be preserved. Surely and vapidly the noble men who in their prime entered 
the wild forests of Gratiot and claimed the virgin soil as their heritage, are passing to 
their graves. The number remaining who can relate the history of the first days of settlement is 
becoming small indeed, so that an actual necessity exists for the collection and preservation of his- 
torical matter without delay, before the settlers of the wilderness are cut down by time. Not only 
is it of the greatest importance to render history of pioneer times full and accurate, but it is also essen 
tial that the history of the county, from its settlement to the present day, should be treated through its various- 
phases, so that a record, complete and impartial, may be handed down to ihe future. The present the age 
of progress, is reviewed, standing out in bold relief over the quiet, unostentatious olden times; it is abrilliant 
record^vhich is destined to live in the future; the good works of men, their magnificent enterprises, their 
lives, whether commercial or military, do not sink into oblivion, but, on the contrary, grow brighter with age, 
and contribute to build up a record which carries with it precedents and principles that will be advanced and 
observed when the acts of soulless men will be forgotten, and their very names hidden in obscurity. 

In the preparation of the personal sketches contained in this volume, unusual care and pains were 
taken to have then accurate, even in the smallest detail. Indeed, nothing was passed lightly over or treated 
indifferently, and we flatter ourselves that it is one of the most accurate works of its nature ever published. 
As one of the most interesting features of this work, we present the portraits of numerous representa- 
tive citizens. It has been our aim to have the prominent men of to-day, as well as the pioneers, represented 
in this department; and we congratulate ourselves on the uniformly high character of the gentlemen whose 
portraits we present. They are in the strictest sense representative men, and are selected from all the call- 
ings and professions worthy to be represented. There are others, it is true, who claim equal prominence with 
those presented, but of course it was impossible for us to give portraits of ail the leading men and pioneers 
of the county. While we are under great obligation to many of the noble and generous people of Gratiot 
County for kindly and material assistance in the preparation of this Album, we feel under special obligation 
to the following persons, who, from the beginning till the close of our labors, manifested unusual interest m 
the enterprise and gave us every assistance Ipossible: Gen. Nathan Church, Rob't Smith, Judge Wm. E. 
Winton, Judge Wm. Paddock, Hon. A. B. Darragh, Hon. Wilbur Nelson, Rev. Francis Nelson, Parmer R. 
Phillips, John Swigart, S. S. Hastings, Dr. John R. Cheesman, James Gargett, Mrs. Elias Smith and VV. W. 
Comstock. 



CHAPMAN BROTHERS. 




Chicago, May, 1884. 



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HE Father of our Country was 
born in Westmorland Co., Va., 
'Feb. 22, 1732. His parents 
were .Augustine and Mary 
(Ball) Washington. The family 
to which he belonged has not 
/ been satisfactorily traced in 
England. His great-grand- 
father, John Washington, em- 
igrated to Virginia about 1657, 
and became a prosperous 
' planter. He had two sons, 
Lawrence and John. The 
former married Mildred Warner 
and had three children, John. 
Augustine and Mildred. Augus- 
tine, the father of George, first 
married Jane Butler, who bore 
him four children, two of whom, 
Lawrence and Augustine, reached 
maturity. Of six children by his 
second marriage, George was the 
eldest, the others being Betty, 
Samuel, John Augustine, Charles 
and Mildred. 
Augustine Washington, the father of George, died 
in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his 
eldest son, Lawrence, he becpieathed an estate on 
the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, 
and to George he left the parental residence. George 
received only such education as the neighborhood 
schools afforded, save for a short time after he left 
school, when he received private instruction in 
mathematics. His spelling v/as rather defective. 



Remarkable stories are told of his great physical 
strength and development at an early age. He was 
an acknowledged leader among his companions, and 
was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- 
ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. 

When George was 14 years old he had a desire to go to 
sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, 
but through the opposition of his mother the idea was 
abandoned. Two years later he was appointed 
surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. Li 
this business he spent three years in a rough frontier 
life, gaining experience which afterwards proved vlmv 
essential to him. In 175 i, though only 19 years of 
age, he was apijointed adjutant with the rank of 
major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for 
active service against the French and Indians. Soon 
after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother 
Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They 
soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence 
died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter 
who did not long survive him. On her demise the 
estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. 

Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddle, as Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was 
reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- 
tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to 
Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this 
a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- 
cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro- 
ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in North- 
western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed 
was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, 
and the journey was to be made without military 
escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. 

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trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near 
losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished 
a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment 
of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- 
mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was 
commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was 
then begun against the French and Indians, in which 
Washington took a most important part. In the 
memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- 
dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer 
of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the 
day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock 
were disabled early in the action, and Washington 
alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter 
to his brother he says : " I had four bullets through 
my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped 
unhurt, though death was levelin", my companions 
on every side.'" An Indian sharpshooter said he was 
not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken 
direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit 
him. 

After having been five years in the military service, 
and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he 
took advantage of the fall of Fort r)urir.esne and the 
expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, 
to resign his commission. Soon after he entered the 
Legislature, where, although not a leader, he took an 
active and important part. January 17, 1759, he 
married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy 
widow of John Parke Custis. 

When the British Parliament had closed the port 
of Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces 
that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." 
It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- 
gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- 
delphia,Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties, 
peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- 
ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the 
Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of 
England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- 
cord and Lexington had been fought. .Among the 
first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- 
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and 
responsible office was conferred upon Washington, 
who was still a member of the Congress. He accepted 
it on June 19, but \ipon the express condition that he 
receive no salary. He would keep an exact account 
of expenses and expect Congress to pay them and 
nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to 
trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the 
fortunes and liberties of the people of this country 
were so long confided. The war was conducted by 
him under every possible disadvantage, and while his 
forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every 
obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion 
and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest 
nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 17S3, Washington, in 
n parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his 



commission as commander-in-chief of the army to 
to the Continental Congress sitting al Anna(x>lis. He 
retired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumed 
his occujjation as a farmer and planter, shunning all 
connection with public life. 

In February, 1 7 89, Washington was unanimously 
elected President. In his presidential career he was 
subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a new 
government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part 
of other governments ; trials from want ol harmony 
between the different sections of our own country; 
trials from the impoverished condition of the country, 
owmg to the war and want of credit; trials from the 
beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His 
clear judgment could discern the golden mean; and 
while perhaps this alone kept our government from 
sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to 
attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and 
very annoying. 

At the expiration of his first term lie was unani- 
mously re-elected. At the end of this temi manv 
were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely 
refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 
1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- 
dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there 
his few remaining years free from the annoyances of 
public life. Later in the year, however, his repose 
seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France. 
At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to 
take command of the armies. He chose his sub- 
ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- 
ters in the field, which he superintended from his 
home. In accepting the command he made the 
reservation that he was not to be in the field until 
it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations 
his life was suddenly cut off. December i 2, he took 
a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling 
in his throat, (iroduced inflammation, and terminated 
fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- 
teenth his body was borne with military honors to its 
final resting place, and interred in the family vault at 
Mount Vernon. 

Of the character of Washington it is inijiossible to 
speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- 
miration. The more we see of the operations of 
our government, and the more deeply we feel the 
difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, 
the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- 
ent and character, which have been able to challenge 
the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- 
tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits 
of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will 
be as lasting as the existence of man. 

The person of Washington was nnusally tall, erect 
and well proportioned. His muscular strength was 
great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. 
He commanded respect without any appearance of 
haughtiness, and ever serious without being dull. 






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SECOJVD PRESIDENT. 



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7^\l OHN ADAMS, the second 
f^', President and tlie first Vice- 
President of tlie United States, 
was born in Braintree ( now 
Quincy ),Mass., and about ten 
'""^ miles from Boston, Oct. 19, 
1735. His great-grandfather, Henry 
Adams, emigrated from England 
al)out ! 640, with a family of eight 
, sons, and settled at Braintree. The 
parents of John were John and 
Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His 
father was a farmer of limited 
means, to which he added the bus- 
iness of shoemaking. He gave his 
eldest son, John, a classical educa- 
tion at Harvard College. John 
graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the 
school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a 
"school of affliction," from which he endeavored to 
gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the 
study of law. For this puriwse he placed liimself 
under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He 
had thought seriously of the clerical profession 
but seems to have been turned from this by what he 
termed " the friglitful engines of ecclesiastical coun- 
cils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,'' 
of the operations of which he had been a witness in 
his native town. Tie was well fitted for tlie legal 
profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being 
ready and fluent of speech, and having quick [jcrcep- 
tive jxjwers. He gradually gained practice, and in 
1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, 
and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his 
marriage, (1765), the attem[)t of Parliamentarj' taxa- 
tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial 
steps toward holding a town meeting, and the resolu- 




tions he offered on the subject became very [wpular 
throughout the Province, and were adopted word for 
word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos- 
ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous 
and prominent advocatesof the ixspular cause, and 
was chosen a member of the Cieneral Court (the Leg- 
lislature) in 1770. 

Mr. Adams was chosen one of tlie first delegates 
from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, 
which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himself 
by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- 
vocated the uiovemeiit for independence against the 
majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved 
and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies 
should assume the duties of self-government. He 
was a prominent member of the committee of five 
appointed June m, to prepare a declaration of inde- 
pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but 
on .Adams devolved the task of battling it tlirough 
Congress in a three days debate. 

On the day after the Declaration of Independence 
was passed, while his soul was yet warm with the 
glow of e.xcited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife, 
which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated 
by the spirit of prophecy. " Yesterday," he says, "the 
greatest question was decided that ever was debated 
in .-America; and greater, perhaps, never was or will 
be decided among men. A resolution was passed 
without one dissenting colony, ' that these United 
States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- 
pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of 
July, 1776, will Ite a memorable epoch in the history 
of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated 
by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary 
festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of 
deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
God. It ought to be solemnized witii [Ximp, shows. 



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games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations 
from one end of the continent to the other, from this 
time forward for ever. Vou will think me transported 
with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of 
the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to 
maintain this declaration, and support and defend 
these States; yet, through all the gloom, I can see the 
rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is 
worth more than all the means; and that posterity 
will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I 
hope we shall not. " 

In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a 
delegate to France and to co-operate with Bemjamin 
Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in 
the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money 
from the French Government. This was a severe trial 
to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, 
compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- 
posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- 
ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 
1779. In September of the same year he was again 
chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- 
ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce 
with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet 
might be found willing to listen to such ptoposels. He 
sailed for France in November, from there he went to 
Holland, where he negotiated important loans and 
formed important commercial treaties 

Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed 
Jan. 21, 1783. The re-action from the e.xcitement, 
toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed 
threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- 
tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he 
was advised to go to England to drink the waters of 
Bath. \\'hile in England, still drooping anddes]X)nd- 
ing, he received dispatches from his own government 
urging the necessity of his going to .\msterdam to 
negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was 
delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through 
storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,he made the trip. 

February 24, 1785, Congress appointed Mr. Adams 
envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face 
to face the King of England, who had so long re- 
garded him as a traitor. As England did not 
condescend to ap]K)int a minister to the United 
States, and as Mr. .Adams felt that he was accom- 
plishing but little, he sought ])ennission to return to 
his own country, where he arrived in June, 1788. 

When Washington was first chosen President, John 
Adams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at 
home and abroad, was chosen Vice President, .\gain 
at the second election of Washington as President, 
Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- 
ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was 
elected President,though not without muchojiposition. 
Serving in this office four years, he was succeeded by 
Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. 

WhWe Mr. Adams was Vice President the great 




French Revolution shook the continent of Europe, 
and it was upon this point which he was at issue with 
the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson, rjt^-, 
Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people I 
in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their i^ 
power of self-government, and he utterly abhored the V^ 
class of atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. 
On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly 
enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or- 
iginated the alienation between these distinguished 
men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- 
ized, Adams' at the head of the one whose sympathies 
were with England and Jefferson led the other in 
sympathy with France. 

The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more 
moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the 
old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling 
had died away, and he had begun to receive that just 
appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till 
after death. No one could look upon his venerable 
form, and think of what he had done and suffered, 
and how he had given up all the prime and strenj,th 
of his life to the public good, without the deepest 
emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar 
good fortune to witness the complete success of the 
institution which he had been so active in creating and 
supporting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled 
to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest 
station in the gift of the people. 

The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half 
century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the 
signers of that immortal instrument left upon the 
earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is 
well known, on that day two of these finished their 
earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as 
to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. 
Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning 
of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from 
his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the 
customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " In- 
dependence FOREVER." When the day was ushered 
in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, 
he was asked by one of his cttendants if he knew 
what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor- 
ious founh of July — God bless it — ^God bless you all." 
In the course of the day he said, "It is a great and 
glorious dav." The last words- he uttered were, 
" Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- 
signed his spirit into the hands of his God. ^ 

The personal appearance and manners of Mr. 
.\dams were not particularly preiwssessing. His face, 
as his portrait manifests.was intellectual ard expres- 
sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and his 
manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous. 
He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor 
the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked 
the manners and address of Jefferson. 



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THIRD PRESIDENT. 



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HOMAS JEFFERSON was 
born April 2, 1743, at Shad- 
;®well, Albermarle county, Va. 
His parents were Peter and 
Jane ( Randolph) Jefferson, 
the former a native of Wales, 
and the latter born in Lon- 
don. To them were born six 
daughters and two sons, of 
whom Thomas was the elder. 
When 14 years of age his 
father died. He received a 
most liberal education, hav- 
ing been kept diligently at school 
from the time he was five years of 
age. In 1760 he entered William 
and Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat 
of the Colonial Court, and it was the obode of fashion 
a.id splendor. Voung Jefferson, who was then 17 
years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine 
horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet he 
was earnestly devoted to his studies, and irreproacha- 
able in his morals. It is strange, however, under 
such influences,that he was not ruined. In the sec- 
ond year of his college course, moved by some un- 
explained inward ini[)ulse, he discarded his horses, 
society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had 
previously given much time. Heoften devoted fifteen 
hours a day to hatd study, allowing himself for ex- 
ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out 
of the city and back again. He thus attained very 
high intellectual culture, alike excellence in pliiloso- 
phy and the languages. The most difficult Latin and 
Greek authors he read with facility. A more finished 
scholar has seldom gone forth from college halls; and 




there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a 
more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man. 

Immediately upon leaving college he began the 
study of law. For the short time he continued in the 
practice of his profession he rose rapidly and distin- 
guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a 
lawyer. But the times called for greater action. 
The policy of England had awakened the spirit of 
resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged 
views which Jefferson had ever entertained, soon led 
him into active political life. In 1769 he was chosen 
a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 
1772 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very beauti- 
ful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow. 

Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shadwell, there 
was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which 
commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and 
beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new 
home; and here he reared a mansion of modest yet 
elegant architecture, which, ne.xt to Mount Vernon, 
became the most distinguished resort in our land. 

In 1775 he was sent to the Colonial Congress, 
where, though a silent member, his abilities as a 
writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he 
was placed upon a number of imi)ortant conmiittees, 
and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw- 
ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- 
mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson. Jolm .Vdams, 
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. 
Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed 
to draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested 
a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- 
gress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made 
in it by Congress, and it was jjassed and signed July 
4, 1776. What must have been the feelings of that 



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THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



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man — what the emotions that swelled his breast — 
who was charged with the preparation of that Dec- 
laration, which, while it made know n the wrongs of 
America, kvas also to publish her to the world, free, 
soverign and independent. It is one of the most re- 
markable papers ever written ; and did noother effort 
of the mind of its author exist, that alone would be 
sufficient to stamp liis name witli immortality. 

In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to 
Patrick Henry, as Governor of Virginia, At one time 
the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to 
Monticello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five 
minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef- 
ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- 
sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never 
very good, was much injured by this excitement, and 
in the summer of 1782 she died. 

Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. 
Two yeirs later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- 
tentiary to France. Returning to the United States 
in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State 
in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned 
Jan. r, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- 
dent, and four years later was elected President over 
Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 
1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, 
and George Clinton, Vice President. 

The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- 
tion was disturbed by an event wliich threatened the 
tranquility and peace of the Union; this was the con- 
spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election 
to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled 
ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a 
military expedition into the Spanish territories on our 
southwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there 
a new republic. This has been generally supposed 
was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been 
generally known what his real plans were, there is no 
doubt that they were of a far more dangerous 
character. 

In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for 
which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined 
to retire from ix)litical life. For a period of nearly 
forty years, he had been continually before the pub- 
lic, and all that time had been employed in offices of 
the greatest trust and responsibility. Ha\ing thus de- 
voted the best part of his life to the service of his 
country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his 
declining years required, and upon the organization of 
the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- 
well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello. 

.Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole 
families came in their coaches with their horses, — 
fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and 
nurses, — and remained three and even six months. 
Life at Monticello, for years, resembled that at a 
fashionable watering-place. 

The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver- 




sary of the Declaration of American Independence, 
great preparations were made in every part of the 
Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and 
the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity 
of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer, 
and one of the fevv surviving signers of the Declara- 
tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- 
ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and 
had been continually increasing, com[)elled liim to 
decline the invitation. 

On the second of July, the disease under which 
he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced 
state that his medical attendants, entertained no 
hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly 
sensible that his last hour was at liand. On the next 
d;iy, which was Monday, he asked of those around 
him, the day of the month, and on being told it was 
the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish that 
he might be permitted to breathe the airof the fiftieth 
anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose 
dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, 
burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- 
ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble 
life! To die on that day, — the birthday of a nation,- - 
the day which his own name and his own act had 
rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and 
festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, 
as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, 
was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. 

Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- 
dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear 
him company, left the scene of liis earthly honors. 
Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of 
freedom ; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- 
ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and 
animated their desponding countrymen; for half a 
century they had labored together for tne good of 
the country; and now hand in hand they dejiart. 
In tiieir lives they had been united in tlie same great 
cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not 
divided. 

In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather 
above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes 
were light, his hair originally red, in after life became 
white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore 
head broad, and his whole countenance intelligent and 
thoughtful. He [xjssessed great fortitude of mind as 
well as personal courage; and his command of tem- 
per was such that Iris oldest and most intimate friends 
never recollected to have seen him in a passion. 
His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- 
affected, and his hospitalitv was so unbounded that 
all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- 
sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic; and 
his language was remarkably pure and correct. He 
was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is 
discernable the care with which he formed his style 
ujwn the best models of antiquity. 



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FOURTH PRh'SIDENT. 



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^ AMES MADISON, "Father 
P of the Constitution, " and fourth 
5"" President of the United States, 
was born March 16, 1757, and 
died at his home in \'irginia, 
'*«^ [line 28, 1836. The name of 
James Madison is inseparably con- 
nected with most of the im|)ortant 
events in that lieroic period of our 
country during which the founda- 
tions of this great republic were 
aid. He was the last of the founders 
of the Constitution of the United 
States to be called to his eternal 
reward. 

The Madison family were among 
the early emigrants to the New World, 
anding upon the shores of the Chesa- 
peake but 15 years after the settle- 
ment of Jamestown. The father of 
James Madison was an opulent 
planter, residing uixjn a very fine es- 
tate called "Montjielier," Orange ("o., 
Va. The mansion was situated in 
the midst of scenery highly pictur- 
esque and romantic, on the west side 
of South-west Mountain, nt the foot of 
Blue Ridge. It was i)ut 25 miles from the home of 
Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and 
political attachment existed Ijetween these illustrious 
men, from their early youth until death. 

The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted 
mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of 
18 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. 
Here he applied himself to study with the most im- 



prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three 
hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so 
seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor 
of constitution. He graduated in 1771, with a feeble 
body, witii a character of utmost purity, and with a 
mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning 
wliicli embelhshed and gave proficiency to his subse- 
quent career. 

Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of 
law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. 
This educational course, the spirit of the times in 
which he lived, and the society with which he asso- 
ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong 
love of liberty, and to train him fur his life-woik of 
a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of 
mind, and his frail health leading him to think that 
his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten- 
tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind 
singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with 
almost tinequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed 
all the arguments for and against revealed religion, 
until his faith became so established as never to 
be shaken. 

In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he 
was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to 
frame the constitution of the State. The next year 
(1777), he was a candidate for the General .Assembly. 
He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and 
consequently lost his election ; but those who had 
witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the 
modest young .man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, 
and he was appointed to the Executive Council. 

Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were 
Governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison remained 
member of the Comicil ; and their appreciation of his 



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inicllecmal, social and moral worth, contributed not 
a little to his subsenuent eminence. In the year 
1 7 So. he was elected a memlier of the Continental 
C"ons;ress. Here he met the most illustrious men in 
our land, and he was immeiliatcly assigned to one of 
the most conspicuous [xisitions among them. 

For tiiree years Mr. Madison continued in Con- 
gtess, one of its most active and inlluential members. 
In the year 17S4, ins term having expired, lie w.is 
elected a member of the Virginia Legislanire. 

No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the 
utter inetticiency ot the old confederacy, with no na- 
tional government, with no jxjwer to form treaties 
which would l>e binding, or to enforce law. There 
was not any State more prominent than Virginia in 
the declaration, that an efficient national government 
must be formed. In January. 17S0. Mr. Madison 
carried a resolution through the C'leneral .\ssembly of 
\irginia, inviting the other States to apioint commis- 
sioners to meet in convention at .\nnaj>olis to discuss 
this subject. Five Stales only were represented. The 
convention, liowever, issued another call, drawn up 
by Mr. Madison, urgmg all the States to send their 
delegates to Pltil.idelphia, in May. 17S7, to drat't 
a Constitution for tite United States, to take the pl.ice 
of that Confederate League. The delegates met at 
the time apixiinted. Every State but Rhode Island 
was represented, deorge Washington was chosen 
president of the convention ; arid the present Consti- 
tution of the I'nited States was then and there lomied. 
There was. perhaps, no mind and no jien more ac- 
tive in Iranting this immortal diKument than the mind 
and the pen of lames Madison. 

The Constitution, .idopted by a vote Si to 70. was 
to l>e presented to the sever.d States for .icceptance. 
Hut grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected 
we should be left but a conglomeration of indei>endent 
States, with but little jiower at home and little resjiect 
abnxid. Mr. Madison was selected by the ixinven- 
tion to draw up an address to the i>e<.->ple of the United 
States. exix->unding th.e principles of the Constitution, 
and urging its adoption. There was great opjxjsition 
to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and 
went into elTect in 17S9. 

Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- 
sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the 
avowe<.1 leader of the Republican jMny. Wiiile in 
New Vork attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a 
>\ving widow of remarkable jxiwer of fascination, 
whom he niarrievl. She was in j'lerson and character 
queenly, and probably no lady has thus lar occupied 
so prominent a \x>sition in the ver\- ]->e»:uliar society 
which has constituted our republican court as Mrs, 
Madison. 

Mr. Madison served as Secreiarj- ot State under 
leflerson, and at the close of his .idniinistration 
was chosen President. .\t this time the encrcwch- 
inents of England had brought us to the verge of war. 



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I British orders in council destioyed our commerce, and 
I our rtag was e.xjtosed to constant insult. Mr. Madison 
i was a man of i>eace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring 
in his disix^sition, war had no charms for him. But the 
meekest spirit can be a>used. It makes one's blood 
Iwil. even now, to think of an .-Vmerican ship brought 
' to, uiKin the ocean, by the guns of an F^ngiish cruiser. 
.\ young lieutenant steps on Iward and orders the 
I crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- 
ance he selects any number whom he may please to 
designate as British subjects ; orders them down the 
j ship's side into his Ixjat ; and places them on the gun- 
I deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the 
battles of F^ngland. This right of search and im- 
pressment, no ertbrts of our Ciovernment could induce 
the British cabinet to relinquish. 

On the iSth of June, iSi j, President Madison gave 
his approval to an act of Congress declaring war 
against Gieat Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter 
hostility of the F"ederal party to the war, the country 
in general ajiproved ; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th 
of March, iS<3, was re-elected by a large m.ijority, 
and entered ujon his second term of office. Phis is 
not the place to describe the various adventures of 
this war on the land and on the water. Our infant 
navy then l.iid the foundations of its renown in grap- 
, pling with the most fonnidable power which ever 
swept the seas. The c-ontest commenced in earnest 
■ by the api'iearaiiceof a British fleet, early in February, 
I 1S13, in Chesajieake Bay, declaring nearly the whole 
' coast of the United States under blixkade. 

The Emjieror of Russia offered his services as me 
ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- 
ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks 
of the Patu.xet River, near its entrance into Chesa- 
lH.\»ke Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- 
burg, ui>.in Washington. 
I The straggling little city of Washington was thrown 
! into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict 
at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the 
meirojx>lts. The whole population fled from the city. 
The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White 
House, with her carriage dr.awn up at the door to 
await his sj>ee«.ly return, hurried to meet the officers 
in a council of war. He met our tnx)ps utterly routed, 
and he could not go hack without danger of being 
captured. But few hours ela(>sed ere tlie Presidential 
I Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in 
Washington were in flanies. 

The war closed after two years of fighting, and on 
Feb. 13, 1S15, the treaty of \ieace was signed at Ghent. 
On the 4th of Maah, 1S17, his second tenii of 
office expired, and he lesigned the Presidential chair 
to his friend. James Monroe. He rerired to his beau- 
tiful home at Monti->elier, and there [vissed the re- 
mainder of his days. On June ;S. 1S36. then at the 
' age of 85 years, he fell ;isleep in death. Mrs. Madi- 
{ son died July 13, 1S49. 

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FIFTH PRESIDENT. 



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AMES MONROE, the I'lHli 
. I'lesidcntofriie United States, 
was born in \\'estinoreland t!o., 
Va., April 28, 175.S. His early 
lite was passed at the place of 
nativity. His ancestors had fur 
many years resided in the prov- 
ince in which he was liorn. ^\■hen, 
at 17 years of age, in the process 
1 \ of completing his education at 
William and JVIary College, the Co- 
lonial Congress assembled at Phila- 
delphia to deliberate upon the un- 
just and manifold oppressions of 
Great Britian, declared the separa- 
tion of the Colonies, and promul- 
gated the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly 
probable that he would have been one of the signers 
of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left 
school and enlisted among the patriots. 

He joined the army when everything looked liope- 
less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased 
from day to day. The invading armies came pouring 
in ; and tlie tories not only favored the cause of the 
mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, 
wiio were sulhciently terrified at the ])rospect of con- 
tending with an enemy whom they had been taught 
to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James 
Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through 
difficulty and danger, the United States owe then- 
political emancipation. The x'oung cadet joined the 
ranks, and espoused tlio cause of his injured country, 
with a firm determination to live or die with her strife 




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for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel- 
ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White 
Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled 
before its foes through New Jersey. In four months 
alter the Declaration of Independence, the patriots 
had been beaten in seven battles. At the battle of 
Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charg- 
ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the left 
shoulder. 

As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was ])ro- 
moted a captain of infantry; and, having recovered 
from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however, 
receded from the line of promotion, by l)ecomiu4 an 
officer in the staff of Lord Steding. During the cam- 
paigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Pirandy- 
wine, Ciermantown and Monmouth, he continued 
aid-de-camp; but becoming desirous to regain his 
position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a 
regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed 
owing to the exhausted condition of the Stale. Upon 
this failure he entered the office of Mr. lefferson, at 
that ])eriod Governor, and pursued, with considerable 
ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however, 
entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag; 
but on the invasions of the enemy, served as a volun- 
teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. 

In 17S2, he was elected from King George county, 
a member of the Leglislature of X'irginia, and by that 
body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive 
Council. He was thus honored with the confidence 
of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and having 
at this early period displayed some of that ability ^^ 
and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwards 



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he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of 
the Congress of the United' States. 

Deeplyas Mr. Monroefelt the imperfections of the old 
Confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, 
thinking, with many others of the Republican parly, 
that it gave too much ix)Wtr to the Central Government, 
and not enough to the individual States. Still he re- 
tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm 
supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition 
secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member 
of the United States Senate ; which office he held for 
four years. Every month the line of distinction be- 
tween the two great parties which di\ided the nation, 
the Federal and the Republican, was growing more 
distinct. The two prominent ideas which now sejv 
arated them were, that the Re|)ublican party was in 
sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a 
strict construction of tlie Constitution as to give the 
Central Government as little ix)wer, and the State 
Governments as much i>ower, as the Constitution would 
warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, 
and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- 
stitution, which would give as much ]X)wer to the 
Central Government as that document could ]X)ssibly 
authorize. 

The leading Federalists and Republicans were 
alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the 
good of the nation. Two more lionest men or more 
pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and 
(ames Monroe the Rep\iblican, never breathed. In 
building up this majestic nation, which is destined 
to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, tlie com- 
bination of their antagonism was needed to create the 
light equilibrium. .\nd yet each in his day was de- 
nounced as almost a demon. 

Washington was then President. England had es- 
poused the cause of the Bourlxjns against tlie princi- 
ples of the French Revolution. .-Ml Europe was drawn 
into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. 
Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- 
tween these contending powers. France had helped 
us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms 
of Europe were now combined to prevent the French 
from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse 
than that which we had endured Col. Monroe, more 
magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at 
whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in 
their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous 
and noble nature. He violently opiX)sed the Pres- 
ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in 
magnanimity. 

Washington, who could apnreciate such a character, 
developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, 
by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- 
nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister 
of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. 
Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention 
i:i France with the most enthusiastic demonstrations. 




Shortly after his return to this countr)% Mr. Mon- 
roe was elected CJovernor of Virginia, and held the 
office for three years. He was again sent to France to 
co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining 
the vast territory then known as the Province of 
Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- 
tained from Spain. Titeir united efforts were suc- 
cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen 
millions of dollars, the entire territor)- of Orleans and 
district of Louisiana were added to the United States. 
This was probably the largest transfer of real estate 
which was ever made in all the history of the world 

From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- 
tain from that country some recognition of our 
rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those 
odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng- 
land was unrelenting. He agam returned to Eng- 
land on the same mission, but could receive no 
redress. He returned to his home and was again 
chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned 
to accept the position of Secretary of State under 
Madison. While in this office war with England was 
declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during 
these tr)ing times, the duties of the War Department 
were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- 
bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient 
business man in his cabinet. I'pon the return of 
peace he resigned the Department of War, but con- 
tinued in the office of Secretar)' of State until the e.\- 
piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- 
tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had 
been chosen President with but little opposition, and 
upon March 4, iSiy, was inaugurated. Four years 
later he was elected for a second term. 

.\mong the important measures of his Presidency 
were the cession of Florida to the United States; the 
Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine.'' 

This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe 
doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At that 
time the United States had recognized the independ- 
ence of the .South American states, and did not wish 
to have European [wwers longer attempting to sub- 
due portions of the .American Continent. The doctrine 
is as follows: "That we should consider any attempt 
on the part of European jxiwers to extend their sys- 
tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous 
to our peace and safety," and "that we could not 
view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing 
or controlling American governments or provinces in 
any other light than as a manifestation by European 
powers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
States." This doctrine immediately affected the course 
of foreign governments, and has become the approved 
sentiment of the United States. 

At the end of his second term Mr. Monroe retired 
to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830. 
when he went to New York to live with his son-in- 
law. In that city he died,on the 4th of July, 183 1. 



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OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the 
ixth President of the United 
i|^ Slates, was born in the rural 
lionie of his honored father, 
John Adams, in Qaincy, Mass., 
on the iith cf July, 1767. His 
mother, a woman of exalted 
worth, watched over his childhood 
during the almost constant ab- 
sence of his father. .When but 
eight years of age, he stood with 
his mother on an eminence, listen- 
ing to the booming of the great bat- 
tle on Bunkei's Hill, and gazing on 
upon the smoke and flames billow- 
ing u|) from the conflagration of 
Charlestown. 

When but eleven years old he 
took a tearful adieu of his mother, 
to sail with his fattier for Europe, 
through a fleet of hostile British cruisers. The liright, 
animated l)oy spent a year and a half in Paris, where 
his father was associated with Franklin and Lee as 
minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted 
the notice of these distinguished men, and he received 
from them flattering marks of attention. 

Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this 
country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again 
John Qiiincy accompanied his father. At Paris he 
apijlied himself with great diligence, for six months, 
to study; then accoinpuined his father to Holland, 
where he entered, first a school in Amsterdam, then 
the University at Leyden. About a year from this 
time, in 1781, when the manly boy was but fourteen 
years of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our min- 
ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. 

In this school of incessant labor and of enobling 
culture he spent fourteen montlis, and then returned 
to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and 
Bremen. This long journey he took alone, in the 
winter, when in his sixteenth year. Again he resumed 
his studies, under a fMvafe tutor, at Hague. Thence, 



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in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father to 
Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintance 
with the most distinguished men on the Continent; 
e.xamining architectural remains, galleries of paintings, 
and all renowned works of art. At Paris he again 
became associated with the most illustrious men of 
all lands in the contem|jlations of the loftiest temporal 
themes which can engross the human mind. After 
a short visit to England he returned to Paris, and 
consecrated all his energies to study until May, 1785, 
when he returned to America. To a brilliant young 
man of eighteen, who had seen much of the world, 
and who was familiar with the etiquette of courts, a 
residence with his father in London, under such cir- 
cumstances, must have been extremely attractive; 
but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre- 
ferred to return to America to complete his education 
in an American college. He wished then to study 
law, that with an honorable profession, he might be 
able to obtain an independent support. 

Upon leaving Harvard College, at the age of twenty, 
he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be- 
ing then but twenty-seven years of age, he was ap- 
pointed by Washington, resident minister at the 
Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached 
London in October, where he was immediately admit- 
ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinckney, 
assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with 
Great Britian. After thus spending a fortnight in 
London, he proceeded to the Hague. 

In July, 1797, he left the Hague logo to Portugal as 
minister plenipotentiary. On his way to Portugal, 
upon arriving in London, lie met with despatches 
directing him to the court of Berlin, but requesting 
him to remain in London until he should receive his 
instructions. While waiting he was mairied to an 
American lady to whom he had been previously en- 
gaged, — Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter 
of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American consul in London; 
a lady endownd with that beauty and those accom- 
plishment which eminently fitted her to move in the 
elevated sphere for which she was destined. 






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JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ; 
where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful- 
filled all the purjxjses of his mission, he solicited his 
recall. 

Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen to 
the Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston, and then 
was elected Senator of the United States for six years, 
from the 4th of March, 1804. His reputation, his 
ability and his experience, placed him immediately 
among the most prominent and influential members 
of that body. Especially did he sustain the (iovern- 
ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach- 
ments of England, destroying our commerce and in- 
sulting our flag. There was no man in America more 
familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon 
these points, and no one more resolved to present 
a firm resistance. 

In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the Pres- 
idential chair, and he immediately nominated John 
Quincy .^dams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign- 
ing his professorship in Harvard College, lie embarked 
at Boston, in August, 1S09. 

While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu- 
dent. He devoted his attention to the language and 
history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the 
European system of weights, measures, and coins ; to 
the climate and astronomical observations ; while he 
kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Creek and 
Latin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a 
more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. 
-•Ml through life the Bible constituted an important 
part of his studies. It was his rule to read five 
chapters every day. 

On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe took the 
Presidential chair, and immediately ai)i)ointed Mr, 
Adams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- 
erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he 
sailed in June, 1819, for the United States. On the 
18th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his 
home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon- 
roe's administration, Mr. Adams continued Secretary 
of State. 

Some time before the close of Mr. Monroe's second 
term of office, new candidates began to Ije presented 
for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. .\dams brought 
forward his name. It was an exciting campaign. 
Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and 
sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re- 
ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; 
William H. Crawford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirty- 
seven. As there was no choice by the people, the 
(piestion went to the House of Representatives. Mr. 
Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. .\danis, and 
he was elected. 

The friends of all the disappointed candidates now 
combined in a venomous and persistent assault upon 
Mr. Adams. There is nothing more disgraceful in 
the past history of our country than the abuse which 




was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upon this 
high-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was 
an administration niore pure in principles, more con- 
scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- 
try, than that of John Quincy Adams; and never, per- 
haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- 
lously and outrageously assailed. 

Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- 
stemious and 'temperate in his habits; always rising 
early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in 
Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast, 
seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said 
that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his 
own fire and applying himself to work in his library 
often long before dawn. 

On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired 
from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew 
Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- 
dent. The slavery question now began to assume 
lx)rtentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to 
Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- 
abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re- 
main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was 
elected representative to Congress. For seventeen 
years, until his death, he occupied the post as repre- 
sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to 
do brave battle' ior freedom, and winning the title of 
"the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in 
the House, he announced that he should hold him- 
self bound to no party. Probably there never was a 
member more devoted to his duties. He was usually 
the first in his place in the morning, and the last to 
leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could 
be brought forward and escape his scrutin)-. The 
battle wliich Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against 
the proslavery party in the (iovernment, was sublime 
in Its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in 
presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he 
was threatened with indictment by the grand jury, 
with expulsion from the House, with assassination; 
but no threats could intimidate him, and b.is final 
triumph was complete. 

It has been said of President Adams, that when his 
body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of 
fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little 
child, he was accustomed torejieat every night, before 
he slept, the prajer which his mother taught him in 
his infant years. 

On the 2 1 St of February, 1848, he rose on the fioor 
of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the 
speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by paraly- 
sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. 
For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to 
the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- 
ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and 
said " This is //if end of car Hi .-"then after a moment's 
pause he added, " I am a>ii/fii/." These were the 
last words of the grand "Old Man Eloipient.' 



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SEVENTH PRESIDENT. 



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NDREVV JACKSON, the 
sc'ventli President of tlie 
Lhiited States, was horn in 
Waxhaw settlement, N. (;., 
March 15, 1767, a few days 
after his father's death. His 
parents were poor emigrants 
from Ireland, and took up 
their abode in. Waxhaw set- 
tlement, where they lived in 
deepest poverty. 
Andrew, or Andy, as he was 
universally called, grew up a very 
rough, rude, turlnilent l)oy. His 
features were coarse, his form un- 
gainly; and there was but very 
little in his cliaracter, made visilile, whicli was at- 
tractive. 

When only thirteen years old lie joined the volun- 
teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 
1781, he and his brother Robert were captured and 
imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer 
ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am 
\ a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of 
the dauntless boy. 

Tlie brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate 
blow at the head of the helpless young prisoner. 
Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear- 
ful gashes, — one on the hand and tlie other upon the 
head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert 
with the same demand. He also refused, and re- 
' ceivcd a blow from tlie keen-edged sabre, which (piite 
. diiabled him, and which jirobably soon after caused 
^e his death. They suffered much other ill-treatment, and 
i(i) were finally stricken with the small-jx)x. Their 



mother was successful in obtaining their exchange. 




and took her sick iwys home. After a long illness 
Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon 
left him entirely friendless. 

Andrew supported himself in various ways, sucli as 
working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and 
clerking in a general store, until 1784, wiien he 
entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however, 
gave more attention to the wild amusements of tiie 
times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appointed 
solicitor for tlie western district of North Carolina, of 
which Tennessee was then a part. This involved 
many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of 
every kind, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear, 
and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmish 
witfi tlie Sharp Knife. 

In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who 
supposed herself divorced from her former husband. 
Creat was the surprise of both parties, two years later, 
to find that the conditions of the divorce had just been 
definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage 
ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur- 
rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. 
Jackson into disfavor. 

During these years he worked hard at his jirofes- 
sion, and freipiently had one or more duels on hand, 
one of whicii, wiien lie killed I )ickenson, was es])ec- 
ially disgraceful. 

In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee then 
containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the 
people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- 
stitution. I-'ive were sent from each of the eleven 
counties. Andrew Jackson was one of the delegates. 
The new State was entitled to but one member in 
the National House of Representatives. Andrew Jack- 
son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he 
rode to Philedeliihia, where Congress then held its 



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sessions, — a distance of about eight hundred miles. 

Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- 
cratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired 
Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. .\s Mr. 
Jackson took his seat. Gen. Washington, whose 
(c)i second term of office was then expiring, delivered his 
^"^ last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a 
complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson 
did not approve of the address, and was one of the 
twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to 
say that Gen. Washington's adminstration had been 
" wise, firm and patriotic." 

Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States 
Senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home. 
Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court 
of his State, which position he held for six years. 

When the war of 181 2 witli Great Britian com- 
menced, Madison occupied tiie Presidential chair. 
Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was 
an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who 
would do credit to a commission if one were con- 
ferred uixin him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson 
offered his services and those of twenty-five hundred 
volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troops 
were assembled at Nashville. 

As the British were hourly expected to make an at- 
tack upon New Orleans, where Gen. Wilkinson was 
in command, he was ordered to descend the river 
with fifteen hundred troops to aid ^Vilkinson. The 
expedition reached Natchez; and afteradelay of sev- 
eral weeks there, without accomplishing anything, 
the men were ordered back to their homes. But the 
energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire 
devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him 
golden opinions; and he l)ecame the most popular 
man in the State. It was in this expedition that his 
toughness gave him the nickname of "Gld Hickory." 

Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. 
Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman 
made about his taking a i)art as second in a duel, in 
which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, 
he received two severe pistol wounds. While he was 
lingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the 
Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from 
Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- 
tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- 
cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with 
his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in 
a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- 
tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an 
army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama. 

The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on 
one of the bends of theTallauoosa River, near the cen- 
ter of Alabama, alx)ut fifty miles below Fort Strother. 
With an army of two thousand men. Gen. Jackson 
traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven 
days. He reached their fort, called Toho])eka or 
Horse-shoe, on the 27th of .March. r8i4. The bend 



of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres of 

tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow 

neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast- 

i work of logs and l)rush. Here nine hundred warriors, 

I with an ample suplyof arms were assembled. 

The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- 
perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When 
bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en- 
deavored to spare tlieir lives. From ten in tlie morn- 
ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was 
awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the 
river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as 
they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war- 
rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam 
the river and escaped. This ended the war. The 
jK)wer of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold 
plunge into the wilderness, with its terriffic slaughter, 
so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants 
of the bands cauie to the camp, begging for peace. 

This closing of the Creek war enabled us to con- 
centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the 
allies of the Indians No man of less resolute will 
than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian 
campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he 
was appointed major-general. 

Late in August, with an army of two thousand 
men, on a rushing marcli, Gen. Jackson came to 
Mol)ile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed 
a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort, 
and from both ship and shore commenced a furious 
assault. The l)attle was long and doubtful. At length 
one of the ships was l)lown up and the rest retired. 

(iarrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little 
army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, 
.\nd the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, 
was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won 
for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his 
troops, which numbered about four thousand men, 
won a signal victory over the British army of alxsut 
nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the 
loss of tlie British was two thousand six lumdred. 

The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men- 
tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824, 
he was defeated by Mr. .Xdams. He was, however, 
successful in the election of 1S28, and was re-elected 
for a second term in 1832. In r82g, just before he 
assumed the reins of the government, he met with 
the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of 
his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has 
perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of 
her death he never recovered. 

His administration was one of the most memorable 
in the annals of our country; applauded by one party, 
condemned by the other. No man had more bitter 
enemies or warmer friends. .\t the expiration of his 
two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where 
he died June 8, 1845. The last years of ^Ir. Jack- 
son's life were that of a devoted Christian man. 



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EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 






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AKTIN VAN HURKN, the 
eighth President of the 
United States, was born at 
Kinderliook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 
1782. He died at the same 
|)l:ice, July 24, 1862. His 
liody rests in the cemetery 
at Kinderhook. Above ii is 
a plain granite shaft fifteen feet 
high, bearing a simple inscription 
about half way up on one face, 
w The lot is unfenced, unbordered 
or unbounded by slirub ur flower. 

There is but little in the life of iSIartin Van Buren 
of romantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged 
in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in 
political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many 
signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those 
incidents which give zest to biography. His an- 
cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, 
and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland 
to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, 
residing in the old town of Kinderhook. His motlier, 
also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- 
ligence and exemplary piety. 

He was decidedly a precocious boy, develo|iing un- 
usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. .Xl tlie 
age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies 
in his native village, and commenced the study of 
law. As he h.ad not a collegiate education, seven 
years of study in a law-office were required of him 
before he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with 
a lofty aml)ition, and conscious of his powers, he pur- 
sued his studies with indefatigalile industry. After 
spending six years in an office in his native village, 

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he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted his 
studies for the seventii year. 

In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years of 
age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil- 
lage. The great conflict between tlie Federal and 
Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van 
Buren was from the beginning a ix)litician. He had, 
perhajis, imbibed that spirit wliile listening to the 
many discussions which had been carried on in his 
father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with 
Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the 
cause of State Rights; thougli at that time the Fed- 
eral party held tlic supremacy both in his town 
and State. 

His success and increasing rui)u.tation led liim, 
after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, the 
county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years, 
constantly gaining strength i>y contending in the 
courts with some of tlie ablest men who have adorned 
the bar of his State. 

Just before leaving Kinderliook for Hudson, Mr. 
Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for 
beauty and accomplishments. .After twelve short 
years she sank into the grave, the victim of consump- 
tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep over 
jier loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was 
an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record 
of those years is barren in items of public interest. 
In 1 81 2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to 
the State Senate, and gave his strenuous support to 
Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 1815, he was ap- 
pointed .Attorney-Cicneral, and the next year moved 
to Albany, the capital of the State. 

While he was acknowledged as one of the most 
prominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had 



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MARTIN VAN BUREN. 



the moral courage to avow that true democracy did 
not require that " universal suffrage " which admits 
the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right of 
governing the State. In true consistency with his 
democratic principles, he contended that, while the 
path leading to the privilege of voting should be open 
to every man without distinction, no one should be 
invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were 
in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue 
and some iiroperty interests in the welfare of the 
State. 

In 182 1 he was elected a member of the United 
States Senate; and in the same year, he took a seat 
in the convention to revise the constitution of his 
native State. His course in this convention secured 
the approval of men of all parties. No one could 
doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote the 
interests of all classes in the community. In the 
Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a 

f' ) conspicuous position as an active and useful legislator. 
In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the 
Presidential chair, Mr. Van Bnren was re-elected to 
the Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- 
termiiied opposer of the .\dministration, adopting the 
"State Rights" view in opposition to what was 

'^ deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. 
S Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof 
the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his 
seat in the Senate. Probalily no one in the United 
States contributed so much towards ejecting John Q. 
Adams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it 
Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whether 
entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re- 
garded throughout the United States as one of the 
most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. 
It was supiwsed that no one knew so well as he how 
to touch the secret springs of action; how to pull all 
the wires to put his machinery in motion; and how to 
organize a political army which would, secretly and 
stealthily accomplish the most gigantic results. By 
these powers it is said that he outv/itted Mr. Adams, 
Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which 
few thought tlien could be accomplished. 
i When Andrew Jackson was elected President he 

[i^ apix<inted Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This 
position he resigned in 1831, and was immediately 
apixiinted Minister to England, where he went the 
same autumn. The Senate, however, when it met, 
refused to ratify the nomination, and he returned 



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home, apparently untroubled ; was nominated Vice 
President in the place of Calhoun, at the re-election 
of President Jackson ; and with smiles for all and 
frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that 
Senate which had refused to confirm his nomination 
as ambassador. 

His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of 
President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- 
ite; and this, probably more than any other cause, 
secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu- 
tive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Huren re- 
ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen. 
Jackson as President of the United States. He was 
elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the 
retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the 
canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van 
Buren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen. 
Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred 
upon him the power to appoint a successor." 

His administration was filled with exciting events. 
The insurrection in Canada, whi<li threatened to in- 
volve this country in warwitli England, the agitation 
of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- 
cial panic which spread over the country, all were 
trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- 
tributed to the management of the Democratic [larty, 
and brought the President into such disfavor that he 
failed of re-election. 

With the exception of being nominated for the 
Presidency by the " P'ree Soil" Democrats, in 1848, 
Mr. Van Buren lived ipiietly ujwn his estate until 
his death. 

He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal habits, 
and living within his income, had now fortunately a 
competence for his declining years. His unblemished 
character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned 
patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he 
had occupied in the government of our country, se- 
cured to him not only the homage of his party, but 
the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 
4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from 
the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald, 
he still exerted a i)owerful influence upon the politics 
of the country. From this time until his death, on 
the 24th of July, 1862. at the age of eighty years, he 
resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of 
culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old 
age, probably far more hapi)iness than he had before 
experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life. 



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ILLIAM HENRY HARKI- 

SOM, the nintli President of 
the United States, was horn 
at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. 
His father, Benjamin Harri- 
son, was in comparatively op- 
ulent circumstances, and was 
one of the most distinguished 
men of his daj . He was an 
intimate friend of George 
Washington, was early elected 
a member of the Continental 
Congress, and was conspiciions 
among the i)atriots of Virginia in 
resisting the encroachments of the 
Britisli crown. In tiie celel)rated 
C"ongress of 1775, Benjamin Har- 
rison and John Hancock were 
both candidates for the office of 
speaker. 

Mr Harrison was subsequently 
chosen Governor of Virginia, and 
was twice re-elected. His son, 
1 William Henry, of course enjoyed 

in childhood all the advantages which wealth and 
intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav- 
ing received a thorough common-school education, he 
entered Hampden Sidney College, where he graduated 
wit!) honor soon after the death of his fatlier. He 
then repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine under 
the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianslii[) of 
Robert Morris, both of whom were, with his father, 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

Upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not- 
withstanding the remonstrances of his friends, he 
abandoned his medical studies and entered the army, 
having obtained a commission of Ensign from Presi- 




dent Washington. He was then hui uj years old. 
From that time he i)asseti gradually upward in rank 
until he became aid to General Wayne, after whose 
death lie resigned his commission. He was tlien ap- 
pointed Secretary of the Morth-western 'ferritory. This 
Territory was then entitled to but one member in 
Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill iliat 
l)osition. 

In the spring of 1800 the North-western Territory 
was divided by Congress into two portions. The 
eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced 
m the State of Ohio, was called " Ihe Territory 
north-west of the Ohio." The western portion, wliich 
included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and 
Wisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, was ap- 
lX)inted by John Adams, Governor of the Indiana 
Territory, and immediately after, also Governor of 
Upper Louisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as 
extensive a realm as any sovereign uiwn the globe. He 
was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in- 
vested with powers nearly dictatorial over the now 
rapidly increasing white population. The ability and 
fidelity with which he discharged these responsible 
duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four 
times appointed to this office — first by John Adams, 
twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi- 
dent Madison. 

When he began his adminstration tliere were but 
three white settlementsin that almost boundless region, 
now crowded with cities and resounding with all the 
tumult of wealth and traffic. One of these settlements 
was on the Ohio, nearly opposite Ix)uisville; one at 
Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the third a French 
settlement. 

The vast wilderness over which Gov. Harrison 
reigned was filled with many tribes of Indians. Aliout 



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the year 1806, two extraordinary mer, twin brothers, 
of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of 
these was called Teciimseh, or " Tlie Crouching 
Panther;" the other, Ollivvacheca, or " i'he Prophet." 
Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man 
of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomit- 
able perseverance in any enterprise in which lie might 
engage. He was in>|)ired with the higliesl enthusiasm, 
and had long regarded witli dread and with hatred 
the encroachment of the whites upon the hunting- 
grounds of his fathers. His l)rother, the Prophet, was 
anorator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored 
Indian as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath which 
they dwelt. 

But the Prophet was not merely an orator : lie was, 
in the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested 
with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a 
magician. With an enthusiasm unsurpassed by Peter 
the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went 
from tribe to tribe, assuming that he was specially sent 
by the Great .Spirit. 

Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciliate 
the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tippe- 
canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. 
October 28, 1S12, his army began its march. When 
near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made 
their appearance and inquired why Gov. Harri.son was 
approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a 
short conference, arrangements were made for a meet- 
ing the next day, to agree upon terms of peace. 

But Gov. Harrison was too well acquainted with 
the Indian character to be deceived by such protes- 
tations. Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- 
campment, he took every precaution against surprise. 
His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept 
upon their arms. 

The troops threw themselves upon the ground for 
rest; but every man had his accourtrements on, his 
loaded musket by his side, and his bayonet fixed. The 
wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in 
the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa- 
tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It 
was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In 
the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi- 
ble, and just then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all 
the desperation which superstition and i)assion most 
highly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the 
Httle army. The savages had been amply provided 
with guns and ammunition by the English. Their 
war-whoop was accompained by a shower of bullets. 

The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the 
light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- 
ous yells, the Indian l)ands rusheil on, not doubtir.ga 
speedy and an entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's 
troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them 
until day dawned : they then made a simultaneous 
charge with the bayonet, and swept every thing be- 
fore them, and completely routing the foe. 




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Ciov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked 
to the utmost. The British descending from theCan- 
adas, were of themselves a very formidable force ; but 
witli their savage allies, rushing like wolves from the 
forest, searching out every remote farm-house, burn- 
ing, iilundering, scalping, torturing, the wide frontier 
was plunged into a state of consternation which even 
the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive. 
The war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the 
forest. The horizon was illuminated with the conflagra- 
tion of the cabins of the settlers. Gen Hull had made 
the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. 
Under these desijaiiing circumstances. Gov. Harrison 
was appointed by President Madison commander-in- 
chief of the North-western army, with orders to retake 
Detroit, and to protect the frontiers. 

It would be difficult to place a man in a situation 
demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; but 
("reneral Harrison was found equal to the position, 
and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the re- 
sponsibilities. 

He won the love of his soldiers by al.vays sharing 
with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while 
pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a 
valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket •; 
lashed over his saddle. Thirty-five British otticers, /s 
his prisoners of war, supped with him after the battle, isi 
The only fare he could give them was beef roasted ^? 
before the fire, without bread ox salt. v^ 

In 18 16, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member of 
the National House of Representatives, to represent 
the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an 
active member; and whenever he sixike, it was with ^ 
force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested ^ 
the attention of all the members. 

In iSig, Harrison was elected to the Senate of 
Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presidential electors 
of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The 
same year he was chosen to the L'nited States Senate. 

In 1836, the friends of (ien. Harrison brought him 
forward as a candidate for the Presidency against 
Van Buren, but he was defeated. At the close of 
Mr. Van Buren's term, he was re -nominated by his 
party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimously nominated 
by the Whigs, with John Tyler for the Vice Presidency. 
The contest was very animated. Gen Jackson gave 
all iiis influence to prevent Harrison's election ; but 
his triumph was signal. 

The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webster 
at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most 
brilliant with which anv President had ever been 
surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin- 
istration more flattering, or the hopes of the country 
more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and 
joyous prospects. Gen. Harrison was seized by a 
pleurisy-fever and after a few days of violent sick- 
ness, died on the 4th of .Ajiril ; just one month after 
his inauguration as President of the United States. 






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TENTH PRESIDENT. 



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the tentli 
Presideiitof the United Stales. 



He was l>orn in Charles-city 
Co., Va., March 29, 1790. He 
was the favored child of af- 
fluence and high social po- 
sition. At the early age of 
twelve, John entered William 
and Mary College and grad- 
uated with much honor when 
)ut seventeen years old. After 
graduating, he devoted him- 
;lf with great assiduity to the 
/f YjS^ aiudy of law, partly with his 

l^ ) j^^V father and partly with Kdniund 

g w Randolph, one of the most distin- 
guished lawyers of Virginia. 

At nineteen years of age, ne 
commenced the practice of law. 
His success was rapid and aston- 
ishing It is said that three 
months had not elapsed eve there 
was scarcely a case on the dock- 
1 et of the court in which he was 

not retained. When Ijut twenty-one years of age, he 
was almost unanimously elected to a seat in the State 
Legislature. He connected himself with the Demo- 
cratic party, and warmly advocated the measures of 
Jefferson and Madison. For five successive years he 
was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the 
unanimous vote or his county. 

When Init twenty-six years of age, he was elected 
»^ a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and 
jlj) ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national 
^ bank, internal improvements by the General Govern- 




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ment, a protective tariff, and- advocatmg a strict con- 
struction of the Constitution, and the most careful 
vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress 
were so arduous that before the close of his second 
term he found it necessary to resign and retire to his 
estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, 
however, soon after consented to take his seat in the 
State Legislature, where his influence was powerful 
in promoting public works of great utility. With a 
reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chosen 
by a very large majority of votes. Governor of his 
native State. His administration was signally a suc- 
cessful one. His popularity secured his re-election. 

John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed 
man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the 
United States. .\ ])ortion of the Democratic party 
was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, 
and brought forward John Tyler as his op|X)nent, 
considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient 
popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of 
Roanoke. Mr. Tyler was the victor. 

In accordance with his professions, upon taking his 
seat in the .Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi- 
tion. He opposed the tariff; he spoke against and 
voted against the bank as unconstitutional; he stren- 
uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resist- 
ing all projects of internal improvements by the Gen- 
eral (Government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. 
Calhoun's view of nullification; he declared that Gen. 
Jackson, by his oi)position to the nullifiers, had 
abandoned the ])rinciples of the Democratic party. 
Such was Mr. Tyler's record in ("ongress, — a record 
in i)erfect accordance with the principles which he 
had always avowed. 

Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice of 
his profession. There was a split in the Democratic 



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JOHN TYLER. 



party. His friends still regarded him as a true Jef- 
fersonian, gave hini a dinner, and showered compli- 
ments upon him. He had now attained the age of 
forty-six. His career had been very brilliant. In con- 
sequence of his devotion to public business, his pri- 

(hj vate affairs had fallen into some disorder; audit was 
not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice 
of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plan- 
tation. Soon after this he removed to Williamsburg, 
for the better education of his children ; and he again 
took his seat in the Legislature of Virginia. 

By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national 
convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in 
1839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Har- 
rison, a genuine Whig, much to tiie disappointment ot 
the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili- 
ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the 
convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres- 
ident. It was well known that he was not in sympa- 
thy with the Whig party in the Noith: but the Vice 
President has but very little power in the Govern- 
ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre- 
side over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it hap- 
pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a 
Uemocratic Vice President were chosen. 

In 1841, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States. In one short month from 
that time. President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler 
thus found himself, to his own surprise and that of 
the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential 
chair. This was a new test of the stability of our 
institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our 
country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler 
was at home in Williamslnirg when he received the 
unexpected tidings of the death of President Harri- 
son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of 
April was inaugurated to the high and responsible 
office. He was i)laced in a position of exceeding 
delicacy and difficulty. All his long life he had been 
opiwsed to the main principles of the party which had 
Ijrought him into power. He had ever been a con- 
sistent, honest man, with an unblemished record. 
Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should 
he retain them, and thus surround himself with coun- 
sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or, 
on the other hand, should he turn against the party 
which had elected hiui and select a cabinet in har- 
mony with himself, and which would oppose all those 
views which the Whigs deemed essential to the pub- 
lic welfare? This was his fearful dilemma. He in- 
vited the cabinet which President Harrison had 
selected to retain their seats. He reccommended a 
day of fasting and prayer, that God would guide and 
bless us. 

The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the 
incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States. 

l^^ The President, after ten dnys' delay, returned it with 
(' his veto. He suggested, however, that he would 

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approve of a bill drawn up upon such a plan as he 
proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and 
privately submitted to him. He gave it his approval. 
It was passed without alteration, and he sent it back 
with his veto. Here commenced the open rupture. 
It is said that Mr. Tyler was provoked to this meas- 
ure by a published letter from the Hon. John M. 
Botts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who sev.erely 
touched the inide of the President. 

The opiiosition now exultingly received the Presi- 
dent into their arms. The party which elected him 
denounced him bitterly. All the members of his 
cabinet, excepting Mr. Webster, resigned. The Whigs 
of Congress, both the Senate and the House, held a 
meeting and issued an address to the pcojile ot the 
United States, i)roclaiining that all political alliance 
between the Whigs and President Tyler were at 
an end. 

Still the President attempted to conciliate. He 
appointed a new cabinet of distinguished Whigs and 
Conservatives, carefully leaving out all strong party 
men. Mr. Webster soon found it necessary to resign, 
forced out by the pressure of his Whig friends. Thus 
the four years of Mr. Tyler's unfortunate administra- 
tion ])assed sadly away. I\o one was satisfied. The 
land was filled witli murmurs and vituperation, ^^'lligs 
and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more, 
however, he brought himself into sympathy with his 
old friends, the Democrats, until at the close of his term, 
he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr. 
Polk, the Democratic candidate for his successor. 

On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from the 
harassiv.ents of office, tothe regret of neitheriiarty, and 
probably to his own unsjieakable lelief. His first wife. 
Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842; 
and in June, 1844, President Tyler was again married, 
at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of 
many personal and intellectual accomplishments. 

The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed mainly 
in retirement at his beautiful home, — Sherwood For- 
est, Charles city Co., Va. A polished gentleman in 
his manners, richly furnished with information from 
books and experience in the world, and possessing 
brilliant powers of conversation, his fr.niily circle was 
the scene of unusual attractions. With sufficient 
means for the exercise of a generous hop])itality, he 
might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few 
friends who gathered around him, were it not for the 
storms of civil war which his own principles and 
policy had helped to introduce. 

When the great Rebellion rose, which the State- 
rights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C Cal- 
houn had inaugurated, President Tyler renounced his 
allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confed- 
erates. He was chosen a member of their Congress; 
and while engaged in active measures to destroy, by 
force of arms, the Government over which he had 
once presiiled, he was taken sick and soon died. 



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ELEVENTH PRESIDENT. 






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;| AMES K. POLK, the eleventh 
J :5}a President of the United States, 
. |y was born in Mecklenburg Co., 
M. C, Nov. 2, 1795. riis par- 
ents were Samuel and Jane 
(K.no.\) Polk, the former a son 
of Col. Thomas Polk, who located 
at the above place, as one of the 
first pioneers, in 1735. 

In the year 1S06, with his wife 
and children, and soon after fol- 
lowed by most of the members of 
tlie Polk farnly, Samuel Polk emi- 
grated some two or three hundred 
miles farther west, to the rich valley 
of the Duck River. Here in the 
midst of the wilderness, in a region 
which was subsequently called Mau- 
ry Co., they reared their log huts, 
and established their homes. In the 
hard toil of a new farm in the wil- 
derness, James K. Polk spent the 
early years of his childhood and 
youth. His father, adding the pur- 
suit of a surveyor to that of a farmer, 
gradually increased in wealth until 
he became one of the leading men of the region. I lis 
mother was a superior woman, of strong common 
sense and earnest piety. 
I Very early in life, James developed a taste for 

,r, reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain 
■*' a liberal education. His mother's training had made 
'/ him methodical in his habits, had taught him punct- 
^ uality and industry, and had inspired him with lofty 
1*' principles of morality. His health was frail ; and his 



^ father, fearing that he might not be able to endure a 



sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the 
counter, hoping to fit him for commercial [uusuits. 

This was to James a l)itter disaiJiwintment. He 
had no taste for these duties, and his daily tasks 
were irksome in the e.xtreme. He remained in this 
uncongenial occupation but a few weeks, when at his 
earnest solicitation his father removed him, and made 
arrangements for him to i)rosecute his studies. Soon 
after he sent him to Murfreesboro Academy. With 
ardor which could scarcely be surpassed, he pressed 
forward in his studies, and in less than two and a half 
years, in the autumn of 1S15, entered the sophomore 
class in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel 
Hill. Here he was one of tlie most e.Kemplary of 
scholars, punctual in every exercise, never allowing 
himself to be absent from a recitation or a religious 
service. 

He graduated in 18 18, witii the highest lionots, be- 
ing deemed tlie best scholar of his class, both in 
mathematics and the classics. He was then twenty- 
three years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at this 
time much impaired by the assiduity with which he 
had prosecuted his studies. After a short season of 
relaxation he went to Nashville, and entered the 
office of Felix Grundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk 
renewed Iiis acquaintance with .\ndrew Jackson, who 
resided on his plantation, the Hermitage, but a few 
miles from Nashville. They had probably been 
slightly accpuiinted before. 

Mr. Polk's father was a Jefifersonian Republican, 
and James K. Polk ever adhered to the same ])oliti- 
cal faith. He was a popular jiulilic speaker, and was 
constantly called ujion to address the meetings of his 
party friends. His skill as a speaker was such that 
he was popularly called the Napoleon of the stump. 
He was a man of unblemished morals, geniyl and 



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JAMES K. POLK. 



courteous in his bearing, and with that sympathetic 
nature in the jo) s and griefs of others which ever gave 
him troops of friends. In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected 
to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here he gave his 
strong influence towards the election of his friend, 
Mr. Jackson, to the Presidency of the United States. 
In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah 
Childress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. His bride was 
altogether worthy of him, — a lady of beauty and cul- 
ture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a 
rjiember of Congress. The satisfaction which he gave 
to his constituents may be inferred from the fact, that 
for fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was con- 
tinued in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, 
only that he might accept the Gubernatorial chair 
of Tennessee. In Congress he was a laborious 
member, a frequent and a popular speaker. He was 
always in his seat, always courteous ; and whenever 
he spoke it was always to the point, and without any 
^ ambitious rhetorical display. 

> During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was 
\^, Speaker of the House Strong passions were roused, 
,— r and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr Polk per- 
^ formed his arduous duties to a ver)' general satisfac- 
^ tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was 
passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of 
March, 1839. 

In accordance with Southern usage, Mr. Polk, as a 
candidate for Governor, canvassed the State. He was 
elected bv a large majority, and on the 14th of Octo- 
ber, 1839, took the oath of office at Nashville. In 1841, 
his term of oflSce expired, and he was again the can- 
didate of the Democratic party, but was defeated. 

On the 4th of March, iS45,Mr. Polk was inaugur- 
ated President of the United States. The verdict of 
the country in favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted 
its influence upon Congress ; and the last act of the 
administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- 
nature to a joint resolution of Congress, passed on the 
3d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to 
the .American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas 
as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, 
Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and 
left the country, declaring the act of the annexation 
to be an act hostile to Mexico. 

In his first message, President Polk urged that 
Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re- 
ceived into the Union on the same footing with the 
otlier States. In the meantime. Gen. Taylor was sent 



with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was 
sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the 
western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly 
two hundred miles further wesl, to the Rio Grande, 
where he erected batteries which commanded the 
Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated on 
the western banks. 

The anticipated collision soon took place, and war 
was declared against Mexico by President Polk. The 
war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration 
with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first 
called one of "observation," then of "occupation," 
then of " invasion, "was sent forward to Monterey. The 
feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly 
and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement 
alone can reveal the misery which this war caused. 
It v/as l)y the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration 
that the war was brought on. 

'To the victors belong the spoils." Mexico was 
prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands. 
We now consented to peace upon the condition that 
Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas, 
all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal- 
ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of 
Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This 
was an extent of territory e<iual to nine States of the 
size of New York. Thus slavery was securing eighteen 
majestic States to be added to the Union. There were 
some Americans who thought it all right : there were 
others who thought it all wrong. In the prosecution 
of this war, we expended twenty thousand lives and 
more than a hundred million of dollars. Of this 
money fifteen millions were paid to Mexico. 

On the 3d of NLirch, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from 
office, having served one term. The next day was 
Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated 
as his successor. Mr Polk rode to the Capitol in the 
same carriage with Gen. Taylor; and the same even- 
ing, with Mrs. I'olk, he commenced his return to 
Tennessee. He was then hut fifty-four years of age. 
He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits, 
and his health was good With an ample fortune, 
a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties 
of the dearest nature, it seemed as tiiough long years 
of traiKiuility and happiness were before him. But the 
cholera — that fearful scourge — was then sweeping up 
the \'alley of the Mississii)i)i. This he contracted, 
and died on the 15th of June, 1849, in the fifiy-fourth 
year of his age, greatly mourned by his countrymen. 



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TWELFTH PRESIDENT. 



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ACHARV TAYI,()R, iwcltih 
I'resident of the United States, 
i?^was born on the 24th of Nov., 
1784, in Orange Co., Va. His 
« lather. Colonel Taylor, was 
1 r'' a Virginian of note, and a dis- 
y tingiiished patriot and soldier of 
the Revolution. \Vhen Zaehary 
was an infant, his father with his 
wife and two children, emigrated 
to Kentucky, where he settled in 
the pathless wilderness, a few 
miles from Louisville. \\\ this front- 
ier home, away from civilization and 
all its refinements, young Zachary 
could enjoy but few social and educational advan- 
tages. When six years of age he attended a common 
school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy, 
rather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char- 
acter He was strong, feailess and self-reliant, and 
manifested a strong desire to enter the army to fight 
the Indians who were ravaging the frontiers. There 
is little to be recorded of the uneventful years of his 
childhood on his father's large but lonely plantation. 
In iSoS, his father succeeded in oljtaining for him 
the commission of lieutenant in the United States 
army ; and he joined the troops which were stationed 
at New Orleans under Gen. \Vilkinson. Soon after 
this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady 
from one of the first families of Maryland. 

Immediately after the declaration of war with Kng- 
land, in 1S12, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been 
promoted to that rank) was i)ut in command of Fort 
Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles above 
Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilder- 
ness by Gen. Harrison, on his march to Tippecanoe. 
It was one of the first points of attack by the Indians, 
led by Tecumseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken 



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company of infantry ninnbenng fifty men, many of 
whom were sick. 

Karl) in the autunni (if i.Srj, the Indians, slealliiily, 
and in large numbers, moved upon the fort. Their 
approach was first indicated by the murder of two 
soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor 
made every possible preparation to meet the antici- 
pated assault. On the 4th of September, a band of 
forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, 
waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that 
in the morning their chief would come to have a talk 
with him. It was evident that their object was merely 
to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. 
Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept 
them at a distance. 

The sun went down; the savages disappeared, the Y 
garrison slept upon their arms. One hour before ''' 
midnight the war whooi) burst fro'" a thousand lips C >' 
in the forest around, followed by tlie discharge of 
musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick 
and well, sprang to his post. Every man knew that 
defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cap- 
ture, death by the most agonizing and prolonged tor- 
ture. No pen can describe, no immagination can 
conceive the scenes which ensued. The savages suc- 
ceeded in setting fire to one of the block-houses- 
Until si.x o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict 
continued. The savages tiien, baffled at every point, 
and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capt. 
Taylor, for this gallant defence, was promoted to the 
rank of major by brevet. 

Until the close of the war, MajorTaylor was placed 
in such situations that he saw but little more of active I 
service. He was sent far away into tlie depthsof the ^ 
wilderness, to Fort Crawford, on Fo.x River, which 'f-' 
empties into Green Bay. Here there was but little 
to be done but to wear away the tedious hours as one 
best could. There were no books, no society, no in- 



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tellectual stimulus. Thus with him the uneventful 
years rolled on Gradually he rose to the rank of 
colonel. In the Black-Hawk war, which resulted in 
the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor 
took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part. 

For twenty-four years Col. Taylor was engaged in 
the defence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and m 
employments so obscure, that his name was unknown 
beyond the limits of his own immediate acquaintance. 
In the year 1836, he was sent to Florida to comi>el 
the Seminole Indians to vacate that region and re- 
tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty, 
had promised they should do. The services rendered 
here secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of 
the Government ; and as a reward, he was elevated 
to the rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon 
after, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief com- 
mand of the United States troops in Florida. 

-Aifter two years of such wearisome employment 
amidst the everglades of the peninsula. Gen. Taylor 
obtained, at his own request, a change of command, 
and was stationed over the Department of the South- 
west. This field embraced Louisiana, Mississijjpi, 
Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters 
at Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, he removed his family 
to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue. 
Here he remained for five years, buried, as it were, 
from the world, but faithfully discharging every duty 
imiHJsed upon him. 

In 1846, (ren. Taylor was sent to guard the land 
between the Nueces and Rio Grande, the latter river 
being the boundary of Texas, which was then claimed 
by the United States. Soon the war with Mexico 
was brought on, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the 
Mexicans. The rank of major-general by brevet 
was then conferred uiwn Gen. Taylor, and his name 
was received with enthusiasm almost everywhere in 
the Nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and 
Buena Vista in which he won signal victories over 
forces much larger than he commanded. 

His careless habits of dress and his unaffected 
simplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops, 
\.\\c sohn'i/iief of "Old Rough and Ready.' 

The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena Vista 
spread the wildest enthusiasm over the country. 'I'he 
name of Gen. Taylor was on every one's lips. The 
Whig party decided to take advantage of this wonder- 
ful po])ularity in bringing forward the unpolished, un- 
lettered, honest soldier as their candidate for the 
Presidency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the an- 
nouncement, and for a time would not listen to it; de- 
claring that he was not at all qualified for such an 
office. So little interest had he taken in politics that, 
for forty years, he had not cast a vote. It was not 
without chagrin that several distinguished statesmen 
who had been long years in the public service found 
their claims set aside in behalf of one wliose name 



had never been heard of, save in connection with Palo 
Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena 
Vista. It is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re- 
marked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made." 

Gen. Taylor was not an eloijuent speaker nor a fine 
writer His friends took possession of him, and pre- 
pared such few communications as it was needful 
should be presented to the public. The ixjpularity of 
the successful warrior swept the land. He was tri- 
umphantly elected over two opposing candidates, — 
Gen. Cass and Ex-President Martin Van Buren. 
Thougli he selected an excellent cabinet, the good 
old man found himself in a very uncongenial iX)sition, 
and was, at times, sorely perplexed and harassed. 
His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably 
tended to hasten his death. The pro-slavery party 
was pushing its claims with tireless energy, expedi- 
tions were fitting out to capture Cuba ; California was 
pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery 
stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found 
the political conflicts in Washington to be far more 
trying to the nerves than battles with Mexicans or 
Indians. 

In the midst of all these troubles. Gen. Taylor, 
after he had occupied the Presidential chair but little 
over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness of 
but little over five days, died on the glh of July, 1850. 
His last woids were, " I am not afraid to die. I am 
ready. I have endeavored to do my duty." He died 
universally respected and beloved. An honest, un- 
pretending man, he had been steadily growing in the 
affections of the people ; and the Nation bitterly la- 
mented his death. 

Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted with 
Gen, Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful 
description of his character: — " With a good store of 
common sense, Gen. Taylor's mind had not been en- 
larged and refreshed by reading, or much converse 
with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the conse- 
quence, Tiie frontiers and small military posts had 
been his home. Hence he was (piite ignorant for his 
rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His sim- 
Ijlicity was child-like, and with innumerable preju- 
dices, amusing and incorrigible, well suited to the 
tender age. Thus, if a man, however respectable, 
chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat 
a little on one side of his head; or an officer to leave 
a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an out- 
side pocket, — in any such case, this critic held the 
offender to be a coxcomb (i)erhaps soinetliing worse), 
whom he would not, to use his oft repeated plirase, 
'touch with a pair of tongs.' 

"Any allusion to literature beyond good old Dil- 
worth's spelling-book, on the part of one wearing a 
sword, was evidence, with the same judge, of utter 
unfitness for heavy marchings and combats. In short, 
few men have ever had a more comfortable, labor- 
saving contempt for learning of every kind." 



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TTIFRTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



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.LARD FILLMORE, thir- 
teenth I'resident of the United 
States, was horn at Sunmier 
Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y ., on 
the 7th of January, 1800. His 
father was a farmer, and ow- 
ing to misfortune, in humhle cir- 
cumstances. Of his mother, the 
daughter of Dr. Ahi:ith:ir Millard, 
''Vi of Pittsfield, Mass., il has been 
said that she possessed an intellect 
of very high order, united with much 
personal loveliness, sweetness of dis- 
position, graceful manners and ex- 
quisite sensibilities. She died in 
1831 ; having lived to see her son ;i 
young man of distinguished prom- 
ise, though she was not permitted to witness the liigh 
dignity which he finally attained. 

In consecjuence of the secluded home and hniited 
means of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender ad- 
vantages for education in his early years. The com- 
mon schools, which he occasionally attended were 
very imperfect nistitutions; and books were scarce 
and expensive. There was nothing then in his char- 
acter to indicate tlie brilliant career upon which he 
was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy; 
intelligent, good-looking, kind-hearted. The sacred 
influences of home had taught him to revere the Bible, 
and had laid the foundations of an upright character. 
When fourteen years of age, his father sent him 
some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of 
Livingston County, to learn the trade of a clothier. 
Nea/ the mill there was a small villiage, where some 




enterprising man had commenced the collection of a 
village liljrary. This proved an inestimable blessing 
to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read- 
ing. Soon every leisure moment was occupied with 
books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate; 
and the selections which he made were continually 
more elevating and instructive. He read history, 
biography, oratory, and thus gradually there was en- 
kindled in his heart a desire to be something more 
than a mere worker with his hands; and he was be- 
coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed, 
educated man. 

The young clothier had now attained the age of 
nineteen years, and was of fine jjcrsonal appearance 
and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so happened that 
there was a gentleman m the neighborhood of ample 
pecuniary means and of benevolence, — Judge Walter 
U'ood. — who was struck with the prepossessing ap- 
pearance cif young Fillmore. He made his acquaint- 
ance, and was so much impressed with his ability and 
attainments that he advised him to abandon his 
trade and devote himself to the study of the law. The 
young man replied, that he had no means of his own, 
r.o friends to help him and that his previous educa- 
tion had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood had 
so much confidence in him that he kindly offered to 
take him into his own office, and to loan him such 
money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous 
offer was accepted. 

There is in many minds a strange delusion about 
a collegiate education. .\ young man is supposed to 
be liberally educated if he has graduated at some col- 
lege. But many a boy loiters through university halls 
and then enters a law office, who is by no means as 

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««11 pKjoied to prosecute his legal studies as was 
Millani Fillmore when he graduated at the clothing- 
mill at the end of four years o< manual labor, during 
which every leisure rooraent had been devoted to in- 
tense mental culrate, 

In iS;3, when rwenu'-ihree >-ear5 of age, he -sras 
admitted to the Coun of Coa»rooa Pleas. He then 
went to the village of Aurora, at>d comr.- . e 

jHSCtice o«" law. In this secluded, peace; ^ , ;., 

his j'«:actjce ot course was limited, and there was no 

ojv.x"- - - . 

Her.. , - - , 

moral worth, and one ca]\able ol" adorning any staikw 

she / ■ ■ ■ ■■ '" - ■ ■ 

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his l^al acquirements, and his skill as an adwicate, 
^ .' \ ation ; and he was inxnted to 
, . under highly advantageoas 
otcumsrances. with an elder member of the Kar in 
BuSakx Just be*3re remox-ing to Bofiakx in tS^ 
he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the 
Sute of New Yoit as a nrjuesentative nojH Erie 
County, Though he had ne*« taken a very active 
part in }x>litics, his vote and his sympathies were with 
the Whig pam-. The Sstate was t> , 
and he foatHi himself in a helpless :..... i 
Legislature , still the tesiin»nv comes fror-; - s, 
- .\^artesj-, .-. , «vki, ;o a veay 
^ iegree th; ..-..-. . . ? . >->3ates. 

In the autumn of iS^a, be was decked to a seat in 
dK' V ■- - .'ongrei* Heente-. ' 

aier.. ~ . ^e most taianltaov.- - 

natknal iBStoiy. The great conAct tespecting the 
witjowil bu^ and die loaoTal of the de}x:sits, was 

His tens of tw> yeais closed : and he reramed to 
his pnfesswn, wkkh Ik parsaed with incieasing n^p- 
«tatioB and success. .Vner a lai^v of twv> yeais 
he J^[ain becan>e a candidate tor Congress ; was Te^ 
elecied. and t<»k hissi ■• - • ~ --, His past erpr 
nence as a refcesen:. hrw strength ar 

confidence. The iirs: tcm- a Cdi^sBs » 

any man can S- '^ "le siiv- . ...... jji innadnctKn. 

He was now .^r active duty. AH kis ener- 

. , ~ < . . oa dK pabbc jgocid. K\t«t 

;^.,-.^..^, . , * , i - .. .-.~ --- ; .,"SS. 

Mr. FilhiKMe was rtow a nuntsf w»ie repute, and 
-; — ^ - ■ - ■^•■^, and in the ywar iSviT- 

.r of ibe SiaK. 



XIr. Fillmore had attained the age of forty-seven 
years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in 
Congress and as Compovdler. had given him very con- 
siderable fame. The \Miigs were casting alout to 
find suitable candidates for President and Vioe-Piesi- 
dtist at the a^^tioaching election. Far away, on the 
waters of the Rio Grande, th«e was a lon^ old 
soldier, who had fought one or two suooessfiil battles 
with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be 
piodaimed in trumpet-tones all over the land. But 

- .> necessary tc ~- : with him on the same 

s .: scene man o: .o as a statesman. 

Under the indueoce of these considerations, the 
namesof Zachary T .; Millanl Fillmore became 

the ralhringrccy oi : r^ ^ '^^^ can&lates for 

Pneadent and Vice-Pees>dent- The A\"higtick« was 
s^naUy tiinmphant. On the 4tfa of XIapch. i S40. 
Gen. Taylor was iiui^arated Picsadent. and Millard 
FBImoR \"ioe>-Preiiient, of the United States. 

On the 9ih of July. 1^50. President Tayloc bat 
about one year and tour months after his inaugura- 
ticBj, was suddenly taken sick and died. Bii- the Con- 
siituticHi. Vice-Presadeni Filbnow thus became Presi- 
dent. He apjvunted a very able cabinet, of i^ich 
the illusirious Daniel Webster was Secroary of State. 

Mr. Fillmore had voy seiioas difficulties to contend 
wTdi,>dnce die oftposition had a ma^omr in both 
Hoosis. He did evernhii^ in Iks pover toooiiafiate 
the South ; but the peo-slavesy partf in dte Sooth feh 
the inadequacy of aD measaiesof nansient ODodfianon. 
~' . latioo of dte free States was so rapidly in- 

. - - . verthatof tbe slave Stales that it was in- 
evitable that the power of the Go«vniment shoald 
soon pass into the hands of the tnee States. The 
iwwi«soom|«umij>. measxoes were adopted ander Mr. 
FiDmcK s adwttstiaixiii, and the Japan EapediiiaB 
was sent oat. Ob the 4th cf Mam^ 1S55. Mr. F3I- 
mcwe, having served one tena. lennd. 

la 1 S5tv. Mr. Filln>c<fe was iwminwcd for the Pres- 
V-:--- "^^ the~Kaow Ncching* party, bat was beaiea 
'£^aaan. After thai Mr. FiIImoK hved m 
RcbeaKM. DcoiBg the tenfi4e conSict of crr9 wax. 
he V3S mcedy safest. It was generally snppsed that 
his syqiathies were tather with those who were ea- 
deavoriag to ofYsdaow an- in sciM tkms. Presides: 
FShacwe kef« aloof fiom the coa&x widwoi any 
coi^a] watds of c^ieer to the coie pury or the oi&et. 
He was thus focig o Oca bp bo^ He hved to a ripe 
old a^ and died ia Sa&la. X. Y^ Maxh S, 1874- 



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FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



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-<|^agp& **FRflNKLIN PIERCE.-^ -6^-:."-^ 



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RANKLIN PIERCE, the 
fourteenth President of the 
Linited States, was born in 
Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 
23, icSo4. His father was a 
Revolutionary soldier, who, 
with liis own strong arm, 
liewed out a home in tlie 
wilderness. He was a man 
of inflexible integrity; of 
strong, though uncultivated 
mind, and an uncompromis- 
ng Democrat. The mother of 
Franklin Pierce was all that a son 
could desire, — an intelligent, i)ru- 
dent, affectionate, Christian wom- 
an. Franklin was the sixth of eight children. 

Franklin was a very bright and liandsome boy, gen- 
erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the 
love of old and young. The l)oys on the play ground 
loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors 
looked upon liim with ])ride and affection. He was 
by instinct a gentleman; always speaking kind words, 
(doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact 
which taught him what was agreeable. Without de- 
veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural 
devotion to books, he was a good scholar; in body, 
in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy. 

When sixteen years of age, in the year 1820, he 
entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me. He was 
one of the most ]X)pnlar young men in the college. 
The inirity of his moral character, the unvarying 
courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and 




genial nature, rendered him a universal favorite. 
There was something very peculiarly winning in his 
address, and it was evidently not in the slightest de- 
gree studied : it was the simple outgushing of his 
own magnanimous and loving nature. 

Upon graduating, in tlie year 1824, Franklin Pierce 
commenced the study of law in the office of Judge 
Woodbury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of 
the State, and a man of great private worth. The 
eminent social ([ualities of the )oung lawyer, his 
father's prominence as a public man, and the brilliant 
political career into which Judge Woodbury was en- 
tering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the faci- 
nating yet perilous path of political life. With all 
the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen. 
Jackson for the Presidency. He comnfienced the 
practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected 
to represent the town in the State Legislature. Here 
he served for four years. The last two years he was 
chosen speaker of the house by a very large vote. 

In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected 
a member of Congress. Without taking an active 
part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty, 
and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom 
he was associatad. 

In 1837, being then but thirty-three years of age, 
he was elected to the Senate of the United States; 
taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced 
his administration. He was the youngest member in 
the Senate. In the year 1S34, he married Miss Jane 
Means Ai)pleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom- 
plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every 
station with which her husband was honoied. Of the 






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FRANKLIN PIERCE. 



three sons who were born to them, all now sleep with 
their parents in the grave. 

In the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame 
and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his 
residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. 
President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed 
Mr. Pierce attorney-general of the United States; but 
the offer was declined, in consequence of numerous 
professional engagements at home, and the precariuos 
state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He also, about the 
same time declined the nomination for governor by the 
Democratic party. The war with Mexico called Mr. 
Pierce in the army. Receiving the appointment of 
brigadier-general, he embarked, with a portion of his 
troops, at Newport, R. I., on the 27th of May, 1847. 
He took an important part in this war, proving him- 
self a brave and true soldier. 

When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native 
State, he was received enthusiastically by the advo- 
cates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his oppo- 
nents. He resumed the practice of his profession, 
very frequently taking an active part in political ques- 
tions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery 
wing of the Democratic party. The compromise 
measures met cordially with his approval; and he 
strenuously advocated the enforcement of the infa- 
mous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious 
sensibilities of tlie North. He thus became distin- 
guished as a " Northern man with Southern principles.'' 
The strong partisans of slavery in the South conse- 
quently regarded him as a man whom they could 
safely trust in office to carry out their plans. 

On the I 2th of June, 1852, the Democratic conven- 
tion met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the 
Presidency. For four days they continued in session, 
and in thirty-five ballotings no one had obtained a 
two-thirds vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown 
for Gen. Pierce. Then the Virginia delegation 
brought forward his name. There were fourteen 
more ballotings, during which Gen. Pierce constantly 
gained strength, until, at the forty-ninth ballot, he 
received two hundred and eighty-two votes, and all 
other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield Scott was 
the Whig candidate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with 
great unanimity. Only four States — Vermont, Mas- 
sachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their 
electoral votes against him Gen. Franklin Pierce 
was therefore inaugurated President of the United 
States on the 4th of March, 1853. 





His administration proved one of the most stormy our 
country had ever experienced. The controversy be- 
tween slavery and freedom was then approaching its 
culminating point. It became evident that there was 
an " irrepressible conflict " between them, and that 
this Nation could not long exist " half slave and half 
free." President Pierce, during the whole of his ad- 
ministration, did every thing he could to conciliate 
the South ; but it was all in vain. The conflict every 
year grew more violent, and threats of the dissolution 
of the Union were borne to the North on every South- 
ern breeze. 

Such was the condition of affairs when President 
Pierce approached the close of his four-years' term 
of office. The North had become thoroughly alien- 
ated from him. The anti-slaver)' sentiment, goaded 
by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all 
the intellectual ability and social worth of President 
Pierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his ad- 
ministrative acts. The slaveholders of the South, also, 
unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advo- 
cated those measures of Government which they ap- 
proved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had 
rendered himself so unpoi)ular as no longer to be 
able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped 
him, and nominated James Buchanan to succeed him. 

On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce re- 
tired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two 
had died, and his only surviving child had been 
killed before his eyes by a railroad accident ; and his 
wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of 
ladies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. The 
hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left 
alone in the world, without wife or child. 

When the terrible Rebellion burst forth, which di- 
vided our country into two parties, and two only, Mr. 
Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he 
had always cherished, and gave his sympathies to 
that pro-slavery party with which he lind ever been 
allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice 
or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Gov- 
ernment. He continued to reside in Concord until 
the time of his death, which occurred in October, 
i86g. He was one of the most genial and social of 
men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal 
Church, and one of the kindest of neighbors. Gen- 
erous to a fault, he contributed liberally for the al- 
leviation of sufl"ering and want, and many of his towns- 
people were often gladened by his material bounty. 



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HFTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



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AMES BUCHANAN, the fif- 
T5j»leeiith President of the United 
ij5) States, was born in a small 
te)"-!J'/f frontier town, at the foot of the 
i? eastern ridge of the Allegha- 
nies, in Franklin Co., Penn.,on 
the 23d of April, 1791. The place 
where the humble cabin of his 
)"=>;, :o'/_( lather stood was called Stony 
k&MU w Batter. It was a wild and ro- 
mantic spot in a gorge of the moun- 
tains, with towering summits rising 
grandly all around. His father 
i^i'Jfl was a native of the north of Ireland : 
thjd a poor man, who had emigrated in 
i 1783, with little property save his 

own strong arms. Five years afterwards he married 
Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable farmer, 
and, with his young bride, plunged into the wilder- 
ness, staked his claim, reared his log-hut, opened a 
clearing with his axe, and settled down there to per- 
form his obscure part in the drama of life. In this se- 
cluded iiome, where James was born, he remained 
for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectual 
advantages. When James was eight years of age, his 
father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where 
his son was placed at si:hool, and commenced a 
course of study ill English, Latin and Greek. His 
progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he 
entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle. Here he de- 
veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among 
the first scholars in the institution. His application 
to study was intense, and yet his native powers en- 




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abled him In master the most abstruse subjeiis with 
facility. 

In the year 1S09, he graduated with the highest 
lionors of his class. He was then eighteen years of 
age; tall and graceful, vigorous in health, fond of 
athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened with 
an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He immediately 
commenced the study of law in the city of Lancaster, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1812, when he was 
but twenty-one years of age. Very rajndly he rose 
in his profession, and at once took undisputed stand 
with the ablest lawyers of the State. When but 
twenty-six years of age, unaided by counsel, he suc- 
cessfully defended before the State Senate one of the 
judges of the State, wlio was tried upon articles of 
impeachment. At the age of thirty it was generally 
admitted that he stood at the head of the bar; and 
there was no lawyer in the State who had .1 more lu- 
crative practice. 

In 1820, he reluctantly consented to run as a 
candidate for Congress. He was elected, and for 
ten years he remained a member of the Lower House. 
During the vacations of Congress, he occasionally 
tried some important case. In 1831, he retired 
altogether from the toils of his profession, having ac- 
(piired an ample fortune. 

(len. Jackson, upon his elevation tollie I'resiilency, 
appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. The 
duties of his mission he performed wiih ability, which 
gave satisfaction to all parties. Upon his return, in 
1833, he was elected to a seat in the United States 
Senate. He there met, as his associates, Webster, 
Clay, Wright and ('alhoun. He advocated the meas- 
ures proposed by President Jackson, of making repri- 



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JAMES BUCHANAN. 



sals against France, to enforce the payment of our 
claims against that country; and defended the course 
of the President in his unprecedented and wholesale 
removal froniofticeof tliose who were not tire sup- 
porters of his administration. Upon this question he 
was brought into direct collision with Henry Clay. 
He also, with voice and vote, advocated expunging 
from the journal of the Senate the vote of censure 
against Cien. Jackson for removing the de|iosits. 
Earnestly he opposed the abolition of slavery in tlie 
District of Coluniliia, and urged the prohibition of the 
circulation of anti-slavery documents by the United 
States mails. 

As to uetitions on the subject of slavery, he advo- 
cated tliat they should l)e respectfully received; and 
that tiie rei)ly should be returned, tliat Congress had 
no j)Ower to legislate upon the subject. " Congress," 
said he, " might as well undertake to interfere with 
slavery under a foreign government as in any of the 
States where it now exists." 

Upon Mr. Polk's accession to the Presidency, Mr. 
Buchanan became Secretary of State, and as such, 
took his share of tlie responsibility in the conduct of 
the Mexican War. Mr. Polk assumed that crossing 
the Nueces by the American troo[)s into the disi)uted 
territory was not wrong, but for tlie Mexicans to cross 
the Rio drande into that territory was a declaration 
of war. No candid man can read with i)leasure tlie 
account of the course our (iovernment pursued in tluit 
movement. 

Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with 
tlie party devoted to the perpetuation and extension 
ill the energies of his mind 
iganisi tne wilniot Proviso. He gave his 
cordial approval to tlie compromise measures of 1S50, 
which included the fugitive-slave law. Mr. Pierce, 
upon his election to the I'residency, lionored Mr. 
Buchanan with the mission to Kngland. 

In the year 1856, a national Democratic conven- 
tion nominated Mr. Buchanan forthe Presidency. The 
political conflict was one of the most severe in which 
our country has ever engaged. All the friends of 
slavery were on one side; all the advocates of its re- 
striction and final abolition, on the other. Mr. Fre- 
mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, re- 
ceived 114 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received 
174, and was elected. The poiiular vote stood 
1,340,618, for Fremont, 1,224,750 for Buchanan. On 
March 4th, 1857, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated. 
Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only four 
years were wanting to fill up his threescore years and 
ten. His own friends, those with whom he had been 
allied in political |)rinciples and action for years, were 
seeking the destruction of the ("lOvernment, that they 
might rear upon the ruins of our free institutions a 
nation whose corner-stone should be human slavery. 
In this emergency, Mr, Buchanan was hopelessly be- 
wldered. He could not, with his long-avowed i)rin- 




ciples, consistently oppose the State-rights party in 
their assumptions. As President of the United States, 
bound by his oath faithfully to administer the laws, 
he could not, without perjury of the grossest kind, 
unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the repub- 
lic. He therefore did nothing. 

The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration 
nominated Abraham Lincoln as their standard bearer 
in the next I'residential canvass. The pro-slavery 
party declared, that if he were elected, and the con- 
trol of the Government were thus taken from their 
hands, they would secede from the Union, taking 
with them, as they retired, the National Capitol at 
Washington, and the lion's share of the territory of 
the United States. 

Mr. Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slavery 
party was such, that he had been willing to offer them 
far more than they had ventured to claim. All the 
South had professed to ask of the North was non- 
intervention u[)on the subject of slavery. Mr. Bu- 
chanan had been ready to offer them the active co- 
operation of the Government to defend and e.xtend 
the institution. 

As the storm increased in violence, the slaveholders 
claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchaiuin avow- 
ing that Congress had no power to prevent it, one of 
the most pitiable exhibitions of governmental im- 
becility was exhibited the world has ever seen. He 
declared that Congress had no power to enforce its 
laws in any State which had withdrawn, or which 
was attempting to withdraw from the Union, 'i'his 
was not the doctrine of Andrew Jackson, when, with 
his hand upon his sword-hilt, he exclaimed. "The 
Lfnion must and shall be preserved!" 

South Carolina seceded in December, 1S60; nearly 
three months before the inauguration of President 
Lincoln. Mr. ISuchanan looked on in listless despair. 
The rebel flag was raised in Charleston : l'"ort Sumpter 
was besieged; our forts, navy-yards and arsenals 
were seized ; our depots of military stores were plun- 
dered ; and our custom-houses and post-oftices were 
appropriated by the rebels. 

The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of our 
Executive, were alike marvelous. The Nation looktd 
on in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glide away, 
and close the administration, so terrible in its weak- 
ness At length the long-looked-for hour of deliver- 
ance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the 
scepter. 

The administration of President Buchanan was 
certainly the most calamitous our country has ex- 
perienced. His best friends cannot recall it with 
])leasure. And still more deplorable it is for his fame, 
thai in that dreadful conflict which rolled its billows 
of flame and blood over our whole land, no word came 
from his lips to indicate his wish that our country's 
banner should triumph over the flag of the rebellion. 
He died at his Wheatland retreat, June i, 1S68. 



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SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT. 




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I'.RAHAM LINCOLN, 

g, sixteenth President of 
15© United States, w:is horn 
Hardin fo,, Ky., Feb. 
1809. About the year 17 So, a 
man by the name of Aliraham 
Lincohi left Virginia with liis 
family and moved into the then 
wilds of Kentucky. Only two years 
alter this emigration, still a yonng 
man, while working one day in a 
Held, was stealthily approached by 
an Lidian andshot dead. His widow 
Hf was left in extreme poverty with five 
^5 little children, three boys and two 
girls. Thomas, the youngest of the 
boys, was four years of age at his 
father's death. This Thomas was 
the father of .Vliraham Lincoln, the 
President of the United States 
whose name must henceforth forever be enrolled 
with the most prominent in the annals of our world. 
Of course no record has been kept of the life 
of one so lowly as Thomas Lincoln. He was ainong 
the [worest of the jioor. His home was a wretched 
log -cabin; his food the coarsest and the meanest. 
Education he had none; he could never either read 
or write. .As soon as he was able to do anything for 
himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his 
starving mother, and push out into the world, a friend- 
less, wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him- 
self out, and thus spent the whole of his youth as a 
laborer in the fields of others. 

When twenty-eight years of age he built a log- 
cabin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the 
daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi- 
grants, who had also come from Virginia. Their 
second child was ."Xbraham Lincoln, the subject of 
this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble 
woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adorn 
a palace, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. 
"All that I am, or hope to be," exclaims the grate- 
ful son " I owe to my angel-mother. 

When he was eight years of age, his father sold his 



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cabin and small farm, and moved to Indi.in.i. Where 
two years later his mother died. '• 

Abraham soon became the sctibe of the uneducated f 
community around him. He could not have had a 
better school than this to teach him to put thoughts 
into words. He also became an eager reader. 'I'he 
books he could obtain were few ; Init these he read 
and re-read until they were almost committed to 
memory. 

As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly family 
was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys and 
griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sister 
Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mar- 
ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, and 
soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr. 
Thomas Lincoln sold out his scpiatter's claim in 1S30, 
and emigrated to iNLrcon Co., 111. 

Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. 
With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearing 
another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this 
until he saw the family comfortably ijettled, and their 
small lot of enclosed prairie i)lanted with corn, when 
he announced to his father his intention to leave 
home, and to go out into the world and seek his for- 
tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril- 
liant that fortune was to be. He saw the value of 
education, and was intensely earnest to improve his 
mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin 
which ardent spirits were causing, and became 
strictly temperate; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi- 
cating liipior to pass his lips. .Anil he had read in 
Cod's word, "Thou shalt not take the name of the 
Lord thy (iod in vain;" antl a profane expression he 
was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. His 
morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated by a 
single vice. 

Young Abraham woikcd for a lime as a hii'ed laborer (^ 
among the farmers. Then he went to S|)ringfield, 
where he was employed in building a large flat-boat. 
In this he took a herd of swine, floated them down 
the Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the Mis- 
sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham Lin- 
coln undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give 
great satisfaction to his employers. In this advcn- 



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ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



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ture his employers were so well pleased, that upon 
his return they placed a store and mill under his care. 

In 1832, at the outbreak, of the Black Hawk war, he 
enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He 
returned to Sangamon County, and although only 23 
years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but 
was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew 
Jackson the appointment of Postmaster of New Salem, 
His only post-office was his hat. All the letters he 
received he carried there ready to deliver to those 
he chanced to meet. He studied surveying, and soon 
made this his business. In 1834 he again became a 
candidate for the Legislature, and was elected Mr. 
Stuart, of Springfield, advised him to study law. He 
walked from New Salem to Springfield, borrowed of 
Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and 
began his legal studies. When the Legislature as- 
sembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back 
one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 
1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it 
was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re- 
moved to Springfield and began the practice of law. 
His success with the jury was so great that he was 
soon engaged in almost every noted case in the circuit. 

In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. 
Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question. 
In the organization of the Republican party in Illinois, 
in 1856, he took an active part, and at once laecame 
one of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's 
speeches in opposition to Senator Douglas in the con- 
test in 185S for a seat in the Senate, form a most 
notable part of his history. The issue was on the 
slavery question, and he look the broad ground of 
the Declaration of Independence, that all men are 
created equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con- 
test, but won a far higher prize. 

The great Republican Convention met at Chicago 
on the i6th of June, i860. The delegates and 
strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty- 
five thousand. .An immense building called "The 
Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven- 
tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes 
were thrown. William H. Seward, a man whose fame 
as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most 
prominent. It was generally supposed he would be 
the nominee, Abraham Lincoln, however, received 
the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then 
dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the 
bloody death, to which that nomination doomed him: 
and aslittle did he dream that he was to render services 
to his country, which would fix upon him the eyes of 
the whole civilized world, and which would give him 
aplaceintlie affections of his countrymen, second 
only, if second, to that of Washington. 

Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received 180 
electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, 
constitutionally elected President of the United States. 
The tirade of abuse that was [xjured ujxju this good 




and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was 
greater than upon any other man ever elected to this 
high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started 
for Washington, stopjiing in all the large cities on his 
way making speeches. The whole journey was frought 
with much danger. .Many of the Southern States had 
already seceded, and several attempts at assassination 
were afterwards brought to light. A gang in Balti- 
more had arranged, upon his arrival to"' get up a row," 
and in the confusion to make sure ol his death witji 
revolvers and hand-grenades. .^ detective unravelled 
the plot. A secret and special train was provided to 
take him from Harrisl'urg, through Baltimore, at an 
une.xpected liour of the night. The train started at 
half-past ten ; and to prevent any possible communi- 
cation on the i)art ot the Secessionists with their Con- 
federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train had 
started the telegraph-wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln 
reached Washington in safety and was inaugurated, 
although great anxiety was felt by all loyal people. 

In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave 
to Mr Seward the Department of State, and to other 
prominent opponents before the convention lie gave 
important positions. 

During no otlier administration ha\e the duties 
devolving upon the President been so manifold, and 
the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to 
the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and 
feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in 
his own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he 
learned early to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in 
determining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his 
trials, lio'h personal and national. Contrary to his 
own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the 
most courageous of men. He went directly into the 
rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, 
with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he 
had left Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had been 
made for his assassination, and he at last fell a victim 
to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with Gen. Grant, 
was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It 
was announced that they would be ]iresent. Gen. 
Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feel- 
ing, witli his characteristic kindliness of heart, that 
it would lie a disappointment if he should fail them, 
very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to 
the play an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth 
entered tlie box where the Pre^ident and family were 
seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the 
next morning at seven o'clock. 

Never before, in the history of the world was a nation 
plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler. 
Strong men met in the streets and wept in speechless 
anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was 
in tears. His was a life which will fitly become a 
model. His name as the savior of his country will 
live with that of Washington's, its father; his country- 
men being unable to decide which is the greater. 



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l| NDREW JOHNSC 
%)^teenth President of ( 



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DHNSON, seven- 

-- „. the United 

, ^ States. The early life of 
Andrew Johnson contains but 
the record of poverty, destitn- 
tion and friendlessness. He 
was born December 29, 180S, 
in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, 
belonging to the class of the 
"poor whites " of the South, were 
in such circumstances, that they 
could not confer even the slight- 
est advantages of education ui)on 
their child. When Andrew was five 
years of age, his father accidentally 
lost his life while herorically endeavoring to save a 
friend from drowning. Until ten years of age, .Andrew 
was a ragged boy about the streets, supported by the 
labor of his mother, who obtained her living with 
her own hands. 

He then, having never attended a school one day, 
and being unable either to read or write, was ap- 
prenticed to a tailor in his native town, A gentleman 
was in the haliit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- 
ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often 
read from the speeches of distinguished Rritish states- 
men. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more 
than ordinary native ability, became much interested 
in these speeches ; his ambition was roused, and he 
was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. 

He accordingly applied himself to the alphabet, and 
with the assistance of some of his fellow-workmen, 
learned his letters. He then called upon the gentle- 
man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner, 







pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the book, 
but assisted him in learning to combine the letters 
into words. Under such difficulties he pressed on- 
ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours 
at work in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest 
and recreation to devote such time as he could to 
reading. 

He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at 
Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos- 
sessed some education. Under her instructions he 
learned to write and cipher. He became prominent 
in the village debating society, and a favorite with 
the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or- 
ganized a working man's party, which elected him 
alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, wliich 
position he held three years. 

He now began to take a lively interest in political 
affairs; identifying himself with the working-classes, 
to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a 
member of the House of Representatives of Tennes- 
see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. 
He became a very active member of the legislature, 
gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in 
1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin Van 
Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opposition to those 
of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much 
readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased 
his reputation. 

In 1841, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he 
was elected a member of Congress, and by successive 
elections, held that imixsrtant post for ten years. In 
1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and 
was re-elected in 1855. In all these responsible ix)si- 
tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished abil- 



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ANDRFAV JOHNSON. 



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ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work- 
ing classes. In 1857, Mr. Johnson was elected 
United States Senator. 

Years before, in 1845, he luul w.innly advoe.iied 
the anne.xatiun of Texas, stating however, as iiis 
reason, that he thought this annexation would prob- 
ably prove " to be the gateway out of which tiie sable 
sons of .Xfrica are to pass from bondage to freedom, 
and become merged in a [lopulation congenial to 
themselves." In 1850, he also supiwrted tiie com- 
promise measures, the two essential features ot whicli 
were, that the white people of the Territories siiouUl 
be permitted to decide for themselves whether they 
would enslave the colored i)eople or not, and that 
the free States of the Nortli sliould return to the 
South persons who attempted to escape from shivery. 

Mr. Johnson was never ashamed of his lowly origin: 
on the contrary, he often took piide in avowing tliat 
he owed his distinction lo his own exertions. "Sir," 
said he on the floor of the Senaio. " I do not forget 
that 1 am a mechanic ; neither do 1 forget that .\dam 
was a tailor and sewed fig leaves, and that our Sav- 
ior was tlie son of a c.upenter." 

In the Charleston- B.dtimore convention of iS6o,l\e 
was the choice of the Tennessee Oemocrats for tiie 
Presideui y. In 1S61, when tiie pur|K)se of the Soutli- 
ern Hemocracy became apparent, he took a decided 
stand in f.ivor of the Union, and held tliat "slavery 
must W held subonlinate to the I'nion at whatever 
cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly 
imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of 
Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the 
Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap- 
pointed him Military Governor of the State, and he 
established (he most stringent military rule. His 
numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 

1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United 
States, and \\\yo\\ the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 

1865, became President. In a speech two days later 
he said, "The American people must be taught, if 
they do not already feel, that treason is a crime and 
must be punished ; tli.u the (Government will not 
alw.ays be,',r with its enemies; that it is strong not 
only to protect, but to punish. * * Tlie jieople 
must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of 
crimes, and will surelv be punished." Yet his whole 
,-idministration, the liistory of which is so well known, 
was in utter inconsistency with, and the most violent 



opjiosition lo, ihe principles laid down in that speech. 

In his loose policy of reconstruction and general 
amnesty, he was opposed by Congress ; and he char- 
acterized ("ongress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly 
defied it, in everything possible, to tiie utmost. In 
the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes 
and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the 
removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- 
ure of Oftice Act, articles of impeachment were pre- 
ferred against him, and tiie trial began March 23. 

It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three 
months. .\ test article of the impeachment was at 
length submitted to the court for its action. It was 
certain that as tiie court voted upon that article so 
would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced 
the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- 
sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac- 
iputted, notwitiistanding the great majority against 
liiin. The ciiange of one vote from the not giiil/v 
side would have sustained the impeachment. 

The President, for the remainder of his term, was y^^ 
but little regarded. He continued, though imiK)tently, i^ 
his conflict with Congress. His own party did not 
think it ex[iedient to renominate him for the Presi- 
dency. 'The Nation rallied, with enliiusiasm unpar- 
alleled since the days of Washington, around the name 
of (len. C.rant. .Vndrew Johnson was forgotten. 
The Inillet of the assassin introduced liini to tlie '^ 
President's chair. Notwithstanding tiiis, never was 
there presented to a man a better opiwrtunity to im- 
mortalize his name, and to win tiie gratitude of a 
nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home 
in Crieenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in 
jwlitics until 1S75. On Jan. j6, after an exciting 
struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten- 
nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con- 
gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special 
session convened by President Grant, on the 5th of 
March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the e.x-President 
made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter 
Station, 'Tenn. Wlien he started on his journey, he was 
apparently in liis usual vigorous health, but on reach- (^ 
ing the residence of his child the following day, was 
stricken witli paralysis, rendering him unconscious. 
He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 
2 .■\. M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His fun- 
eral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August, 
with every demonstration of respect. 






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EIGHTEENTH FRESIBRNT. 



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^ LYSSES S. GRANT, the 
y* eighteenth President of the 
'■-•■United States, was born on 
)i the 29th of April, 1822, of 
5 Christian parents, in a liumble 
i^>|'^'^ home, at Point Pleasant, on the 



banks of the Ohio. Shortly after 
his father moved to CJeorge- 
town, Brown Co., O. In this re- 
mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses 
received a common-school edu- 
cation. At the age of seven- 
teen, in the year 1839, he entered 
the Military Academy at West 
I'oint. Here he was regarded as a 
solid, sensible \oung man of lair abilities, and of 
sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank 
as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the 
middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in- 
fantry to one of the distant military jx)sts in the Mis- 
souri Territory. Two years he past in these dreary 
solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating 
Indians. 

The war with .Mexico came. Lieut, (iranl was 
sent with his regiment to Cor[)us Christi. His first 
battle was at Palo .■Mto. There was no chance here 
for the exhii)ition of either skill or heroism, nor at 
Resacade la Palma, his second battle. .Vt the battle 
of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that 
he performed a signal service of daring and skillful 
horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am- 
munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along 
a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. 
Grant, ado|)ting an expedient learned of the Indians, 
grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one 
side of the animal, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. 

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From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry, 
to aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In 
preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he 
was appointed (juartermaster of his regiment. .\t the 
battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a 
first lieutenancy, and was brevetted cai)tain at Cha- 
pultepec. 

At the close of tlie Mexican War, Capl. Grant re- 
turned with his regiment to New York, and was again 
sent to one of the mihtary posts on the frontier. The 
discovery of gold in C'alifornia causing an immense 
tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. 
Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in 
Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im- 
migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. 
Grant resigned his commission and returned to the 
States; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- 
tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but 
little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re- 
munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into 
the leather business, with a younger brother, at Ga- 
lena, III. This was in the year i860, .^s the tidings 
of the reljels firing on Fort Sampler reached the ears 
of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said, — 
■'Uncle Sam has educated me for the army; though 
I have served him through one war, I do not feel that 
I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready todischarge 
my obligations. 1 shall therefore buckle on my sword 
and see Uncle Sam through this war too." 

He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- 
unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, 
the capital of the State, where their services were 
offered to (iov. \'atcs. The Governor, impressed by 
the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. 
Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the 
volunteer organization that was being formed in the 
State in behalf of the Government. On the 15th of 



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June, 1 86 1, Capt. Grant received a commission as 
Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol- 
unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who 
had served for 15 years in the regular army, were such 
that he was soon promoted to the rank of Brigadier- 
General and was placed in command at Cairo. The 
rebels raised their banner at Paducah, near the mouth 
of the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap- 
peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The 
rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star and 
stripes were unfurled in its stead. 

He entered the service with great determination 
and immediately began active duty. This was the be- 
ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond 
he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and 
effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- 
prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry 
won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight 
at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the 
victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was 
immediately made a Major-General, and the military 
district of Tennessee was assigned to him. 

Like all great captains, Gen. Grant knew well how 
to secure the results of victory. He immediately 
pushed on to the enemies' lines. Then came the 
terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the 
siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an 
unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty 
thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can- 
non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most 
severe blow which the reliels liad thus far encountered, 
and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf. 

Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with 
Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and pro- 
ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from 
his horse, and received severe injuries, from which he 
was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid 
of Gens. Rosecrans and Thomas at Chattanooga, and 
by a wonderful series of strategic and tactical meas- 
ures put the Union army in fighting condition. Then 
followed the bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lookout 
Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels 
were routed with great loss. This won for him un- 
bounded iiraise in the North. On the 4th of Febru- 
ary, 1864, Congress revived the grade of lieutenant- 
general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. 
He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials 
and enter upon the duties of his new office. 




Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge of 
the army to concentrate the widely-dispersed National 
troops for an attack upon Richmond, the nominal 
capital of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de- 
stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as- 
sembled from all quarters for its defence. The whole 
continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these 
majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field. 
Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains 
were burdened with closely packed thousands. His 
plans were comprehensive and involved a series of 
campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en- 
ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur- 
render of Lee, April 9, 1865. 

The war was ended. The Union was saved. The 
almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen. 
Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its sal- 
vation. The eminent services he had thus rendered 
the country brought him conspicuously forward as the 
Republican candidate for the Presidential chair. 

At the Republican Convention held at Chicago, 
May 21, 1868, he was unanimously nominated for the 
Presidency, and at the autumn election received a 
majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294 
electoral votes. 

The National Convention of the Republican party 
which met at Philadelphia on the 5tli of June, 1872, 
placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second temi 
by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati- 
cally indorsed by the people five months later, 292 
electoral votes being cast for him. 

Soon after the close of his second term, Gen. Grant 
started upon his famous trip around the world. He 
visited almost every country of the civilized world, 
and was everywhere received with such ovations 
and demonstrations of respect and honor, private 
as well as public and official, as were never before 
bestowed upon any citizen of the United States. It 
is not too much to say that his modest, courteous, and 
dignified demeanor in the presence of the most dis- 
tinguished men in the different nations in tjie world, 
reflected honor upon the Republic which he so long 
and so faithfully served. The country felt a great 
pride in his reception. Upon his arrival in San Fran- 
cisco, Sept. 20, 1879, the city authorities gave him a 
fine reception. After lingering in the Golden State 
for a while, he began his tour through the States, 
which extended North and South, everywhere mark- 
ed by great acclamation and splendid ovations 



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NINETEENTH PRESIDENT. 





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UTHKRFORI) B. HAVES, 
4>) the nineteenth President of 
"the United States, was born in 
Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al- 
most three months after the 
'•^ deatli of his father, Rutherford 
Hayes. His ancestry on both 
the paternal and maternal sides, 
was of the most honorable cliar- 
acter. It can be traced, it is said, 
as farljackas 1280, when Hayes and 
Rutherford were two Scottish chief- 
tains, lighting side by side with 
Baliol, William Wallace and Robert 
Bruce. Both families belonged to the 
nobility, owned extensive estates, 
and had a large following. Misfor- 
tune overtaking the family, George Hayes left Scot- 
land in 1680, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son 
George was born in Windsor, and remained there 
during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, mar- 
ried Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his mar- 
riage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, 
son of Daniel, was liorn in 1724, and was a manufac- 
turer of scythes at Biadford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes, 
son of Ezekiel and grandfather of President Hayes, was 
born in New Haven, in August, 1756. He was a farmer, 
blacksmith and tavern-keeper. He emigrated to 
Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brattleboro, 
where he establislied a hotel. Here his son Ruth- 
erford Hayes, the father of President Hayes, was 



born. He was married, in September, 1813, to Sophia 
Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emi- 
grated thither from Connecticut, tiiey having been 
among the wealthiest and best famlies of Norwich. 
Her ancestry on the male side are traced back to 
1635, to John Birchard, one of the principal founders 
of Norwich. Botii of her grandfathers were soldiers 
in the Revolutionary War. 

The father of President Hayes was an industrious, 
frugal and opened-hearted man. He was of a me- 
chanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stock- 
ing, or do almost anything else tiiat he choose to 
undertake. He was a member of the Church, active 
in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con- 
ducted his business on Christian principles. .After 
the close of the war of 181 2, for reasons inexplicable 
to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio. 

The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day, 
when there were no canals, steamers, nor railways, 
was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was 
first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes deter- 
mined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived 
in 1817. He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial 
fever, less than three months before the birth of the 
son, of whom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore be- 
reavement, found the support she so much needed in 
her brother Sardis, who had been a menil)er of the 
household from the day of its departure from \'er- 
mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted 
some time liefore as an act of charity. 

Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the 



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subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he 
was not expected to live beyond a month or two at 
most. As the months went by he grew weaker and 
weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of in- 
quiring from time to time " if Mrs. Hayes' baby died 
last night." On one occasion a neighbor, wlio was on 
familiar terms with the family, after alluding to the 
boy's big head, and the mother's assiduous care of 
him, said in a bantering way, " That's right! Stick to 
him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't 
wonder if he would really come to something yet.' 

" Vou need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. " You 
wait and see. You can't tell but I shall make iiim 
President of the United States yet." The boy lived, 
in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy 
death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was 
drowned, lie became, if possible, still dearer to iiis 
mother. 

The boy was seven years old before he went to 
school. His education, however, was not neglected. 
He probably learned as much from his mother and 
sister as he would have done at school. His sports 
were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being 
his sister and her associates. These circumstances 
tended, no doubt, to foster that gentleness of dispo- 
sition, and that delicate consideration for the feelings 
of others, which are marked traits of his character. 

His uncle Saidis Birchard took the deepest interest 
in his education ; and as the lioy's lienltii had im- 
proved, and he was making good progress in his 
studies, he proi)osed to send him to college. His pre- 
paration commenced with a tutor at home; but he 
was afterwards sent for one year to a professor in the 
Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn. He en- 
tered Kenyon College in 1838, at the age of sixteen, 
and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842. 

Ininiedialely after his graduation he began the 
study of law in tlie office c>f Thomas Sparrow, Esq.. 
in Columbus. Finding his opportunities for study in 
Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter 
the Law School at Cambridge, Mass., where he re- 
mained two years. 

In 1845, after graduating at the Law School, he was 
admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly 
afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law 
with Ralph V. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he re- 
mained three years, acquiring but a limited ])ractice, 
and apparently unambitious of distinction in his pro- 
fession. 

In 1849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his ambi- 
tion found a new stimulus. For several years, how- 
ever, his progress was slow. Two events, occurring at 
this period, had a iKjwcrful influence upon his subse- 
quent life. One of these was his marrage with Miss 
Lucy Wore Wel)b, daughter of Dr. James Wcbli, of 
Chilicothe; the other was his introduction to the Cin- 
cinnati Literary Club, a body embracing among its 
members such men as Chief Justice Salmon P.Chase, 




Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many 
others hardly less distinguished in after life. The 
marriage was a fortunate one in every respect, as 
everybody knows. iVot one of all the wives of our 
Presidents was more universally admired, reverenced 
and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did 
more than she toreflect honor upon American woman- 
hood. The Literary Club brought Mr. Hayes into 
constant association with young men of high char- 
acter and noble aims, and lured him to display the 
qualities so long hidden by his liashfulness and 
modesty. 

In 1856 he was nominated to the oftice of Judge of 
the Court of Common Pleas; but he declined to ac- 
cept the nomination. Two years later, the office of 
city solicitor becoming vacant, the City Council 
elected him for the unexpired term. 

In 1 86 1, when the Rebellion broke out, he was at 
the zenith of his professional life. His rank at the 
bar was among the the first. But the news of the 
attack on F'ort Sumpter found him eager to take up 
arms for the defense of his conntr)'. 

His military record was bright and illustrious. In 
Octolier, 1861, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
in August, 1862, promoted Colonel of the 79th Ohio 
regiment, but he refused to leave his old comrades 
and go among strangers. .Subsequently, however, he 
was made Colonel of his old regiment. At the battle 
of South Mountain he received a wound, and while 
faint and bleeding disjilayed courage and fortitude 
that won admiration from all. 

Col. Hayes was detached from his regiment, after 
his recovery, to act as Brigadier-General, and placed 
in command of the celebrated Kanawha division, 
and for gallant and meritorious sei vices in the battles 
of \Vinchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, he was 
promoted Brigadier-General. He was also brevetted 
M.ajor-General,"for gallant and distirguished services 
during the campaigns of 1864, in West Virginia." In 
the course of ills arduous services, four horses were 
shot from under him, and he was wounded four times. 

In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress, from 
the Second Ohio District, which had long been Dem- 
ocratic. He was not present during the campaign, 
and after his election was importuned to resign his 
commission in the army; but he finally declared, " 1 
shall never come to Washington until I can come liv 
the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1S66. 

In 1867, Gen Hayes was elected Governor of Ohio, 
over Hon. .\llen G. Thurman, a popular Democrat. 
In 1869 was re-elected over George H. Pendleton. 
He was elected Governor for the third term in 1875. 

In 1876 he was the standard bearer of the Repub- 
lican Party in the Presidential contest, and after a 
hard long contest was chosen President, and was in 
augurated Monday, March 5, 1875. He served his 
full term, not, htwever, with satisfaction to his party, 
but his administration was an average one 



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AMES A. (lARFlELU, twen- 
tieth President of the United 
States, was born Nov. 19, 
I S3 1, in the woods of Orange, 
Cuyahoga Co., O His par- 
ents were Abrani and Eliza 
(Ballou) Garfield, both of New 
P^ngland ancestry and from fami- 
lies well known in the early liis- 
Mu tory of that section of our coun- 
try, Init had moved to ihe Western 
l\.eserve, in Ohio, early in its settle- 
ment. 

The house in which James .\. was 
>orn was not unlike the houses of 
poor Ohio farmers of that day. It 
w.isabout 20X JO feet, built of logs, with the spaces be- 
tween the logs filled with clay. His father was a 
hard working farmer, and he soon had his fields 
cleared, an orchard planted, and a log barn built. 
The household comprised the father and mother and 
their four children — Mehetaliel, 'I'liomas, Mary and 
James. In May, 1823, the father, from a cold con- 
tracted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At 
this time James was about eighteen months old, and 
Thomas about ten years old. No one, perhai)s, can 
tell how much James was indebted to his biother's 
toil and self sacrifice during the twenty years suc- 
ceeding his father's death, but undoubtedly very 
much. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis- 
ters live in Solon, 0.,near their birthplace. 

The early educational advantages young Garfiekl 
enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the most of 
them. He labored at farm work for others, did car- 
penter work, chopped wood, or did anything that 
would bring in a few dollars to aid his widowed 
mother in her struggles to keep the little fannly to- 




j;etlier. Nor was Gen. Garlield ever ashamed of his 
origin, and he never forgot the friends of his strug- 
glmg childhood, youth and manhood, neither did they 
ever forget him. W'lien in the highest seats of honor, 
the humblest friend of his boyhood was as kindly 
greeted as ever. The poorest laborer was sureof the 
sympathy of one who had known all the bitterness 
of want and the sweetness of bread earned by the *^ 
sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, plain, 
modest gentleman. 

The highest ambition of young Garfield until he 
was about sixteen years old was to be a captain of 
a vessel on Lake Erie. He was anxious to go aboard 
a vessel, wiiich his mother strongly opposed. She 
finally consented to his going to Cleveland, with the 
understanding, however, that he should try to obtain 
some other kind of employment. He walked all tlie 
way to Cleveland. This was his first visit to the city. 
After making many ap[)lications for work, and trying 
to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meeting with 
success, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos 
Letcher, on the Oliio iV Pennsylvania C-anal. He re- 
mained at this work but a short time when he went 
home, and attended the seminary at Chester for 
about three years, when he entered Hiram and the 
Eclectic Institute, teaching a few terms of school in 
the meantime, and doing other work. This school 
was started by the Disciples of Christ in 1850, of 
which church he was then a member. He became 
janitor and bell-ringer in order to help pay his way. 
He then became both teacher and pupil. He soon 
" exhausted Hiram " and needed more ; hence, in the 
fall of 1S54, he entered \Villiams College, from whii h 
he graduated in 1856, taking one of the highest hon- 
ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram 
("ollege as its President. As above slated, he early 
united with the Christian or Diciples Church at 
Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous mem- 
ber, often jjreaching in its pulpit and i)laces where 
he happened to be. Dr. Noah Porter, President of 
Vale College, says of him in reference to his religion : 



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JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



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" President Garfield was more than a man of 
strong moral and religious convictions. His whole 
history, from boyhood to the last, shows that duty to 
man and to God, and devotion to Christ and life and 
faith and spiritual commission were controlling springs 
of his being, and to a more tiian usual degree. In 
my judgment there is no more interesting feature of 
liis character than his loyal allegiance to the body of 
Christians in which he was trained, and the fervent 
sympatliy which he ever showed in their Christian 
communion. Not many of the few 'wise and mighty 
and noble who are called ' show a similar loyalty to 
the less stately and cultured Christian communions 
in which they have been reared. Too often it is true 
that as they step upward in social and political sig- 
nificance they step upward from one degree to 
another in some of the many types of fashionable 
Christianity. President Garfield adhered to the 
church of his mother, the church in which he was 
trained, and in which he served as a pillar and an 
evangelist, and yet with the largest and most unsec- 
tarian charity for all 'who loveour Lord in sincerity.'" 

Mr. Garlield was united in marriage with Miss 
Lucretia Rudolph, Nov. 1 1, 1858, who proved herself 
worthy as the wife of one whom all the world loved and 
mourned. To them were born seven children, five of 
whom are still living, four boys and one girl. 

Mr. Garfield made his first political speeches in 1856, 
in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three 
years later he began to speak at county mass-meet- 
ings, and became the favorite speaker wherever he 
was. During this year he was elected to the Ohio 
Senate. He also began to study law at Cleveland, 
and in 1861 was admitted to the bar. The great 
Rebellion broke out in the early part of this year, 
and Mr. Garfield at once resolved to fight as he had 
talked, and enlisted to defend the old flag. He re- 
ceived his commission as Lieut. -Colonel of the Forty- 
second Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Aug. 
14, 1861. He was immediately put into active ser- 
vice, and betore he had ever seen a gun fired in acHon, 
was placed in command of four regiments of infantry 
and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the 
work of driving out of his native State the officer 
(Humphrey Marshall) reputed to be the ablest of 
those, not educated to war whom Kentucky had given 
to the Rebellion. This work was bravely and speed- 
ily accomplished, although against great odds. Pres- 
ident Lincoln, on his success connnissioned him 
Brigadier-General, Jan. 10, 1862; and as "he had 
been the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years 
before, so now he was the youngest General in the 
aririy." He was with Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh, 
in itsoperations around Corinth and its march through 
Alabama. He was then detailed as a member of the 
General Court-Martial for the trial of Gen. Fitz-John 
Porter. He was then ordered to report to Gen. Rose- 
crans, and was assigned to the " Chief of Staff." 

The military history of Gen. Garfield closed with 



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his brilliant services at Chickamauga, where he won 
the stars of the Major-General. 

Without an effort on his part Gen. Garfield was 
elected to Congress in the fall of 1862 from the 
Nineteenth District of Ohio. This section of Ohio 
had been represented in Congress for sixty years 
mainly by two men — Elisha \\ hittlesey and Joshua 
R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he 
resigned his place in the ami). At the time he en- 
tered Congress he was the youngest member in that 
body. There he remained by successive re- 
elections until he was elected President in 1880. 
Of liis labors in Congress .Senator Hoar says : " Since 
the year 1864 you cannot think of a question which 
has been debated in Congress, or discussed before a 
tribunel of the American people, in regard to which 
you will not find, if you wish mstruction, the argu- 
ment on one side stated, in almost every instance 
better than by anybody else, in some speech made in 
the House of Representatives or on the hustings by 
Mr. Garfield."' 

Upon Jan. 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elected to 
the U. S. Senate, and on the eighth of June, of the 
same year, was nominated as the candidate of his 
party for President at the great Chicago Convention. 
He was elected in the following November, and on 
.March 4, 1S81, was inaugurated. Probably no ad- 
ministration ever opened its existence under brighter 
auspices than that of President Garfield, and every 
day it grew in favor with the people, and by the first 
of July he had completed all the initiatory and pre- 
liminary work of his administration and was prepar- 
ing to leave the city to meet his friends at Williams 
College. While on liis way and at the depot, in com- 
pany with Secretary Blaine, a man stepi^d behind 
him, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back. 
The President tottered and fell, and as iie did so the 
assassin fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the 
left coat sleeve of his victim, but inflicting no further 
injury. It has been very truthfully said that this was 
" the shot that was heard ro\uid the world " Never 
before in the history of the Nation had anything oc- 
curred which so nearly froze the blood of the people 
for the moment, as this awful deed. He was smit- 
ten on the brightest, gladdest day of all his life, and 
was at the summit of his power and hope. For eighty 
days, all during the hot months of July and August, 
he lingered and suffered. He, however, remained 
master of himself till the last, and by his magnificent, 
bearing was teaching the country- and the world the 
noblest of himian lessons — how to live grandly in the 
very clutch of death. Great in life, he w'as surpass- 
ingly great in death. He passed serenely awavSept. 
ig, 1883, at Elberon, N. J , on the very bank of the 
ocean, where he had been taken shortly previous. The 
world wept at his death, as it never had done on the 
death of any other man who had ever lived upon it. 
The murderer was duly tried, found guilty and exe- 
cuted, in one year after he committed the foul deed, 






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TWENTY.FIRST PRESIDENT. 



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HESTER A. ARTHUR, 

^^ twenty-first President of the 

United States, was born in 

Franklin County, Vermont, on 

«> thefifthof October, r83o, andis 

the oldest of a family of two 

sons and five daughters. His 

father was the Rev. Dr. William 

Arthur, a Baptist clergyman, who 

emigrated to this countrj' from 

the county Antrim, Ireland, in 

'A his i8th year, and died in 1875, in 

Newtonville, near Albany, after a 

long and successful ministry. 

Young Arthur was educated at 
Union College, Schenectady, where 
he excelled in all his studies. Af- 
ter his graduation he taught school 
in Vermont for two years, and at 
the expiration of that time came to 
New York, with $500 in his pocket, 
and entered the office of ex-Judge 
E. D. Culver as student, .^fter 
being admitted to the bar he formed 
a partnership with his intimate friend and room-mate, 
Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing 
in the West, and for three months they roamed about 
in the Western States in search of an eligible site, 
but in the end returned to New York, where they 
hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success- 
ful career almost from the start. General Arthur 
soon afterward married the daughter of Lieutenant 



Herndon, of the United States Navy, who was lost at 
sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in 
recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occa- 
sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's 
nomination to the Vice Presidency, leaving two 
children. 

Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity 
in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit, 
brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had 
been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior 
Court of New York City. It was in 1852 that Jon- 
athan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with 
his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when 
they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided 
that they could not be held by the owner under the 
Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from 
the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the 
Attorney General of that State to assist in an appeal. 
Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed 
to represent the People, and they won their case, 
which then went to the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause 
of the slave-holders, but he too was beaten by Messrs. 
Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward 
the emancipation of the black race. 

Another great service was rendered by General 
Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings, 
a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth 
Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare. 
General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a 
verdict of $500 damages. The next day the compa- 
ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride 
on their cars, and the other car companies quickly 



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CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



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followed their example. Before that the Sixth Ave- 
nue Company ran a few special cars for colored per- 
sons and the other lines refused to let them ride at all. 

General Arthur was a delegate to the Convention 
at Saratoga that founded the Republican party. 
Previous to the war he was Judge- Advocate of the 
Second Brigade of the State of New York, and Gov- 
ernor Morgan, of. that State, appointed hnn Engineer- 
in-Chief of his staff. In 1861, he was made Inspec- 
tor General, and soon afterward became Quartermas- 
ter-General. In each of these offices he rendered 
great service to the Government during tiie war. At 
the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed tiie 
practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. 
Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney 
of New Yotk, was added to the firm. The legal prac- 
tice of this well-known firm was very large and lucra- 
tive, each of the gentlemen composing it were able 
lawyers, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if 
not indeed one of national extent. 

He always took a leading part in State and city 
politics. He was appointed Collector of the Port of 
New York by President Clrant, Nov. 21 1872, to suc- 
ceed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July, 
20, 1878, when he was succeeded by Collector Merritt. 

Mr. Arthur was nominated on the Presidential 
ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the famous 
National Republican Convention held at Chicago in 
June, 1880. This was perhaps the greatest political 
convention that ever assembled on the continent. It 
was comiX)sed of the leading politicians of the Re- 
publican party, all able men, and each stood firm and 
fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their 
respective candidates that were before the conven- 
tion for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield re- 
ceived the nomination for President and Gen. Arthur 
for Vice-President. The campaign which followed 
was one of the most animated known in the history of 
our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of 
the Democratic party, was a popular man, and his 
Ijarty made a valiant fight for his election. 

Finally the election came and the country's choice 
was Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated 
March 4, 1881, as President and Vice-President. 
A few months only had passed ere the newly chosen 
President was the victim of the assassin's bullet. Then 
came terrible weeks of suffering, — those moments of 
anxious suspense, when the hearts of all civilized na- 



ne the duty ot 
sponsibilities of ^ y 
in New York, ^ 



tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the re- 
covery of the noble, the good President. The remark- 
able patience that he manifested during those hours 
and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suf- 
fering man has often been called upon to endure, was 
seemingly more than human. It was certainly God- 
like. During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr. 
Artliur's every move was watched, and be it said to his 
credit that his every action displayed only an earnest 
desire that the suffering Garfield might recover, to 
serve the remainder of the term he had so auspi- 
ciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested 
in deed or look of this man, even though the most 
honored |X)sition in the world was at any moment 
likely to fall to him. 

At last God in his mercy relieved President Gar- 
field from further suffering, and the world, as never 
before in its history over the death of any other 
man, wept at his bier. Then it became the duty of 
the Vice President to assume the res]: 
the high office, and he took the oath 
Sept. 20, 1 88 1. The position was an embarrassing ^~^, 
one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all r^. 
eyes were on him, anxious to know what he would do, §»• 
what policy he would pursue, and who he would se- ^3 
lect as advisers. The duties of the office had been ^^ 
greatly neglected during the President's long illness, < 
and many important measures were to be immediately r )) 
decided by him ; and still farther to embarrass him he 
did not fail to realize under what circumstances he 
became President, and knew the feelings of many on 
this point. Under these trying circumstances President 
Arthur took the reins of the Government in his own 
hands ; and, as embarrassing as were the condition of 
affairs, he has happily surprised the Nation, acting so 
justly, so wisely, so well, that but few have criticised 
his administration. Should he continue during the 
remainder of his term to pursue the wise policy he 
has followed thus far, we believe President Arthur's 
administration will go down in history as one of the 
wisest and most satisfactory our country lias ever 
enjoyed. His highest ambition seems to be to do his (^ 
duty to the whole Nation, even to the sacrifice of his f 
warmest personal friends. With the good of the 4. 
people at heart, and guided by the wisdom already ^^ 
displayed, he will surpiise his opponents, gratify his ^ 
friends, and bless the American Republic, during to\ 
the years he occupies the Presidential chair. 



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GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



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STEPHEN' T^MiLSOM. ^p 





TEPHEN T. MASON, the 
first Govcrnoruf Michigan, was 
a son of Gen. John T. Mason, 
of Kentucky, but was born in 
Virginia, in 1812. At the age 
*^ of 19 he was appointed Secre- 
tary of Michigan Territory, and 
served in that capacity during the 
administration of Gov. George B. 
Porter. Upon the death of Gov. 
Porter, which occurred on the 6th of 
July, 1834, Mr. Mason became Act- 
ing Governor. In October, 1835, 1^*^ 
was elected Governor under the Slate 
organization, and immediately en- 
tered upon the performance of tlie 
duties of the office, although the 
State was not yet admitted into the Union. .After 
the State was admitted into the Union, Governor 
Mason was re-elected to the position, and served with 
credit to himself and to the advantage of the State. 
He died Jan. 4, 1843. The principal event during 
Governor Mason's official career, was that arising from 
the disputed southern boundary of the State. 

Michigan claimed for her southern boundary aline 
running east across the peninsula from the e.xtreme 
southern point of Lake Michigan, extending through 
Lake Erie, to the Pennsylvania line. This she 
claimed as a vested right — a right accruing to her by 
compact. This compact was the ordinance of 1787, 
the parties to which were the original 13 States, and 
the territory northwest of the Ohio; and, by the suc- 
cession of parties under statutory amendments to the 
ordinance and laws of Congress — the United .States on 
the one part, and each Territory northwest of the 
Ohio, as far as affected by their provisions, on the 









other. Michigan, therefore, claimed it under the prior 
grant, or assignation of boundary. 

Ohio, on the other hand, claimed that the ordinance 
had been superseded by the Constitution of the 
United States, and that Congress had a right to regu- 
late the boundary. It was also claimed that the 
Constitution of the State of Ohio having described a 
different line, and Congress having admitted the State 
under that Constitution, without mentioning the sub- 
ject of the line in dispute. Congress had thereby given 
its consent to the line as laid down by the Constitu- 
tion of Ohio. This claim was urged by Ohio at 
some periods of the controversy, but at others she ap- 
peared to regard the question unsettled, by the fact 
that she insisted upon Congress taking action in re- ^ ^ 
gard to the boundary. Accordingly, we find that, in ^ 
1812, Congress authorized the Surveyor-General to 
survey a line, agreeably to the act, to enable the people 
of Ohio to form a Constitirtion and State government. 
Owing to Indian hostilities, however, the line was not 
run till 1818. In 1820, the question in dispute 
underwent a rigid e.\amination by the Committee on 
Public Lands. The claim of Ohio was strenuously 
urged by her delegation, and as ably opposed by Mr. 
\Voodbridge, the then delegate from Michigan. The 
result was that the committee decided unanimously 
in favor of Michigan; but, in the hurry of business, 
no action was taken by Congress, and the question 
remained open till Michigan organized her State gov- 
ernment. 

The Territory in dispute is about five miles in 
width at the west end, and about eight miles in width 
•It the east end, and extends along the whole north- 
ern line of Ohio, west of Lake Erie. The line claimed 
by Michigan was known as the " Fulton line," and 
that claimed by Ohio was known as the" Harris line," 



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STEPHEN T. MASON. 



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from the names of the surveyors. The territory was 
valuable for its rich agricultural lands; but the chief 
value consisted in the fact that the harbor on the 
Maumee River, where now stands the flourishing city 
of Toledo, was included within its limits The town 
originally bore the name of Swan Creek, afterwards 
Port Lawrence, then Vestula, and then Toledo. 

In February, 1835, the Legislature of Ohio passed 
an act extending the jurisdiction of the State over 
the territory in question; erected townships and 
directed them to hold elections in April following. It 
also directed Governor Lucus to appoint three com- 
missioners to survey and re-mark the Harris line ; and 
named the first of April as the day to commence the 
survey. .Acting Governor Mason, however, anticipated 
this action on the part of the Ohio Legislature, sent 
a special message to the Legislative Council, appris- 
ing it of Governor Lucas' message, and advised imme- 
diate action by that body to anticipate and counteract 
the proceedings of Ohio. Accordingly, on the 1 2th 
of February, tlie council passed an act making it a 
crimmal offence, punishable by a heavy fine, or im- 
jjrisonment, for any one to attempt to exercise any 
official functions, or accept any office within the juris- 
diction of Michigan, under or by virture of any au- 
thority not derived from the Territory, or the United 
States. On the gth of March, Governor Mason wrote 
General Brown, then in command of the Michigan 
militia, directing him to hold himself in readiness to 
meet the enemy in the field in case any attempt was 
made on the part of Ohio to carry out the provisions 
of that act of the Legislature. On the 31st of March, 
Governor Lucus, with his commissioners, arrived at 
Perrysburgh, on their way to commence re-surveying 
the Harris line. He was accompanied by General 
Bell and staff, of the Ohio Militia, who proceeded to 
muster a volunteer force of about 600 men. This 
was soon accomplished, and the force fully armed and 
eijuipped. The force then went into camp at Fort 
Miami, to await the Governor's orders. 

In the meantime, Governor Mason, with General 
Brown and staff, had raised a force 800 to 1200 
strong, and were in possession of Toledo. General 
Brown's Staff consisted of Captain Henry Smith, of 
Monroe, Inspector; Major J. J. UUman, of Con- 
stantine, Quartermaster; William E. Broadman, of 
Detroit, and Alpheus Felch, of Monroe, Aids-de- 
camp. When Governor Lucas observed the deter- 
mined bearing of the Michigan braves, and took note 



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of their number, he found it convenient to content 
himself for a time with " watching over the border." 
Several days were passed in this exhilarating employ- 
ment, and just as Governor Lucas had made up his 
mind to do something rash, two commissioners ar- 
rived from Washington on a mission of peace. They 
remonstrated with Gov. Lucus, and reminded him of 
the consequences to himself and his State if he per- 
sisted in his attempt to gain possession of the disputed 
territory by force. After several conferences with 
both governors, the commissioners submitted projxjsi- 
tions for their consideration. 

( lovernor Lucas at once accepted the propositions, 
and disbanded his forces. Governor Mason, on the 
other hand, refused to accede to the arrangement, and' 
declined to compromise the rights of his people by a 
surrender of possession and jurisdiction. \Mien Gov- 
ernor Lucus disbanded his forces, however. Governor 
Mason partially followed suit, but still held himself 
in readiness to meet any emergency that might arise. 

Governor Lucus now supposed that his way was y^^ 
clear, and that he could re-mark the Harris line with- ^■ 
out being molested, and ordered the commissioners ^^ 
to proceed with their work. ^' 

In the meantime. Governor Mason kept a watch- 
ful eye upon the prcJceedings. General Brown sent 
scouts through the woods to watch their movements, 
and report when operations were commenced. When 
the surveying party got within the county of Lena- 
wee, the under-sheriff of that county, armed with a 
warrant, and accompanied by a jxasse, suddenly made 
his appearance, and succeeded in arresting a portion 
of the party. The rest, including the commissioners, 
took to their heels, and were soon beyond the dis- 
puted territory. They reached Perrysburgh the fol- 
lowing day in a highly demoralized condition, and 
reported they had been attacked by an overwhelm- 
ing force of Michigan malitia, under command of 
General Brown. 

This summary breaking up of the surveying party 
produced the most tremendous excitement throughout 
Ohio. Governor Lucas called an extra session of the f(^\ 
Legislature. But little remains to be said in reference 
to the "war." The question continued for some time 
to agitate the minds of the opposing parties ; and the 
action of Congress was impatiently awaited. Michigan 
was admitted into the LTnion on the condition that 
she give to Ohio the disputed territory, and accept 
in return the Northern Peninsula, which she did. 






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SECOND GO VERNOR OF MICHIGAN. 



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i-(t5lLLIAM ^OODBI^IDGB 



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ILLIAM WOODBRIDGE, 

|;iJ>asecond Governor of Michigan, 
was born at Norwich, Conn., 
Aug. 20, 1780, and died at 
Detroit Oct. 20, 1861. He 
was of a family of three brothers 
and two sisters. His father, 
Dudley VVoodbridge, removed to 
Marietta, Ohio, about 1790. The 
life of Wm. Woodbridge, by Chas. 
Lauman, from which this sketch 
is largely compiled, mentions noth- 
ing concerning his early education 
beyond the fact that it was such as 
was afforded by the average school 
of the time, except a year with the 
French colonists at Gallipolis, 
where he acquired a knowledge of 
the French language. It should 
be borne in mind, however, that 
home education at that time was 
an indispensable feature in the 
training of the young. To this and 
and to a few studies well mastered, 
is due that strong mental discipline which has served 
as a basis for many of the grand intellects that have 
adorned and helped to make our National history. 
Mr. Woodbridge studied law at Marietta, having 
as a fellow student an intimate personal friend, a 
young man subsequently distinguished, but known 
at that time simply as Lewis Cass. He graduated at 
the law school in Connecticut, after a course there of 
nearly three years, and began to practice at Marietta 
in 1806. In June, 1806, he married, at Hartford, Con- 
necticut, Juleanna, daughter of John Trumbell, a 
distinguished author and judge ; and author of tlie 



peom McFingal, which, during a dark period of the 
Revolution, wrought such a magic change upon the 
spirits of the colonists. He was happy in his domes ■ 
ticrelationsuntilthedeathof Mrs. W., Feb. 2,19, i860. 

Our written biographies necessarily speak more 
fully of men, because of their active participation in 
public affairs, but human actions are stamped upon 
the page of time and when the scroll shall be unrolled 
the influence of good women upon the history of the 
world will be read side by side with the deeds of men. 
How much success and renown in life many men owe 
to their wives is probably little known. Mrs. W. en- 
joyed the best means of early education that the 
country afforded, and her intellectual genius enabled 
her to improve her advantages. During her life, side 
by side with the highest type of domestic and social 
graces, she manifested a keen intellectuality that 
formed the crown of a faultless character. She was 
a natural poet, and wrote quite a large number of fine 
verses, some of which are preserved in a printed 
memorial essay written upon the occasion of her 
death. In this essay, it is said of her "to contribute 
even in matters of minor importance, to elevate the 
reputation and add to the well being of her husband 
in the various stations he was called upon to fill, gave 
her the highest satisfaction " She was an invalid 
during the latter jMrtion of her life, but was patient 
and cheerful to the end. 

In 1807, Mr. W. was chosen a representative to the 
General Assembly of Ohio, and in 1809 was elected to 
the Senate, continuing a member by re-election until 
his removal from the State. He also held, by ap- 
pointment, during the time the office of Prosecuting 
Attorney for his county. He took a leading part in 
the Legislature, and in 1812 drew up a declaration and 
resolutions, uhicli passed the two houses unamiuously 



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and attracted great attention, endorsing, in strongest 
and most em|)liatic terms, the war measures of Presi- 
dent Madison. During the period from 1804 to 1814 
'I'" the two hiw students, Woodbridge and Cass, had be- 
I come widely separ.ited. The latter was Governor of 
the Territory of Michigan luider the historic "Governor 
and fudges" plan, with tlie indispensable requisite of a 
Secretary of the Territorry. This latter position was, 
in 1814, without solicitation on his part, tendered to 
Mr. \V. He accepted the i»sition with some hesita- 
tion, and entered \ipon its duties as soon as he could 
make the necessary arrangements for leaving Ohio. 
The office of Secretary involved also the duties of 
collectorof customs at the port of Detroit, and during 
the frequent absences of tlie Governor, the dischargeof 
of his duties, also including those of Superintendent 
of Indian Affairs. Mr. \\'. officiated as Governor for 
about two years out of the eight years that he held the 
office of Secretary Under the administration of "Gov- 
ernor and Judges," which the ))eople of the Territory 
preferred for economical reasons, to continue some time 
after their numbers entitled them to a more popular 
representative system, they were allowed no delegate 
in Congress. Mr, W., as a sort of informal agent of 
the people, by correspondence and also by a visit to 
the National capital, so clearly set forth the demand 
for representation by a delegate, that an act was 
passedin Congress in 18 19 authorizing one to be chosen. 
Under this act Mr. W. was elected by the concurrence 
of all parties. His first action in Congress was to secure 
the ])assage of a bill recognizing and confirming the 
old French land titles in the Territory according to 
the terms of the treaty of peace with Great Britain 
at the close of the Revolution ; and another for the 
construction of a Government road through the "black 
swamps" from the Miami River to Detroit, thus 0|)en- 
ing a means of land transit between Ohio and Mich- 
igan. He was infiuential in securing the passage of 
bills for the construction of (Government roads from 
Detroit to Chicago, and Detroit to Fort Gratiot, and 
for the improvement of La Plaisance B.ay. The ex- 
pedition for the exploration of the country around 
Lake Superior and in the valley of the Upper Mis- 
sissippi, projected by Governor Cass, was set on foot 
by means of representations made to the head of the 
department by Mr. W. While in Congress he stren- 
uously maintained the right of Michigan to the strip 
of territory now forming the northern boundary of 
Ohio, which formed the subject of such grave dispute 
between Ohio and Michigan at tlie time of the ad- 
mission of the latter into the Union. He served 
but one term as delegate to Congress, de- 
clining further service on account of personal and 
family considerations. Mr. W. continued to discharge 
the duties of Secretary of the Territory' up to the time 
its Government passed into the "second grade." 

Tn 1824, he was appointed one of a board of 
commissioners for adjusting private Kind claims in 






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the Territory, and was engaged also in the practice of 
his profession, having the best law library in the Ter- 
ritory. In 1828, upon the recommendation of the 
Governor, Judges and others, he was appointed by the 
President, J. Q. Adams, to succeed Hon. James With- 
erell, who had resigned as a Judge of what is conven- 
tionally called the "Supreme Court" of the Territory. 
This court was apparently a continuation of the Terri- 
torial Court, under the "first grade" or "Governor and 
Judges" system. Although it was supreme in its ju- 
dicial functions within the Territory, its powers and 
duties were of a very general character. 

In iS32,the term of his appointment as Judge ex- 
piring, President Jackson appointed a successor, it is 
supposed on political grounds, much to the disappoint- 
ment of the public and the bar of the Territory. The 
partisan feeling of the time extended into the Terri- 
tory, and its people began to think of assuming the 
dignity of a State government. Party lines becom- 
ing very sharply drawn, he identified himself with 
the Whigs and was elected a member of the Conven- 
tion of 1S35, which formed the first State Constitution. 
In 1S37 he was elected a member of the State Senate. 

This sketch has purposely dealt somewhat in detail 
with what may be called Judge W's. earlier career, 
because it is closely identified with the early his- 
tory of the State, and the development of its politi- 
cal system. Since the organization of the State (Gov- 
ernment the history of Michigan is more familiar, and 
hence no review of Judge W's career as Governor 
and Senator will be attempted. He was elected Gov- 
ernor in 1839, under a popular impression that the 
affairs of the State had not been prudently adminis- 
tered by the Democrats.' He served as Governor but 
little more than a year, when he was elected to the 
Senate of the LTnited States. 

His term in the Senate practically closed his polit- 
ical life, although he was strongly urged by many 
prominent men for the Whig nomination for Vice 
President in 1848. 

Soon after his apixjintment as Judge in 1828, Gov- 
ernor W. took iqi his residence on a tract of land 
which he owned in the township of Spring Wells, a 
short distance below what was then the corporate lim- 
its of Detroit, where he resided during the remainder 
of his life. Both in his public papers and private 
communications. Governor W. shows himself a mas- 
ter of language; he is fruitful in simile and illustra- 
tion, logical in arrangement, happy in the choice and 
treatment of topics, and terse and vigorous in expres- 
sion. Judge W. was a("ongregationalist. His opinions 
on all subjects were decided ; he was earnest and 
energetic, courteous and dignified, and at times ex- 
hibited a vein of fine humor that was the more at- 
tractive because not too often allowed to come to the 
surface. His letters and .addresses show a deep and 
earnest affection not only for his ancestral home, but 
the home of his adopti')n and for friends and family. 



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GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



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xJOHN S. BARRY 



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OHN STEWARD BARRY, 

.Governor of Michigan from 
Jan. 3, 1842, to Jan. 5, 1846, 
and from Jan. 7, 1850, to Jan. 
I, 1852, was born at Amherst, 
N. H., Jan. 29, 1802. His par- 
ents, John and Ellen (Steward) 
Barry, early removed to Rocking- 
ham, Vt., where he remained until 
he became of age, working on his 
father's farm, and pursuing iiis 
studies at the same time. He mar- 
ried Mary Kidder, of Grafton, Vt., 
and in 1824 went to Georgia, Vt., 
where he had charge of an academy 
for two years, meanwhile studying 
law. He afterward practiced law in 
that State. While he was in Georgia he was for some 
time a member of the Governor's staff, with the title 
of Governor's Aid, and at a somewhat earlier period 
was Captain of a company of State militia. In 1831 
he removed to Michigan, and settled at White Pigeon, 
where he engaged in mercantile business witli I. \V. 
WiUard. 

Four years after, 1834, Mr. Barry removed to Con- 



stantine and continued his mercantile pursuits. He 
became Justice of the Peace at White Pigeon, Mich.> 
in 1831, and held the office until the year 1835. 
Mr. Barry's first public office was that of a member 
of the first constitutional convention, which assembled 
and framed the constitution upon which Michigan 
was admitted into the Union. He took an important 
and prominent part in the proceedings of that body, 
and showed himself to be a man of far more than 
ordinary ability. 

Upon Michigan being admitted into the Union, 
Mr. Barry was chosen State Senator, and so favorably 
were his associates impressed with his abilities at the 
first session of the Legislature that tliey looked to him 
as a party leader, and tjiat he should head the State 
ticket at the following election. Accordingly he re- 
ceived the nomination for Governor at the Jiands 
of his party assembled in convention. He was 
elected, and so popular was his administration that, in 
1842, he was again elected. During these years 
Michigan was embarrassed by great financial diffi- 
culties, and it was through his wisdom and sound judg- 
ment that the State was finally placed upon a solid 
financial basis. 

During the first year of (}ov. Barry's first term, the 
University at .Ann .Vrbor was opened for the reception 






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JOHN STEWARD BARRY. 



of students. The Michigan Central and Michigan 
Southern railroads were being rapidly constructed, and 
general progress was everywhere noticeable. In 1842, 
the number of pupils reported as attending the public 
schools was nearly fifty-eight thousand. In 1843, a 
State land office was established at Marshall, which 
was invested with the charge and disposition of all 
the lands belonging to the State. In 1844, the ta.x- 
able property of the State was found to be over 
twenty-eight millions of dollars, the tax being at the 
rate of two mills on the dollar. The expenses of the 
State were only seventy thousand dollars, while the 
income from the railroads was nearly three hundred 
thousand dollars. At this time the University of 
Michigan had become so prosperous that its income 
was ample to pay the interest on the University debt ; 
and the amount of money which the State was able 
to loan the several progressing railroads was one 
hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Efforts were 
made to increase the efficiency of the common schools 
with good results In 1845, when Gov. Barry's sec- 
ond term expired, the population of the State was 
more than three hundred thousand. 

The constitution of the State forbade more than two 
consecutive terms, but he was called upon to fill the 
position again in 1850 — the only instance of the kind 
in the history of the State. He was a member of the 
Territorial Legislature, of the Constitutional Conven- 
tion, and afterward of the State House of Represent- 
atives. 

During Mr. Barry's third term as Governor the Nor- 
mal School was established at Ypsilanti, which was 
endowed with lands and placed in charge of a board 
of education consisting of six persons. A new con- 
stitution for the government of the State was also 
adopted and the " Great Railway Conspiracy Case " 
was tried. This grew out of a series of lawless acts 
which had been committed upon the property of the 
Michigan Central Railroad Company, along the line 
of their road, and finally the burning of the dejx)! 
at Detroit, in 1850. 

At a setting of the grand jur)- of Wayne County, 
April 24, 1 85 1, 37 men of the 50 under arrest for this 
crime were indicted. May 20, following, the accused 
parties appeared at the Circuit Court of Wayne, of 
which Warner Wing was resident judge. Tlie Rail- 
road Company employed ten eminent lawyers, in- 
cluding David Stuart, John Van Arman, James A. 
Van Dyke, Jacob M. Howard, Alex. D. Fraser, Dan- 
iel Goodwin and William Gray. The defendants were 
represented by six members of the State bar, led by 
William H. Seward, of New York. The trial occupied 
four months, during which time the plaintiffs exam- 
ined 246 witnesses in 27 days, and the defendants 
249 in 40 days. Mr. Van Dyke addressed the jury 
for the prosecution; William H. Seward for the 
defense. 

The great lawyer was convinced of the innocence 




of his clients, nor did the verdict of that jury and the 
sentence of that judge remove his firm belief that his 
clients were the victims of purchased treachery, 
rather than so many sacrifices to justice. 

The verdict of " guilty " was rendered at 9 o'clock 
p. M., Sept. 25, 185 I. On the 26th the prisoners were 
put forward to receive sentence, when many of them 
protested their entire innocence, after which the pre- 
siding judge condemned 12 of the number to the fol- 
lowing terms of imprisonment, with hard labor, within 
the State's prison, situate in their county : Ammi 
Filley, ten years; Orlando L. Williams, ten years; 
Aaron Mount, eight years ; Andrew J. Freeland, eight 
years; Eben Farnham, eight years; William Corvin, 
eight years; Richard Price, eight years; Evan Price, 
eight years; Lyman Cliamplin, five years; Willard 
W\ Champlin, five years; Erastus Champlin, five 
years; Erastus Smith, five years. 

In 1840, Gov. Barry became deeply interested in 
the cultivation of the sugar beet, and visited Euroj^e 
to obtain information in reference to its culture. 

He was twice Presidential Elector, and his last 
public service was that of a delegate to the National 
I^emocratic Convention held in Chicago in 1864. 

He was a man who, throughout life, maintained a 
high character for integrity and fidelitv to the trusts 
bestowed upon him, whether of a public or a private 
nature, and he is acknowledged by all to have been 
one of the most efficient and popular Governors the 
Slate has ever had. 

Gov. Barry was a man of incorruptible integrit}'. 
His opinions, whicli he reached by the most thorough 
investigation, he held tenaciously. His strong con- 
victions and outspoken honesty made it impossible for 
him to take an undefined position when a principle 
was involved. His attachments and prejudices were 
strong, yet he was never accused of favoritism in his 
administration of public affairs. As a speaker he was 
not remarkable. Solidity, rather than brilliancy, char- 
acterized his oratory, which is described as argument- 
ative and instructive, but cold, hard, and entirely 
wanting in rhetorical ornament. He was never elo- 
quent, seldom humorous or sarcastic, and in manner 
rather awkward. 

.\lthough Mr. Barry's educational advantages were 
so limited, he was a life-long student. He mastered 
both ancient and modern languages, and acquired a 
thorough knowledge of history. No man owed less 
to political intrigue as a means of gaining ])osi- 
tion. He was a true statesman, and gained pulilic es- 
teem by his solid worth. His political connections 
were always with the Democratic party, and his opin- 
ions were usually extreme. 

Mr. Barry retired to private life after the beginning 
of the ascendency of the Republican party, and car- 
ried on his mercantile business at Constantine. He 
died Jan. 14, 1870, his wife's death having occurred a 
year previous, March 30, 1869. They left no children. 



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LPHEUS FELCH, the third 
(lovernor of Michigan, was 
born in Limerick, Maine, Sep- 
tember 28, i8o5. Hisgrand- 
father, Abijah Felch, was a sol- 
"**^' dier in the Revolution; and 
when a young man, having with 
others obtained a grant of hind l)e- 
tween the Great and Little ( )ssipee 
Rivers, in Maine, moved to tliat re- 
gion when it was yet a wilderness. 
The father of Mr. Felch embarked in 
mercantile life at Limerick. He was 
the first to engage in that business in 
that section, and continued it until 
his death. The death of the father, 
followed within a year by the death of 
the mother, left the subject of this sketch, then tlirec 
years old, to the care of relatives, and he found a 
home with his paternal grandfather, where he re- 
mained until his death. Mr Felch received his early 
education in the district school and a neighlioring 
academy. In 1821 he became a student at Phillips 
Exter Academy, and, subsequently, entered Bowdoin 
College, graduated with the class of 1827. He at 
once began the study of law and was admitted to 
practice at Bangor, Me., in 1S30. 

He began the practice of his profession at Houlton, 
Me., where he remained until 1833. The severity 
of the climate impaired his health, never very good, 
and he found it necessary to seek a change of climate. 
He disposed of his library and started to seek 
His intention was to join his friend, 




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Sargent S. Prentiss, at Vicksburg, Miss., but on his 
arrival at C^incinnati, Mr. Felch was attacked by 
cholera, and when he had recovered sufficiently to 
permit of his traveling, found that the danger of the 
disease was too great to permit a journey down the 
river. He therefore determined to come to Michi- 
gan. He first began to practice in this State at Mon- 
roe, where he continued until 1843, when he removed 
to Ann Arbor. He was elected to the State Legisla- 
ture in 1835, and continued a member of that body 
during the years 1836 and 1837. While he held thi^ 
office, the general banking law of the Stale was enact- 
ed, and went into operation. After mature delibera- 
tion, he became convinced that the [)roposed system 
of banking could not [jrove beneficial to the public 
interests ; and that, instead of relieving the people 
from the pecuniary difficulties under which they were 
laboring, it would result in still further embarrass- 
ment. He, therefore, opposed the liill, and pointed 
out to the House the disasters which, in his opinion, 
were sure to follow its passage. The public mind, 
however, was so favorably impressed liy the measure 
that no other member, in either branch of the Legisla- 
ture, raised a dissenting voice, and but two voted with 
him in opposition to the bill. Early in 1838, he was 
appointed one of the Bank Conmiissioners of the 
State, and held that office for more than a year. Dur- 
ing this time, the new banking law had given birth to 
that numerous progeny known as "wild-cat" banks. 
Almost every village had its bank. The country was 
flooded with depressed "wild-cat" money. The ex- 
aminations of the Bank Commissioners brought to 
light frauds at every jjoint, which were fearlessly re- 



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jMrted to the Legislature, and were followed by crim- 
inal prosecutions of the guilty parties, and the closing 
^ of many of their institutions. The duties of the of- 
fice were most laborious, and in 1839 Mr. Felch re- 
signed. The chartered right of almost every bank 
had, in tlie meantime, been declared forfeited and 
the law repealed. It was subsequently decided to 
be constitutional by the Supreme Court of the State. 
In the year 1842 Ciovernor Felch was appointed 
to the office of Auditor Creneral of the State; but 
after holding the office only a few weeks, was com- 
missioned by the Governor as one of the Judges of the 
Supreme Court, to fill a vacancy caused by the resig- 
nation of Judge Fletclier. In January. 1843, he was 
elected to the United States Senate for an unexpired 
term. In 1845 he was elected Governor of Michigan, 
) and entered upon his duties at the commencement of 
> the next year. In 1847 he was elected a Senator 
^ in Congress for six years; and at once retired from 
the office of Governor, by resignation, which took 
effect March 4, 1847, when his Senatorial term com- 
menced. While a member of the Senate he acted on 
the Committee on Public Lands, and for four years 
was its Chairman. He filled the honorable position 
of Senator with becoming dignity, and with great 
credit to the State of Michigan. 

During Governor Felch's administration the two 
railroads belonging to the State were sold to private 
corporations, — the Central for $2,000,000, and the 
Southern for $500,000. The exports of the State 
amounted in 1S46 to $4,647,608. The total capacity 
of vessels enrolled in the collection district at Detroit 
was 26,928 tons, the steam vessels having 8,400 and 
the sailing vessels 18,528 tons, the whole giving em- 
ployment to 18,000 seamen In 1847, tlierc were 39 
counties in the State, containing 435 townships ; and 
275 of these townships were supplied with good libra- 



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* * ries, containing an aggregate of 37,000 volumes. 

At the close of his Senatorial term, in Marcii, 1853, 
Mr. Felch was appointed, by President Pierce, one of 
the Commissioners to adjust and settle the Spanish 



and Mexican land claims in California, under the 

treaty of Gaudaiupe Hidalgo, and an act of Congress 
passed for that purpose. He went to California in 
May, 1853, and was made President of the Commis- 
sion. The duties of this office were of the most im- 
portant and delicate character. The interest of the 
new State, and the fortunes of many of its citizens, 
botli the native Mexican population and the recent 
American immigration ; the riglit of tlie Pueblos to 
their common lands, and of the Catiiolic Church to 
the lands of the Missions, — the most valuable of the 
State, — wereinvolved in the adjudicationsof this Com- 
mission. In March, 1S56, their labors were brought 
to a close by the final disposition of all the claims 
wliich were presented. The record of their proceed- 
ings, — the testimony which was given in each case, 
and the decision of the Commissioners thereon, — 
consisting of some forty large volumes, was deposited 
in the Department of the Interior at Washington. 

In June of that year. Governor Felch returned to 
.\nn Arbor, where he has since been engaged [iiinci- 
pally in legal liusiness. Since his return he has 
been nominated for Cxovernor and also for U. S. Sen- 
ator, and twice for Judge of the Supreme Court. But 
the Democratic party, to which he has always been 
attached, being in the minority, he failed of an elec- 
tion. In 1873 he withdrew from the active practice 
of law, and, with the exception of a tour in Europe, 
in 1S75 has since led a life of retirement at his home 
in Ann Arbor. In 1877 the LIniversity of Michigan 
conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. For 
many years he was one of tlie Regents ot Michigan 
University, and in the spring of 1S79 was appointed 
Tajipan Professor of Law in the same. Mr. Felch is 
the oldest surviving member of the Legislature trom 
Monroe Co., the oldest and only surviving Bank Com- 
missioner of the State, the oldest surviving Auditor 
General of the State, the oldest surviving Governorof 
the State, the oldest surviving Judge of the Supren'.e 
Court of Michigan, and the oldest surviving United 
States Senator from the State of Michigan. 






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ILLLAM L. GREENLY 
lovernor of Michigan for the 
year 1847, was horn at Hamil- 
ton, Madison Co., N. Y., Sept. 
18, 1 8 1 3. He graduated at Un- 
ion College, Schenectady, in 
1831, studied law and was ad- 

Imitted to the bar in 1834. In 
1836, having removed to Miclii- 
gan, he settled in Adrian, where 
he has since resided. The year 
following his arrival in Michigan 

he was elected State Senator and 

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V served in that capacity until 1839. 

i In 1845 he was elected Lieut. Gov- 

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' 'j'j ernor and became acting Governor 

by the resignation of Gov. Felch, 

who was elected to the United 

States Senate. 

i The war with Me.xico was brought 

to a successful termination during Ctov. Greenly 's 

administration. We regret to say that there are only 

few records extant of the action of Michigan troops 

in the Mexican war. That many went there and 

fought well are points conceded ; but their names and 

nativity are hidden away in United States archives 



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and where it is almost imjiossible to find them. 

The soldiers of this Slate deserve much of the 
credit of the memorable achievements of Co. K, 3d 
Dragoons, and Cos. A, E, and G of the U. S. Inf. 
The two former of these companies, recruited in this 
State, were reduced to one-third their original num- 
ber. 

In May, 1846, the Governor of Michigan was noti- 
fied by the Wai Department of the United States to 
enroll a regiment of volunteers, to be held in readi- 
ness for service whenever demanded. At his sum- 
mons 13 independent volunteer companies, 1 1 of 
infantry and two of cavalry, at once fell into line. Of 
the infantry four companies were from Detroit, bear- 
ing the honored names of Montgomery, Lafayette, 
Scott and Brady upon their banners. Of the re- 
mainder Monroe tendered two, Lenawee County three, 
St. Clair, Berrien and Hillsdale each one, and Wayne 
County an additional company. Of these alone the 
veteran Bradys were accepted and ordered into ser- 
vice. In addition to them ten companies, making the 
First Regiment of Michigan Volunteers, springing 
from various parts of the State, l)ut embodying to a 
great degree the material of which the first volunteers 
was formed, were not called for until October follow- 
ing. Tliis regiment was soon in readiness and pro- 
ceeded by orders from Government to the seat of war. 



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HE HON. EPAPHRODI- 
TUS RANSOM, the Seventh 
Governor of Michigan, was a 
native of Massachusetts. In 
that State he received a col- 
legiate education, studied law, 
and was admitted to the bar. 
Removing to Michigan about 
the time of its admission to the 
Union, he took up his residence 
at Kalamazoo. 

Mr. Ransom served with marked 
ability for a number of years in the 
State Legislature, and in 1837 he was appointed As- 
sociate Justice of the Supreme Court. In 1843 he 
was promoted to Chief Justice, which office he re- 
tained until 1845, when he resigned. 

Shortly afterwards he became deeply interested in 
the builduig of plank roads in the western portior. of 
the State, and in this business lost the greater portion 
of the property which he had accumulated by years 
of toil and industry. 

Mr. Ransom became Governor of the State of 
Michigan in the fall of 1847, and served during one 
term, performing the duties of the office in a truly 
statesmanlike manner. He subsequently became 
President of the Michigan Agricultural Society, in 
which position he displayed the same ability that 

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shone forth so prominently in his acts as Governor. 
He held the office of Regent of the Michigan Univer- 
sity several times, and ever advocated a liberal policy 
in its management. 

Subsequently he was ap[)ointed receiver of the 
land office in one of the districts in Kansas, by Pres- 
ident Buchanan, to which State he had removed, and 
where he died before the expiration of his term of 
office. 

We sum up the events and affairs of the State un- 
der Gov. Ransom's administration as follows: The 
.•\sylum for the Insane was establised, as also the 
Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind. Both of 
these institutes were liberally endowed with lands, 
and each of them placed in charge of a board of five 
trustees. The appropriation in 1849 for the deaf and 
dumb and blind amounted to $81,500. On the first 
of March, 1848, the first telegraph line was com- 
pleted from New York to Detroit, and the first dis- 
patch transmitted on that day. The followmg figures 
show the progress in agriculture : The land reported 
as under cultivation in 1848 was 1,437,460 acres; of 
wheat there were produced 4,749,300 bushels; other 
grains, 8,197,767 bushels; wool, 1,645,756 pounds; 
maple sugar, 1,774,369 pounds; horses, 52,305 ; cat- fq) 
tie, 210,268; swine, 152,541; sheep, 610,534; while 
the flour mills numbered 228, and the lumber mills 
amounted to 730. 1847, an act was passed removing 
the Legislature from Detroit to Lansing, and tempo- 
rary buildings for the use of the Legislature were im- 
mediately erected, at a cost of $12,450. 




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OBERT McClelland, 

JLcioveriior of Michigan from 
Jan. I, 1852, to March 8, 1853, 
was born at Greencastle, Frank- 
^ lin Co., Penn., Aug. i, 1S07. 
Among his ancestors were several 
officers of rank in tlie Revolution- 
ary war, and some of his family con- 
nections were distinguished in the 
war of 1 81 2, and that with Mexico. 
His father was an eminent physician 
and surgeon who studied under Dr. 
Benj. Rush, of Philadelphia, and 
practiced his profession successfully 
until six months before his deatji, at 
the age of 84 years. .-Mthough Mr. 
^ McClelland's family had been in good circum- 
stances, wlien he was 17 years old he was thrown 
upon his own resources. After taking the usual pre- 
liminary studies, and teaching schoi^l to obtain the 
means, he entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle, 
Penn., from which he graduated among the first in 
'^ his class, in 1829. He then resumed teacliing, and 
I having completed the course of study for the legal 
.'„ profession, was admitted to the bar at Chambersburg, 
Penn., in 183 1. Soon afler\vard he removed to the 
V.' city of Pittsburgh, where he practiced for almost a 



year. 




In 1833, Mr. McClelland removed to Monroe, in 



the Territory of Michigan, where, after a severe ex- 
amination, he became a member of the bar of Michi- 
gan, and engaged in practice with bright prospect of 
success. In 1835, a convention was called to frame 
a constitution for the proposed State of Michigan, of 
which Mr. McClelland was elected a member. He 
took a prominent part in its deliberations and ranked 
among its ablest debaters. He was appointed the 
first Bank Commissioner of the State, by Gov. Mason, 
and received an offer of the Attorney Generalship, but 
declined both of these offices in order to attend to his 
professional duties. 

In 1838, Mr. McClelland was elected to the State 
Legislature, in which he soon became distinguished 
as the head of several imixsrtant committees. Speaker 
pro tempore, and as an active, zealous and efficient 
member. In 1840, Gen. Harrison, as a candidate for 
the Presidency, swept the country with an overwhelm- 
ing majority, and at tlie same time the State of Michi- 
gan was carried by the Whigs under the popular cry 
of " Woodbridge and reform " against the Democratic 
party. At this time Mr. McClelland stood among the 
acknowledged leaders of the latter organization ; was 
elected a member of the State House of Representa- 
tives, and with others adopted a plan to regain a lost 
authority and prestige. 

This party soon came again into power in the State, 
and having been returned to the State Legislature Mr. 
McClelland's leadership was acknowledged by his 
elociion as Speaker of the House of Representatives 



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ROBERT McClelland. 



in 1843. Down to this time Michigan had consti- 
tuted one congressional district. The late Hon. Jacob 
M. Howard had been elected against Hon. Alpheus 
Felch by a strong majority ; but, in 1S43, so thoroughly 
liad the Democratic party recovered from its defeat 
of 1840 that Mr. McClelland, as a candidate for Con- 
gress, carried Detroit district by a majority of about 
2,500. Mr. McClelland soon took a prominent posi- 
lion in Congress among the veterans of that body. 
During his first term he was placed on Committee on 
Commerce, and organized and carried through what 
were known as the " Harbor bills. ' The continued 
confidence of his constituency was manifested in his 
election to the 29th Congress. At the opening of this 
session he had acquired a National reputation, and so 
favorably was he known as a parlimentarian that his 
name was mentioned for Speaker of the House of Rep- 
resentatives. He declined the offer in favor of J. VV. 
Davis, of Indiana, who was elected. During this term 
he became Chairman of Committee on Commerce, in 
which position his reports and advocacy of imix)rtant 
measures at once attracted public attention. The 
members of this committee, as an evidence of the es- 
teem in which they held his services and of their 
personal regard for him, presented him with a cane 
which he retains as a souvenir of the donors, and of 
his labors in Congress. 

In 1847, Mr. McClelland was re-elected to Con- 
gress, and at the opening of the 30th Congress be- 
came a member of the Committee on Foreign Rela- 
tions. While acting in this capacity, what was known 
as the " French Si)oliation Bill" came under his spe- 
cial charge, and his management of the same was such 
as to command universal approbation. While in 
Congress^ Mr, McClelland was an advocate of the 
right of petition as maintained by John (J Adams, 
when the petition, was clothed in decorous language 
and presented in the jjroper manner, This he re- 
garded as the citizensconstitutional right which should 
not be impaired by any doctrines of temporary e.xpe- 
diency. He also voted for the adoption of Mr. Gid- 
dings's bill for the abolishing of slavery in the District 
of Columbia, Mr. McClelland was one of the few 
Democrats associated with David Wilmot, of Penn- 
sylvania, in bringing forward the celebrated "Wilmot 
Proviso," with a view to prevent further extension of 
slavery in new territory which might be acquired by 
the United .States. He and Mr. Wilmot were to- 
gether at the time in Washington, and on intimate 
and confidential terms, Mr McClelland was in sev- 
eral National conventions and in the Baltimore con- 
vention, which nominated Gen. Cass for President, 
in 1848, doing valiant service that year for the elec- 
tion of that distinguished statesman. On leaving 
Congress, in 1848, Mr. McClelland returned to the 
practice of his profession at Monroe. In 1850 a 
convention of the State of Michigan was called to 
revise the State constitution. He was elected a 



member and was regarded therein as among the ablest 
and most experienced leaders. His clear judgment 
and wise moderation were conspicuous, both in the 
committee room and on the floor, in debate. In 1850, 
he was President of the Democratic State convention 
which adopted resolutions in supixirt of Henry Clay's 
famous compromise measures, of which Mr McClel- 
land was a strong advocate. He was a member of 
the Democratic National convention in 1852, and in 
that year, in company with Gen Cass and Governor 
Felch; he made a thorough canvass of the State. 
He continued earnestly to advocate the Clay com- 
promise measures, and took an active part in the 
canvass which resulted in the election of Gen Pierce 
to the Presidency. 

In 185 I, the new Stats constitution took effect and 
it was necessary that a Governor should be elected 
for one year in order to prevent an interregnum, and 
to bring the State Government mto operation under 
the new constitution Mr McClelland was elected 
Governor, and in the fall of 1S52 was re-elected for 
a term of two years, from Jan. i, 1853. His admin- 
istration was regarded as wise, prudent and concilia- 
tory, and was as jxjpular as could l)e expected at a 
time when party spirit ran high. There was really 
no op[X)sition,and when he resigned, in March, 1853, 
the State Treasury was well filled, and the State 
otherwise prosperous. So widely and favorably had 
Mr. McClelland become known as a statesman that on 
the organization of thecabir.et by President Pierce, in 
March, 1853, he was made .Secretary of the Interior, in 
which capacity he served most creditably during four 
years of the Pierce administration. He tlioroughly 
re-organized his dejtartment and reduced the expend- 
itures. He adopted a course with the Indians which 
relieved them from the impositions and annoyances 
of the traders, and ])roduced harmony and civilization 
among them. During his administration there was 
neither complaint from the trilies nor corruption among 
agents, and he left the department in perfect order 
and system In 1867, Michigan again called a con- 
vention to revise the State constitution Mr. McClel- 
land was a member and here again his long ex\)eri- 
ence made him conspicuous as a prudent adviser, a 
sagacious parliamentary leader. As a lawyer he was 
terse and pointed in argument, clear, candid and im- 
pressive in his addresses to the jury. His sincerity 
and earnestness, with which was occasionally mingled 
a pleasant humor, made him an alile and effective 
advocate. In speaking before the people on ix>litical 
subjects he was especially forcTlile and hajipy. In 
1870 ho made the tour of Europe, which, through his 
extensive personal aciiuamtance with European dip- 
lomates, he was enabled to enjoy much more than 
most travelers 

Mr. McClelland married, in 1S37, Miss Sarah 
E Sabin, of W'llliamstown, Mass. They have had 
six children two of whom now survive. 









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GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



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ANDREW PARiONi, 



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NDREW PARSONS, Gover- 
nor of Michiiian from March 
8, 1853 to Jan. 3, 1855, was 
born in the town of Hoosick, 
County of Rensselaer, and 
^ State of New York, on the 22d 
day of July, 1817, and died June 
6, 1855, at the early age of 38 
years. He was the son of John 
Parsons, born at Newbury port, 
(Mass., Oct. 2, 1782, and who was the 
sonof Andrew Parsons, a Revolutionary 
soldier, who was the son of Phineas 
Parsons, the son of Samuel Parsons, 
a descendant of Walter Parsons, born 
in Ireland in 1290. 
Of this n.ime and family, some one liundred and 
thirty years ago, Bishop Oilson remarked in his edi- 
tion of Camden's Britannia: "The honorable family 
of Parsons have been advanced to the dignity of 
Viscounts and more lately Earls of Ross." 

The following are descendants of these families : 
Sir John Parsons, born 1 481, was Mayor of Hereford; 
Robert Parsons, born in 1546, lived near Bridgewater, 
England. He was educated at Ballial College, Ox- 
ford, and was a noted writer and defender of the 
Romish faith. He established an English College at 
Rome and another at Valladolia. Frances Parsons, 
born in 1556, was Vicar of Rothwell, in Notingham; 
Bartholomew Parsons, born in 1C18, was another 
noted member of the family. In 1 634, Thomas Parsons 
was knighted by Charles i. Joseph and Benjamin, 
brothers, were born in Great Torrington, England, 



and accompanied their father and others to New 
P2ngland about 1630. Samuel Parsons, born at Salis- 
bury, Mass., in 1707, graduated at Harvard College in 
1730, ordained at Rye, N. H., Nov. 3, 1736, married 
Mary Jones, daughter of Samuel Jones, of Boston, 
Oct. 9, 1739, died Jan. 4, 1789, at the age of 82, in 
the S3rd year of his ministry. The grandfatherof Mary 
Jones was Capt. John Adams, of Boston, grandson 
of Henry, of Braintree, who was among the first set- 
tlers of Massachusetts, and from whom a numerous 
race of the name are descended, including two Presi- 
dents of the United States. The Parsons have be- 
come very numerous and are found throughout New 
England, and many of the descedants are scattered 
in all parts of the United States, and especially in 
the Middle and Western .States. Governor Andrew 
Parsons came to Michigan in 1S35, at the age of 17 
years, and spent the first summer at Lower Ann 
Arbor, where for a few months he taught school which 
lie was compelled to abandon from ill health 

He was one of the large number of men of sterling 
worth, who came from the East to Michigan when it 
was an infant State, or, even prior to its assuming 
the dignity of a State, and who, by their wisdom, 
enterprise and energy, have developed its wonderful 
natural resources, until to-day it ranks with the [iroiid- 
est States of the L'nion. These brave men came to 
Michigan with nothing to aid them in the conquest 
of the wilderness save courageous hearts and strong 
and willing hands. They gloriously ('on(|uered, iiow- 
ever, and to them is due all honor for the labors 
so nobly performed, for the solid and sure foundation 
wliich they laid of a great Connnon wealth. 



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*^^ 134 ANDREW FARSO. 



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In the fall of 1835, he explored the Grand River 
Valley in a frail canoe, the whole length of the river, 
from Jackson to Lake Michigan, and spent the following 
winter as clerk in a store at Prairie Creek, in Ionia, 
County, and in the spring went to Marshall, where he 
resided with his brother, the Hon. Luke H. Parsons, 
also now deceased, until fall, when he went to Shia- 
w'asseCounty,then with Clinton County, andan almost 
unbroken wilderness and constituting one organized 
township. In 1S37 'his territory was organized into 
a county and, at the age of only 19 years, he (An- 
drew) was elected County Clerk. In 1840, he was 
elected Register of Deeds, re-elected in 1842, and 
also in 1844. In 1846, he was elected to the State 
Senate, was appointed Prosecuting Attorney in 1848, 
and elected Regent of the University in 1851, and 
Lieutenant Governor, and became acting Governor, 
in 1853, elected again to tlie Legislature in 1854, and, 
overcome by debilitated health, hard labor and the 
resixjiisibilities of his office and cares of his business, 
retired to his farm, where lie died soon after. 

He was a fluent and persuasive speaker and well 
calculated to make friends of his acquantances. He 
was always true to his trust, and the whole world 
could not persuade nor drive him to do what he con- 
ceived to be wrong. \Vhen Governor, a most jxjwer- 
ful railroad influence was brought to bear upon him, 
to induce him to call an extra session of the Legisla- 
ture. Meetings were held in all parts of the State 
for that purpose. In some sections the resolutions 
were of a laudatory nature, intending to make him do 
their bidding by resort to friendly and flattering words. 
In other places the resolutions were of a demanding 
nature, wliile in others they were threatening beyond 
measure. Fearing that all these influences might 
fail to induce him to call the extra session, a large 
sum of money was sent him, and liberal offers ten- 
dered him if he would gratify the railroad interest of 
the State and call the extra session, Init, immovable, 
he returned the money and refused to receive 
any favois, whether from any party who would at- 
tempt to corrupt him by laudations, liberal offers, or 



by threats, and in a short letter to the people, after 
giving overwhelming reasons that no sensible man 
could dispute, showing the circumstances were not 
"extraordinary," he refused to call the extra session. 
This brought down the wrath of various parties upon 
his head, but they were soon forced to acknowledge 
the wisdom and the justice of his course. One of 
his greatest enemies said, after a long acquaintance : 
"though not always coinciding with his views I never 
doubted his honesty of purpose. He at all times 
sought to perform his duties in strict accordance, 
with the dictates of his conscience, and the behests 
of his oath." The following eulogium from a iX)litcaloi> 
[xinent is just in its conception and creditable to its 
author: "Gov. Parsons was a politician of the Dem- 
ocratic school, a man of pure moral character, fixed 
and exemplary habits, and entirely blameless in every 
public and private relation of life. As a ixslitician he 
was candid, frank and free from bitterness, as an ex- 
ecutive officer firm, constant and reliable." The 
highest commendations we can pay the deceased is 
to give his just record, — that of being an honest man. 
In the spring of 1854, during the administration of 
Governor Parsons, the Republican party, at least 
as a State organization, was first formed in the United 
States "under the oaks" at Jackson, by anti-slavery 
men of both the old parties. Great excitement pre- 
vailed at this time, occasioned by the settling of 
Kansas, and the issue thereby brought up, whether 
slavery should exist there. For the purpose of permit- 
ting slaver)' there, the " Missouri compromise " (which 
limited slavery to the south of 36" 30') was re- 
repealed, under the leadership of Stephen A, Douglas. 
This was repealed by a bill admitting Kansas and 
Nebraska into the Union, as Territories, and those who 
were opposed to this repeal measure were in short 
called "anti-Nebraska" men. The epithets, "Ne- 
braska" and "anti-Nebraska," were temporally em- 
ployed to designate the slavery and anti-slavery 
parties, pending the desolution of the old Democratic 
and Whig parties ;ind the organization of the new 
Democratic and Republican parties of the present. 




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GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



'37 ^S 







® KlNSLElY ©. BlNOHAM. 





INSLEY S. KINGHAM, 
W Governor of Michigan from 
1855 to 1859, and United 
States Senator, was born in 
Camillus, Onondaga County, 
N. v., Dec. 16, 1808. His 
father was a farmer, and his own 
early hfe was consequently de- 
voted to agricultural pursuits, hut 
notwithstanding the disadvan- 
tages related to the acquisition 
of knowledge in the life of a farmer 
he managed to secure a good aca- 
demic education in his native State 
and studied law in the office of 
Gen. James R. Lawrence, now of 
Syracuse, N. Y. In the spring of 
1S33, he married an estimable lady 
who had recently arrived from Scot- 
land, and obeying the impulse of a 
naturally enterprising disposition, 
he emigrated to Michigan and 
purchased a new farm in company 
with his brother-in-law, Mr. Robert 
Worden, in Green Oak, Livingston County. Here, on 
the border of civilization, buried in the primeval for- 
■^K est, our late student commenced the arduous task of 
?. preparing a future home, clearing and fencing, put- 
\» ting up buildings, etc., at such a rate that the land 



chosen was soon reduced to a high state of cultivation. 

Becoming deservedly prominent, Mr. Birighani was 
elected to the office of Justice of the Peace and Post- 
master under the Territorial government, and was the 
first Probate Judge in the county. In the year 1S36, 
when Michigan became a State, he was elected to the 
first Legislature. He was four times re-elected, and 
S[)eaker of the House of Representatives three years. 
In 1846 he was elected on the L^emocratic ticket, Rei> 
resentative to Congress, and was the only practical 
farmer in that body. He was never forgetful of the 
interest of agriculture, and was in i)articular opjwsed 
to the introduction of " Wood's Patent Cast Iron 
Plow " which he completely prevented. He was re- 
elected to Congress in 1S48, during which time he 
strongly opposed the extension of slavery in the 
territory of the United States and was committed to 
and voted for the Wilmot Proviso. 

In 1854, at the first organization of the Republican 
party, in consequence of his record in Congress as a 
Free Soil Democrat, Mr. Bingham was nominated 
and elected Governor of the State, and re-elected in 
1856. Still faithful to the memory of his own former 
occupation, he did not forget the farmers during his 
administration, and among other profits of his zeal in 
their behalf, he became mainly instrumental in the 
establishment of the Agricultural College at Lansing. 

In 1859, Governor Bingham was elected Senator in 
Congress and took an active part in the stormy cam- 
paign in the election of Abraham Lincoln. He wit- 






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KINSLEY S. BINGHAM. 



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nessed the commencement of the civil war while a 
member of the United States Senate. After a com- 
paratively short life of remarkable promise and pub- 
lic activity he was attacked with apjxiplexy and died 
suddenly at his residence, in Green Oak, Oct. 5, :86i. 

The most noticable event in Governor Bingham's 
first term was the completion of the ship canal, at the 
Falls of St. Mary. In 1S52, Angust 26, an act of 
Congress was ajiproved, granting to the State of Mich- 
igan seven hundred and liity thousand acres of land 
for the purpose of constructing a ship canal between 
Lakes Huron and Superior. In 1853,1116 Legislature 
accepted tire grant, and provided tor the appointment 
of commissioners to select the donated lands, and to 
arrange for building the canal. A company of enter- 
prising men was formed, and a contract was entered 
into by which it was arranged that the canal should 
be finished in two years, and the work was pushed 
rapidly forward. Every article of consumption, ma- 
chinery, working implements and materials, timber 
for the gates, stones for the locks, as well as men and 
supplies, had to be transported to the site of the canal 
from Detroit, Cleveland, and other lake jxarts. The 
rapids which had to be surmounted have a fall of 
seventeen feet and are about one mile long. The 
length ol the canal is less than one mile, its width one 
hundred feet, depth twelve feet and it has two locks 
of solid masonary. In May, 1855, the work was com- 
pleted, accepted by the commissioners, and formally 
delivered to the State authorities. 

The disbursements on account of the construction 
of the canal and selecting the lands amounted to one 
million of dollars ; while the lands which were as- 
signed to the company, and selected through the 
agency at the Sault, as well as certain lands in the 
Upper and Lower Peninsulas, filled to an acre the 
Government grant. Tlie opening of the canal was 
an important event in the history of the improvement 
of the State. It was a valuable link in the chain of 
lake commerce, and particularly important to the 
interests of the Upper Peninsula. 

There were several educational, charitable and re- 
formatory institutions inaugurated and opened during 
Gov. Bingham's administrations. The Michigan .Ag- 
ricultural College owes its establishment to a provision 
of the State Constitution of 1850. .\rticle 13 says. 
" The Legislature shall, as soon as practicable, pro- 
vide for the establishment of an agricultural school." 
For the purixjse of carying into practice this provision, 
legislation was commenced in 1855, and the act re- 
quired that the school should be within ten miles of 
Lansing, and that not more than $15 an acre should 
be paid for the farm and college grounds. The col- 
lege was opened to students in May, 1857, the first of 
existing argricultural colleges in the United States 
Until the spring of i86i,it was under the control 
^ of the State Board of Education; since that time it 
^ has been under the management of the State Board 



1 

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of .\griculture, which was created for that purpose. 

In its essential features, of combining study and 
labor, and of uniting general and professional studies 
in its course, the college has remained virtually un- 
changed from the first. It has a steady growth in 
number of students, in means of illustration and 
efficiency of instruction. 

The Agricultural College is three miles east of 
Lansing, comprising several fine buildings; and there 
are also very beautiful, substantial residences for the 
professors. There are also an extensive, well-filled 
green-house, a very- large and well-equipped chemical 
laboratory, one of the most scientific apiaries in the 
United States, a general museum, a meseum of me- 
chanical inventions, another of vegetable products, 
extensive barns, piggeries, etc., etc., in fine trim for 
the purposes designed. The farm consists of 676 
acres, of which about 300 are under cultivation in a 
systematic rotation of crops. 

.\drian College was established by the Wesleyan 
Methodists in 1859, now under the control of the 
Methodist Church. The grounds contain about 20 
acres. There are four buildings, capable of accom- 
modating about 225 students. Attendance in 1875 
was 179; total number of graduates for previous year, 
121 ; ten professors and teachers are enqdoyed. Ex- 
clusive of the endowment fund ($80,000), the assets 
of the institution, including grounds, buildings, furni- 
ture, apparatus, musical instruments, outlying lands, 
etc., amount to more than $137,000. 

Hillsdale College was established in 1855 by the 
Free Baptists. The Michigan Central College, at 
Spring .\rbor, was incorporated in 1845 It was kept 
in operation until it was merged into the present 
Hillsdale College. The site comprises 25 acres, 
beautifully situated on an eminence in the western 
part of the city of Hillsdale. The large and imix)s- 
ing building first erected was nearly destroyed by fire 
in 1874, and in its place five buildings of a more 
modern style have been erected. They are of brick, 
three stories with basement, arranged on three sides 
of a quadrangle. The size is, respectively, 80 by 80, 
48 by 7 2, 48 bj' 7 2, 80 by 60, 5 2 by 7 2, and they con- 
tain one-half more room than the original buildnig. 
The State Reform School. This was established 
at Lansing in 1855, in the northeastern ]X)rtion of the 
city, as the House of Correcuon for Juvenile Of- 
fenders, having about it many of the features of a 
prison. In 1859 the name was changed to the State ^^ 
Reform School. The government and dicipline, have ^S) 
undergone many and radical changes, until all the I 
prison features have been removed except those that 
remain in the walls of the original structure, and 
which remain only as monuments of instructive his- 
tory. No bolts, bars or guards are employed. The 
inmates are necessarily kept under the surveillance of 
officers, but the attempts at escape are much fewer 
than under the more rigid regime of former days. 



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GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



141 






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OSES WISNER. Governor of 
'1^ Michigan from 185910 1S61, 
'was born in Springport, Cayu- 
ga Co., N Y., June 3, 1S15. 
His early education was only 
what could be obtained at a 
jcommon scliool. Agricultural lal)or 
and frugality of his parents gave 
-, liim a pliysical constitution of unus- 
pS ual strength and endurance, which 
1 was ever preserved by temperate hal)- 
its. In 1837 he emigrated to Michi- 
fi^ gan and purchased a farm in Lapeer 
County It was new land and he at 
/^"^ once set to work to clear it and plant 
crops. He labored diligently at his 
task for two years, when he gave up 
the idea of oeuig a farmer, and removed to Pontiac, 
Oakland Co. Here he commenced the study of law 
in the office of his brother, George W. Wisner, and 
Rufus Hosmer In 1841 he was admitted to the bar 
and estalilished himself in his new vocation at the 
village of Lapeer. While there he was apppointed 
by Gov. Woodbridge Prosecuting Attorney for that 
county, in which capacity he accpiitted himself well 
and gave promise of that eminence he afterward at- 
tained in the profession. He remained at Lapeer but 
a short time, removing to Pontiac, where he iiecame 
a member of a firm and entered fully upon the 
practice. 

In politics he was like his talented brother, a Whig 
of the Henry Clay stamj), but with a decided anti- 
slaver) bias. His practice l)ecoming extensive, he 



look little part in jiolitics until after the election of 
Mr. Pierce to the Presidency in 1852, when lie took an 
active part against slavery. As a lawyer he was a 
man of great abilit), but relied less upon mere book 
learning than \\\)on his native good sense. Liberal 
and courteous, was he yet devoted to the interest of 
his client, and no facts escaped his attention or his 
memory which bore upon the case. He was no friend 
of trickery or artifice in conducting a case As an ad- 
vocate he had few equals, ^\^^en fully aroused by the 
merits of his subject his eloquence was at once grace- 
ful and powerful His fancies supplied the most 
original, the most [xainted illustrations, and his logic 
became a battling giant under whose heavy blows the 
adversary shrank and withered. Nature had be- 
stowed upon him rare tjualities, and his powers as a 
popular orator were of a high order. 

On the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 
1854, repealing the Missouri compromise and opening 
the Territories to slavery, he was among the foremost 
in Michigan to denounce the shamful scheme. He 
actively participated in organizing and consolidating 
the elements opposed to it in that State, and was a 
member of the popular gathering at Jackson, in July, 
1854, which was the first formal Republican Conven- 
tion held in the LTnited States. At this meeting the 
name " Republican " was adopted as a designation of 
the new party consisting of Anti-slavery, Whigs, 
Liberty men. Free Soil Democrats and all others op- 
posed to the extension of slavery and favorable to its 
exjjulsion from the Territories and the District of 
Columbia. At this convention Mr. W. was urged to 
accept the nomination for Attorney General of the 









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T7-7<3nD^iinv>sr 

MOSES WISNF.R. 



State, but declined. An entire State ticket was nom- 
inated and at the annual election in November was 
elected by an average majority of nearly 10,000. 
Mr. ^V. was enthusiastic in the cause and brought to 
its support all his personal influence and talents. In 
his views he was bold and radical. He believed from 
the beginning that the ix)litical power of the slave- 
holders would have to be overthrown before cpiiet 
could be secured to the country. In the Presidential 
canvass of 1856 he supjxjrted the Fremont, or Re- . 
publican, ticket. At the session of the Legislature of 
1857 he was a candidate for LInited States Senator, 
and as such received a very handsome support. 

In 1858, he was nominated for Governor of the 
State by the Republican convention that met at De- 
troit, and at the subsequent November election was 
chosen by a very large majority. Before the day of 
the election he had addressed the people of almost 
every county and his majority was greater even tliaii 
that of his jxjpular predecessor, Hon. K. S. Bingham. 
He served as Governor two years, from Jan. i, 1S59, 
to Ian. I, 1861. His fust message to the Legislature 
was an able and statesman-like production, and was 
read with usual favor. It showed that he was awake 
to all the interests of the State and set fortli an en- 
lightened State policy, that had its view of tlie rapid 
settlement of our uncultivated lands and the devel- 
opment of our immense agricultural and mineral re- 
sources. It was a document that reflected the highest 
credit uixDn the author. 

His term having expired Jan. i, 1861, he returned 
to his home in Pontiac, and to the practice of his 
profession. There were those in the State who 
counselled the sending of delegates to the peace con- 
ference at Washington, but Mr. W. was opposed to all 
such tennxjrizing expedients. His counsel was to 
send no delegate, but to prepare to fight. 

After Congress had met and passed the necessary 
legislation he resoUed to take part in the war. In 
the spring and summer of 1862 he set to work to 
raise a regiment of infantry, chiefly in Oakland 
County, where he resided. His regiment, the 22d 
Michigan, was armed and equipped and ready to 
march in September, a regiment whose solid quali- 
ties were afterwards proven on many a bloody field. 
Col. W's. commission bore the date of Sept. 8, 1862. 
Before parting with his family he made his will. His 
regiment was sent to Kentucky and quartered at 






V© 



Camp Wallace. He had at the breaking out of the 
war turned his attention to military studies and be- 
came proficient in the ordinary rules and discipline. 
His entire attention was now devoted to his duties. 
His treatment of his men was kind, though his disci- 
pHne was rigid. He possessed in an eminent degree 
the spirit of command, and had he li\ cd he would 
no doubt have distinguished himself as a good 
officer. He was imi)atient of delay and chafed at 
being ke[)t in Kentucky where there was so little 
[irospect of getting at the enemy. But life in camp, 
so different from the one he had been leading, and 
iiis incessant labors, coupled witli that impatience 
which was so natural and so general among the vol- 
unteers in the early part of the war, soon made their 
influence felt upon his health. He was seized with 
typhoid fever and removed to a private house near 
Lexington. Every care which medical skill or the 
hand of friendship could bestow was rendered him. 
In the delirious wanderings of his mind he was dis- 
ciplining his men and urging them to be prepared for 
an encounter with the enemy, enlarging ujx)n the jus- 
tice of their cause and the necessity of their crush- 
ing the Rebellion. But tlie source of his most ix)ig- 
nant gnet was the prospect of not being able to come 
to a hand-to-hand encounter with the "chivalry." 
He was proud of his regiment, and felt that if it could 
find the enemy it would cover itself witli glory, — a 
distinction it afterward obtained, but nc>t until Col W. 
was no more. The malady baffled all medical treat- 
ment, and on the 5th day of Jan., 1863, lie breathed 
his last. His remains were removed to Michigan and 
interred in the cemetery at Pontiac, where they rest 
by the side of tlie brave Gen. Richardson, who re- 
ceived his mortal wound at the battle of Antietam. 
Col. AV. was no adventurer, although he was doubtless 
ambitious of military renown and would have striven 
for it with characteristic energy. He went to the war 
to defend and uphold the principles he had so much 
at heart. Few men were more familiar than he with 
the causes and the underlying principles that led to 
the contest. He left a wife, who was a daughter of (^ 
Gen. C. C. Hascall, of Flint, and four children to 
mourn his loss. Toward them he ever showed the 
tenderest regard. Next to his duty their love and 
welfare engrossed his thoughts. He was kind, gen- 
erous and brave, and like thousands of others he 
sleeps the sleep of the martyr for his country. 



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GOVERNORS OF MfCHIGAN. 



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USTIN BLAIR, (".overnor 
P of Michigan from |:iii. 2, 
ij 1861, to Jan. 4, 1865, and 
¥ kown as the War (ioveriior, is 
« and illustration of the benifi- 
cent influence of republican in- 
stitutions, having inherited neith- 
er fortune nor fame. He was born 
in a log cabin at Caroline, Tomp- 
kins Co., N. v., Feb. 8, 181 8. 
His ancestors came from Scot- 
land in the time of (ieorge I, and 
for many generations followed the 
'iVl'y' pursuit of agriculture. His father, 
I George Blair, settled in Tompkins 
Count)' in 1S09, and felled the trees and erected the 
first cabin in the county. The last 60 of the four- 
score years of his life were spent on that spot. He 
married Rhoda Beackman, who now sleeps with him 
in the soil of the old homestead. The first 17 years 
of Mr. Blair's life were spent there, rendering his 
father what aid he could upon the farm. He then 
spent a year and a half in Cazenovia Seminary |)re- 
paring for college ; entered Hamilton College, in 
Clinton, prosecuted his studies until the mliklle of 
the junior year, when, attracted by the fame of Dr. 
Nott, he changed to Union College, from which he 
graduated in the class of 1839. Upon leaving col- 
lege Mr. Blair read law two years in the office of Sweet 
& Davis, Oswego, N \'., and was admitted to practice 
in 1841, and the same year moved to Michigan, locat- 




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ing in Jackson. During a temporary residence in 
Eaton Rapids, in 1842, he was elected Clerk of Eaton 
County. At the close of the official term he returned to 
Jackson, and as a Whig, zealously espoused the cause 
of Henry Clay in the campaign of 1844. He was chosen 
Representative to the Legislature in 1845, at which 
session, as a member of the Judiciary Committee, he 
rendered valuable service in the revision of the gen- 
eral statutes ; also made an able support in favor of 
abolishing the color distinction in relation to the elec- 
tive franchise, and at the same session was active in 
securing the abolition of capital punishment. In 1848 
Mr. Blair refused longer to affiliate with the Whig 
party, because of its refusial to endorse in convention 
any anti-slavery sentiment. He joined the Free-soil 
movement, and was a delegate to their convention 
which nominated Van Buren for President that year. 
Upon the birth of the Republican party at Jackson, 
in 1854, by the coalition of the Whig and Free-soil 
elements, Mr. Blair was in full sympathy with the 
movement, and acted as a member of the Committee 
on Platform. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney 
of Jackson C^ounty in 1852 ; was chosen State Senator 
two years later, taking his seat with the incoming Re- 
publican administration of 1855, and holding the 
position of parliamentary leader in the Senate. He 
was a delegate to the National Convention which 
nominated Abraham Lincoln in i860. Mr. Blair 
was elected (Governor of Michigan in i860, and re- 
elected in 1862, faithfully and honorably discharging 
the .nrdunns Hiitio<: of the office during that most mo- 



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AUSTIN BLAIR. 



mentous and stormy (jeriod of the Nation's life. Gov. 
Blair jxissessed a clear comprehension of the perilous 
situation from the inception of the Rebellion, and his 

A, inaugural address foreshadowed the prompt executive 
policy and the administrative ability whicli charac- 
terized his gubernatorial career. 

Never perhaps in the history of a nation has a 
brighter example been Liid down, or a greater sacri- 
fice been made, than that which distinguished Mich- 
igan during the civil war. All, from the " Wix Gov- 
ernor." down to the [xwrest citizen of the State, were 
animated with a patriotic ardor at once magniticiently 
sublime and wisely directed. 

Very early in 186 1 the coming struggle cast its 
shadow over the Nation. Governor Blair, in liis mes- 
sage to tlie Legislature in January of that year, dwelt 
very forcibly uix>n the sad prospects of civil war; and 
as forcibly pledged the State to support the principles 
of the Republic, .\fter a review of the conditions 
of the State, he passed on to a consideration of the 
relations between the free and slave Stales of the 
Republic, saying: " While we are citizens of the State 
of Michigan, and as such deeply devoted to her in- 
terests and honor, we have a still prouder title. We 
are also citizeas of the United States of ,\merica. By 
this title we are known among the nations of the earth. 
In remote quarters of the globe, where the names of 
the States are unknown, the flag of the great Republic, 
the banner of the stars and stri|)es, honor and protect 
her citizens. In whatever concerns the honor, the 
prosperity and the perpetuity of this great Govern- 
ment, we are deeply interested. The people of Mich- 
igan are loyal to that Government — faitliful to its con- 
stitution and its laws. Under it they have had peace 
and prosperity; and under it they mean to abide to 
the end. Feeling a just pride in the glorious history 
of the past, they will not renounce the eipially glo- 
rious hopes of the future. But they will rally around 
the standards of the Nation and defend its integrity 
and. its constitution, with fidelity." The final para- 
"^ graph being: 

C^ " I recommend you at an early day to make mani- 









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fest to the gentlemen who represent this State in the 
two Houses of Congress, and to the country, that 
Michigan is loyal to the Union, the Constitution, and 
the laws and will defend them to the uttermost; and 
to [iroffer to the President of the United States, the 
whole military jxiwer of the State for that purpose. 
Oh, for tiie firm, steady hand of a Washington, or a 
Jackson, to guide the ship of State in this perilous 
storm ! Let us hope that we will find him on tlie 4th 
of March. Meantime, let us abide in the faith of our 
fathers — ' Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, 
now and forever. 

How this stirring appeal was responded to by the 
people of Michigan will be seen by the statement 
that the State furnished 88,1 II men during the war. 
Money, men, clothing and food were freely and abun- 
dantly sufjplied by this State during all these years of 
darkness and blood shed. No State won a brighter "5 
record for her devotion to our country than the Pen- 
insula State, and to Gov. Blair, more than to any 
other individual is due the credit for its untiring zeal 
and labors in the Nation's behalf, and for the heroism 
manifested in its defense. 

Gov. Blair was elected Representative to the 
Fortieth Congress, and twice re-elected, to the Forty- 
first and Forty-second Congress, from the Third Dis- 
trict of Michigan. While a member of that body he 
was a strong supjX)rter of reconstruction measures, 
and sternly opposed every form of repudiation. His 
speech uiwn the national finances, delivered on the 
floor of the House March 21, 1868, was a clear and 
convincing argument. Since his retirement from Con- 
gress, Mr. Blair has been busily occupied with his ex- 
tensive law practice. Mr. Blair married Sarah L. 
Ford, of Seneca County N. Y., in February, 1849. 
Their family consists of 4 sons — George H., a law ('- 
partner of \. J. Gould ; Charles A., a law partner with ] 
hir father and Fred. T- and Austin T. Blair, at home. •'■ 
Governor Blair's religion is of the broad type, and '.■■. 
centers in the "Golden Rule." In 18S3, Gov. Blair ^ 



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was nominated for Justice of the .Supreme Court 
of the State by the Republican p.irty, but was defeated 



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HENRY H. CBAPO 




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ENRY ROWLAND CRAPO, 

Governor of Michigan from 
^\!^ vl Y "^ 7 «t''S^5 ^o 1869, was born May 
'^^wAv^Xwl^ 24, TS04, at Dartmouth, Bris- 
tol Co., Mass., and died at 
Flint, Mich., July 22, 1869. 
He was the eldest son of Jesse 
and Phnche (Howland) Crapo. 
His father was of French descent 
and was very poor, sustaining his 
) family hy the cultivation of a farm in 
Dartmouth township, which yielded 
\ nothing beyond a mere livelihood. 
His early life was consequently one 
of toil and devoid of advantages for 
intellectual culture, but his desire for 
an education seemed to know no bounds. The in- 
cessant toil for a mere subsistence upon a compara- 
tively sterile farm, had no charm for him ; and, longing 
for greater usefulness and better things, he looked for 
them in an education. His struggles to secure this 
end necessitated sacrifices and hardships that would 
have discouraged any but the most courageous and 
persevering. He became an ardent student and 
worker from his boyhood, though the means of carry- 
ing on his studies were e.xceedingly limited. He 
sorely felt the need of a dictionary; and, neither having 
money wherewith to purchase it, nor being able to 
jjrocure one in his neighborhood, he set out to compile 
one for himself. In order to ac(iuire a knowledge of 
the English language, he copied into a book every 
word wliose meaning lie did not cx)mprehend, and 
upon meeting the same word again in the newspapers 
and books, which came into his liands, from the 




context, would then record the definition. Whenever 
unable otiierwise to obtain the signification of a word 
in whicli he had become interested he would walk 
from Dartmoutli to New Bedford for that purpose 
alone, and after referring to the books at the library 
and satisfying himself tliorouglily as to its deiinition, ("^ 
would walk back, a distance of about seven miles, 
the same night. This was no unusual circumstance, /s 
Under such difficulties and in this manner he com- == 
piled cjuite an extensive dictionary in manuscni)t •^• 
which is believed to be still in existence. == 

Ever in pursuit of knowledge, he obtained ixjsses- If,' 
sion of a book upon surveying, and applying himself ^ 
diligently to its study became familiar with this art, ( ^ 
which he soon had an opportunity to (iractice. The 
services of a land surveyor were wanted, and he was 
called upon, but had no compass and no money with 
which to purchase one. A compass, however, he 
must and would have, and going to a blacksmith shop 
near at hand, ujxin the forge, with such tools as he 
could find in the shoi), while the smith was at dinner, 
he constructed the compass and commenced life as a 
surveyor. Still continuing his studies, he fitted him- 
self for teaching, and took charge of the village school 
at Dartmouth. When, in the course of time and un- 
der the pressure of law, a high school was to be 
opened, he passed a successful examination for its 
principalship and received the appointment. To do 
this was no small task. The law reipiired a rigid 
examination in various subjects, which necessitated 
days and nights of study. One evening, after con- 
cluding his day's labor of teaching, he traveled on foot 
to New Bedford, some seven or eight miles, called 
upon the preceptor of Friend's .\cademy and passed 






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HENRY HOWLAND CRAPO. 



a severe examination. Receiving a certificate that 
he was quahfied, lie walked back to his home the 
same night, highly elated in being possessed of the 
acquirements and requirements ot a master of the 
high school. 

In 1S32, at the age of 28 years, he left his native 
town and went to reside at New Bedford, where he 
followed the occupation of land surveyor, and oc- 
casionally acted as an auctioneer. Soon after becom- 
ing a citizen of this place, he was elected Town Clerk, 
Treasurer, and Collector of taxes, which office he held 
until the municipal government was changed, — about 
fifteen years, — when, upon the inauguration of the city 
govermiienl, he was elected Treasurer and Collector 
of taxes, a position which he held two or three years. 
He was also Justice of the Peace for many years. 
He was elected Alderman of New Bedford ; was 
Chairman of Council Committee on Education, and 
as such prepared a reiwrt upon which was based the 
order for the establishment of the free Public Library 
of New Bedford. On its organization, Mr. Crapo was 
cho.ien a member of the Board of Trustees. This 
was the first free public library in Massachusetts, if 
not in the world. The Boston Free Library was es- 
tablished, however, soon afterwards. While a resident 
in New Bedford, he was much interested in horticul- 
ture, and to obtain the land necessary for carrying out 
his ideas he drainetl and reclaimed several acres of 
rocky and swani|)y land adjoinin;.; his garden. Here 
he started a nursery, which he filled with almost every 
description of fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, 
flowers, etc. In this he was very successful and took 
great pride. He was a regLilarcontributorto the New 
England Horticultural Journal, a jxjsition he filled 
as long as he lived iu Nlassachusetts. As an indica- 
tion of the wide reputation he aci|uired in that field 
of labor, it may l)e mentioned that after his death an 
affecting eulogy to his memury was pronounced by the 
President of the National Horticultural Society at its 
meeting in Philadelphia, in 1S69. During his resi- 
dence in New Bedford, Mr. Crapo was also engaged 
in the whaling business. .\ fine barque built at Dart- 
mouth, of which he was part owner, was named the 
"H. H. Crapo" in compliment to him. 

Mr. C. also took part in the State Militia, and for 
several years held a commission as Colonel of one of 
the regiments. He was President of the Bristol 
County Mutual Fire Insurance Co., and Secretary of 
the Bedford ("ommercial Insurance Company in New 
Bedford; and while an officer of the municipal gov- 
ernment hecoui piled and published, lietwcen the years 
1836 and 1845, five numbers of the New Bedford 
Directory, the first work of the kind ever yiublished 
there. 

Mr. C. removed to Michigan in 1856, having been 
induced to do so by investments made principallv in 
l)ine lands, first in 1837 and subsequently in 1S56. 
He took up his residence in the city of Flint, and en- 



gaged largely in the manufacture and sale of lumber 
at Flint, Fentonville, Holly and Detroit, becoming 
one of the largest and most successful business men 
of the .State. He was mainly instrumental in the 
construction of the Flint iV Holly R. R., and was 
President of that corporation uniil its consolidation 
with the Flint iS; Pere Marquette R. R. Company. 
He was elected Mayor of that city after he had been 
a resident of the place only five tr six years. In 
1862 he was elected State Senator. In the fall of 
1864 he received the nomination on the Re|>ublican 
ticket forCiovernor of the State, and was elected by a 
large majority. He was re-elected in 1S66, holding 
the office two terms, and retiring in January, i86g, 
having given the greatest satisfaction to all parties. 

While serving his last term he was attacked with a 
disease which terminated his life within one year 
afterwards. During much of this time he was an in- 
tense sufferer, yet often while in great pain gave his 
attention to public matters. A few weeks previous 
to his death a successful surgical operation was per- 
formed which seemed rapidly to restore him, but he 
overestimated his strength, and Ijy too much exertion 
in business n.atters and State affairs suffered arelapse 
from which there was no rebound, and he died July 

In the earlv part of his life, Cov. Crapo affiliated 
with the ^\ hig party iu politics, but became an active 
member of the Republican party after its organization. 
He was a member of the Christian (sometimes called 
the Disciples') Church, and took great interest in its 
welfare and prosperity. 

Mr. C. married, June 9, 1825, Mary .\. Slocum, 
of Dartmouth. His marriage took place soon after 
he hnd attained his majoritv, and before his struggles 
with fortune had been rewartled with any great meas- 
ure of success. But his wife was a woman of great 
strength of character and possessed of courage, hope- 
fulness and devotion, qualities which sustained and 
encouraged her husband in the various pursuits of 
his early years. For several years after his marriage 
he was engaged in teaching school, his wife living 
with her parents at the time, at whose home his two 
older children were liorn. While thus situated he 
was accustomed to walk home on Saturday to see 
his family, returning on Sunday in order to be ready 
for school Monday morning. As the walk fi)r a good 
nart of the time was 20 miles each way, it is evident 
that at that period of his life no common obstacles 
deterred him from performing what he regarded 
as a duty. His wife was none the less lonsci- 
entious in her sphere, and with added resjjonsibilities 
and increasing recpiirements she laliored faithfully 
in ilie jierfonnance of all her duties. They had 
ten children, one son and nine daughters. His son, 
Hon. Wm. W. Crapo, of New Bedford, is now an 
honored Representative to Congress from the First 
("onuressional District of Massachusetts. 



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GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 






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^ ENRV P. BALDWIN, (lov- 

Wi ernor ot" Miclii'^iiu from Jan. 
r.-a , ' ., ". 

W ^, 1869, to Jan. I, 1873, IS a 

t lineal descendant of Nathan- 
J» iel Baldwin, a Puritan, of Buck- 
inghamsliive, Eni^land, who set- 
tled at Milford, Conn., in 1639. 
His father was John Baldwin, 
a graduate of Dartmouth Col- 
lege. He died at North Provi- 
dence, R. I., in 1826. His 
paternal grandfather was Rev. 
Moses Baldwin, a graduate of 
Princeton College, in 1757, and the 
first who received collegiate hon- 
ors at that ancient and honored institution. He died 
at Parma, Mass., in 1813, where for more than 50 
years he had been pastor of the Presbyterian Church. 
On his mother's side Governor B. is descended from 
Robert Williams, also a Puritan, who settled in Ro.x- 
bury, Mass., about 1638. His mother was a daughter 
of Rev. Nehemiah Williams, a graduate of Harvard 
College, who died at Brimfield, Mass., in 1796, where 
tor 21 years he was pastor of the Congregationalist 
Church. The subject of this sketch was born at 
Coventry, R. 1., Feb. 22, 1814. He received a New 
England common-school education until the age of 
12 years, when, both his parents having died, he be- 
came a clerk in a mercantile establishment. He re- 
mained there, employing his leisure hours in study, 
f^\ until 20 years of age. 

At this early period Mr. B. engaged in business on 
his own account. He made a visit to the West, in 
1837, which resulted in his removal to Detroit in the 
spring of 1838. Here he established a mercantile 
((i) house which has been successfully conducted until 
the present time. Although he successfully conducted 



a large business, he has ever tal<en a deep interest in 
all things affecting the prosperity of the city and 
State of his ado[)iion. He was for several years a 
Director and President of the Detroit Young Men's 
.Society, an institution with a large library designed 
for the benefit of young men and citizens generally. 
An Episcopalian in religious belief, he has been 
prominent in home matters connected with that de- 
nomination. The large and flourishing parish of St. 
John, Detroit, originated with Coverr.or Baldwin, who 
gave the lot on which the parish edifice stands, and 
also contributed the larger share of the cost of their 
erection. Governor B. was one of the foremost in 
the establishment of St. Luke's Hospital, and has 
always been a liberal contributor to moral and relig- 
ious enterprises whether connected with his own 
Church or not. There have been, in fact, but few 
public and social improvements of Detroit during the 
past 40 years with which Governor B.'s name is not 
in some way connected. He was a director in the 
Michigan State Bank until the expiration of its char- 
ter, and has been President of the Second National 
Bank since its organization. 

In i860, Mr. Baldwin was elected to the State 
Senate, of Michigan ; during the years of i86i-'2 he 
was made Chairman of the Finance Committee, a 
member of Committee on Pianks and Incorporations, 
Chairman of the Select Joint Committee of the two 
Houses for the investigation of the Treasury Depart- 
ment and the official acts of the Treasurer, and of 
the letting of the contract for the improvement of 
Sault St. Marie Ship Canal. He was first elected 
Governor in 1868 and was re-elected in 1870, serving 
from 1869 to 1872, inclusive. It is no undeserved 
eulogy to say that Governor B.'s happy faculty of es- 
timating the necessary means to an end — the knowing 
of how much effort or attention to bestow ajxin the 
thing in hand, has been the secret of the uniform 



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success that has attended his efforts in all relations 
of life. The same industry and accuracy that dis- 
tinguished liim prior to this term as Governor was 
manifest in his career as the chief magistrate of the 
State, and while his influence appears in all things 
with which he has liad to do, it is more noticeable in 
the most prominent position to which he was called. 
With rare exceptions the important commendations 
of Governor B. received the sanction of the Legislat- 
ure. During his administration marked improve- 
ments were made in the charitable, penal and reforma- 
tory institutions of the State. The State Public School 
for dependent children was founded and a permanent 
commission for the supervision of the several State 
institutions. The initiatory steps toward building the 
Eastern Asylum for the Insane, the State House of 
Correction, and tlie establishment of the State Board 
of Health were recommended by (lOvernor B. in liis 
messa_L;e of 1S73. The new State Capitol also owes 
its origen to him. The appropriation for its erection 
was made upon his recommendation, and the contract 
for the entire work let under tliis administration. 
Governor B. also appointed tlie commissioners under 
whose faithful supervision the building was erected in 
a manner most satisfactory to the people of the State. 
He advised and earnestly urged at different times 
such amendments of the constitution us would per- 
mit a more equitable compensation to State officers 
and judges. Thelawof 1S69, and prior also, permitting 
municipahties to vote aid toward the construc- 
tion of railroads was, in 1S70, declared unconstitu- 
tional by the Supreme Court. Many of the munici- 
palities having in the meantime issued and sold their 
bonds in good faith. Governor B, felt that the honor 
and credit of the State were in jeopardy. His sense 
of justice impelled him to call an extra session of the 
Legislature to propose the submission to the peoiile a 
constitutional amendment, autliorizing the payment 
of such bonds as were already in the hands of /hwa- 
fidc holders. In his special message he says : "The 
credit of no State stands higher than that of Michigan, 
and the peojile can not afford, and I trust will not 
consent, to have lier good name tarnished by the repu- 
diation of either legal or moral obligations." A spe- 
cial session was called in March, 1872, principally for 
the division of the State into congressional districts. 
A number of other important suggestions were made, 
however, and as an evidence of the Governor's la- 
borious and thouglnful care for tlie financial condition 

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of the State, a series of tables was prepared and sub- 
milted by him showing, in detail, estimates of receipts, 
e.\[)enditures and appropriations for the years 1872 to 
1S78, inclusive. Memorable of Governor B.'s admin- 
istration were the devastating fires which swept over 
many jxartions of the Northwest in the fall of 1871. 
.\ large part of the city of Chicago having been re- 
duced to ashes. Governor B. promptly issued a proc- 
lamation calling upon the people of Michigan for 
liberal aid in behalf of the afflicted city. .Scarcely had 
tliis been issued when several counties in his State 
were laid waste by the same destroying element. 
.\ second call was made asking assistance for the suf- 
fering people of Michigan. The contributions for 
these objects were prompt and most liberal, more than 
$700,000 having been received in money and supplies 
for the relief of Michigan alone. So ample were 
tiiese contributions during the short period of about 
3 months, that the Governor issued a proclamation 
expressing in behalf of the people of the State grate- 
ful acknowldgment, and announcing that further 
aid was unnecessary. 

Governor B. has traveled extensively in his own 
country and has also made several visits to Europe 
and other portions of the Old World. He was a ])as- 
senger on the .Steamer Arill, which was cajjtured and 
bonded in the Carribean Sea, in December, 1862, by 
Capt. Semmes, and wrote a full and interesting ac- 
count of the transaction. The following estimate of 
Governor B. on his reticement from office, by a leading 
news))aper, is not overdrawn: "The retiring message 
of Governor B., will be read with interest. It is 
a characteristic document and possesses the lucid 
statement, strong, and clear practical sense, which 
have been marked features of all preceding documents 
from the same source. Governor B. retired to private 
life after four years of unusually successful adminis- 
tration amid plaudits that are universal thioughout the 
State. For many years eminent and capable men 
have filled the executive chair of this State, but in 
painstaking vigilance, in stern good sense, in genuine 
public spirit, in thorough integrity and in practical 
capacity, Henr)' P. Baldwin has shown himself to be 
the peer of any or all of them. The State has been un- 
usually prosperous during his two terms, and the Stale 
administration has fully kept pace with the needs of 
the times. The retiring Governor has fully earned 
the public gratitude and confidence which he to-day 
[Assesses to such remarkable degree." 






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OHN JUDSON BAGLEY, 
K Governor of Michigan from 
1 8- 3 to 1 87 7 , was born in 
Medina, Orleans Co., N. Y., 
July 24, 1 832. His father, John 
Bagley, was a native of New 
Hampshire, his mother, Mary M. 
Bagley, of Connecticut. He at- 
tended the district school of Lock- 
port, N. Y., until he was eight years 
old, at which time his father moved 
to Constantine, Midi., and he at- 
tended the common schools of that 
village. His early experience was 
like that of many country boys whose 
parents removed from Eastern States 
to the newer portion of the West. 
His father being in very poor circum- 
;[] stances, Mr. B. was obliged to work 
as soon as he was able to do so. 
Leaving school when 13 years of age 
he entered a country store in Constan- 
tine as clerk. His father then re- 
moved toOwosso, Mich.,and he again 
j engaged as clerk in a store From 
early youth Mr. B. was extravagantly fond of reading 
and devoted every leisure moment to the perusal of 
such books, papers and periodicals as came within 
his reach. In 1847, he removed to Detroit, where he 
secured employment in a tobacco manufactory and 
remained in this position for about five years. 

In 1853, he began business for himself in the man- 
ufacturing of tobacco. His establishment has become 



one of the largest of the kind in the West. Mr. B. 
has also been greatly interested in other manufactur- 
ing enterprises, as well as in mining, banking and in- 
surance corporations. He was President of the 
Detroit Safe Company for several years. He was one 
of the organizers of the Michigan Mutual Life Insur- 
ance Company of Detroit, and was its President from 
1867 to 1872. He was a director of the Amer- 
ican National Bank for many years, and a stock- 
holder and director in various other corporations. 
Mr. B. was a member of the Board of Education two 
years, and of the Detroit Common Council the same 
length of time. In TS65 he was ap[)ointed by Gover- 
nor Crapo one of the first commissioners of the 
Metropolitian police force of the city of Detroit, serv- 
ing six years. In November, 1872, he was elected 
Governor of Michigan, and two years later was re- 
elected to the same office, retiring in January, 1877. 
He was an active worker in the Republican party, and 
for many years was Chairman of the Republican 
State Central committee. 

Governor Bagley was quite liberal in his religious 
views and was an attendant of the Unitarian Church. 
He aimed to be able to hear and consider any new 
thought, from whatever source it may come, but was not 
bound by any religious creed or formula. He held 
in respect all religious opinions, believing that no one 
can be injured by a firm adherence to a faith or de- 
nomination. He was married at Dubuque, Iowa, Jan. 
16, 1855, to Frances E. Newberry, daughter of Rev. 
Samuel Newberry, a pioneer missionary of Michigan, 
who took an active part in the early educational mat- 
ters of the State and in the establishment of its ex- 
cellent system of education. It was principally 



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through his exertions that the State University was 
founded. Mr. B.'s family consists of seven children. 
As Governor his administration was charac- 
terized by several important features, chief among 
which were his efforts to improve and make pojiular 
the educational agencies of the State by increasing 
the faculty of the University for more thorough in- 
struction in technicalstudies,bystrengthening the hold 
of the Agricultural College ujxjn the public good will 
and making the general change which has manifested 
itself in many scattered primary districts. Among 
others were an almost complete revolution in the 
management of the penal and charitable institutions 
of the State; the passage of the li(iL\or-tax law, taking 
the place of the dead letter of prohibition; the estab- 
lishing of the system of dealing with juvenile offend- 
ers through county agents, which lias proved of great 
good in turning the young back from crime and plac- 
ing the State in the attitude of a moral agent ; in se- 
curing for the militia the first time in the history of 
Michigan a systematized organization ujxin a service- 
able footing. It was w\yo\\ the suggestion of Gov. B. 
in the earlier part of his administration that the law 
creating the State Board of Health, and also the law 
creating a fish commission in the inland waters of the 
Slate, were passed, both of which have proved of great 
benefit to the State. The successful representation 
of Michigan at the Centennial Exhibition is also an 
honorable part of the record of Gov. B.'s adminis- 
tration. 

As Governor, he felt that he represented the State 
—not in a narrow, egotistical way, but in the same 
sense that a faithful, trusted, confidential agent rep- 
resents his employer, and as the Executive of the 
State he was her " attorney in fact." And his intelli- 
gent, thoughtful care will long continue the pride of 
the people he so much loved. He was ambitious — 
ambitious for place and power, as every noble mind 
is ambitious, because these give opportunity. How- 
ever strong the mind and powerful the will, if there 
be no ambition, life is a failure. He was not blind to 
the fact that the more we have the more is required 
of us. He accepted it in its fullest meaning. He 
had great hopes for his State and his country. He had 
his ideas of what they should be. With a heart as 
broad as humanity itself; with an intelligent, able and 
cultured brain, the will and the power to do, lie 
asked his fellow citizen to give him the opportunity to 
labor for them. Self entered not into the calculation. 




His whole life was a battle for others; and he entered 
the conflict eagerly and hopefully. 

His State papers were models of compact, busi- 
ness-like statements, bold, original, and brimful of 
practical suggestions, and his admitiistrations will long 
be considered as among the ablest in this or any 
other State. 

His noble, generous nature made his innumerable 
benefactions a source of continuous pleasure. Liter- 
ally, to him it was " more blessed to give than to 
receive." 

His greatest enjoyment was in witnessing the com- 
fort and happiness of others. Not a tithe of his char- 
ities were known to his most intimate friends, or even 
to his family. Many a needy one has been the recipi- 
ent of aid at an opportune moment, who never knew 
the hand that gave. 

At one time a friend had witnessed his ready re- 
sponse to some charitable request, and said to him : 
"Governor, you give away a large sum of money ; about 
how much does your charities amount to : 



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He turned at once and said: "I do not know, sir; I 
do not allow myself to know. ] hope I gave more 
this year than I did last, and hope I shall give more 
next year than I have this." This expressed his idea 
of charity, that the giving should at all times be free 
and spontaneous. 

During his leasure hours from early life, and espe- (J,) 
cially during the last few years, he devoted much time 
to becoming acquainted with the best authors. Bio^- 
ra])hy was his delight; the last he read was the "Life 
and Work of John Adams," in ten volumes. 

In all questions of business or public affairs he 
seemed to have the power of getting at the kernel of 
the nut in the least possible time. In reading he 
would spend scarcely more time with a volume than 
most persons would devote to a chapter. After what 
seemed a oirsory glance, he would have all of value 
the book contained. Rarely do we see a business 
man so familiar with the best English authors. He 
was a generous and intelligent patron of the arts, and 
his elegant home was a study and a pleasure (^ 
to his many friends, who always found there a 
hearty welcome. At Christmas time he would spend 
days doing the work of Santa Claus. Every Christmas 
eve he gathered his children about him and, taking 
the youngest on his lap, told some Cliristmas story, 
closing the entertainment with "The Night Before 
Christmas," or Dickens's "Christmas Carol." 

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HARLES M. CROSWELL, 

ft}_ Governor of Michigan from 
"Jan. 3, 1877 to Jan. i, 1881, 

^ _ was born at Newburg, Orange 

^0t^ County, N. V., Oct. 31, 1825. 
^sf/ He is the only son of John and 
Sallie (Hicks) Croswell. His 
father, who was of Scotch-Irish 
■^ extraction, was a jjaper-maker, 
j\ and carried on business in New 
1^ York City. His ancestors on 
his mother's side were of Knicker- 
bocker descent. The Croswell 
family may be found connected 
with prominent events, in New York 
and Connecticut, in the early exis- 
tence of the Republic. Harry Cros- 
well, during the administration of 
l|ti] President Jefferson, published a pa- 
per called the Balatue, and was 
prosecuted for libeling the President 
under the obno.\ious Sedition Law. 
He was defended by the celebrated 
I Alexander Hamilton, and the decis- 
ion of the case establised the important ruling that 
the truth might be shown in cases of libel. Another 
member of the family was Edwin Croswell, the fam- 
ous editor of the Albany Argus ; also. Rev. William 
Croswell, noted as a divine and poet. 

When Charles M. Croswell was seven years of age, 
his father was accidentally drowned in the Hudson 
River, at Newburg ; and, within three months preced- 
ing that event, his mother and only sister had died, — 
thus leaving him the sole surviving member of the 
family, without fortune or means. Upon the death 



U 1 






of his father he went to live with an uncle, who, in 
1837, emigrated with him to Adrain, Michigan. At 
sixteen years of age, he commenced to learn the car- 
penter's trade, and worked at it very diligently for 
four years, maintaining iiimself, and devoting his spare 
lime to reading and the acquirement of knowledge. 
In 1846, he began the study of law, and was ap- 
pointed Deputy Clerk of Lenawee County. The du- 
ties of this office he performed four years, when he 
was elected Register of Deeds, and was re-elected 
in 1852. In 1854, he took i)art in the first movements 
tor the formation of the Republican party, and was a 
member and Secretary of the convetion held at Jack- 
son in that year, which put in the field the first Re- 
publican State ticket in Michigan. In 1855, he 
formed a law partnership with the present Chief-Jus- 
tice Cooley, which continued until the removal of 
Judge Cooley to Ann Arbor. 

In 1862, Mr. Croswell was appointed City Attorney 
of .Adrian. He was also elected Mayor of the city 
in the spring of the same year ; and in the fall was 
chosen to represent Lenawee County in the State 
Senate. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1864, 
and again in 1866, during each term filling the [wsi- 
tions above mentioned. Among various reports made 
by him, one adverse to the re-establishment of the 
death penalty, and another against a proposition to 
pay the salaries of State officers and judges in coin, 
whicli then commanded a very large premium, may 
be mentioned. He also drafted the act ratifying the 
Thirteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution, 
for the abolishment of slavery, it being the first 
amendment to the instrument ratified by Michigan. 
In 1863, from his seat in the State Senate, he de- 
livered an elaboiate s])eech in favor of the I'roclama- 



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tion of Emancipation issued by President Lincoln, 

and of his general policy in the prosecution of the 
war. This, at the request of his Republican associ- 
ates, was afterwards published. In 1867, he was 
elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, 
and chosen its presiding officer. This convention 
was composed of an able body of men ; and though, 
in the general distrust of constitutional changes 
which for some years had been taking possession of 
the people, tlieir labors were not accepted liy the pop- 
ular vote, it was always conceded tliat the constitu- 
tion they proposed had been prepared with great care 
and skill. 

In 1868, Mr. Croswell was chosen an Elector on 
the Republican Presidential ticket; in 1872, was 
elected a Representative to the State Legislature 
from Lenawee County, and was chosen Speaker of 
the House of Representatives. At the close of the 
session of that body his abilities as a parliamentarian, 
and the fairness of his rulings were freely and form- 
ally acknowledged by his associates ; and he was pre- 
sented with a superb collection of their [XDrtraits 
handsomely framed. He was, also, for several years, 
Secretary of the State Board for the general supervis- 
ion of the charitable and penal institutions of Michi- 
gan ; in which position, his propositions for the amel- 
ioration of the condition of the unfortunate, and the 
reformation of the criminal classes, signalize the be- 
nevolence of his nature, and the practical character 
of his mind. 

In 1876, the general voice of the Republicans of 
the State indicted Mr. Croswell as their choice for 
Governor; and, at the State Convention of the party 
in August of the same year, he was put in nomination 
by acclamation, without the formality of a ballot. At 
the election in November following, he was chosen to 
the high position for which he had been nominated, 
by a very large majority over all opposing candidates. 
His inaugural message was received with general 
favor; and his career as Governor was marked with 
the same qualities of head and heart that have ever 
distinguished him, both as a citizen and statesman. 




Governor Groswell has always prepared his ad- 
dresses with care ; and, as his diction is terse, clear, 
and strong, without excess of ornament, and his de- 
livery impressive, he is a popular speaker; and many 
of his speeches have attracted favorable comment in 
the public prints, and have a permanent value. He 
has always manifested a deep interest in educational 
matters, and was foryears a member and Secretary of 
the Board of Education of Adrain. At the formal 
opening of the Central School building in that city, 
on the 24lh day of .\pril, 1869, he gave, in a public 
address, an " Historical Sketch of the Adrian Public 
Schools." 

In his private life. Governor Croswell has been as 
exemplary as in his public career he has been suc- 
cessful and useful. In February, 1852, he was mar- 
ried to a daughter of Morton Eddy, Lucy M. Eddy, ( )) 
a lady of many amiable and sunny qualities. She 
suddenly died, March 19, 1868, leaving two daugh- 
ters and a son. Governor Croswell is not a member 
of any religious body, but generally attends the Pres- 
byterian Church. He pursues the profession of law, 
but of late has been occupied mainly in the care of his 
own interests, and the quiet duties of advice in 
business difficulties, for which his unfailing pru- 
dence and sound judgment eminently fit him. Gov- 
ernor Croswell is truly popular, not only with those of 
like political faith with himself, but with those who 
differ from him in this regard. 

During Gov. Croswell's administration the public 
debt was greatly reduced; a policy adopted requiring 
the State institutions to keep within the limit of ap- 
propriations; laws enacted to provide more effectually 
for the punishment of corruption and bribrery in elec- 
tions; the State House of Correction at Ionia and the 
Eastern Asylum fortlie Insane at Pontiac were opened, 
and tlie new capital at Lansing was completed and 
occupied. The first act of his second term was to pre- 
side at the dedication of this buildii^g The great riot 
at Jackson occured during his administration, and it 
was only bv his promptness that great distruction of 
both life and propevh - - 1 -.wented at tha', time. 



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GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 









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DAVID H. JEROME, Gover- 
Lnor of from Jan. i, 1881, to 
Jan. I, 1883, was born at De- 
troit, Mich., Nov. 17, 1829. 
His parents emigrated to 



Michigan from Trumansburg, 
Tompkins Co., N. Y., in 1828, 
locating at Detroit. His father 
died March 30, 1831, leaving 
nine children. He had been 
twice married, and four of the 
children living at the time of his 
death were grown up sons, the off- 
spring of his first union. Of the 
five children by his second marriage, David H. was 
the youngest. Shortly after Mr. Jerome's death, his 
widow moved back to New York and settled in 
Onondaga County near Syracuse, where they remained 
until the fall of 1S34, the four sons by the first wife 
continuing their residence in Michigan. In the fall 
of 1834, Mrs. Jerome came once more to Michigan, 
locating on a farm in St. Clair County. Here the 
Governor formed those habits of industry and ster- 
ling integrity that iiave been so characteristic of the 
man in the active duties of life. He was sent to the 
district school, and in the acquisition of the funda- 
"^ mental branches of learning he displayed a precocity 
' and an application which won for him the admiration 
'.^ of his teachers, and always placed him at the head 
*' of his classes. In the meantime he did chores on 
^/ the farm, and was always ready with a cheerful heart 
' and willing hand to assist his widowed mother. The 
V heavy labor of the farm was carried on by his two 



older brothers, Timothy and George, and when 13 
years of age David received his mother's permission to 
attend school at the St. Clair Academy. While attend- 
ing there he lived with Marcus H. Miles, now de- 
ceased, doing chores for his board, and the following 
winter performed the same service for James Ogden, 
also deceased. The next summer Mrs. Jerome 
moved into the village of .St. Clair, for the puriX)seof 
continuing her son in school. While attending said 
academy one of his associate students was Sena- 
tor Thomas W. Palmer, of Detroit, a rival candidate 
before the gubernatorial convention in 1880. He 
completed his education in the fall of his i6th year, 
and the following winter assisted his lirother Timothy 
m hauling logs in the pine woods. The next summer 
he rafted logs down the St. Clair River to .Algonac. 

In 1847, M. H. Miles being Clerk in St. Clair Coun- 
ty, and Volney A. Ripley Register of Deeds, David 
H. Jerome was apix)inted Deputy to each, remaining 
as such during 1848-49, and receiving much praise 
from his employers and the people in general for the 
ability displayed in the discharge of his duties. He 
spent his summer vacation at clerical work on board 
the lake vessels. 

In 1849-50, he abandoned office work, and for the 
proper development of his physical system spent 
several months hauling logs. In the spring of 1850, 
his brother "Tiff" and liimself chartered the steamer 
"Cliautauqua," and "Young Dave" Ijccame her mas- 
ter. A portion of the season the boat was engaged 
in the passenger and freight traffic between Port 
Huron and Detroit, but during the Litter part was 
used as a tow boat. At that time there was a serious 
obstruction to navigation, known as the "St. Clair 
Flats," between Lakes Huron and Erie, over which 




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vessels could carry only about 10,000 bushels of grain. 

tMr. Jerome conceived the idea of towing vessels 
from one lake to the other, and put his plan into 
I operation. Through the inlluence of practical men, — 
I among them the subject of this sketch, — Congress 
*^ removed the obstruction above referred to, and now 
vessels can pass them laden with 60,000 or 80,000 
bushels of grain. 

During the season, the two brothers succeeded 
in making a neat little sum of money by the sum- 
mer's work, but subsequently lost it all on a contract 
to raise the "Gen. Scott," a vessel that had sunk in 
Lake St. Clair. David H. came out free from debt, 
but possessed of hardly a dollar of capital. In the 
spring of 185 i, he was clerk and acting master of the 
steamers "Franklin Moore" and "Ruby," plying be- 
tween Detroit and Port Huron and Goderich. The 
following year he was clerk of the propeller "Prince- 
ton." running between Detroit and Buffalo. 

In January, 1853, Mr. Jerome went to California, 
by way of the Isthmus, and enjoyed extraordinary 
success in selling goods in a new place of his selec- 
■y—r tion, among the mountains near Marysville He re- 
^ mained there during the summer, and located the 
S Live Yankee Tunnel Mine, which has since yielded 
\^ millions to its owners, and is still a paying investment. 
V He planned and put a tunnel 600 feet into the mine, 
(( ■) but when the water supply began to fail with the dry 
season, sold out his interest. He left in the fall of 
1853, and in December sailed from San Francisco for 
New York, arriving at his home in St. Clair County, 
about a year after his departure. During his absence 
his brother "Tiff" had located at Saginaw, ana in 
1854 Mr. Jerome joined him in his lumber operations 
in the valley. In 1855 the brothers bought Black- 
"mer& Eaton's hardware and general supply stores, 
at Saginaw, and David H. assumed the management 
of the business. From 1855 to 1873 he was also ex- 
tensively engaged in lumbering operations. 

Soon after locating at Saginaw he was nominated 
for Alderman against Stewart B. Williams, a rising 
young man, of strong Democratic principles. The 
ward was largely Democratic, but Mr. Jerome was 
elected by a handsome majority. When the Repub- 
lican party was born at Jackson, Mich., David H. 
oi^ Jerome was, though not a delegate to the convention, 
^^ one of its "charter members." In 1862, he was com- 
missioned by Gov. Austin Blair to raise one of the 



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six regiments apportioned to the State of Michigan. 
Mr. Jerome immediately went to work and held 
meetings at various points. The zeal and enthusiasm 
displayed by this advocate of the Union awakened a 
feeling of patriotic interest in the breasts of many 
brave men, and in a short space of time the 23d 
Regiment of Michigan Volunteer Infantry was placed 
in the field, and subsequently gained for itself a bril- 
liant record. 

In the fall of 1862, Mr. Jerome was nominated by 
the Republican party for .State Senator from the 26th 
district, Appleton Stevens, of Bay City, being his op- 
ponent. The contest was vejy exciting, and resulted 
in the triumphant election of Mr. Jerome. He was 
twice renominated and elected both times by in- 
creased majorities, defeating George Lord, of Bay 
City, and Dr. Cheseman, of Gratiot County. On tak- 
ing his seat in the Senate, he was appointed Chair- 
man of the Committee on State Affairs, and was ac- 
tive in raising means and troops to carry on the war. 
He held the same position during his tliree terms of 
service, and introduced the bill creating the Soldiers' 
Home at Harper Hospital, Detroit. 

He was selected by Gov. Crapo as a military aid, 
and in 1865 was appointed a member of the State 
Military Board, and served as its President for eight 
consecutive years. In 1873, he was apjxjinced by 
Gov. Bagley a member of the convention to prepare 
a new State Constitution, and was Chairman of the 
Committee on Finance. 

In 1875, Mr. Jerome was appointed a member of 
the Board of Indian Commissioners. In I876 he was 
Chairman of a commission to visit Chief Joseph, the 
Nez Perce Indian, to arrange an amicable settlement 
of all existing difficulties. The commission went to 
Portland, Oregon, thence to the Blue Hills, in Idaho, 
a distance of 600 miles up the Columbia River. 

At the Republican State Convention, convened at 
lackson in August, 1880, Mr. Jerome was placed in 
the field for nomination, and on the 5th day of the 
montii received the highest honor the convention 
could confer on any one. His opponent was Freder- 
ick M. Holloway, of Hillsdale County, who was sup- 
]X)rted by the Democratic and Greenback jiarties. 
'Die State was tlioroughly canvassed by both parties, 
and when the polls were closed on the evening of 
election day, it was found that David H. Jerome had 
been selected by the voters of the Wolverine State to 
occupy the highest position within their gift. 



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GOVERNORS OF \TICHIGAN 






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OSIAH \S. BEGOLE, the 
present (1883), tiovernor of 
Michigan was born in Living- 
ston, County, N. Y., Jan. 20, 
1 81 5. His ancestors were of 
French descent, and settled at 
an early period in the State of 
Maiyland. Hisgrandtather,Cai)t. 
Bolles, of that State, was an offi- 
cer in the American army during 
|l the war of the Revolution. About 
i" ij the beginning of the present cent- 
ury both his grandparents, having 
lecome dissatisfied with the insti- 
tution of slavery, although slave- 
holders themselves, emigrated to 
Livingston County, N. Y., then 
a new country, taking with them a 
number of their former slaves, who 
volunteered to accompany them. 
His father was an officer in the 
American army, and served during 
the war of 1S12. 
Mr. B. received his early education in a log schuul- 
house, and subsequently attended the Temple Hill 
Academy, at Geneseo, N. Y. Being the eldest of a 
family of ten children, whose parents were in moder- 
ate though comfortable circumstances, he was early 
taught habits of industry, and when 21 years of age, 
being ambitious to better his condition in life, he re- 
solved to seek his fortune in tlie far West, as it was 






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then called. In August, 1S36, he left the parental 
roof to seek a home in the Territor)' of Michigan 
then an almost unbroken wilderness. He settled in 
Genesee County, and aided with his own hands in 
building some of the early residences in what is now 
known as the city of Flint. There were but four or 
five houses where this flourishing city now stands 
when he selected it as his home. 

In the spring of 1839 he married Miss Harriet A. 
Miles. The marriage proved a most fortunate one, 
and to the faithful wife of his youth, who lives to en- 
joy with him the comforts of an honestly earned com- 
petence, Mr. Begole ascribes largely his success in 
life. Immediately after his marriage he commenced 
work on an unimproved farm, where, by his perse- 
verance and energy, he soon established a good home, 
and at the end of eighteen years was the owner of a 
well improved farm of five hundred acres. 

Mr. Begole being an anti-slavery man, became a 
member of the Republican jiarty at its organization. 
He served his toivnsmen in various offices, and was 
in 1856, elected County Treasurer, which office he 
held for eight years. 

.\t the breaking out of the Rebellion he did not 
carry a musket to the front, but his many friends will 
bear witness that he took an active part in recruiting 
and furnishing supplies for the army, and in looking 
after the interests of soldiers' families at home. The 
death of his eldest son near .Atlanta, (la., by a Confed- 
rate bullet, in 1864, was the greatest sorrow of his life. ®\ 
When a few years later he was a member in Congress '^ 






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JOSIAH W. BEGOLE. 



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Gov. Begole voted and worked for the soldiers' 
bounty equalization bill, an act doing justice to the 
soldier who bore the burden and heat of the day, and 
who should fare equally with him who came in at the 
eleventh hour. That bill was defeated in the House 
on account of the large appropriation that would be 
required to pay the same. 

In [870, Gov. Begole was nominated by acclama- 
tion for the office of State Senator, and elected by a 
large majority. In that body he served on the Com- 
mittees of Finance and Railroads, and was Chairman 
of the Committee on the Institute for the Deaf and 
Dumb and Blind. He took a liberal and public- 
spirited view of the importance of a new capitol 
building worthy of the State, and was an active mem- 
ber of the Committee that drafted the bill for the 
same He was a delegate to the National Republi- 
can Convention held at Philadelphia in 1872, and 
was the chosen member of ^that delegation to go to 
Washington and inform Gen. Grant and Senator 
Wilson of their nominations. It was while at that 
convention that, by the express wish of his many 
friends, he was induced to offer himself a can- 
didate for tlie nomination of member to the 43d Con- 
gress, in which he was successful, after competing for 
the nomination with several of the most worthy, able 
and experienced men in the Si.xth Congressional Dis- 
trict, and was elected by a very large majority. In 
Congress, he was a member of the Committee on 
.Agricultural and Public Expenditures. Being one of 
the 17 farmers in that Congress, he took an active 
part in the Committee of Agriculture, and was ap- 
pointed by that committee to draft the most impor- 
tant report made by that committee, and upon the 
only subject recommended by the President in his 
message, which he did and the report was printed in 
records of Congress ; he took an efficient though an 
unobtrusive part in all its proceedings. 

He voted for the currency bill, remonetization of 
silver, and other financial measures, many of which, 
though defeated then, have since become the settled 
policy of the country. Owing to the position which 
Mr. Begole occupied on these questions, he became a 
"Greenbacker." 

In the Gubernatorial election of 1882, Mr. Begole 
was the candidate of both the Greenback and Dem- 
ocratic parties, and was elected by a vote of 154,269, 
the Republican candidate, Hon. David H. Jerome, 



receiving 149,697 votes. Mr. Begole, in entering 
upon his duties as Governor, has manifested a spirit 
that has already won him many friends, and bids fair 
to make his administration both successful and pop- 
ular. 

The very best indications of what a man is, is what 
his own townsmen think of him. We give the fol- 
lowing extract from the Flint GMf, the leading Re- 
publican paper m Gov. Begole's own county, and it, 
too, written during the heat of a political campaign, 
which certainly is a flattering testimonial of his ster- 
ling worth: 

" So far, however, as Mr. Begole, the head of the 
ticket, is concerned, there is nothing detrimental to 
his character that can be alleged against him. He 
has sometimes changed his mind in politics, but for 
sincerity of his beliefs and the earnestness of his pur- 
pose nobody who knows him entertains a doubt. He 
is incapable of bearing malice, even against his bit- 
terest ix)litical enemies. He has a warm, generous 
nature, and a larger, kinder heart does not beat in 
the bosom of any man in Michigan. He is not much 
given to making speeches, but deeds are more signif- 
icant of a man's character than words. There are 
many scores of men in all parts of the State where 
Mr. Begole is acquainted, who have had practical 
demonstrations of these facts, and who are liable to 
step outside of party lines to show that they do not 
forget his kindness, and who, no doubt, wish that he 
was a leader in what would not necessarily prove a 
forlorn hope. But the Republican party in Michigan 
is too strong to be beaten by a combination of Demo- 
crats and Greenbackers, even if it is marshaled by so 
good a man as Mr. Begole." 

This sketch would be imperfect without referring 
to the action of Mr. B. at the time of the great calamity 
that in 1881 overtook the people of Northeastern 
Michigan, in a few hours desolating whole counties 
by fire and destroying the results and accumulations 
of such hard work as only falls to the lot of pioneers. 
While the Port Huron and Detroit committees were 
quarreling over the distribution of funds, Mr. Begole 
wrote to an agent in the "jbumt district " a letter, from 
which we make an extract of but a single sentence: 
"Until the differences between the two committees 
are adjusted and you receive your regular supplies 
from them, draw on me. Let no man suffer while I 
have money." This displays his true character. 



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^'^'^ N THE strength of the his- 

(, , -Jifc if tory of a section of country 

■J^te-^ lies the biographical rec- 

^jfelf ord of its seitlers and later 

>'ife''i residents. 1 he annals of 

^'^, the one class delineate its 

pioneer period ; those of the 



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other represent its progress and the 
status of the generation whose experien- 
ces constitute the period closed by tiie 
era of its collated records. Gratiot 
County is fortunate in its day. Its won- 
^^ . derful pioneer era laps on its present 
' '' period and the registration is complete. 
Many of those whose efforts gave the 
county its earliest iinjjetus may still l)e 
seen in its thoroughfares. Many of the 
characters in the day of its first things are still on 
the stage and watch with keen-eyed alertness the 
manipulating of the present, still jealous for the 
repute of Gratiot, and eagerly solicitous for her sub- 
stantial and permanent progress. 

The projectors of these records strive to establish 
but one claim for its biographical integrity. It is 
prepared from ^he stand-point of no man's i)rejudice 
or biased opinion. To demonstrate the exact rela- 
tion of every individual rejiresented to the genera- 



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tions of the past and present is its full scope in 
personal record. 

Succeeding ages sweep away the debris of human 
errors and perpetuate the real greatness of a com- 
munity. Character stands out statuesque and events 
i:luster about individuals forming the grandest and 
truest historical structure of which any age is capa- 
ble. Only biography can fitly represent the founda- 
tion, progress and ultimatinit of local history and 
portray with perfect justice the precise attitude and 
relation of men to events and to circumstances. 

Gratiot County is justly proud of her pioneer 
record, and, so far as possible, the compilers of the 
biographical sketches have striven to honor the rep- 
resentatives of that period as well as those of to-day. 
I,abor and struggle, performed in the light of hope 
and tlie earnestness of honest endeavor, established 
the county on a permanent basis, and is rounding up 
a period of glorious completeness. Her villages are 
creditable and her agricultural community is com- 
posed of the best grades of humanity. 

In the following sketches but one purpose has been 
keiit in view — to collect floating threads of personal 
record, through which the enterprise of decades to 
follow may complete a perfect and continuous histor- 
ical line from the earliest settlement of the county. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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EN. NATHAN CHURCH, 

senior member of the bank- 
ing house of Church, Bills & 
Co., Ithaca, was born in 
Ionia Co., Mich., Nov. 22 
1840. He is of English an- 
cestry, and is the son of 
Lafayette and Sophronia ( Benjamin ) 
Church. His father was born July 
5,1816, in Niagara Co., N. Y., near 
the shore of I>ake Ontario, and was the 
youngest of nine children — seven sons 

and two daughters. Four of the sons 
and one daughter are yet living, their 
ages ranging from 84 to 68, and the 
average age being 74. 

The name of Church is quite a prominent one. 
Some of the family have rendered service to the Gov- 
ernment, to literature, theology or science, in almost 
every decade of the history of this country. The 
father of Lafayette, Willard Church, was a soldier of 
the Revolutionary war, serving gallantly under " Mad 
Anthony " Wayne, and was one of the few survivors 
of the hardships endured by the prisoners of war on 
the prison ship Jersey. He was a near relative of 
Col. Benjamin Church, famous in the King Philip 
war. Four of the seven sons above referred to be- 
came ministers in the Baptist Church, and Pharcellus 
Church, D. D., now living at Tarrytown, N. Y., is 



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well-known in theological circles as the author of a 
number of able and useful religious works. He was 
for a number of years editor of the New York Chron- 
icle, which was afterwards merged with tlie Exam- 
iner, and became The Examiner and Chronicle. I'wo 
of his sons founded the Galaxy (since bought out by 
the Century), and now publish the Army and Navy 
Journal. Leroy Church, another of the seven broth- 
ers, was for some years editor and publisher of the 
Chicago Standard, a Baptist newspaper well-known 
throughout the West. 

Lafayette Church (who has a more detailed sketch 
elsewhere in tliis work) came to Michigan in 1836, 
and was one of the pioneers of Ionia County. In 
1847, he removed to Wheatland Township, Hillsdale 
County, and in 1854 he made his final location in 
Arcada Township, this county, upon land purcliased 
of the Government, where he resides, being one 
of the earliest pioneers of the county. While 
engaged in agriculture, he was also a worker 
for Christianity, having been ordained a minister in 
the Baptist Church. He was thus doubly occupied 
until the fall of 1862, when his patriotic impulses led 
him to offer his services to the Government, receiv- 
ing authority from the Governor of the State. He, 
with his son Nathan, and Mr. Turck, of Alma, raised 
a company of volunteers from among the best people 
in the county, and this was made Co. D, 26th Mich. 
Vol. Inf., of which he was commissioned Captain. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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The regiment rendezvoused at Jackson, Mich., where 
it was the recipient of much attention from the pat- 
riotic citizens and press. (Before leaving for the 
front, it was presented by the ladies of Jackson with 
a beautiful blue silk banner, which was carried into 
many a hard-fought engagement daring the war. The 
blood-stained remnant is now preserved among the 
battle-flags in the State Military Museum at Lan- 
sing.) On reaching Washington, the regiment was 
assigned to provost duty at Alexandria, and it was 
thus engaged until the following spring, when it was 
ordered to Suffolk to aid in resisting the advance of 
Gen. Longstreet. Its signally gallant services in the 
field from that time until the close of the war — no- 
tably from the Wilderness to Appomattox — made it 
one of the best-known organizations in the service, 
being particularly famous as " skirmishers." Capt. 
Church served with his company until April 2, 1864, 
when he was appointed Chaplain of the regiment, 
and held that position until the close of the war. 
Since his muster-out, he has led a quiet life at his 
home in Arcada Townsliip. 

The subject of this biography, Nathan Church, at- 
tended the common schools of Hillsdale and Gratiot 
Counties until he was 16 years old, when he entered 
Kalamazoo College. After a partial course of study 
in that institution, he became assistant in the office 
of his father (who had been elected County Treas- 
urer), and for some time had entire charge of the 
business of that office. After three years with his 
father, he taught school for a time at Ithaca and St. 
Louis, one term in each village. He was also for a 
short time cleik in the store of John Jeffrey, one of 
the earliest in the county, in which was also located 
the village postofifice. 

It was, however, in the late civil war that he found 
the opportunities for which he was most naturally 
fitted. An eager, ambitious youth, the series of events 
before the firing on Sumter had deeply interested his 
ardent mind, and three months before he was of age 
he was enrolled in the volunteer army. Aug. 12 
1861, he enlisted in Co. C, 8th Mich. 'Vol. Inf., and 
when the organization of the company was perfected 
he was made Sergeant. He served in that company 
until Jan. 17, 1862, when, suffering terribly from 
rheumatism, he was discharged for disability at Beau- 
fort, S. C, coming home upon crutches. The next 
summer, having partially recovered his health, he, 



his father and William S. Turck raised a company 
by their joint efforts, which was mustered in as Co. 
D, 26th Mich. Vol. Inf., and of this company Lafay- 
ette Church was, as above mentioned, commissioned 
Captain, Nathan Church First Lieutenant, and AVm. 
S. Turck Second Lieutenant. Lieut. Church's com- 
mission was dated Sept. I, 1862. On the arrival of 
the regiment at the seat of war, it was assigned to 
provost duty at Alexandria, Va., and soon after Lieut. 
Church was detailed as Aid-de-camp upon the staff 
of Gen. Slough, Military Governor of Alexandria, 
which position he held until his regiment was ordered 
to Suffolk. April 15, 1863, he was promoted Adju- 
tant of his regiment, and one year from that date was 
commissioned Captain. He served with his regiment 
at the siege of Suffolk, Va., in the Blackwater expedi- 
tions, the second campaign on the Peninsula in 1863, 
and in the Second Army Corps (Hancock's) through 
the memorable campaigns of 1864 and 1865. 

In the great battle of Spottsylvania Court-House, 
Va , May 12, 1864, in which 4,500 prisoners, 25 flags 
and 22 pieces of artillery were captured, his regiment 
was in the front line in the assault, and was the first 
to reach the enemy's works — at the deadly " angle" — 
which were carried after a desperate hand-to-hand 
fight- Adjutant Church (not having yet been mus- 
tered in as Captain) was with two or three non-com- 
nJssioned officers, the first to scale the works. His 
regiment lost about one-third of its men in this bat- 
tle, seven of the nine color-guards being killed or 
wounded. His conduct on this occasion attracted the 
attention of Gen. N. A. Miles, then commanding the 
ist Brigade, ist Division, 2d Corps, who detailed 
him at once upon his staff. He served upon this 
gallant General's staff until the close of the war, 
except some portions of the time when in command 
of his regiment, holding successively the positions 
of Aid-de-camp, Brigade Inspector, Division Inspec- 
tor, Engineer Officer ist Division, and Adjutant 
General of the Military District of Fortress Monroe. 

He was appointed to the rank of Major Sept. 12, 

1864, having previously been bre vetted as Major of 
United States Volunteers " for gallant services before 
Petersburg, Va. ;" and Lieutenant-Colonel, March 7, 

1865, for "conspicuous gallantry and meritorious 
services " in the campaign terminating in Lee's sur- 
render at Appomattox. The 26th, under his com- 
mand, occupiedintrenchments before Petersburg, and, 



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during the closing months of 1864 and the early part 
of 1865, was engaged in almost daily fighting, except 
while in winter quarters. It was in the skirmish line 
on the 9th of April, when Lee surrendered, and 
through its lines. Gen. (rrant, with a filag of truce, 
carried out part of the important ceremony. His 
regiment was mustered out June 4, 1865, but he was 
retained in tlie service of the United States by spe- 
cial order of the War Department, and assigned to 
duty as Assistant Adjutant General of the Military 
District of Fortress Monroe. This positon he held 
until Nov. 7, 1865, when he was relieved, at his own 
request. While here, his duties brought him frequent- 
ly in contact with Jefferson Davis, at that time a pris- 
oner in that fortress. 

Gen. Church was not only a brilliant officer of un- 
usually quick perceptions and commanding presence, 
but was distinguished for beiiig reckless of his per- 
sonal safety. 

A newspaper account by an eye witness states that 
at Sailor's Creek, Col. Church, mounted upon a white 
horse, led two regiments, his own and the 140th Pa. 
Vol., in an assault upon entrenchments occupied by a 
superior force of the enemy, and that, being the only 
mounted officer, he reached the works several yards 
in advance of his men. The prisoners captured in 
the works outnumbered the attacking party. His 
gallant conduct in this affair elicited much comment. 

On the suggestion of Gen. Miles, he was appointed 
a Captain in the regular army at the close of the war, 
but this commission he declined. 

Returning to the employments of peace, Gen. 
Church formed a partnership with Wilbur Nelson, 
and the two opened a general merchandise store at 
Ithaca. This connection was prosperous and lasted 
vmtil 1872, when, having become interested in lum- 
bering and real-estate speculations, he sold his inter- 
est in the store to Gilbert C. Smith. In 1866, soon 
after entering mercantile life, he founded the Gratiot 
Journal, of which for one year he was editor, and 
joint proprietor with Daniel Taylor. In December of 
1872, he purchased a saw-mill in Arcada Town- 
ship, four miles north of Ithaca. This is still owned 
by him, together with 1,200 acres of timberedl and in 
that vicinity and a large amount of other land through- 
out the county. He employs at present 30 men, in 
sawing, planing and manufacturing lumber, shingles, 
hoops and staves. The banking house of Church, 



Bills & Co. was organized in 1877, the first of the 
two firms doing a banking business at Ithaca. Gen. 
Church still deals largely in real estate, and this, 
with his other interests, make him one of the busiest 
men in the community. 

He has been an earnest supporter of the various 
railroads projected for Gratiot County. He has de- 
voted both time and money to bring Ithaca into rail 
communication with the outer world, and his friends 
truly say that without his efforts Gratiot's county-seat 
would to-day be without a railroad. He held the 
position of Postmaster at Ithaca for seven years, and 
County Clerk two terms, or four years. He was 
largely instrumental in organizing the Gratiot County 
Agricultural Society, and was its first President. 

Dec. 25, i866, at Tecumseh, Lenawee County, he 
was united in marriage to Miss Mary H., daughter of 
Hon. Perley and Caroline (Brown) Bills. She was 
born May 17, 1848, in that village, and graduated at 
the State Normal School, at Ypsilanli, in the class of 
1866. To this marriage five children have been 
born: Carrie Helen, Jan. 5, 1868; Leroy B., July 20, 
i86g; Clarence N. and Gaylord P. (twins), Aug. 12, 
i87t ; and Edgar N., Aug. i, 1874. Gaylord P. died 
when about a year old. 

Gen. Church is f)olitically a Republican, but while 
he is influential in his party, he is in no sense a wire- 
puller or office-seeker. His title as General is given 
him by reason of his being appointed Quartermaster 
General on the staff of Governor Jerome, in 1881, 
which rank he held for two years. He is a remarka- 
bly active, clear-headed and successful business man, 
a public-spirited citizen, and has worked effectively 
for the welfare of Ithaca and Gratiot County. His 
many good qualities are so universally esteemed 
that all will be pleased to see his portrait, given 
opposite the beginning of this sketch. 



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. ohn li. Richard, farmer, section t,'^, New- 
1^" ark Township, was born July 7, 1844, i" 
Pennsylvania. He is a son of John and 
Rachel (Fiy) Richard, both of whom were 
natives of the Keystone State, were there mar- 
ried and resided 14 years. In 1846 they 
removed to Ohio, and there belonged to the farming 



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class. In the spring of 1871 they came to Gratiot 
County and settled in the township of Newark, where 
they still reside. 

Mr. Richard was a child of two years when his 
parents located in the Buckeye State, where he grew 
to the age of 18 years, engaged in assisting on the 
farm, and acquiring a fair education in the common 
schools. Roused to a sense of the necessity pressing 
upon the authorities of the United States Government 
under the stringencies of civil war, he yielded to his 
convictions of duty and enlisted Aug. 6, 1862, in the 
tilth Reg. Ohio Vol. Inf, and served his country 
under that enrollment three years. He was in the 
battle of Hough's Ferry, Tenn., and, while on picket 
guard at Lenoir Station, he, with 5 1 of his comrades, 
was captured by the rebels, and conducted to 
Atlanta, Ga., where they were held two weeks, and 
then removed to Pemberton Castle, Richmond, and 
a month later were incarcerated at Belle Isle. They 
became inmates of the latter place on the first day 
of January, 1864, and there remained until March 12, 
when they were transferred to the stockade prison at 
.^ndersonville, where their sufferings were in no sense 
or degree less than those of the myriads who suc- 
cumbed to the horrors of the place, or of those whose 
endurance proved equal to such frightful experiences 
as cannot be equaled on the recorded pages of 
human suffering. The very name of Andersonville 
must cause a shudder while time endures! M'ter 
seven months of horror they were sent to Savannah, 
and later to Milan, whence, after a month, they 
were ordered to be transferred to Blackshear, Ga. 
While on their way thither the train was intercepted, 
and 250 starved, ragged, forlorn human creatures, of 
whom Mr. Richard was one, were paroled and sent 
to the camp at Annapolis. Two weeks later they 
were furloughed, and Mr. Richard returned to his 
home in Ohio. In six weeks he was exchanged and 
rejoined his regiment. His health was too much im- 
paired for active service, and he was on detached 
duty until the close of the war. On the exjiiration of 
his term of enrollment he was discharged, at (Cleve- 
land, Ohio, whence lie returned home. 

Mr. Richard was uiarried Dec. 28, 1865, to Sarah 
D., youngest da\ighter of .\sa and Jane (Staples) 
Richardson. The father was a native of Vermont, 
the mother of Maine. Of this marriage, four chil- 
dren have been born : Earl C, .\lice I., Tacie A., 
and Laura M. 



After his becoming a family man, Mr. Richard 
continued to reside in Ohio until 1870. In that year, 
he removed his family and interests to Gratiot Co., 
Mich., and bought 40 acres of land in Newark Town- 
ship. On this he has already cleared and placed 35 
acres under creditable cultivation. He is a Repub- 
lican of unmistakable type, and has served his town- 
ship in several official positions to which he has been 
elected. He received an appointment in iSSo to fill 
a vacancy as Township Clerk, and has been since 
twice elected to the same incumbency, which he now 
holds. A branch of the body known as the Union 
Prisoners of War Association, designated the (amp 
of Gratiot County, has been established therein, of 
which Mr. Richard is President. Himself and wife 
are members of the United Brethren Church 



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■ ''Sf Imon Townsend, farmer, section 31, North 

.^JAa.:. Shade Township, is a son of Josiah and 

f}'\fsf Dolly (Parker) Townsend, natives of Mas- 

vPp sachusetts and Connecticut respectively. They 

' ', both died in the State of New York, the father 

in Wayne and the mother in Jefferson County. 

Almon was born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., Jan. 7, 
1804, and remained under the parental care until he 
was 2 1 years of age, when he bought 200 acres of 
land in his native county. He improved 160 acres 
of this land, and there made his home for a jteriod 
of 28 years, when he sold it and moved to Wayne 
County, same State. There he remained, farming 
and stock-raising, for five years, until 1865, when he 
again sold out and came to Hubbardston, Ionia 
County, this State, and lived for about one year. 
From this point he moved to Clinton County, this 
State, and entered upon the arduous task of clearing 
and improving a new farm, which he successfully ac- 
complished, and erected a house and barn thereon, 
at a cost of some $2,000. 

Mr. Townsend was united in marriage to Miss 
Chloe, daughter of Gad and Sally Chapin, residents 
of Jefferson Co., N. Y., Sept. 28, 1828. The father 
and mother died in their native county at an early 
day, and the wife passed away from earth in Aug- 
ust, 1880. 






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In 1881, Mr. Townsend removed from Clinton to 
this county and settled on 80 acres of Government 
land on section 31, on which he is now residing. 

Mr. Townsend was again married, his second wife 
being Mrs. Emma S. Myers, daughter of John and 
Lorinda (Wales) Robbins, natives of Massachusetts 
and New York respectively. 

The father has constantly followed the occupation 
of farming, and is at present living in Clinton County, 
this State. The mother died in Jefferson Co., N. Y., 
in 1845. Mrs. Emma Townsend, the wife of our 
subject, was born in Lewis Co., N. Y., April 17, 1834, 
and is the mother of four children, namely, Ardella 
I., Dempster E., Jerome W. and Orrin A. The hus- 
band and wife are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal and Chiistian Churches, respectively. 

Mr. Townsend is a man of iron constitution, hale, 
hearty and enjoying life at 80 years of age. In po- 
litical opinion and belief he is a staunch Republican. 



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ohn Lewis, farmer and stock-raiser, section 
9, .Sumner Township, was born in Salem 
Township, Washtenaw Co., Mich., Feb. 21, 
1833, and is probably one of the oldest natives 
jL of Michigan now living in Gratiot County. His 
parents, John and Jane (Lewis) Lewis, were 
natives.of Steuben (,'o., N. Y., and of Dutch ancestry. 
They followed farming, and coming to Michigan in 
1828, were among the first settlers in Washtenaw 
County. Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti were then small 
villages. The first newspaper, the Einigraiii, was 
started a year after their arrival. Indians were nu- 
merous. John was a strong young fellow, and as he 
grew up he helped fell the timber and clear their farm 
of 160 acres. It is likely that these jnoneer experi- 
ences have had their effect on his after life, in mak- 
ing him better able to face the cold world. 

Losing his father when he was r6 years old, he was 
obliged to look out for himself; and he worked out by 
tlie month in the woods and among the neighboring 
farmers. Jan. i, 1855, in his native county, he mar- 
ried Miss Theda M. Noble, born in Wayne Co., Mich., 
Sept. 25, 1837. She was reared and educated in 
Washtenaw County. 



Mr. and Mrs. Lewis then settled on the farm 
which he had purchased when 22 years old. He af- 
terward purchased a larger farm, which lie had to 
give up in the hard tiines that existed about the open- 
ing year of the war. In 1863, he moved to Living- 
ston County, where he rented a farm for three years; 
and in February, 1866, he settled on 60 acres on 
section 9, Sumner Township, which he had purchased 
the previous fall. To this farm he has added 60 
acres, and more than half of his farm is well improved 
and cultivated. He has also a suitable residence and 
barns. 

Mr. Lewis has been in every sense an active man. 
For 14 seasons he ran a threshing-machine ; and he 
purchased the first machine ever brought into his 
native township. He has also lumbered extensively, 
putting in 1,000,000 feet one winter. He has held 
various offices in his school district, and politically 
is a Republican. His wife has for 20 years been an 
active member of the United Brethren Church. Mr. 
and Mrs. L. are the parents of two children: Her- 
bert H., born Feb. 21, i860; Cora M., born March 
2, 1867. 








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ames T. Hall, resident at St. Louis, was a 
'^ son of Abraham and Hannah (Jones) Hall, 
The parents were both of pure English ex- 
traction, and emig.rated to the New World about 
]L 1832 or 't,t,. They first located in Herkimer 
('o., N. Y., and from there moved to Oneida 
County, same State, where tliC father followed the 
occupation of a farmer until his death in 1856. The 
mother died in the same county in 1841. 

James T. Hall, the subject of our biographical 
notice, was born in Herkimer Co., N. Y., Feb. 8, 
1836. When one year of age he was taken by his 
parents to Oneida County, same State. He resided 
in that county, working on his father's farm and at- 
tending the common schools, until 1868, when his 
parents had both deceased, and he came to this coun- 
ty and located at Alma. Oh his arrival at Alma he 
associated himself with a Messrs. Pierce and Ward, 
under the firm name of Pierce, Hall & Ward, in the 
UinibL-r business. The firm had a lumber-yard at 
Alma and also a mill, and shipped the product of the 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



latter to Saginaw. They were also engaged in the 
purchase of tracts of timber land on Pine River. 
The partnership lasted until 1875, when it was mutu- 
ally dissolved. 

Politically, Mr. Hall is a Democrat. In the fall 
of 1874 he was elected County Register of Deeds, 
running against Joseph H. Seaver, of Ithaca, and, al- 
though the county was conceded to be 800 Republi- 
can, Mr. Hall was elected by a majority of 104 votes. 
In 1876 he again ran for the same position, but was 
defeated. 

After his retirement from office, Mr. Hall engaged 
with the Chicago, Saginaw & Canada Railroad as 
conductor, and followed that occupation until 1880, 
when he became Superintendent of the road. He 
served in that capacity from June, 1880, to June, 
1883, when the road was sold to the Detroit, Lan- 
sing & Nortliern Railroad, .\fter quitting the above 
business he commenced the manufacture of patint 
hoops, at Alma. His machine was one of three in 
the United States, and cut the hoops from the solid 
log, at the rate of 100 per minute. They ship to 
Chicago, New York city, St. Louis (Mo.), and Sagi- 
naw City, and are meeting with signal success in the 
business. 

Mr. Hall was united in marriage, June 6, 1867, at 
Holland Patent, Oneida Co., N. Y., to Miss Catherine 
L. Hamlin (daughter of Joseph and Delia Hamlin), 
born in Holland Patent, April i, 1841. Their union 
has been blessed with two children: Jessie W., born 
at Alma, March 10, 1870; and Nina A., born at 
Alma, in October, 187 1. 

Mr. Hall held the position of Supervisor of Ar- 
cada Township four terms — 187 1-72-74-77. Socially 
he is a member of the Order of Masonry, Knights 
Templar, A. O. U. W., and K. of H., and has been 
Trustee of the village of St. Louis one term — 187 1-2. 



»fffi|'<illiam J. Marshall, farmer, section 33, 

f ' ^vj^; ^' North Star Township, was born in the 
p county 01 Livingston, State of New York 
March 30, 1833. He is a son of William and 
Elizabeth (Chase) Marshall, natives of the 
Empire State. They moved to Allegany Co., same 
State, in i84i,and after remaining there two years, 
in 1843, and when our subject was but ten years old. 







came to this State and settled in Ingham County. 
Here William remained attending the common 
schools, assisting his father in the support of the 
family and developing into manhood. In 1856, 
when 23 years of age, Mr. Marshall left the parental 
home in Ingham County and came to this county. 
He first settled on section 9, North S:ar Township, 
and now owns 100 acres of good agricultural land on 
section 7,2,- Nov. 26, of this year, he was unitedin 
marriage to Sarah, daughter of Abijah L, and Phebe 
(Driggs) Clark. The father is deceased, and the 
mother is still living in Bunker Hill, Ingham County, 
this State. Mrs. M. was born in Batavia, Genesee 
Co., N. Y. She received a good education in the 
common schools of her native county and attending 
Michigan Central College, then located at Spring 
Arbor and now being at Hillsdale, Mich. Her desire 
and aim was to become proficient as a teacher, and 
so studiously did she apply herself to the accom- 
plishment of that end that, while but 14 years of 
age, her knowledge was considered sufficient to 
enable her to enter upon her labors of imparting W'. 
knowledge to the young, which occupation she has ^ 
successfully followed for a number of years, receiving v*^ 
numerous encomiums upon her competency, pro- r=i 
ficiency and the success of her work. She has *t/ 
taught in Genesee Co., N. Y. ; Jackson, Ingham and ^ 
Gratiot Counties, this State. She taught eight terms ( ' 
in District No. 5, North Star Township, this county, 
the last term being in the winter of 1 881-2. 

When the cloud of rebellion arose and threatened 
the Nation with dissolution, and when every loyal 
heart beat with a throb of sorrow at the injustice of 
their brothers in dishonoring the " Flag of our Fa- 
thers " by their attack on Sumter, our subject joined 
the ranks of tlie defenders of the Nation's honor and 
enlisted in Co. D, 26th Mich. Vol. Inf., Aug. 9, 1862. 
He was on detail service most all the time during his 
term of enlistment and was discharged June 5, 1865, 
after serving almost three years. 

Mr. Marshall has cleared for himself and others 
over 150 acres of land. When he began in this (^ 
county he had no team and he had to work two days f 
for the use of an ox team one day. He finally got ^\_ 
possession of a yoke of calves and soon had a team 
of his own. He went to Maple Rapids to purchase 
flour, a distance of 20 miles, and his conveyance was 
a two-wheeled cart with a wood-rack on it ; he 




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walked all the way, and two-thirds of the way he was 
compelled to go on logs to keej) out of the water; and 
the money he paid for the flour he earned by chop- 
ping a road four rods wide and clearing two and a 
half rods wide, at six cents a rod, through a heavy 
timber. In fact, Mr. M. experienced all the trials so 
well known to the old pioneers of the county. 

Mr. and Mrs. M. have one child living and one 
dead. Phebe E. (Mrs. George Belding, of North 
Star Township) is the living child, and William L. 
died at five years of age. They also have an adopted 
son, Benjamin J. Mr. M. is a member of the Ma- 
sonic Order. 




3-W— ^ 



I homas R. Payne, farmer, section 28, Fulton 
Township, is a son of Arnold and Loana 
W^ (Parker) Payne, natives of Rhode Island 
and New York State. They first settled after 
marriage in New York, and afterwards came 
to Michigan, locating at Green Oak, Living- 
ston County. Tliey afterwards removed to Ingham 
County, and several years later, in 1846, they came 
to Fulton Township, this county. She died in 1850, 
and he followed Nov. 23, 1879. 

Their family was composed of eight sons and five 
daughters. Thomas R., the youngest, was born in 
Ingham Co., Mich., Jan. 14, 1845, and was one year 
old when his parents removed to Gratiot County. 
He remained at home attending the common schools 
and working on the parental farm until 21 years old, 
except a year and a half spent in the service of his 
country. He enlisted, in December, 1863, in the 4th 
Mich. Vol. Cav., and served till July, 1865. May 
18, 1864, in a fight at Kingston, Ga., he was wounded 
in the abdomen. In consequence of this he was 
transferred to tlie Veteran Reserve Corps, where he 
served until his discharge. 

Returning from the army he worked his father's 
farm on shares until the hitter's death. He has 
owned at different times various tracts of land and 
in 1879 he bought 80 acres on section 28, Fulton, 
where he now resides. He now owns go acres of land, 
70 of which are nicely cultivated. He has built a 
modern residence and barn, which will compare 
favorably with any in Fulton Township. 

He was first married in Fulton Township, Oct. 23. 



1865, to Maggie, daughter of John and Sarah (Covert) 
Potes, natives of Pennsylvania and New York State. 
Mrs. Payne was born in Seneca Co., N. Y., Feb. 5, 
1844, and died Aug. 22, 1874, leaving three children : 
Newton B., Frank J. and Maggie M. Mr. P. was 
again married, in Lenawee Co., Mich., Dec. 31, 1874, 
to. Sarah J. Potes, youngest sister of his first wife. 
She was born in Lyons, Fulton Co., Ohio, Dec. 10, 
r856, and is now the mother of one daughter, Myrtle 
A. Mr. and Mrs. P. are members of the Christian 
Church. Politically, he is a Republican. 



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\ obert Smith, editor and proprietor of the 
Graliof Journal, imblished at Ithaca, was 
^^P^' born April 13, 184 1. At the age of 14 
Vv^ years he entered a printing office, with a pur- 
pose to master a knowledge of the "'art pre- 
servative of all arts." He has worked in 
every sjihere known to that business, and is thoroughly 
versed in all its various details. In i860 he removed 
from his home in Syracuse, N. Y., to New York city, 
where he passed six months as a journeyman printer. 
He then returned to Syracuse and after a brief stay 
there proceeded to Rochester, in the same State, 
where he remained till the winter of 1863. He then 
came to Lansing, Mich., and obtained employment 
in the State printing office. In the summer of 1864 
he and H. S. Hilton went to St. John's and |)ur- 
chased the Clinton RepuMican. They continued the 
publication of that journal till 1869. During this 
period Messrs. Hilton & Smith, in company with C. 
F. Smith, established the Flinf Globe, the latter and 
Mr. Hilton managing the Globe, while Robert Smith 
remained at St. John's and controlled the destiny of 
the Republican, making it one of the handsomest and 
best weeklies in Michigan. 

In 1869, as above stated, these gentlemen disposed 
of both journals, H. S. Hilton and Robert Smith 
subse(piently going to Jackson, Mich., where they 
purchased a two-thirds interest in the Dailv Citizen. 
They remained there some eight months, when they 
severed their connection with that journal. Mr. 
Smith then returned to Si. John's again, where he 
temporarily established his home. 'I'he following 
winter he was induced to take the management of the 
job department of the Lansing State Republican 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



office. He continued in this capacity till the next 
spring, when his health failed in consequence of a 
too close application to his duties. He then deter- 
mined to remove to Minnesota and engage in other 
business. 

He therefore located at Taylor's Falls, in that 
State, wliere he purchased a hardware store, and con- 
tinued its operation for some 15 niontlis, with satis- 
factory results. 

In the fall of 1872, in compliance with the 
solicitations of friends, he visited Ithaca and pur- 
chased the Gratiot /ot//nat, since which he has con- 
trolled its columns. 

In September, 1879, while absent at Detroit, the 
building in which his business was established was 
destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of $5,000, with an 
insurance of $3,200. Looking over the situation 
calmly, he determined to proceed with his business, 
and before he left Detroit he purchased a new office 
equipment, and so expedited his movements that he 
issued his paper without the loss to his patrons of a 
single copy. He bought the ground property where 
he is now located, on which a building was in pro- 
cess of erection, the lower story being well nigh com- 
pleted, and re-established himself in his business, 
which he has continued to conduct, with success. 
He manages a heavy job-printing business. The list 
of subscribers to his paper numbers upwards of 1,700. 

Mr. Smith was married Oct. 5, 1869, at St. John's, 
Mich., to Miss H. Carrie Scattergood. She is a native 
of Plymouth, Wayne Co., Mich., where she was born 
Feb. 8, 1846, and is the daughter of Joshua and 
Caroline (Barker) Scatteigood. To Mr. and Mr. 
Smith three children have been born : Robert, Jr., at 
St. John's, Oct. 18, 1870; Maud, at Mankato, Minn., 
Aug. 15, 1872, and Harry M., at Ithaca, Oct. 17, 1876. 



-ra=^=^<f 




I illiam H Sibley, farmer, section 18, Se- 
_ ville Township, was born June 9, 1S33, in 
j|^n" '-'°'^"»1''^ *^'o-' N. V. His parents, Wiil- 
V iam and Rutli (Vincent) Sibley, were natives 
of the same county where their son was 
J ' born. The father engaged in farming in his 
native Slate for a number of years, and in 1839 he 
removed his family to Jackson Co., Mich. They 
went later to Calhoun County, where, in 1864, the 



father died, and the demise of the mother occurred 
in 1872. 

Mr. Sibley was 1 1 years old when he came to 
Michigan. He commenced to work by tlie month as 
a farm laborer at 14 years old, at $5 per month, and 
worked for various parties from that time on. He 
was employed for $20 a month for about two years 
in Branch County. He then went to Calhoun Coun- 
ty, where he remained the same length of time, re- 
turning thence to Brancii County. He went again, 
four years later, to Calhoun County, where he re- 
mained four years, and then in Branch County again 
until 1876, when he came to Gratiot County and lo- 
cated again as stated, and has since been engaged 
in farming. 

Mr. Sibley was married, in 1856, to Laura M., 
daughter of Solomon and Lydia (Warner) White. 
She was born June 4, 1838, in Branch Co., Mich., 
and is the second of a family of two daughters and 
one son. Her parents were farmers, and her father 
died in 1849 in Branch County. Her mother lives 
in the city of Coldwater. Mr. and Mrs. Sibley are 
the parents of three children : Eva M,, George J. and 
Clara L. Mrs. Sibley is a member of the Baptist 
Church. Mr. Sibley is a Republican in political con- 
nection, and has held the school offices of the district 
where he resides. 

Yff\': homas T. Newton, farmer on section 31, 
% Fulton Townsliip, is' a son of Harris and 
'^ Eliza A. (Perrin) Newton, natives of Ver- 
mont and New York. Eliza A. Perrin first 
(married (leorge Chiimian. After her second 
marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Newton settled in Oak- 
land Co., Mich., where they lived until Mr. N.'s 
death, Sept. iS, 1863. Mrs. N. then removed to 
Lebanon, Clinton County, where she now lives. 
Their family numbered niiie — five sons and four 
daughters. 

The second son was Thomas T., born in Oakland 
County, Jan. i, 1842. Educated in the common 
schools, he remained at home until 21 years old, and 
then went to Whitewater, Wis., and lived si.K months. 
He 'hen removed to Michigan. March 20, 1865, he 
enlisted in tlie 22d Mich. Vol. Inf., being afterwards 
transferred to the 29th. He was honorably dis- 
charged Aug. 20, 1865. In December of tiie iame 





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GRATTOT COUNTY. 



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year, lie came to Clinton County and lived until 
1868, when he again went to Wisconsin, and also to 

i^ Iowa. After an absence of eight months, he bought 
t :20 acres of wild land in Clinton County, and luiilt a 
log house. Two years later he sold, and for three 
years he managed his mother's farm. In Se[)tember, 
1874, lie purchased 200 acres, partly improved, on 
section 34, North Shade, which he worked for five 
years. Selling this place, he then bought 160 acres 
in Fulton Township, on section 31. He also owns 
80 acres on section 36, North Shade, and has alto- 

f^ gether 180 acres improved. 

March 17, 1870, in Lebanon, Clinton Co., Mich., 
he married Miss Martha, daughter of Benjamin and 
Mary (Postle) Graham. She was born in Oakland 
County Dec. 26, 1842. This marriage has been 
blessed with two children : Maidie, born March 15, 
1871, and Georgiana, June 29, 1873. 

^|.^ Mr. Newton has been Justice of the Peace for three 

1^ years. He was elected Supervisor of North Shade 
in the spring of 1879, and resigned after serving 
three months. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
and is politically a Republican. He and wife are 
members of the Christian Church, and of Essex 
Grange, P. of H. 



-^^^W^^^,^^ 



IjfWJ'ijbridge G. Traver, of the firm of E. \V. 
SiRl' Traver & C"o., manufacturers of, and deal- 
ers in, coopers' supplies at St. Louis, was 
born in Columbia Co., N. Y., Nov. 16, 1833. 
His parents, John J. and Catherine (Coons) 
Traver, removed to Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1837, 
where his father bought two farms — one of 56 acres, 
situated partly within the village cor[)oration ; the 
other, located near by, consisted of 80 acres. His 
father's occupation was that of a remover of build- 
ings, in which business the son was for several years 
engaged. 

Mr. Traver went to Tyrone, Livingston Co., Mich , 
in 1867, and passed the succeeding four years in 
farming. He removed to Fenton, Genesee County, 
from there, and engaged in the manufacture of round 
hoops. He was thus employed till November, 18S2, 
when, in company with his son, E. W. Traver, he re- 
moved to St. Louis. Continuing in the round-hoop 
trade till the following spring, he and his son, as the 




(^ 




firm of E. W. Traver & Co., purchased of VVni. Rose 
the Shook mill, known as the "St. Louis Cooperage." 
They completely refitted and ei|uii)|)ed the buildings 
with new machinery, and in the winter of 1883-4 
further increased their facilities for manufacturing by 
setting up a saw mill of large capacity. They man- 
ufacture each year millions of patent coiled hoops; 
each month they turn out hundreds of thousands of 
round hoops ; and another important liranch of their 
business is the manufacture of soft and hard wood 
staves. They handle yearly hundreds of thousands 
of racked hoops; keep constantly on hand barrels 
and kegs of all sizes and descriptions, and solicit cor- 
respondence for all kinds of slack and tight cooper- 
age. They emijloy upwards of a hundred men the 
year round. The capacity of their mill and auxiliary 
shops is about 20,000 patent coiled hoops, 10,000 
round hoops and 5,000 sawed staves each day. They 
have recently improved, as well as increased the 
capacity of, their mill by putting in round-hoop ma- 
chinery. They are steadily increasing their trade, 
taking advantage of the aid of each new invention in 
the way of labor-saving machinery, and may reason- 
ably expect, at no distant day, to be one of the lead- 
ing firms of Gratiot County. 

E. G. Traver, the subject of this sketch, was mar- 
ried at Ann Arbor Jan. 3, 1856, to Minerva, daughter 
of Jacob and Nancy Snapp. She was born June 8, 
1832, in the State of New York. Of their union, two 
sons were born : Edgar W., Nov. 24, 1^56, and Will- 
iam H., June 19, 1863. 



i ^^SBg-J^S'' 




rmer. Bethany Township, 



n\ l^^ffi "'-'^^'P"^s the southeast quarter of the south- 
-3^^ "'^^' quarter of section 20, and owns also 

^&>- the 30 acres adjoiniui; on the east. Mr. Lake 

1 ■ ■ 



was born in Charlotte, ('hittenden Co., Vt., 
Sept. 24, 1823, and grew up as a farmer's son. 
When six years of age his parents, Henian and Bet- 
sey (Morgan) Lake, moved to Hamburg Township, 
Livingston ('o., Mich., locating, in agricultural pur- 
suits, upon a farm of 160 acres. When 22 years of 
age he went to Iowa, with no <'a|)ital, and followed 
teaming, etc., there about two years ; next, he fol- 
lowed lumbering a year at the mouth of the Manis- 
tee River, in this State; next, in 1847, 'he family 






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GRA-lIOT COUNTY. 



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moved to Bengal Township, Clinton Co., Midi., 
bought a farm and for about two years engaged in 
Ihe manufacture of brooms. 

At tlie last mentioned place, Dec. 7, 1851, Mr. 
Lake married Miss Harriet, a daughter of Ebenezer 
and Mary A. (Sanford) Bliss, who was born in Broome 
Co., N. Y., Aug. 28, 1830. They have one daughter, 
Ellen, who was born in Arcada Township, this county, 
March 5, 1859, and is now the wife of Allen H. 
Reed, a farmer in Bethany Township, and they also 
have one daughter, Gertie, who was born in that 
township, March 29, 1882. 

Mr. Lake remained in Clinton County about two 
years after his marriage, then moved into Arcada 
Township and pre-empted a i]uarter of section 25, 
but soon sold it and bought 80 acres of timber land 
adjoining, one mile north of Ithaca. Of this he 
cleared about 30 acres and made other improvements. 
Aug. 28, 1866, he moved to his present farm, where 
he purchased 120 acres, mostly timber. Of this he 
has cleared 70 acres and sold 40. His son-in-law 
has 40 acres adjoining on the north. 

Mr. L. has built a nice residence here, besides 
barns, etc., and has a good orchard. He is a pro- 
gressive and prosperous agriculturist. When he first 
settled in Arcada his nearest neighbor was a Mr, 
Climer, eight miles distant, near St. Louis. He 
erected a log house, and himself and family endured 
the privations and trials incident to pioneer life. 

In this family is an adopted son, Willie H., born 
Dec. 14, 1856, in Indiana, who was taken into this 
family when 14 months of age. 




R illiam Greaser, farmer on section 17, Ful- 



ton Township, is a son of William and 
'^^^' Emily (Leerett) Greaser, natives respect- 
i> ively of England and Canada. They set- 
tled in the latter country after marriage, and 
in the spring of 1868 came to Michigan. A 
year later they came to Fulton Township, this county, 
where the father died, Sei)t. 17, 1873, and the mother 
March 11, 1881. Their family comprised 13 chil- 
dren. 

The second son, William, was born in Canada 
East, Aug. 24, 1827. In his early life he attended 
the common schools, and worked for his father. On 




gaining his legal freedom, at the age of 21, he worked 
out by the month for one year, and then went to Ver- 
mont for a year. Returning to the Dominion, he 
bought a farm of about 50 acres, which he worked 
a year and a half, and then sold. A year later he 
removed to Canada West, where he purchased a farm 
and lived for 16 years. In October, 187 1, he sold 
out, and, coming to Gratiot County, bought half a 
section. Having since disposed of a portion of his 
land, he now has 150 acres, of which iio are well 
improved. In 1880, he built his fine residence. 

Jan. 22, 1850, in ("anada East, he married Miss 
Elizabeth, daughter of Tiiomas and Elizabeth 
(Brooks) McCombs, natives of Ireland. They emi- 
grated to Canada, where the father died, March 12, 
1863, and the mother, in June, 1868. Their daugh- 
ter Elizabeth was born in Canada East, Aug. 12, 
1828. Mr. and Mrs. Creaser have had 10 children, 
eight of whom survive : Thomas W. B., Emily E., 
Susan S., Philip W., George A., Lucy .\. J., Wilhelm- 
ina E. and Violet A. Sophia and John R. are de- 
ceased. 

Mr. C. has held the offices of School Treasurer 
and Inspector, and is politically a Democrat. He 
and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

jvolin Church, farmer, section 23, Arcada 
^^^ii. Township, was born in Wheatland Town- 




.--r^ ^--i< >(i WA "^iy^ — ^^€3^ 



^ ship, Hillsdale Co., Mich., Dec. 22, 1853, and 
is a son of Lafayette and Sophronia (Benja- 
min) Church (see sketch). When one year 
old he was brought by his parents to Gratiot 
County. They settled on section ri, Arcada Town- 
ship, and here the subject of this biographical notice 
was reared and educated, working on his father's 
farm until 17 years old. He then devoted one year 
to the acquisition of some of the more advanced 
branches of learning, attending the college at Fen- 
ton ville, Genesee County. When 19 years of age 
he left home, and for two years traveled through the 
Scuth and West. Returning home, he remained with 
his father vintil 24 years old. 

Dec. 9, 1877, he was married to Miss Carrie, 
daughter of Francis and Hattie (Hurd) Nelson, na- 
tives of Michigan. Carrie was born in Lenawee 
Co., Mich., and died in Arcada Township, this 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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county. Aug. 2, 1879, leaving a wide circle of friends 
to sympathize witii her husband. Nov. 22, 1880, he 
was again married, at St. Louis, to Miss JuHa, daugh- 
ter of Patrick and Bridget (Rhyne) Fitzgerald, na- 
tives of the Emerald Isle. They tollow farming, and 
now reside in .\rcada Township, aged respectively 
76 and 5-1. Their daughter Julia was born in Roch- 
ester, N. Y., July 5, 1859, and was there reared and 
educated. 

Shortly after marriage, Mr. and Mis. Church set- 
tled on 80 acres of wild land on section 23, Arcada, 
which he had purchased the previous year. He has 
since added 60 acres to his farm, making 140, of 
which 80 acres are under cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. 
C. have one son, Ma.xwell, born Oct. 5, 1881. Mr. 
C. is an enterprising and genial young man, and 
commands the respect of all who know him. In 
politics he is a Republican. 



w'.M^vt 



ton. Archibald Bard Darragh, Representa- 
£ aasMB ''^'^ from Clraliot County, resident at St. 
W;^r^ Louis, was born Dec. 2j, 1840, in La Salle 
■ /N Township, Monroe Co., Mich. He is a son of 




Benjamin F. and Catherine B. Darragh. The 
family legends preserve the patronymic through 
its descent and trace it unmistakably to its fountain 
head, which was that of one of the Scottish clans. 
It is immortalized by the pen of Sir Walter Scott in 
one of his historical romances. 

The progenitors of the Darragh families of this 
connection and generation, founded by inter-marriage a 
line of Scotch-Irish descendants, — a race signally dis- 
tinguished for meritorious traits, inherently honest, 
intelligent and possessing the most valuable charac- 
teristics incident to humanity. The line of Mr. 
Darragh's descent on the jjaternal side is obscure, 
from the fact patent in the nature of the race origin. 
It is well known that a ])eculiar feature of one class 
of Scotch is its utter contempt for, and abnegation of, 
precedents and types. A man is what he makes 
himself, is the canon of its existence; and tradi- 
tionary observances and recollections are only "auld 
wives' fables." The present generation is traceable 
only to its immediate ancestors, who inhabited the 
eastern and southeastern portions of Pennsylvania, 



with whose interest and affairs they were promi- 
nently identified. Henry and Ann (Jamison) Darragh, 
great-grandparents, were natives of the North of 
Ireland, and emigrated to .-America prior to the 
Revolutionary war, settling in that part of Pennsyl- 
vania now known as Bucks County. Henry Darragh 
became a Ca[)tain in the Continental Army, and died 
in Bucks County in 1782, at the age of 45 years. 
His wife died in Bedford Co., Penn., aged 73 years. 
Their family comprised seven children. George W. 
Darrali, thtir youngest son (grandfather of Mr. 
Darragh), was born July 12, 1778, in Bucks Co., 
Penn. He married Rebekah More Jan. 7, 1803, and 
removed with his family from Fulton Co., Penn., to 
Michigan, in 1834. The children were, Lewis, Benj. 
F., Mary A., Geo. W., James, John and Martha. 
The paternal grand-parents of the subject of 
this sketch were residents of Fulton County in the 
Keystone State, and came to Michigan in 1834, 
where they passed the remainder of their lives. 

The name of George W. Darrah (who found 
it expedient to drop the letter that forms the 
distinguishing link in the name), is indissolubly con- 
nected with the history of the Peninsula State, from 
the fact that he was an officer in the 2d Regiment 
Infantry, organized and called out by Gov. Mason, 
to resist the attempted jurisdiction of Ohio over 
Michigan territory. He died in Monroe Co., Mich., 
in 1839, aged 61 years. 

Benjamin F. Darragh was born in Fulton Co., Pa., 
in 1808, and was married to Catherine Bard, Dec. 
4, 1834. She was born Nov. 12, 1804, near Mercers- 
burg, Pa., and died in April, 1863. In the ma- 
ternal line the descent of Mr. Darragh of this sketch 
is traceable for several generations, as his mother 
came of a race just as signally distinguished for firm, 
sturdy traits of character as that of her husband, 
though of a type widely at variance. On the 29th 
of October, 1830, Archibald Bard, her father, re- 
corded his genealogy in this wise: "Archibald Bard, 
who is the son of Richard Bard, who was the son of 
Archibald Bard, the son of William Bard, the son of 
John Bard. Richard Bard married Catherine Foe, 
Dec. 22, 1756. Archibald Bard, the yoimger, mar- 
ried Elizabeth Beatty, who had children : Richard, 
Maria, William Beatty, Catherine, Margaret, Eliza- 
beth, Archibald, Eliza Jane and Martha Olivia." 
The'record is made in the first volume of " Henry's 
Exposition," now in Mr. Darragh's possession, and 



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containing explicit and full records of the births, 
deaths and marriages of the generation to which his 
grandfather belonged. John Bard came from Ireland 
in the early part of the 17th century and settled in 
Maryland, whence his descendants dispersed. Rich- 
ard Bard, great-grandfather of Mr. Darragh and third 
in descent from John Bard, was born near Piiiladel- 
phia, Dec. 26, 1726, and settled in that part of York 
County which was afterwards set off and named 
Adams County, in the State of Pennsylvania. In 
1744, the war between England and France termi- 
nated the historic peace established by the Quakers 
between the colonists and Indians, and Braddock's 
campaign, with its disastrous results, seemed to let 
loose upon the borders many of the possibilities of 
savage warfare. Assaults on the frontier settlements 
were frequent and resulted in murder of the whites, 
or what was in most instances worse, — capture. 
These hostilities grew less frequent as time i-ro- 
gressed, but did not wholly cease until 1759. 

In 1758, the Indians sent their marauding parties 
into York County, and killed and abducted the fron- 
tiersmen and their families. On the 13th of Ajiril, 
in that year, 19 " Delawares " invested the home of 
Richard Bard. The inmates were Mr. Bard, his 
wife, Lieut. Potter (brother of Gen. Potter), a babe 
of six months, and a bound boy. The Indians made 
an entry into the house and were repulsed. But 
they were too numerous to be successfully resisted, 
and capitulation was determined on by the whites. 
They surrendered on promise of their lives being 
spared; the house was rifled of all valuables and the 
other buildings fired. Lieut. Potter was murdered 
soon after they had taken up their line of march, and 
not long after the infant child shared the same fate. 
On the fifth day Mr. Bard resolved to escape, as the 
brutality of his captors and the hardships he en- 
countered were fast disabling him and incapacitating 
him from travel. He was sent to a spring for water, 
but a short time after his resolution was formed and 
communicated to his wife ; he took advantage of the 
opiiortunity his errand afforded, 10 make his escaj)e. 
The character of the wife may be inferred from the 
fact that she not only approved of his determination, 
but diverted the attention of the Indians until her 
fleeing husband was beyond the reach of their ven- 
geance. Can the women of this period adequately 
picture to their understandings the qualities of a 



woman who could deliberately choose to be left to 
such chances as lay before Mrs. Bard, isolated and 
alone in the power of the most implacable of savages, 
— the Delawares, This volume is honored in record- 
ing her name and perpetuating the fame of her act 
of self-sacrificing, womanly devotion. It is probable 
that her native strength of diaracter and superiority 
inspired her savage captors with respect, for her life 
was spared and she was subjected to no indignities 
beyond the hardships of the march and its incidental 
privations. She was formally adopted by the tribe, 
but refused to learn or use their language, as she 
would have been obliged, in that event, by their cus- 
toms, to choose or accept a husband. She was in 
captivity two years and five months, and was ran- 
somed by the payment of $200 by her husband, who 
never ceased his efforts to find her after he attained 
his own freedom. The story of his escape would 
grace the pages of romance. His suflferings rivaled 
those of the Unionists who came "out of the jaws 
of death " in making their escape from the stockade 
prison at Andersonville. He subsisted on buds and 
raw rattlesnakes, and finally reached Fort Pitt (Pitts- 
burg) where he began his search and negotiations for 
his wife. After their re-union, they settled in Frank- 
lin Co., Pa., where they reared their family. The 
foregoing account is abstracted from the detailed 
record written by Archibald, the second son, and 
compiled in a volume now in the possession of Mr. 
Darragh, entitled " Mirror of Olden-Time Border 
Life." Richard Bard died Feb. 22, 1799. The de- 
mise of his wife occurred Aug. 30, iSii. 

Archibald Bard (2d) was born June 27, 1765, near 
Green Castle, Pa. He engaged extensively in agri- 
culture and oflSciated for a number of years as Judge 
of the County Court of Franklin Co., Pa. He was 
prominent in public life and gained some notoriety 
in literary circles through his biographical writings 
and essays on religious topics. He was married to 
Elizabeth Beatty, July 2, 1799, and died Oct. 18, 
1832. His wife was born Jan. 17, 1774, and died in 
January, 1852. 

Mr. Darragh is the second child and elder son of 
his parents, to whom were born five children, three 
of whom survive : Maria E. is the wife of William 
S. McDowell, a farmer of Du Page Co., 111.; James 
C. is Secretary and Treasurer of the Stockwell & 
Darragh Furniture Company of Grand Rapids. Until 



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he was 12 years old Mr. Darragh was a pupil in the 
common schools of his native county. In 1852, his 
parents removed to the city of Monroe, where he had 
the advantage of the academy there located, and he 
prepared for a collegiate course under the instruction 
of Hon. Edwin Willits, then at the head of a select 
school at Monroe. In the fall of 1857, Mr. Darragh 
entered the Classical Department of the University 
of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he remained two 
years. Through the medium of a friend, William E. 
Crume, he obtained a position as private tutor in 
Claiborne Co., Miss. He was in one of the most 
disloyal sections of the seditious South when the key 
note of the Rebellion transfi.\ed the civilized world. 
The loyal blood in his veins, and the sturdy patriotism 
he inherited from the races to which he belongs, as- 
serted themselves too strongly for him to remain 
quiescent, even if he had not been already marked 
as a Yankee school-master; but when he took the 
initiatory toward a speedy retreat to the North, his 
departure was made possil)le only through the inter- 
vention of the friend through whose instrumentality 
he went South. The latter, though true to his 
heart's instincts, was prominent in his own disloyalty 
to his country's flag; but, with cocked revolver, he 
protected iiis friend until the train, which he boarded 
with difficulty, bore him away toward safety. The 
route was made under harassing perplexities, and 
only by strategy and justifiable misleading did Mr. 
Darragh elude the rebel officials and escape deten- 
tion, and more probably death. He reached home 
and again entered the University of Michigan, where 
lie remained a year, and was graduated in the 
Classical Department, receiving the degree of A. 15. 
in 1868, after the close of the war. 

The influences that were abroad permeated every 
element and involved every class in Michigan. The 
inmates of her educational institutions, pupils and 
professors, one by one, laid aside their books and their 
duties and enrolled in the defense of the Union 
flag. Students, approaching the yi'/w/.'' of their edu- 
cational career, grew impatient over the slow march 
of the succeeding days and received the credentials 
of their scholarship without a vestige of the pride 
and gratification which had seemed the only thing 
worth living for when they began their curriculum of 
study. But one thought ruled the hour, — men were 
needed at the front. Their years of effort were vain 



and their futures of promise only pulseless, tideless 
seas of baffled hopes, ambitions and energies, if the 
nation died in the throes of mortal agony that were 
nearing its vitals. The tide of Northern student life 
that surged toward the vortex of battle through the 
succeeding years of the war, was one of the sublim- 
cst spectacles the world ever saw, and bore a weight 
of significance worthy the consideration of kings and 
prime ministers. 

- A double incentive actuated Mr. Darragh in his 
views of the situation and his relation to the duties 
of his manhood. The same impulses that swayed 
others held mastery over him and the memory of the 
indignities to which he had been subjected, from the 
simple fact that accident, so to speak, gave him being 
under a Northern sky, brought home to him with a 
sharp significance the realities of the case. On the 
14th of August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Co. 
H, iSih Mich. Vol. Inf. The regiment joined the 
United States forces opposing the cornmand of Kirby 
Smith on the fifth of April. t)n the 25th of the 
same month, private Darragh, with 62 others belong- 
ing to his regiment and to the " Tenth Kentucky " 
and " Fourth Indiana Cavalry," were captured while 
on picket duty near Walton, Boone Co., Ky., in a 
sudden charge of rebel cavalry, under John Morgan. 
The prisoners were marched on the double ipiick to 
Falmouth, Ky., and on the day following their arrival 
they were paroled by Major Dick Morgan, a nephew 
of the celebrated guerrilla chief. The notice of ex- 
change of paroled prisoners was issued early in Jan- 
uary, 1863, and private Darragh immediately joined 
Co. D, Ninth Mich. Cav., having received a commis- 
sion as Second Lieutenant. His regiment achieved 
its first triumph in the spring of 1863, in the rout 
and capture of Everett's guerrillas, a portion of Buck- 
ner's command at Triplett's Bridge, Ky. It took a 
prominent part in the pursuit and capture of Mor- 
gan, the celebrated " raider," making first acquaint • 
ance with the devastating rebel hordes under his 
command, on the fifth of July, when a detachment 
from its organization cut off and captured Col. Robert 
Alston, Morgan's Chief of Staft', with 51 prisoners. 
Tlie regiment was in the advance when Morgan was 
brought to bay on the banks of the Ohio, at Buffing- 
ton's Island, and made the attack with a vigor that 
secured the capture of Col. Basil Duke and most of 
his immediate command. While Duke struggled to 



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hold the field, Morgan fled north with his main body 
of troops. 

A detachment from the regiment participated in 
the engagement of July 20th, which resulted in the 
capture of the command of Morgan with the excep- 
tion of the rebel chief and about 500 men, who were 
taken prisoners with Morgan himself six days later 
by Cos. D, I. C, H and E, of the " Ninth," under 
command of Major W. B. Way, who reported offi- 
cially to Gen. Burnsidc, from Salineville, Ohio, under 
date of July 26, 186.^ : "After a forced march yes- 
terday and last night, with almost continued skir- 
mishing, we succeeded this morning, at eight o'clock, 
in pressing Morgan to an engagement about half a 
mile from this town. After more than an hour of 
severe fighting, we scattered his forces in all direc- 
tions. The following is the result of our engage- 
ment: from 20 to 30 killed ; about 50 wounded ; 255 
prisoners. Our loss slight. My command is 250 
strong." Within a month, Lieut. Darragh marciied 
with his regiment, under Burnside, over the moun- 
tains into East Tennessee. The " Ninth " did good 
service at Loudon Bridge, Knoxville, Cumberland 
Gap, and aided in driving the enemy through Straw- 
berry Plains, Morristown, Russellville, Blue Springs, 
Greenville, Jonesborough and Wautaga, to the very 
gates of the Old Dominion. It had watered its 
horses in every stream from the Cumberland range 
to the Blue Ridge. The campaign of the winter of 
'63-4, in the mountains of East Tennessee, is with- 
out precedent in the annals of the war. The cold 
was extreme, and supplies, which at first were insuf- 
ficient, were at last wholly cut off. The soldiers 
were in rags; East Tennessee, so often traversed by 
both armies, was destitute of provisions and forage, 
and the effort to keep the cavalry forces mounted 
was a failure. The line of daily march was marked 
by dead horses and abandoned equipments, and tiie 
situation well nigh rivaled the bitter recitals of Val- 
ley Forge. The men's feet were, many of them, des- 
titute of covering, save the swathings of pieces of 
blankets and cloth, in which tiiey were enveloped. 
By the middle of February, there were but 50 service 
able horses in the entire command, and on the 25th 
of that month, Lieut. Darragh, in charge of 50 picked 
men, was ordered to report direct to Gen. Garrard, 
Brigade Commander, and until March 25th was en- 
gaged in scouting and reconnoitering expeditions ; 



■^•^Dti:^ 



and the command was frequently involved in skir- 
mishes with detachments of Confederate cavalry. 
In April the regiment was ordered to Kentucky to 
remount, and in Jui^e was a prominent factor in '' 
routing Morgan at Cynthiana and driving him from . ^, 
the State. It was in the advance and was deployed 
on the right of the Union hne opposed to Morgan's 
left. The day was won by a brilliant sabre charge, 
which made a complete rout. The official report of 
the commanding General Burbridge claimed 1,100 
rebels killed, wounded and captured. During the 
month of July, the regiment marched through Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee, into Georgia, joining Sherman's 
conquering legions at Marietta in their advance on 
Atlanta The cavalry was engaged in protecting the 
flanks, keeping open communications, in scouting, re- 
connoitering and raiding, till after the fall of Atlanta. 

It participated in the successful raid around At- 
lanta, under Kilpatrick. On the 14th day of Novem- ^ ^ 
ber, 1864, the " General" was sounded, the regiment 
marched out of its camp near Atlanta and took its ^l 
position in Sherman's grand army in the first day's ^ 
" March to the Sea." The progress through Georgia ^ 
was one continuous skirinish with the rebel cavalry, ^> 
under Gen. Wheeler. The regiment distinguished ?= 
Uself at Lovejoy's Station, at Macon, at Waynesboro, ^^ 
and at Cypress Swamp, and won the following special 
mention from Gen. Kilpatrick, in his official report ( ' 
to fien, Sherman : " It has at all times behaved most 
handsomely and attracted my special attention." It 
was the escort of Gen. Sherman in the investment of 
Savannah, and made a gallant charge at ,\iken, S. C, 
and was in hot action at Averysboro and at Benton- 
ville. 

The Ninth was the only Michigan cavalry regi- 
ment that marched with Sherman to the ocean, and P 
it fired the last volley at the rebels, in behalf of the 
National standard, prior to the surrender of Gen. 
Johnston's army. The commission of Mr. Darragh 
as First Lieutenant was dated Feb. 12, 1864; that of 
Captain was conferred June 9, 1865. He was mus- 
tered out of service July 21, 1865, and was honor- 'G? 
ably discharged at Jackson. I 

After leaving the military service, Mr. Darragh re- '^f 
solved to fit himself for the legal profession, and, ^ 
with that intent, went to Jackson to engage in the ^ 
proper course of study under the direction of Gov. (*)j 
Blair. But the experiences of the years which had «^ 



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intervened since his student days, had made havoc 
with his mental habits, and he found it difficult to 
concentrate his attention sufficiently to vender his 
readings profitable. He obtained a position in the 
\Vest-Side union school at Jackson, and had charge 
of the Grammar Department two years. In 1867 he 
was elected the first Superintendent of Jackson 
County, and discharged tlie duties of t'lie office two 
years. 

Mr. Darragh came to Gratiot County in 1870, and 
soon after established his banking business at St. 
Louis, where he has since prosecuted the matters 
common to such institutions. He has been inti- 
mately connected with the prominent interests of the 
village since he became a resident, and has officiated 
continuously as a member of the Village Board of 
Education. The perfect organization of the union 
school is largely due to his effoits and views, made 
practical by his own experience as an educator. He 
is a Pepublican to the core, and has been active in 
local politics. In t87 2, he was elected County 
Treasurer, and in 1882 ivas nominated and elected 
Representative of Gratiot County, receiving 62 ma- 
jority on the popular vote over the Fusion candidate. 
The canvass was spirited and the entire Fusion 
ticket w^s elected witli the exception of Representa- 
tive and Circuit Court Commissioner. Both candi- 
dates are residents at St. Louis, and Mr. Darragli's 
majority in his home townshiii (Pine River) was 36. 

Mr. Darragh was active in liis capacity of Assem- 
blyman. He served as Chairman of Committee on 
Private Corporations, a position for which he was pe- 
culiarly fitted, and he also acted on Committees on 
Stale Affairs and on State University. 

The character of Mr. Darragh needs no elabora- 
tion at the hands of the biographer. From the sim- 
ple recital of the successive events of his career the 
future generations who may be interested in tracing 
his influence and ijosition in Ciratiot County, will l)e 
at no loss to form a just estimate of his deserts. 

His portrait appears on page 190, and will prove a 
satisfaction to his friends, as it is one of the niost 
valuable of the large collection in this volume. 

He was married June 8, 1875, to Annie P. Cul- 
bertson, of Monongahela City, Pa. She was born 
May 14, 1848, at Allegheny City, Pa., and is a daugh- 
ter of Albert and Emily (Brown) Culbertson. Mary, 
only child, was born Sept. 15, 1879, at St. Louis. 



I 1^1 ;' atriek Brewer, farmer on section 15, Emer- 

iii^^i;^ son Townshij), was born in Wicklow Co., 

J*Si- Ireland, Jan. i, 1825, and is the son of 

li|S Richard and Anr. (Kenney) Brewer, natives 




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'i^ of the Emerald Isle, where they were small 
farmers. In 1850 they emigrated to Canada, settling 
near Kingston, Ont., and farmed there. Patrick, at 
the age of 27, left his parents and worked in San- 
dusky ('o, Ohio, ur.til the summer of 1856. He 
then came to this State and county, and settled on 
his present farm in Fmerson Township. 

In this county, March 31, 1867, he was united in 
marriage to Mrs. Ruth Decker {nee Convis), daughter 
of John D. and Submitte (Graves) Convis, natives of 
Rhode Island and Vermont, respectively. They 
were married in the State of New York, and after a 
number of years removed to Emerson Township, 
tliis county, where they died, the father in 1S67, and 
the mother in 1861. Ruth was born in Ontario, 
Wayne Co., N. Y., March 22, 1835 ; came at the age 
of nine to Shiawassee Co., Mich., and later to Gra- 
tiot County, where she was married. 

Mr. and Mrs. Brewer have had four children, two 
of whom are living: Richard S ,liorn Nov. 21, 1870; 
Emma L., born Dec. 17, 1874; Mittie A., born Sept. 
3, 1868, and died Oct. 3, 1868; Joseph A., born Sept. 
16, 1869, and died Sept. 30, 1869. Mr. Brewer is 
politically a faithful Re))ublican. He has held the 
offices of Overseer of Highways and School Di- 
rector. 

ohn S. Parker, farmer, section 8, Newark 
Township, was born March 25, 1841, in 
Wayne Co., Mich. His father, John Pai> 
.^., ker, was a native of Vermont, and married 
]C Mary Berry, who was born in the State of New 
\ York, where they settled for a time. They 
afterwards removed to Ohio, and later to Michigan, 
which was then in its pioneer period, locating in 
\\'ayne County. In 1854 they settled in Newark, 
Gratiot County. Their family consisted of eight 
sons and three daughters. 

Mr. Parker is the fourth son, and accpiired his edu- ^ 
cation in the common schools At 16 he became ^ 












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master of his own fortunes, and has spent all his 
life thus far in the Peninsula State, with the excep- 
tion of two months, which were mostly passed in 
Missouri. In March, 1873, he bought 120 acres of 
land, under partial improvements, and erected there- 
on suitable and convenient farm buildings. He now 
owns t6o acres in Newark Township, of which 120 
acres are under good cultivation, and 90 acres in 
Fulton Township, 55 of which are improved. 

Mr. Parker was married Dec. 24, 1873, to Mar)', 
third daughter of John and Nancy (Dravenstot) 
Greer, natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Parker was 
born in Clinton County, Sept. T9, 1854. Her parents 
were natives of Ohio. Two children are now in- 
cluded in the liousehold: Jane A., born April 23, 1876, 
and Roscoe B., born July 14, 1879. 

In political matters Mr. Parker votes independ- 
ently. He is a member of the Order of Masonry. 



'oseph A. Guthrie, physician and farmer, 
on section 15, Emerson Township, was 
Mfi born in Chenango Co., N. Y., Dec. 12,1815, 
f 5^ and is the son of Nathan and Abbie (Richard- 
iiC son) Guthrie, natives of New England, and of 

\ Scotch and English e.xtraction. The Guthries 
for several generations back have been physicians 
and surgeons. Nathan Guthrie practiced in Genesee 
Co., N. Y., when that county was very new, and he 
had to contend with most of the hardships of pio- 
neer life. He deserves the credit of being one of 
the foremost in developing that now rich country, 
and his children were the first white children born 
there. 

The subject of this sketch was scarcely one year 
old when he lost his mother, and he was taken care 
of by his aunt and uncle. He lost his father by 
death four years later, and was then left entirely to 
his relatives. They treated him kindly, and enabled 
him to obtain a practical education in the common 
schools. At the age of 19 he began teaching in the 
common schools, and by spending his earnings in 
better informing himself, he progressed rapidly. He 
studied in select schools, and then gave himself to 
the art of medicine, under Dr. L. Tucker, of Earl- 
ville, Madison Co., N. Y. He remained with that 
gentleman four years, and attended a course of lec- 






tures at Geneva, N. Y. In the spring of 1842, he 
secured his diploma, and he has since acquired, by a 
long and successful practice, the reputation of a very 
skillful physician. 

July 16, r844, at Sandy Hill, Washington Co., 
N. Y., he was married to Eunice Town, a native of 
Washington Co., N. Y. She died in Shiawassee Co., 
Mich., in September, 1846, and March 16, 1847, in 
Shiawassee County, he was again married, to Emma 
M. Convis, daughter of John D. and Submitte 
(Graves) Convis, natives of Vermont. She was born 
in pniisburg, Jefferson Co., N. Y., April 29, 1829, and 
when a year and a half old went with her parents to 
Wayne County, that State, where she received a 
common-school education. At the age of 16 she 
came to Shiawassee County, this State, and taught 
for a short time previous to her marriage. In 1857, 
Dr. and Mrs. Guthrie came to tiiis county and set- 
tled on r2o acres, 80 on section 15 and 40 on sec- 
tion 14, to which he has since added 80 acres, and 
he now follows farming in connection with the prac- 
tice of his profession. Their first experiences here 
were such as most pioneer families undergo, though 
perhaps they were even more severe. Tiie Doctor 
was the first regular medical graduate to practice in 
Gratiot County. 

The Dr. and Mrs. (iuthrie have a family of three: 
Justus N., born May 21, 1848; Jesse L., born Sept. 
9, 1850; and Ella C, born March 26, t86o. They 
are members of the Baptist Church. He was one of 
the first four Justices of the Peace chosen in Emer- 
son Township, and he has held that office 12 years. 
He was also for some time Assistant Revenue As- 
sessor. Politically he is an active Republican. 



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bharles S. Harmon, general farmer, section 
^^ 28, New Haven Township, is a son of 
Walter Harmon, a native of Connecticut and 
a farmer by occupation, who came to this 
State in 1844, and located in Ionia County, 
as one of the first settlers in Sebewa Town- 
He subsequently moved into Clinton County, 
and died November, 1861, aged about 63. His 
wife, Mary, «<r Dicks, was also a native of Connecti- 
cut, and died in this county Dec. 22, 1858, aged 59. 
Charles S., the subject of this sketch, worked with 



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his father on the farm in Ionia County until 19 years 
of age, when he rclinned to his native State, New 
York, wliere he was horn, Sept. 16, 1831, in Chautau- 
qua County. Residing in Genesee County, that 
State, for three years, he returned to Clinton County, 
where he remained with liis parents until his mar- 
riage, Oct. 15, 1S54, to Miss Frances Z. White, daugh- 
ter of Moses H. and Miranda (Wheelock) White. 
(See sketch.) She was l)orn in Jackson Co., Mich., 
March 13, 1839, moving afterward to Ingham County, 
and next to Clinton County, where she lived till her 
marriage. She is the mother of five children, three 
of whom are dead, namely : Phebe R. and Florence 
M., living; and Worth H., Mary M.and Effie J., de- 
ceased. 

A year after marriage, Mr. H. bought 40 acres of 
land in Watertown Township, Clinton County, which 
he afterward sold and bought another "40 " in the 
same township, where he followed agriculture for 
eight years. Both these places he found in a state 
of wild nature. On leaving the latter place he went 
to Lansing, Mich., and followed teaming nearly a 
year. In 1864 he came to this county and lived the 
first year with his father-in-law ; he then purchased 
a 40-acre piece of land, where he now dwells, mov- 
ing upon it three years after the purchase. To this 
tract he has added 40 acres more, and of the total 
80 acres he has 75 acres in fine cultivation. 

Mr. Harmon has held the school offices of his dis- 
trict, and in political affairs he is a Republican. 



ohn M. Everden, farmer and teacher, section 
',0, Emerson Township, was born in Ingham 
' Co., Mich., Oct. 5, 1852, and is a son of O. 
■^^,} A. and Harriet Jane (Phelps) Everden, natives 
_ of Pennsylvania and New York, respectively. 
They were married in the latter State, and two 
years after came to Michigan. They located on a 
farm in Ingham County, where their son John was 
born. He came with his parents to this county in 
(^ the spring of 1854, and has since lived in Emerson 
] Township, section 70. Being the eldest of three 
Si'®» children, it early came to his lot to be a sort of fore- 
man aromid the farm; but, in spite of hard work and 
limited advantages, he found time to obtain a fair 
education in the common schools of his time, so that 
by perseverance he qualified himself for teaching. 



At the age of 20, he began teaching, and has since 
taught in the winters, and farms in the summers.. 
Of the 80 acres, 50 are well cultivated. He is con- 
sidered a skillful farmer and a competent teacher. 

He still resides on the old homestead, with his 
mother, a woman of sterling worth. 

April 1 9,. J 883, in Saginaw City, he was united in 
the bonds of matrimony to Jennie, daughter of Ira 
and D. A. (Westcolt) Van Buskirk, natives of New 
York. She was born in Syracuse, N. Y., Sept. 20, 
1862, and came to this county in her childhood. 
He is connected with the Baptist Church, of Ithaca, 
and she, with the M. E. Church, at the same 
place. 

Mr. Everden is a member of Ithaca Lodge, No. 
123, F. & A. M., and now holds the office of J. W., 
in that lodge. He has held the township offices of 
Superintendent of Schools, Supervisor and School 
Inspector. Politically, he is a strong supporter of 
Republican principles. 



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illiam N. Rogers, farmer on section t^-^, 
iSII[c Pine River Townshii), is a son of William 
%~e>-Q T. and Lydia M. (Beckwith) Rogers, natives 
>,^^, of New York State. They married and set- 
tled in that State, afterwards removing to 
Medina Co., Ohio, where they resided until 
their death. William N., the subject of this bio- 
graphical narrative, was born in New York State, 
Sept. 16, 1820. He was two years old when his par- 
ents removed to Ohio, and in that State he was edu- 
cated and grew to manhood. At the age of 18, he 
was apprenticed to the blacksmith's trade for three 
years at Ashland, Ohio. This business he followed 
most of the time until 1877. 

He came to this county in October, 1854, and set- 
tled on the farm which he had entered the June pre- 
vious, on section 33, Pine River Township. He built 
the first blacksmith shop in Grat'ot County, on his 
farm. He and four others, among them Col. Ely, 
Mr. Porter and J. H. Clark, cut through the woods 
what was known as the "middle trail." He built a 
log house 28 X 16, and afterwards sold his whole 
farm, trading 40 acres for the place on which he now 
resides, one yoke of steers, one cow and one barrel 
of pork. His present farm is all nicely under culti- 






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vation. He has at different times owned various 
farms in Arcada and Pine River Townships. 

April 18, 1843, in Homer Township, Medina Co., 
Ohio, he was married to Lydia, daughter of Peter 
and Hannah (Taylor) Clark. They first settled in 
New Jersey, and afterwards removed to New York 
State. Thence they went to Ohio, and. lived there 
14 years; and in 1854 they came to Ionia Co.. Mich., 
where they died. Their daughter Lydia was born in 
Tioga Co., N. Y., Aug. 2, 1822. 

Mr. Rogers enlisted in tiie 8th Mich. Vol. Inf., 
and served in the Union army 16 months. He was 
honorably discharged May 24, 1865, at Detroit. 
During the first part of his service, he was em- 
ployed as blacksmith; and when Ralph Ely was 
promoted Colonel, he was detailed as cook for that 
popular leader. 

Mr. and Mrs. R. have had five children: Han- 
nah S., Roxana E., Mary C, Phebe U. R. and Will- 
iam H. Hannah S. was married to Henry Adams, 
and died April 28, 1876. Roxana E. was married 
to George M. Simonson, of Saginaw, and died Feb. 
20, 1867. Mr. Rogers has held the various school 
offices, and has been a Trustee of Alma village for 
six years. In political sentiment, he is a Democrat. 



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|JE^S|ddison G. Fraker, farmer, section 8, Wasb- 

I^^Ss ington Township, is a son of Napoleon B. 

S| pS^ and Rebecca (Merrills) Fraker, natives of New 

York State. They followed farming, and in 

1 86 1 came to Gratiot County, locating on 160 

acres on section 8, Washington Township. 

Fraker afterwards added 20 acres, and brought 

I 25 acres to a good state of improvement. He lived 

on this farm until 1879, when he removed to his 

present home in Ithaca. 

The subject of this sketch was born July 18, 1847, 
in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and at the age of 23 he 
was married to .'\melia Campbell, the daughler of 
Cornelius and Pamelia (Amadou) Campbell, who 
live on a farm in Washington Township. She was 
born Oct. 9, 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Fraker lived first 
.1 . one year on section 7, Washington Township, then 
^ on their present place four years, then on another 
farm on the same section for four years, then set- 
tling permanently on their present farm. Mr. Fraker 



has 260 acres of land, an^J is extensively engaged in 
stock-raising, as well as farming. They have five 
children, named: Jennie R., Howard C, Ernest R. 
(died June 20, 1879), N. B. and Kittie (twins). 

Mr. Fraker was chosen Township Treasurer in 
1 88 1, and again in 1882. He has been School Di- 
rector, and is at present Assessor of fractional school 
district No. 3, Washington and Fulton Townships. 




I hilip P. Allen, farmer, section 29, Emerson 
j,-?^ss5!(4 Township, was born in Delaware Co., N. Y., 



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April 2 1, 1829, and is the son of Isaiah and 
Elsie (Peck) Allen, natives of New York, and 
descendants of the Puritan fathers. They 
followed farming, and died in this State, some years 
ago. 

Philip, when quite young, moved with his father 
to Seneca County and afterwards to Steuben County. 
In these two counties he received a pretty fair 
education, and at the age of 19 he engaged in teach- 
ing in the district schools of Steuben County. This 
he followed until his marriage in that county, July 
22, 1850, to Mary A., daughter of Richard Sawtell, a 
native of New England. Mary A. was born in New 
York, July 2, 1830. 

Five years after their marriage they came to this 
county and settled on section 29, Emerson Township. 
Here his wife died, Jan. 8, 1855, leaving two children 
to comfort her husband: Ozema F., born Nov. 14, 
1852, and George H., born Feb. 4, 1855. He was 
again married, April 17, 1865, to Emma G., daughter 
of Ralph and Jane (Terry) Bellows, natives of New 
York and Michigan, respectively, and of English and 
Scotch extraction. They resided most of their lives 
in this State, and died here, the father Feb. 1 1, 1863, 
and the mother March 2, 1869. Emma G. Bellows 
was born in Marshall, Mich., Jan. 25, 1846, and 
remained with her parents till her marriage, coming 
with them to Gratiot County, in 1861. 

Mr. and Mrs. Allen have a family of four children, 
as follows : Leland W., born Feb. 5, 1866, Cecil W., 
Oct. I, 1870, Tessie M., June 2, 1877, and Rexford 
E., Oct. 6, 1882. They are members of the Baptist 
Advent Church. 

Mr. Allen is a man who is respected by all who 






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know him. He has held the office of Township 
Treasurer for a number of years, and has also been 
Township Clerk. He is now Moderator of his school 
district. Politically he is a Democrat. 



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r s-^ V on. Chai-les H. Morse, farmer, stock-raiser 
'jjisS.^^ and real-estate dealer, residmg on section 



)l^ 29, New Haven Township, and one of the 
^y representative and energetic business men of 
( the county, is a native of Orangeville, Wyoming 
I Co., N. Y., where he was born Jan. 27, 1S38. 

The parents of Mr. Morse were Harvey and 
1-ydia (Watkins) Morse, and natives of Green and 
iSIadison Counties, N. Y. 

From a " History of the Morse family," owned by 
the Buffalo Historical Society, we learn that the fam- 
ily history is of very ancient origin. It is quite 
clearly traced to a little town in Norway, south of 
(Christiana. This town was named Moss, because it 
was a mossy country. The family took the name of 
Moss, and in course of succeeding generations and 
centuries, as in almost all names which come down 
to us through centuries, it has changed in form and 
orthograi)liy, appearing as Moss, Morss and Morse, 
and some lesser variations. 

It is quite clear that the family accompanied Will- 
iam the Conqueror when he subdued England, or 
came soon after, as the name appears in England, 
and is more easily traced from about that date. The 
first official account is in the time of Edward III, 
A. D. 1327, when the records show an official ap- 
pointment dated 1358. This probably accounts for 
the fact that they had a crest or semblance of a coat- 
of-arms. This consisted of an open shield, sur- 
mounted by two battle axes, crossed, and one ax and 
three pellets in the body of the shield. The motto 
in Latin, In Deo, non armis, fido, — "In God I trust, 
not in arms." 

The Morse family in America descended from seven 
families, who came from England about 1635, the 
heads of these families named Samuel, Joseph, An- 
thony and William Morse, all settling in Massachu- 
setts. Later, Robert Morse landed in New Jersey, 
Joshua, " somewhere in New England," and " John 
Moss," in New Haven, Conn. It seems to be a his- 






torical fact that these are the seven families whence 
the Morses in early days sprung. Samuel Morse, 
the progenitor of the branch of the family to which 
Charles H. Morse belongs, was born in 1585, in Eng- 
land, probably at Ipswich, came to Massachusetts 
with his wife Elizabeth and son John, in the ship 
'' Increase," in the year 1635, and settled " south of 
Charles River," near Boston, and named the place 
Dediiam. He, with twelve others, owned a large 
tract of land, built the first " meeting-house " and 
school-house. The "compact " drawn up by himself 
and his 12 associates, under which they were to live, 
is marked by all that severe piety and intolerance 
that characterized the " Blue Laws" of Connecticut. 

The whole history of the family indicates that they 
have generally been men of sterling integrity and 
noted for puritanism. Some have been minis- 
ters in the Episcopal Church, but generally they have 
been Presbyterians. They fought in the Revolution 
and in every war since to the Rebellion. Some were 
eccentric. John Morse, born in 1712, built his 
chimney in the hall of his house. He shut himself 
in his room and resolved to fast 40 days, but after 
trying it three or four days came out, saying the 
Lord had excused him from the other days ! He 
also chiseled his own tombstone, and asked to be 
buried with his head to the north. 

The genealogv of the family, from Samuel Morse 
to the subject of the sketch, Charles H. Morse, is as 
follows: Samuel Morse, born 1585, came to 
America 1635, died 1654; son John, born 16 11, 
came to America with his father 1635, died 1657 ; 
John's son Ezra, born 1643, died r697 ; Ezra's son 
Seth, born 1686, died 1783; he settled in Connecti- 
cut; Seth's son John, Ijorn in r7i2, date of death 
unknown; John's son David, born about 1755, died 
al)out 1830; David's son Simeon, born Oct. 4, 1781, 
died August, r867 ; Simeon's son Harvey, born June 
22, 1802, died May i, 1878; and Harvey's son 
Charles H., born Jan. 27, 1838. 

Mr. Morse had three brothers and three sisters, 
viz: Evaline, born Dec. 24, 1826, and married to 
H. H. Beers ; Electa, born Sept. 28, 1828, and mar- 
ried to Lafayette Winchester; Catharine, born July 
4, 1831, and married to Horace Briggs; Lucius, born 
Oct. 13, r833, married Rose Cutter and died May 
'S> 1875 ; Jolin. born .A.pril 26, 1835, married Sarah 
Holly, murdered Aug. r, 1867 ; Myron, born Feb. 
20, 1840, married to Elizabeth Chittle. 






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The parents of the subject of this biography 
were hard-working, industrious and energetic people, 
and Charles H. was educated in the school of labor, 
on the farm, necessity preventing his developm*;nt 
into manhood in idleness or wealth. He labored on 
the farms in the neighborhood, contributing his earn- 
ings to the support of the family, and attending the 
common schools as opportunity would permit until he 
attained the age of 17 years. Possessing a determi- 
nation to succeed in the battles of the world, he de- 
voted his idle moments to his books ; and at the age 
of 16 he was thoroughly capable of entering on the 
profession of a teacher, which he did with credit. 

In 1855, Mr. Morse accompanied his parents to this 
State, where they located in Orleans Township, Ionia 
County. He then engaged in teaching during the 
winter months, and assisted the father on the farm 
during the summer. Here his father and mother 
died, the former May i, 1878, at the advanced age 
of 76 years; and his mother Dec. 3, 1881, at the 
home of our subject, aged 73 years. They were iden- 
tified with this State since 1855. 

When the nation was aroused from her peaceful 
slumber of years by the flashing of the terrible news 
along the wires from State to State that Sumter had 
fallen, and our martyr President had called for strong 
arms and brave hearts to battle for the perpetuity of 
our flag and Government, our subject halted not to 
consider, but was ainong the first to offer his services. 

He enlisted Sept. 14, 1 861, as a private in Co. D, 
3d Mich. Vol. Cav., and on the organization of the 
company was appointed Sergeant. He served with 
the company as Sergeant until Dec. 15, 1862, when 
he was promoted to Commissary Sergeant of the 
regiment, and he always had personal charge of the 
subsistence of the regiment during the time he held 
the office. 

During his service with the regiment, he was pres- 
ent at the siege and capture of New Madrid and 
Island No. 10. At New Madrid, under Gen. Pope, 
he first "smelled powder burned in anger." 

Soon after the battle of Pittsburg Landing, his 
regiment was ordered to Tennessee, and participated 
in the siege of Corinth, Miss., and after the evacua- 
tion did hard service all through the summer of 1862, 
in Northern Mississippi and Alabama, and West 
Tennessee, participating in the battles of luka, Sept. 
19, 1S62, and Corinth, Oct. 3 and 4, 1862, — two as 



severely contested and decisive engagements, consid- 
ering number engaged, as were fought during the 
war. 

In November, 1862, he accompanied his regiment 
in advance of Gen. Grant's army, which moved 
nearly down to Grenada, Miss., engaged daily with 
the enemy in severe skirmishing, particularly at Cof- 
feeville, where the cavalry advance were confronted 
by the entire rebel army of Northern Mississi|)pi. 

This campaign of Gen. Grant's was apparently 
broken up by Van Dorn's raid on his communications 
and the destruction of his supplies. Van Dorn 
struck Gen. Grant's communication at Holly Springs, 
Miss., Dec. 20, 1862, destroyed a large amount of 
army supplies of all kinds and raided north into 
Tennessee, destroying the railroad as he moved. 

Mr. Morse was taken prisoner at Holly Springs, by 
Van Dorn's forces, while absent from his regiment 
after supplies. He was paroled the same day and as 
a result was sent North until exchanged, which took 
place in April, 1863. During the remainder of his 
service with the regiment he participated with it in 
all its arduous service, scouting in West Tennessee 
and Northern Mississippi. Their battles, though 
termed skirmishes, were numbered by scores. Few 
cavalry regiments saw harder service than his and 
few indeed were the marches it made when Mr. 
Morse was not with it. 

After re-enlistment, Mr. M. was ordered to rejiort 
to Gen. W. A. Pile, at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, 
Mo., who was charged with the organization of regi- 
ments of colored troops at that place. He remained 
on duty with Gen. Pile until August, 1864, when he 
was commissioned Captain in the 117th U. S. Col- 
ored Infantry, and ordered to report at Covington, 
Ky., where his regiment was then organizing. He 
was the senior Captain in the regiment, taking rank 
from Aug. 16, 1864. During August and September 
he assisted in recruiting and organizing his regiment 
to its maximum number, and in October it was or- 
dered to Virginia, and assigned to the rst Brigade, 
ist Division, 25th Army Corps, Gen. Godfrey Weit- 
zel commanding. The 24th and 25th Army Corps 
constituted the Army of the James. 

When Richmond was evacuated, Mr. Morse's 
company led the advance of the 25th Corps, and his 
regiment was probably the first infantry that entered 
the capital of the Southern Confederacy. 



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Remaining at Richmond and Petersburg until 
June 2, 1865, he was, with the 25th Corps, ordered to 
the Mexican border, to aid in enforcing the famous 
" Monroe Doctrine." Louis Napoleon saw the " hand- 
writing on the wall," and called the French troops 
home from Mexico, leaving Maximilian to his sad 
fate. 

In the fall of 1865, the niustering-out of troops 
began. The 117th Regiment, to which Mr. M. still 
belonged, was occupied in garrison duty on the bor- 
der, and in October of the same year Mr. M., then 
Captain, assumed command of the regiment, which 
he retained most of the time until the end of its 
service. 

Jan. 12, 1866, Mr. M. was promoted from Captain 
to Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment. Subsequently, 
owing to the muster-out of other regiments, the 117th 
was the only infantry on the border, and was scat- 
tered from Galveston to Fort Mcintosh, 500 miles 
up the Rio Crande. Mr. Morse commanded the 
if^ posts of Brazos de Santiago, Fort Brown and Ringgold 
^ Barracks. While at the latter post his jurisdiction ex- 
\(^ tended over 300 miles of the border. Here he had 
=3 a chance to observe much of Mexican life, and pro- 
nounces them (save a small educated class), the 
most degraded human beings in the world making a 
claim to civilization. 

In June, 1867, Mr. Morse was brevetted Colonel 
of U.S. Volunteers, to date from March 13, 1865, 
" for faithful and meritorious conduct during the war;" 
his commission being signed by President Andrew 
Johnson and Secretary Edwin M. Stanton. 

The 117th was the last volunteer regiment in the 
service, and their " three years, or during the war," 
was nearly completed July i, 1867. They were or- 
dered to assemble in New Orleans for muster-out, 
and on the 23d day of August Mr. Morse was mus- 
tered out of the military service of the United States, 
after a continuous service of 5 years, 1 1 months and 
9 days. 
/^ Soon after Mr. M. received his discharge, he came 
I to this county and purchased 320 acres of heavily 
(f timbered land, located on sections 20 and 20, New 
^ Haven Township. There was at the time 40 acres 
'/ under improvement. The farm was originally owned 
'^ by Richard t'rispel. After making this purchase, 
V Mr. M. at once entered on the task of improving his 
^^and, at times engaged in lumbering and. in real 



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estate, and now owns 400 acres, 270 acres of which are 
well improved, supplied with good stock and adorned 
with handsome and complete farm buildings, and is 
considered the most valuable farm in the township. 
Mr. Morse was united in marriage, Feb. 14, 1864, 
to Miss Julia, daughter of Nathaniel and Chloe 
(Thompson) Sessions, late of Ionia County. The 
father was born Aug. 20, 1790, and died March 15, 
1880, age nearly 90. The mother was bom in 1798, 
and died in 1879, aged 81. They were natives of 
Connecticut and New York, respectively ; and came 
to this State in 1837, since which time they have 
been identified with the prosperity of Ionia County 
from its earliest settlement, always living in the vi- 
cinity of Matherton. It was there Julia was born, 
Dec. 13, 1S38. She was reared and educated under 
the watchful care of fond and loving parents. Pos- 
sessing a mind capable of rapid cultivation and a 
large amount of energy and determination, she soon 
attained a point in her studies which thoroughly 
qualified her to enter upon the duties of a teacher, 
which she performed with great credit. After a few 
years of successful teaching she gave up the school 
room for the home and entered on the duty of wife 
and mother. She has had five children, four of 
whom are living, namely : John C, born March 8, 
1870; Mark C, born Oct. 27, 1872; Noel M., born 
Jan. 10, 1874, and Katie M., born July 18, 1878. 
One child died in infancy. 

' Mrs. Morse is a dutiful and loving wife, a kind 
mother and a generous and esteemed neighbor, al- 
ways working for the social and intellectual improve- 
ment of the community in which she may be found. 

She was a twin daughter in a family of 15 chil- 
dren, 10 of whom are living. Her membership and 
identity with the M. E. Church extends over a long 
period of time, and her religious zeal ranks her among 
the Christian workers of the county. 

'I'he official record of Mr. Morse in the County 
and Congressional District in which he lives has 
been an honorable and creditable one. He has held 
the office of Supervisor eight terms, since 1870, and 
also other township and school offices in the gift of 
the people of the township. 

He was elected Representative on the Republican 
ticket in 1872, and the interest he manifested in the 
welfare of his constituency procured him a speedy 
return in 1874. These two terms spent in the Leg- 



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islature extended his reputation as a man of ability 
and integrity, and at the close of his last term he was 
put forth as the nominee of the Republican party for 
Senator from the 28th District. 

His record had been marked with such manly ac- 
tion, ability and integrity that the people rallied 
around him even as he had rallied around the old 
flag in its time of peril, and elected him by a hand- 
some majority. 

Mr. Morse has been closely allied with the inter- 
ests of the Republican party in this State, and as a 
representative of the party stands forth unaccused, 
without a blemish. 

Mr. Morse is an Officer of the Day in the Post of 
the Grand Army of the Republic at Carson City. As 
a representative man of the State and county, and 
one in every way worthy the confidence and esteem 
of the people, we take great pleasure m ]>resenting 
the portrait of Mr. Morse, together with that of his 
most estimable lady, in this work. 




oseph B. Davidson, farmer, section 48, Elba 
Township, is a son of John and Mary R. 
(Marriott) Davidson, natives of Pennsylva- 
nia and Maryland. Mr. Davidson, Sr., was a 
^r farmer, and his home was in Ohio until his 
death, in the autumn of 1872. Joseph waj 
born May, 2, 1841, in Licking Co., Ohio. At the age 
of 28 he married Lilly Kneeland, who was born in 
Howell, Livingston County, May 28, 1852, the 
daughter of John B. and Lucena S. (Sickles) Knee- 
land. Mr. Kneeland was a native of Tompkins 
Co., N. Y., and followed farming. 

Mr. and Mrs. Davidson settled at their present 
residence on 65 acres of section 28. 

They are the parents of two children : John VV. 
and Frank E. 

Mr. Davidson enlisted in the serviceof his country 
at Cleveland, Ohio, in Co. D, 41st Ohio Vol. Inf He 
was in the batde of Stone River; was wounded at 
Chickamauga, and at Missionary Ridge : was wound- 
ed both in the hips and in the wrist. On account of 
these honoral)Ie wounds he was discharged from tlie 
army. 

He was Highway Commissioner of his township 
for one term, and School Superintendent two terms. 




He has also held the office of Moderator of his 
school district for a number of years. He is a 
thorough Republican in his political views. He is a 
member of Elsie Lodge, No. 238, F. & A. M., and 
also of the G. A. R. 



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ohn T. Botsford, farmer, section 15, New 
1^?- Haven Township, is a son of Reuben and 
Martha (Lambson) Botsford (see sketch), 
and was born in Whitby Township, Ontario, 
Feb. 27, 1849. On leaving his native home, 
when seven years of age, he came with his par- 
ents to Michigan, settling in the village of Reuby, 
Clyde Township, St. Clair County, for four years; 



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Ifred Finch, farmer, section 24, Arcada 
^ Township, was born in Orleans Co., N. Y. 
Sept. 26, 1 85 2, and is the son of Linas Finch, 
a native of New York, and of English de- 
scent. The father was by occupation a ma- 
chinist; and, enlisting in the service of his 
country, fell a victim to some rebel bullet. Alfred's 
mother died in Orleans Co., N. Y., in March, 1861, 
and at the age of nine Alfred found himself under 
the care of a Mr. Hall, of Orleans County. Two 
years later they all came to Eaton Co., Mich., where 
Alfred lived, working summers and attending school 
in the winters, until 16 years old. He then went to 
live with Levi Bartlow, in Clinton County, remaining 
with him till 21 years old. For the next five years 
he was variously engaged. 

Aug. 6, 1878, at St. Johns, he was united in the 
bonds of matrimony to Nancy, daughter of Erastus 
and Jimima (Packard) Farrington, natives of New 
England and of English descent. Mr. Farrington 's 
occupation has been a shoemaker, and he is now a 
farmer. Nancy was born June 11, 1857, in Emerson 
Township ; was there educated, and there lived 
until her marriage. One year after marriage, Mr. and 
Mrs. Finch settled on 40 acres in Arcada Township, 
He now has 15 acres under cultivation. They have 
a family of three children, as follows : Alice, born 
March 5, 1879; Bertha, June 27, 1880; and Chades, 
Oct. 20, 1883. In politics, Mr. Finch is a Republican. 



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was then four years with his father on a farm near 
that village, attending school during the winter sea- 
sons. In the fall of 1865 they moved to this county, 
where John T. remained, working in agricultural 
pursuits and attending school until his marriage. 
His wife, Sarah, is a daughter of George and Alice 
(Fisher) Cross, natives of England, who came to 
America early in life, ultimately settling in Newark 
Township, this county. Mrs. B. was born July 7, 
1857, one of the first white children born in that 
township. Here she was reared and educated. Mr. 
and Mrs. B. have one child, Ettie E., who was born 
Dec. r, 1884. They are members of the Baptist 
Church, and in politics he is a Republican. 



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illiam J. Courter, farmer, section 7, Ar- 
^^I^^K, cada Township, was born in Orleans 
"" 'i~j Township, Ionia County, Sept. 25, 1851. 

/ His parents are "natives of New York State, 
moved to this county in 1854, and are now 

living on a farm in Arcada Township. Coming 
with his parents to an unsettled country, William had 
no school advantages during his early youth, but he 
was endowed with a desire to learn, and as he be- 
came older he developed quite a taste for books. 
When 16 years old, he commenced earning his own 
livelihood, going for a time to the lumber woods of 
Mecosta County. Returning home, he passed 13 
years in working at farming in the summers and in 
the woods winters. The last four years of that 
period he was in the employ of Bradley Hayes, of 
Ionia County, an e.xtensive farmer and lumberman. 
During these four years he lost but 13 days' time, 
and so highly were his services ap])reciated that he 
was paid for that lost time. 

On leaving Mr. Hayes' employ he was married to 
Jeannette, daughter of Ira and Ann (Mcintosh) Bar- 
low, natives of New York State and of English and 
Scotch ancestry. They followed farming, and re- 
moved from New York State to the vicinity of Detroit, 
Mich., and thence to Sydney Township, Montcalm 
County, where they now reside. Jeannette was born 
in that county, Nov. 11, 1857, where she was edu- 
cated in the district schools, and lived until her mar- 
riage. Mr. and Mrs. Courter came to this county 
and located on 80 acres of his father's homestead. 




He has now 60 acres nicely improved, and good farm 
buildings. They have two children : Ira Albert, born 
Aug. 22, 1878, and Fred S., born Nov. 15, 1882. 
Politically, he is a Democrat. He has been Overseer 
of Roads for some time. 

harles W. Bayley, farmer, section 25, Elba 
^^ Township, is a son of W. H. and Jane 




gp (Wilson) Bayley, natives of P^ngland, and 
^^ residents of Canada. He was born near To- 
'\ ronto, Canada, July 7, 1849. On setting out 
to make his own way in the world, he went 
to Lorain Co., Ohio, where he wjs engaged in farm- 
ing until 1879. Sept. 23, 1879, he was united in 
marriage to Catharine Eschtruth, the eldest daughter 
of John and Sophia*(Keich) Eschtruth. The)' were 
natives of Germany, and emigrated to the Great Re- 
public in 1847, settling in Lorain Co., Ohio. Mr. 
Eschtruth is there engaged in farming and operating 
a stone quarry. Mrs. Bayley was born in Lorain 
County, Dec. 28, 1852. Politically, he votes with 
the Republican party. In Elyria, Ohio, he was 
an active worker in the temperance union, and he is 
still interested in that cause. 



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|ra||t ewis B. Wolford, farmer, section 29, New 

L&ia. Haven Township, is a son of David and 

I-averna (Conger) Wolford, natives of New 

York. He was born in Cayuga Co., N. V., 



l^ Nov. II, 1837 ; when six years old he was taken 
|_ to Huntington Co., Ind., and two years later to 
his native county ; in 1858 he came and settled on 
section 21, New Haven Township, this county; in 
1867 he moved into Sumner Township, where he 
lived for six years, during which time he followed 
lumbering in Montcalm County. In the spring of 
1876 he moved into New Haven Township. 

Jan. 14, 1881, Mr. Wolford married Mrs. Ellen M. 
Wiles, daughter of Peter D. and Mary (Habcock) 
Pcndell. Mr. P. was a native of Saratoga, N. Y., of 
German-l'',nglish descent, came to Michigan in E847, 
and to this county in 1858; he was a farmer. He 
and his wife both died in New Haven Township. 
Mrs. W. was born in Wayne Co., N. Y., July 14, 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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1845. When two years old she came to this State, 
since which time she has been a resident of Ionia 
and Gratiot Counties. She was first married in 1862, 
to George Bennett, a native of Michigan, who died 
June 20, 1S70. She afterward married David Wiles, 
who was born Jan. 22, 1832, in Ohio, and died April 
20, 1877. By another wife he had been the father 
of seven children, and she, by her former marriage, 
had two children. By tlie jiresent union there has 
been one child, Mary L., born Aug. 12, 1882. Mrs. 
W. has a farm of 80 acres, most of which is well im- 
proved. Mr. W., a Republican, has been honored 
with office in his school district. 

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1 yf Pi^ illiam C. Wooley, farmer, section 33, Elba 




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^3L 'lownship, is a son of John K. and Fanny 
J^^o (^rose) Wooley, natives of New Jersey. 
'*> Mrs. Wooley was the first white settler of 
Elba Township, locating on section 34 Jan. 4, 
1855. In March of the same year, she re- 
moved across the line into Clinton County, where 
she still resides. William C, was born June 14, 
1840, in Kalamazoo Co., Mich., and Ict't home at the 
S^ age of 14 to care for himself. He worked on a farm 
until 1867, when he married Martha Harrison, 
' ) daughter of John S. and Louisa (Baker) Harrison, 
natives of Ohio, where they followed farming. Mr. 
and Mrs. Wooley have a family of three children : 
John H., Claude D. and Cora P. 

Mr. Wooley first purchased 80 acres in Elba To>vn- 
ship, but has added :6o acres to his nucleus. Of 
his whole farm, 180 acres are well improved. In 
1873 he built his large barn. His was the first fam- 
ily to settle permanently in the township, and when 
he came he found a dense wilderness. 

He enlisted in Co. If, 25th Mich. Inf , Aug. 27, 

1862, and served his country faithfully during the 
remainder of the war. His company was engaged 
under Col. Moore at Green River Bridge July 4, 

1863, with the notorious John Morgan's command, 
and killed more men than there were in thecompan) 
engaged. He was mustered out at Salisbury, N. C, 
and finally discharged at Ja';kson, Mich. 

Mr. Wooley is a member of Elsie Lodge, No. 238, 
F. & A. M. He was l)ei)uty Sheriff under George 
\^ Patch. He is one of the representative citizens of 
i- <iratiot County. 



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fT;^ rank Manecke, farmer, section 22, New 
Haven Township, was born in Mecklen- 
l^ji%" ''^ burg, Germany, in 1830. His mother died 
^11^ when he was three years old, and then until he 
4^^ was eight he lived with his grandmother. His 
i father having married again he returned to him, 
who was then superintendent of large land tenants 
in that country. He was carefully educated, and 
before he left his native land at the age of T5 he was 
well versed in French as well as in his native tongue. 
At the age mentioned he came to the United States 
with his father, settling in Wood Co., Ohio, near 
Fostoria. Here the father bought a farm and pro- 
ceeded to teach his only two children, Frank and 
Frederick, in the art of agriculture. 

On attaining legal age, Frank began as a common 
laborer for farmers in Seneca Co., Ohio, and two 
years later he came to Michigan, locating, in Novem- 
lier, 1854, 120 acres of wild forest land, on sections 
21 and 22, New Haven Township, under the Grad- 
uation Act. In the spring following he set about 
improving this place, spending the winters for sev- 
eral years in this work, while the summers he worked 
in East Plains, Ionia County. In i860 he settled on 
this farm, where he has since made a comfortable 
home. 

Under the last call for recruits in 1864, Mr. Man- 
ecke was drafted, and placed in Co. E, 15th Mich. 
Inf. His regiment was with Sherman in North Car- 
olina, but before it was called into action the war 
closed, and Mr. M. returned home without participa- 
ting in any engagement. Resuming work on his 
farm, he has prospered until he has reduced 100 acres 
under the plov^f and added by purchase 40 acres 
more. It is one of the most productive farms in the 
township. He has produced per acre as high as 38 
bushels of wheat, 80 bushels of corn and 6 bushels 
of clover seed. His residence, recently built, is a 
beautiful and convenient structure, and his farm 
buildings are first-class, Mr. M. has held the school 
office of his township, and in political issues he is a 
Republican. 

Mr. Manecke was first married April 27, 1860, to 
Miss Adaline Burt ; she was born in New York, 
about 1831, and died at her home in New Haven 
Township, Oct. 28, 1863, leaving one child, Burt 









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She was a member of the Regular Baptist Church. 
Mr. M. was again married Jan. 15, 1864, in Newark 
Township, this county, to Mrs. Susanna Ridenour, 
/lee Munson, who was born in Medina Co., Ohio, 
Aug. 22, 1830, where she resided until her first mar- 
riage, in .\pril, 185 i. Since that time she has lived 
in this State, and, except three years, in Clinton 
County. The children of Mrs. M., by her former 
husband, were : Polly S. and .-\minda J-, bolh mar- 
ried, in this and Ionia Counties; and George, who 
died in infancy. 



stenry K. Retan, senior proprietor of the 
J£ Retan House, Ithaca, was born in Sussex 
Co., N. J., Aug. 27, 1817, and is a son of 
John and Margaret (Smith) Retan, natives of 
Nova Scotia and New Jersey, and of Dutch and 
New England descent. The father was a far- 
mer, and died in Waterford, Oakland Co., Mich., in 
1843. The mother died in Ovvosso, Mich., in 1867. 

When the subject of this sketch was seven years 
old, his father removed to Oakland County, this State, 
and settled on a farm near Pontiac. Henry here 
worked on the farm, occasionally attending school, 
and developed into manhood. At the age of 26 he 
left home, and started a store at Commerce, Oakland 
County. He was in mercantile life about 15 years, 
and then went into the hotel business. He was first 
at Owosso one year, then at Ovid 12 years, and then 
lived at Ovid three years without other occupation 
than caring for his wife, who was then an invalid. 
In May, 1883, he came to Ithaca, and started the 
Retan House in company with his son-in-law, Dennis 
T. Covert. This hotel has a very large patronage, and 
has acquired an enviable reputation as a home-like, 
well managed house. 

Nov. 17, 1842, at Pontiac, he formed a life partner- 
ship with Miss Catharine Voorheis, daughter of Jacob 
and Rachel (Powelson) Voorheis, natives of New 
Jersey, and of Dutch and English descent. She was 
born at Peapack, Somerset Co., N. J., Sept. 20, 1820, 
and came to Michigan with her parents when 13 
years old, living in Oakland County until her mar- 
riage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Retan have had a family of eight, 
four surviving: Harrison L., Harriet E. (Mrs. D. T. 




Covert), Jay V. and Addie. The two first are in 
Ithaca, the two last at Ovid. The deceased are 
George, Margaret, Frank and Lily. Mr. Retan is 
politically a Democrat. 



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ij-^^aj)^ lexander T. Rice, farmer, section 32, Elba 
Sj^^^f! Township, is a son of Clavk and Sarah A. 
-ciHW '' (^oonley) Rice, natives of Massachusetts 
'' :ind New York respectively. They emigrated 

to Michigan in 1840, and settled on a farm. 

Ale.xander was born Dec. 10, 1834, in Jasper, 
Steuben Co., N. Y. At the age of 25, he was mar- 
ried to Clara J. Armstrong, daughter of Elias and 
Eunice (Hewitt) Armstrong, natives of Connecticut. 
Slie was born May 20, 1835, in \Vheatland, Monroe 
Co., N. Y. Mr. Armstrong came to Livingston Co., 
Mich., and lived there until his death, Sept. 19, 
1863. Mrs. Armstrong died Feb. 17, 1872, at Eaton 
Rapids, Mich. 

In 1 87 6, Mr. Rice located on 100 acres on sections 
29 and 32, Elba Township, and he has creditably 
improved 60 acres of this farm, besides erecting a 
neat farm liouse, barn and granaries. In 1876, he 
was elected School Superintendent of his township, 
and the following year he was elected Supervisor. 
This latter office he filled continuously until the 
spring of 1883, except the year 1881. He is a mem- 
ber of St. John's Lodge, No. 105, F. & A. M. Po- 
litically, he has always been a Democrat. He is one 
of the truly representative men of the county, and 
stands highly with all parties. 



■ tWIC rancis J. Corey, farmer on section 2,New- 
; ^' ;f .!,' ark Township, was born in Nankin 'i'own- 
i?S£/fY^ ship, Wayne Co., Mich., Dec. 18, 1836, 
and is the son of John I), and Roxie (Fergu- 
dj^ son) Corey, natives of Rhode Island and Ver- 
{. niont. They have followed farming, and now 
reside on section 29, Arcada Township. Francis 
lived with his parents and worked on their farm 
until of age, moving witli them when 18 years old to 
Ingiiam Co., Mich. 

Jan. I, 1858, at Lansing, he was married to 
Rachel, daughter of George and Eliza (Carter) 
Brown, natives of New York and of English and 



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German ancestry. The 
County in 1864, aged 55. 



father died in Ingham 
The mother still lives in 



this county. Rachel was born in Williams Co., Ohio, 
May 26, 1S39, and came to Michigan when 17 years 
old. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Corey lived in 
Ingham County until the winter of 1866, when they 
came to this county and purchased 80 acres on sec- 
tion 32, Arcada Township. While living on that 
place, they improved 44 acres. Selling out Dec. 7, 
i8?3, they have just become well fettled on their new 
home of 40 acres of well-improved land near Ithaca, 
formerly owned by William Hutchins. 

Mr. and Mrs. Corey have a family of four, as fol- 
lows : Lorada E., born Jan. 21, i860; Ellsworth D., 
Aug. 14, 1861; Lorena F., Feb. 3, 1864; and Eliza 
J., Nov. 3, 1868. 

Oct. 28, 1863, he enlisted in Co. H, 4th Mich. Vol. 
Cav., and served in the Army of the ('umberland 
under Gen. Minty. He fought at Kingston,- Look- 
-^ out Mountain, Stone Mountain and Cottonwood 
Creek, and in many skirmishes, such as cavalrymen 
\^. always meet with. He was in Kilpatrick's raid 
a through Georgia in 1864, and in Wilson's raid from 
^ Eastport, Miss., to Macon, Ga., the same year. He 
a was honorably discharged Aug. is, 1865, after 23 
months of active service. In civil life, Mr. Corey 
has been a worker in the ranks of the Democratic 
party. He has been Constable for two terms. 



i: srael W. Hause, farmer on section 15, Ful- 
ton Township, is the son of Simon and 
Sally (Coats) Hause, natives of the State of 
New York. They resided first in Chemung 
Co., N. Y., then in Steuben Co., Mich., and 
in 1853 they removed to Clinton Co., Mich. 
They came to Gratiot County in March, 1858, and 
returned to Clinton County in May, 1870. Here he 
died, June 11, 1877. She survives him, and resides 
in St. John's. Their family comprised two sons and 
five daughters. 

The subject of this notice, the elder son, was born 
in Steuben Co., N. Y., Sept. 21, 1841, and was 12 
years old when his parents removed to Michigan. 
He received a common-school education, and made 
his home with his parents until he attained his ma- 
jority. He came to Gratiot County with his parents 




and bought 40 acres of partly improved land on 
section 15, Fulton Township; and m January follow- 
ing he settled with his family there. He has built a 
comfortable residence and barns, and has 30 acres 
under cultivation. 

Dec. 2, 1862, in Fulton Townshiji, lie married Miss 
Harriet A., daughter of William J. and Sarah A. 
(Sornbcrger) Carr, natives of New York. They came 
to Fulton Township, Gratiot County, in i860. Mrs. 
Carr died here May 13, 1863. Mr. Carr survives. 
Their daughter Harriet was born in Madison Co., N. 
Y., March 31, 1843. She is a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal ('hurch. Politically, Mr. Hause is a 
Republican. 



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^ illiam Alpaiigh, farmer on section 5, Ful- 
Ho.^ ton Township, is a son of Philip and Eva 
jj^^n " '^'P^ugh, natives of the State of New 
-laS^' York. In 1846, they left that State and 
came to Hillsdale Co., Mich., where they 
died, he Oct. 10, 1874, and she Dec. 16, 18S0. 
The subiect of this sketch was born in Montgomery 
Co., N. Y., Jan. 1, 1830, and received a fair com- 
mon-school education. At the age of 16 he came 
with his parents to Michigan. 

At the age of 22, he started out to make his own 
way in life. He learned the trade of carpenter and 
joiner, which he followed much of the time until 
1882. He came to this county in January, 1865, 
and bought 40 acres on section 2, North Shade 
Township. Here he lived about seven years, when 
he sold and bought 40 acres on section 5, Fulton 
Township, his present home. He has since added 
40 acres, and has about one-half of his farm under 
cultivation. 

Sept. 3, 1862, he married Mary E., daughter of 
Joseph H. and Margaret (Clement) Salisbury, natives 
of Montgomery Co., N. Y. Mrs. Alpaugh was born 
in Pittsford, Hillsdale Co., Mich., Sept. 22, 1841. 
This marriage has been blessed with two children : 
Evie A. and Edwin G. The latter died when two 
years old. Mr. A. is a member of the Masonic Order, 
and, with his wife, of the Christian Church. In 
politics he is a Republican. He is a strong tem- 
perance man, and takes .1 deep interest in all temper- 
ance movements. 



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illiam Sickels, one of the leading business 
men of Sickels, and representative men of 
•(-) the county, and whose portrait we are pleased 
\ to present in this work as a meritorious rep- 
'' resentation of one of Gratiot's self-made men, 
was born in Palmyra, Wayne Co., N. Y., May 
30, 1824, and is a son of John F. Sickels, native of 
the same State, whose Holland ancestors settled on 
the Mohawk River over 200 years ago. Mr. Sickels 
attended the common schools of his native State 
until he attained the age of 12 years, when, in com- 
pany with the family, he came to Wayne County, this 
State, where they arrived in 1836. Here William 
attended the Northville Academy, assisting on the 
farm at times until the father's death in 1839, when 
he assumed control of the farm and successfully cul- 
tivated it for one year. He then resumed his studies 
at Northville Academy and completed his education. 
After the completion of that arduous though pleas- 
ant task, he went back on the farm and remained 
until 1849, when he moved to Howell Tov/nship, 
Livingston County, this State, and occupied his time 
in farming until 1854, then went to what is now 
Wyandotte, Wayne County, built the first store and 
dwelling house in the village proper and established 
the first postoffice there. In 1856 he removed to 
what is now Elsie, Clinton County, and also estab- 
lished the first postoffice in that village, and was 
Deputy Postmaster. He remained at Elsie until 
1 86 1, when he removed to St. Johns, same county, 
and there held the position of Register of Deeds 
until 1863, and Deputy Register from 1863 to 1865; 
was also Judge of Probate from 1865 to 1S69. From 
1869 to 1 88 1 he held a position in the Postoffice 
Department at Washington, D. C. In May, 1881, 
Mr. S. resigned his position at Washington and 
joined his family at Sickels, this county, whither he 
had removed them in September, 1873. 

In 1883 Mr. Sickels built a large steam flouring 
mill at Sickels and thoroughly equipped it with the 
best and most modern improved machinery, with 
boilers 4^x12 feet and a 40-horse-power engine, 
which is recognized as one of the best flour-produc- 
ing mills in the county. His residence is undoubt- 
edly the finest in Hamilton Township ; and, remarka- 



ble as it may appear, it is nevertheless true, the 
structure is composed mostly of native wood which 
grew on his own farm. The building is supplied 
with hot and cold water throughout, and is elegantly 
furnished. The library, of which he is justly proud, 
required an outlay of over $2,000 in its selection and 
purchase, and comfort, happiness and plenty sur- 
round the family hearthstone. 

Mr. Sickels was married Nov. 8, 1846, to Isabel B., 
daughter of Dennis Kingsley (deceased), a native of 
Vermont, and one of the early pioneers of Wayne 
County. She was born in Orleans Co., N. Y., March 
13, 1828. Four children have been born to their 
union, viz.: Dennis K., Annie I., Hettie E. and 
William C. 

Dennis is living in Washington, D. C, and was 
married to Alice M. Hugely. Annie I. married John 
H. Winton, of Ithaca, this county. Hattie E. was 
married to Warren Abbott, who died in 1880, leaving 
two children to the care of the mother, who lives 
with them at home. William C. is unmarried and 
living with the family in their pleasant abode. 

The credit of their prosperity, of their happy home 
and the fine appearance of their large farm of 640 
acres, is not all claimed by the father; each one 
nobly did his part; and of the mother, for her untir- 
ing labors, all unite in highest praise. That "the 
school of adversity graduates the ablest pupils, and 
the lull of difficulty is one of the strongest ' consti- 
tutionals ' for strengthening the financial backbone of 
a struggling family," was, undoubtedly, fully corrob- 
orated in her energetic labors. She superintended 
the clearing of the land (Mr. S. being in Washington 
a great portion of the time attending to his duties in 
the Postoffice Department), and the building of their 
fine residence and barn, with the assistance of her 
daughter Annie as architect, and also the clearing of 
another farm of 100 acres, which they own; and to 
her good judgment and fine management their pros- 
perity in a great measure is indebted. Truly we 
may say, she is one of those women who are too 
often ignored and too little appreciated by biograph- 
ical writers of the day. 

Mr. S. owns the store building in Sickels, besides 
considerable other village property. He was a soldier 
in the late civil war, enlisting in Co. E, 23d Mich. 
Vol. Inf.; was appointed First Lieutenant and had 
command of the company most of the tune for about 
six months, when, contracting typhoid pneumonia, he 



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was compelled to resign. The Captain of the com- 
pany was O. T.. Spaiilding. 

In addition to his other business, Mr. S. is at pres- 
ent devoting considerable time to the propaga- 
tion of fine stock, and is handling, with good success, 
a species of the Shorthorn breed of cattle known as 
the " Rose of Sharon." He has one two-year old 
from the herd of H. M. Vale, of Independence, 
Mo., which is considered one of the finest and most 
celebrated herds in the United States. 

Mr. Sickels and his entire family, with the excep- 
tion of his youngest son, are members of the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church. He is a member of the 
Masonic Order and the I. O. O. F. 




fcharles H. Webster, superintendent of 

ffa^ Church's mill, and residing on section 7^ 

Emerson Township, was born at Wellington, 

Lorain Co., Ohio, May 28, 1844, and is the 

< son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Magraugh) 
Webster, natives of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, 
respectively, and of Dutch and Iribh extraction. 
The father was by trade a tailor, and died April 2, 
1845, before Charles H. was a year old. The latter 
lived until 12 years of age with his mother and a 
step-father, whom she married in 1854. 

While but a mere boy he responded to his country's 
call for volunteers, and enlisted Aug. 25, 1861, in 
Co. H, 2d Ohio Vol. Cav. He served first under 
Gen. BluiTt, then under Gen. Burnsides, and finally 
under Gen. G. A. Custer. He was engaged in all 
battles in which his company was involved, among 
them being the battles of the Wilderness, Peters- 
burg and Richmond, at the close of the war. He 
was often detailed for special and important duties, 
and was made a Corporal towards the close of the 
war. Being wounded in the knee and thereby dis- 
abled, June 28, 1 864, he was captured the following 
day at Reams' Station, near Petersburg. He was 
taken to Libby prison ar.d confined for four weeks in 
that iniquitous pen. Being then paroled, he found 
his way to his company and remained with it until 
he was honorably discharged, Sept. 18, 1865. He 
served four years and 25 days, and his arduous and 
interesting experiences would fill a volume. 



Mr. Webster has a copy of the congratulatory order 
issued by Gen. Custer to his division, on Lee's sur- 
render. 

Returning home he shortly started for Michigan, 
arriving at Ithaca Oct. 22, 1865. He purchased of 
the State 200 acres of land in Emerson Township. 
For about three years longer he was a bachelor, im- 
proving his farm summers, and in the winters acting 
as clerk, at first in the dry-goods store of Nelson & 
Church, and later in Jeffery's store. Dec. 28, 1868, 
he was married to Marie E. Church, daughter of 
Lafayette and Sophronia (Benjamin) Church (see 
sketch), who was born in Hillsdale Co., Mich., Oct. 
9, 185 I. She came to this county when three years 
old, and was here educated, and here lived until her 
marriage. Some months after that event Mr. and 
Mrs. Webster moved from Ithaca to section 27, Emer- 
son Township. They afterwards moved to section 
28, and in 1874 they settled on section 7. Here he 
owns 80 acres, and has the management of Church's 
mill. 

They have had five children, only two of whom, 
Addie E. and Albert H., survive. Arthur, Alta and 
a baby are dead. They are members of the Baptist 
Church. Mr. Webster has been Township Clerk 
two years; has been chosen Justice of the Peace 
twice, but did not qualify. Politically he is a stanch 
Republican. 



«e 



eorge J. Butcher, cabinet-maker, furniture 
j^^j^ dealer and undertaker. Elm Hall, was born 
-^|(3p""f= near Norwich, Eng., June 8, 1833, and is 
^A^ of English descent. His father was a gardener, 
\ and came to the United States when George 
* vk'as four years old, locating first at Buffalo, N. 
Y. Eight years later they removed to Chippewa, 
Ont., where Mr. Butcher followed his trade as 
gardener. Afterwards, removing to Elgin Co., Ont., 
he secured a tract of 200 acres of wild land. 

On this farm the subject of this narrative lived and 
worked under his father's guidance, until 18 years old. 
He was then aj^prenticed for three years to a Mr. 
Maxwell Hamilton, of Simcoe, Ont., to learn carpen- 
try. After serving out his time, he worked for the 
same gentleman one year as a journeyman carpenter 
He then planned an extended tour to California and 



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the West Indies; but, laying, off for a period at 
Dubuque, Iowa, he became homesick, and returned 
to work once more for Mr. Hamilton. 

Jan. r4, 1856, he was united in mariiage to Miss 
Frances E. Webb, born in Canada, July 14, 1840. 
Working at his trade in that country for three years 
more, Mr. and Mrs. B. then came to this State and 
county, and located with her uncle, Nathaniel Strayer, 
of Seville Township. Mr. B. here built a house four 
miles away, making two trips daily. He worked 103 
days at $3 per day, and lost no time whatever. The 
following summer, with the money thus earned, he 
erected the first frame building in the township, 
which he ran as a hotel until 1869. He then 
resumed his trade, and, after following that for three 
years, he started his present cabinet shop. He now 
has a stock worth §1,000, and his annual business 
is $3,000. 

July 17, 187 r, in Canada, his second marriage 
occurred, he taking this time as the partner of his 
sorrows and joys Miss Alice Hayward, a native of 
Ontario, where she was born, July 2, r85o. 

Mrs. B. is a member of good standing in the M. E. 
Church. Mr. Butcher has held the office of Constable 
for several years. He is a member of North Star 
Lodge No. 306, I. O. O. F., has passed all the chairs, 
and is now D. D. G. M. of theorder. Politically, he 
is a Democrat. 



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^V heron Finney, farmer, section ig, Emerson 
Township, was born in Essex Co., N. Y., 



i^i *■ March 24, 1807, and was the son of Scotch 

'^^ and Welsh parents. They were natives of 

tw Connecticut, and were farmers by occupation. 

I Most of their lives they resided in Essex 

County, where they died many years ago. Theron 

remained on his father's farm until 19 years of age, 

when he began to battle for himself. When 28 years 

old, he came to Hillsdale Co., Mich., and was there 

married to Harriet Butler, daughter of Zebina and 

Polly (Porter) Butler, and born July 20,1817. Mr- 

^ and Mrs. Finney resided on a farm in Hillsdale 

^ County until 1859, when they came to Gratiot County 

K^ and entered 320 acres of unimproved land on section 

T" 1 9> Emerson Township. Mr. Finney has improved 



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a considerable acreage, and sold all but 60 acres, 
upon which he now lives. 

They have had a family of nine children : Melvina 
R., Mary L., Josephine D., WilmerT., Dora A., Butler 
J., Frank L., Ramson P. and Arza A. The last four 
named are dead. Mr. Finney has held the offices of 
School Inspector and Township Treasurer for several 
years. In political faith, he is a Republican. 



I 



;• I &}\^' corge H. Oliver, druggist and groceryman, 
:,L:i;J, I'-lm Hall, was born in DeWitt, Clinton 
"^iO' Co., Mich., Jan. 3, 1845. His parents were 
''*^ » natives of New York, of English and Scotch 
descent, and his father was a carpenter. When 
he was four years old, his parents removed to 
where the village of Grand Ledge now stands, in 
Eaton County. It was then an unbroken forest, and 
his father built one of the first houses there. The 
first school-house was also raised by his father and 
a few neighbors. Here our subject lived, grew up 
and was educated. 

In February, 1865, at the age of 20, he enlisted 
in Co. C, 1 2th Mich. Vol. Inf., and was assigned to 
the Army of the West. He was in no active engage- 
ments, and was honorably discharged in July, 1865. 
His health failed him ; and on arriving home he was 
confined to his bed until September. He then went 
to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and took a course in East- 
man's Business College, graduating in March, 1866. 
Returning to Grand Ledge, he was for a time engaged 
in book-keeping. For the ensuing four years he was 
learning the painter's trade. Then assuming control of 
a good business in that line, he associated with him- 
self a Mr. Deering. This partnership lasted until the 
spring of 1S71, when he left Grand Ledge and came 
to Gratiot County, to join his father in the grocery 
business. His health not being the best, he has not 
resumed his trade, but has continued in the drug and 
grocery business at Elm Hall. In October, 1881, he 
became sole proprietor of the business. He has a 
stock worth about $1,000, and a growing trade now 
amounting to $3,000 annually. 

March 4, 1874, in Montcalm County, he was 
married to Miss Laura A. Van Leuvan, who was born 
in Sumner Township, July 30, 1856. She lived for 



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GRATIOT COUNTY 




'^ some time in Salem, Washtenaw County, and then 

;Q came to Montcalm County, where she was married., 

.''i^ She is the mother of two children : Inez E. and 

' Floyd E. Mr. and Mrs. O. are members of the M. 

E. Church. He has held the office of Constable, and 

politically is a Republican. 



feilas Hill, farmer, section 3, Hamilton Town- 
ship, is a son of Stephen Hill (deceased), a 

[V? native of Vermont, and who emigrated 

from that Stale to Otsego Co., N. Y., where the 
subject of our sketch was born, July 6, 1830. 
Three years after the birth of Silas, in 1833, 
the family removed to Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, where 
they lived for four years, until 1837, when they 
moved to Erie County, the same State. Here young 
Hill remained, attending the common schools of the 
county and developing into manhood. In r856 he 
went to Bureau Co., 111., and after remaining there 
some six months, during which time he was variously 
employed, he came to Eaton Co., Mich., where he 
arrived in the spring of 1857. 

Mr. Hill purchased the farm on which he is now 
living in November, 1873, and located upon it in 
January following,and has constantly resided thereon. 
The farm consists of 80 acres, and is under a good 
state of cultivation. He was married March 18, 
1857, to Lucy, daughter of Edward Bracy, of Eaton 
Co., Mich., and three children have been born to 
their union, two of whom, George F. and Edwin, are 
living, and one is deceased. 

Mr. Hill has held the offices of Highway Commis- 
sioner and Supervisor and is at present Treasurer of 
Hamilton Township. 




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Ti^i^^^dward Y. Kelley, merchant at Bridgeville, 
^'ilaiL' Washington Township, is a son of Joseph 
and Esther C. (Hockens) Kelley. The 
former was an employe of the Government, 
being engaged on Indian affairs and also fol- 
lowed farming. He died in the State of New 
York, in the spring of 1834. Mrs. Kelley died in the 
same State, in T867. Edward was born Jan. 14, 1832, 
at Danville, Caledonia Co., Vt. On the death of his 




father, he was taken by an old acquaintance of the 
family and kept for three years. He was then kept 
by another family until he was 13, since which time 
he has made his own way in life, working at the 
blacksmith's trade ajid at other employments. In 
the autumn of 1866 he purchased 30 acres on sec- 
tion 20, Washington Township, and engaged in farm- 
ing. He is now in mercantile life at Bridgeville ; 
has a full line of drugs, groceries had hardware, and 
a large trade. In i860 he was married to Betsy C. 
Woodcock, daughter of Asa and Mary (Ryan) Wood- 
cock, residents of New York State. She was born in 
1828, and died in Gratiot County, in 1S68, leaving 
five children, — Mary F., Edna J., Eddie J., Esther 
A. and Henry L. Mr. Kelley was subsequently mar- 
ried to Eliza Woodcock, a sister of his first wife. 
This marriage has been blessed with two children — 
Cora B. and Floyd. Mr. Kelley is a member of the 
Masonic Order and of the I. O. O. F. Politically 
he votes with the Republican party. 



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•|iharles C. Gilmore, editor and proprietor 
of the Corner Local, Elm Hall, was born 



-'il'<^/' in Old Town, Maine, Ajinl 



15. 1850; 



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A^ the son of Solomon and Abigail E. (Stewart) 
' ^ Gilmore, natives of Maine and of Scotch 
descent. Solomon Gilmore was a lumberman 
in his native State until 32 years of age, when he 
went to Pennsylvania. Here he lived until death, 
about 1862, aged ^2. His wife died in the same 
State a year previous, at the age of 51. 

The subject of this biography left his native State 
when very young, and went with his parents to Penn- 
sylvania, where they lived in the lumber regions of 
the mountains. Owing to their peculiar surroundings, 
his opportunities for education were very limited, and 
he had but one year schooling. His desire for learn- 
ing was however such that he would, after working 
hard all day, spend hours by himself over his book. 
In this manner he mastered Davies' Algebra, and the 
rudiments of other branches taught in the high 
schools. At the age of 19, he set out to earn his own 
living. By accident he got to using the tools in the 
camp, and soon found that he was a natural black- 
smith. He was therefore employed by the proprietor 
to do all such work as came along in that line. He 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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was thus employed until the spring of 1874, when he 
came to Saginaw, this State. Six months later, he 
came to Gratiot County, and located at Elm Hall. 
Soon he built a stumping macliine, and pulled stumps 
in the summer, following his trade in the winter. 

Since coming to the county, he has been a regular 
correspondent of the Gratiot Journal, and has thus 
secured a good idea of newspaper writing. From 
1880 to the close of 1883, his occupation has, how- 
ever, been well-driving, in prosecuting which he has 
used appliances of his own invention. Nov. 17, 
1883, he purchased and assumed control of the 
Corner Local, and his first issue apjjeared Nov. 24. 
He has a growing circulation, already reaching 350, 
and his paper has constantly improved. 

Dec. 3, 1878, at Elm Hall, he was united in 
marriage to Miss Lizzie Fox, born at Leslie, Ingham 
Co., Mich., in 1855. She came to Gratiot in 1877. 
She is the mother of two children : Edna and 
Frederick. She is a member of the M. E. Church. 
Mr. G. is a member of Elm Hall Lodge No. 257, F. 
& A. M., Elm Hall, and has for some time held the 
office of Secretary of the lodge. He has held the 
office of Justice of the Peace for three years, and in 
politics is a Republican. 



—5- 



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-t C5gr.,dwin Meacham, farmer, section 35, Elba 

rtl^^j^ Tp., is a son of Almon and Polly (Kel- 

«^' ly)Meacham, natives of Massachusetts and 

A^^ New York, respectively. They emigrated to 

<• Ohio in an early day, and resided in Cuya- 

J hoga County until their death, in 1852. Edwin 

w.is bprn Nov. 30, 1845, in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, and 

at the tender age of seven was left an orphan by the 

death of both his parents. He was cared for by his 

uncle and aunt, with whom he lived until he was 21. 

With some money which they gave to him, he came 

to Gratiot Co., Mich., and purchased 80 acres of land 

on section 35, in the township of Elba. He has now 

improved 50 acres of his farm. 

March 21, 1870, he was married to Alice A. 
Crego, the only daughter of Lorin M. and Eliza O. 
(Stone) Crego, natives of New York. This marriage 
has been blessed with two children, — Jessie A. and 
Jennie A. 

Mr. Meacham is one of the most respected citizens 




of his township, and has held various local offices. 
In 1 87 I he was elected Township Clerk, and to that 
office he was re-elected in 1872 and 1873. He was 
elected Supervisor in 1881 and 1883, and now repre- 
sents Elba Township in the Board of Supervisors. 
He has also been School Director for the past 1 2 
years. He is a member of the Masonic Order, and 
of the I. O. O. F. Politically he is a strong Re- 
publican. 



^^s-^^ 




l^^avid Muffly, farmer, section 3, Hamilton 
Township, was born in Washington Town- 
ship, Westmoreland Co., Pa., Dec. 20, 1830. 
jp*« The family removed to Stark Co., Ohio, while 
David was quite young, and there he resided on 
the parental farm, attending the common schools 
aid developing into manhood. 

In 1850, when 20 years of age, Mr. Muffly left the 
parental home to fight life's battles alone, and went 
to Seneca Co., Ohio. He remained in that county 
five years, until 1855, when, desiring a home for him- 
self and family, having in the meantime married, he 
came to this State and settled in Hamilton Township, 
this county. His experiences were those of many 
others of Michigan's pioneer settlers. Hardship, 
deprivation and want were his to battle with, and 
successfully did he wage the war against and van- 
quish them. He built his log cabin in the woods, 
and in the erection of the same used only one single 
sawed board, and that for the door. Here he lived and 
amid the howling of wolves, the crying of panthers, 
and with "prowling Indians for neighbors " lie en- 
tered on the task of clearing his land. Although he 
had many trials and difficulties to overcome, he ex- 
perienced some of the joys and pleasures of those 
pioneer days. He was at the first township election, 
when almost every man in the township was elected 
to office. 

Mr. Muffly, like many others when the flag 
of our country was dishonored by the rebel shot at 
Fort Sumter, went forth to meet the enemy and 
battle for its maintenance. He enlisted in Co. F, 
29th Mich. Vol. Inf. He was in the battle of De- 
catur (Ala.) and Murfreesboro ; and shortly after the 
last-named battle, while packing and preparing for a 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



forced march, he was accidentally precipitated into 
a railroad ditch, and, striking his breast upon the iron 
which happened to be piled there, so lacerated it 
and crippled him he was transferred to the hospital. 
Here his wounds were unprofessionally treated, and 
he finally received his discharge on account of disa- 
bility and returned to his family. 

Mr. Muffly was married Jan. 11, 1854, to Miss 
Delilah Street. Seven children have been born to 
the union, namely : Rufus S., Martha J., James C, 
Vilda, Arminia, David S. and Francis M. The father 
and mother are both members of the Christian 
Church. 



'ames Griffith, farmer, section 5, Emerson 
l^^lf- Township, was born in Chemung Co., N. Y., 
1^^ Dec. 3, 1837, and is the son of Lewis and 
Hannah (Boyer) Griffith, natives of New York 
State. The father is now a resident of Lenawee 
Co., Mich., and the mother died in New York 
Slate in 1839, when James was only two years old. 
Two years after that event he came with his father 
to Michigan and settled in Lenawee County. Being 
among the early settlers of that part of the State, 
they had to perform the toilsome work of clearing 
and improving a new farm, and James passed many 
more days at work than at school. At 19 years of 
age, obtaining his father's permission to look out for 
himself, he commenced as a common laborer. In 
i860 he came to Gratiot County and located 120 
acres of wild land on section 5, Emerson Township. 
Aug. 17, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Co. G, 
5 th Mich. Vol. Cav., and went to the Array of the 
Potomac, where he served under Gen. Phil. Sheri- 
dan. He was an eye-witness of the famous ride to 
Winchester by that commander. He fought at Cold 
Harbor, Winchester, Cedar Creek, and numerous 
lesser engagements. He was honorably discharged 
in June, 1865, having served in the field nearly three 
years. Returning home to his farm he kept bache- 
lor's hall for seven and a half years. March 6, 1873, 
he formed a life partnership with Emeline Decker, 
born in Ontario Co., N. Y., May 16, 1844. This 
union has been blessed with four children, — Sarah 
P., I>ewis, Maud and James K. Mr. Griffith has im- 



proved 70 acres of his farm, and has a fine dwelling 
and barn. He is considered a skillful farmer, and 
as a citizen is very popular. He has been Assessor 
for 12 years, and has also been Overseer of High- 
ways. Politically he is a Republican. 




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IWp^l'javid Reiehard, farmer, section 6, Ithaca 
( ^d^' I ':, Township, was born in Ashland Co., Ohio, 
JJIf'^ ^" Nov. 28, 1847, ^"d is a son of John A. 
W«< Reiehard, deceased, a native of Pennsylvania. 
^ There our subject lived, assisted his father on 
i the farm, attended the common schools and de- 
veloped into manhood. 

In 1865 Mr. R. left the parental home, to battle 
against the trials of life single-handed and alone, and 
came to this county, where he arrived in the spring of 
that year, and where he has ever since resided. He 
first settled in Fulton Township, where he remained 
1 1 years, and then went to Ithaca Township, where 
he is now living, the occupier and owner of 115 
acres of fine land. 

Mr. Reiehard was married March 9, 1869, to Miss 
Mary, daughter of Edward Waggoner, of Ithaca, and 
two children have been born to their union, namely : 
John E. and Orill. 

Mrs. Reiehard was born in Springfield, Jefferson 
Co., Ohio. 



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al'W^ orman L. Higbie, M. D., physician and 

farmer, section 35, Elba Townsliip, is a son 
of Oliver H. and Esther (Randall) Higbie, 
natives of New York. They lived in that 
JK3 State, on a farm, till the end of their lives, which 
came for Mr. Higbie in 1848, and his wife in 
iSyS. Norman L. was born in Delaware Co., N. Y., 
Feb. 16, 1S32. At the age of 18 he lei't home, and 
for the ensuing eight years he was engaged in teach- 
ing school, with the exception of two years, during 
which he attended at Rondout Seminary, Ulster Co., 
N. Y., and two years at New York Conference Sem- 
inary, at Charlotteville, Schoharie Co., N. Y. During 
this time, loo, he was studying the profession of 
medicine. In May, 1854, he came to Ann Arbor, 









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Mich., and afterwards he went to Iowa ; tlien returned 
to Ann Arbor. Thence he went to Plymouth, Wayne 
County, and practiced medicine for two years. In 
the practice of his profession, he also spent one year 
at Jackson and one year at Howell. He then spent 
two years in the South for his health. Returning to 
Michigan, he practiced medicine in Jackson County 
from i86i to 1S74. His health then failed him, and 
he was compelled to retire from active practice. Jan. 
12, 1875, he arrived in Gratiot County, and located 
on the southeast quarterof section 35, Elba Township. 
He has since added 40 acres to his farm. 

In 1856, he was united in marriage to Jane Hor- 
ton, who was born in Rensselaer Co., N. Y., May 31, 
1832. She was the daughter of Joseph and Elmira 
(Marks) Horton. Mr. Horton was born in New Leb- 
anon, Columbia Co., N. Y., April 7, 1807 ; and Mrs. 
Horton was born July 13, 1808. Dr. and Mrs. Hig- 
bie are the parents of six children, — George L., 
Joseph E., Alice J., William H., MyraA. and Alfred. 

They are active members of the M. E. Church. 
Dr. Higbie was chosen Superintendent of Schools 
in his township in 1875, and again in 1877, and he 
is now the health officer of his township. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. 



^«-h^h»Se 



I IXal ffl ^ illiam Martin, farmer, section \x, Wash- 
^M^i^'c) ington Township, is a son of Henry and 
='t^^O Sarah (Bugg) Martin, who were of English 
"fl^^ descent, and who came to America in 1835. 
fY They landed at New York July 3, and came 
L direct to Washtenaw Co., Mich. They located 
on 80 acres in De.xter Township, where Mr. Martin 
died Nov. 26, 1844; and Mrs. Martin in December, 
1859. At the age of 21, William Martin commenced 
to make his own way in life, and engaged in farming. 
The same year, he was married to Fanny, daughter 
of Michael and Fanny McCabe, natives of Ireland. 
They came to America at an early day, and are now 
both dead. 

Mr. Martin came to Gratiot County in 1856, and 
settled on 32 acres on section 13, Washington Town- 
ship. He married for his second wife Harriet Miles. 
By his first marriage he has four children, and by his 
second, 11. In his township Mr. Martin has been 



Constable five terms. Justice of the Peace two terms, 
and School Assessor three terms. Politically, he has 
always been a supporter of the Democratic party. 



Wf^M illiam D. Letts, farmer, section 35, Elba 
, iM^aJ^, Township, is a son of Edward and Mary 

P"^ * (Galligan) Letts, natives of New York 
' and Michigan. They were married in Clin- 
ton County in 1851. In 1856 they located 
\j on 80 acres on section 35, Elba Township, then 
in its primitive wildness. They now have 70 acres 
well improved. During their first years here, almost 
their only companions were the wolf, the wild-cat, 
and other denizens of the forest. They often built 
fires to keep the bears away from their calves and 
pigs, and occasionally they would take the dinner 
horn and call the wolves to their door. Mrs. Letts 
was the first white person to go from her neighbor- 
hood to Chesaning, making the trip of 18 miles 
through the wilderness alone. 

The subject of this sketch was married at the age 
of 24, to Vora Dunlap, the eldest daughter of Andrew 
and Mary (Coryell) Dunlap, and who was born 
April 4, 1855. Mr. and Mrs. Letts are the parents 
of two children, — Leroy D., born Nov. 16, 1880, and 
Floyd L., born Aug. 2, 1883. Mr. Letts is politically 
a Republican. He has held the office of School In- 
spector for a number of terms, and is one of the en- 
ergetic young men of the county. 




;ob C. Wolford, farmer on section t,:^, 
Sumner Township, is a son of David and 
^5" ' Laverna (Conger) Wolford, natives of New 
X>.} York. The father was a mason and shoe- 
maker while in New York State. After moving 



\ 



to Michigan in April, 1858, he engaged in 
farming, which he followed until his death in 1S67. 
His wife is still living in this county. 

Job C, the subject of this biography, was born in 
Cayuga Co , N. Y., Sei)t. 19, 1843. When he was 12 
years old, tlie family moved to Indiana, and two 
years later returned to Cayuga County. After an- 
other year, they came to this county and settled in 
New Haven Township. Here Job worked for his 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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father until the spring of iiS64. March 24 of fhat 
■ year, he enlisted in Co. K, 21st Mich. Vol. Inf He 
served as a private in the Army of the Cumberland 
under Gen. Sherman, for 14 months, and fought at 
Chattanooga, Benton ville and Goldsborough. At the 
last named place, March 29, 1865, he was wounded, 
while on a charge, by a ball which penetrated his 
right thigh. By this he was not permanently injured. 
He was honorably discharged May 23, 1865. 

Returning home, he purchased 80 acres on section 
;^T„ Sumner Township, heavily timbered, and set 
about making himself a home. March 25, 1866, in 
North Shade Township, he was married to Miss 
Emily A. Dean, daughter of Amos and Betsy (Grant) 
Dean. She was born Aug. i, 1843, in Yates Co., 
N. Y. Her father was a farmer and died June 26, 
1858. Her mother resides with her daughter, enjoy- 
ing good health and being quite active, although 76 
years old. Mr. and Mrs. Wolford have a family of 
three: Judson E , born Oct. 28, 1867: Jessie E., 
April 3, 1874; Cora V., Nov. 26, 1S77. 

Mr. W. has nicely improved 60 acres of his 
original 80, and has added 40 acres, also improved. 
He is a member of Elm Hall Lodge No. 257, F. & 
A. M. He has held the office of School Director, 
and in political sentiment is a Republican. 



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rin J Sprague, merchant at Martin's Cor- 
ners, Washington Township, is a son of 
Beriah and Maria (Sweet) Sprague. Beriah 
'i\'&' Sprague was born in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., 




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W-' Sprague 

^C in 1815, and died in this county, Dec. 9, 1883. 
Maria (Sweet) Sprague was born in Jefferson 
Co., N. Y., in 1819, and is still living, in Gratiot 
County. 

The subject of this sketch was born in St. Law- 
rence Co.. N. Y., July 12, 1 841, and remained with 
his parents until 2 i years old" He then taught, and 
worked on a farm for a time. He taught altogether 
10 terms of school, six of which were in Gratiot 
County. Nov. 27, 1867, he was married to Emeline 
I. Noble, daughter of James and Isabella (Laid- 
low) Noble, of Scotch descent. They came to Amer- 
ica and located in St. Lawrence Co, N. Y., where 
they followed farming, and where their daugliter 
Emeline was born Aug. 5,' 1845. ^'^ '^^9' ^'^'^■ 





Sprague came to Gratiot County and purchased 40 
acres on section 16, Washington Township. This 
farm he afterwards sold, and for one year he was out 
of employment. In i88r, he started the store he 
now has, at Martin's Corners. He has been School 
Superintendent for five years, and in 1882-3 was 
Supervisor of his township. Politically, he is a zeal- 
ous Republican. 



rederick L. Coss, merchant at North Star, 

is and resident on section 15, North Star 

vS^ 'IN Township, was born in Delaware Co., N. 
Y||5^ Y., Aug. 27, 1842. He is a son of Peter Coss^ 
l\^ of North Star Township, who came here with 
i his family in 1867. 

Mr. Coss came to this county the same year as his 
father, but located at Pompei, where he was engaged 
in the mercantile business until 1869, when he moved 
to Ithaca, where he lived 1 1 years ; thence to North 
Star, and established himself in the same business. 
He carries on a general mercantile business, has a 
stock sufficient to meet the requirements of the 
neighborhood and is having a good trade. 

Mr. Coss enlisted in the late civil war, enrolling in 
Co. A, 56th Pa. Vol. Inf, and participated in the bat- 
tles of secoiid Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, 
Fredericksburg (both battles), Chancellorsville, Get- 
tysburg and others. 

Mr. Coss has been united in marriage twice. He 
was first married Feb. 14, 1867, to Mrs. Louisa 
Swift, of North Star Township, who had by her first 
husband two children, Emma J. and Adelaide (Sav- 
age), deceased. He was again married July 4, 1883, 
to Alice J. Craun, of North Star. Politically, Mr. 
Coss is a staunch Republican. 



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|||BMl|.^aniel Gower, farmer, section 30, Elba 
?'![tiM^L Township, is a son of John and Polly 
^i'o;^'"^ (Bowker) Grower, natives of Pennsyl- 
"wiv vania and New York. They are residents of 

f Tompkins Co., N. Y., where Mr. Gower is a 
farmer. Daniel was born Sept. i, 1843, in 
Tompkins County. Leaving home in the second 
year of the war, lie enlisted Sept. i, 1862, in Co. K, 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Third New York Artillery, and was first sent to New- 
bern, N. C. He then served in South Carolina for 
three months, and then returned to Newbern. In 
March, 1864, he came home on a furloigh, after 
which he reported again at Newbern. He was in the 
battle at Ross' Mill, N. C, Nov. 2, 1862; Kingston, 
Dec. 14, 1S62; White Hall, Dec. 16, 1862. In the 
latter engagement he was wounded in the chest by a 
shell. He was mustered out at Richmond, June i, 
1865, and finally discharged at Syracuse, N. Y. 
After leaving the service he worked on a farm by the 
month, and also by the year. 

In 1868, he was united in marriage to Mary A., 
daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Chester ) Allen, 
natives of Steuben County, and Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
respectively. Mr. Allen is a farmer and resides in 
Illinois. Mrs. Allen lives in New York State. Mr. 
and Mrs. Gower came to Ingham County, this State, 
immediately after marriage, and a year later they 
moved to this county, locating on section 30, Elba 
Township. After seven months they went into the 
pine woods of Hamilton, where they lived three 
years. They then lived four years in New York 
State and one year in Cook Co., 111., when they Te- 
turned to their farm in this county. They have a 
family of three children : Edward W., Henry A. ar.d 
Bertha I. Mr. Gower has held the office of Drain 
Commissioner, Assessor and Director. Politically he 
is bound to no luirtv, but votes for the best man. 



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.^lisha C. Cook, fanner, secliim 31, North 



'■i l j4g j Star Township, was born in Steuben Co., 
^Jji" N. Y., March 3, 1 8 1 8. His parents were Na- 
than and Chloe (Cobb) Cook, natives also of that 
State. The latter dying in 1824, the bereft hus- 
band came to Michigan, settling in Livingston 
County, and afterward in (iratiot County, where he 
made his home with his son Eh'sha until his death, in 
the former county, while on a visit there, at the age of 
88 years. While residing in this county he hewed the 
timber for the Presbyterian cliurch which now stands 
on section 31. 

In his early life Mr. Cook, the subject of this 
sketch, attended school, one year of the time the 



S-Vl^v' 



Grolon Academy, in Tompkins Co., N. Y. He ac- 
quired the trade of carpentry, mostly by working 
with his father, who was a millwright. Mr. C. fol- 
lowed his trade for 20 years. At the age of about 
23 he left home and pursued his vocation a number 
of years in Clinton Co., Mich. In 1852 he went 
overland to California, where he remained three 
years, with great benefit to his health, though not 
meeting with the pecuniary success which he had 
e.vpected. Returning to Clinton Co., Mich., he 
followed his occupation several years, teaching 
school during the winter seasons. 

In the spring of 1858, he came with his family — 
which then comprised a wife and one child — to 
Gratiot County, and purchased 100 acres of wild 
land, on section 31, North Star Township, where he 
now resides. He has since added 80 acres to his 
estate, and now has 100 acres in a good state of cul- 
tivation. On his arrival here he built a rough board 
house, which the family occupied until January, 187 i, 
when they moved into their present fine residence. 
Mr. C. has also a fine equipment of barns, etc., upon 
his farm, and his present circumstances give evidence 
of industry, economy and prosperity. 

Mr. Cook was married July 19, 1855, in Clinton 
Co., Mich., to Miss Margaret, second daughter of 
Peter and Elizabeth (Berdan) Lott, natives of New 
York State who sett'red in Wayne County, this State, 
in an early day, and three years afterward moved to 
Clinton County, where they resided the remainder of 
their life. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have had five chileren, 
three of whom survive, as follows: Fremont H., 
born April 19, 1856; Harriet L., Feb. 4, 1867; and 
Carrie V., July 22, 1870. Milan, born Aug. 4, 1862, 
died Feb. 24, 1863; and Ida E., born Jan. 8, i860, 
died March 13, 1883. 

Politically, Mr. C. is a Republican ; and he has 
held the offices of Sheriff", 1868-72, Supervisor of 
North Star Township, one year, and Township ('lerk, 
and takes considerable interest in school affairs. 
He is a member of the M. E. Church and of the 
Masonic Order. 

We take pleasure in giving Mr. Cook's portrait on 
a preceding page, as he is not only a representative 
man and worthy citizen of the county of Gratiot, init 
also one who lias proved faithful in all the public 
official relations in which his fellow citizens have 
seen fit to place him. 



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feamuel M. Scott, merchant, resident on sec- 
^ tion 2 2, North Star Township, was born in 
Essex Township, Clinton Co., Mich., Feb. 
13, 1849; 1^'s father, named also Samuel M., 
was a native of the State of New York, and is 
now deceased. The subject of this sketch was 
brought up on a farm and educated at the common 
school and at Eastman's Commercial College at 
Poughkeepsie, New York. He afterward clerked for 
.about 12 years in Nelson & Barber's store at Ithaca, 
and came to his present location in June, i<S83, and 
established a store, where he keeps a full line of 
general merchandise, and has a successful trade. 
He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and was for two 
terms Clerk of Newark Township. 

Mr. Scott was married Nov. 10, 1878, to Miss 
Celia J., daughter of A. W. Belding, of this township. 
Their three children are, I,elo A., Grace R. and 
Ola A. 



I ewel Smith, grocer, Wheeler village, Wheeler 

Township, was born May i, 1852, and is 

the son of John H. and Jane (Castimore) 

Smith, natives of New Jersey. The father 

1(3 was by profession a millwright, and removed to 
Trumbull Co., Ohio, in 1845. He came to Gratiot 
County in February, 1863, and located on section 34, 
Wheeler Township. He entered 160 acres of land, 
of which he had improved 50 at the time of his 
death, March 6, 1872. Mrs. Smith died Feb. 14, 
1882. 

Newel was married at the age of 18 to Sarah, the 
daughter of Richard and Sarah A. Ellsworth, natives 
of New York. She died March 16, 1880, leaving 
two children, — Nina J. and Amy E. Oct. 12, 1881, 
he was again married, to Jane, the third daughter of 
Thomas and Ellen (Thurlow) Wordel, natives of 
England, but now resident of Canada. By this sec- 
ond marriage Mr. Smith has one child, — Nellie M. 

Mr. Smith drove the first ox team to Saginaw from 
this part of the country. He has been very popular 
among his fellow citizens, has held several local of- 
fices, and has never been defeated for any office for 





which he has been nominated. In the spring of 
1875, he was elected Justice of the Peace, which of- 
fice he held tsvo terms. He was chosen Supervisor 
in 1876, to which office he was also re-elected sev- 
eral times, and he has been Supervisor altogether six 
years. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a mem- 
ber of St. Louis Lodge, No. 188, F. &. .\. M. 



ohii W. Smith, farmer, section 28, Elba 

^ Township, is the second son of Dewey and 

''^'^ Phebe (Davis) Smith, natives of Vermont 

.\ and Ohio, respectively. He was born March 

5, 1846, in Wells Co., Ind., and at the age of 




'1^ 



22 he left his father's farm to make his own 
way in life. ^ For about 10 years he worked at lum- 
bering. He was married in 1873 to Belle, daughter 
of John W. and Christina (Covert) Sutphin. She 
was born Dec. 27, 1856, in Livingston Co., Mich., 
and came to Elba Township in 1874. They are the 
parents of one son, — -Dewey D. Smith, born Feb. 20, 
1878. 

Mr. Smith's father purchased 160 acres in Elba 
Township, in 1858, of which he, John W., now owns 
80 acres. In 1879, he erected his large and well ar- 
ranged barn. He is now actively engaged in farming 
and stock-raising. He was elected Township Clerk 
in 1877, and held that position for four years in suc- 
cession. In 1880, he was chosen Township Treas- 
urer, which office he filled two terms. He is a mem- 
lier of Maple River Lodge, No. 76, I. O. O. F. Po- 
litically, he votes the Republican ticket. 



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uther J. Dean, farmer, section 15, North 
^| g Star Township, is a native of the Empire 
i'^^y State, where he was born Dec. 11, 1831. 
'^llj His father, Sether, was a native of Pennsylvania, 
A, and removed with his family from Allegany 
\ Co., N. Y., to Hillsdale Co., Mich., in the fall 
of 1842. 

Mr. Dean came to Gratiot County in 1855, en- 
tered 160 acres of land, and as.sisted his brothers to 
clear a piece of land and build a house for their 
father's family. He taught school the first winter, 
returned to Hillsdale County in the spring of 1856, 



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and May 13 following married Miss Lucy, daughter 
of John McBride, now deceased. He came with his 
bride into this wilderness and commenced housekeep- 
ing amid the privations and untoward obstacles of 
pioneer life. He finished his house and continued 
hard work until he made for himself and family a 
comfortable home. He owns at present 82 acres of 
good land, and is engaged in general farming. 
Within one year after he was married he lost his 
house and all the contentt by fire. This was a 
severe blow, but he was not the man to give up the 
ship of life on that account. 

By his first wife Mr. Dean had three children, name- 
ly: Herbert E., deceased; Effie M., now tlie wife of 
Frank P. Walker, of Ithaca; and Arthur J. For his 
present wife Mr. Dean married Mrs. Elizabeth Row- 
ley, Oct. 16, 1882, who had had by her former hus- 
band two children, namely : Erastus A. and Ida M. 

Mr. Dean, in religious views, is a Baptist; he has 
been School Inspector several years, and at present 
is Township Clerk. 











saac Wooley, farmer, section 34, Elba Town- 
ship, is a son of James and Margaret (Chan- 
dler) Wooley, natives of New Jersey. James 
Wooley was by occupation a shoemaker. He 
came to Gratiot County in 1855, and entered 
320 acres of Government land on section 34, 
Elba Township He subsequently gave each of his 
sons 80 acres, and he is yet alive, at the advanced 
age of 93. Isaac Wooley was born Feb. 17, 1829, in 
the State of New York. At the age of 20 he left 
home to work for himself, and, going to New York 
State, he was engaged in farming for six years. 

Sept. 4, 1S55, he was united in marriage to Martha 
Whitney, daughter of William E. and Mary (Scott) 
Whitney, natives of New York. Mr. Whitney was 
born in Ontario County, and was a minister of the 
gospel. Mrs. Whitney was born in Niagara County. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wooley remained in Ingham County, 
where they were married, until 1859, and then re- 
moved to Gratiot County. They settled first on 100 
acres, but, afterwards selling 20 and buying 15, the\- 
now have 95 acres, of which 57 are well improved. 



They are the parents of one daughter, born Dec. 18, 
1856. 

Mr. Wooley has been Highway Commissioner in 
his township for three years. He is a member of 
Maple River Lodge No. 76, I. O. O. F. ; and politi- 
cally he votes with the Republican party. Mrs. 
Wooley is an active member of the Free-Will Bap- 
tist Church. 



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eneca Sly, Postmaster, and member of the 
mercantile firm of Glass & Sly, Elm Hall, 
is a son of George J. and Samantha (Riggs) 
Sly, natives respectively of New York and 
Connecticut. George J. Sly came to Michigan 
in 1839, and died at Elm Hall, this county, at 
the advanced age of 72. Mrs. Sly is yet living, at 
Elm Hall. 

The subject of this biography, Seneca, was born at 
White Oak, Ingham County, this State, Jan. 20, 1842. 
He worked on the farm, and received a good common- 
school education,' under the care ol his parents, until 
20 years old. Oct. 18, 1862, he enlisted in Co. B, 
26th Mich. Vol. Inf., under the command of Col. 
Nathan Church, and was sent to the Army of the 
Potomac. His corps was occupied in the defense of 
Suffolk, Yorktown and Washington, at which latter 
place he was discharged for disability caused by 
disease of the lungs. He was confined to his bed a 
year. Hearing reports of the healthfulness of Gratiot 
County, he came here in the hope of improving his 
physical condition, and engaged as cook in the woods 
-for Fowler & Cleverdon. He was to work "for his 
board, if he earned it, and more, if he earned it." 
This work proving beneficial to his health, he began 
as teamster for the same company. Returning home 
for a while, he came again to Sumner Township, this 
county, and carried on farming. 

In 1877, he engaged as clerk in the store of Blair 
& Houck, of Elm Hall, which position he held four 
years. During this time he was elected Township 
Clerk, which office he filled vvith credit four years. 
For a year more he was in the store of Mr. Beeson. 
In 1882, he established a grocery of his own, being 
about the same time Justice of the Peace. He has 
recently taken a partner, and the firm is now Glass & 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Sly. He was appointed Postmaster in July, 1882. 
He is also a Notary Public, having l)een appointed 
soon after lie came to Elm Hall. 

Feb. 22, 1866, at Elm Hall, he was married to Miss 
Mary I. Boyd, daughter of John and Elizabeth Boyd, 
natives of Pennsylvania, where also the daughter was 
born, in February, 1846. She afterwards came to 
Ohio, and then to this State, where she was married. 
Mr. and Mrs. Sly have a family of five: Ettie A., 
Hattie B., Libbie, Fred A. and an infant. Mr. S. has 
been an active Republican since the organization of 
the party. He is J. V. C. in the G. A. R. post at 
Elm Hall, and he and wife are attached to the failh 
of the United Brethren Church. 




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"ohn Mull, farmer on section 5, Emerson 
Township, was born in Yates Co., N. Y., 
May 26, 1810, and is a son of Christopher 
and Catharine (Bussard) Mull, of German de- 
scent and natives of Pennsylvania. They 
followed farming, and died in Livingston Co., 
N. Y., in 1864, the father aged 90* and the mother 
aged 88. John came, when very young, with his 
parents, to Canandaigua, Ontario Co., N. Y., and three 
years later they removed to Mt. Morris, Livingston 
Co., N. Y. In 1826 he went to Nunda, Allegany 
County, where, Sept. 18, 1832, he was married to 
Eliza, daughter of Joel and Patty (Tuttle) Knapp, 
natives of Connecticut, and of New England parent- 
age. The former was a tailor by trade. They died 
in Livingston Co., N. Y., the one Aug. 12, 1855, aged 
73, and the other April 11, 1864, aged 88. Eliza 
was born in Rockland Co., N. Y., on the banks of 
the Hudson, Jan. 29, 1807. When seven years old 
she went with her parents to Phelps, Ontario Co., 
N. Y., and later to Ossian, Livingston County, where 
she was educated and married. 

Shortly after that event they went to Trumbull Co., 
Ohio, where he engaged in turning wood plates, at 
that time very fashionable in that country. Two 
years later, in the fall of 1833, he returned to New 
York and farmed for nine years. Going once more 
to Ohio, he resumed his former employment of mak- 
ing wooden dishes. In the fall of 1846 they came 
to Lenawee Co., Mich., and farmed fof five years. 
Their next move was to Mason, Ingham t"ounty, and 



in March, i86i, they came to Gratiot County and 
settled on 40 acres on section 5, Emerson Township. 
Mr. Mull has since added 40 acres, and has made 
excellent improvements. 

March 25, 1864, he enlisted in Co. C, 2d Mich. 
Vol. Inf , and was sent to the Army of the Potomac. 
He participated in five active engagements, among 
them Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864. While supporting 
the battery he was compelled to sit within a few feet 
of the cannon's mouth, which caused the loss of 
hearing in the right ear, and seeing in the right eye. 
He was also in the battle of Yellowhouse Station, 
Aug. 19, 1864, and in the battles in front of Peters- 
burg, where he was captured March 25, 1865, just 
one year from his enlistment. Five days later he 
was paroled, and he received an honorable discharge 
June 12, 1865. Returning home, he has since de- 
voted his time to his farm and family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mull have had eight children, of 
whom five are living, — Ann A., born Aug. 11, 1837 ; 
Harriet N., Jan. 21, 1842; Mariah E., March 17, 
1844; Jennie M., Jan. 3, 1847; Jolm S., Oct. 13, 
1849. The three not living are as follows: Joel F., 
born Nov. 25, 1833, and died July 10,1858; William 
H., born April 23, 1840, and died in the service of 
the United States, at Farmington, Miss., Aug. 14, 
1862 ; and Edwin E., born July 14, 1837, and died 
Aug. 8, 1883. Mr. Mull has held the office of 
Justice of the Peace for a number of years, and 
Highway Commissioner for six years. In politics he 
is an adherent of the Republican party. 




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im eorge Smith, manufacturer of brick and 
11 tile, section 22, North Star Township, was 
born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., Feb. 22 
^ 1837; his father, James Smith, was a native 
of Cayuga Co., N. Y., and is now a resident 
I of Kalkaska, Mich. He moved with his fam- 
ily to Hillsdale Co., Mich., when his son George was 
only six years of age, settling upon a farm, where the 
latter was reared and educated. 

The subject of this sketch came to Gratiot County 
in September, 1869, and, until about five years ago, 
followed farming. He is now driving a pros])erous 
business in the manufacture of brick and tile, in 
connection with farming. His land property com- 
prises 1 16 acres. 



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Mr. Smith was married Aug. i8, i860, to Miss At- 
lanta L., daughter of Erastus Shaw (deceased), who 
was a native of Rutland Co., Vt. She was born in 
Tompkins Co, N. Y., in 1840, and came to Michi- 
gan, with her husband, in April, 186 1. Their chil- 
dren are: Rosa B., deceased, Emma A., Eugene J., 
Flora v., Addie L., Frank J. and Grant O. Emma 
A. is the wife of Foshen Hoffman. 

Mr. Smith has been Township Clerk, Justice of 
the Peace a few years, is a member of the Order of 
Patrons of Husbandry, and, with his wife, is in re- 
ligious belief a sympathizer with the Baptist Cliurch. 




|-|3harles R. Slaughter, manufacturer and re- 
a pairer of wagons, Breckenridge village) 




Charlie B. and Nellie M. He is a member of North- 
ern Light Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. M., at South To- 
ledo, Ohio. In politics he affiliates with the Repub- 
lican party. Mrs. Slaughter is an active member of 
the M. E. Church. 




Wheeler Township, was born in the State of 
New York, April 13, 1829, and is the son of 
James and Mary (Voak) Slaughter, natives of 
New York. The father was a farmer, and 
also practiced medicine. He moved to Seneca Co., 
Ohio, in 1841, and died there in t844. Mrs. Slaugh- 
ter died in 187 i. 

The son was 15 years old when he left home as an 
apprentice to the carpenter's trade, which he has 
always followed for a livelihood. At the age of 22, 
he was united in marriage to Ebaline, third daughter 
of Michael and Hepsoby (Famulinger) Long, natives 
of Ohio, in which State they followed farming until 
their death. Mrs. Slaughter died Dec. 27, 1856. 
He afterwards married Maria A., daughter of Silas 
T. and Harriet H. Jewell, natives of Massachusetts 
and New Hampshire. Both are now deceased, Mrs. 
Jewell dying March 14, 1S52, and Mr. Jewell April 
6, 1869, in Ohio. 

Mr. Slaughter came to Gratiot ("ounty with his wife 
in 1 86 1, and settled on section 22, Wheeler Town- 
ship. He first entered 320 acres, but has now 160 
acres. He was the eighth white man in Wheeler 
Township. His first home was a 10x10 shanty, 
when wild animals were abundant. He often went 
to Saginaw and fetched on his back provisions for his 
family. They were obliged to go four miles to church. 
In spite of such trials they enjoyed to a high degree 
the peculiar pleasures of pioneer life. 

Mr. Slaughter has one child by his first marriage, 
and four by his second: Del L., Ida H., Sarah L., 




„:Orydon Cronkhite, retired farmer, section 

I3 12, P^merson Township, was born in Hoosac, 

Y., Oct. 17, 1803, and with his parents 

went to Otsego County two years later. When 

about 14 years old, the family moved to the 

" Holland purchase " in Western New York, 

and he lived there until 1856, when he came to Ionia, 

Mich. From 1868 till 1881 he lived in Saranac ; 

and then he came to this county to live with his 

nephew, Albro Curtiss. 

March 12, 1825, at Middlebury, N. Y., he was 
married to Melinda Fisk. She was a native of War- 
saw, N. Y., in which State she was educated. Mr. 
Cronkhite was the oldest of 12 children, and had x=i 
himself four children, two of whom are living: ^ 
Jerome, married and living in Illinois; George, a res- = 
ident of Pullman, 111., and an overseer in the car-shops 
of that place. 

He is a member of the Baptist Church at Saranac, 
Ionia County. Politically, he was always a Whig, 
during the life-time of the Whig party ; and now he 
is a firm Rei^ublican. 









C 



ilUam H. Morrison, farmer, section 31, 

Elba Township, is a son of William F. 

and Rebecca (Smith) Morrison, natives of 

Cayuga Co., N. Y. Mr. Morrison was by 

vlT'' occupation a cabinet-maker, and resided in 

[ ' the State of New York until his death, in 1840. 

Mrs. Morrison removed to Michigan, and died in 

Eaton County in 1876. The son, William H., was 

born Jan. 14, 1831, in Orleans Co., N. Y. His father 

dying when he was nine years of age, he went to 

live with his uncle, remaining five years. For the 

next few years he attended school and worked for his 

board in the winters and labored on the Erie Canal <1> 

in the summers. He then went to Tompkins Co., 

N. Y., and learned the blacksmith trade. In 1869, 



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he came to Gratiot County, and located on the east 
half of the southeast quarter of section 31, Elba 
Township. This was at that time all wild land, but 
he has now 65 acres well improved. 

At the age of 23 he married Mary E. Luttenton, 
daughter of Ahnon and Livonia (Blanchard) Lutten- 
ton, natives of Orleans Co., N. Y. They came to 
Wayne Co., Mich., in 1839, and located on a farm, 
where Mr. Luttenton died April 10, 1844. Mrs. Lut- 
tenton died in the State of New York, Sept. 12, 1869. 
Mary E. was their third daughter, and was born 
March g, 1834. Mr. and Mrs. Morrison have had 
nine children, as follows : William J., Dwight S., 
Der J., Rebecca M., Almon L. (drowned in a barrel 
July 6, 1869), John W., Alma L., David F. and 
Mary E. 

Aug. 19, 1861, Mr. Morrison enlisted in Co. F, 
Third New York Cavalry. With his regiment he 
participated in the engagements of Ball's Bluff and 
Edwards' Ferry, and was with Banks' expedition into 
the Shenandoah Valley. At Elizabeth City, N. C, 
he was wounded by a musket ball, which he still car- 
ries in his body. He also fought at Roanoke Island, 
and other places, and was finally discharged Aug. 
28, 1865. 

In 1869, he was elected Supervisor of Elba Town- 
ship; and he has been School Director for a number 
of terms. He is a member of Genesee Lodge, No. 
24, I. O. O. F., and affiliates with the Republican 
party. 



■' iheldon Wight, of the firm of S. & M. 

Wight, of Sickels, and whose biography we 
are pleased to give as a representative 
man of Hamilton Township, was born in 
Lorain Co., Ohio, April 22, 1847, and is a son 
of Leonard Wight, of Van Buren Co., Mich., a 
native of Rochester, New York. 

Mr. Wight's education was acquired in the common 
schools of his native county, which he attended, and 
lived at home, developing into manhood. At the 
age of 20 years, in the fall of 1867, he left the 
parental hearthstone and went forth to battle against 
the trials and troubles of life alone, or rather in 
company with the life companion he had chosen a 
year previous, and came to this county. He settled 
on the west half of the southwest quarter of section 






4, Hamilton Township, where he has resided 16 
years, and is at present living. 

Mr. W. established his present business in the fall 
of 1881, and in 1883 admitted his brother as a full 
partner. The business, a planing mill and repair 
shop, is a prosperous one; it is run by steam power; 
they have a large single surfacer and matcher, and a 
small surfacer for moulding and siding; and they prin- 
cipally manufacture sleighs, and do a general repair 
business. 

Mr. Wight was united in marriage to Miss Mary, 
daughter of Abraham Weaver, deceased. Five 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. W., namely : 
Charley, Alma, Florence, Freddie and Bertie. 

In addition to his business, Mr. W. devotes con- 
siderable of his time to the cultivation of his farm, 
consisting of 80 acres, less six acres incorporated in 
the village of Sickels, and also to an apiary, and 
prides himself on his success in the last named 
business. 

Mr. \\"ight was a soldier in the late civil war, 
enlistingin Co. F, 6th Mich. Cav., was in Kilpatrick's 
raid toward Richmond, battles of the Wilderness, 
Cedar Creek, Fisher's Hill, Five Forks, and others, 
and likewise in all the charges immediately preced- 
ing Lee's surrender. After the grand review at 
Washington, D. C, his Regiment was ordered to 
Powder River, Montana, and built Fort Reno. 

While at Fort Reno, he was sent as a herder up a 
ravine about a mile from the fort, mounted on a 
mule. Seeing a wolf prowling around the herd, he 
tried his revolver on the animal, but only succeeded 
in breaking a hind leg. Following the wolf, he 
emptied his revolver in the chase, and was led about 
a half a mile over a hill into another ravine. His 
attention was then suddenly drawn to three mounted 
redskins, who were undoubtedly hostile in their 
intentions. Being unarmed, and perceiving that 
the ravine he was in led to the fort, he took the 
shortest cut home. He asserts that if he had not had 
a good mule on that occasion, he would not now be 
conducting a wagon shop at Sickels. 

Later in the fall tiie regiment was ordered to Salt 
Lake, Utah, but Mr. W. and a few others were sent 
to Fort Bridger, where he wintered. He was one of 
the 53 who marched back "as a command" and 
were discharged at Detroit, Mich., July 5, i866. 
Mr. W. recollects many reminiscences of the " soldier 









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life;" and records "that while on Tongue River, in 
Montana, they were 'corralled' by the Indians. 
Henry Evans, one of their number, volunteered to 
attempt the hazardous undertaking of stealing his 
way through the line of the enemy to the command, 
for the purpose of procuring aid. He and Sergeant 
Hall stole forth in the night time, successfully eluded 
the watchfulness of the redskins, and by traveling in 
the night, and concealing themselves in the day-time, 
they reached the command on the third day. Re- 
inforcement soon reached them, and after being cor- 
ralled for 1 2 days, they were rescued from their 
perilous condition." 

He also relates that while at Detroit, waiting for 
his discharge, and stopping at the Wesson Hotel, at 
about two o'clock in the morning of the 4th of July, 
1866, he found himself on the floor of his room, 
shouting "fire I" He and Henry Evans attempted to 
escape down the stairs ; but these were on fire, and 
they were forced to jump from the first-story window. 
This was a narrow escape, and a poor way to celebrate 
the national holiday. 

Mr. Wight is a member of the I. O. O. F., and also 
of the Grand Army of the Republic. 

Mason Wight, brother and business partner of our 
subject, was born in Lorain Co., Ohio, March 2, 1850. 
He followed the occupation of a farmer until 1 883, 
when he came to this county and engaged with his 
iirother in the business they are now jointly con- 
ducting. 

He was married, Dec. 16, 1874, to Miss Edith 
Wright, and five children have been born to the 
union, four of whom are now living, namely : Lydia 
A., Laura L., Irvin and Nettie. 

He also is a member of the L O. O. F. 



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itenry W. Myers, farmer, section 19, Wash- 
ington Township, is a son of Tacob and 
^ Magdalena (Walburn) Myers, natives of 

4) Maryland and Pennsylvania. Mr. Myers yet 
\ lives, in De Kalb Co., Ind. Mrs. Myers died in 
' Seneca Co., Ohio, in 1850. Henry was born 
Oct. 3, 1844, in Seneca. Co., Ohio, and left home at 
the age of 18. He was variously employed until 
Nov. 5, 1865, when he married Mrs. Lovina E. Mc- 
Rntaffer, the widow of Timothy McEntaffer, and the 




daughter of Jacob and Catharine (Kountz) Echelbar- 
ger, natives of Pennsylvania, where they followed 
farming. They afterwards removed to Ohio, locating 
in Columbiana County. Their next move was to De 
Kalb Co., Lid., where they died, both in April, 1878. 
Mr. and Mrs. Myers came to this State and county, 
and located on 51 acres on section 19, Washington 
Township. He has a fine residence, and a substan- 
tial barn. Politically, he has always supported the 
Democratic party. Mrs. Myers has by her first mar- 
riage five children, — Isabel, Lorinda, Byron B., Oli 
ver and Olive (twins). 



rPffllndrew J. Hatfield, farmer, section 15, Em- 
k erson Township, was born in Medina Co., 






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^ Ohio, July II, 1839, and was the son of Jacob 
'Jfl^ and Roxie (Houghton) Hatfield, natives of 
.'It Pennsylvania and Cortland Co., N. Y. The 
'' former went to Ohio when seven years old, 
and lived on a farm in Medina County until 1862, 
when he moved to Michigan, and came to Gratiot 
County. He settled first in Newark Township, and 
then in Bethany Township, where he died Sept. 28, 
1870. Mrs. Hatfield was of Puritan ancestry, and 
when quite young was taken to Medina Co., Ohio, 
where she was married at the age of 16. She died 
March 22, 1841, at the age of 20 years, 10 months 
and 29 days, leaving two children, — Andrew J. (our 
suliject), and L. Catharine (Shelly), who died in 
Charlotte, this State, in November, 1881. 

Andrew worked on his father's farm and obtained 
an academic education at Seville, Ohio. When 22 
years old, he engaged for a short time in teaching. 
Nov. 25, i860, in his native county, he was married 
to Julia, daughter of John and Barbara (Geisinger) 
Wydeman, natives of Northumberland Co., Pa., and 
of German descent. They emigrated to Canad.a, where 
they were married, and 15 years later they removed 
to Medina Co., Ohio, where Julia was born, March 
28, 1836. She was educated in that county, and 
lived at home (her father dying April 26, 1850) until 
her marriage. Two years after that event Mr. and 
Mrs. Hatfield came to this State and county and lo- 
cated in Newark Township. He purchased 40 acres 
in that township. May 25, 1864, he engaged with 
J. M, Kidd, of Ionia, as agent and collector for their 



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fanning-mill establishment. This business he fol- 
lowed for 12 years. In April, 1877, he moved to 
Emerson Township and located on a farin of 80 
acres, partly improved. He has it now nearly all 
in good cultivation, and has a very fine residence, 
which cost $3,000. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield have a family of three, — 
Emma E., born May 25, 1S61 (married and residing 
in Grand Rapids); William Forest, born Aug. 24, 
1862, and Arthur H., born July 2t, 1864. They are 
members of the M. E. Church. He is a member of 
Ithaca Lodge, No. 123, F. & A. M. Politically he is 
a staunch Republican. He has held the office of 
Deputy Sheriff. 




im. 



tenry Grover, an enterprising farmer, resi 
dent on section 2, Arcada Township, was 
born in Hull, Yorkshire, Eng., Dec. 10, 
1844; and is the son of Thomas and Maria 
(Sherwood) Grover, natives of Yorkshire, Eng. 
Thomas Grover was by occupation a carriage 
smith, and came to this country in 1850, locating in 
New York State. Two years later, he came to Len- 
awee County, this State, and after a few years there 
he came to Gratiot County, where he died, at his 
home on section 2, Arcada Township, Aug. 27, 1877, 
at the age of 65. His wife now resides at St. Louis, 
in this county, at the age of 68. 

The subject of this sketch came with liis parents 
to New York State, and thence to Lenawee Co., 
Mich., where he was married. Nov. 28, 1867, to Ame- 
lia, daughter of Joseph and Eliza (Clark) Barber, 
natives of New York. They followed farming, and 
came to this county, where Mr. Barber now lives, on 
section 2, Arcada Township. Mrs. Barber is de- 
ceased. Amelia was Ijorn in Hancock Co., Ohio, and 
came when five years old with her parents to Lena- 
wee Co., Mich. 

Two years after marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Grover 
went to Manistee County, where they farmed for 
seven years. They returned to Adrian, and three 
years later came to Gratiot County, settling down on 
go acres of his father's homestead. He is a progress- 
ive farmer, and has about half his farm nicely 
improved. They have five children, as follows : Char- 



lie O., born Aug. 25, 1871; Eliza M., Sept. 24, 
1873; Clara E., Dec. 31, 1875 ; Rose A., March 11, 
1878; Maria B., Oct. 6, 1883. Politically, Mr. Gro- 
ver is a staunch Republican. 



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^^(avid D. Stoddard, farmer, section 10, 
i^Ma^^ Washington Township, is a son of Orson 
-"^ ; yjV and Bathia (Hulbert) Stoddard, natives of 
&<« • Connecticut and New York. Mr. Stoddard, 
c .. Sr., was born Jan. i, 1804, while Mrs. Stod- 

i dard was born in July, 18 10. in 1854, they 

came to Michigan and located in Wayne County. 
Soon after, they removed to Gratiot and located on 
section 1 1, Washington Township, wliere Mr. Stod- 
dard died, June 15, 1S70, and Mrs. Stoddard, April 
21, 1870. 

The subject of this sketch was horn in Allegany 
Co., N. Y., April 24, 1830. At the age of 20, he en- 
gaged as a farm hand, and worked as such for five 
years. Nov. g, 1854, he married Mary Ryan, daugh- 
ter of Adam and Betsy (McNett) Ryan. In 1S56, 
Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard came to Gratiot, and located 
on section ir, Washington Townsliij). They after- 
wards removed to section 10. on a farm of 20 acres. 
They were among the first settlers of the township, 
and found no improvements when, amid the snows 
of winter, they first arrived among the forests of this 
part of Michigan. They have two children, named 
Alice K. and Freeman O. In i)olitics, Mr. Stoddard 
is a Republican. He and wife are members of the 
U. B. Church. 



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C/||H,ames Remaley, fainier, section 2, Hamilton 
j^^Il' Township, is a son of Jacol) and Elizabeth 
S:;3' (Nonnemaker) Remaley, natives of Penn- 
\^> sylvania, and of German and Welsh extraction, 
both of whom are deceased. 
James was born in Northampton Co., Pa., 
May 19, 1826, and in 1834 accompanied his parents 
to Trumbull Co., Ohio, where they located. Here he 
attended the common schools of the county, acquired 
an education and developed into manhood. In the 
year 1846, he determined to battle against the 
trials and struggles of life alone, and came lo Eaton 









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County, this State, and entered 80 acres of Govern- 
ment land, for which he paid $100. This land hes 
two miles north of Charlotte, Eaton County this State, 
and is now valued at $100 per acre. 

Mr. Remaley remained in Eaton County until the 
year 1854, when he removed to Hillsdale County, 
and there lived for 23 years, until 1877, when he 
came to this county, since which time he has con- 
stantly resided here. He owns 250 acres of land, 
and besides attending to his farming devotes a portion 
of his winters to lumbering. 

Mr. Remaley was married, Feb. 13, 1853, to 
Susanna, daughter of Eli Foglesang, of Hamilton 
Township, of German descent, and one of the old 
settlers of Southern Michigan. Of this marriage 
seven children were born, six of whom are living, viz.: 
Elizabeth (Watkins), Mary (Wilber), Geo. A., Alice 
R., Clara L. and Clarence A. One son, Eli, died in 
December, 1877, in his sixteenth year. 



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i.linf®'m', illiam E. Winton, attorney, Ithaca, is a 
^^Sl son of William Winton, who was the son 
Jll^S^n * of James and Ann Winton, and was born 
^S' June 10, 1779, in the parish of Dunning, 
" ■■ Perthshire, Scotland. After the death of 
both his parents, which occurred about the 
year 1800, having a desire to visit the New World, he 
took passage at Greenock, May 12, 1802, on board 
the ship " Draper," of New York, for America; ar- 
rived at New York July 4, 1802. He came West 
into Madison Co., N. Y. ; became acquainted with 
and married Desdemona Leach, of Chittenango, in 
1817. He then purchased and settled on a farm at 
Bridgeport, in the town of Sullivan, Madison Co., 
N. Y., and about 12 miles northeast from Syracuse, 
at which place his wife died, April, 1823. To them 
were born three sons, — James Winton, born Jan. — , 
1 81 9, now living at Manchester, Washtenaw Co., 
Mich.; William E. Winton, the subject of this sketch, 
born Dec. 17, 1820; and David L. Winton, born Jan. 
21, 1S23, now deceased, having died at Cohoctah, 
Livingston Co., Mich., Dec. 17,1853. He afterwards 
married a lady by the name of Lana Houser, by 
whom he had one son and four daughters, all of 
whom are now dead except Mary, who was born Oct. 




31, 1830, and now living between Chelsea andMan- 
cliester, Washtenaw C"o , Mich.; and Ann, born 
March 15, 1833, and now of Fairmont, 111. He came 
to Michigan in December, 1845, and died at l^Lin- 
chester, Mich., Jan. 21, 1858. 

His second son, William E. Winton, enjoyed the 
advantages of the village school at Bridgeiwrt, dur- 
ing his childliood, his father keeping him during the 
school vacations at the Chittenango Sulphur Springs 
for his health. At the age of 13 he went to Albany 
on a tour of sight-seeing, visiting the museum, thea- 
ter and places of amusement, and where for the first 
time he saw a steamboat, as she passed up the Hud- 
son, bound for Troy. 

In the winter of 1837, being then 16 years of age, 
he obtained the consent of his parents, and came to 
Michigan with the family of Daniel Boutell, and 
after a journey of 21 days reached their destination, 
on section 30, in town 4 north, of range 5 east, after- 
wards organized as the township of Deerfield, Liv- 
ingston County. 

Mr. Winton remained in the family of, and worked 
for, Mr. Boutell until the age of 21. In the fall of 
1839 he returned to the State of New York to trans- 
act some Inisiness for Mr. Boutell, giving him an op- 
portunity of visiting his father's farnily, but so 
changed in personal appearance as not to be recog- 
nized by any one of them. 

On his return to Michigan, after a month's absence, 
lie induced his younger brother, David L. Winton, to 
come West with him. 

He became acquainted with Sarah Ranisdell in 
1840, to whom he was married Nov. 27, 1842. She 
was the daughter of Noah and Polly (Mary) Rams- 
dell, then of the township of Tuscola, afterwards 
changed to Cohoctah, Livingston County. She was 
born Oct. 2, 1821, at Fairport, some 10 miles east of 
Rochester, N. Y., from which place her father, in 
1S28, moved to Waterford, Plymouth Township, 
Wayne Co., Mich., and built the first flouring mill 
there. 

In 1839 her father exchanged his mill property for 
a farm of 640 acres in said township of Tuscola 
(now Cohoctah), where Mr. Winton became ac- 
quainted with the family. 

At the time of his marriage, his father-in-law, 
being considerably involved in debt, induced Mr. 
Winton to take charge of the farm, pay off the debts 
and save the property, which he accomplished in the 






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course of ten years of hard labor and strict economy, 
receiving for such services about 200 acres of the 
farm; daring which time he held various township 
offices. 

On the 22dot' June, 1852, he was left a widowerby 
the death of his wife, by whom he had three children: 
Sarah J. born Dec. 9, 1843; Mary D., born Oct. 10, 
1845, and John H., born May 31, 1852. After the 
death of his wife, he leased his farm and made pro- 
visions for the care of his two children then living, — 
Sarah J. having died of croup Sept. 23, 1844, — and, 
having had only the advantages of a common-school 
education, he spent six years teaching, attending 
school and reading law. August, 1858, he graduated 
at the State and National Law School at Poughkeep- 
sie, N. Y. Armed with his diploma, he went to New 
York, purchased a law library, and returned to Mich- 
igan, and was, Sept. 10, 1858, at Howell, Mich., ad- 
mitted to practice in the courts of law and equity in 
this State. 

He visited the World's E.xhibition at the Crystal 
Palace in New York, 1853. He visited the United 
States Military Academy at West Point, July, 1858, 
where he was introduced to Gen. Winfield Scott, at 
his headquarters. He attended the celebration of 
the laying of the first Atlantic cable at New York 
City in August, 1858. 

He received, October, 1858, the nomination for 
Prosecuting Attorney, on the Republican ticket, in 
Livingston County, and was, with the rest of the 
ticket, defeated, the Democrats, who were in the 
ascendancy, carrying the county. 

March 3, 1859, he sold his farm. 

April 4, 1859, he was married to Mariette Thomp- 
son, daughter of Joseph R. and Mary J. Thompson, 
of Corunna, Mich. She was born March 15, 1831, 
in the town of Columbia, Herkimer Co., N. Y. Her 
father came to Michigan in 1834, and settled on a 
farm at South Lyon, Oakland County. 

Mr. Winton started June i 1, 1859, on a prospect- 
ing tour, visiting St. Johns, Maple Rapids, Ithaca, St. 
Louis, Midland City and St. Charles, and returned 
home. He moved into Gratiot County, and arrived 
at Ithaca, March 28, i860, then the county seat, 
boasting of 15 families all told, and having a weekly 
mail ; a dense forest covered the greater part of the 
present village, not a road opening to it from any di- 
rection. 



He was elected Circuit Court Commissioner No- 
vember, i860, and was appointed Deputy County 
Clerk in January, 1861. Having received his com- 
mission therefor, he enrolled all persons liable to 
military duty in the south half of Gratiot County in 
1863, and continued in the conscripting business to 
the close of the war; and was, during the same 
period. Superintendent of the County Poor, and, as 
such, had to make provisions for the support of 
iiuite a large number of families of the patriotic citi- 
zens who had gone to the front to defend the liber- 
ties of the country. Such families were provided for 
at their homes. Mr. Winton made arrangements 
with Joim Hicks, of St. Johns, who filled his orders 
for supplies. 

He was elected U) the offices of Circuit Court 
Commissioner and Prosecuting Attorney in Novem- 
ber, 1864. He was re-elected Prosecuting Attorney 
in November, 1866, and was a delegate to the Con- 
gressional Convention held at Flint the same year, 
at which Hon. Randolph Strickland received the 
nomination. Mr. Winton was also a delegate to the 
Congressional Convention at Flint in 1868, at which 
Hon. John F. Driggs received the nomination, and, 
as was believed by many of the delegates, unfairly; 
and for that and other reasons, whether founded or 
unfounded. Judge Isaac Marston, then of Bay City, 
and William E. Winton, of Ithaca, took the field 
against Mr. Driggs, defeated him, and Hon. Jabez G. 
Sutherland was elected to Congress over Mr. Driggs. 

Oct. 19, 1868, Mr. Winton, wiie and his wife's sis- 
ter, Mrs. Gilbert, visited the i)rairies of ^Visconsin, 
Illinois and Iowa, and enjoyed the hospitalities of 
Milwaukee, Chicago, Davenport, Muscatine, Sigour- 
ney, Oskaloosa, Des Moines, and returned T/'a Iowa 
City. 

He was elected Judge of the Probate Court No- 
vember, 1872, for the term of four years. 

On the 28th day of June, 1876, Mr. Winton and 
wife, in company with Hon. Wilbur Nelson and wife, 
left Ithaca for Philadelphia, vin Detroit, Cleveland, 
Pittsburg, Harrisburg, Washington, D. C, and Balti- 
more; and on the 4th of July witnessed the nation's 
grand display. ."^fter spending 12 days visiting 
the Centennial Exhibition, the thermometer vary- 
ing from 95" to 100", they returned 77'rt New York 
Central & Canada Southern, \isiting all places of in- 
terest, and reached home in August. 



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Mr. Wintoii has been successfully connected with 
many of the most iijiportant suits in the county, both 
of law and equity. He has an interest in the new 
T bank building known as the " Jeffery, Winlon Bank 
Block," in which he has as good, if not the best law 
office and library in the county. He was a proprie- 
tor of Turck, Winton & Go's. Bank, at Alma, and is 
now a stockholder in Steel, Turck & Cos. Bank at 
Ithaca. 

He was elected the first President of the village 
of Ithaca, in November, 1869, and has been a mem- 
ber of the Common Council most of the time since 
the village was incorporated. 

He is strictly temperate, and is a member of the 
Presbyterian Church. He was brought up a Demo- 
crat, but identified himself with the Whigs soon after 
arriving at the age of 21 ; became a Free-Soiler, and 
represented that party in convention at Pontiac, 
September, 1848, and v/as chosen Secretary of the 
Convention. He became a Republican on the or- 
/\ ganization of that party in 1856, and as such attended 
the mass convention at Kalamazoo that same year, 
at which many of the Northern States were repre- 
sented, and where for the first time he had the pleasure 
of meeting Abraham Lincoln, our late President. 

Mr. Winton relates two incidents occurring on his 
way to Michigan in 1837. They came overland, r'/(7 
Syracuse, Rochester, the Ridge road to Youngstown, 
crossed into Canada and took the Mountain road. 
A sudden change to extreme cold, after a rainy thaw, 
left the road a bed of ice ; the vehicle, a covered 
emigrant wagon ; Mr. and Mrs. Boutell and three 
children seated back, and their oldest son, John, seat- 
ed in front with Mr. Winton, the driver. Advan- 
cing in this condition, six emigrant teams and two 
loads of Indians following close in the rear, ap- 
proached the foot of Battle Hill. The road up this 
was cut into the side of the mountain on the left, a 
precipice 200 feet deep on the right, with logs laid 
along the edge, a trifle higher than the dirt line; the 

tsnow and ice, then as smooth as a skating rink, had 
raised the road bed above these logs. The emigrant 
teams and Indians remained at the foot of the hill, 
to witness the attempted ascent, which proved nearly 
y successful ■ but, on reaching the summit, both horses 
^ slipped down, the wagon ran back, dragging the 
* horses after it; and as the off hind wheel passed over 
the edge of the precipice, with immediate destruction 






apparent, young Winton made a desperate leap for- 
ward, to avoid entanglement with the horses, down 
this awful gulf, rushing through the shrubs, plunging 
down the steep declivity with such momentum that his 
downward course was continued for a hundred feet or 
more before he had the power to effect a halt. He 
was greatly surprised, on looking up, to see the wagon 
above him hanging on the edge of that dreadful pit, 
in the exact position as when he made that " leap for 
life." 

Hurriedly clambering up the steep, on reaching the 
road, he was further surprised to find the wagon os- 
cillating on two wheels only; the off front wheel, 
having dropped slightly in between the log at the 
edge and the ice, became bound sufficient to hold all 
fast; the off hind wheel hung over, while the near 
fore wheel was raised up clear from the-road, waiting 
to go over on the least stir of a horse or person in- 
side. The horses lay as if dead, the family re- 
maining in the same position. Not an emigrant or 
Indian had stirred. .'Ml sal spell-bound, as silent as 
the chamber of death, until Mr. Winton beckoned 
(not daring to speak for fear a horse would stir) for 
help from the foot of the hill. At this, some 20 
white men and Indians came rushing franticly to the 
spot, surrounded the wagon and lield it fast, while 
Mr. Winton assisted the family therefrom ; and tak- 
ing the horses by the bits, they sprang to their feet, 
and, with the help of men and Indians, took it to the 
top of the hill in safety ! 

On arriving at Windsor, opposite Detroit, just as 
the ferry had made its last trip, a delay was caused 
of about three days, for the river to freeze over, it 
being then jammed full of broken ice from shore to 
shore, slowly moving down the stream from the upper 
lakes, during which time over 200 families arrived on 
their way to Michigan. The ice a little below 
Windsor parted, all above remaining stationary, 
while that below moved on down to Sandwich before 
coming to rest, leaving the river open between. The 
crossing was effected near Sandwich on the new ice 
formed in this open space, on the afternoon of the 
third day, the forenoon having been occupied in get- 
ting the women and children over from Windsor to 
Detroit, on foot, the broken ice from the lakes having 
been thrown into so many strange, fantastic heaps 
and windrows, reaching up the river for miles, as to 
render crossing there with teams impossible, and very 



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difficult to be effected on foot. The ice at and be- 
low Sandwich was thrown into heaps similar to that 
at and above Windsor. The new-formed ice ex- 
tended from Sandwich up the river about three-quar- 
ters of a mile, where the channel was still open. The 
new ice over the channel was thin and slippery. 
Great precaution was used by the ferrymen who had 
charge of the crossing. The ice near the shore 
being of sufficient strength, the teams were distrib- 
uted thereon from Sandwich up to within 30 rods of 
the open channel to avoid two crossing in the same 
place. The teams were unhitched and the horses 
led over singly. The loads were got over by hitch- 
ing a single horse, with about 200 feet of rope, to the 
end of a tongue. The rider, with hatchet in hand, 
to cut the rope in case a load broke through, put 
spur to his horse and crossed at full speed. 

Mr. Boutell's wagon being uppermost, brought his 
crossing nearest the open channel, increasing the 
peril. He led one horse and Mr. Winton fol- 
foUowed with the other some 20 rods behind. On 
reaching a point opposite this open channel, the 
wagon went spinning past, when two wheels broke 
through the new ice ; dropping on a large cake of lake 
ice that had floated under, they bounded to the sur- 
face again and passed on ; at the same time a violent 
gust of wind came sweeping up the river, sending 
young Winton sliding over the smooth ice, at the 
halter's end, the horse following for some considera- 
ble distance towards this open sea, with no power to 
slop, except by ordering the horse to stand, which 
the dumb brute obeyed, and by means of the halter 
got himself back to the obedient animal ; and by 
keeping the horse between himself and the open 
river, passed beyond danger. 

They stayed over night at the " New York and 
Ohio House," situated on the southwest corner, wliere 
Woodward Avenue crosses Jefferson Avenue, which, 
with the " National Hotel," the " Eagle Tavern,'' and 
" Detroit Cottage" (all wood buildings), were the 
leading inns of that city. 

Detroit, then the capital of the State, and one of 
the oldest cities of the Union, was but the embryo 
city of to-day. It contained more log buildings than 
brick ; the streets were entirely destitute of pave- 
ments, and nearly so of sidewalks, and the place had 
no railroad communication whatever. 

WiUiani K. Winton's great-great-grandfather was 




the Earl of Winton, whose estate and strong castle 
was west of Edinburgh. The Earl of Winton, in 
17 15, then of the age of 25 years, very reluctantly 
espoused the cause of the son of James H, known as 
the " Chevalier de St. George," the pretended heir to 
the English throne. Earl Winton commanded the 
cavalry and had great influence with the Highlander 
Infantry. He was, with many other Scottish noble- 
men, taken prisoner at London, February, 17 16; 
and while many of those Scotch noblemen pleaded 
guilty to the charge of high treason, Lord Winton 
pleaded not guilty. He received sentence of death 
after trial, but made his escape from the Tower. 
He is frequently referred to in the " Tales of a 
Grandfather," by Sir Walter Scott, Vol. Ill, Chap- 
ters VIII and IX. 

The Wintons are supposed to be of English origin, 
as their history in Scotland is of modern date, and 
as the " Statute of Winton " is repeatedly referred to 
by Mr. Chitty in his Notes to Blackstone's Commen- 
taries on the Laws of England; also by Mr. Green- 
leaf in his "Law of Evidence," Vol. I, § 349, and by 
other text writers on the English law. But whatever 
history may furnish relating to Mr. Winton's ancestry, 
nothing gives him more pleasure than to know that 
he is a citizen of the United States of America. He 
is now making arrangements to visit Europe soon, 
and especially Scotland, the land of his fathers. 

John H. Winton, the only son of William E. Win- 
ton, was born May 31, 1852, atCohoctah, Livingston 
Co., Mich. He came to Ithaca, Mich., March, i860, 
with his father's family. He was kept at school until 
the age of 18, after which he taught several terms, 
and attended the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, 
Mich. He visited the Centennial Exhibition at Phil- 
adelphia in the fall of 1876. He read law in his 
father's office, and was admitted at Ithaca, Mich., 
April 8, 1881, to practice as an attorney-at-law and 
solicitor in chancery. He was appointed Village At- 
torney in March, 18S2. He has successfully prose- 
cuted and defended several important suits in law 
and in equity, and has his office witii his father, in 
the Jeffcry, Winton Bank Block, south of the bank, 
on first floor, Ithaca, Mich. 

He became acquainted with Annie Sickels, daugh- 
ter of William and Isabel J5. Sickels, to whom he 
was married, at the residence of her i)arents in the 
village of Sickels, Gratiot Co., Mich., on the 31st 



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day of May, 1881. She was born at Northville, 
Wayne Co., Mich., Aug. 10, 1854. By this marriage 
he has one son, William Winton, born July 21, 1882. 
On a previous page appears a portrait of Judge 
Winton. 



dolphus Willert, farmer, section 31, New- 
^ ark Township, was born Aug. 29, 1844, in 




Germany. His parents came to the United 
States when he was 15 years old and settled 
in Clinton Co., Mich. When he reached his 
' majority, in 1865, he came to Gratiot County 
and bought 40 acres of unimproved land in Fulton 
Township. On this he labored three years and ex- 
changed with his brother for another farm in the 
same township, which he afterward sold and bought 
53 acres in Newark Township where he now lives. 
About 35 acres are under good improvements. Mr. 
Willert is a Democrat in political principle. 

He was married Dec. 3, 1865, in Newark Town- 
ship, to Louisa, daughter of Lawrence and Mary 
W. Smith. She was born Sept. 2, 1848, in Livings- 
ton Co., Mich. 'The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Willert are Mary W., Frederick A., Alfred T., Law- 
rence G. and Ira E. 



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Andrew Call, farmer, section 28, Elba Town- 
H^^^ ship, is a son of Sherman and Susan (Ran- 
Ijpf dall) Call, natives of New York. Sherman 
'"jLr Call was a farmer, and came from New York 
Y to Michigan in 1854. Twenty years later he 
was again induced to travel westward, and ac- 
cordingly went to Iowa, and thence to Minnesota, 
where he died, in 1876. His wife died in Wayne 
Co., Mich., in 1863. 

The subject of this sketch was born Dec. 5, 1825, 
in Onondaga Co., N. Y. At the tender age of nine 
he commenced to work for himself, and earned the 
first pair of boots he ever owned. Sept. 15, 1850, in 
Clinton Co., N. Y., he was married to Mary J. Brad- 
ford, the daughter of William and Dorothy (Call) 
Bradford, natives of Vermont and New York, re- 
spectively. This marriage resulted in six children : 
Mary J., Charlotte M , John H., Elba, Susan M. (died 

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Aug. 29, 1853), and Sherman (died March 17, 1857). 
Mrs. Call died Sept. 4, 1877, in Elba Township, this 
county. Mr. Call located on 80 acres on section 28, 
Elba Township, in 1855. He has cultivated 75 acres 
of this. His substantial dwelling-house was erected 
in 1865. 

In 1863, he felt himself Called into the service of 
his country, and he accordingly enlisted in Co. F, 
2d Mich. Vol. Cav. He participated in all the en- 
gagements of that regiment, and was mustered out 
at Macon, Ga., though his final discharge was re- 
ceived at Jackson, Mich. Since the war he has been 
continuously engaged in farming. In January, 1884, 
he sold his farm, and he has since removed to Elsie, 
Clinton County. 

March 20, 1878, he married Mrs. Fannie A. Eddy, 
a daughter of Silas Reynolds, a farmer and wagon- 
maker in the State of New York, where she was born 
Feb. 26, 1 83 1. She was a widow, and the mother of 
two children, — Alice Eddy, born April 18, 1857, and 
Ira A. Eddy, born Jan. 24, 1861. Mr. Call is a mem- 
ber of Maple River Lodge, No. 76, I. O. O. F., and 
is a straight Republican. 




bsalom L. Ward, of Ithaca, formerly of 
North Star Township, was born in Gallia 
Co., Ohio, March 24, 1832, and was the son of 
Allen and Sarah (White) Ward, natives of 
Virginia and North Carolina. He was brought 
up on a farm and educated at the common 
school. When a young man he learned the black- 
smith's trade, which he followed until 1854, when he 
came to this county and settled on his present farm, 
the northwest quarter of section 11. He also ovmed 
and improved the north half of the north half 
of section 10. Subsequently he erected his resi- 
dence on the northeast quarter of section 10. He 
has thus, with true pioneer hardiliood and industry, 
made for himself a comfortable home and accumu- 
lated a handsome amount of properly, although com- 
mencirig in the wild woods of frontier life. 

Mr. Ward was a soldier in the late war, enlisting 

in Co. E, 2d Mich. Cav., and serving two years. He 

participated in the battles of Franklin, Nashville, 

Lost Mountain, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Kenesaw 

; Mountain, Mossy Creek, etc. 

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Feb. 9, 1854, the year of his settlement in this 
county, Mr. Ward married Miss Clara Criner, a 
a daughter of George Criner and a native also 
of Gallia Co., Ohio. Of their 1 1 children seven 
are living, viz: George A., Lina J., John W., Clara 
D., Sarah A., Ada A. and Maud A. One daughter, 
Orpha E., died April 4, 187 i, at the age of 16 years. 
The other deceased were, Dennis L. and a pair of 
twins, — Elda and Etta. 

In regard to religion, Mr. Ward is a menjier of 
the Free Methodist Church. 



illiam Oliver Watson, farmer on section 

7, Arcada Township, was born in Livings- 

■'<^ " ton Co., Mich., Dec. 15, 1848; and is the 
Y son of John T. and Harriet (Wilcox) Wat- 
'"* son, natives of Genesee Co., N. Y., and Ba- 
tavia, N. Y., respectively. The father was in 
mercantile life in New York, and came to Michigan 
in 1834, while it was yet a Territory. He located at 
Howell, Livingston (bounty, which was then but a 
"shanty town," and had but a few inhabitants. He 
first taught school, then filled several county offices 
in succession, and later became a farmer. He fin- 
ally removed to Oakland County, where he died, 
July T5, r864, at the age of 55, leaving a large fam- 
ily, of which our subject was the seventh. Harriet 
(Wilcox) Watson came to this State in 1834, after her 
marriage, and still lives, at Breckenridge, Wheeler 
Township, this county. 

William O. left home at the early age of nine, and 
went on a farm in Milford Township, Oakland County 
and afterwards on a farm in Highland Township, 
same county. He was there educated in the district 
schools. After nine years, he came to Ithaca. Here 
he clerked in different stores. Dec. 31, 1874, at 
Ithaca, he was united in marrige to Ella F., daugh- 
ter of Dewitt C. and Edna F. (Utley) Chapin, na- 
tives of New York State. Dewitt C. Chapin was a 
prominent citizen of Allegan, Mich., and while 
there Iield the office of Probate Judge. He came to 
this county and lived at Ithaca, where he was Reg- 
ister of Deeds at the time of his death, June 29, 
1873. After that sad event, the whole duties of the 
office devolved uixin Ella P., who performed them 
for two years, urftil the expiration of the term for 

^^ ^^^^ — -y^<m 



which her father had been elected. She had previ- 
ously been her father's clerk for two years. Her 
mother still resides in Pine River Township, at the 
age of 56 years. Ella F. was born in Allegan, 
Mich., April 10, 1851; moved to Dewitt, Clinton 
County, three years later; and at the age of 13 came 
with her parents to Alma, this county. Here she at- 
tended the common schools, and she afterwards pur- 
sued a course of study at the State Normal School 
at Ypsilanti. She commenced teaching at the age 
of 15, and taught for a number of years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Watson located on a farm in Pine 
River Township ; and four years later removed to 
Arcada Township. They purchased 80 acres on sec- 
tions 7 and 8, and now have 70 acres well improved. 
They have recently built a neat barn, at a cost of 
$500. They have had four children, one now not liv- 
ing: John C, born Jan. 28, 1878; diaries E., born 
March 17, 1881 ; Byron, born Nov. 10, 1882 ; Fred. 
C, born Jan. 3, 1876, and died March 25, 1876. 
Mrs. Watson is a member of the Baptist Church at 
Ithaca. Mr. Watson is a Royal Arch Mason, be- 
longing to Ithaca Chapter, No. 70, and has held 
several offices in the order. He has been School 
Director for four years, and is now serving his second 
term as Township Treasurer. In politics he is an 
uncompromising Republican. He and wife are peo- 
ple of refinement and education, and stand very 
high in their community. 





|?K onathan Gidley, farmer, section 21, Em- 
' If erson Township, was born in Morrow Co., 
^ Ohio, Jan. 31, 1842; and is a son of Moses 
and Ruth (Wood) Gidley, natives of New York. 
They emigrated to Ohio, where they were mar- 
ried and followed farming in Morrow County. 
When Jonathan was born the country was very new, 
and as he was the oldest of the family, it was his lot 
to bear the brunt of the farm work. He was, however, 
able to attend school to some extent, and hard work, 
aided by a natural bent, gave him a good grounding, 
especially in mathematics. 

Aug. 30, 1861, he enlisted in Co. C, 15th Ohio 
Infantry, and was assigned to the Army of the Cum- 
berland, under Gen. Thomas. He participated in 
I the battles of Pittsburg Landing, Stone River, Chick 



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amauga and Chattanooga, and other engagements. 
He was unhurt during his service, but his clotliing 
was several times penetrated by rebel bullets. He 
was discharged at San Antonio, Tex., Nov. 25, 1865, 
and returned to Lansing, whither his parents had re- 
moved. He settled near that city, and farmed for a 
number of years. ^ While there, his father died, Dec. 
10, 1866, at the age of 51. His mother still resides 
near Grand Ledge. 

Nov. 15, 1868, in Morrow Co., Ohio, lie was mar- 
ried to Sarah A., daughter of George and Nancy 
(Odell) Green, natives of Virginia. Tliey were of 
German descent, and followed farming. The daugh- 
ter was born in Marion Co., Ohio. Aug. 4. 1840, and 
at the age of 15 went to Morrow County to reside 
with a married sister. Mr. ar.d Mrs. Gidley came to 
Lansing, and in Ihespringof t88o to Gratiot County, 
settling on 80 acres of timbered land on section 21, 
Emerson Township. He has now 20 acres cleared, 
and has built a comfortable house, at a cost of $800. 
They have a family of three children : George O., 
born Sept. 18, 1869; Cora E., Oct. 28, 1870; and 
Nelhe M., Aug. 22, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Gidley are 
members of the M. E. Cnurch. He is a member of 
Emerson Lodge No. 375, L O. O. F., and is now 
Secretary of that body ; and he is also a member of 
Moses Wisner Post No. loi, G. A. R.,at Ithaca. He 
holds the office of Drain Commissioner in his town- 
ship, being elected in 1881. In politics he is an 
earnest Republican. 



tenjamin F. Benson, farmer, section 19, 
Lafayette Township, is a son of Benjamin 
H. and Rachel (Brown) Benson, natives of 
New York and New Jersey, respectively. He 
died in February, 1869, and she April 6, 1880, 
in New York State. The subject of this 
sketch was born in Niagara Co., N. Y., May 15, 1830. 
He remained on his father's farm until he was 23, 
when he went to Ohio and engaged in lumbering for 
about six months. Returning for a short lime to 
his home, he then came to Michigan and worked for 
a time at various things. The winter of 1855-6 was 
passed at home in New York. Thence he returned 
to Michigan. The year 1856 found him in the 
State of Iowa, where he lived eight years. 




In 1864, he was united in matrimony to Malisa C. 
Holstead, who died the following year. Two years 
later became again to Michigan and located in Clin- 
ton County, on 1 20 acres of wild land, of which he 
improved 80 acres. In 1877 he came to Gratiot 
County and purchased 149 acres on section 19, La- 
fayette Township. He has now 80 acres well im.. 
proved, and the timber chopped from 20 acres more. 

He married his present wife April 29, 1866. Her 
maiden name was Rose Wilhelm, and she was the 
daughter of Ernest and Fredrica (Curts) Wilhelm, 
natives of Germany, who emigrated to the New 
World at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Benson are the 
parents of three children, — William P., Ernest E. and 
Rosa. 

Mr. Benson stands very high in his community. 
He has been Moderator of his school district several 
terms. As to politics he votes for the best men, re- 
gardless of ticket. 



I'gert Woodward, farmer section 30, Arcada 

IE Township, is a son of John and Priscilla 

(Goodspeed) Woodward, natives of New 



i^ York and of ?>nglish descent. They carried 

^ on farming in the Empire State until 1840, 
and then emigrated to this State, being 
among the very first settlers of Allegan County. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Leighton 
Township, Allegan County, June 12, 1848, and re- 
mained under the parental roof until 22 years of 
age. He was educated in the common school, and 
in his leisure time was employed on his father's 
farm. Sept. 7, 1869, in Plainwell, Allegan County, 
he was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss 
Helen V. Hays, daughter of Alexander and Harriet 
(Watson) Hays, natives of New England and of 
English and Irish descent. Mr. Hays' occupation 
was that of a blacksmith, and he died in April, 1869. 
The daughter Helen was born in Waymouth Town- 
ship, Medina Co., Ohio, and was there reared and 
educated, living with her parents until her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Woodward followed farming in Alle- 
gan County for six years. They then came to 
Gratiot. After buying and selling several times, he 
purchased in July, 1882, his present farm of 40 acres, 
then all timber. He has now under cultivation nine 



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acres and has erected a comfortable dwelling and 

stables. 

Mr. and Mrs. W. are the parents of eight children, 
four of whom survive,— Floyd, Gracie B., Hattie 
E. and Blanche. The deceased are Minnie, Glennie 
and two babies which died in infancy. The follow- 
ing epitaph was composed by an uncle, for Glennie's 
grave : 

" Over the river so slill and cold, 
Glennie, our angel has gone to the fold; 
Sweet little sleeper, your walking will be 
By the river of life and the beautiful tree." 

Mr. Woodward is a member of Alma Lodge, No. 
244, F. & \. M. He has held the offices of Over- 
seer and School Director, and is now Justice of the 
Peace in Arcada Township. Politically he is a Re- 
publican. 



avid C. Rounds, farmer, section 2, Lafay- 
ette Township, is a son of Joseph and 
Mary (Remington) Rounds, natives of 
Rhode Island. The father was a sailor and 
^$- passed 30 years of his life on the sea. He after- 
wards went to Massachusetts, where he died 
Aug. 6, 1862. His wife died Sept. 23, 1866. David 
C. was born Sept. 19, 1836, in Dartmouth, Mass., 
and was 18 years old when he began to care for him- 
self For seven years he was employed in getting 
out live-oak timber in the Southern States. In 1861 
he came to Gratiot County and located on section 
36, in what is now Wheeler Township, but was at 
that time unorganized. He lived there eight years, 
and then came to Lafayette Township and entered 
160 acres on section 2. He has now 40 acres of 
well improved land. He built a neat dwelling house 
in 1871, and his substantial barn in 1877. 

He was married Aug. 22, 1870, to Matilda Mc- 
Kenna, who unfortunately died the following Octo- 
ber. He subsequently, June 4, 1871, married Sarah 
V. Cornell, the widow of Daniel P. Cornell. She 
was born Aug. 9, 1841, in Steuben Co., N. Y., and 
was the daughter of Bernard and Dorinda (Ken- 
nedy) Fox, natives of New York. She bore to Mr. 
Cornell three children, — Bertha A., Ray and Daniel 
O. She has lived in Gratiot County since 1857, and 





is one of the pioneer school-teachers of the county. 
Mr. Rounds is one of the most respected citizens of 
the township in which he lives. Politically he is a 
Democrat. 

— ^-»^ 

'ohn W. Smith, farmer, section 28, Wheeler 
'^ Township, was born Jan. 25, 1846, in 
Trumbull Co., Ohio, and was the son of 
Noah and Lucinda (Hudson) Smith, natives of 
New Jersey and Trumbull Co., Ohio. Mr. 
Smith was by occupation a carpenter and joiner, 
and lived in Ohio until March, 1883. He then came 
to Gratiot County, and now makes his home with his 
son. -Mrs. Smith died May i, 1875, in Trumbull Co., 
Ohio. 

At the age of 14, John left home and commenced 
working on a farm. This he followed three years, 
and then enlisted in the Trumbull Guards, an inde- 
pendent company. They were on duty in the Eastern 
army, were engaged three times, and after a service 
of three years and three months, were discharged at 
Gallipolis, Ohio. Mr. Smith came first to Ionia 
Co., Mich., and then to Gratiot County, settling on 
40 acres, section 28, Wheeler Township. 

In 1864, he was married to Charlotte A. Pickett, 
who was born Feb. 23, 1845, in Trumbull Co., Ohio. 
Her parents came to Gratiot in 1865, locating on 
section 2, Lafayette Township. Mr. Pickett was 
accidentally killed in 1867, while breaking roll- ways 
on Bad River. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two adopted 
children : Jennie E. and Wesley O. Mr. Smith is a 
highly respectable citizen. He has held the office of 
Highway Commissioner and School Inspector of 
Wiieeler Township. Politically, he is an adherent to 
the National party. 




^3| dmund A. Goodhall, farmer, section 10, 
North Star Townsliip, son of Edmund 
Goodhall of Hamilton Township, a native 
f^^ of England, was born in the native land of his 
father, March ro, 1852. His father, with his 
family, emigrated to the United States in 1854 
and settled in New York. Here Mr. Goodliall re- 
mained, assisting in the care of the family, until the 



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S' year 1865, when he accompanied them to this county. 

W He follows the vocation of farmer, combined with 

^ that of working in a saw-mill. 

I Mr. Goodhall was united in marriage, Dec. 22, 

1878, to Emma, daughter of Frederick Homister, and 
to their union have been born one child, Nellie V. 

Mr. G. is yet a young man, and being possessed of 
that element so necessary to success and the accom- 
plishment of aim, has a future not darkened with 
despair but brightened by pleasant contemplations. 



"" ''n^iamuel Wheeler, farmer, section 18, Lafay- 
ette Township, is a son of Amos and Har- 
riet (Hubbell) Wheeler. They were na- 
tives of Connecticut, and followed farming in 
that State until 1855, when they came to Ing- 
I ham Co,, Mich. They resided in that county 
24 years, when Mr. Wheeler died. Mrs. Wheeler 
died Feb. 15, 1874, in Illinois, at the age of 70 years, 
9 months and 15 days. 

The subject of this sketch was born Jan. 31, 1826. 
At the age of 21 he left home, and worked in a cheese 
factory and on a farm until 185 i, when he married 
Nancy Barger. She was born in Medina Co., Ohio, 
Feb. 3, 1832, and was the second daughter of Sam- 
uel and Barbara E. (Holler) Barger, natives of Penn- 
sylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler came to Ingham 
County, this State, in the autumn of 1851, and he 
was there engaged in farming until May 12, 1857. 
On that date he came to Gratiot County and settled 
on 143 acres of wild land. Of this he has cleared 
100 acres. In 1867 he erected a large barn,^the 
third in the township. He also has a fine, large 
dwelling-house on his place. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler 
are the parents of six children, — Benjamin F., Clar- 
ence L., Dora J., Harriet J., Lucy E. and Amos S. 

Politically, Mr. Wheeler has always been a staunch 
Republican. He was elected Township Treasurer in 
1859, and served four years. In 1864 he was chosen 
Supervisor, and in that office he was retained for 
six successive years. He is a member of the Masonic 
Order, belonging both to the blue lodge and to the 
chapter. 

As a representative man of the county, and one 
deserving the respect, esteem and commemctralion of 
its citizens, we give place to Mr. Wheeler's portrait in 
this work. 



. oro 




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Curtis, farmer, section 4, Hamilton 
^-^ Township, was born in the County of Cay- 
.11,-^4^ uga. State of New York, Nov. 4, 1804. His 
'■■jiA father, Ashbel Curtis, died while Allen was 
■j'' quite young and he was thrown upon the mercy 
of others. He lived with his half-brother, 
Israel Curtis, for a short time and then made his 
home with his sister, working out for or five dollars a 
month, for two or three years. In 1825 he went in 
company with his brother Daniel to Livingston 
County, his native State, and there entered upon the 
occupation of a farmer. Here he remained, pursu- 
ing his vocation, until 1854, when he came to this 
State and settled in Oakland County. 

In the fall of 1856, Mr. Curtis came to this County 
and entered 320 acres of land in La Fayette Town- 
ship. He remained on the land long enough to con- 
struct the usual "log cabin " of the pioneer; and in 
the fall of the same year, when listening to the im- 
portunities of his son-in-law he returned to Oakland 
County and remained until the following spring, 1857, 
when, accompanied by his family, he returned to La- 
fayette Township. His experience in establishing a 
home, clearing and improving the land was similar 
to those of many others of Gratiot's pioneer settlers. 
His house was erected in the woods; wild animals 
and prowling Indians were his visitors. On one oc- 
casion, while en route to a " raising," Mr. C. killed 
two bears, and all the men in the neighborhood, after 
assisting to dress them, were allotted their portion. 
At another time he was compelled to mortgage his 
farm to procure a barrel of flour. In fact, trials en- 
compassed him on every hand, yet nobly did he meet 
and conquer them. He was compelled to cut a road, 
through the woods, to the location he had selected 
for his house, and his was the first team that came up 
the river on the south side from St. Charles, and his 
settlement was the first made in the neighborhood. 

Mr. Curtis was united in marriage Feb. 21, 1833, 
to Sophia, daughter of Daniel Hamilton. To this 
union one child, Abigail, was born. Mrs. C, after 
sharing his trials in the establishment and improve- 
ment of their home, died .April 4, T867, mourned as a 
loving mother, a devoted wife and kind friend. 

Mr. C. is a man jxissessed of a constitution which 
in earlier days enabled him to encounter an almost 













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unlimited amount of physical labor. His endurance 
was exceedingly remarkable, and even now, with 79 
winters and summers of wear upon his system, he is 
not void of activity. In October, 1866, he fell from 
a house and broke one wrist, and in 187 1 he crippled 
his other hand while fighting fire, which has caused 
him considerable annoyance in pursuing his vocation. 

Mr. Curtis was again married, April 4, 1868, this 
tinie to Miss Helen Clunas, daughter of Thomas 
Clunas, deceased, a native of Scotland. She was 
born in Upper Canada, Jan. 5, 1833. He settled on 
his present farm in Hamilton Township, in Novem- 
ber, 1868. The township (Hamilton) in which his 
farm was located was named in honor of Franklin 
Hamilton, a nephew of our subject and who was 
" brought up " from the age of seven years by Mr. 
Curtis. 

Mr. Curtis owns 40 acres of land where his home 
is located, and for over 40 years has been a member 
of tlie Methodist Episcopal Church. 



'■ 1 _^ f ';, Iston H. Maurer, farmer, section 16, New- 
:.~qJ-^j_^ ark Township, was born March 14, 1850, in 
■3-',j\,^ Hancock Co., Ohio. His father, John Maurer, 
"Jllf was a native of Germany ; Iris mother, Louisa 
■'|» (Sage) Maurer, was born in the Stale of New 
York. The father died in Hancock Co., Ohio, 
where he settled after his marriage. The mother re- 
sides in Wood Co., Ohio. 

At the age of 14, Mr. Maurer began life on his own 
account, as a farm laborer, and spent six years as an 
assistant at several points. He then took a farm to 
work on shares for one year, when he decided to ex- 
pend his efforts wholly in his own behalf, and in 1872 
bought 40 acres of land in Williams Co., Ohio. He 
retained its possession four years, sold out and in the 
fall of 1876 came to Gratiot County and bought 40 
acres of partly improved land in Newark Township. 
On this property he has since resided and has nearly 
all his acreage under cultivation. Mr. Maurer is in 
sympathy with the Republican party and supjjorts its 
issues. 

He was married Jan. 26, 1871, in Seneca Co., Ohio, 
10 Susan, youngest daughter of Wesley and Sarah 
(Ebersole) Bradford. Her father was born in Penn- 



sylvania, became a soldier in the Union army and 
yielded up his life on the battle field. The mother 
was born in Ohio and now resides in Kansas. Mrs. 
Maurer was born Sept. 25, 1854, in Hancock Co., 
Ohio. Of her marriage one child was born Dec. 9, 
1872 — Charles O. Maurer. 














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^f^Bkharles M. Chaflfin, teacher and farmer, 
3,^HL^ resident on section 30, North Star Town- 
chffh ^ ship, was born in Hancock Co., Ohio, Aug. 
29, 1849, and his parents removed with him 
to Gratiot County in 1854, settling in North 
Star Township, where he now lives, on part of 
the homestead; was educated in the common schools 
and at the State Agricultural College at Lansing ; he 
also attended school at Ithaca several seasons. He 
has since become a prominent teacher in this county, 
having now taught school during the winter for the 
last 12 years, l)y the most improved normal methods. 
He also attends normal institutes, and is a member 
of the Gratiot County Teachers' Association. During 
the summer he follows agricultural pursuits. 

June 25, 1876, Mr. Chaffin was tnarried to Sarah 
Barnes, daughter of John Barnes. By this marriage 
one child has been born, Bessie A. Mrs. C. was born 
in England, and was brought to America by her 
parents when young, who settled first in Jackson Co., 
Mich., and came to Gratiot County in August, 1854, 
settling in North Star Township. Mrs. Chaffin is 
also a teacher of many years' experience. She 
attended the Ypsilanti Normal School, and has taught 
22 terms in this county. 

Mr. Chaffin's father, John W. Chaffin, now deceased, 
was a native of Virginia, and was born in 1822; was 
brought by his parents to Wayne Co., Ohio, when six 
months old, and in 1854, after a residence in different 
counties, he settled in North Star Township, and 
therefore was a pioneer here. He was well known 
as a dealer in live stock and in furs. He married 
Clara A. I'-vitts, daughter of Bela Evitts, and had 
eight children, six of whom are living: Charles M., 
Homer W., Theodore A., Clara L., Perry F. and ^ 
Edith L. ^ 

Mr. C. died Nov. 10, 1873, a highly respected "^ 



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member of the United Brethren Church, a generous 
and charitable citizen, judiciously distril)Uting of his 
means for the support of benevolent institutions. 




Itf saac D. Crippin, farmer, section 23, Elba 
Township, is a son of Stephen and Lucy 
(Burns) Crippin, natives of New York. Mr. 
Crippin's business was lumbering. He died 
m Illinois, and his wife in Michigan. The 
subject of this sketch was born in Warren Co., 
Pa., Sept. 28, 1822, and has followed the noble occu- 
pation of farming all his life. In 1838, he came to 
Branch County, this State, where he lived 18 years. 
In that county he was married to Martha Havens, 
the daughter of Thomas and Polly Havens. She died 
about 1855, leaving one child : Mary J. 

He enlisted in Co. D, First Mich. Light Art., Aug. 
10, 1864, and was most of the time of his service 
stationed at Murfreesboro, Tenn., on fortress duty. 
He was discharged at Jackson, Aug. 3, 1865. After 
one year passed in the southern part of Michigan, 
he came to Gratiot County. In 1867, he was married 
to Miranda, the fourth daughter of Thos. and Rachel 
A. Davidson. She was born Feb. 22, 1837. Her 
parents were born in Pennsylvania and Maryland, 
and were engaged in farming. 

Mr. and Mrs. Crippin have two children : Freddie 
E. and Eva P. 

Mr. Crippin is Assessor of his school district, and 
in politics is a National. He is a member of Elsie 
Lodge No. 238, F. & A. M., Maple River Lodge No. 



76, I. O. O. F., and Major Lusk Post No. 
A. R. 



167, G. 



ll^Wlvin P. Barnaby, deceased, late resident of 

I' North Star Township, was born near San- 

^ dusky, Erie Co., Ohio Oct. 17, 1821. He 

was a son of Alvin P. Barnaby, deceased, who 

^ moved his family from Ohio to this State and 

I settled in Cass County in 1825. Here our 

subject lived and developed into manhood, receiving 

the advantage afforded by the common schools of 

the county. His inclination being of a mechanical 

turn, he early applied himself to learning the carpen- 





ter's trade, which he soon accomplished, and followed 
for the greater portion of his life. 

Mr. Barnaby was married Oct. 3, 1853, to Miss 
Esther, daughter of Daniel Bleacher (deceased), and 
to their union there were born ten children, nine of 
whom are living: Mary A., Francis E., Flora A., 
Ezra A., Ulysses S., Perry I., James H., Bertha M. 
and Daniel V. 

Mr. B. enlisted in the late civil war in Co. M, ist 
Mich. Cav., and was stricken with disease a few 
days previous to the battle of the Wilderness and 
did not convalesce until after the war. Mr. B. and 
his family cameto this county in 1869, and on March 
13, 1881, the father died, leaving the motlier and her 
nine children and a host of friends and relatives to 
mourn his loss. 



^jfftiC eorge W. Zimmerman, farmer and stock- 
ilsll raiser, section 25, Arcada Tovi^nship, was 

1\3~"' ^ '" Lower France, Dec. 16, 1831, and is 
^yv ' the son of Michael and Catharine Zimmerman, 
natives of France and of German ancestry. 
Michael followed farming, and died in France, 
at an unknown date. His wife came to the Great 
Republic in 1847, ^"^ i^ ^''^^ living, well and strong, 
at the age of 77, in Jackson County, this State. 

When 14 years old, the subject of this sketch set 
out to learn the harness-maker's trade, being appren- 
ticed near home. After working at this 18 weeks, he 
came with his mother and relatives to this country, 
landing at New York. He then went to Philadelphia, 
and afterwards to Syracuse, N. Y., where he remained 
two years. He was apprenticed here to a blacksmith, 
and worked with him until the latter failed. Going 
to his mother in Buffalo, lie lived there with her until 
she was married, when they all went to live on a farm 
in the vicinity of Buffalo. Three years later he came 
to Jackson Co., Mich. Returning to New York after 
one year, he was united in marriage, in Erie County, 
Nov. 15, 1853, to lCliza!)etii, daughter of Martin and 
and Magdalena Marcolf, natives of France and of 
German descent. The former followed farming, and 
died in I'>ie County, Oct. 15, 1882, aged 76. The 
latter is still living in the same county, at the age of 
70. Elizabeth was born Jan. 27, 1836, at Weisen- 
burg, in that part of France now possessed by 



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Prussia, and when a year and a half old was brought 
^ by her parents to America. They settled in Erie Co., 
N. Y., where she lived until her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman came to this State and 
located near Brooklyn, Jackson County. July 31, 
1862, he enlisted in Co. F, 20th Mich. Vol. Inf., under 
Capt. Warner, and served in the Army of the Potomac. 
He fought in 16 engagements. He was made a 
Corporal in 1863, and a Sergeant in 1864, which latter 
rank he held till the close of the war. He was 
wounded at Cold Harbor, Va., by a gunshot in the 
right limb near the ankle. Otjierwise he escaped 
unhurt. He was often honored with special duty, 
and was honorably discharged in June, 1865. Re- 
turning to his home in Jackson County, he shortly 
after removed to this county, locating on a farm of 
160 acres, heavily timbered, in Hamilton Township. 
After improving 35 acres, he sold, and in August, 
1879, he settled on 160 acres of improved land, a 
mile and a half from Ithaca, in Arcada Township. 
He has since sold 80 acres to his eldest son, William 
H., who is married and lives on that tract. He has a 
fine orchard of 12 acres, mostly in apples. 

Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman are the parents of seven 
children, one dead : William H., born March 15, 
185s, Barbara M., Oct. 16, 1856, Lena M., July 22, 
1858, David W., May 10, 1866, Emma E., Aug. 27, 
1868, James Walter, April 21, 1873, George B., born 
Aug. 13, 1861, and died May 21, 1880. 

Mr. Zimmerman is in politics a Republican. He 
has held the offices of Township Treasurer, and 
Overseer of Highways. He is a Protestant, and his 
wife a Mennonite. 



Irich Wermuth, farmer and stock-raiser, 
section 24, New Haven Township, was 
"iiic^ '^oxw in district of Berne, Switzerland, Aug. 
fWi^ 10, 1815, and was reared on a small farm 
'W and educated in the public school among the 
] mountain fastnesses of his native country. 
When 15 years old his father died ; and as he was 
the eldest of the orphaned children, much care de- 
volved upon his immature years. By economy and 
perseverance they accumulated sufficient means to 
bring them over to the " land of opportunity," in the 




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Ohio. Three years later Mr. W. came and " located " 
40 acres of land on the section where he now re- 
sides. Subsequently he purchased 80 acres more, 
and of the total 120 acres he has improved 90, re- 
ducing it to a good state of cultivation and placing 
thereon good farm buildings, etc. He is an enter- 
prising and prosperous farmer. In politics he is a 
member of the Democratic party, and he has held 
the school offices of his district for 1 2 years. 

In June, 1862, Mr. W. married, in Newark Town- 
ship, this county. Miss Mary Willet, a German lady 
who was born in Tellen, Germany, Jan. 22, 1843, 
and came to this country in 1869, settling with her 
parents in St. John's, Clinton Co., Mich.; two years 
later she came to Newark Township, this county. 

The four children in this family are : Adolphus, 
born May 21, 1865; Ellen, May 11, 1868; Frank, 
April 25, 1872; and Charles, May 15, 1876. 




i saae N. Coleman, farmer, sec. 30, Emerson 



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Township, was born m Dayton, Ohio, Dec. 
2, 1832 ; and is the son of Isaac and Emma 
(Piper) Coleman, natives of Germany and New 
England, respectively. The father was by trade 
a mechanic, and used tools nearly all his life. 
Isaac, junior, spent his boyhood days, until he was 
1 2 years of age, in Dayton, when his parents removed 
to Seneca County and located on a farm in the vi- 
cinity of Tiffin. Here he learned the art of arts, 
farming, and he has followed that continuously until 
the present time. January, 1853, he removed to v 
Michigan and located in Lenawee County. 

Sept. 8, 1853, he was united in marriage, in Litch- 
field, Hillsdale County, to Louisa J., daughter of 
David and Louisa (Ketch) Moon, natives of New 
England. She was born in Niagara Co., N. Y., Nov. 
8, 1836; and, her mother dying shortly afterwards, 
she was adopted by George Perry. She lived with 
him (he died in 1846) and his wife until her mar- 
riage. She had lost all track of her father, and she 
was 25 years old when, by an accident, slie first 
learned something of her relatives, and found tliat 
she was one of a large family of cliiidren. 

In the spring of 1855 Mr. and Mrs. Coleman came 
to Gratiot County and settled in Emerson Township. 
He was one of the organizers of the township. At 



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^ that time there were but few families to assist in sub- 
'l") stituting civilization for the unbroken forest which 
/,v* surrounded them for miles in every direction. Mr. 
I Coleman assisted once in a very romantic and exciting 
bear hunt, and the party succeeded in despatching a 
bear that weighed nearly 500 pounds. 

July 31, 1862, he enlisted in Co. D, 26th Mich. 
Vol. Inf., commanded by Lafayette Churcli, of this 
county, and joined the Army of the Potomac. Owing 
to physical disability brought on by sunstroke and 
,f rheumatism, he became permanently crippled, and 
was honorably discharged March 25, 1865. He had 
been promoted as Corporal, and had the credit of 
capturing a fierce rebel by his own efforts. 

Mr. and Mrs. Coleman have had seven children, 
six of whom are living : George J., born Sept. 22, 
1854; Charlie W., Dec. 9, 1858; Ozro E., Oct. 5, 
1861 ; Sadie E., Dec. 27, 1866; Frank A., July 25, 
1869; Ray N., Jan. 31, 1877; Earl, born Sept. 22, 
1879, and died July i, 1883. They are members of 
the Seventh-Day Adventist society. Mr. Coleman 
is an energetic and popular man, and has held vari- 
ous local offices. He was the first Justice of the 
Peace of the township, was Supervisor five years and 
Treasurer ten years. He has also been Township 
Clerk, and is now School District Assessor. Politi- 
cally he has always been identified with tlie Repub- 
lican party. 



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ohn Brauher, general farmer, section 24, 
^2i^'\ ^ New Haven Township, was born in Berne, 
w,-;'"*'^ Switzerland, Nov. 9, 1846, of Swiss and 
German descent. When two years of age his 
father died and he went to live with his grand- 
mother, and when eight years of age they 
emigrated to America and went to reside with his 
mother in Fulton Co., Ohio, who had previously re- 
married and settled there. 

Mr. Brauher received a good common-school edu- 
cation, and at the age of 14 he accompanied his 
mother and step-father to this county, locating in 
Newark Township. They subsequently removed to 
New Haven Township, where the subject of this 
sketch lived until his marriage, in Montcalm County, 
to Miss Maggie, daughter of William A. and Nancy 
(Stuller) Miller, natives respectively of Maryland 
and Ohio and of English, Irish and German descent. 

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Mrs. B. was born in Hancock Co., Ohio, Dec. 17, 
1S56; when nine years old she came with her parents 
to Montcalm County, Mich., where she lived until 
her marriage, soon after which she settled with her 
husband on 80 acres where they now reside. Mr. 
B. purchased this tract in 1867, when it was nearly 
all covered with heavy timber ; but he has since 
cleared and improved 50 acres of it, subduing it to 
the plow in a fine tillable condition. His prosperity 
as a farmer is manifest. In regard to national is- 
sues Mr. B. is a Democrat. 

The living children in this family are Francis, 
Rosetta, William and Byron A. The deceased is 
Calvin. 

• — -»-i— 4 o«sHffl»)>">s>o — i^-<- 

j^-enry A. Shaw, farmer section 11, Washing- 
ton Township, is a son of Alvin and Jane 
ws; (Fuller) Shaw, natives of Connecticut and New 
i. York. Alvin Shaw has followed farming all his 
I life, and he and his wife still reside in Wales, 
Erie Co., N. Y. Their son, Henry, was born July i, 
1836, in Java, Wyoming Co., N. Y. He lived with 
his parents, working and attending district school, 
until 20 years old, when he commenced working by 
the month, also attending school a portion of the 
time. He then bought a farm and commenced 
farming on his own account. 

June 27, 1858, in Wyoming Co., N. Y., he was 
united in marriage to Louisa, youngest daughter of 
Spencer and Mary (Trickey) Bryant, natives of Ver- 
mont and Canada. They moved to New York, in 
which State they died, Mrs. Bryant, Oct. 16, 1875, 
and Mr. Bryant, April 27, 1S77. In 1861, Mr. and 
Mrs. Shaw came to Clinton County, this State, and 
lived 20 months in Greenbush Township. Return- 
ing to New York State, they lived there for nearly 
three years. Coming to Gratiot County they pur- 
chased 80 acres of wild land on section 1 1, Washing- 
ton Township. Mr. Shaw has now 65 acres im- 
proved. Ever since coming to the county he has 
been, to some extent, interested in bee culture, and 
since 1880 he has built up a wide reputation in that 
business. He has a fine apiary of his own, and, 
being looked upon as an e.xpert, he is called upon by 
people from eight to ten miles away to attend to their 
apiaries. During 18 years he lias taken 196 swarms 
out of the woods. 



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Mr. and Mrs. Shaw have had six children, one of 
whom is dead, and two are married. These latter 
are: Mrs. Winfield Strouseand Mrs. Herman Hoffer. 
The three residing at home are : Grant, Archie and 
Bertie. Esther died Sept. 7, 1876. Mr. Shaw is po- 
litically a zealous Republican. He has been Justice 
of the Peace for eight years, and has also been School 
Inspector of his township. He and wife are mem- 
bers of the U. B. Church. 





>, rs. Laverna R. (Conger) Wolford, resid- 
IS . ing on the southwest quarter of section 



"^4-''^ 22, New Haven Township, is the wife of 
^^'*\ David Wolford, deceased, who was born in 
•'^ Schoharie Co., N. Y., Jan. 5, 1812. 

Mr. Wolford was brought up under the care 
of fond and loving parents, and remained under the 
^^ parental roof-tree until he attained the age of 23 
° years. He then set forth upon " the ship of trouble " 
^(^ to fight the battles of adversity which so often are 
= encountered by tlie ambitious and energetic young 
men in their journey to prosperity. He left his na- 
tive county and went to Cayuga County, same State, 
and was there united in marriage to the subject of 
our sketch, Dec. 7, 1835. 

Mr. and Mrs. W. remained in that county for 15 
years, when they moved to Huntington Co., Ind. 
They remained in the latter county some two years 
and then returned to New York. Two years after- 
ward they came to this State and located on 160 
acres of land on section 22, New Haven Township, 
arriving here and settling on the land in 1859. At 
that time the land was in a wild state of nature, and 
Mr. W. experienced the trials and overcame the ob- 
stacles so abundantly met with in the lives of the 
early pioneers. He was a mason by occupation, and 
always followed that vocation until he came to this 
State, when he entered on the arduous though pleas- 
ant task of clearing his land and preparing a home 
for his family, and prior to his death had cleared and 

f improved 40 acres. He died Nov. 10, 1866, leaving 
a wife and five children, besides many warm-hearted 
i^ and affectionate friends to mourn his loss. He went 
(@) out to work one Saturday morning, and did not re- 
7" turn. He was found Sunday noon, and the physi- 

— ^7K>D!] 



cians pronounced his death to be caused by heart 
disease. 

Mr. W. was warmly esteemed as a father, friend 
and neighbor. He was honored with positions of 
trust, and at the date of his death held the office of 
Justice of the Peace. Mr. W. was a member of the 
M. E. Church, also of the I. O. O. F., and in politi- 
cal belief and opinion was a staunch and active Re- 
publican. 

Laverna R. was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., May 
12, 1816, and was reared and educated under the 
care of her parents, with whom she remained until 
she was married. Her parents were of German ex- 
traction, and lived and died in the State of New 
York. 

Mrs. Wollord retains the original 120-acre home- 
stead in her own name, and is still residing on the 
same. 

The five children born to Mr. and Mrs. W. are as 
follows : Margaret and Job C, both married ; Lucre- 
tia, Lewis B. and John W. Lucretia and John W. 
are living with their mother on the farm which the 
latter cultivates. 

Mrs. W. is a member of the M. E. Church. She 
is in her 66th year, and enjoying fair health. 



^-^# 



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itorton Smith, farmer, section 20, Washington 

5.j^^«|t Township, is a son of Parmer and Betsy 

i^ (Pullman) Smith, natives of the State of New 

York. Mr. Smith was by trade a cooper. He 

I came to Michigan, but remained only a short 

' time, and then returned to New York State. He 

died Dec. 3, 1843. Betsy (Pullman) Smith is now a 

resident of St. Louis, Mich. 

The subject of this sketch was born Oct. 18, 1826, 
in the State of New York. Losing his father when 
14 years old he was the main support of the family, 
including four girls, until he was 30 years old. March 
4, 1856, he married Adeline, daughter of Erastus and 
Julia A. (Coon) Berry, natives of 'New York. They 
came to Branch Co., Mich., but after one year re- 
turned to New York State, where Mrs. Berry died in 
1851, and Mr. Berry in 1859. Dec. 31, 1857, Mr. 
and Mrs. Smith came to Gratiot County and located 
Of 79/^ acres on section 20, Washington Township. 
This was then wild land, and they were among the 



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247 



first settlers of the township. Most of their early 
neighbors are long since dead. At first they located 
a half mile from any house, but new dwellings have 
sprung up within a stone's throw of the house. He 
had to cut a road to his place, and for many years 
deer could be seen running with his cattle, when he 
went to bring them home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have six children: Fred E. 
and Fanny E. (twins), born in 1857 ; Frank, born in 
1862; Emma, born in 1S60; William H., born in 
r866; and Clara A., born in 1875. Mrs. Smith is a 
member of the United Brethren Church. Mr. 
Smith has been Justice of the Peace, Treasurer and 
Clerk of his township, one term each, and has held 
school offices a number oi times. Politically he. is a 
Republican. 




ohn Sweet, farmer, section 29, Emerson 
j' Township, was born in Sparta, N. Y., Feb. 
■/ifp * 26, 1825, and is the son of Amos and Polly 
'U (Blighton) Sweet, natives of New England. 
John was early left an orphan, his father dying 
when he was very young, and his mother fol- 
lowing her husband when the lad was but 12 years 
old. At this tender age he was left alone to battle 
with the world, and he went to work for an old friend 
of his father, in Medina Co., Ohio, where his mother 
had moved with some friends previous to her death. 
In 1845, he was married, in Medina County, to 
Narina N. White, born in the State of Vermont, July 
2, 1827. She died in Spencer, Medina County, in 
March, 1864, leaving four children, — I^ucius B., 
Lucia A., Isaac and Sophronia E. He was again 
married in July, 1864, to Mrs. Sophronia Snyder («« 
White), daughter of William and Polly (Curtis) 
White, natives of New Hampshire, and descended 
from New England stock. She was born in Chitten- 
den Co., Vt , Nov. 7, 1826, and at the age of 19 came 
to Medina Co., Ohio, where she was married tlie sec- 
ond time. She had four children by her first mar- 
riage, two living: Emma E., born Oct. i g, 1843; 
George N., born July 8, 1845. Hester A. was born 
Sept. 8, i84i,and died March 15, 1863; Florence I. 
died Feb. 15, 1858. 

Mr. Sweet is a minister in the Baptist Church, be- 
ginning early in life, and has always been an earnest 
worker for that denomination. His wife is also a 




member of the Church. He has held the office of 
Overseer, and is a supporter of the Republican party. 
He has been a resident of this county for 13 years, 
and has 60 acres of improved land. 




-tes- 



^^^JUlliam J. Fitzgerald, farmer, section 26, 
[g Elba Township, is a son of John and 
i) Mary (Berry) Fitzgerald, natives of Ireland, 
who emigrated to New York in an early 
day, and engaged in farming. Their son, 
William J., came to Michigan in 1871. For 
si.x years he was engaged with a Mr.- Hays, of Ionia 
County, in the summer as overseer of a large farm, 
and in the winter as foreman of a crew of hands in 
the pine woods. In 1881 he came to Elba Town 
ship and located on 80 acres on section 26, of which 
40 acres are nicely improved. 

In 1870 he was united in marriage to Emily, fourth 
daughter of Oliver and Julia (Miller) Richards, na- 
tives of New Yoik. She was born Feb. 4, 1853. 
Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald are the parents of three 
children: Anna M., Emma B. (deceased), and Will- 
i.Tiii F. Mr. Fitzgerald enjoys the confidence and 
esteem of his fellow-citizens, and was chosen High- 
way Commissioner for Elba Township in 1883. Po- 
litically he is a Republican. 



ohn A. Pasinger, farmer, section 24, New 
Haven Township, was born in Lawrence 



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■52 '^ Co., N. Y., April i, 1825. His parents were 
of Dutch descent and lived and died in the 
State of their son's nativity. The occupation 

r of the father was that of a mechanic, which 
vocation the son followed in after years. 

Our subject remained under the parental roof-tree 
assisting his father until he attained the age of 13, 
when he began to learn the trade of a carpenter and 
joiner, under the instruction of his father, and worked 
with him at the trade until 18 years of age. He 
then set out to battle with the trials of life alone, 
and followed his trade, which he had completed, en- 
gaging a portion of his time in a saw-mill and lum- 
ber interests in Ontario, in the vicinity of tiie Ottawa 
River. 

Returning to his native county, he engaged m vari- 









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248 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






ous occupations for a period of four years, when he 
was married in that county, June 17, 1849, to Miss 
Lucy A. North, a native of the same county as Mr. 
Pasinger, where she was born June 16, 1829, and 
where she lived with her grandparents until her 
marriage. 

Six children have been born to their marriage, 
four of whom, Henry W., Eugene C, Hannah M. 
and Anna L., are livmg, and two, Franklin and Orson, 
are deceased. 

After their marriage in New York, Mr. P. followed 
his trade for some 18 years, also being engaged in 
the lumber business. In 1865 he came to this State 
and purchased 80 acres of wild land in Clinton 
County. He made some improvement on this land 
and returned to New York. In 1873 he returned to 
his land in Clinton County, and made a permanent 
settlement. He added 80 acres to his original pur- 
chase and then sold 40 acres, leaving him 120 acres. 
Of this, he improved 70 acres, erected a house and 
in 1881 sold the entire tract preparatory to going 
West to start a new home. Before moving his fam- 
ily, he changed his mind, and came to this county 
and purchased 140 acres of land on section 24, for- 
merly owned by a Mr. Shepherd. His farm has a 
large orchard, which is in fine bearing condition. 

Mr. Pasinger has held the office of Highway Com- 
missioner and is identified with the best interests of 
the township. Politically, he is a staunch Democrat. 



i 'f' V ■ anielF. Muscott, retired farmer, on section 
kMiJ', 12, Emerson lownship, was born in 



'-^■^■'■r Western, Oneida Co., N. Y., March 19, 
f^ iSii. In this town Gen. Halleck was born. 



JJircSv '" Western 
'^^ iSii. In 

and Gen. Floyd, of the Revolution, one of the 



signers of the Declaration of Independence, is 
buried in the same townshi[). Daniel's father, 
Nehemiah Muscott, was a native of New Jersey, of 
Hollander parentage, and was by trade a tanner. 
A portion of his life, however, was spent on the seas. 
The mother of Daniel, Hannah (Felton) Muscott, 
was a native of New York, and of Puritan stock. 
Both died in Washtenaw Co., Mich., at tlie age 
of 67. 

The subject of this sketch attended district school 
and worked for his father until lie was 21, when he 



began to clear a farm for himself in his native county. 
He was thus engaged for five years, but during this 
time, in Rome, N. Y., Sept. 19, 1832, he formed a 
life partnership with Sobrina Walsworth. She was 
born in Rome, June 28, 1811, and was the daughter 
of Asa and Hannah (Dickerson) Walsworth, natives 
of Rome. A few years after marriage, Mr. and Mrs. 
Muscott went to Sherman Township, Huron Co., 
Ohio, where they lived until 1854. Then they came 
to Michigan and lived ten years in Ingham County. 
In February, 1864, they came to Gratiot County and 
purchased 160 acres in Emerson Township, shortly 
after buying 80 acres more. He now has one of the 
finest farms in the county, 240 acres in extent, T30 
of which are excellently improved. He has also a 
commodious dwelling and other farm buildings. 
And now, as his active and eventful life is drawing 
to a close, lie and his wife, both 73 years old, pass 
the time in (juiet enjoyment of the fruits of their 
labor, and in reading. 

They have had a family of si.\, all of whom are 
alive, married, and have families : Sobrina, born Dec. 
22, 1833, Ralph, April 28, 1839, Theodore W., July 
25, 1843, Hannah, July 22, 1846, Ellen A., April 7, 
1849, and Merritt, Dec. ?, 1854. 

Mr. and Mrs. Muscott are active members of the 
Presbyterian Church. He has held the office of 
Supervisor for two terms, and Township Treasurer for 
two terms. 

Politically, he has been a stalwart Republican 
since the organization of the party. 






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|.*-^h-tewart Edgar, farmer, on section 2, Emer- ^' 
son Township, was born in Dumfrieshire, %'\ 
Keir Parish, Scotland, May 8, 181 9: and f 
i\\ is the son of John and Jane (Nicholson) Edgar, 
natives of Scotland. John Edgar was of 
Scotch ancestry for at least five centuries back. 
He was a farmer at first, but spent the latter part of 
his life weighing metal at the iron mines of England, 
where he moved about 1853. He died in Cletnir (^ 
Moor, Eng., in March, 1855. Jane Nicholson lived 
with her parents in lier native county, and was there .'■. 
reared, educated, married and died. 

The subject of this sketch was educated in the "vi^ 
parish schools of his native county, and at the age of -^^ 
19 began to vvork as a common laborer in the mines J 




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COUNTY. 



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of his native county and Galway County. In the 
latter, Oft. i<S, iiS44, he was united in marriage to 
Margaret, daughter of Anthony and Mary (McQueen) 
Dunn, natives of dalway, Scotland. He was a saw- 
yer by Hade, and he and wife died al)OUt 1S63. 
Margaret was born in (ialway Comity, nearCanniore 
Castle, May i, 1830, and was bred and educated 
there. Nine years after marriage, Mr. and Mrs. 
Edgar removed to Cumberland Co., Eng., where he 
worked in the mines. In the summer of 1855, they 
came to London, Ontario, Can., where he was em- 
ployed as a railroad section foreman. Later he was 
stationed in the same caiiacity at St. Thomas, and 
remained there seven years. In December, 1862, 
he came to Michigan with his family, and settled on 
122 acres in Emerson Township, purchased two 
years Dreviously. He has 70 acres well improved, 
and good farm buildings. He has also purchased 
120 acres additional, which is worked by his two 
oldest sons. 

Mr. and Mrs. Edgar have a family of seven ; El- 
len, Jane, Stewart, James, William George Thomas, 
Mary and John. Politically, Mr. Edgar is a staunch 
Republican. He and wife are life-long members of 
the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. They are 
among the most respected citizens of the township. 



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fames fienry, proinietor uf the St. Louis 
II," Flouring Mills, manufacturer and dealer in 
lumber, shingles, flour, feed, etc., was born 
in County Tyrone, Ireland, Feb. 24, 1825. He 
is a son of William and Sarah A. (Gilmore) 
Henry, and both parents were natives of the 
Emerald Isle. His father died there, at the age of 
84 years, in the same house in which he was born. 
His mother died previously, when she was about 42 
years old. 

Mr. Henry was brought upon a farm and obtained 
a fair education. At 18 he learned the business of 
a wagon-maker, and in 1849 left his native country 
for the United States. He spent two summers on a 
farm in Yates Co., N. Y., and in 1851 proceeded to 
Allegany Co., N. Y., where he learned engineering, 
which he followed three years and then came to Bay 
City, Mich., and operated in the same capacity one 






253 



summer, after which he proceeded to St. Charles, yv 
Saginaw County, where he was similarly employed / 
six years. In 1861 he went to Grant Co., Wis., and .• 
became proprietor of t6o acres of land by purchase. 
Three years after he returned to Michigan and fol- 
lowed his trade of engineer in Saginaw County three 
years. He went to Hemlock City and bought a saw 
and shingle mill, which the operated 10 years with 
satisfactory success, and in 1879 went to Cedar Lake, 
Montcalm C'ounty, where li# built a saw and shingle 
mill and engaged vigorously in the prosecution of 
lumbering interests. Two years later, the steam 
boiler exploded, destroying the mill and killing two 
men. At the moment of the explosion, Mr. Henry y 
was in the mill, standing near the stove, which was 
about 20 feet from the boiler. The roof fell upon 
him, but the stove kept it from crushing him to death. 
He hastened the re-building of the mill and in 60 
days it was again running. 

In the fall of 1882, Mr. Henry moved to St. Louis, 
where he had purchased one and a half acres of land, S 
and built a residence. In September of the same \^ 
year he bought his mill site, which includes about 15 ^ 
acres, and is largely engaged in the manufacture of <>^ 
mill products. He also owns 400 acres of land in ^ 
Richland Township, Saginaw County. His flouring 
mills are 30 x So feet, with three stories and base- 
ment. The wing is 22 x 40 feet in size and two 
stories high. The mills are fitted with the most 
modern style of machinery for the production of first- 
class work, and the power is supplied by six Leff- 
well turbine water wheels. The fixtures include six 
run of stones, and the cajjacity of the work^ is 125 
barrels per tlay. The flouring and saw mills were 
owned 24 years by H. L. Holcomb, of whom Mr. 
Henry purchased them in September, 1882. In De- 
ceml)er following, the saw-mill burned, entailing a 
loss of $3,000, without insurance. 

Mr. Henry was married in St. Charles, Saginaw 
County, Feb. 24, 1859, to Jane, daughter of William 
and Mary Boyst, a native of New York. Four 
children have i)een born of their marriage, two of >^ 
whom are living, — Fred Cook and Myra J. The ' 
deceased were William B. and Nellie M. Mr. Henry 
is a Republican in political sentiment, and, while re- 
siding in Saginaw County, held the positions of Town- i'y 
ship Clerk and Treasurer. '^'^ 

Physically, Mr. Henry is a fine sample of manly j 






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GRATIOT COUNTY. 




vigor and energetic effort. He has the hardihood of 
a man who has passed his years of prime and yet 
retains liis powers of strength and endurance to a 
degree that proves tlie correctness of his habits and 
course of life. Both he and his wife have reached a 
period of existence ahogether satisfying from their 
part of well-directed effort and their future, which 
holds higher and better promise than that of youth's 
fresh flush of hope and ambition. They can rest on 
the fruition of the yeai^that are gone, which assure 
the type of those to come. The portraits of Mr. and 
Mrs. Henry are to be found on pages 250 and 251. 



-J '^^S^-^^Sr^ — f- 




ak eorge Little, blacksmith, at Sickels, was 



i^ai born in the county of Franklin, and State 
'1\3 of Vermont, Jau- 5) 1^5°. and is a son of 

Peter Little, of Sweetsburg, Canada, and a na- 
tive of that county. Mr. Little received the 
advantages afforded by the common schools of 
his native country. He learned his trade in Ver- 
mont while quite a young man and has success- 
fully pursued it until the present time with the ex- 
ception of al)out two years. 

He came to St. Louis, Mich., in 1880, and after 
remaining there eight months, went to Ithaca, where 
he lived for six months. He then carr.e to Sickels, 
this county, at which [ilace he now carries on his 
trade. 

He was married June 14, 1874, to Miss Katie 
Golden, and four children have been born to their 
union, namely : Annie, Ettie, George Thomas and 
William Henry. 




\ illiam W. Palmer, farmer, section 28, 
li^iSlijg North Star Township, is a native of the 
"" 'p Empire State, and was born in Onondaga 
Rf^ County, May 27, 1823. His parents, Gilbert 
and Ann (Pitts) Palmer, were natives respect- 
ively of Green and Columbia Cos., N. Y., who 
emigrated to Lenawee Co., Mich., in 1837, settling in 
the wild woods, amongst savage animals and Indians. 
Mr. Palmer settled where he now lives in this county 



in 1854, and whe.e he at present owns 80 acres of 
good land. He has given his children 160 acres. 
He was a blacksmith by trade when a young man, 
but for many years he has been a i)rosperous 
farmer. 

July 2, 1845, Mr. Palmer married Miss Lydia M., 
daughter of Chester and Aurelia (Guthrie) Savage, 
and of their nine children five only are now living, 
viz.: Ida L., Rufus M., Frank G., Roscoe C. and 
Vere D. Ida L. married Edwin E. Palmer, and 
lives in Mecosta Co., Mich., in Fork Township; 
Rufus M. married Charlotte Henry, and lives on part 
of the homestead ; Frank G. married Llewella Husen, 
and is a prominent teacher; Roscoe C. lives in Chicago; 
and Vere D. is at home, attending school winters 
and working on the farm during the rest of the 
year. 

Mr. Palmer, the sul)ject of this biographical notice, 
was the first Treasurer of North Star Township, hold- 
ing the office five years; has also been Township 
Clerk one year. School Inspector one year, and is 
Justice of the Peace. He is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity. 



^SHJH*^ 



; ' [' f\\ ohn H. Bangs, farmer, section 11, Arcada 



Township, was born in De Kalb Co., Ind., 
.May II, 1847; and is the son of Heman 
and Almira (Chaffee) Bangs, natives of Ver- 
mont and New York. Heman Bangs removed 
from Vermont to New York; thence to Michi- 
gan; and lastly to De Kalb Co., Ind., where he was 
one of the first settlers. 

The subject of this biographical notice remained 
at home, working on the farm and attending the com- 
mon school, until he attained his majority. He then 
came to Gratiot, and kept "bachelor's hall " on 80 
acres liis father had 'purchased a few years before. 
Some months later, he returned to his native county, 
where, Jan. 21, 1869, he was married to Miss Emma 
Ue Long, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Fair) 
De Long, natives of Maryland and Virginia. Emma 
was born in Allen Co., Ind., Oct. 6, 185 t, went when 
10 years old to De Kalb Co., Ind., and there was 
reared and educated. 

Immediately after marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Bangs 
came to Gratiot and settled down on his then unim- 



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proved farm. He has now under cultivation 40 
acres, and has erected one of the best barns in the 
township. 

Mr. and Mrs. B. have a family of four, as follows : 
Cora, born Jan. 16, 1870; Stella, Sejit. i, 1S72; 
Leota, Oct. 5, 1873; Raymond, Aug. 5, 1877. Po- 
litically, Mr. Bangs is a Republican. He and wife 
are memliers of the United Brethren Church. 

— ^« 

lacob Schaub, farmer, section 28, Lafayette 
Township, is a son of George and Sophia 
(Brandan) Schaub, natives of Germany. 
They followed farming in the old country until 
1852, when they emigrated to America. They 
farmed in Lorain and Sandusky Counties, Ohio, 
until their death in the latter county in 1869. Jacob 
left home at the age of 28, and worked on a farm 
until he was married, July to, 1858, to Mary 
Rice. 

In 1876 he removed with his family to Gratiot 
County, and located on 80 acres of land on section 
28, Lafayette Township. He has improved 60 acres. 
In 1878 he built his barn, and in 1883 he erected 
a large and well-arranged dwelling-house 

Mrs. Schaub was born Oct. 13, 1840, in Sandusky 
Co., Ohio. She has brought to her iiusband 14 
children: Barney, Anthon G., Christian W., Sophia 
E., Jacob, Jane, Emma, Willie and Wilson (twins), 
George, Frank, Albert, Bertie and Alice. 

Mr. Schaub has been Moderator of his school 
district for three years. Politically he is a Democrat. 





braham L. Wight, whose Christian name 
li^^S^ was given him in honor of the martyred 



Lincoln, who took the oath of oftice and en- 
1]^ lered on the duties of Chief Magistrate of the 

Nation eight days after the birth of our sub- 
ject, is a son of Leonard Wight, who came to Eaton 
County, this State, in 1858, and settled in the town- 
ship of Benton, where Abraham was born, Feb. 24, 
1861. He lived with his parents in Benton Town- 
ship, Eaton County, until i86g, when he accom- 
panied them to Chester Townsliip, same county, and 



/ where the mother died in 1874. 




He received the advantages afforded by the com- 
mon schools of his county and followed his inclina- 
tion to learn the wagon and carpeivter business by */S» 
working for his brother, Sheldon Wight. He is now T 
engaged with his brothers S. and M. Wight, in their \^ 
planing-mill ; is present Clerk of Hamilton Town- 
ship, and a member of the I. O. O. F. 

Mr. Wight owns 40 acres of land on section 5, and 
devotes as much of his time to its improvement as is 
compatible with the faithful performance of his 
other duties. He has four brothers, — Francis, Shel- 
don, Reuben and Mason, living. His only sister 
and the eldest child of the family, died when she 
was 1 2 years of age. 

Mr. W. is yet a young man, and, possessing his 
portion of that indomitable energy characteristic of 
the young men of the county, supported by a large 
amount of ambition, is certain to succeed 



3-^>— 5- 







Jmbrose B. Angell, farmer, on section 28, 



^^' Arcada Township, is a son of William and V^' 



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Rhoda (Bonnell) Angell, natives of New York 
and Connecticut, respectively. They followed ^.y 
farming, and died in Stockbridge, Ingham Co., < 
Mich., the father Jan. 28, 1864, aged 69, and the ( 
mother June 6, 1865, aged 64. They were pioneers 
of Ingham County. 

Ambrose B. was born in Orange Co., N. Y., April 
15, 1834, and at the age of eight came with his 
parents to Wayne County, tliis State. Here he lived 
six years, working on the farm and attending school. 
When 14 years old, he moved with his parents to 
Bunkerhill Township, Ingham County, and settled on 
a farm. Two years later, he went to Jackson, and 
for two years he attended the High School in that 
city. He then attended 18 months at Albion College. 
Returning to Ingham County, he was for the ensuing 
four years engaged in teaching, in the common 
schools. Going back to his father's farm, he worked 
it, in partnership with his brother Malcolm, until the 
latter's death, in 1866. For the next seven years, he 
carried on the farm by himself Going then to Rives, 
Jackson County, he purchased 80 acres of improved 
land, and commenced farming there. 

April 9, 1877, he received a great financial set- 
i)ack in the form of a fire, that speedily reduced to 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 




ashes his residence, household goods, barns, live 
stock, grain and farm implements. His total loss 
was not less than $4,400. Shortly after this, he sold 
his farm, came to Gratiot County and purchased 160 
acres of partly improved land on section 28, Arcada 
Township, where he has since resided. He has 
cleared 60 acres, and now, of his 160 acres, iio are 
under the plow. He has commodious farm buildings. 

Nov. 24, 1864, at Waterloo, Jackson County, he 
was married to Elvira J-, a daughter of Hiram and 
Martha (McNeal) Drew, natives of New England, 
and of Irish descent. She was born at Grass Lake, 
Jackson County, Dec. 22, 1840, and lived with her 
parents in that county until her marriage. She 
attended school at Grass Lake and Leoni, and com- 
menced teaching school at the age of 16. This she 
followed till she was 22, and at 23 she was married. 

Mr. and Mrs. Angell have a family of si.x, as fol- 
lows: Mattie R., born Dec. 30, 1865, Edith E., Dec. 
8, 1866, Cora A , Dec. 3, 1867, Florence E., Feb. 2, 
1869, Edwin F., March j, 187 i, Willie C, Oct. 19, 

1875- 

Mr. and Mrs. Angell are active members of the 
Patrons of Husbandry. He has held the oftice of 
Drain Commissioner and Highway C'ommissioner. 
Politically, he votes with the Republican party. 



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W. Maxam, merchant, section 29, 
Lafayette Township, is a son of Isaac B. 
and Clarissa (Kellogg) Maxam, natives of 
V>^ New York. Mr. Maxam, Sr., followed farm- 
ing in New York State until 1849, when he 
removed to Ohio, and engaged there in farm- 
ing and stock-raising. Rollin W. was born Feb. 19, 
1851. He remained with his father until 21. He 
then worked one season manufacturing cheese. 
Coming to Michigan in the fall of 1872, he was for 
the ensuing three years manager of a cheese factory. 
He then enbarked in farming. In 1878, he came to 
this county and located on section 29, Lafayette 
Township, spending the next three years clearing his 
farm. 

Nov. 7, 1 88 1, he was appointed Postmaster of La- 
fayette post-office. Jan. i, 1S82, he engaged in 
mercantile business, which he has followed since. 



He has a general stock of dry goods, groceries, boots 
and shoes, and miscellaneous goods. He also has an 
extensive apiary, and deals in bees and honey. 

He was married in 1870, to Ida E. Bissell, daughter 
of Warren and Charlotte (Bailey) Bissell. They were 
natives of Ohio, and died the mother in Ohio, in 
1854, and the father in Kansas, in 1879. 

Mr. and Mrs. Maxam are the parents of three 
children: Arthur J., Mabel and Arno. Politically, 
Mr. Maxam is a Republican. 



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rancis M. Utter, farmer, section 33, Ar- 
jn cada Townsliip, was born in Chatham, 
'i\ Medina Co., Ohio, March 10, 1833; *"*! 

J^ is the son of Amos and Margery (Hamilton) 

vv. Utter, natives of New York State. Amos Ut- 
ter was a mechanic and farmer, of English and 
German descent, and died in Manistee Co., Mich., 
in October, 1876. 

When Francis was six years old, his father re- 
moved to Shelby Co., 111., and two years later, in 
June, 1 84 1, he came to Michigan, locating in Port- 
land, Ionia County. Here he worked on his father's 
farm and attended the common school, until he at- 
tained his majority. For the ensuing three years he 
worked at farming on shares in the summer time, and 
at lumbering in the winters. 

Jan. I, 1857, in Pine River Township, this county, 
he was united in marriage to Miss Sophia C. Roberts, 
daughter of Stephen and Rachel (.Stuck) Roberts, 
natives of New York. They afterwards removed to 
this State, where Sophia was born, in Pittsfield, Wash- 
tenaw Co., Mich., April 8, 1840. She was reared 
and educated in that county, and there lived and 
cared for her father's household until 17 years old, 
when she was married. 

Shortly after that event, Mr. and Mrs. Utter re- 
moved to Portland, Ionia County, where they carried 
on farming for 10 years ; thence to Dallas Township, 
Clinton County, where they were similarly engaged 
for 12 years. Mr. Utter was also extensively en- 
gaged in buying and selling real estate. In March, 
1876, they came to this county, where he purchased 
80 acres in Lafayette Township. Shortly after, he 
sold, and bought 40 acres in New Haven. Here he 

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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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257 



erected a house, and farmed for about three years. 
He then purchased 160 acres of timbered land on 
section 33, Arcada To\vnshi|), his present home, and 
coninienced to improve the same. He has 25 acres 
carefully improved, and is possessed of sufficient 
ability and experience to make in time one of the 
most successful farmers in the townshii). 

Mr. and Mrs. Utter liave had born to them four 
children, of whom three are living: Amos D., horn 
Oct. 14, i860; Francis M., Sept. 24, 1863; Ceylon 
A., April 28, 1875. Clara A. was born Oct. 6, 1857, 
and was fatally scalded by falling into a tub of hot 
water, March 17, 1861. Mr. Utter has held the of- 
fices of Director, Assessor, Inspector and Moderator 
in his school district. He is at present Moderator. 
Politically he is a Democrat. 



I 



iirSilillen Oberlin, farme:', section 23, EUia 

^^ Township, is a son of George and Esther 

(Bowman) Oberlin, natives of Pennsylvania. 

They died in 186S and 1863, respectively. 

° 'p Allen was horn Nov. 15, 1814, in Lancaster 

^y Co., Pa. Leaving his father's farm at the age 

Ts of 21, he worked by the month until he was 26, when 

j he married Mary, daughter of John and Christina 

(Baisler) VVulmoyer. They were natives of Gi^rmany, 

and emigrated to America at an early day. Mary 

AV'ulmoyer was born April 21, 1821. 

Mr. and Mrs. Oberlin moved to Stark Co , Ohio, 
and remained there a period of ten years. He then 
went to Medina County, in the same State, living 
there eight years. His next move was to Indiana, 
but three months more found him in Lansing, Mich., 
where his home was for the next eight years. He 
then located on section 23, Elba Townsiiip. At that 
time they were surrounded by a perfect wilderness, 
and the howl of the wolf and the scream of the wild- 
cat became familiar sounds to their ears. Their 
nearest neighbor in one direction was three miles 
away, in the other eight. They first entered a large 
tract of land, but, old age coming on, they have sold 
most of their land, and now live on a 20-acre place. 
They are the parents of nine children : Eliza, Rachel, 
Mary A., Esther (died Dec. 12, 1883), John, George, 
, - Christina, Malcolm and Rebecca. 
^ Mr. Oberiin is one of the most prominent citizens 



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of Elba Township, and is looked up to by his neigh- 
bors. He has held the ofiice of Highway Com- 
missioner. He is an active meml)er of the Free k^- 
Methodist Church, and has always been a supporter ] 
of the Republican party. yC 



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ll^sl; at Sickels, was born at H 
Ip^'' '^ Co., Mich., March 27, i J 



jgj, iii^jl asper O. Sickels, Postmaster and merchant 

Howell, Livingston 
849, and is a son 
of Aaron Sickels, an early settler of Wayne 
Co, Mich., but now of Walton, Grand Trav- 
\ erse County, this State. Wiien he was seven 
years old the family moved to Wyandotte, Mich., 
and two years afterward they came to Diipliin, Clin- 
ton Co., Mich., where his father was in turn a mer- 
chant, miller and farmer. 

Mr. S,, the subject of tliis sketcli, was educated in 
the common schools, and in 187 i engaged in mer- 
cantile business at Elsie, Mich., until in 1873, when 
his health failed and he resorted to agricullural em- 
ployment until 1880. In November of this year he 
purchased his present store at Sickels, where he 
keeps a full line of goods in general merchandise, 
and is doing a prosperous trade. He also owns a 
steam saw-mill in tlie iiineries of this and Saginaw 
counties. 

May 5, 1870, Mr. Sickels was married to Miss 
Mary P , daughter of Elisha Fuller (deceased), and 
the three children now comprised in their family are, 
Hatlie, Claud and Frankie. 

Mr. S. is a member of the Orders of Masonry and 
Odd Fellowship. 



§f *^^C: omer Galehouse, farmer, section 25, Elba 
J Townshii), is a son of John W. and Julia 
'"^ (VVilson) (kilehouse, natives of Ohio and 
A Massachusetts. The father was murdered, at 
T Doylestown, Ohio, in 1841; and the mother 
1 died in 1843. Homer was born in \Vayne Co., 
Ohio, March 24, 1838. Being left an orphan when 
only five years of age, he went to live with his grand- 
parents. At the age of 13, he was apprenticed to 
the saddle and harness trade, but after two and a 
half years ill health compelled him to abandon that 



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occupation. For the next few years he worked at a 
number of things, until he finally settled down as a 
farmer. 

In 1875, in the State of Indiana, he joined his for- 
tunes with Mary Pettyjohn, born April 7, 1843, in 
Stark Co., Ohio. The same year he removed to Elba 
Township, this county, finally locating on 80 acres 
of wild land on section 25. He has now comfortable 
buildings, and 60 acres of well improved land. Mr. 
and Mrs. Galehouse have a family of seven children, 
— John D., Charles E., George H., Lucette E., Frank 
Z., Sarah L. and Mary J. Mr. Galehouse is a mem- 
ber of the U. B. Church, and votes with the Repub- 
lican party. 



eorge W. Marshall, farmer, section 17, 
j^j||=s% Lafayette Township, is a son of Nathan 
l^. D. and Hannah E. (Turner) Marshall, natives 
of Ohio. They were engaged in farming in 
that State until 1865, when they came to 
Michigan. They followed farming in Clinton 
County until 1878, when tliey came to Lafayette 
Township, Gratiot County, and located on section 18, 
on tlieir present place of 60 acres. 

The subject of this sketcli was born in Geauga Co., 
Ohio, Aug. I r, 1855. He lived with his parents, at- 
tending the common schools a portion of the time, 
until he was r8 years old. He then left home to 
work on his own account. He was employed on a 
fami the first year at $i8 per month, and the second 
at $20, and also attended school occasionally until 
Jan. 12, 1882, when he was married to Ella Phelps, 
born in Livingston County, Aug. 6, 1865. She is the 
eldest daughter of James and Elizabeth (Hodges) 
Phelps, natives of New York and Canada, respect- 
ively. They came in 188 1 to this county, where Mr. 
Phelps follows his trade of blacksmith. 

Feb. 19, 1882, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall located on 
a tract of 80 acres on section 17, Lafayette Townshi|), 
where they now reside. Mr. Marshall has improved 
40 acres of his farm and erected a neat and ronimo- 
dious dwelling-house. 

In the winter of 1883-4, he t;iught the school in 
district No. 3. They are the happy parents of one 
child, Allen B, born Dec. 1, 1883. In 1882, M-r. 
Marshall was chosen School Inspector of his Town- 




,,55^__,* Township, is a son of John and Charlotte 
Ip^^ (Kenna) 



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ship for two years. He is also Pathniaster in his 
district. Politically he stands on the platforn. of 
"Anti-Monopoly." 

"^■(S'lljsruce Hunter, farmer, section 35, Elba 
J, is a son of John and Ch 
Hunter, natives of New York, 
where the former died. Bruce left home at 
the early age of 13, and went to work driving 
team on the New York water-works. Coming 
to Detroit in 1842, he worked a year as blacksmith. 
The next four years were spent in Canada. Then 
lie spent a. short time in Buffalo, N. Y., 18 months at 
Cayuga Creek, Niagara County, and two years in 
Erie Co., N. Y. Coming to Michigan in 1856, he 
spent 18 montlis in Jackson County, and then located 
in Elba Township, this county. He worked two years 
in Elsie, then returned and sold his Elba farm, then 
went to Elsie once more. He finally purchased 40 
acres on section 35, Elba Township, where he now 
resides. 

In 1853 he was married to Miranda, daughter of 
Ralph and Margaret Sutphin. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter 
have a family of six children: William H., Frank, 
Fred, tieorge, Eva and Florence. In jwlitics Mr. 
Hunter is a Republican. He has been Justice of the 
Peace, and has been a school officer for eight years. 

^[(g!^^,orace Spear, farmer, section 35, Lafayette 
,_. Township, is a son of Calvin and Charlotte 
(Stone) Spear, natives of Vermont and Can- 
ada, respectively, and was born Feb. 23, 1832. 
At the age of 17, he left home, and began to 
care for himself. In 1849, he came to Sanilac 
Mich., where he remained a short time. He 
then went to St. Clair Co., Mich., after a year return- 
ing to Sanilac County. Thence he removed to Ionia 
County, in 1863. His next move after a number of 
years, was to Lawrence Co., Tenn., where he re- 
mained one year, and then, returning to Michigan, 
settled in Gratiot County, in the year 1878. He first 
located on section 28, Emerson Township, and then, 
after three years, removed to his present residence, on 
section 35, Lafayette Township. 




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In his 22d year, he was married to Mary A, West- 
ervelt, who was born in Canada, Jan. 15, 1838. She 
was the daughter of Garrett and Lucinda (Pollard) 
Westervelt, natives of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Spear 
are the parents of six children : Delila J., Minerva, 
William A., Ida L., John A. and Alfred H. 

Mr. Spear held the office of Highway Commis- 
sioner, in St. Clair County, one year, and he lias also 
held various school offices. He and Mrs. Spear be- 
long to the Free Methodist Church, in which they 
are active v.-orkers. Mr. Spear has a license as a 
local preacher of the gospel, and occasionally leads 
services for his denomination. 




acob J. MuflBy, farmer, section 9, Hamilton 
jII^HIM' Township, was born in Stark Co., Ohio, 
Sl(«£^^ Nov. 6, 1837. He is a son of Jolin Mutfly, 
of this Township, who brought his family to 
this County in 1S55 and settled on the above 
named section and where he and our subject 
n^jw live. They settled in the woods and were sub- 
jected to all the trials encountered by the early jiio- 
neer settlers of the county. Wild animals predomi- 
nated in abundance and, "although they were con- 
sidered a necessity to su[)ply the craving a|)petites of 
hungry, ambitious and energetic individuals," the 
howling of the wolves, the crying of the panther and 
wild-cat were no pleasant sounds to listen to, and 
grated harshly on the ear, at least of the feminine 
portion of the household- 

When the shot which started a nation fiom its 
peaceful sleep of years, was thundered from rebel 
guns upon Fort Sumter, and our martyred President 
called for loyal hearts to battle for the perpetuity of 
the " Flag of our Fathers " and the preservation of 
our nation's honor, the heart of our subject beat in 
unison with the cause and he enlisted in Co. F, 29th 
Mich. Vol. Inf. He was in the battles of Decatur, 
Murfreesboro and others, and was honorably dis- 
charged Sept. 6, 1865. 

Mr. Muffly was married Aug. 2, 1866, to Miss 
Mary, daughter of Zoroaster Moss, deceased, and five 
children have been born to their union, four of whom, 
John L., Birdsey A., Charles H. and Annie are liv- 
ing. Mrs. M. was born in Waterloo, Jackson Co., 



Mich., in 1847, and is a cousin to ex. -Gov. Blair, of 
this State. Mr. and Mrs. M. are both members of 
the Methodist Episcopal ("huich. They have a fine 
farm of 80 acres, on which they are at present living 
and pleasure and happiness surround the family 
hearthstone. 



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^tOrace S. Taylor, farmer, section 20, Area- 
da Township, was liorn in St. Lawrence Co., 
N. Y., Feb. 7, 1818; and is the son of James 
and Tabitha (Borland) Taylor. James Taylor 
was born in Orange Co., N. Y., of Irish and 
English descent, and was by occupation a 
farmer. He died in Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of 
87. His wife died in Litchfield, Medina Co., Ohio, 
also at an advanced age. 

The subject of this sketch remained witii his father 
on the farm and attended school, first the common 
schools, and then the Gouverneur Academy of St. 
Lawrence County, and taught until 23 years old. 
He commenced teaching at the age of 21, and fol- 
lowed that for three years. He then removed to 
Medina Co., Ohio, where he farmed and taught select 
school initil 1854. He then became a railroad con- 
tractor, and after a time became connected with a 
saw-mill. In the spring of 1867 he came to this 
State and county, and purchased 120 acres of partly 
improved land on section 20, Arcada Township, and 
devoted himself to farming. He has made rapid im- 
provements, has erected new l)arns, and now has 
about one-half his farm in a state of high cultivation. 
Thougli becoming advanced in years, he is a progress- 
ive farmer, and actively devoted to building up his 
township. He takes an especial interest in all things 
pertaining to schools and in all benevolent and econ- 
omic projects. 

Oct. 5, 1852, at Penfield, Lorain Co., Ohio, he was 
united in marriage to Maria, daughter of Orrin and 
Abigail (Hickok) Starr, natives of New York, and of 
English descent. The Starrs have an interesting and 
valuable genealogical record, which traces the family 
back to Dr. Comfort S'.arr, of Kent, England, 1635. 
The book is a (piarto, and contains 579 pages. Maria 
Starr was born in Harpersfield, Delaware Co., N. Y. 
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have had a family of three, 



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two of whom survive, as follows:. James L., born 
Jan. 19, 1856; Abbie E., born July 29, 1867; Emma 
S., born Sept. 8, 1857, and died May 18, 1870. Mr. 
Taylor is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge at Me- 
dina, Ohio. He is highly esteemed by all his num- 
erous friends, and has been often asked to liold of- 
fice. He has been for some time Superintendent of 
Schools. In political sentiment, he is an ardent and 
influential Greenbacker, and uncompromisingly op- 
posed to any and all monopolies. In 1880, he was 
unanimously nominated for Representative, by his 
party, — a high compliment to Mr. Taylor's ability and 
popularity. 



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l\ obert Gladson, farmer and stock-raiser, 
section 17, North Star Township, was born 
i>iK(^ in Oakland Co., Mich., June 5, 1844, and 
f \v^ is a son of John Gladson, deceased, a native 
of England, who moved with his family to 
Clinton Co., this State, in 1854, and a few 
years afterward to this county. Mr. Ruliert Glad- 
son was a soldier in the late war for iS months, being 
a member of Co. I, 27th Mich. Vol. Inf., and taking 
part in the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsyl- 
vania. In the latter engagement he was wounded in 
the right shoulder. He was married June 26, 1 870, to 
Miss Amanda J., daughter of John Garver (dec), 
and they have five children, as follows: William N., 
Ralph E., Ellen M., Altha E. and Edith S. 

Mr. G. is a Republican, and has been Constable 
two years, and held other offices. He is a member 
of the Grand Army of the Republic. 



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homas Derry, farmer, section 3, Hamilton 
Township, is a son of Thomas and Mary A. 
^ (Johnson) Derry, natives of England, where 
''^d* Thomas, Jr., was born, in (Cambridgeshire, Jan. 
0, 1832. 
Mr. Derry received the advantages of a select- 
school education in his native country, and emigrated 
to the United States, with his parents, in 1854, settling 
in Wayne Co., N. Y. 

In 1866, Mr. Derry left the parental home, and, 
following the inclination of his ambitious disposition 




to better his financial condition in life, came to this 
State, arriving in this county in January of that year, 
and has resided here ever since. He settled in the 
woods, and had but two acres of land cleared on 
wliich to raise a sufficiency to sustain himself and 
family; yet, being endowed with that spirit ot push, 
pluck and energy so necessary to success, he met 
and successfully conquered all difficulties. 

Mr. Derry was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
A., daughter of John Swails, deceased. Mrs. D. 
was born and brought up on the banks of Lake 
Ontario, on the identical farm on which the British 
troops landed during the war of 1812. 

Mr. and Mrs. D. are the parents of nine children, 
namely : Albert, Herbert A., Frank, Emma, Agnes 
M., Willis, Lewis, Annie and Frederick. Albert 
married Miss Mary Williams, and one son. Earl, has 
been born to them. Emma married a brother of 
Miss Williams, and to them has been born a son, 
named Geoige William. 

Mr. Derry owns 44}^ acres of land, which is under 
the best of cultivation, with a large barn and com- 
modious residence. He is a member of the Pres- 
byterian Church, of which denomination Mrs. D. has 
been a member since she was 16 years of age. 

Herbert A. Derry, son of our subject, is one of the 
enterprising business men of tiie township, and is 
engaged in lumbering. 

Mr. and Mrs. D. made a visit to the old homestead 
in Wayne Co., N. Y., in 1883, and spent a pleasant 
vacation among tlieir relatives and friends. 



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f^y^) eorge B. Andrus, hotel-keeper, Brecken- f ^ 
jH^M^ ridge village, Wheeler Township, was born 
yMf ^ in Batavia, N. Y., March 28, 1827; and 
X was the son of James and Hannah (Dodge) 

% Andrus, natives of New York. Mr. Andrus, 

f • 

' Sr., was engaged in fannnig and running a 

saw-mill in New| York until 1856, when he came to ^ 
Michigan. Mrs. Andrus died in 1857, and Mr. An- 
drus in 1S60, both in Kalamazoo County. 

The subject of this sketch remained at home until 
he was 21, when he commenced to care for himself 
He worked on a farm and in saw-mills until he was 
26 years old, and then married Elizabeth, daughter ^ 






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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






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of William and Mary A. (Vandorn) Young. She 
died in April, 1862, leaving two sons, — Auburt and 
Lewis. Mr. Andrus was again married, to Mary P. 
Doty, the widow of Benjamin Doty. She was born 
Dec. 25, 1 84 1, the daughter of William M. and Annis 
Russell, natives of New York and Pennsylvania. 
They came to Pompei, this county, in April, 1876, 
where he kept a hotel one year. He pursued the 
same calling one year at Ithaca, and then removed 
to Breckenridge, where he is still in the hotel busi- 
ness. Mr. Andrus has four children by his second 
marriage : Jewett E., Minnie, James A. and Kittie 
A. In politics he is a Republican. 






lias Sower, physician, clergyman and far- 
^ll^^iS '11'^'') section i. North Star Township, is a 
v&f''' native of York Co., Pa., where he was born 
.\pril 5, 1810. He is a son of Henry Sower, 
deceased, a native of Frederick Co., Md. ; the 
latter was a son of John Sower, who came from 
Germany many years ago and settled in Maryland. 
The father of our subject was a soldier in the war of 
1S12, and moved his family from Maryland to Centre 
Co., Pa., in 1815. Here the son attended the com- 
mon schools, assisted on the farm and grew to man- 
hood. In 1835 Mr. Sower moved to Holmes Co., 
Ohio, where he remained for one year and then went 
to Seneca County, same State. He remained here for 
four years, until 1840, when he went to Richland 
County, and after remaining there ten years engaged 
in various occupations, he returned to Seneca County. 
He remained there until 1854, when he came to this 
lounty and entered 320 acres of Goverment land 
on which he is now residing. His trials were similar 
to those of Michigan's pioneer settlers, and he ener- 
getically met them, with all the determination of an 
individual whose great ambition was to succeed in 
life, and conquered them. 

He arrived in this county, after having entered 
nis land at the Land Office on Oct. 6, 1854, in the 
afternoon of the 9th of December, the same year. 
Eight inches of snow was on the ground and he and 




I. 



his family slept in their wagon for an entire week \,;f 
l)efore the customary " log cabin " was erected. At '<' 
last the round log shanty was completed, 14 x 20, 
and he and his fimily moved into their " palace." 
He began to choii, roll and burn the logs and cleared 
a small patch on which to raise a crop, and success- 
fully continued his labor until want was driven 
from the door, and plenty entered, and, taking her 
seat by the side of comfort and happmess looked 
back upon the past with satisfaction and content. 

The Doctor read medicine for a number of years 
before coming to this State, not with the intention of 
practicing but more for his own edification, yet his 
knowledge of medicine soon became known to his 
neighbors and the indisposed would not accept No for 
an answer in response to their earnest request to call 
and administer to their ailments. He therefore en- 
tered on the practice through no desire on hi; part, 
and yet, after following the same for a few years, he 
became so infatuated with the profession he has con- 
tinued it ever since. He had nothing to feed his 
horses when he first came here and was compelled 
to sell them, and forfouryears followed the profession 
by walking to his patients. He was what might be 
called "the father of the neighborhood." He ad- 
ministered to their wants; cured their diseases, made 
their coffins, preached their funerals and placed the 
dirt upon their graves. 

Mr. Sower was married May i, 1832, to Margaret 
Bitner, who died Aug. r, 185 i. They had ten chil- 
dren, eight of whom are living, namely: Susan, 
Lydia, John H., Catherine, Daniel, Lovina, William 
and Samuel. One daughter, Mary J., after reaching 
womanhood and marrying, died from the effects of a 
sun-stroke, leaving the children to the care of the 
husband. Mr. S. was again married, June 8, 1854, 
to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of John Klingomon,and 
four children have been born to their union, two of 
whom, Sarah E. and Almira, are living; one son, 
David E., twin brother to Sarah, died in his 20th 
year, and another in infancy. 

Dr. Sower was licensed as an exhorterin 1840, and 
July 27, 1843, was licensed to preach the gospel 
from a Methodist standpoint. Aug. 28, 1853, he 
was ordained Deacon by Bishop T. A. Morris, of Mt. 
Vernon, and received the Elder's ordination at the 
hands of Bishop Scott at Grand Rapids, Oct. 5, 
1862. He and his wife are both members of the 












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Church and the Doctor has beea an active member 
for 54 years. 

Dr. Sower's life-long friends will prize this work 
more highly for the portrait of the pioneer, which is 
given on a preceding page. 



parley S. Evitts, farmer, section 2,2, North 
_ Star Township, is a native of Trumbull 
^" Co., Ohio, where he was born Jan. 10, 1834, 




and is a son of Bela Evitts (deceased), a native 
of Connecticut. He was brought upon a farm, 
receiving his education in the common school. 
When only four years old his parents emigrated, with 
the family, to this county, settling, in June, 1854, in 
North Star Township, where he has since made it 
his home. He was a pioneer, witnessing all the 
features of a frontier life and having his share of their 
experiences. Deer, wolves and bears were plentiful 
when he settled here. He now owns 80 acres of fine 
farming land, where he humbly wins from the soil 
his livelihood. 

Mr. Evitts was married Feb. 28, 1861, to Miss 
Margaret Bartrim, a native of Ireland who was 
brought to this country when six years of age. Her 
father was Thomas Bartrim, now deceased, who set- 
tled first in Pennsylvania, then, in 1849, in Ohio, and 
finally, in 1854, in this county. Mr. and Mrs. E. 
have five children, viz. : John L., Alva H., Clara 
M., George B. and Mary E., — all at home. 




Jlf esse Pepple, farmer, section 17, Emerson 
^[^ Township, was born in Hancock c!o., Ohio, 
5^'^*^ Dec. 15, 1842; and was the son of Jesse 
and Mary (Tipple) Pepple, natives of Pennsyl- 
^r vania and Ohio, and of Pennsylvania German 
( descent. The former died in Michigan in 
1869, and the latter in Ohio in 1857. Tesse, junior, 
passed his youth in working on his fathers farm 
summers and attending school winters. At the age 
of 20 he apprenticed himself to a [Jump-maker at 
Findlay, Ohio. Serving out his term, he formed a 
partnership with his employer, and remained in that 
business until September, 1867. He then came to 
Michigan, and purchased 40 acres of unbroken for- 




est land, erecting the log house so familiar to pio- 
neers. He has since added 40 acres to his farm by 
purchase, and has improved 43 acres of the whole. 
He has a good residence and farm buildings. For 
five years, he also followed pump-making, in connec- 
tion with farming. 

He was married, .'Vug. 11, 1864, at Findlay, Ohio, 
to Susan Beard, daughter of Adam and Delight 
(Smith) Beard, natives of New England. They are 
farmers, and live in Hancock Co., Ohio, where their 
daughter was born, Oct. 12, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. 
Pepple have had two children, but both died in in- 
fancy. 

Mr. Pepple is a member of Emerson Center 
Lodge, No. 375, I. O. O. F. He is an enterprising 
farmer, and poi)ular in his township. He held the 
office of Highway Commissioner for a period of 10 
years, and that of School Director for nine years. 
In 1880, he was chosen Supervisor of Emerson 
Township. He held that office two years, and in 
1883 was again elected. Politically, he is a staunch 
Republican. 



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f Jl'M^h arks Allen, farmer, section 29, Emerson ^ 
IJ Eai l; Township, was born in Delaware Co., N. ^,' 
J'lIsS* Y., July 13, 1836 ; and is tlie son of Isaiah 



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y5 J and Elsie (Peck) .'\llen, natives of New York, 
VR^ and of Yankee and German descent. His 
father came to Michigan when about 50 years 
old, and located in Emerson Township, where he 
died, at the age of 64, and his wife, at the age of 
58. Parks Allen left his native county when quite 
young, and went with his parents to Seneca Co., N. 
Y., then seven years later to Steuben Co., N. Y. He 
worked on his father's farm, and attended the district 
schools as much as he could, until the fall of 1854, 
when he emigrated to Michigan with his parents, and 
helped to make a home on i6oacresof heavy timber 
land in Emerson Township. They were the third 
family to settle in Emerson, and the first to sow 
wheat. They sowed five acres, and from that stumpy 
field gatliered 40 bushels per acre. 

Oct. 22, 1 86 1, the subject of this sketch was mar- 
ried, in Emerson Township, to Minerva, daughter of 
Kalph and Jane (Terry) Bellows, natives of New 
York and Michigan, respectively. She was born in 



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Genesee Co., Mich., Oct. 22, 1843. She afterwards 
lived in Calhoun and Eaton Counties, and at the 
age of 18 had made such progress in her education 
that she was quah'fied to teach in the common schools. 
She engaged in teaching in this county, and con- 
tinued at it until her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Allen settled on So acres of the old 
homestead on section 19, Emerson Township, and 
resided there until the spring of 1882, when they 
moved into their magnificent residence on section 29. 
This dwelling was planned and built by the owner, 
and does credit to his taste. They have been the 
parents of seven children, of whom five are living: 
Ella J., born April 8, 1863; Ernest R., April 10, 
1867; Percy C, Jan. 21, 1877; J. Alton, Feb. 17, 
1879; Blanche G., Jan. 21, 1883. Ray P. was born 
Feb. I, 1873, and died May 5, 1874; Pearl was born 
June 7, 1876, and died July 13, the same year. 

Mr. Allen now has 240 acres in his farm, with 170 
acres under high cultivation. His place is one of 
the model farms in the county. He is personally 
popular, and has held the office of Assessor for six 
years. In politics he is a iiljeral Republican. 



oseph Scudder, farmer, . section 18, Lafay- 
j" ette Township, is a son of Embree and 
''' Rebecca (Every) Scudder, natives of New 
York. They were engaged in farming in that 
State until the year 1835, when they came to 
Lenawee County, this State, and located on So 
acres. They afterwards removed to Ingham County, 
where Mr, Scudder died June 11, 1861, and where 
Mrs. Scudder still resides. Joseph was born .'\pril 
13, 1 83 1, in the State of New York. At the age of 
21 he began farming on his own account, and mar- 
ried Mahala Every, who was born in New York, the 
daughter of Abram and Charlotte Every, also natives 
of New York. In 1853 he removed to Ingham 
County, this State. Mrs. Scudder died in 186 1, and 
in 1863 he married Elizabeth Every. In 1879 he 
came to (iratiot County, and [jurchased 100 acres of 
land. He has improved 54 acres of this. 

While in Ingham County Mr. Scudder held all the 
township offices at different times, except that of 
Clerk. He was Supervisor for six years. In Lafay- 
ette Township he enjoys the respect and confidence 
of all who know him. He is a memlierof the Ma- 
sonic Order, and affiliates with the National party. 




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rederiek Homister, farmer, section to, 
ISIC Nortli Star Township, was born in Meek- 
ly " ^ lenburg, Germany, Oct. 15, 1834. He is a 
i'' son of Christian Homister, native of the same 
^jk^ country in which the son was born, and who, 
i with liis wife and two children, emigrated to 
America and located ten miles west of London, Can- 
ada, in 1855. 

In 1857 the family moved on a faun, in the neigh- 
borhood of their first location, and here Frederick as- 
sisted his father and attended the common schools 
until 1S66, when he came to Wyandotte, this State, 
and remained 18 months, occupied in hauling the 
rock to pave Michigan avenue, and then returned 
to Canada. In 1876 he returned to this State and 
located in this County, and has constantly resided 
here ever since. On his return, he brought a steam 
saw-mill with him, erected it on his farm and oper- 
ated it continually until the present time. It has a 
35-horse-power engine, with boiler 12x4 feet and 
containing 10 six-inch flues, and does excellent work. 
Wx. Homister was married Dec. 24, 1856, to Miss 
Mary L., daughter of James iiirner, deceased, and 
12 children have been born to their union, namely: 
Emma (Goodhall) Charles, John W., Rosa (White), 
Sarah A. M., Minnie E. C, Frederick L., Frank W., 
Mary E. L., James H., Nelly A. and Hattie V. 

The father of Mrs. H. died in the fall of 1862; 
her mother is still living, with the son, at an ad- 
vanced age. 

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y!ilfesr|lf"oshua M. Davidson, farmer, section 25, 
'll^^y Elba Township, is a son of John L. and 
Y^^ Mary R. (Merritt) Davidson, natives of 
Ohio. Mr. Davidson, Sr., was a farmer by oc- 
cupation, and died in Ohio, March 12, 1873. 
Mrs. Davidson came to Gratiot County the 
same year. The son was born April 23, 1837. At 
the age of 20 he began to work at the shoemaker's 
trade, which he followed for 15 years. At the age 
of 25 he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Bell, 
daughter of John and Marilda (Mead) Bell. Mr. 
Bell was engaged a portion ol his life as a minister 

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of the gospel, and a portion in the tannery business. 
He died in 1S7S. Mrs. Bell died in 1867. They 
were both natives of Ohio, born in Richland and 
Huron Counties, respectively. Mr. Davidson came 
to Gratiot County in 1880, and located on a tract of 
40 acres, 18 of which are now well imiiroved Mr. 
and Mrs. Davidson are the parents of four children, 
— Rosa B., Mary V.,- Allena L. and Minta M. 

Mr. Davidson enlisted in Co. C, 65th Ohio Vol. 
Inf., Oct. 12, 1 86 1. After his muster in, he went 
with his command to Louisville, Ky., arriving in De- 
cember, and was assigned to Gen. Wood's connnand. 
Losing his health and becoming unfit for duty, he was 
discharged, Aug. 6, 1862. He was sent to Camp 
Chase, Ohio, and thence went to his home in Huron 
County. He is a member of the G. A. R., and of 
the L O. O. F. Politically he is a Republican. Mrs. 
Davidson is an active member of the M. E. Church. 



Llbro Curtiss, farmer on section 12, Emer- 
5-7^iBcJ^ son Township, was born in Wyoming Co., 
1^^ N. Y., Oct. 17, 1839; and is a son of Wat- 
erman F. and Sylvia (Cronkhite) Curtiss. The 
former was a native of Massachusetts and of 
English descent. He followed farming in the 
State of New York until 1859, and then came to 
Ionia Co., Mich., where he died, six miles from the 
city of Ionia, Aug. 2, 1861, at the age of 55. Mrs. 
Curtiss, the daughter of Jacob and Basheba (Surdam) 
Cronkhite, was born in Otsego Co., N. Y., Nov. 1 8, 
1806. When 10 years old she came with her parents 
to the " Holland purchase," and lived and was edu- 
cated in what is now Wyoming Co., N. Y., where she 
was also married. At the age of 77, and in compar- 
atively good health, she now lives in Emerson Town- 
ship with her children. 

The subject of this sketch passed his youth in at- 
tending school and working on his father's farm. In 
February, 1862, he came with Iiis mother to this 
county, and entered 80 acres of land in Emerson 
Township. He has since added 120 acres; and of 
his whole farm, 140 are well improved. In place of 
the dense forest, he has now a fine farm, and very 
large and convenient farm buildings, his dwelling 
alone costing $2,000. Before making these improve- 
ments, however, he spent nearly two years in tiie ser- 




vice of his country. He enlisted in Co. A, 8th Mich. 
Vet. Vol. Inf, Dec. 29, 1863, and served under Col. 
Ely, in the Army of the Potomac. He participated 
in all the battles of that army during the campaign 
of 1864-5. At the battle of the Wilderness, June 
6, he was wounded in the right arm by a ball ; and 
at Petersburg he was struck by two spent balls, one 
entering the foot, and the other between the shoul- 
ders. He was discharged at Detroit, Aug. 14, 1865, 
after an honorable service. 

He was united in marriage, June 29, 1876, at St. 
Louis, to Lucy L. Woodward, daughter of Allen and 
Almira (Lewis) Woodward, natives of New York. 
Mr. Woodward enlisted in a New York regiment in 
1862, and served till the close of the war. Lucy was 
born in Erie Co., N. Y., Sept. 20, 1857, and came 
with her parents when three years old to Washtenaw 
Co., Mich. One year later her mother died, and her 
father returned to Erie County. After four years 
they came to Ionia County, and then, in the spring 
of 1873, he came to Gratiot County and located on a 
farm of 40 acres. 

Mr. and Mrs. Curtiss have two children: Blanche 
A., born April 11, 1877 ; and Roy W., born March 5, 
1882. They are members of the Baptist Church. 
He has held several school offices in his district, and 
votes with the Republican party. 




eonard H. Randall, farmer, section S, 
Lafayette Township, is the son of Isaac R. 
and Mary (Webster) Randall. They were 
natives of Vermont, where they followed farm- 
ing until 1839. Mr. Randall died in Vermont 
and Mrs. Randall died in Washtenaw County, 
this State, in 1849. Leonard H. was born March 4, 
1834. He left home when 15, and worked by the 
month until June 9, 1857, when he married Emily 
J. Burgin. She was born June 9, 1841, and was the 
second daughter of Ebenezer H. and Sophronia C. 
(Keneson) Burgin, natives of Vermont. 

When Mr. Randall first located here, he entered 
80 acres, but he has since added 80 acres to that. 
Of his 160 acres, 60 are now well improved. In 
1875, he built his neat dwelling-house and his large 
barn. 

Mr. and Mrs. Randall are the parents of seven 



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children : George W., Eugene A., Fred A., Hattie A., 
Mary S. (died March 7, 1869), Eddie C. and Minnie 
S. Mr. Randall has been Highway Commissioner 
in his township, and has been Pathmaster for a 
number of years. He is a National, in politics. He 
and wife are consistent members of the Baptist 
Church. 




3 illiam Kipp, druggist, BreckL-nridge village, 
jja Wheeler Township, is a son of John and 



Elizabeth A. (Leamon) KipiJ, natives of 
^ Dutchess Co., N. Y., and Frederick Co., Md. 
' Mr. Kipp, Sr., was by occupation a farmer, 
and came to Michigan in 1S61. He first located 
in Genesee County, afterwards coming to Gratiot 
County, locating in Pine River Township. William 
Kipp was born March 4, 1846, in Frederick Co., Md., 
and came with his parents to Michigan. At the age 
of 16, he commenced teaching school, having received 
his own education at home. In 1877, he engaged in 
mercantile life, in Breckenridge, now keeping a full 
line of drugs and groceries. 

Feb. 13, 1870, he was united in the bonds of 
matrimony to Sarah M. Swawze. They have now a 
family of four children: Edith A., George, Charlie J. 
and Albert S. Mr. Kipp is an enterprising man, and 
well liked by all who know him. He was elected 
School Inspector in 1883, for a term of two years. 
Politically he is a Republican. 



heron L. Knapp, farmer on section 14, Ar 
cada Township, was born in Geneva, Ash- 
^ tabula Co., Ohio, Aug. 25, 1853, and is a 
^\^ son of Lucius C. and Mary (Searles) Knapp. 
Lucius Knapp is now a resident of Live Oak, 
Fla., and his occupation in life has been car- 
pentry. His wife died in Arcada Township, this 
county, Sept. 17, 1858. 

When the subject of this narrative was nine months 
old his father took him to the State of Pennsylvania, 
afterwards moving to this State and county, where 
he settled on section 25, Arcada Township, in 1854. 
They were one of the very first families to locate in 
Arcada. After the death of his mother, Theron 




was taken by his father to New York State, where he 



lived with an uncle until 10 years old. He then re- 
turned to his father in Michigan. Two years later 
the latter moved to St. Louis, where Theron lived 
with his fatlier until 21 years of age, and where he 
was educated, in the graded schools. 

At the age of 22 he engaged for two years with |. 
R. Livingston in the capacity of salesman for his 
pumps. He then began to cultivate the farm of 92 
acres on section 14, Arcada Township, which had 
been willed to him by his mother in October, 1857. 
When he began, the land was all wild and covered 
with timber. He now has 45 acres in good condition 
for tilling, and good farm buildings. He has con- 
siderable stock on his place and on the uncleared 
portion of his farm is some valuable timber. 

Oct. 23, 1880, he was married, at St. Louis, to Miss 
Elizabeth Fry, of German descent. She was born in 
Green Co., Penn., Aug. 11, 1855, and came to Mich- 
igan, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp have one son, Al- 
bert, born June 15, 1882. Mr. K. is in politics a 
supporter of the National party. He has been Over- 
seer of Highways, and is now School Director. Mrs. 
K. is a member of the Christian Church. 



ohn H. Durkee, farmer, section 11, Arcada 
Township, was born in Rutland Co., Vt , 
Feb 21, 1820, and is the son of P^lias S. 
and Betsy (Sweet) Durkee, natives of New York, 
and of English andGerman e.vtraction. They 
followed farming, and lived most of their lives 
in New York. 

John's father dying in 1827, he was early left to 
himself in learning the ways of the cold world, iieing 
the oldest of the children. He lived for four years 
with a gentleman in the neighborhood, and then 
returned home, working at various things for a time. 
He then once more worked for a neighbor of his 
mother's, and his time was thus spent, on a farm in 
summer and in the mills in winter, until his marriage. 
Feb. 20, 1840, in Orleans Co., N. Y., he formed a 
life partnership with Jeannette, daughter of Peter and 
Sarah Helms, natives of Germany. She was born in 
New York State, Dec. 17, 1819, and died April 25, 
1853, having been married 13 years, and leaving to 
Mr. Durkee four children, none of whom are now 
living. He was again married in Lenawee Co., 



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Mich., July 26, 1857,10 Mrs. Pliilena (Nevins) Mont- 
gomery, daughter of Nathan and Martha (Smith) 
Nevins, natives of New York State. She was born 
in the vicinity of Buffalo, in that State, March 17, 
1832. She lived with her parents until her first 
marriage, and by this she has one daughter: Lillie, 
born Sept. 21, 1855. 

Mr. and Mrs. Durkee lived in Lenawee County 
until the spring of 1883, when they came to Gratiot, 
and purchased 80 acres. They have during their 
brief residence here won hosts of friends, and are 
esteemed as worthy citizens and kind neighbors. 
They have haU four children, two of whom are 
living: Anna, born Dec. 24, 1867, Fred, born Nov. 
21,1871, Clara A., born March 15, 1859, and died 
Sept. 20, 1882, Ida M., born Oct. 11, 1863, and died 
April 22, 1865. 

They are members of the M. E. Church. Politically, 
Mr. Durkee is a Republican. 





leremiah Dancer, farmer, section 21, 
r Wheeler Township, was born in Jackson, 
Mich , July 16, 1849, and is a son of John 
and Jane (Powell) Dancer, natives of Steuben 
Co., N. Y. They were farmers, and came to 
Livingston Co., Mich., in 1S43. They after- 
wards removed to Jackson County, where Mr. Dancer 
died, in 1867. Mrs. Dancer is still living, in Wash- 
tenaw County, having married Nor. H. Newton, in 
1875. Jeremiah left his home in 1873, and engaged 
in farming, which he has followed ever since. In 
the springof 1877, he came to Cratiot County, locat- 
ing on 80 acres, on section 10, Wheeler Township. 
Here he lived three years. Returning to Jackson 
County, he farmed there for one year, then sold his 
farm, and came once more to this county, settling on 
40 acres on section 34. 

He was married, Nov. 6, 1877,10 Harriet, daughter 
of Wm. R. and Cornelia (Vedder) Bradford, natives 
of Jackson Co., Mich., and of New York, respectively. 
Mr. Bradford is a farmer by occupation, and came to 
Gratiot County in 1870. He settled on 160 acres on 
section 17, but has sold all but 40 acres. Mr. and 



Mrs. Dancer are the parents of two children : Freddie 
and Florence. 

In politics, Mr. Dancer is a Republican. 




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fames Turner, farmer, section 10, North 
^^H ^' Star Township, and one of the early set- 
^^ tiers of the township, and whose success 



^.^ is attributable to his own indomitable energy, 
]C was born in Mecklenberg, Germany, June 4, 
1849. He is a son of Joseph Turner, deceased, 
who emigrated to America with his family in 1859, 
locating in Canada, where they remained until i860, 
when they moved to this State, and settled in Lyons, 
Ionia County. In 1864 they moved to this county, 
and a year afterward, in 1865, the father died. 

Mr. Turner can look back with pride at his victory 
over difficulty and adversity. He encountered in- 
numerable trials in the establishing of his home in 
the woods, a half mile from any road, and in clear- 
ing his land and during the time procuring the nec- 
essaries of life, yet triumphed over all. He now 
owns a farm of 120 acres all under fence, and 75 
acres cleared and under cultivation. His residence is 
a two-story brick, with main building 18 x 26 and 
wing 17 X 24 feet, and, when compared with the "log 
cabin " in which he formerly lived, is certainly an 
emblem of perseverance and energy. His barn, 40 
X 62 feet, with 20-foot posts, stands as a monument of 
the work of his own hands, and is another link in 
the chain of prosperity indicative of his past labors. 
Mr. Turner was married Oct. 26, 1876, to Nancy 
E., daughter of Frederick Huntley, and three chil- 
dren have been born to this >inion, two of whom are 
living, namely : Nellie May and Myrtie Belle. Mrs. 
Turner came from Canada to this county, in 1874, 
and followed the vocation of teacher and taught 
eight terms, and was recognized and acknowledged 
as a very proficient and sr.ccessful teacher. Mrs. 
Turner has a sister, Marie E., who came to this 
county a year later than herself She also taught 
school, but, as she was beginning her third term, her 
health failed her. She has now been an invalid four 
years, daring which time the farthest she has been 
from home is two and a half miles. Mrs. Turner 






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has five other sisters living, and one deceased, and 
also two brothers. 

The mother of our subject is still living, with her 
children, and has attained the advanced age of 86 
years. She is the mother of 12 children, of whom 
James is the youngest. Though she has lived to such 
an advanced age, she is active as a young lady of 
18; and even now she practices her idiosyncrasies 
by going into the field and doing the work of a man, 
and in the fall of 1882 shucked 500 bushels of corn, 
unaided by any one. She is aware it is unnecessary 
for her to do manual labor, yet she possesses the 
spirit of energy inculcated in the minds of her chil- 
dren, and cannot remain idle, and jirefers outdoor 
labor to indolence in the house or even household 
labor. 

Mrs. Turner's father died Jan. 7, 1882, in the 
township in which they reside. He was well read 
in the affairs of the day, informed in ancient and 
modern history', and respected by all who knew him. 
His widow, Mrs. Turner's mother, still resides in the 
township to which they came eight years ago. 




— ^ 



II eorge B. Burgess, farmer, section 24, 
Arcada Township, is a son of William and 
Ruth (Hathaway) Burgess, natives of Ohio 
(see sketch), and was born Sept. 8, 1856, in 
tlie house he now lives in, being probably the 
first white person born in Arcada Township. 
He was the sixth of his father's family, and was born 
about a year after the family came to this county, in 
the third log house in the township. For several 
?■% years after his birth, his parents were obliged to fol- 
low a trail to get to the nearest town, which was at 




that time Maple Rapids. It required years of close 
economy and hard work before they could, through 
the produce of their farm, obtain many of the comforts 
of life. 

Until 23 years old, George worked for his father, 
and' attended the common schools as he best could. 

March 4, 1879, he was united in marriage to 
Martha M., daughter of Daniel and Lorana (Silver- 
thorn) Tyrrell, natives of Ontario, Canada. They 
followed farming, and came in 1867 to Arcada 'I'own- 
ship, where Mr. Tyrrell died, March 2, 1872, and 
Mrs. Tyrrell, July 16, 1878. 

Martha M. was born in Ontario, Canada, Jan. 29, 




1858, and when eight years old came to this county 
with her parents, and lived on section 26, Arcada 

Township, until their death. She then lived in the 
family of William Burgess, until her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Burgess settled down on the old 
homestead, and now live in the log house built by 
his father. He now owns 40 acres on section 24. 
They have two little ones: Elnora, born Jan. 5, i88i, 
and Ruth I.., born June 5, 1882. 

In politics, he is a Republican. 



eorge W. Skinner, farmer on section 8, 
Emerson Township, was born in Morrow 
Co., Ohio, Feb. 14, 1832; and is a son of 
David and Abigail (Bewley) Skinner, natives 
of Ohio, and of English and German extrac- 
tion. They followed farming, and died, the 
father in Van Wert Co., Ohio, in 1879, aged 81 ; and 
the mother in Morrow Co., Ohio, in August, 1852, 
aged s I . 

The subject of this sketch passed his youth in at- 
tending the common schools, and in- working on his 
father's farm. When of age, he came to this State, 
and for three years was engaged in fishing in Lake 
Huron and Saginaw Bay. He then went to Livings- 
ton County, and thence to Denver, Col. For the 
next 15 months he worked in the gold mines in Cal- 
ifornia Joe Gulch, Buckskin Joe Gulch, and at the 
head waters of the Arkansas. Sept. 8, 1861, he en- 
listed in Co. C, I St Col. Cav. He served in the 
western army, and was engaged generally in skirmish- 
ing with the enemy, in Te.xas and all through the 
Southwest, in guarding the Unionists, and in keeping 
the Indians ([uiet. He escaped unhurt, and was 
honorably discharged Dec. 3, 1864. Returning to 
this State, he went first to Livingston County, and 
then to Saginaw', and in the spring of 1865 he came 
to Gratiot County, and located on 80 acres in Bethany 
Township, which he had entered in 1856. 

In that township, May i, 1866, he was united in 
marriage to Harriet A., daughter of John and Eliza 
(Knapp) Mull, natives of New York, and of New 
England parentage. She was born in Ossian, Liv 
ingston Co., N. Y., Jan. 21, 1842, and when only two 
years old she went with her parents to Trumbull Co., 
Ohio. Two years later they came to Lenawee Co., 



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Mich., where she commenced attending the public 
schools, and when she was 10 years old they moved 
again, to Ingham County, where she completed her 
education. The family came to this county in 1861. 
Six years after marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Skinner 
moved to Emerson Township, where he purchased 
80 acres. He has since sold 40 acres, and bought 
40 more on section 5. Most of his land is now 
nicely improved. He has just completed a large 
barn. 

They have two children: Frank, born April i, 
1867 ; and Jennie L., born Aug. 5, 1870. Mr. Skin- 
ner is a member of Emerson Lodge, No. 377, I. O. 
O. F., and of Moses Wisner Post, No. 101, G. A. R. 
In politics he is an earnest and influential Repub- 
lican. 




,^ illiam W. Wooley, farmer, section 34, 
^^ ' / Elba Townshipj is a son of James and 
j^^f^' Margaret (Chandler) Wooley, natives of 
I^S' New Jersey. Mr. Wooley, Sr., was a shoe- 
maker by trade, and removed to Gratiot 
County in 1855. The subject of this sketch 
was born Sept. 27, 1830. At the age of 14 he left 
home, and worked at farming and other things, until 
1862. August 1 6th of that year, in Clinton County, 
he was married to Mary M. Dodge. His father, 
when he came to Gratiot, located 320 acres of 
Government land on section 34, Elba Township, and 
he subsequently gave 80 acres to each of his children. 
Mr. Wooley has brought 65 acres of his farm to a 
state of good cultivation. In 1877 he erected a 
substantial barn on his place. He has also a very 
neat dwelling-hcuse. 

Mrs. Wooley was the eldest daughter of her father's 
family, and was born April 6, 1841, in the State of 
Vermont. She was the first school-teacher in Elba 
Township, and taught in District No. i. She after- 
wards taught several terms of school. Mr. and Mrs. 
Wooley are the parents of two children; Maud E. 
and Maggie D. Another child, Minnie I>.,died Aug. 
28, 1870, aged two years, three months and one day. 
Mr. Wooley enlisted in the service of the country 
during the rebellion, but was discharged for disability 
before entering the field. In civil life he has held a 
( • number of positions of honor and trust. .Soon after 
^ his township was organized, he was appointed 




Treasurer, and he was afterwards elected several 
times to the same office. He has held the office of 
Highway Commissioner, and in 1 870 he was appointed 
Sujiervisor of Elba Township to fill a vacancy. He 
has also held the office of .Assessor in School District 
No. I. Politically he is a staunch Republican. 



erry Shaver, farmer, on section 17, Emer- 
^jr son Township, was born in Delaware Co., 

-^'"^ N. Y., Nov. 19, 1822, and was a son of 
Jacob I. and Sally (Kinch) Shaver. The former 
was a native of Delaware Co., N. Y., and of 
Dutch descent. He came to this county in 
1856, locating a land warrant of 80 acres on section 
2, Emerson Township, and remained here till his 
death, July 21, 1873, at the age of 77 years and three 
months. Mrs. Sally Shaver was a native of Con- 
necticut, and of New England parentage. She was 
married to Mr. Shaver in Delaware Co., N. Y., and 
died in Emerson Township, at the age of 77 years 
and two and a half months. 

At the age of two, Jerry went with his parents to 
Seneca County, where he lived until 16, attending 
school and working on his father's farm. Thence he 
went to Steuben Co., where. May 30, 1846, he was 
married to Ursula, daughter of Richard and Cordelia 
(Reid) Sawtell, natives of New England, and of 
English descent. Richard Sawtell was a physician, 
and died in the State of New York, in 1842; Mrs. 
Sawtell died in Gratiot County, in 1865. Ursula was 
born in Chenango Co., N. Y., Sept. 27, 1826. Receiv- 
ing her education in her native county, she went to 
Steuben County in 1842. Six years after marriage, 
Mr. and Mrs. Shaver came to this State, and settled 
first in Ingham County, where they lived until the 
fall of 1856. They then came to Gratiot County, and 
located on section 17, Emerson Township, securing 
80 acres by the Graduation Act. He has since 
purchased 40 acres additional, and has 70 acres well 
improved. They came into a dense wilderness, -and 
suffered severely during the "starving time " of 1857. 

They are the parents of four children, two of wliom 
are living: Herman D., born March 2, 1848, J. Frank, 
born June 2, 1864, William, born Jan. 10, 1847, and 
died Feb. 7, 1847, Mary A., born July 21, 1850, and 
died Jan. 10, 1870. 

In politics Mr. Shaver is a liberal Democrat. 






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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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^aniel GriflFeth, farmer on section 8, Emer- 
ilL son Township, was born in ]Montgomery, 
N. Y., Jan. 9, 1820, and is a son of Dan- 
JJt|^" iel and Lois (McNeal) Griffeth, natives of 
Wales and Scotland, respectively. They were 
married in Canada, and he became a hatter by 
trade In 1814 they removed to the State of New 
York, where the mother died, in 1835. The father 
afterwards came to this State, and he died in Man- 
chester, Washtenaw County, in 1847, 63 years old. 

The subject of this sketch attended school and 
worked on a farm until 20 years old, when he set out 
alone for Michigan, and located in Marshall. He 
afterwards returned to New York for one year. In 
May, 1846, on the breaking out of the Mexican war, 
he enlisted as a private in Co. F, 8lh New York Inf., 
under Gen. Worth. He participated in three actions : 
Cherubusco, Aug. 19,1847; Molino del Rey, Sept. 
8, 1847, and the storming and capture of Mexico, 
Sept. 12, 13 and 14, 1847. He escaped unhurt in 
all these engagements, and was honorably discharged 
with the rank of Orderly Sergeant, in August, 1848, 
at Jefferson Barracks. Returning to Michigan he 
engaged in farming in Oakland County. 

Dec. 19, 1849, he was united in marriage, in Inde- 
pendence, that county, to Nancy M., daughter of 
Hiram and Betsy (Placeway) Burgess, natives of 
New York and Vermont. They came to Oakland 
Co., Mich., in 1837, and later to this county, where 
the fatherdied, April 9, 1879, at the age of 77, near 
St. Louis. Mrs. Burgess still lives, enjoying a ripe 
old age of 77, and is active and intelligent. Nancy 
M. was born in Allegany Co., N. Y., Nov. 4, 1830, 
and came with her parents to this State seven years 
later. She was educated in Oakland and Livingston 
Counties. 

Two years after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Griffeth 
removed to Wayne County, and Dec. 18, 1856, they 
came to this county and entered 80 acres in Pine 
River Township. Five years later, most of which 
time they lived in the town of St. Louis, they re- 
moved to Emerson Township and settled on 120 
acres of heavily timbered land. Surrounded by 
miles of unbroken forest, they encountered many 
hardships before they finally succeeded in making 
for themselves a comfortable home. He has added 



40 acres to his farm, and of his 160, 100 acres are 
now admirably improved and cultivated. Mr. Grif- 
feth is an intelligent farmer, and with his kind- 
hearted wife deserves this happy home. They have 
had a large family, and of their 12 children nine are 
living. Their names and the dates of their birth are 
as follows: Mary J., Oct. 8, 1852 ; James A., Jan. 3, 
1854; Emery L., Dec. 28, 1855; Ann Maria, May 
26, 1858; Isadore L., Jan. 22, 1S61; Hattie A., 
March 24, 1863; Hiram A., Sept. 26, 1865; Nancy 
M., Oct. 9, 1867 ; Florence .\., June 2, 1870. These 
three are sleeping their last sleep: Hiram Andrew, 
born Dec. 2, 1850, and died March 4, 1852; Daniel 
A., born June 25, 1873, and died July 3, 1879; and 
a baby, which died in infancy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Griffeth are active members of the 
Baptist Church, she being the first person baptized 
in Pine River. He is one of the old pioneers who 
have helped to make Gratiot what it is, and deserves 
to be remembered by posterity. He built the first 
frame house north of Pine River, and drove the first 
team from St. Louis to Midland. In politics he is 
one of the most active supporters of the National 
Greenback party. 

Mr. Griffelh's portrait is given on the opposite 
page. 



\^ ordis Smith, farmer on section 27, Pine 
I River Township, is a son of Ira and Zada 



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(Hitchcock) Smith, natives of Connecticut. 
They removed to New York State, and in 
185:; came to this State and county, locating 

I in Pine River Township. The mother is still 
living in that township. The father died there Feb. 
22, 1878, at the age of 85. They had a family of 
seven. 

The subject of this biography. Cordis, was the 
third son of the Ainiily, and was born Sept. 7, 1832. 
Starting out at the age of 20 to make his own way 
in life, he came West and spent three years in differ- 
ent States, and then returned to New York. In the 
fall of 1857, he cime to Gratiot County; and for 
nearly six years following, he was employed in the 
woods and otherwise. By several different payments, 
he bought 160 acres of land in Pine River Townshi|), 
where he now resides. He has now nearly 100 
acres well improved. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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April 19, 1864, in Pine River Township, he was 
married to Mrs. Jane M. (Badger) Rice, widow of 
Elijah B. Rice, who died Nov. 19, 1861. She was 
born in Washington Co., N. Y., April 13, 1828, and 
is the daughter of Samuel and Matilda (Freeman) 
Badger. They were natives of New York State, ;tnd 
died in Washington County, that State, March 15, 
1870, and Dec. 2, 1836, respectively. The daughter 
married Mr. Rice in New York State, and came with 
hiin to Pine River Township, this county, in October, 
1S54. Their first meal of victuals here was eaten 
in the woods, and they had to cut their own road 
from Gen. Ely's, two miles away. Mrs. Smith had 
by this first marriage one child, George T., born Sept. 
4, 1858. 

Mr. Smith stands high in his neighborhood, as a 
farmer and a citizen. He is politically a Repub- 
lican. 




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l^dward Graham, farmer, section 30, North 

Shade Township, is the son of John and 

~,j^-^ Rachel (Dean) Graham, natives of Ver- 

^Ik mont, from whence they moved to York State 

+ and located on a farm in Yates County, where 

i the mother died about 1845, and the father in 

187 I. 

The subject of our sketch was born in Yates Co., 
N. v., Aug. 20, 1828, and remained at home on the 
farm until he was 16 years of age, and then lived 
with his brother until he attained his majority. 
When 26 years of age he came to this State and lo- 
cated in Coldwater, Branch County, where he re- 
mained one year; then went to Calhoun County and 
remained there about a year, when he removed to 
Hillsdale County and engaged himself for a period of 
two years. 

Mr. Graham, at this period in his life, concluded 
to visit the famous Pike's Peak, but after making 
preparations for the journey, and having started on 
the same and reached Illinois, he abandoned the 
idea and returned to this State, locating on 40 acres 
of land on section 30, North Shade Township, this 
county, to which he has since added 20 acres. 

Mr. Graham was united in marriage to Miss Rhoda, 
daughter of Hiram and Hannah (Cornish) Chappel, 
July 4, 1853. She was born May 20, 1835, in Yates 
Co., N. Y. Mrs. Graham has not knon'n the where- 



abouts of her brother for a number of years. Her 
mother died in Chenango Co., N. Y., in 1870. 

Mr. and Mrs. G. have had two children, William 
H., born Oct. 17, 1866, and John E., born Aug. 21, 
1872. 

Politically Mr. G. is a Republican. 



-<-^^->^^>" 




uther M. Stites, farmer, section 24, North 
Shade Township, is a son of Benjamin and 
and Phebe (Nickson) Stites, natives of New 
Jersey and farmers by occupation, who settled 
in Fulton Co., Ohio, and afterward moved to 
Lenawee Co., Mich., where they yet reside. 
The subject of this sketch was born Feb. 5, 1858, 
in Fulton Co., Ohio, and was therefore but four years 
old when the family moved to Michigan. He mar- 
ried, Sept. 12, 1880, Miss Effie J., daughter of Luther 
J. and Amanda L. (Townsend) Brink, and born 
\pril 25, 1862, in Gratiot Co., Mich., being one of 
the first born in the township of North Shade. In 
political matters Mr. Stites is a Democrat. 

Mr. Brink was a soldier in the last war, being a 
member of the loth Mich. Cav. He died at Camp 
Nelson, Ky. His widow is yet living, and resides in 
Nashville, Jackson Co., Iowa. She again married, 
her present husband being Samuel Evans, of 
Hubbardston, Ionia Co., Mich. 




aron Sloan, farmer, section 22, Pine River 
Ji Township, is a son of Thomas and Basheba 



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,_ (Pitcher) Sloan, natives of Massachusetts. 

-Aj^ They first settled in New York State, where 
;|t the father died. The mother afterwards came 
I to Eaton Co., Mich., where she died. Aaron 
was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., Aug. 10, 1S15. Re- 
ceiving his education in the common schools, he 
helped his father on the farm until 20 years old, when 
he started out for himself. To aid him in the battle 
of life, he had nothing but willing hands and a lov- 
ing wife. At the age of 21, Dec. 24, 1836, in Wat- 
erloo, Seneca Co., N. Y., he had formed a life part- 
nershi[) with Caroline C, daughter of William and 
Sally (Hall) Taylor, natives respectively of New 
York State and Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor set- 

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tied ill New York, and afterwards came to Michigan ; 
and in 1879, came to Gratiot County, where he died, 
in the fall of 1880. She still survives, at the age 
of 85. 

After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Sloan removed to 
Ohio, and in 1846 they came to Eaton Co., Mich. 
Five years later, they removed to Montcalm County, 
and in February, 1854, he came with his family to 
Gratiot County. He bought 160 acres of land in 
Pine River Township, where he now resides. He 
has sold part of his farm, and divided part among 
his children, and now retains 60 acres, all of which 
is nicely improved. 

In August, 1862, he enlisted in the 26th Mich. 
Vol. Inf., and served eight months, on detached ser- 
vice. He was discharged at Detroit, on account of 
sickness. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sloan have had five children, three 
surviving: William H., Hiram L. (deceased), Almi- 
ra (deceased), Aaron F. and Rachel E. Hiram L. 
enlisted in the same regiment with his father, after- 
wards re-enlisting in the 8th Mich. Vol. Inf, and 
died at Fairfax Seminary, Va. Mr. Sloan has held 
the office of Highway Commissioner four years. In 
politics, he is a supporter of the National party. 

'(fjlfcilliam Towner, farmer, section 24, North 
liW.Wi) Shade Township, is a son of Daniel and 
J^^r~r -^^^'y (Budlong) Towner, natives of New 

S^' York State, the latter of New Lebanon. 
-A-^\ Xhe family were engaged in agricultural 
pursuits. 

The subject of this sketch was born May 19, 1805, 
in Steuben Co., N. Y. ; he lived with his parents 
until his mother's death, which occurred in 1855, in 
Livingston Co., Mich. His father died in 1864. 
William came to this county in 1853, locating on 
section 24, on a tract of 80 acres of wild land, where 
he now has 60 acres well improved, and furnished 
with a good residence, a large barn, etc. His house 
he erected in the summer of 1 880, at a cost of 
nearly $1,000. 

Mr. T. married Miss Diana, daughter of Jacob and 
Sarah (Kinney) Brink, the former a native of New 
Jersey and the latter of Connecticut. He died Sept. 
25, 1879, and she, Jan. 5, 1857, both in this county. 

^\^^^m^- ^^^ — %M>n 



Mr. and Mrs. T.'s two children have been, Herbert 
M., born in 1S47, atid Elvertes, in 1849, and died in 
April, 1863. Mrs. T. is a member of the Second- 
Advent Church, and Mr. T., in politics, is a Repub- 
lican. Herbert has charge of the farm. He married 
Miss Mary B., daughter of George and Barbara 
Franks. Their two children are, Verna F., born in 
September, 1877, and Erma V., Feb. 19, 1881. 







V&) 



Ifred J. Brooke, farmer and mechanic, sec- 
tion 30, Emerson Township, was born in 
Wayne Co., Ohio, Jan. 23, 1833; and was the 
son of John and Sarah L. (Brenholtz) Brooke, 
natives of Lycoming Co., Pa., of English and 
German descent. The father was a carpenter and 
joiner, but afterwards engaged in farming in Ohio, 
in which State he died, at the age of 57, and his wife 
at the age of 67. Alfred J. lived the first part of his 
life in Wayne and Wood Counties, in Ohio. At the 
age of 16 he was apprenticed to the blacksmith's 
trade, under his brother. After serving his time he 
went into partnership with his brother; and three 
years later he bought him out and conducted a large 
shop on his own account, until 1864. In the spring 
of 1865, he came to this State and county, and pur- 
chased 40 acres of wild land on section 30, Emerson 
Township. Here he erected a small house and shop 
in which to carry on his trade ; but one year later he 
was prevailed upon to move to the village of Ithaca. 
He worked at his trade there some time, and then,' 
in the spring of 1S78, returned to his farm. He 
has since devoted himself to the improvement of his 
farm, and now has 80 acres, of which 60 are well 
improved. 

March 8, 1856, he was united in marriage at Free- 
port, Ohio, to Louisa, daughter of Joseph and Sarah 
(Tucker) Kelly, natives of Rhode Island, and of 
English and Irish extraction. They moved after 
marriage to Sandusky Co., Ohio, where Louisa was 
liorn. May 4, 1835. At the age of 16, she removed 
with her parents to Wood Co., Ohio, and there lived 
until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Brooke have had a 
large family, — 12 children; but the death roll is 
longer than the list of the living, and only five now 
survive; Dora S., born Aug. 24, 1858; Louis Am- 



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broe, May4, i860; Alfred J., Jan. 30, 1867; Lillie 
M., Nov. 15, 1868, and Emma L., Sept. 8, 1873. 
Those who are now sleeping their last sleep are as 
follows: a baby which died in infancy; Etta B., born 
Nov. 28, 1863, died Feb. 18, 1865; Alta L., born 
May 13, 1862, died May 18, 1862; Josei)h M., born 
March 17, 1870, died Aug. 1, 1870; Wilson, born Jan. 
10, 1872, died April 24, 1872 ; Moody, born Aug. 27, 
1875, died Sept. 10, 1875. 

Mr. Brooke is a member of Ithaca Lodge, No. 1140, 
K. of H., and in politics is an ardent Republican. 
Mrs. Brooke is a conscientious member of the M. E. 
Church of Ithaca. 



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'^^l^dwin Hopkinson, farmer, section 20, North 
^^K Star Township, is a native of Nottingham- 
^E^'^ shire, Eng., and was born April 16, 1835 ; 
JC his father was William Hopkinson, also a na- 
\. tive of that country. Mr. H., the subject of 
J this sketch, emigrated to this country in 1854, 
first locating in Lyons, N. Y,, then, in 1865, in Han- 
cock Co., Ohio, and finally, in 1870, in this county, 
where he has since lived, and where he owns 80 
acres of good farming land, following agriculture and 
raising stock. He was married Jan. 5, 1865, to Miss 
Eleanor, daughter of James Turnbull (deceased), a 
native of Scotland. She is a native of Wayne Co., 
N. Y. Their three children are, Mary E., Elmer E., 
deceased, and William V. 

Politically, Mr. Hopkinson is a Republican. 

^(« 

1 homas Grover, a prominent farmer, resid- 
ing on section 2, Arcada Township, was 
born in Southampton, Eng., June 17, 1839; 
and is the son of Thomas and Maria (Sher- 
wood) Grover, natives of Yorkshire, Eng. 
' Thomas Grover was by occupation a carriage 
smith, and came to this country in 1850, locating in 
New York State. Two years later he came to this 
State, where he died, at his home on section 2, 
Arcada Township, Aug. 27, 1877, at the age of 
65. His wife now resides at St. Louis, in this 
county, at the age of 68. 

The subject of this sketch was 1 1 years old when 




his parents came to this country, and he came with 
them to Lenawee Co., Mich. At the age of 17, he 
left the parental roof and worked as a laborer on va- 
rious farms until he brought up in Linn Co., Iowa, 
where, at Paris, Sept. 29, 1865, he was married to 
Margaret, daughter of Alexander and Phebe (Sutton) 
Burnham, natives of Ohio. They moved to Kansas, 
and Mr. Burnham enlisted in the Mexican war. He 
died in April, 1848. His wife now resides in Kan- 
sas, aged 58. 

One year after marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Grover 
came to Michigan, shortly after returning to Linn 
Co., Iowa, where he was for a time in the cattle bus- 
iness. He bought and sold two or three farms, and 
finally, in the winter of 1878, came to Gratiot County 
and settled on 90 acres of his father's place. He 
afterwards purchased 40 acres, and now has in the 
aggregate 130 acres of good farming land, partly im- 
proved. He has erected a neat residence, and a 
substantial barn. 

Mr. and Mrs. Grover have had nine children, 
eight of whom survive : P. Maria, Howard A., 
Anna M., Mary A., Frank N., Thomas S., Perry M. 
and Henry H. (deceased). In political sentiment, 
Mr. Grover is not partisan, but at elections he exer- 
cises his best judgment. 



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ll^harles C. Proctor, farmer, section 31, 
h^=^ North Shade Township, was the son of 



Jeremiah and Marindia (Carnahan) Proctor, 
^K natives of New York, where the mother died. 

■ >. The father died in Clinton County, this State, 
in 1855, at the advanced age of 76 years. 

Tlie subject of our sketch was born Dec. 9, 1815, 
in Brookfield Co., N. Y., and remained under the 
parental roof-tree until he was 29 years of age. He 
followed the trade of a cooper until he moved to 
Ionia County, this State. Here he remained for 
eight years, when he came to this county and located, 
in the year 1855, on 85 acres of land on section 31, 
North Shade Township, and now has 55 acres of the 
same under good improvement. 

Mr. Proctor may be considered one of the ])ioneer 
settlers of the county, and as such he has certainly 
experienced numerous trials and difficulties in build- 
ing a home in the then wilderness and battling and 
overcoming all obstacles. 



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He was- married to Miss Charlotte E., daughter of 
John and Julia (McLeod) Nichols, April iS, 1844. 
Mr. Nichols was a native of Germany, who emi- 
grated to America at an early day. He was captured 
by the British and taken to Canada, and escaped by 
swimming the Niagara River. He died in the State 
of New York. Mrs. Nichols was a native of New 
York, and died in the same State. 

Mr. and Mrs. Proctor are the parents of two chil- 
dren : one son, George W., married Miss Lydia Ka- 
nounse, and one daughter, Julia M., now Mrs. Will- 
iam Burk. 

Mr. Proctor has been Justice of the Peace five 
years, and also Supervisor. The wife and husband 
are members of the United Brethren organization, 
and are respected and esteemed citizens of the town- 
ship. Mr. P. is a Republican in political opinion. 







jjilliam Stonebrook, farmer, section 24, 

North Shade Township, is a son of 

,^ Frederick and Sarah (Cline) Stonebrook, 

K^ natives of Union Co., Penn., who came to 

aT^ Ohio in the year 1822, settling first in Wayne 
County and afterward in Holmes County, where 
Mr. S. died. He was a carpenter by trade. Mrs. S. 
died in Indiana. 

The subject of this sketch was born Aug. 18, 1822, 
in Union Co., Penn. When he became of age he 
engaged in chopping for about six months in In- 
diana ; he then returned lo Ohio and married ; he 
moved from Wood Co., Ohio, to Gratiot Co., Mich., 
in 1865, locating on section 24, North Shade Town- 
ship, on 160 acres of wild land; of this he has now 
95 acres in good cultivation. In the summer of 
1883 he erected a fine brick house, at a cost of 
nearly $2,000. 

Mr. Stonebrook married Miss Belinda, first daughter 
of Michael and Hannah (Shotwell) First; her mother 
was a native of New Jersey, and her father of Penn- 
sylvania : the latter was a brewer by occupation, but 
also followed agriculture to some extent. After the 
above marriage, Mr. and Mrs. F. moved from Penn- 
sylvania to Ohio, locating in Wayne County in 1819: 
they are both now deceased. Mrs. F. died in Wayne 
Co., Ohio, and Mr. F. in Gratiot Co., Mich. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Stonelnook are. 



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% K Ty\'j ^'■^- Catharine A. Walker, residing on sec- 
" ''S^^. tion 25, Arcada Township, was born in 
1^"^ Stark Co., Ohio, Jan. 8, 1828; and is the 
■^'^'^■\ daughter of Abraham and Barbara (Myers) 
■■',^'" Van Nostrand, natives of Pennsylvania and of 
German descent. Abraham Van Nostrand re- 
moved to Stark Co., Ohio, and afterwards to Tuscar- 
awas County, where he died, in 1843. Mrs. Van 
Nostrand died in the same county in 1844. Cath- 
arine was thus left an orphan at 15, and she went to 
live with her uncle. Sept. 20, 1848, she was united 
in marriage to John, son of Silas and Margaret (Peo- 
ples) Walker, natives of New England, and of Irish 
and English descent. Silas Walker was a mechanic 
and farmer, and removed to Ohio, where he died a 
number of years ago, and his wife in 1879, at the 
advanced age of 81. John Walker was born Sept. 
28, 1824, and passed his boyhood days on his father's 
farm in Tuscarawas Co., Ohio. Here he was mar- 
ried. 

Fifteen years after marriage, and eight years after 
they came to Michigan, he enlisted, Oct. 4. 1864, in 
Co. C, 29th Mich. Vol. Inf. He died in the service, 
July 6, 1865, at .\nderson, Tenn. He had made a 
settlement in 1856, on 80 acres on section 25, Arcada 
Township, and since his death, with the aid of her 
two sons, she has nicely improved 70 acres. Samuel 
L. Walker was born April 25, 1857; and Joshua C. 
was born Aug. 4, 1859. They are energetic and in- 
telligent young men, and liked by all who know them. 
Mrs. Walker has three other children living: Celes- 
tia Pickard, born Sept. 27, 1849, and now residing at 
Mt. Pleasant, Isabella County ; Henry L., born Sept. 
II, 1852, residing at the same place; and J. Albert, 
born June 12, 1864, also residing at Mt. Pleasant, 
Mich. She has lost three children : Mary M., 
born March 31, 1850, and died Sept. 25, 1852; 
Margaret J., born Dec. 12, 1854, and died March 26, 



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James H., Elizabeth, Michael, Sarah, Samuel J., 

Adolphus A. and Margaret J. The parents are '^ 

members of the Baptist Church. Mr. S. has always <V^ 

been a Democrat in [wlitical views, and he has held ] 

the office of Assessor of his school district. y^ 



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1856; and Silas M., born Juue 11, 1861, and died 
Nov. 19, 1865. Mrs. Walker is a member of the 
Christian Chifch, to which also her husband be- 
longed. He was politically a Republican. 

►^^^^^■^ 




ilfred A. Gross, farmer, section 2, Hamilton 
Township, is a son of Jouah Gross, de- 
ceased, a native of the State of Massachusetts 
and where, in the town of Enfield, Hampshire 
County, Alfred was born, .'\pril 14, 1831. The 
father removed his fi)mily to Oakland County, 
this State, in 1831, and here the son assisted on the 
farm, attended the common and subscription schools, 
receiving a fair education and developing into man- 
hood. 

Mr. Gross was married April 15, 1857, to Rhoda 
M., daughter of 7\nson Dayton, deceased, and in 
1865 came with her husband to this county. They 
located in the woods and commenced the arduous 
task, so familiar to the old pioneers of the county, of 
improving their land for a future home for themselves 
and children. Their trials and troubles were similar 
to those of many others identified with the early set- 
tlement of the county ; energetically did they, each 
one doing his or her part, battle against all difficul- 
ties, until at last victory was theirs, and they are 
now the possessors of 320 acres of land and have 
four children : Frank J., Warren E., Carrie W., and 
Lucy, to gladden their hearts in their declining years. 
In addition to his landed estate Mr. Gross owns 
and runs a shingle mill on section i, Hamilton Town- 
ship. Politically, he is a zealous Democrat. 



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'cFFWl' il'^i*'^ Burgess (deceased) was a farmer 

"1^^^:. on section 24, Arcada Township; was 

Vil^n^ born in New York State March 21, 1828, 

J||>i>) and died in Arcada Township, March 22, 
il ^~ V' • • • 

■^•^1^ 1880, leavnig a mournmg wife and a family 

of four. His early boyhood was spent on the 
farm in his native State, and when a young man he 
went to Lawrence Co., Ohio. He afterward went to 
Wood County, in the same State, where he was mar- 
ried. May 20, 1842. 

He came to Gratiot County in 1854, and was one 

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of the very first settlers in Arcada Township, build- 
ing the third log house in that township. He was a 
progressive farmer, an upright citizen, and a pleasant 
neighbor. He was a member of the Christian Church 
and a supporter of the Republican party. He was 
often chosen to office by his fellow citizens, and al- 
ways gave satisfaction. 

His wife, Ruth, nee Hathaway, was the daughter of 
Daniel and Polly (Marick) Hathaway, natives of 
Massachusetts, and of English ancestry. Daniel 
Hathaway was by trade a ship carpenter, learning 
that work in Massachusetts. He moved to Paines- 
ville, Ohio, below Cleveland, and afterwards to Wood 
Co., Ohio, where he died about 1852, at the age of 
60. Polly (Marick) Hathaway died in the same 
county, in 1867. Ruth was born in Geauga Co., 
Ohio, April 15, 1824, and when 13 years old her par- 
ents removed to Wood County, where she was mar- 
ried. 

Mr. and Mrs. Burgess had a family of eight, four 
of whom survive: Mary A., born July 29, 1843; 
George B., Sept. 8, 1855 ; Willie B., May 4, 1864; 
and Lora, Sept. 18, 1867. The deceased are : John 
William, born May 21, 1842, and died June 11, 1842 ; 
Lora A., born April 21, 1846, and died Sept. 15, 
1857; Rovvena, born May 15, 1850, and died April 
18, 1870; John A., born May 15, 1850, and died 
Tune II, 1879. Mrs. Burgess still survives, and is a 
member of the Christian Church. 



\ artin Grill, farmer, seel ion 30, North Shade 
i! Township, was born Sept. 15, 1830, in 
i"'"^ Pennsylvania. His parents, John and 
, , Sarah (Funck) Grill, were also natives of 

'y" the Keystone State, and the former followed the 
occupation first of butcher and then of cooper 
and farmer. In 1839 they left Pennsylvania and 
came to Ohio and lived for one year in Stark County. 
In 1840 they moved to Summit County, where they 
li\ed until their death, Mr. Grill dying in 1867, and 
Mrs. Grill in 1876. 

Martin Grill remained under the parental roof 
until he was about 21 years old, when he went to 
Illinois and for a time was engaged in farming. He 
spent one year in a saw-mill at Decatur, 111., after 
which he went to Indiana and stopped with his 




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brother for a short time, and after this he returned to 
liis home in Ohio. He remained at home lielping 
his father on the farm and in the mill until he was 
about 25 years of age. In the mill, our subject did 
some of the hardest work that ever falls to man to 
perform, as the mill was kept running day and night 
for a great part of the year. He was married to 
Rachel Ludwick, daughter of Samuel and Mary E. 
(Dick) Ludwick, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Lud- 
wick followed farming in his native State, and later 
in life moved to Summit Co., Ohio, where they both 
passed the remainder of their days, the former dying 
in 1855, and the latter in 1856. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Grill have been born ten chil- 
dren, as follows : Mary S., Hiram W., Amanda E., 
Eliza J., Henry D.. Emma J., Martha, Martin, 
Chadie W. and Clara E. 

Mr. Grill came to Gratiot County in 1868 and lo- 
cated upon section 30, North Shad^Township, where 
he has a good farm. He is regarded as a man of 
good Judgment by his neighbors, and as being a fair, 
upright and honorable citizen, as is evinced by the 
people of his district having chosen him as Assessor 
for 14 terms in succession. 

Mr. G. has suffered twice from the enmity of the 
elements. July 3, 1859, the lightning struck and 
totally demolished his father's barn, the contents of 
which belonged to Martin. March 12, 187 1, his 
house was burned, and almost all the household 
goods were also consumed. 



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m ohn L. Richards, farmer, section ;};^, New- 
J^- ark Township, was born July 7, 1844, in 
Pennsylvania. He is a son of John and 
Rachel (Fry) Richards, both of whom were 
^[' natives of the Keystone State, were there mar- 
ried and resided 14 years. In 1846 they re- 
moved to Ohio, and there belonged to the farming 
class. In the spring of 1871 they came to Gratiot 
County and settled in the township of Newark, where 
they still reside. 

Mr. Richards was a child of two years when his 
|)arents located in the Buckeye State, where he grew 
to the age of 18 years, engaged in assisting on the 
farm, and acquiring a fair education in the common 
schools. Roused to a sense of the necessity pressing 



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upon the authorities of the United States Government 
under the stringencies of civil war, he yielded to his 
convictions of duty and enlisted Aug. 6, 1862, in the 
I nth Reg. Ohio Vol. Inf, and served his country 
under that enrollment three years. He was in the 
battle of Hough's Ferry, Tenn., and, while on picket 
guard at Lenoir Station, he, wiih 51 of his comrades, 
was captured by the rebels, and conducted to At- 
lanta, Ga., where they were held two weeks, and 
then removed to Pemberton Castle, Richmond, and 
a month later were incarcerated at Belle Isle. They 
became inmates of the latter place on the first day of 
January, 1864, and there remained until March 12, 
when they were transferred to the stockade prison at 
Andersonville, where their sufferings were in no sense 
or degree less than those of the myriads who suc- 
cumbed to the horrors of the place, or of those whose 
endurance proved equal to such frightful experiences 
as cannot be equaled on the recorded pages of 
human suffering. The very name of Andersonville 
must cause a shudder while time endures! After 
seven months of horror they were sent to Savannah, 
and later to Milan, whence, after a month, they 
were ordered to be transferred to Blockshire, Ga. 
While on their way thither the train was intercepted, 
and 250 starved, ragged, forlorn human creatures, of 
whom ]Mr. Richards was one, were paroled and sent 
to the camp at Annapolis. Two weeks later they 
were furloughed, and Mr. Richards returned to his 
home in Ohio. In six weeks he was exchanged and 
rejoined his regiment. His health was too much 
impaired for active service, and he was on detached 
duty until the close of the war. On the expiration 
of his term of enrollment, he was discharged at 
Cleveland, Ohio, whence he returned home. 

Mr. Richards was married Dec. 28, 1S65, to Sarah 
D., youngest daughter of Asa and Jane (Staples) 
Richardson. The father was a native of Vermont, 
the mother of Maine. Of this marriage, four chil- 
dren have been born : Earl C, Alice I., Tacie A. 
and Laura M. 

.\fter his becoming a family man, Mr. Richards 
continued to reside in Ohio until 1870. In that 
year, he removed his family and interests to Gratiot 
Co., Mich., and bought 40 acres of land in Newark 
Townsliii). Of this he has already cleared and 
placed 35 acres under creditable cultivation. He is 
a Republican of unmistakable type, and has served 

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his township in several official positions to which he 
has been elected. He received an appointment in 
1880 to fill a vacancy as Township Clerk, and has 
been since twice elected to the same incumbency, 
which he now holds. A branch of the body known 
as the Union Prisoners of War Association, desig- 
nated the Camp of Gratiot County, has been estab- 
lished therein, of which Mr. Richards is President. 
Himself and wife are members of rhe United Breth- 
ren Church. 



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penry Simmon, farmer, section 16, Hamil- 
ton Township, is a son of John Simmon 
(deceased), who resided in Adams Co., Pa , 
and where the subject of our sketch was born, 
Aug. 26, 1826. 

The father moved to Stark Co., Ohio, while 
Henry was yet a child, locating on a farm. Here the 
child remained, developing into manhood while as- 
sisting the f.Tther on the farm and attending the com 
mon schools, receiving his education in the una- 
dorned, rudely constructed pioneer log school-house 
so well remembered by the early settlers of that 
State. 

Mr. Simmon came to this County in 1855, and set- 
tled on section 9, Hamilton Township, since which 
time he has constantly resided in the township. He 
has experienced all the trials and struggles as well 
as some of the pleasures of the early settler. His 
home was located in the woods, distant from neigh- 
bors and friends ; the nights were made hideous by 
the howling of wolves, the crying of the wild-cat 
and panther, and the more timid portion of the fam- 
ily were continually in awe of the visitation of prowl- 
ing Indians; his cabin contained mother earth for a 
floor, dry leaves for a bed and the rudely constructed 
fire-place for cooking; wintered his cattle four years 
on browse which he procured by chopping down 
the trees; at one time carried 100 pounds of flour 
on his back 12 miles to satisfy the hunger of his 
family. Here he lived and worked and prospered. 

Mr. Simmon enlisted in the late war, in Co. I, 23d 
Mich. Inf , and was engaged in the battles of John- 
sonville, Columbia and Nashville. He has been 
Townshi]i Treasurer for five years ; is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church and the G. A. R. 



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Dec. 19, 1848, Mr. Simmon was married to Miss 
Julia A., daughter of John Muffly, of this county. 
They have had ten children, seven of whom are liv- 
ing, as follows : Magaret J., Susan, Sarah E., John J., 
Lucinda, William H. and Eva N. 



Vi, 









mery V. Dean, farmer, section 19, Newark 
;;la^^ Township, was born Dec. 11, i85i,in the 



0"2^'"'' "' State of New York. He is a son of Amos 
"4$^ and Betsey (Ludlow) Deaii, the former a native 
I of Vermont, the latter of the State of New 
J York, where they settled and resided until 
1857, in which year they came to Michigan and lo- 
cated in Ionia County, where the father died in the 
following year. 

Mr. Dean left home to try the world alone at the 
age of 16 years, and passed the ensuing ten years as 
a farm laborer. In 1862 he came to Gratiot County, 
and, in the summer of 1877, he purchased 80 acres 
of land in its original condition on section 19 of 
Newark Township, where he has since resided and 
operated as a farmer. He has placed 40 acres of 
his land under improvements and cultivation. He 
has made creditable progress in placing liis farm in 
a state suitable for successful farming during the 
brief period it has been in his possession. In politi- 
cal belief and effort, Mr. Dean is a Republican. 

He was married in Newark Township, April 9, 
1882, to Mary M., youngest daughter of Chester and 
Sophronia (Wade) Howland. Her parents were na- 
tives respectively of the counties of Oneida and Or- 
leans, N. Y. The father was a lineal descendant of 
John Howland, one of the Mayflower pilgrims, and 
Mrs. Dean is a member of the ninth generation in 
direct descent from her pilgrim ancestor. Mr. and 
Mrs. Howland came to Michigan in its early period, 
and first settled in Lenawee Connty, where they re- 
sided 20 years, removing thence to Hillsdale County, 
and in the summer of 187 i came to Gratiot County. 
They bought 40 acres of land in section 20, Newark 
Township. Mr. Howland had placed 25 acres under 
improvement, and erected good and suitable farm 
buildings on his farm, where he resided until his 
death, which occurred March 29, 1S82. Mrs. How- 
land resides on the liomestead. The Howlands are 
a remarkably long-lived race. Chester I lowland was 









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one of seven children, and there was no death in the 
the family until that of the mother, which occurred 
on the day the youngest of the family was 50 years 
old. Mrs. Dean is one of five children born to her 
parents, four of whom are living. George A. died 
when three years old. He was the fourth child. 
The others are: Achsah L., Martha L. and Sarah E. 
Mrs. Dean was born May 15, 1865, in Hillsdale Co., 
Mich. 



jichael Pollasky, commission merchant at 
Alma, was born Nov. 16, 1832, in Hun- 
''"^ gary, of which country his parents, Mi- 
chael and Rebecca (Blitz) Pollasky, were 
natives. The son was a Lieutenant in the 
Hungarian army and engaged in the futile 
struggle of Hungary for independence. After the 
failure of the effort to assert the claims of that peo- 
ple to the right of self-government, Mr. Pollasky, 
with his wife and children— Rosa and Max— and ac- 
companied with his father, mother and sister Han- 
nah, emigrated to America. On reaching the New 
World they made a stay of eight months in Newark, 
N. J., and removed thence to Detroit, where the 
father is still a resident. The mother died there 
Dec. 25, 1879. 

Mr. Pollasky was about ij, years of age when 
he arrived in the United States. He came to 
Wayne Co., Mich., where he rented a farm and en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits, doing a considerable 
business as a dairyman. This he followed two and 
a half years, and subsequently went to Detroit, 
where he engaged in the manufacture of shoes about 
a year and a half. This period was a time of trial, 
as circumstances were unfavorable, and the venture 
did not prove remunerative. His next business was 
as a merchant in the Lake Superior country, where 
he operated two years. In the fall of 1863 he came 
to Alma, and, associated with another man, again em- 
barked on the sea of trade. His choice of a bus- 
iness partner was unfortunate, and their affairs be- 
came so involved that the stock of the concern was 
surrendered to satisfy creditors. Mr. Pollasky re- 
ceived a receipt in full for all his liabilities and again 
opened accounts with the world, with a determined 
resolution to continue to struggle manfully for suc- 
cess. His outfit comprised a disposition to make all 






I 













possible effort, and a faithful, helpful wife. He man- 
aged to establish himself again in mercantile pur- 
suits, to wliich he added lumbering, and conducted 
his joint business interests with satisfactory results 
until 1873, when shrinkage of values and the crowd- 
ing necessities of a large family made heavier de- 
mand upon his resources than his business warranted, 
and he began the manufacture of tubs and pails, 
which promised to be fairly remunerative. He suf- 
fered heavy losses from fire, his stock and establish- 
ment being seriously damaged three times in succes- 
sion with no insurance ; this, coupled with his inex- 
perience, brought such disaster that he was compelled 
to sell his interests. His son bought his stock and 
fixtures and the business was transferred to St. Jo- 
seph, Mich., where Mr. Pollasky again made an 
effort to reinstate himself and win success. Disaster 
again overtook him, despite his efforts to avert it, and 
he made an assignment for the benefit of his cred- 
itors. In 1877 he engaged in trade as a produce ( ?) 
and commission merchant at Alma, and his final ^^ 
venture has met with the success which his indom- <f^ 
itable courage and cheerful, hopeful contest with ad- 
verse fate deserves. 

He is a member of the Older of Masonry, and 
also belongs to "The Sons of Covenants." He is a 
decided Republican in political tendency. Was Vil- 
lage President three terms, and has held other local 
offices. 

Mr. Pollasky was married in his native country 
March 15, 1852, to Celia, daughter of Emanuel and 
Sarah Wix, all of whom were born in Hungary. 
Mrs. Pollasky was born April 12, 1831. Of her mar- 
riage, six children have been born,— Moses, Rosa, 
Max, Frank, Marcus and Anna. The first-named 
died in infancy. Rosa died when 13 years of age. 
The parents are members of the Mosaic Church. 

The portrait of Mr. Pollasky is presented on an- 
other page. 



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jte amuel Bigelow, druggist, general merchant /^ 

"" and dealer in agricultural implements at f 

Estella, was born in Steuben Co., N. Y., g|:.,. 

March 7, 1827. His father, Samuel L. Bige- gS 

low, was a native of Nev/ York, and directly ^ 

descended from the Puritan fathers. His (-^ 

mother, Catharine (Van Cordon) Bigelow, was also a ^ 



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284 



GRATIOT COUNTY. 



native of New York, and was descended from the 
first Dutch settlers of Manhattan Island. She is 
closely connected with the family of Anneke Jans, a 
German lady who willed or leased to Trinity Church, 
of New York City, a great part of the land on which 
the city is situated, including the Astor and Stewart 
property. The case of the Anneke Jans heirs has 
become famous in the last few years, and may be 
unsettled for a generation to came. Several of the 
ancestral connections of Samuel Bigelow were in the 
Revolution, and he has a cane cut by an uncle from 
a hickory tree that grew up within the fortifications 
of Ticonderoga. It was cut just after Col. Ethan 
Allen and Benedict Arnold captured that important 
post from the British. He has also an oil portrait 
nearly 100 years old, of his paternal grandfather, 
who was a prominent minister in the Baptist Church. 

The subject of this narrative remained in Steuben 
County until nearly nine years old, when his father 
removed to Yates County and settled on Crooked 
Lake, one of the pleasant bodies of water so numer- 
ous in that section. Here he grew into manhood, 
working in his father's mills and stores until 21 years 
of age, and receiving his education in the Yates 
County Academy. Leaving home, he was for two 
years employed as buying and selling agent by the 
Yates County Linseed Oil Company. Thence he 
came to Grand Rapids, this State, and for five years 
he was employed as clerk in a store and as teacheT 
in the common schools of Kent County. Next 
he went to Ottawa County, and farmed until 1861. 
Moving to Ravenna, Muskegon County, he was in 
mercantile life for three years. He then sold out, 
and, with his wife, spent one year in making a tour 
of Canada and the New England States. In Decem- 
ber, 1866, he found himself in Gratiot County, and 
for a time he taught school. For several years sub- 
sequent he was in the employ of Mr. Tucker, a mer- 
chant of Estella, and he then started a store of his 
own. He carries a moderate stock of goods, and 
does an annual business of about $1,500. 

Oct. 12, 1853, in Kent County, this State, he was 
united in marriage to Miss Hannah Walcott. She 
was a native of Canada, was born May 14, 1835, and 
died at her home in Estella, in February, i86g. He 
was again married, at Estella, Jan. 21, 187 i, to Miss 
Dora Bell, daughter of George S. Bell. She was a 
native of Ohio, and died Nov. 12, 1873, leaving two 
children. Alberta and George S. 



Mr. B. is a member of Elm Hall Lodge, No. 257, 
F. & A. M., and of Ithaca Chapter, No. 70, R. A. M. 
He has for some time been Secretary of the lodge. 
He has held the offices of Justice of the Peace and 
Township Clerk for several years each, and is now 
Notary Public. Politically, Mr. B. is very liberal in 
his views, but leans toward the Democratic party. 




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|:'nQ\!5.;;}aniel W. Altenburg, farmer and County 
; >:iii- Surveyor, was born in Wyoming Co., N. 
•^ iif " Y., May 5, 1834; and is a son of Daniel 

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;u was a native of New York, of Holland de- 
S scent, and ha? followed farming all his life. 

In the fall of 1839, he moved to Ll^nion Township, 
De Kalb Co., Ind.; and he was one of the pioneers 
of that county. His family was the fifth in the 
township. He afterwards removed to the county 
seat. Auburn, where, in comfortable circumstances, 
he now lives a retired life. He is 74 years old, and 
the second oldest pioneer in De Kalb County. He 
is an active member of the M. E. Church, and has 
been Class-leader for many years. Sarah Latson was 
a native of Genesee County, and of New England 
ancestry. She moved to De Kalb Co., Ind., in 
1834, and died in Union Township May 22, 1863. 
She had always been a faithful Christian, and her 
death was an example to all unbelievers. She passed 
away rejoicing, and admonishing her children to 
serve the Lord and keep his commandments. She 
left nine children, all of whom are yet living, in good 
circumstances, and occupying positions of trust and 
honor. One is a prominent attorney at Little Rock, 
Ark., and has represented his county in the Arkansas 
Legislature. Four served their country during the 
Rebellion, and were honorably discharged. 

The subject of this sketch, when six months old, 
was taken by his parents to Sandusky Co., O., and four 
years later to De Kalb Co., Ind., where they settled 
in Union Township. They found themselves in a 
dense wilderness, and Daniel being the oldest son, 
as he grew up much of the labor of clearing and im- 
proving a farm in a new country devolved upon him. 
His educational advantages were therefore limited; 
but, being of a persevering disposition, he attended 
school during his less busy winters, and thus, with 

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the help of miscellaneous reading, he acquired a fair 
education. During the last two years that he lived 
at home, he was an engineer on the Elk River Val- 
ley railroad, which runs through De Kalb County. 

Feb. i8, 1855, he was married to Sophia, daughter 
of Lanslot and Maria (Truman) Ingman, native^) 
respectively of Fairfield Co., Ohio, and London, 
England; and of English and German descent. Mr. 
Ingman followed farming most of his life, but was 
also for some time a cabinet-maker. He removed to 
De Kalb Co., Ind., m 1836, very early in its history, 
he and his brothers being the first two settlers near 
Auburn ; and in connection with his brother-in-law, 
Wesley Parks, located and platted the present city 
of Auburn. He was for many years a prominent 
man, and for some time Justice of the Peace. In 
that place Mr. Ingman died, Dec. 2, 1874; Mrs. 
Ingman May 26, 1883; and their only daughter be- 
sides Sophia, but a little later. Sophia (Ingman) 
Altenburg was born Feb. i, 1838, in Auburn, Ind., 
and was the third white child born in that place. 
She lived in Auburn with her parents until eight, 
years of age, when her father traded his cabinet shop 
and village property for a farm near by, to which 
they all removed. There she was reared and edu- 
cated and married. 

Mr. and Mrs. Altenburg moved to the county seat : 
he having been chosen County Surveyor, resided 
there for ten years. For five years of this time he 
was County Surveyor, and he surveyed nearly 
the whole county. He finally resigned, not wish- 
ing to serve under a Democratic administration. 
Oct. 18, 1864, he enlisted in Co. M, ist Ind. 
Vol. Heavy Art., under Capt. Samuel E. Arm- 
strong and Col. Canby. He was at New Orleans 
and at the taking of Mobile, and was honorably 
discharged at New Orleans, Oct. 24, 1865. Selling 
his property in Auburn, he came to this State and 
county, and located on 80 acres on section 17, New- 
ark Township. Here he resided 17 years, brought 
64 acres to a high state of cultivation and drainage, 
and built a very fine brick residence. His farm was 
known as one of the model farms of Gratiot County. 
He made maple sugar very extensively, producing 
annually from 3,500 to 4,500 pounds. Aug. 4, 1883, 
he sold his farm in Newark Township; and Aug. 10, 
he purchased So acres on section 25, Arcada Town- 
ship, where he now resides. He has a good location, 





and is fast making a fine farm, 46 acres being al- 
ready improved. 

Mr. and Mrs. Altenburg have a family of seven, as 
follows: Frank F., born April lo, 1856; .\raminta, 
April 18, 185S; Henry I., Oct. 4, 1862; Maria E., 
Jan. 19, 1867 ; William L., July 3, 1871 ; Orville L., 
Dec. 21, 1876; and Daniel T., Dec. 10, 1878. Mr. 
and Mrs. A. are members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, and active workers for Christianity. All 
their family have been brought up under careful re- 
ligious influences. 

Mr. Altenburg is a member of Ithaca Lodge, No. 
216, I. O. O. F. Politically he is a staunch Repub- 
lican. He has always commanded the respect of 
his fellow citizens, and although he is not an office- 
seeker he has occupied many positions of honor. In 
1867, he was appointed Deputy County Surveyor, and 
the following year he was elected County Surveyor. 
Excepting one term, he has held one of these two 
offices continuously to the present time. He has 
been School Director two years, and Notary Public 
for the same length of time. In January, 187 i, the 
Board of Supervisors appointed him Drain Commis- 
sioner, which office he retained for ten years. He 
then positively declined to serve longer. 



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jCames Riddle, farmer, section 10, Emerson 
\^ Township, was born in Ontario, Canada, 
Oct. 14, 1826, and is the son of Archibald 
and Bethia (Marr) Riddle, natives of Scotland. 
They followed farming all their lives, first in 
the old country, and then in Ontario, Canada, 
where they died, the father in 1873, the mother in 
May, 1880. James was brought up near London, 
Ontario, and remained as a laborer on his father's 
farm until 30 years of age. He received a fair edu- 
cation in the common schools of Middlesex County. 
In 1856 he came to this State and county, and lo- 
cated 240 acres of land in Emerson Township. He 
spent two summers here and then returned to Can- 
ada, remaining six years. 

During this period, March 29, 1866, at London, 
Canada, he was married to Isabel, daughter of Will- 
iam and Margaret (Beattie) Scott, natives of Scot- 
land. She was born in Westminster, Middlesex Co., 
Ont., April 28, 1834, and, receiving her education in 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



the district schools of that county, remained at home 
until her marriage. One year after that event, Mr. 
and Mrs. Riddle came to this county and setded on 
the farm he had purchased in 1856. He now owns 
120 acres, nearly all in an excellent state of cultiva- 
tion, and has good buildings for residence, shelter of 
stock, etc. Politically he is an earnest and influen- 
tial Republican, and he has held the ofiSce of Over- 
seer of Highways for some years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Riddle are members of the Presbyterian Church, 
are conscientious readers of the Bible, and actively 
devoted to the interests of Christianity. 





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illiam Marion Curtiss, farmer, section 11, 
Emerson Township, was born in Wyoming 
Y-j Co., N. v., Jan. 8, 1852, and is the son of 
'' Waterman F. and Sylvia (Cronkhite) Curtiss, 
natives of New York and of English descent. 
He resided in his native county until six years 
old, when he came with his parents to this State, and 
located on a farm in Ionia County. Here he received 
two years' schooling, and in February, 1 861, he came 
with his mother (his father having died in Ionia 
County in i860) to this county and settled in Emer- 
erson Township. From that on he gave his time to 
attending school and to farming. 

March 15, 1878, in Lafayette Township, he was 
married to Catharine Mcintosh, daughter of Funley 
and Ellen (Chisholm) Mcintosh, natives of Scot- 
land, where they still live, on a farm. Catharine was 
born in Rothshire, March 29, 1859, and when 12 
years old came with her brother to this country and 
lived with an uncle in Lafayette Township, Gratiot 
County, until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Curtiss 
settled on 80 acres on section 1 1, Emerson Town- 
ship, in 1878. It was then heavily timbered, but of 
the 40 acres which they now own, 28 acres are now 
under the plow, and they have built a cozy little 
dwelling-house. They are the parents of two chil- 
dren: Nora E., born July 14, 1879; Arthur W., born 
Oct. 4, 1 88 1. They are members of the Presby- 
terian Church. Mr. Curtiss is a young man of en- 
terprise and judgment and stands deservedly high in 
his community. In politics he votes with the Repub- 
lican party. 



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ustin Shoup, farmer, section 8, North Shade 

Ts^m Township, is a son of Henry and Polly 

-^(.V^ (Hilaiid) Shoup. The former was born in 

'•ij^l Pennsylvania, in 1795, and died in Sandusky 

: Co., O., Jan. 14, 1875 ; Mrs. S. was born in 

D1804, and died Jan. 10, 1879, in Sandusky 

Co., Ohio. 

The subject of this sketch was born March 2, 
1834, in Sandusky Co., Ohio, remaining with his 
parents until he was 28 years of age, when he en- 
listed in Co. D, 128th Ohio Vol. Inf., and served two 
years in the Eastern army. He was on detached 
duty at Johnson's Island, guarding prisoners of war. 
He was discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio, June 20, 
1865. He then lived two years longer with his parents ; 
next, two years in Kent Co., Mich., then 19 months 
in Kansas, then one year again in Kent County, and 
finally, in 187 i, lie came to Gratiot County, locating 
on 80 acres of land, on section 8, North Shade 
Township, where he has 60 acres in good tillable 
condition. 

Politically, Mr. S. is a Democrat, and he has been 
a school officer of his township a number of terms. 
He was married Jan. 5, 1868, to Miss Eunice, 
daughter of Edmund and Clarissa (Hoyt) Ring, 
who was born April 19, 1850, in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio. 
Her parents were natives of the State of New York, 
whence they moved to Ohio, then to Ionia, Mich., 
and finally to Kent Co., Mich., where they yet reside. 
Mr. and Mrs. Shoup's children are : Flora B., Ed- 
mund H. and Clara L. 




saac B. Ward, farmer and lumberman, resi- 
dent on section 20, Sumner Township, is a 
son of Lewis and Isabel (McLeod) Ward, 
natives of New England and of English and 
Scotch descent. Lewis Ward was by occupa- 
tion a miller, and both he and wife are de- 
ceased. 

The subject of this memoir was born in Galway 
Township, Saratoga Co., N. Y., Feb. 21, 1829. Four 
years later his father moved to Lorain Co., Ohio, 
where he lived 1 2 years. Thence he came to Eaton 



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Co., Mich., where he died. After coming to this 
State, Isaac B. worked out for himself among the 
neighbors for about six years, and then went to Ionia 
County. 

In North Plains Township, that county, Oct. 14, 
185 1, he was united in marriage to Miss Lovena, 
daughter of Harvey and Eliza A. (Freeman) Lewis, 
natives of Pennsylvania and of German descent. 
She was born Oct. 8, 1834, and came with her 
parents to Livingston Co., Mich., and then to Mont- 
calm County. Thence she went to Ionia County and 
worked as a domestic until her marriage. 

.^fter living in North Plains Township five years, 
Mr. and Mrs. Ward came to Gratiot County and lo- 
cated on 80 acres on section 20, Sumner Township, 
afterwards purchasing 40 acres on section 29. He 
has seen many ot the peculiar experiences common 
to pioneers. When he came the country was entirely 
new, and the only means of getting from place to 
place was by the Indian trails. He had to go 20 
miles to purchase supplies. He now has a fine farm 
with 80 acres well improved. 

Mr. and Mrs. W. have been the parents of four 
children, three now surviving: Ackley L., born May 
18, 1854; William W., April 18, 1856; Lemuel Jay, 
May 16, 1 86 1. A baby was born Jidy 3, 1852, and 
died in infancy. Mr. Ward is a member of Elm 
Hall Lodge, No. 257, F. & A. M. He has held the 
offices of Supervisor one year, Township Treasurer 
three years. Highway Commissioner eight years, and 
other minor offices. In politics he is an ardent Re- 
publican. 




ichard Foster, farmer, section 8, Washing- 
ton Township, is a son of Richard and 
l'^^ Fanny (Hines) Foster, natives of Stafford- 
f'* shire, England. Richard Foster was a lock 
and gun smith, and died in London in 1852. 
Richard, junior, was born in Wolverhampton, Staf- 
fordshire, England, Oct. 10, 1822. When 21 he was 
apprenticed to his father's trade, and in 1852 he 
came to America. He lived three years in New 
York City, and then went to New Jersey, where he 
enlisted in Co. D, tst U. S. Sharpshooters. He went 
to the Army of the Potomac and fought in the seven 
days' battle before Richmond, at Fredericksburg, 



Bull Run, Antietam, Frederick City and other places. 
He escaped unhurt, and held at the time of his dis- 
charge the position of Armory Sergeant of his regi- 
ment. He was discharged in front of Petersburg, 
Va., Sept. 14, 1864. He keeps as a trophy a sabre 
which he captured from a rebel Colonel. On leaving 
the service, Mr. Foster went first to New York, and 
then came to Gratiot County, locating on 80 acres on 
section 8, Washington 'I'ownship. He has improved 
35 acres, but has also worked at his trade in the 
mean tin e. 

In August, 1847, he was married to Elizabeth, 
daughter of William and Martha (Dunch) Fletcher, 
natives of Kent and Middlesex, England. They 
both died in the old country, Mr. Fletcher having 
been a hotel-keeper until his death. Mr. and Mrs. 
Foster have had seven children, four of whoin are 
living: Joseph, Richard, William and George. Mr. 
Foster has been Roadmaster in his township. Polit- 
ically he is a Republican. He and wife are mem- 
bers of the M. E. Church. 

^If^^r^uos H. Kimmel, farmer on section 33, Pine 

e{ ^^iq River Township, is a son of Christopher 
^v°U'^' C. and Phebe (.Spears) Kimmel, natives of 

!>.S^ Pennsylvania and Ohio. The father settled in 
'■ Ohio in 1833, and came to Michigan in 1855, 

J settling in North Star Township, this county, 
where he died, Jan. 20, 1873. His wife is still a res- 
ident of that township. Their family numbered 14, 
t3 of whom lived to be adults. 

Enos H., the subject of this notice, was the second 
child and first son of the family, and was born in 
Hancock Co., Ohio, Aug. 15, 1841. He was 14 
years old when his parents came to Gratiot County, 
and he remained with tiiem three years longer. 
Then for two years he worked out by the month. 

Aug. 12, 1861, he enlisted in the Eighth Mich. Vol. 
Inf. He served four years, and fought in 13 heavy 
engagements. At James Island, he was wounded by 
a shell, and in conseiiuence lost from the right hand 
one finger and temporarily the use of two others. 
He was also slightly wounded in the thigh at Cold 
Harbor, Va. From this he was only off duty for 
three weeks. He was discharged at Washington, 
D. C. 

Returning to Gratiot County, from the service, he 



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bought 80 acres of wild land in Pine River Town- 
ship, which he has since converted into a valuable 
farm and a comfortable home. 

In Clinton County, Dec. 24, 1865, he was married 
to Elmira A., daughter of Zebina and Ann Rice, na- 
tives of New England. She was born in Clinton 
County, Dec. 7, 1844, and died Aug. 12, 1873, leav- 
ing three children, George C, Rosa A. and Orrin R. 
He was again married, at St. Louis, Mich., July 4, 
1875, to Lydia, daughter of John and Lucy Frank- 
lin. To this union came one child, Archie, who was 
carried away by the hand of death when two years 
old. Jan. 4, 1878, he married for his present wife, 
at Saginaw, Mich., Mrs. Alice Hale, daughter of 
Henry and Sarah Way mire, natives of Ohio, and 
widow of George Hale. She was also born in Ohio, 
Jan. 5, i86r. They have had one child, James G., 
which died at the age of two weeks. Mr. Kimmel 
is one of the enterprising, intelligent farmers of Pine 
River Township. Politically, he is a Republican. 



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'ohn MulhoUand, farmer, section 24, New- 
ark Township, was born in Seneca Co., 
Ohio, Nov. 6, 1839. He is a son of 
William and Eliza (Dillon) MulhoUand. They 

]C were natives of Ireland, and became residents 

\ of the United States in 1828, settling in Ohio. 
Their family included three sons and four daughters. 

Mr. MulhoUand is the second son of his parents, 
and resided in the county where he was born until he 
was 28 years of age. He spent his early life as as- 
sistant of his father on the farm and in attendance 
at school, and, after reaching manhood, had the man- 
agement of his father's farm six years. In the fall of 
1864 he was drafted, but instead of entering the 
service himself he sent a substitute, to whom he 
paid $1,000. He was married in Hancock Co., Ohio, 
March 14, 1867, to Sarah, daughter of George and 
Catherine (Krable) Graham, both natives of Ohio. 
Mrs. MulhoUand is the second daughter, and one of 
seven children. Of her marriage three sons have 
been born — Homer G., Everett W. and Arthur M. 
The mother was born Nov. 21, 1842,111 Hancock 
Co., Ohio. 

The family removed to Gratiot County in the 
autumn of 1868, where Mr. M. bought 80 acres of 




land in Newark Township. It was wholly in its 
original slate, and the family took possession of a log 
house, which was their abode until the winter of 
1881, when they moved into a fine frame house, 
newly erected. Mr. Mulhollai.d proceeded with the 
improvements on hii farm after the manner of men 
of his calling who fortify their possessions in wise 
judgment. In 1878 be built an e.xcellent barn as an 
accessory to his careful and prosperous farming. He 
is an adherent to the principles of the Republican 
party, and his wife belongs to the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church. 





jSenjamin Burton, farmer, section 25, Ar- 
J;S cada Township, was born in Crawford Co., 
lg>^^ Ohio, Feb 27, 1853, and is the son of 
TM©'^ David and Sarah (Dewell) Burton, natives of 
Ohio. David Burton is a farmer by occu- 
pation, and resides in Pine Piver Township 
two miles from Alma. Until of age, Benjamin lived 
on his father's farm in Crawford Co., Ohio, and at- 
tended the common schools, receiving a very fair ed- 
ucation. In the spring of 1874, he went with his 
father to Wyandot County, same State, and en- 
gaged :n farming. He also did an extensive thresh- 
ing business. Two years later, they removed to 
Seneca County, and located on a beautiful farm in 
Eden Township, where our subject remained till 
marriage. 

Dec. 30, 1878, in Springfield Township, Jefferson 
Co., Ohio, he was united in the bonds of matrimony 
to Sarah E., daughter of John and Elizabeth (Rob- 
ertson) Blythe, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, 
and of Irish extraction. John Blythe was a farmer, 
and died in Jefferson Co , Ohio, July 2, 1873, at the 
age of 72 ; his wife died in the same county, May 
TO,' 1850, aged 42. Sarah E. Blythe was born in 
Springfield Township, Jefferson County, April 30, 
1848. When three years old, her mother died, leav- 
ing her the youngest of three children. Her father 
married again. She obtained a good education in 
the schools of her county, and cared for her father's 
household until his death. Five years later, she was 
married. For a little more than two years, Mr. and 
Mrs. Burton resided in Seneca County, on their farm 
of 60 acres. He then sold, and came to Michigan, 



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locating on 120 acres in Arcada Township. The 
farm is nicely located, and 107 acres are well im- 
proved. It has one of the finest orchards in the 
county. 

They have a family of two daughters: Ada M., 
born Aug. 7, 1880; and Hattie E., born May 28, 
1882. Mr. Burton has made many friends during 
his short residence in this county. Politically he is 
an ardent Republican. 



eorge Chandler, farmer, on section 28, 
Pine River Township, is a son of Charles 
and Alcinda (Fletcher) Chandler; the for- 
mer born in Pomfret, Conn., Dec. 2, 1780, and 
the latter born in Windsor, Conn., in 1784. 
They had a family of nine, three sons and six 
daughters. George, the second son, was born in 
Pennsylvania, April 16, 18 16. He received a com- 
mon-school education, and also acquired much valu- 
^ able knowledge by private reading. At the age of 
21, he learned the trade of millwright, which occupa- 
tion he followed for over 20 years. He had charge 
of building the first grist-mill in Gratiot County, at 
Alma. It was afterwards destroyed by fire. 

Previous to that, in 1852, he went by steamer to 
California, and for four years was most of the time 
engaged in mining. Returning to the Mississippi 
valley, he came in the summer of 1856 to Gratiot 
County, of which he has been one of the pioneers. 
He bought 160 acres of wild land on section 4, Ar- 
. cada Township, improved the same, and after 16 
years' residence sold out for the handsome sum of 
$5,000. He then i)urchased 80 acres on section 28, 
Pine River Township, where he now resides, having 
60 acres nicely under cultivation. 

Sept. 24, 1845, at Jamestown, N. Y., he was mar- 
ried to Nancy Woodin, a native of Pennsylvania. 
This union was blessed with three children, — Martha, 
Jeremiah B. and Charles S. The first and last 
named are deceased. March 19, 1877, at St. Louis, 
he was again married, to Mrs. Eunice (Van Burren) 
Hubbell, widow of Dennis A. Hubbell, who was 
killed on Morris Island, S. C, in the late war. Mr. 
Chandler has been for six years Highway Commis- 
-^ sioner, five years TownshipTreasurer, one year Super- 
(g) visor, and three years Justice of the Peace, in Arcada 
V. Township. Hejs now Justice of the Peace in Pine 






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River. He has also held numerous school offices. He 
is in every sense a representative citizen. In political 
sentiment, he is a " through and through " Repub- 
lican. 



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I ' hr>: enry J. Bentley, farmer, section 29, Newark 

^;.,ft^|ti-i Township, was born July 8, 1842, in Canada. 

>i}^ His parents, Wilson and Miriam (Jackson) 

y^ Bentley, were also natives of the Dominion 

I where they passed the entire period of their 

lives. 

Mr. Bentley came to Michigan when he was 22 
years of age, and first settled in Clinton County, 
where he [lassed five years, engaged in the manu- 
facture of wooden bowls. In the spring of 1869 he 
bought 80 acres of land in a primeval condition, 
where he has since resided. He has cleared and im- 
proved about 60 acres, and has recently added 40 
acres by purchase, 30 acres being improved. In 
political faith and action, Mr. Bentley assimilates 
with the Democratic party, and has been School 
Director in District No. 6, Newark Township, six 
years. 

He was married in St. Johns, Clinton Co., Mich., 
Sept. 2, 1864, to Deborah E., daughter of Asa W. and 
Rhoda (Day) Ellsworth. The parents were natives 
of Canada, where Mrs. Bentley was born, April 16, 
1842. The four children belonging to the household 
were born as follows: Oscar L., March ro. 1866; 
Melvina E., April 6, 1S69 ; Charles A., July 3, 1876, 
and William J., April 8, 1880. 



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1^ illiam O. Johnson, farmer, section ^;^, Pine 



River Township, is a son of Otis and Sarah 
jJl^^ ^- (Plumstead) Johnson. Otis Johnson 






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i> was born on the Atlantic Ocean, while his 
parents were <•>/ route from Ireland to the 
great republic. Sarah Plumstead was a na- 
tive of New York. William O. Johnson was the 
sixth son of a family of 14, seven sons and seven 
daughters. He was born in Ohio, but came with his 
parents when quite young to Michigan, settling in 
Oakland County. His father, with two of the sons, * 
Robert and James, served through the Mexican war 



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and some time after returning, moved to Ionia 
County, where he resided until his death. 

While living in Ionia County and attending the 
common school, the subject of this biography " took 
French leave " of home and started out to make his 
own way in life. He went to Oakland County, and 
hired out to a farmer for 40 days at 12;^ cents per 
day. The five dollars thus earned, he immediately 
put at interest. He afterwards worked for six dol- 
lars per month, and ne.\t was employed in a hotel at 
$13 per month. In the spring of 1854, he came to 
Gratiot County, and the following fall he deposited 
the money for 160 acres of wild land on section 33, 
Pine River Township. He at once sold 80 of this 
for $25 more than it cost him ; and the remaining 
80 is his present farm. He built a log house and 
while living alone chopped the wood and timber from 
35 acres. After living on the place nine months, he 
went to Missouri, where he was variously employed 
for three or four years before returning to his farm. 

He was in the meantime married to Mary R., 
daughter of Thomas and Sarah Hale, natives of 
North Carolina. She was born in Cape Girardeau 
Co., Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have had two chil- 
dren : Emma L , born March 4, 1862; Alonzo P. 
(deceased), born May 20, 1865, and died Dec. 24, 
1866. Mr. T- lived in his first log house two or three 
years, and then erected his present dwelling. His 
80 acres are now all underdrained and in cultivation. 
He is a member of the Masonic Order, and in polit- 
ical sentiment is a Democrat. 

l^ylvester Wheeler, farmer, section 13, New- 
ark Township, was born April i, 1816, in 
Swanton, Vt. His parents, Jesse Wheeler, 
Jr., and Sally (Morgan) Wheeler, were also 
born in the Green Mountain State, and, when 
the son was but three years old, removed to 
Onondaga Co., N. Y. Later on, they removed to 
Batavia, N. Y., and after a stay there of two years 
they went to Oswego County in that State, where the 
father bought and improved a farm, and resided 
thereon nearly 40 years. 

On reaching his majority, Mr. Wheeler commenced 
his life's contest single-handed. In 1852 he went to 
Kane Co., 111., and a little more than a year later he 




K^ 



came to Michigan. After a brief residence in Ingham s> 
County, he came, in the winter of 1854, to Gratiot /•- 
County, where he bought 120 acres of land under the ^^ 
Graduation Act. He subsequently bought 40 acres ? 
additional, and later disposed of 80 acres by sale. 
He holds 80 acres at present, with 65 acres in a 
finely advanced state of cultivation. Mr. Wheeler 
endorses and supports the principles and issues of 
the Republican party, and has been active in the 
school interests of his township. 

He was married March 31, 1837, in Oswego Co., 
N. Y., to Hannah, daughter of William G. and 
Lavinia (Bristol) Peck. She was born Jan. 10, 1817, 
in Oswego County, and has become the mother of 
nine children, all but one of whom still survive. 
They are named Amanda J., William H., Edmund 
J., Almira M., Jesse C, Lavinia C, John W., George 
W. and Eliza A. Jesse C.,the fifth child, died when 
he was 26 years of age. 




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ovell J. Fuller, farmer, section 9, Newark 
Township, was born April 16, 1827. His 
j.-ju . parents, Calvin and Bethana Fuller, were ., . 
'^jm' natives of Vermont and New York respect- "^ 
ively, and their family included three sons and 
three daughters. 

Mr. Fuller was the second son, and passed the 
years of his boyhood, previous to the age of 18, in 
obtaining his education. His parents removed to 
Ohio when he was five years old, and the Buckeye 
State was his home until 1872. In 1845 he began to 
" do for himself," and spent some time as a woods- 
man, after which he became a carpenter, and followed %. 
that business for 12 years. In March, 1872, he set- f\ 
tied in Ionia Co., Mich., and there resided two and 
one-half years. In the same year he bought 200 
acres of land in Newark Township, this county, 
whither he removed his family in 1875. His farm 
now comprises 160 acres, cleared and cultivated. 
Mr. Fuller belongs to the National Greenback jiarty, Cr^ 
and in the sjjring of 1883 was elected Supervisor, j 
which post he resigned a short time after his f^vj 
election. (® 

He was first married in 1848, in Medina Co., Ohio, 
to Elizabeth Inhan, a native of the Buckeye State. /^ 
Three children were born to them. Julia, born in 



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1852, is the only survivor. Amelia and Samuel are 
deceased. The wife and mother died in 1854. Mr. 
F"uller was a second time married May 8, 1856, to 
Mary Coolman, who was born in Ohio, June 8, 1838. 
Of their ten children but two survive. EvajM., born 
Jan. 28, 1867, and Varo C, born July 16, 1S69, are 
living. The following is the record of the dead : 
Lovell D., born Jan. 25, 1857, died Feb. 21, 1862; 
Clara E., born June 10, 1859, died Feb. 3, 1862; 
Joseph E., liorn Dec. 12, 1862, died April 23, 1864; 
Cora v., born March 27, 1865, died Sept. 19, 1866; 
Gracie B., born May 27, 1871, died Sept. 23, 187 i; 
Ionia D., born Mays, 1873, died in September, 1873; 
Tilly D., born Sept. 25, 1876, died Feb. 6, 1877 ; 
Myrtle A., born Jan. 20, 1878, died Feb. 15, 1878. 
Aug. 28, 1878, the mother crossed the river to the 
land of eternal life, where her eight sons and daugh- 
ters awaited her coming. Mr. Fuller was a third 
time married April 3, 1879, to Harriet E. Hayes, 
who was born Aug. 8, 1833, in the State of Vermont. 




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'heron A. Johnson, farmer, section 29, Pine 

River Township, is a son of Matthew and 

and Mary (Robinson) Johnson, natives of 

Nova Scotia. They first settled, after mar- 

i*! riage, in New Brunswick, afterward removing 

I to Canada. In 1862, they came to this State 
and county, and settled in Pine River Township, 
where they now reside. Their family comprised 
seven children : Matilda, Sarah, Theron A., Bradley, 
Amanda, Mary and Lydia. Theron A., Bradley and 
Mary are yet living. 

The subject of this biographical narrative, the 
oldest son of the family, was born in New Brunswick, 
April 12, 1834. At the age of 14, he came with his 
parents to Canada, and at 18 he engaged in carriage 
smithing. This occupation he followed for six years, 
and then went to Winneshiek Co., Iowa, where he 
worked at blacksmithing for four years. In June, 
1862, he came to Gratiot County, and followed the 
same business at Aln.a, for three years. 

In 1865, he was appointed Postmaster at Alma 
under President Johnson. After one year, on ac- 
count of ill health, he resigned, and bought 160 acres 
of wild land in Pine River Township, where he now 




resides. In the summer of 1883, he erected a large 
and commodious residence. He now has 100 acres 
of his farm under cultivation, and his surroundings 
all betoken thrift and industry. 

July 23, 1856, at Bradford, Ont., he formed a life 
partnership with Miss Julia, daughter of David and 
Phcebe Lloyd, natives of Canada. Mr. Lloyd was 
killed in the Canadian rebellion. Mrs. Lloyd came 
with her daughter to Michigan, and died March 28, 
1866. The daughter, Julia, was born in Canada, 
March 25, 1837. 

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have a family of eight chil- 
dren, born in the following order: Sarah A., June 13, 
1857; Lily, May 29, 1859; Charles D., June 4,1861 ; 
Ella, July 31, 1865; Alice, Nov. 9, 1868 ; Theron L., 
July 29, 1873; D'Arcy Lloyd, Dec. 31, 1875; and 
Ethel, April 25, 1878. Mr. Johnson is a prominent 
man, and has filled numerous offices of trust and 
honor, showing both his ability and his popularity. 
He was Supervisor from Arcada Township in 1864-5, 
and was Chairman of the Board. In 1881, he was 
the National candidate for State Senator, and was 
defeated by Hon. Giles T. Brown, the Republican 
nominee. He was editor of the Gratiot Jotirnal 
most of the time from 1868 to 1872. In 1877, he 
was chosen Secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Fire 
Insurance Company, which office he has since filled. 
Politically, he is now a zealous and influential mem- 
ber of the National Greenback party. 

The portrait of Mr. Johnson is presented on page 
292, and is that of a prominent and representative 
citizen and agriculturist of Gratiot County. 



'Itrank Smith, deceased, was a farmer on 
E section 24, New Haven Township. He 




i 



was born in Prussia, Sept. 27, 1820. He 
worked as a common laborer in his native 
1^^ country until 1853, when he emigrated to the 
land of freedom and prosperity, settling first in 
Ohio and a year later on an 80-acre tract in this 
county, where he lived the remainder of his days. 
This country was then perfectly wild. Here he 
cleared and put in good arable condition 25 acres; 
was industrious, honest and prosperous, and a high- 
minded, consistent Catholic. His death — which was 
from dropsy — occurred Dec. lo, 1864, just after hav- 



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ing been drafted for army service. Having gone, on 
this military duty, as far as Flint, where the doctors 
pronounced him unfit for a soldier's life, he return- 
ed home, and in four weeks he was dead ! He had 
been a soldier in the Prussian army for five years, a 
portion of that time an officer of rank. 

Mr. Smith was married, in Newark Township, this 
county, May i, 1855, to Miss Mary VVermuth, who 
was born in Baden, Switzerland, in March, 1833. 
When 17 years of age she came with her parents to 
this country, settling first in Fulton Co., Ohio, and 
afterward in Newark Township, this county, where 
she lived until marriage. 

July 27, 1865, she married George P. Steadman, her 
present husband, who was born in New York State, 
Oct. 2, 1826, and emigrated to this State in 1842. 
He was a soldier in the last war, and, being shot in 
the left leg, at the second battle of Bull Run, he was 
incurably wounded. He, with his wife, spent the 
years 1879-81 in the gold regions of California. In 
politics ^r. S. is a Democrat, and he has held the 
office of School Moderator for nine years. 

Mrs. S. is a noble woman, and is recognized as 
such by her neighbors. Her children by her first 
husband are: Caroline, born Aug. 30, 1851; Fred, 
born April 23, 1859; and Louis B., born Dec. 23, 
186 1, and died Dec. 8, 1864. By her present hus- 
band: ."^daline, born Nov. 29, 1867; and Edgar, 
born April 21, 1871, and died Dec. 19, 1873. 



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. ames S. Lance, farmer on section 1 1, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of James and Marj' 
(Johnson) Lance, natives of New Jersey 
and Ohio. They- settled in Wayne Co., Ohio, 
]L where they lived all their lives. James was 
\ born in that county Sept. 30, 1837. He re- 
ceived a limited education, and was about 19 when 
he left home to make his own way in life. For five 
years he worked on farms for others ; and then he 
bought a farm in his native county. After a short 
time he sold out and bought a farm in Medina Co., 
Ohio. Soon he sold again, and returned to Wayne 
County. 

In November, 1865, he came to Gratiot County 
and bought 80 acres, partly improved, on section 11, 
Fulton Township. Here he has been content to 




stay. He has since added 40 acres, and now has 
65 acres cleared. Dec. 12, 1861, in Milton, Wayne 
Co., Ohio, he was married to Amanda M., daughter 
of William and Clara (Lee) Lance, natives of New 
Jersey and Ohio. She was born also in Wayne Co., 
Ohio, Feb. 27, 1043. 

Mr. and Mrs. L have had six children : Ada F., 
born Oct. 23, 1863; Edward E., Jan. r7, 1866; 
Clara A., Jan. 11, 1868; Alfred S., July 30, 1871; 
Dewey W., Oct. 31, 1877 ; and one which died in in- 
fancy. Politically, Mr. Lance votes the Democratic 
ticket. 

Ibert Smith, farmer, section 20, Emerson 
Township, was born in Baden, Germany, 
s-:jtj3J March 22, 1842, and is a son of Ignatius and 
''•!\i\ Catharine (Kline) Smith, natives of (Germany. 
> .\t the age of eight years he came with his 
' parents to the United States, and settled in 
Seneca Co., Ohio. His father died in Michigan in 
1874, and his mother resides in Sumner Township, 
this county. When 15 years old he left home to 
learn the cabinet-makers' trade, with an uncle. 
Leaving him he spent one year on a farm, and then 
enlisted in Co. A, 49th Ohio Inf , under a Capt. Lang- 
worthy. He joined the 4th Corps of the .\rmy of 
the Cumberland, and participated in the battles of 
Pittsburg Landing and Stone River, and in numerous 
lesser engagements. At Stone River he was taken 
prisoner and detained about two weeks. He was 
then paroled, went to Columbus, Ohio, was taken 
sick and went home on furlough. On regaining his 
health he engaged in the lumber business in this 
.State, following that until 1869. 

Nov. 4, of that year, he was married, at .\lma, 
Gratiot County, to Josephine, daughter of Daniel 
and Nancy (Burgess) Griffeth, natives of the State of 
New York. She was born in Wayne Co., Mich., Oct. 
8, 1852, and when she was two years old her parents 
removed to St. Louis, this county. They afterwards 
settled in Emerson Township, where she lived until 
her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Smith settled on a farm 
of 80 acres in 1869, which he had purchased in 1865, 
and he has now 140 acres, of which 60 are well im- 
proved. They are the parents of three living children, 
and one dead : Lewis, born Feb. 6, 1872; Bert A., 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



born Feb. lo, 1879; Emma, born June 23, 1880; 
James, born May 14, 1877, and died May 17, 1877. 
Mrs. Smith is connected with the Baptist Church. 
Mr. Smith is a member of Emerson Lodge, No. 375, 
I. O. O. F. He has held the office of Highway Com- 
missioner, and votes with the Democratic party. 



l^imeon Gray, deceased, late resident of sec- 
tion II, Fulton Township, was a son of 
Iv-i"' Semy Gray, and was born in New York 



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State, in January, 1825. He came with his 
parents to Oakland Co., Mich., when quite 
young, and lived in that county until the spring 
of 1854. He then came to Gratiot County, and 
bought 80 acres in Fulton Township. He afterwards 
sold that place, and purchased 60 acres on section 
II, where he resided until his death, in October, 
1874. 

Feb. 23, 1852, in Oakland County, he married 
Miss Susan, daughter of John C. and Amelia Grace, 
natives of Massachusetts and Maine respectively. 
She was Ijorn in Oakland County, March 4, 1834. 
Mr. and Mrs. Gray had nine children, six of whom 
survive : John H., Edna, Rachel, Wallace, Guy and 
Pearl A. The deceased :ire Capitola, Norma and 
Freddie. Mr. Gray was Highway Commissioner one 
term, and in politics was a Republican. 

*«E^ 



illiam A. Krom, farmer, section 26, Elba 
Township, is a son of Andrew and Huldah 
(Skinner) Krom, natives of Orange Co., 
!' N. Y. The father was by occupation a black- 
smith. He came to Michigan and settled in 
Kalamazoo County in 1849. Mrs. Krom 
died in 1858. The son, William A., came to Elba 
Township in 1867, and engaged in farming and 
speculating in land. He now owns an excellent 
farm on sections 23, 24 and 25, 160 acres in extent. 
His lumber business, which he has carried on for 17 
years past, is very extensive. 

In 1868 he was united in the bonds of matrimony 
to Hattie Oberlin, daughter of Allen and Esther 
Oberlin, natives of Pennsylvania and Germany re- 
spectively. Two children resulted from this union : 





Julia A., born Dec. 2, 1870, and Mary, born April 26, 
1876. Mr. Krom had the sad misfortune to lose his 
wife Dec. 1 1, 1883. 

He has held the confidence and good will of his 
neighbors ever since he began his residence in this 
county, and has been honored with a number of 
local offices. He has been State Road Commissioner 
for a number of years, and Township Treasurer for 
the last nine years. When he entered upon the 
duties of the latter office, he found the financial con- 
dition of the township very unsatisfactory, but he has 
now greatly improved the condition and management 
of the treasury. Politically, he is a "true blue" 
Republican. He is a member of Elsie Lodge, No. 
238, F. & A. M. 



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eorge Noll, farmer and mechanic, section 
31, New Haven Township, is a son of 
William and Betsy (Hart) Noll ; the for- 
mer, of German ancestry, was a native of 
Pennsylvania, where he lived until his death, 
at the age of 56. His wife, a native of Ire- 
land, died in Pennsylvania. 

Mr. George Noll, tlie subject of this sketch, was 
born in Greenwich Township, Berks Co., Pa.; when 
nine years of age his father died ; from the age of 
eight years to 19, and from 20 to 22 he was a laborer 
for Jonathan Beaver, in his native county. He then 
(1835) engaged to learn the trade of blacksmith, and 
soon became a skillful workman, earning good wages; 
but his zeal in his calling led him to over-work and 
he broke down. In 1843 he went to Canada, where 
in about eight years his physician advised him to 
quit blacksmithing. He accordingly went uix)n a 
farm, in Ontario, and pursued agriculture until 1867, 
when he came to this State and purchased 80 acres 
of wild land where he now resides. He first stopped 
at Carson City six weeks, preparatory to erecting a 
house in which to dwell. He now has 72 acres of 
well improved land and a comfortable residence. 
In politics he is a Republican, and has held some of 
the township offices. 

May 20, 1847, at Smithville, Niagara Co., Ont., 
Mr. Noll married Miss Margaret H. Carpenter, a na- 
tive of Ontario, where she was born July 27, 1824. 
She is a woman of considerable physical strength and 






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executive ability. Mr. and Mrs. N. are the parents of 
ten living children and four deceased. The living 
are: Joseph W., born Jan. 22, 1848; Charles H., 
Nov. 4, 1850; Gershon M., Sept. 14, 1852; Jonathan 
A., April 18, 1855; James L., Feb. 7, 1857; Albert 
G., March 6, 1859; John B., Sept. 25, i860; Sarah 
A., Aug. 8, 1862; Reneldo B., Sept. 3, 1864; and 
Mary Jane, Nov. 8, 1867. 

Mr. and Mrs. Noll are active members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 



arlow Worthing, retired farmer, section 
10, Sumner Township, was born Nov. 29, 
i8i2,in Waitesfield Township, Washing- 
ton Co., Vt. His parents, Abner and Sallie 
(Barlow) Worthing, were natives of New 
England and of New England ancestry, and 
both died in Northport, Vt. His father was a car- 
penter and joiner by trade. 

When three years of age, the subject of this sketch 
was moved with the family to Addison Co., Vt., 
where they lived until he was 12 years old; then 
they moved to Windsor County, and when 14 years 
old he went to live with an uncle, a tanner, in a dif- 
ferent part of that State, but two years later he left 
him and returned home. He soon went lo Canada, 
where he followed his trade of tanning, which he had 
learned of his uncle. While in the French settle- 
ments of the Dominion he learned the French lan- 
guage, which he learned to speak readily. On leav- 
ing Canada he went to Plattsburg, N. Y., on Lake 
Erie, where he worked a year at his trade ; next he 
was a sailor on Lake Champlain for a year; then at 
home for a few months; then was on a whaling ex- 
pedition 14 months. While on his return home from 
this voyage he visited St. Helena, and saw the first 
burial place of Napoleon Bonaparte. He also visited 
the curious island of Madagascar; then, crossing 
over to South America, he remained awhile in Brazil. 
He also stopped at the volcanic island of Amster- 
dam, southeast of the Cape of Good Hope. Their 
search for whales was principally in the Lidian 
Ocean, going as far south as the 49th parallel. 

On returning to his native country, he resumed 
tanning for two years ; then for a year he worked in 
a morocco factory in Albany, N. Y. ; then two years 



at tlie tanning business again at his old home in 
Vermont; next, in 1839, he went to Wisconsin and 
Illinois, selling Yankee notions ; then joined a boat 
crew at Peoria, 111., and went to Memphis, Tenn. ; 
then he visited Cincinnati and Pittsburg, when he 
enlisted in the Mexican war, near its close, and was 
not therefore called into active service. Spending 
one year in Madison, Ind., he worked at masonry 18 
months in Illinois ; was then two years and a half in 
Iowa, and finally, in 1855, he came to the land office 
at Ionia, and, under the Graduation Act, took posses- 
sion of a half of section 10, where he still resides. 
Yet unmarried, he boarded with one of the settlers, 
and set out to improve his wilderness home. He 
successfully reduced a goodly portion of the land to 
a tillable condition, when rheumatism attacked him, 
and for the last 15 years he has done but little work. 
He was Supervisor of this township at the first, 
and during the years 1856-7, 1861, 1864 and 1868, 
Justice of the Peace eight years. Notary Public, High- 
way Commissioner, etc., etc. In politics, he is a 
substantial Republican, and in religion a member of 
the United Brethren Church. 

Oct. 17, 1862, Mr. Worthing was married to Mrs. 
Sybil Metcalf, «<■£" Kellogg, who was born in Bradford 
Co., Pa., July 4, 183 1. By her former husband, her 
children are: Clara S, P., James H., Francis E. and 
Levi F. By her present husband, the children are : 
Sybil L., Mary L. and Barlow A. Mrs. W. is a mem- 
ber of the Free Methodist Church. 




5 eorge Whitman, farmer, section 29, North 
l!f Shade Township, is a son of Jacob and 



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^fl'^EHzabeth (Case) Whitman, natives of Adams 
•^^ Co., Pa., the father being born in 1794 and the 

' mother in 1795. The former died in 1869 and 
the latter in 1844. The father of Mr. Whitman fol- 
lowed the occupation of a farmer until his death. 

The subject of our sketch was born May 25, 1832, 
in Wayne Co., Ohio, where the parents had moved 
at an early day. He remained under the parental 
roof-tree until he attained the age of 19 years, when 
he went forth upon the oft-traveled road of adversity, 
to battle against the trials strewn along its pathway. 

Mr. Whitman was married to Miss Mary Righley, 
daughter of John and Rachel (Greenhoe) Righley, 



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297 



natives of the Keystone State, where the father was 
born in 181 2 and the mother in 1816. Both are de- 
ceased, the father dying in Summit Co., Ohio, in 1856, 
and the mother in Erie County, same State, in 1882. 

Mrs, Whitman, the wife of our subject, was born 
May 7, 1835, in Wayne Co., Ohio. After their mar- 
riage the husband and wife moved to Indiana, where 
they remained for seven years, then returned to Ohio 
and remained three years, from which State they 
emigrated to this county, arriving here Nov. 10, 1869 ; 
they located on section 29, North Shade Township, 
securing 80 acres of wild and unbroken land. By 
good management, coupled with energy- and industry, 
he has placed his land under such a state of culti- 
vation that he looks back upon the past and wonders 
how the improvement was ever accomplished. In 
1883 he erected a large barn, 40x60 feet, which is 
one of the best in the township. 

Mr. and Mrs. W. are the parents of four children, 
three sons and one daughter. John A., Joseph A. S., 
Douglas, and Amanda A. 

Mr. Whitman has been honored with the position 
of Constable of his township for two terms ; has 
been Moderator of his school district two terms, and 
Postmaster six terms. He is also one of the Direc- 
tors of the County Fair Association, of Gratiot, Clin- 
ton, Ionia and Montcalm Counties, serving now his 
second term. 

The grandfather of Mrs. W. was a giant in stature, 
being six feet and eleven inches in height. He was 
a soldier of the war of 1812, and died in Marshall 
Co.. Ind., Dec. 15, 1867. 

Mr. Whitman in political action, belief and senti- 
ment is a staunch Democrat. 



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i-^avid H. Payne, farmer on section 31, Ful- 
11 ton Township, is a son of Arnold and 



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Loan a (Parker) Payne, natives respectively 
Jjj^ of Rhode Island and New York. They set- 
tled after marriage in the Empire State, and in 
1832 came to Washtenaw Co., Mich. After a 
residence there of about four years, they removed to 
Livingston County, and thence to Ingham County. 
In the winter of 1846, Arnold Payne, with his wife 
and 13 children, came to Gratiot County and took 



up a large tract of land on section 31, Fulton. He 
set about clearing his land, and built a log house. 
On this place he lived until his death, Nov. 24, 1879. 
His first wife died Feb. 25, 1850. In 1853 he was 
again married to Mrs. Mary (Bussell) Dickerman, 
who died Aug. 31, 1865. He owned at the time of 
his death 120 acres in Fulton Tovifnship, the old 
homestead. 

Their family comprised 13 children, the following 
eight of whom survive: Abigail, James L., Day and 
Dwight (twins), Eliza, David H., Albert B. and 
Thomas P. The deceased are : Alma, Lucy, Mary, 
Perry and Arnold. The subject of this biographical 
notice, the nth of the family, was born in Livingston 
Co., Mich.. Dec. 5, 1839, and was about seven years 
old when his parents came to Gratiot County. He 
received a common-school education, and remained 
at home until 21 years of age, when he began to im- 
prove 40 acres given him by his father. After clear- 
ing 30 acres he sold out, and bought 40 acres on sec- 
tion 31. This he worked two years, when lie again 
sold, and bought 80 acres on section 32. Two years 
later he removed to Clinton County, and bought 60 
acres in Essex Township, where he lived about eight 
years. He then sold, and invested in village prop- 
erty in Maple Rapids, where he erected good build- 
ings and lived one year, and then traded for a farm 
in Ionia County, where he lived from February, 1877, 
to 1880. He then made his last move, coming to 
this county and buying the old Payne homestead of 
120 acres, 100 of which are nicely improved. 

Feb. 22, 1868, in Lyons, Ionia Co., Mich., he was 
married to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of James and 
Bethie (Walling) Youdan, natives of England and 
New York State respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Y. came 
to Michigan and settled in Clinton County in 1844, 
where they lived until 1879, and then removed to 
Clare County, where they lived until his ileatli, 
March 17, 1883. Mrs. Y. yet survives. Mr. and 
Mrs. Payne have four children : Harlan, O. D., Verne 
and Edith II. 

Mr. P. has lield the various school offices, and has 
been Townshii) Clerk in Fulton one year. He has 
been Highway Commissioner in Clinton County. He 
is a Democrat, and is a member of the Masonic Or- 
der, being a Knight Templar. He is also a member 
of the G. A. R., and he and wife are members of 
Essex Grange, No. 429, P. of H. 






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In the fall of 1861, Mr. Payne enlisted in the 3d 
Mich. Vol. Cav., and served one year. He was in 
the engagement at Island No. 10, and at New Mad- 
rid, Mo. At the last named place he was thrown 
from his horse, and received severe injuries about the 
spine, in consequence of which he was honorably 
discharged. 

A portrait of Mr. Arnold Payne, the father of the 
-subject of the foregoing sketch, is given in this work. 



eorge Crooks, farmer and mason, resident 
,j. on section 27, Newark Township, was born 




Sept. 19, 1835, in Fairfield Co., Ohio. Andrew 
and Sarah (Arnold) Crooks, his parents, were 
natives of the Buckeye State. At the age of 
21 years, Mr. Crooks went to learn his trade 
and spent 18 months in completing a perfect practi- 
cal knowledge of its details. He has combined the 
callings of mason and agriculturist ever since. 

He became a soldier for the Union within the first 
year of the war, enlisting Feb. 20, 1862, in the 49th 
Ohio Vol. Inf., and, after three years of service, was 
honorably discharged at Huntsville, Ala., Feb. 2, 
1865. He was in the battle of Peach Creek, and 
his command was attached to the force of Gen. Sher- 
man, under whom it made the liistoric marcli to the 
sea. 

Mr. C. was disabled for a time, by hardships and 
e.xposure, and was cared for in the hospitals at Mur- 
freesboro, Nashville, New .-Ylbany, Jeffersonville, 
Louisville, Cincinnati, Camp Dennison and Cleve- 
land. At the last place he narrowly escaped death 
from strychnine placed in the food by the steward of 
the hospital. 

In the fall of 187 i, Mr. Crooks bought 160 acres 
of unimproved land in Newark Township. He 
erected a dwelling, took possession, and entered upon 
the labor of clearing and improving, and now has 65 
acres under tillage. He was married April 6, 1858, 
in Wyandot Co., Ohio, to Sarah, daughter of Wal- 
lace and Catharine Greer. Mrs. Crooks was born 
Sept. 4, 1838, in Columbiana Co., Ohio. Her parents 
were born in the same State. The household in- 
cludes five children : Alwilda M., Dora M., Minnie 
M., Eugene G. and Alice D. Both parents are active 
members of the United Brethren Cluirch, and Mr. 
Crooks is an ardent Republican. 



000 



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^|J"^5y enry W. Kinsel, farmer, section 15, Newark 

Township, was born March 7, 1847, in Han- 

1 — cock Co., Ohio. He is the son of WiUiam 

S and Catherine (Damon) Kinsel, who were na- 

■ tives of Germany. In the early period of their 




I 



lives they came to the United States, and, after 
staying a few years in Ohio, they came to Newark 
Township, Gratiot Co., Mich. The father enlisted in 
the 26tii Regt. Mich. Vol. Inf., and after a year's 
service died at Norfolk, Va. The mother is still 
living. 

Mr. Kinsel was a lad of seven years when his 
parents came to Gratiot County. When his father 
became a soldier he returned to his native State and 
remained there three years, after which he came 
back to Gratiot County to engage in farming. He 
now owns 120 acres of land, with 75 acres under im- 
provement. He is a Republican in political faith, 
and has discharged the duties of several local offices 
to which he has been elected. 

Mr. Kinsel was married Aug. 21, 1870, in Newark 
Township, to Theda, eldest daughter of Jacob S. 
and Catherine (Baker) Beechler. The parents were 
born in Ohio, and are now residents of Newark. Mr. 
Beechler was the first Supervisor of the township. 
Mrs. Kinsel was born Nov. 28, 1847, in Ohio. She 
is a lady of creditable educational attainments, and 
has been a popular and successful teacher in Gratiot 
County. To herself and husband five children have 
been born, four of whom are living. They are 
named: Nora E., Myrtie C, Orin H. and Orpha M. 




^T^^Dfl^ntif^^' 



tomer Roberts, farmer, section 29, North 
I Shade Township, is u son of Joseph and 
^•^ Deborah (Wood) Roberts. They were botii 
/V natives of Vermont, where the father followed 
I the occupation of a carpenter and joiner. The 
parents moved from Vermont to Livingston Co., 
N. v., and from there they came to this State and 
located on section 29, North Shade Township, this 
county, in 1S53, securing 160 acres, upon which they 
lived and tolled, and on which our subject lives. He 
has added 40 acres, and by the united efforts of liiin. 



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self and wife, 75 acres of the land has been placed 
under good improvement. 

The father was born in Orange Co., Vermont. Dec. 
5, 1798. He enlisted in the U. S. Army in i8i^, 
and served until Aug. 15, 1815, and returned to his 
native State, and, after coming to this country, died, 
Nov. 5, 18.S0, leaving four children, namely: Josiah, 
(leorge F., Sarah and Homer. 

Homer, the subject of our sketch, was born June 
I, 1834, in Livingston Co., N. Y.,and has constantly 
resided on the old homestead ever since his parents 
located on it. His mother died in 1869, in North 
Shade Township, this county. 

Oct. 4, i860, Mr. Roberts was united in marriage 
to Mary Jane, daughter of Julia A. (McCurdy) Dob- 
son, natives of the State of New York. They moved 
to Jackson Co., this State, and remained there for a 
number of years, thence removed to Hillsdale County, 
from which place they came to this county and are 
now living in North Shade Township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are the parents of three 
children: Anna E., Effie .\. and Libbie A. 

Mr. R. has held the position of Township Treas- 
urer, and in political opinion is a Republican. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. R. are members of the Con- 
gregational Church. 



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rederick R. Segward, farmer, Fulton 

Township, section 2, was born Aug. 15, 

' 1841, in Buffalo, N. Y. His parents, 

Clemens and Catherine (Myers) Segward, were 



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'l^ natives of Germany. They came to the United 
i States in early life, and settled in the State of 
New York, where the father died, about the year 
1870. The mother yel survives, in the Empire State. 
Mr. Segwaid was bred to the business of a farmer, 
and followed agriculture in his native State until he 
was 22 years old. In the fall of 1863, he came to 
Gratiot County and bought 46 acres of wild land in 
Newark Township, on section 35. He there resided 
and made good advance in the improvement of his 
land during the next 12 years, when he removed td 
Fulton Township and bought 40 acres of land, to 
which he has since added by purchase 66 acres. 
That of his land now under improvement and in 
progressive cultivation, is estimated at 75 acres. Mr. 



11 




Segward is a Republican in political sentiment and 
action. 

He was married Oct. 16, 1863, in Niagara Co., N. 
Y., to Emma, daughter of Peter and Charity Deline. 
Her parents were natives of the State of New York, 
and her father is now a citizen of Newark Township. 
Her mother died in 1868. Mrs. Segward was born 
June 13, 1843, in the Empire State. The household 
includes three children — Catherine A., Mary T,. and 
Frances M. 

I apoleon B. Fraker, retired farmer, residing 
at Ithaca, was born in Saratoga Co., N. Y., 
June 25, 1815, and was of New England 
l&f parentage and English ancestry. At the age 
y^ of 15, he moved with his parents to St. Law- 
rence County, same State; and here he worked 
on his father's farm until of age. For the ensuing 
eight years he was employed as a farm laborer in the 
vicinity, and he was then united in marriage with 
Miss Rebecca Merrill, who was born in St. Lawrence 
Co., N. Y., .Sept. 4, 18 1 7. They at once settled on a 
50-acre farm purchased by Mr. F., and there lived 
until 1 86 1. He added 120 acres, and improved the 
whole farm of 170 acres, erecting suitable buildings. 

Selling out in the spring of the year mentioned, he 
purchased 240 acres of land in the State of Iowa, 
and started for the new home. While on his way, he 
fell in with parties coming to Michigan, who induced 
him to change his course. He came to Gratiot 
County, and shortly traded 120 acres of his Iowa 
land for 160 acres on section 8, Washington Town- 
ship. He soon after brought his family here from 
Ohio. He has added 20 acres, and of the whole 180 
acres, 130 are improved; and the two large stock and 
grain barns and suitable residence show the results 
of his labor. He retired from active business in 
1880, and came to Ithaca, where he has since re- 
sided. He owns there two and a half acres of land, 
and a good dwelling. 

He and wife have been the parents of tour chil- 
dren, — Addison and Ransom, living, and .Ansel and 
Charles, dead. Ansel died in the service of his 
country, and Cliarles from llie effects of exposure 
during the service. Politically, Mr. Fraker is a Re- 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






publican. He has been Supervisor of Washington 
eight years. Clerk three years and Justice of the 
Peace six years. He has also been Highway Com- 
missioner, and has held various other offices. 




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rastus C. Farrington, farmer, section 30, 
|L' Emerson Township, was born in Norfolk 
'^MST ^''•' ■'^^ss-' •'^"B- 4' '824, and was the son 
j|;jL of Harvey and Nancy (Tilson) Farrington, 
natives of Massachusetts, and of old New 
England stock. They both died in the Bay 
State, at an advanced age, about 1868. Erastus 
worked at home until 16 years old, and was kept so 
busy with work that his school advantages were very 
limited. At the age mentioned, he was apprenticed 
to one Erastus Dupey, of Wrentham, Mass., to learn 
the trade of making shoes. After one year he re- 
turned home, and engaged with his father in this 
business, which they carried on together until he was 
of age. 

At that age, he was united in marriage to Jimima 
Packard, a native of Maine. Eight years later 
they removed to Fulton Co., Ohio, and in the fall of 
1854 they came to this State, locating on the present 
homestead, section 30, Emerson Township. For six 
or eight years after he came here, he followed his 
trade winters, and farmed during the summers. 

March 10, 1866, his wife died, leaving six chil- 
dren, a seventh dying previous to her demise. Their 
names are as follows: Eugene E., born Oct. 29, 
1853; Nancy E., born June 11, 1857; Nellie M., 
born Aug. 13, 1859; Charles W.,born July 18, 1864; 
Alice, born March 26, 185 i, and died Sept. 1 1, 1862 ; 
Elmer E., born March 15, 1862, and died Aug. 29, 
1873; Willie, born Feb. 19, 1866, and died Aug. 4, 

1875- 

March 25, 1867, he was again married, in Wood 

Co., Ohio, to Laura, daughter of Jonas and Mary 

(Carpenter) Carter, natives of New England. She 

was born in Delaware Co., O., May 16, 1832, but at 

the age of one year her parents removed to Wood 

County, where she received a good education. At 

the age of 17, she began teaching district school, 

which she followed until 1864, and then devoted 

herself to the study of art. In 1865 she moved with 

her parents to this State and county, keeping up her 



work as an artist until her marriage, since which time 
she has lived on the farm. 

Mr. Farrington arrived in Emerson Township 
before an acre of wood had been cleared away, and 
after securing 40 acres he began to open up the 
country and make roads through the forest, then un- 
broken for miles in every direction. He has now 60 
acres of very valuable land, most of it well improved. 
Beginning in a small log hut, he has lived to be able 
to have a large, well arranged and comfortable resi- 
dence. He is a member of Ithaca Lodge, No. 123, 
F. & A. M.; and has been a Master Mason for nine 
years. In the lodge he has held the offices of J. D., 
S. D., J. W., S. W. and Tyler. In politics, he is an 
ardent and influential Republican. He belongs to 
the Baptist Church, and his wife to the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. They are socially popular, and 
few citizens of Gratiot County are more highly 
esteemed by their neighbors. 






V(S 



oswell Danly, farmer, on section 36, Fulton 
, iliiafi^'i Township, is a son of Ingalls and Electa 
f:t^F^' ('^"gell) Danly, natives of the State of 
}'\^ New York. The parents first settled in 
Jefferson Co., N, Y., where they followed the 
occupation of farming until their death. The 
father departed this life May 7, 1S38; the mother, 
July 15, 1864. Their family included four sons and 
three daughters. 

The eldest of the family was Rosvvell, born in 
Jefferson Co., New York. Oct. 24, 1827. He received 
a common-school education, and remained at home 
until 23 years old. After the death of his father, 
the labor and responsibility of managing the home 
farm largely devolved upon him. Although his home 
was wiih his mother until he was 23, yet at the age 
of 17 he embarked as a sailor on the lakes, which 
business he followed 14 years, i. e., from 1844 to 
1858. Shipping before the mast as a common sailor, 
he gradually worked his way up to the post of mate, 
then pilot, and for four years commanded a vessel, 
thus earning the title of Captain, by which he is com- 
monly known in the community in which he resides. 
He has a high place in the confidence and esteem of 
a wide circle of friends. In the fall of 1854, he 
located 80 acres of land in Clinton County, this 






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State, and worked during the subsequent winters at 
clearing the same. In the siunmer of 185S, he 
bought 80 acres of partly improved land in Fulton 
Township, on section 36, where is his present resi- 
dence. He has since added 40 acres opposite his 
farm in Clinton County, and has 100 acres well 
cultivated. 

Jan. 29, 1851, in Jefferson Co., N. Y., he was 
united in marriage to Nancy Brougham. Her 
parents, William and Nancy (Rilyea) Brougham, 
were natives of the Empire State. Mrs. Danly was 
born in that State, May 24, 1829. Mr. and Mrs. D. 
are the parents of four children ; William W., Viola 
J. (deceased September, 1864), James B. and 
Charles R. William W.,the eldest, is at Boyne City, 
Charlevoix County, engaged in lumbering. He is 
married, and has two daughters. 

Capt. Danly was the enrolling officer of Fulton 
Township during the war, and has held the office of 
Supervisor two terms. He is politically an ardent 
supporter of the Democratic party, and he is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic Order. 



^««il)i-te>^ 




l^ehuyler W. Ambler, real-estate and loan 
agent at Ithaca, was born July 24, 1826, in 
Nassau. Rensselaer Co., N. Y. His father, 
Peter W. Ambler, was born in January, 1802, 
in Columbia Co., N. Y. The parents of the 
latter went in his infancy to Nassau. He 
was of English descent and was reared to the 
vocation of agriculture, which he made the pur- 
suit of his early manhood, and later engaged in 
mercantile life. He went in 1833, to Yates, Orleans 
Co., N. Y., and in 1839 returned to Nassau, where 
he was interested a few months in the manufacture 
of woolen goods. He was a man of deep religious 
convictions, and in the winter of 1840 was licensed 
to preach ; he was regularly ordained a minister of 
the Baptist Church in 1843. In 1846 he bought 60 
acres of land in Nassau Township, which he man- 
aged about eight years and sold in 1854. A few 
years later he bought the property whereon he died, 
Oct. 5, 1873. He labored in the interests of religion 
in Columbia and Rensselaer Counties, in the State 
of New York. His wife, Polly (Waterbury) Ambler, 
was of English descent and was born in .Nassau, 
where she died, in April, 1871. 



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Mr. Ambler was a diligent student in the early 
years of his life, and, at the age of 16, was placed at 
Transylvania Institute for the purpose of making a 
thorough preparation for college; but the plan of his 
education was never consummated, as his health \Z^ 
failed and he was compelled to abandon the project. 
He was employed for a time on the farm and taught 
school a number of winters. In 185 i Mr. Ambler 
bought 200 acres of land in Nassau, and devoted his 
energies to the pursuit ot agriculture until r858, 
when he engaged in general mercantile pursuits at 
Brainard's Bridge, Nassau Township. Soon after the 
inception of the project he became associated with 
an individual named Hasting Kellogg, which rela- 
tion existed and was managed successfully until the 
spring of 1869. At that date, Mr. Ambler sold his 
interest to his partner. He had sold his farm in 
1863, and the disposal of his sole remaining business 
interest left him free to select a new location, which 
he was desirous of doing. He came to Jackson, 
Mich., and spent the summer of 1869, '.here examin- 
ing the comparative claims of new districts in the 
Peninsula State, relative to the choice of a location. 
He fixed upon Gratiot County and arrived at St. 
Louis Nov. 6, 1869. He engaged in teaching the 
winter ensuing, and in the spring of 1S70 he became "^ 
a salesman in the mercantile establishment of Hi- 
ram Harrington, and continued in that vocation be- 
tween two and three years. Meanwhile he was 
elected President of the village and served in that 
capacity one year (1872). In January, 1873, he 
came to Ithaca as Deputy County Treasurer, for A. 
B. Darragh, and discharged the duties of the posi- 
tion two years. In the fall of 1874 he was elected 
Treasurer and held the position four years. During 
the period of his official term he became interested 
in buying and selling real estate and in negotiating 
loans. On the expiration of his official obligations, 
he opened an office for the regular and systematic 
transaction of business in the avenues named, and 
has since been engaged in attention to his private af- 
fairs. He is dealing extensively in real estate, and (q\ 
now owns 700 acres of valuable farming lands in J 
Gratiot County. He also owns town property, in- 
( hiding a fine residence and a dwelling with two lots. 

Mr. Ambler has been President of Ithaca three 
successive years and Trustee for two years. He has 
also served one year as Justice of the Peace of Em^ ', 
erson Township. j>_ 



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GRA TIO T CO UNTY. 



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His marriage with Miss Charlotte M. Knapp, of 
Nassau, N. Y., occurred Sept. 14, 1850. She was 
born in the same place, April 2, 1832, and is the 
daughter of Isaac and Melinda Knapp. (The 
mother resides with the daughter.) Mr. and Mrs. 
Ambler have had eight children, as follows : Mary 
E., wife of Robert Banwell, a merchant of Bel videre, 
111. (They are the parents of three children — Fred- 
die, Charlie and Irvine.) Sarah M. was married to 
Julius E. Lyon, who is now deceased and left two 
children — Florence and Lothrop M. She is now the 
wife of Isaac M. Sayles, of Ithaca, and has an in- 
fant child. Eva S. was born Aug. 29, 1856, and 
died Dec. 9, 1864. Irvin S. was born Sept. 27, 1858. 
and died Nov. 15, 1877. The remainder of those 
surviving are Nettie L., Inis, Willie and Fanny. 

Mr. Anibler is a fair type of the substantial ele- 
ment of Gratiot County. He has conducted his bus- 
iness on a basis of integrity and uprightness, and 
guided his life in a manner that secures to him, at 
its later meridian, the comfort and content he has 
earned. His portrait, on another page, is a credita- 
ble acquisition to the list of similar representative 
men in this volume. 



\ dward Downs, farmer, on section 13, Ful- 
^Ijj ton Township, is a son of John and Mar- 
^ garet (Foreman) Downs, natives of Ohio 
^S. and Pennsylvania. They first settled in Holmes 
i Co., Ohio, and afterward removed to Hancock 
I County, same state, where they at present 
reside. Edward was born in Holmes Co., Ohio, 
May 18, 1840. He received a common-school edu- 
cation, and remained at home until 21 years of age. 
In May, i86t, he responded to the first call of 
President Lincoln for troops to suppress the Southern 
rebellion, and enlisted in the 21st Ohio Vol. Inf, 
which was a three-months regiment. In .'Vugust, 1862, 
he again enlisted, this time in the 99th Ohio Vol. 
Inf., and he served from that time on to the close of 
the war. He was in 32 regular engagements, 
besides numerous skirmishes. 

In October, 1865, he came to Gratiot County and 
bought 65 acres on section 23, Fulton Township. 
He afterward purchased 40 acres on section 13, 
where he now resides, and where he has put up a 

I 

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good dwelling and other farm buildings, 
acres under cultivation. 

April 10, 1863, in Hancock Co., Ohio, he was 
united in marriage to Lucinda, daughter of John and 
Margaret (Gibson) Chaffin, natives of Virginia and 
Pennsylvania. Mrs. Downs was born in Hancock 
Co., Ohio, .^ug. 18, 1839, and is the mother of five 
children: James E., Ella M., Mary E., John L. and 
Milo V, Mr. and Mrs. D. have adopted as their 
own child Marcia Cole, and she is known as Marcia 
C. Downs. Politically, Mr. D. is a Republican. 



-^^fAwm^mi 




I saiah Hatfield, farmer, section 36, Newark 
Township, is the son of Jacob and Catherine 
(Franks) Hatfield, the former a native of 
New Jersey, the latter of Pennsylvania. After 
their marriage, they located in Wayne Co., 
Ohio, where they resided more than 30 years. 
Their family comprised five sons and two daughters, 
named as follows : William, Michael, George, Jacob, 
Isaiah, Charlotte and Sally. Late in life, the parents 
moved to Medina Co., O., to reside with their young- 
est son, and there lived till the father's death. The 
mother returned to Wayne County, where she died. 

Mr. Hatfield was born in Wayne Co., Ohio, April 
28, 1822. He left home at the age of 16, and en- 
gaged in farming, afterwards becoming interested in 
managing threshing-machines, which business he 
pursued nearly si.x years. In 1853, associated with 
his brother Jacob, he went to the State of Iowa and 
bought 590 acres of land, which they sold after one 
season, and returned to Ohio. They bought 170 
acres of land in Medina County, and held its pro- 
prietorship seven years. Mr. Hatfield sold his in- 
terest therein in the spring of 1861, and came to 
Michigan. He bought 80 acres of unimproved land 
in Newark Township, and disposed later of 40 acres. 
All but eight acres of the remaining moiety are 
cleared and under cultivation. He is independent 
in political sentiment and action, and has occupied 
the various school offices in his district. He is con- 
nected by membership with the Masonic fraternity. 

Mr. Hatfield was married Aug. 30, 1848, to Mrs. 
Polly (VVeidman) Shank, widow of Michael Shank, 
and daughter of John and Barbara Weidman. Her 
parents were natives of Pennsylvania, and after their 



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marriage removed to Canada, where the daughter 
was born Fel). 27, 1821. But one of three children 
-> born of her first marriage survives, Mariette. The 
y others were named John and Henry. Tliree chil- 
^ dren have been born of her marriage with Mr. Hat- 
field : Teresa, May 16, 1856; Adam P., born July 
18, 1849, and died March 24, 1850; (George, born 
Feb. 2, 1850, and died Sept. 16, 1856. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hatfield are members of the Church of United 
Brethren. Mr. H. was for 30 years a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and has for four years 
been a minister in tlie Church to which he now be- 
'^ longs. 

jl oah Sooy, farmer on section i, Fulton Town- 
11 ship, is the son of Samuel and Rebecca 
(Tailor) Sooy, who were of Welsh and Hol- 
land descent and settled in New Jersey. 
,l(j Noah was born in Wayne Co., Ohio, June 10, 
I Si 6, and received a common-school education in 
that county. When 18 years old he removed to Me- 
dina County, same State, and in the fall of 1866 he 
made his last, long move to this county, buying 100 
acres on section 3, Fulton Township. After residing 
there 14 years he sold and purchased 77 acres on 
J section i, same township, where he now resides. 
He has 60 acres under cultivation. 

Aug. 12, 1841, in Medina Co., Ohio, lie married 
Miss Sarah Driskell, who was born in Wayne Co., 
Ohio, Feb. 5, 1822. They have had seven children, 
of whom four survive: Elizabeth, Jemima, Avery 
and Corlis S. The deceased are : Perry, Joseph C. 
and Benjamin F. Mr. Sooy has been School Di- 
rector two years, and in politics is a National. 







V 



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The subject of this sketch was born in Onondaga 
Co., N. Y., A])ril 18, 1843. When 20 years of age he 
enlisted in the loth N. Y. Cav., and served a year 
and a half, participating in the battles of the Wild- 
erness, Spottsylvania Court-House, Cold Harbor, 
Weldon Railroad, Vaughn Road, Five Forks, etc. ; 
was at the surrender of Gen. Lee. He was then at 
his home in Onondaga County a year, and next, in 
April, 1866, he came to Midland Co., Mich., where 
he followed milling and lumbering nearly 12 years. 
In the spring of 1878 he came to his present place, 
which he had bought eight years previously. At first 
it comprised 120 acres, but Mr. B. subsequently dis- 
posed of 40 acres, and a half of the remainder is 
now in a good tillable condition. 

Sept. 6, 1874, Mr. Bodfish was married to Miss 
Emma, daughter of Seth and Julia A. (Crandall) 
Gould, natives of Canada. She was born in Cana 
da, Aug. 18, 1852. The children of Mr. and Mrs. B. 
are Jolin H., George, Sarah M., Mary G. and Frank L. 

Mr. Bodfish is a member of the Masonic Order, 
and in politics is a " National." 




ijenry Bodfish, farmer, section 12, Bethany 
Township, is a son of Oliver and Sarah 
(Walker) Bodfish, who were natives respect- 
ively of Massachusetts and Maine, first settled 
in New Bedford, Mass., and afterward in Onon- 
daga Co., N. Y., where Mr. B. followed agricul- 
tural pursuits and resided the remainder of his life, 
his death taking place .\pril 8, 1883. His wife died 
Aug. 27, 1851. 







jtiram Townsend, farmer, section 31, North 

S^ Shade Towiishi|i, is tiie son of Josiah and 

Dolly (Parker) Townsend, and was born in 

Jefferson Co., N. Y., Sept. 23, 1806. His parents 

were natives of Connecticut, where they were 

engaged in farming. They moved to Jefferson 

Co., N. Y., where the) spent the remainder of tlieir 

days. 

At the age of 21 years, Hiram left the home of his 
parents and embarked on the voyage of life for him- 
self. He learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, 
which he followed for about 14 years. During this 
period he spent much time of the winters in the 
manufacture of joiners' tools. 

In the year 1854, Mr. Townsend married Miss 
Louisa, daughter of Amasa and Luna (Townsend) 
Page. Mr. Page was a native of New Hampshire, 
and the mother of New York State. Both of them 
have long since closed life's labors, the former dying 
in i860, and the latter in 185S, both in New York. 
Mrs. Townsend died in 1847, in Jefferson Co., N. Y. 
Sept. 28, 1848, he was married to Miss Luna Page, a 
younger sister of his first wife. 



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Mr. Townsend moved from New York to Michigan 
in 1865, and located on section 31, North Shade 
Township, on a tract of 87 acres of land, of which 
65 acres are in a good state of cultivation. The 
farm is well improved and has upon it good farm 
buildings. Mr. Townsend is the father of eight chil- 
dren, viz. : Luna, Erastus, Ambrose E., Eber L., 
Harlan. Orville H., Frank E. and Ida A. The first 
four were by his first wife. Politically, Mr. Townsend 
is a Republican. 

ilton H. Davis, farmer on section 16, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of William and 
Sally M. (Cast) Davis, natives of New 
'' ''■\ York State. He was born in Medina Co., 
Ohio, March 19, 1851, and at the age of 13 
came with his parents to Gratiot County. He 
remained at home until 22 years old, and then pur- 
chased 80 acres of Government land in Otsego Co., 
Mich. Six years later he sold, and bought 85 acres 
in Fulton Township, this county, where he now re- 
sides. He has 70 acres under cultivation. 

Feb. 22, 1873, at Ithaca, this county, he married 
Sarah, daughter of Peter and Nancy Leddick. She 
was born in Seneca Co., N. Y., Nov. 6, 1850. This 
marriage has been blessed with three children : 
James E., William T. and Nela M. Mr. Davis is a 
member of the M. E. Church, and in iwlitics is a 
Republican. 








^ 






oseph E. Holton, farmer, section 14, Beth- 
any Township, is a son of Joseph ar.d Eliz- 
.sr^^ abeth (Barnes) Holton, who emigrated from 
England to America in 1849 and first settled 
%^ in Jackson Co., Mich., and in 1S66 where they 
now reside, in Bethany Township, this county. 
Joseph E., the eldest son, was born Aug. i, 1842, in 
England ; remaining with his parents until the war 
of the rebellion commenced, he enlisted, in August, 
186 1, in the 8th Mich. Inf.; but, being under 18 
years of age, he was soon discharged, by request of 
his father. In August, 1862, he again enlisted, in the 
same regiment, and remained in the service uiitil 
July, 1865, participating in 13 engagements. When 



before Petersburg, Va., in April, 1865, he received a 
gunshot wound in his left thigh. 

After his discharge he came to Jackson Co., Mich., 
and soon entered the commercial college at Albion, 
Mich., where he graduated. Since 1866 he has re- 
sided on his present place, where he is the owner of 
120 acres of good land, with 57 acres cleared and 
subdued to a fine tilth. In the spring of 1880 he 
was elected Justice of the Peace, which office he 
still holds. Has been also School Director for six 
years and Commissioner of Highways. He belongs 
to the " National " party. 

March 19, 1868, in Bethany Township, Mr. Hol- 
ton married Miss Dorinda, daughter of Bernard and 
Dorinda Fox. (See sketch of Bernard Fox.) Mrs. 
H. was born in Steuben Co., N. Y., April 4, 1848. 
The children in this family are : Harvey B., Ida 
M., Carrie L., Jessie E., George W. and Fred. N. 
Jessie died when about three years old. 



i:'.~(^,:i rederick S. Kelly, retired farmer and 
i \L§.' .-, stock-raiser, section 36, Ithaca Township, 
glfe? '^ was born in Wood Co., Ohio, May 16, 
^M^ 1832. His father, John A. Kelly, was a native 
yjti^ of Ohio, and was the first settler in Mont- 
{ gomery Township, Wood County. When he 
went tliere, the Indians were very numerous, and 
numliers of them would occasionally spend the night 
at his hospitable home. When he "raised" his 
cabin, he had to go 14 miles for help. In this 
pioneer home, the subject of this sketch passed his 
early childhood, and it was but natural for him to ac- 
quire that pluck and energy wit'i which all successful 
pioneers are endowed. 

Frederick Kelly's mother, Rachel Shawn, was a 
native of Virginia, came to Ohio wlieii very young, 
and there lived until her death, in 1840 Her father 
was a soldier in the Revolution, serving seven years. 
Frederick attended the first school in his native 
township. The school-house was a log structure, 
14 X 18, covered with "shakes." The benches con- 
sisted of the roughest son of basswood logs, split, and 
the legs inserted therein so as to form a h.alf-round 
seat. The fire-place was made of sticks and daub, 
and the prominence of the corners admitted of the 
children climbing to its top, which was a fine resort 



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for the urchins of thai pioneer school. The famihar 
trick of fastening the door, and then calling out, 
"Teacher, stay out or treat," was occasionally prac- 
ticed on Christmas by the mischievous pupils; but 
on one occasion the master beat them at their game. 
He took advantage of the peculiar style of the chim- 
ney, and, by covering its top, smoked tliem out. 

Frederick passed the first 22 years of his life in at- 
tending school, and in assisting his father to clear 
their farm and make a comfortable home. Feb. 17, 
\i 1853, he was married to Mary Davis, a native of 
'• Ohio. Two years later, they came to this State and 
entered 2S0 acres of land in Newark Township, this 
county. June 17, 1866, his wife died at her home in 
this county, leaving two children: Ella, born Aug. 
25, 1857; and John, born Nov. 25, 1858. 

Mr. Kelly was a second time married, April iS, 
1867, to Mrs. Emma Jenner(//i'V Humphrey), daugh- 
ter of John and Ann (Best) Humphrey, natives of 
England. She was born in Sussex, England, April 
13, 1841. Her parents were farmers, and she lived 
at home and attended school in England until 15, 
when her parents brought her to the United .States. 
Their passage across the Atlantic occupied six 
weeks. From New York city they went to Levanna, 
Cayuga Co., N. Y., thence to Springport ; and in the 
fall of 1863 they came to this county and located in 
Newark Township. Emma's first husband, Henry 
Jenner, enlisted Sept. 3, 1862, was taken prisoner at 
Newbern, N. C, Feb. 2, 1864, and died in the prison 
pen at Andersonville, April 18, 1864, of small-pox. 

Mr. Kelly enlisted, Aug. 12, 1862, in Co. D, 26th 
Mich. Vol. Inf., commanded by Capt. Lafayette 
j? Church, of this county. He enlisted as wagoner, and 
* was soon made "boss" wagoner, which jxist he held 
A until he was honorably discharged, June 15, 1865, 
after serving nearly three years. 

Jan. II, 1881, he left his well improved farm of 
280 acres in Newark township in care of his son, and 
purchased his present home of 40 acres on section 
36, Ithaca Township, near the village of Ithaca. 
Here he lives a retired life, devoting a portion of his 
time to dealing in stock. He has by his second mar- 
riage one daughter, Fanny, born June 8, 1877, the 
namesake of her aunt, Fanny Kelly, who was for five 
months a captive among the Indians of Idaho. 
Mrs. Kelly's first marriage occurred Dec. 14, 1859; 
and by this marriage she has two sons: Thomas C, 






■0- 



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born Feb. 12, 1862, and Edward H., born Junes, 
1863. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kelly are not members of any 
Church, believing that a high morality, as taught by 
our conscience, is the best religion. He has held 
the office of Highway Commissioner for six years, 
and Township Treasurer for two years, besides 
minor offices. He was the second Treasurer of New- 
ark Township. Politically, he is a zealous member 
of the National Greenback party. 



I IIjM; ^tsi" Myer, farmer, section g, Bethany Town 

1^^^^ siiip, was born in Prussia, Feb. 23, 1821 

41!©- ^'^ parents were natives of the same country 

|,j((^ and there followed the occupation of farming 



Jlf^ until the year 1841, when they emigrated to 
the United States and settled in Ohio, where they 



both died, the former in 1875, and the latter in 
1870. 

Mr. Myer remained at home, in his native land, 
assisting his father on the farm and accompanied 
them to the States. On arrival in Ohio he engaged 
himself as a farm laborer for two years to a gentleman 
in the vicinity of Cleveland, afterward working in a 
brick-yard two summers and cutting wood in the 
winters. His next move was to Huron County, 
where he remained two years working on a farm, and 
then moved to Williams County, same State, and 
purchased 40 acres of land. He labored on this 
land for nine years, when he sold it and came to this 
county, arriving here in the year 1867. On arriving 
here, he purciiased 80 acres of land on section g, 
Bethany Township, and turned his undivideil atten- 
tion to the cultivation of the same. He has suc- 
cessfully cleared 62 acres of this land and placed it 
under good improvement, on 40 acres of which there 
is not a stump to be seen. 

Mr. Myer was united in marriage June 20, 1850, 
in Cleveland, Ohio, to Miss Julia N. Midlle, born in 
Germany, Aug. 31, 1821. She came to the United 
States in 1850, the year she was married. 

Mr. and Mrs. Myer are the parents of six children, 
only two of whom survive, namely: Catherine, who 
was united in marriage to John Schultes, and is at 
present living on section 8, Bethany Township; and 

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Mary, the wife of Frank Peach, living on section 4, 
in the same township. 
*^ Mr. and Mrs. Myer are both members of the Ger- 
T man Lutheran Church, and Mr. M. has held an of- 
(S; fice in the Church for many years. 

In political opinion Mr. M. is a Democrat. 

^ #-# V^ 




ames M. McKee, farmer, section 6, Ithaca 

'^ Township, was born in Niagara Co., N. Y., 

^^^ Jan. 14, 1836. His father was Anthony 

MiKee, a native of Orange Co., N. Y., and o' 

Scotch and German extraction. James was 

reared on a farm and educated in the common 

schools of his native county. In 1867 he came to 

Washtenaw Co., Mich., where he worked at his trade 

of carpenter and joiner during the summer and 

( ) taught school during the winter. He came to Gratiot 

-, County in 187J, taught one winter, and has since 

/S been engaged in agriculture, now owning 85 acres of 

well improved land. 

Oct. 22, 1873, Mr. McKee married Miss Mary 
Killin, daughter of Patrick Killin, and their children 
are : Belle and Berenice. 

Mr. McKee is a Freemason in good standing, 
havint; taken nine degrees in the mvstic art. 






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h illiam K. Wheeler, tarmer, section 12, 
Sw Newark Township, was born Oct. 9, 1839, 
W^O '" Oswego Co.,N. \'. His parents, Sylvester 
and Hannah (Peck) Wheeler, were natives 
resjiectively of Vermont and New York. (See 
sketch.) In 1852, when he was but 13 years old, 
his family went to Kane Co., 111., and after a stay of 
more than a year they came to Michigan. He re- 
mained with them until 1863. They came to Gratiot 
County in i855',after a stay of si.x months in Ingham 
/X^ County. Since that date, Mr. Wheeler has contin- 
S[ ued a resident of Gratiot County. He owns 160 
3 acres of land and has 108 acres under fine improve- 
^ ments and in advanced cultivation. Mr. Wheeler is 
■y a Republican, and acts for the issues and interests of 
^S that party. He has been Director of School District 
\;-^ No. 2 ten successive years, and has served four years 
r as School Assessor. 



He was married in Greenbush, Clinton Co., Mich., 
Aug. 6, 1863, to Mrs. Ann L., widow of George 
Hawkes, and daughter of John and Ann \.. Cook.. 
She is a native of England, and was born Nov. 5, 
1839, near Canterbury. Her parents brought her to 
the United States when she was 12 years old. Her 
first husband died March 14, 1861, leaving two chil- 
dren, — Samuel j., born Dec. 11, 1859, and Thomas 
E., Sept. 6, 1861. Following is the record of the 
births of six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler: 
Alfred W., July 3, 1864; George E., Aug. 29, 1866; 
Mary J., Dec. 5, 1868; Warren W., April 8, 1870; 
Cora E., July 29, 1873; Frederick H., July S, 1876. 
The family attend the United Brethren Church, ot 
which the parents are zealous members. 



^:'fl5rt \v.''8'Hklin Miller, the first resident lawyer of 
"^Mljip Gratiot County, was born in Lodi, Seneca 



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Co., N. Y., March 13, 1833. His ances- 
tors, back to an indefinite date i)revious to the 

'^ Revolution, were farmers, and formerly resided 
in the township of Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y., 
emigrating to the "lake country " at the close of the 
war for independence. 

He received the rudiments of a cominon English 
education in the district schools of the neighborhood, 
and, commencing at 16, pursued for three years a 
course of academic studies. The ensuing three years 
he studied law at Elmira, N. Y., and in 1S55 he was 
admitted to practice in the courts of the Empire 
State. 'I'he same year, he came to this State and 
county, arriving previous to the first election of county 
officers, when he was elected Prosecuting Attorney, — 
the first to hold that office in Gratiot. He was the 
first resident licensed attorney, and at the next elec- 
tion was re-elected for a second term. Before the 
conclusion of this term, however, ill health compelled 
his resignation; and in the spring of 1859 he made 
the overland trip to California, going the next year to 
Oregon. On the discovery of the gold fields of Ida- 
ho, he was among the first to settle in that little-known 
Territory. 

In 1871, he returned to Michigan, married, and 
remained a resident of Gratiot County until 1882, 
when he went once more to Idaho. He will be long 
remembered as oae of the pioneers of this county. 









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He was among those who secured the location of the 
county offices at Ithaca, and he was the first Post- 
master of the county seat, which lie named in re- 
membrance of Ithaca, N. Y. He purchased and 
and brought into Gratiot County its first jirinting 
press. He was the original projector of the Michi- 
gan Central Union Fair Association, and was in var- 
ious ways instrumental in the progress of the county 
and county seat. 



ICohn P. Ruppert, farmer on section 27, Ful- 
_^dt ton Township, is a son of John P. and 
ij" '' Christine (Sholler) Ruppert, natives of Ger- 
many, in which country they died. He was 
also born in Germany, Sept. 15, 1815, and in 
1853 came with his wife and one child to the 
United States. For three years he lived in the State 
of Ohio. In the autumn of 1856, known as the 
" smoky fall," he came to Gratiot C'ounty and bouglit 
80 acres of wild land on section 27, Fulton Town- 
ship, where he has since resided. He has now 40 
acres under the plow. 

He was married in the " Fatherland," in Septem- 
ber, 1843, to Miss Anna B., daughter of Frederick 
and Mary B. (Christine) Buttner, natives also of the 
old country. She was born there Sept. 8, 1814. Mr. 
and Mrs. Ruppert have one son, George M.,a sketch 
of whom is given in this work. They have formerly 
been members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. 
Politically, Mr. R. is a Democrat. 




fohn Richard, Sr., farmer on section 34, New- 
'^ ark Township, is a son of John and Mary 
(Poorman) Richard, natives of Franklin 
Co., Pa. They followed farming all their lives 
ir and died in Westmoreland Co., Pa., whither 
they had removed. The father departed this 
life in May, 1833, and the mother Dec. 19, 1845. 

The subject of this biography was born March 16, 
181 1, in Westmoreland Co., Pa., and alternately 
worked on the farm and attended school until 21 
years old. At this age he was united in marriage 
with Rachel Fry, daughter of Micliael and Regina 
(Spillman) Fry, natives of Luzerne Co.. Pa. Mr. and 



Mrs. Fry followed farming, and died in their native 
county, the father in r853, and the mother in 1866. 
Th'..ir daughter Rachel was born May 27, 1815, in 
Westmoreland Co., Pa., and was the third daughter 
of a family of 13 children, all ot whom are now dead 
but three. 

Mr. and Mrs. Richard moved in 1846 to Ashland 
Co., Ohio, and in 1854 they went to Wood County, 
same State. Here he worked out a comfortable 
home from the dense forest. He is a man of iron 
constitution, and nothing in the way of hardship or 
toil could daunt him. In the spring of 1871, he 
moved with his family to Gratiot County, and located 
on 80 acres on section 34, Newark Township, where 
he now resides. 

During the late war, he sent four sons into the 
army, and twice enlisted himself; but was not ac- 
cepted, on account of his i)ersonal sacrifice in risking 
the lives of his sons. Mr. and Mrs. Richard have 
been the parents of five sons and six daughters. He 
is a staunch Republican, and with his wife belongs 
to the United Brethren C'hurch. They have been 
Christians 40 years. 



^-^ 




^ 




ohn H. Jessup, farmer, section 25, Newark 
Township, is tlie son of Isaac M. and 
Eleanor (Schermerhorn) Jessup. The for- 
mer was born in Tompkins Co., N. Y., April c 
Y 1810; the latter Nov. 20, 1815, in Rensselae 
County, in the same State. Their marriager 
took place in New York, and in 1839 they eniiirated 
to Michigan, and at first settled in Eaton County 
going afterward to Wayne County. They maintained 
their residence there for 15 years, and in the spring 
of 1853 removed to Ionia County, where they are at 
present located. Four daughters and five sons were 
born to them : Jane M., Abram M., John H., Alida 
A., Jacob S., Andrew S., Mary E., Edward T. and 
Eleanor E. The last named child died when nearly 
three years old. 

Mr. Jessup, of this sketch, was born Dec. 24, 1837 
in Rensselaer Co., N. Y. He was 17 years old when 
his father located in Michigan, and he obtained his 
education in the common schools of the Peninsular 
State. On reaching the period of his legal freedom 
he found himself with the world before him, to wrest 






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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



success from opportunity, or to wait in listless apathy 
for the fortune that comes soonest to manly, well- 
directed endeavor. In December, i860, he came to 
Gratiot County, and became the owner of 63 acres of 
unimproved land in Newark Township, of which he 
is still proprietor. He built the customary log house, 
and continued its occupancy until 1880. In that 
year, he completed and took possession of a fine 
brick residence. To his original farm he has added 
85 acres, and is now carrying on successful agricul- 
ture on 148 acres, of which 123 acres are finely im- 
proved land. Mr. Jessup belongs to tlie Republican 
element in politics, and has officiated three years as 
School Director in his district. 

In October, 1864, he was drafted, and assigned to 
service in the 23d Mich. Vol. Inf , and was in the 
army nine months. He participated in the actions 
at Franklin and Nashville, Tenn., and at Port Ander- 
son, N. C Was honorably discharged from the ser- 
vice of the United States in June, 1865, at Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

Mr. Jessup was married Dec. 29, 1859, at Lyons, 
Ionia County, to Margaret R., daughter of Amos and 
Betsey (Grant) Dean, natives of the State of New 
York, where they were married, and whence they re- 
moved their family to Ionia Co., Mich., in 1854, and 
in 1 861 again removed to Gratiot County, and located 
in North Shade Township. The father died June 
29. 1857. The mother resides in Sumner Township. 
Mrs. Jessup is the second daughter of her parents, 
and is one of nine children born to them, viz. : Amos 
W., Nancy B., Darius E., Ezra J., Thomas H., Emma 
A., Rosa M. and Emery V. She was born in Vates 
Co., N. Y., Aug. 28, 1840. The sons and daughters 
of Mr. and Mrs. Jessup are named : Charles H., 
Nettie E., Arthur H., George L., Frank A., William 
T., Glen O. and Bertha M. 




^<SWiWS>^ 



ilbert Pierson, farmer, section 32, Washing- 
' ton Township, is a son of Silas and Phoebe 
(Davis) Pierson, natives of Essex Co., N. J. 
Silas Pierson was a carpenter and joiner, and 
in 1839 moved to Morrow Co., Ohio, where he 
and his wife both died. The subject of this 
was born in Essex Co., N. J., Oct. 13, 1817. 
18 years old, he was apprenticed for three 



years to the trade of harness-maker, at the expiration 
of which time he engaged in farming in Morrow Co., 
Ohio. In 1853, he removed to Gratiot County, pur- 
chasing of the Government 80 acres on section 32, 
Washington Township. There are now 60 acres 
nicely improved. In the spring of 1867, he built a 
large barn, and in 1873 he erected a neat dwelling, at 
a cost of $1,000. 

March 10, 1844, he was married to Lucy J., 
daughter of Samuel and Maria ((iould) Linscott, 
natives respeotively of the State of Maine and New 
York city. Mr. Linscott was by occupation a mason. 

Mr. Pierson has been Highway Commissioner of 
his township for three years, and has served occa- 
sionally on juries. He built the second house in 
Washington Township. There was at that time no 
road, and he had to attach paper to stakes, to guide 
to his place the men to whom he went five miles to 
ask to help him build. The nearest trading place 
was Dewitt, Clinton County. He and wife are mem- 
bers of the Christian Church. In politics he is a 
supporter of the Republican party. 



^*hJh*.^ 




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homas M. Granger, farmer, section 8, Pine 
i River Township, was born March 3, 1841, 
P^ in Hartsville, Steuben Co., N. Y., and is the 
third son of Allen and Margaret (Bover) 
Granger. His father was born in Vermont, 
and his mother was a native of New York. 
They settled soon after their marriage in Canisteo, 
Steuben Co., N. Y., and they still reside in that 
county. 

Mr. Granger is the third son of his parents and one 
of ten children born to them. He received a common- 
school education, and at the age of 20 made his 
entry into the world in an independent capacity, and 
paid his father $75 for the year's service yet re- 
maining of his minority. He was empty-handed, 
but preserved a spirit of determination second to that 
of no man, the results of which, coupled with persist- 
ent labor, good sense and judgment, are plainly 
manifest in his surroundings. He came to Gratiot 
County in September, 1867, and settled at Ithaca. 
He remained in that place and vicinity nearly eight 
years. In 187-. he bought 80 acres of land in Sum- 
ner Township, which he continued to improve three 



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years, when he sold out and went to Ahna. There 
he built a house and barn and resided about 18 
months, when he exchanged the property for 80 acres 
of hmd belonging to P. Richardson, located in Pine 
River Township, where he has since followed the 
vocation of farming. He has purchased 17 acres ad- 
ditional, and has 75 acres under improvement. Mr. 
Granger is an adherent to the tenets of the National 
Greenback party. 

He was married May 11, 1859, in Steuben C'o., N. 
Y., to Mary B., daughter of Burnett and Margaret 
(Gibling) McDermott, natives of Ireland, where Mrs. 
Granger was born, Jan. 5, 1839. Three children — 
George W., Ella L. and Carrie L. — have been born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Granger. The only son and eldest 
child met his death at Fremont, Newaygo County, 
Dec. 21, i88i,by a terrible accident. He was en- 
gaged in making what is called a " fly switch " at the 
railroad station where he was employed, and was 
killed while in the performance of his duty. 

The father and mother are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 



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oUa A. Peet, farmer, section 31, Lafayette 
Township, is a son of |ohn and Betsy 
(Clark) Peet, natives of Connecticut and 
- New York, respectively. The former was by 
occupation a farmer, but also worked at the 
trade of a shoemaker. Rolla A. was born 
Aug. 18, 1830, in the State of New York, and worked 
on his father's farm until he was nearly 21 years old. 
Early in 1851 he went to Ohio, and worked on a 
farm until he was fully of age. He then married Mary 
Odell, daughter of Nathan and Betsy (Wright) Odell, 
and resided for a time in Lorain Co., Ohio. Mr. 
Peet enlisted in Co. B, First Ohio Light Artillery, in 
1864, and was mustered out at Camp Dennison, Ohio, 
July 24, 1865. Returning home, he engaged in the 
dairy business one year, then sold his farm and came 
to Michigan in the spring of 1867. He first settled 
on 300 acres in Kent County. In 1875 he again re- 
moved, this time to Lafayette Township, Gratiot Co., 
settling on the south half of section 31. Of his 320 
acres, 100 are cleared and 100 more chopped. 

Mr. Peet's first marriage was blessed with six 
children, as follows: Frank M., born Nov. 22, 1852; 



Odell, July 9, 1855 ; Gertrude, June 2, 1859; Louis 
M., Feb. 27, 1862 ; Benj. J., Nov. 21, 1867 ; Anna, 
Sept. 17, 1874. 

He is liberal in his religious views, and politically 
he votes with the National party. In 1881, the first 
Mrs. Peet died, and he was again married to Miss 
Ida M. Fuller, a daughter of James and Polly 
(Schance) Fuller. She was born in Eaton Co., Mich., 
Sept. 17, 1865, and at the age of five came with her 
parents to Gratiot County. 

As one of the leading and representative agricul- 
turists and citizens of Gratiot County, we take 
pleasure in presenting Mr. Peet's portrait in this 
volume. 













sv 

^ 



eorge G. Nichols, jeweler at St. Louis, was ^ ^ 

J. V-^4 '^of" March 10, 1845, at Plattsburg, N. Y. 

fiX^ He is the son of Gardner and Sabra (Martin) ^ 

•l* Nichols. His father was a son of Levi Nich- i=i 

% ols, proprietor of the Nichols House, at Platts- ,%• 
burg, and was also born in that place. Levi Nichols = 
died at the advanced age of 94. The management 
of the hotel devolved upon Gardner Nichols before 
the death of his father, and he conducted it several 
years. In the spring of 1863 he removed his family 
to Medina, Lenawee Co., Mich., where he bought a 
farm of 1 60 acres of land. 

Mr. Nic;hols was then 18 years old, and he attended 
the academy at Oak Grove several terms. In Jan- 
uary, 1S64, he determined to risk the fate of war, and 
enrolled as a soldier. He enlisted in Co. G, 30th 
Mich. Vol. Inf., and was in the service of the United 
States six months. He returned to Medina, and after 
attending school two terms went to Adrian and en- 
tered the employ of Japhet Cross to learn the de- 
tails of the jeweler's trade. He remained nearly 
four years, and Jan. 10, 1870, came to St. Louis in 
impaired health, to obtain the benefit of the mineral 
water. After three months he became so much im- 
proved that he determined to engage in business and 
opened an establishment at the stand now occupied 
by Mclntyre's drug store. He conducted the rei)air 
business, and as he succeeded in working up a con- 
siderable degree of trade he added jewelry, and by • 
his good management has firmly established himself -; 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



in his business. He removed to his present quar- 
ters in May, 1882. In May, 1879, he was burned 
out on the old site, but with a very slight loss above 
his insurance. His business is prosperous and he 
employs his brother, John M. Nichols, as assistant in 
repairing and engraving. He is also agent for the 
New American Sewing Machine, No. 7. 

Mr. Nichols was married Sept. 27, 1876, at Has- 
tings, Barry Co., Mich., to Blanche, daughter of A. J. 
Newton. She was born in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. N. 
are the parents of one child, Carrie E.,born Nov. 1 1, 
1878, at St. Louis. Mr. Nichols is a member of the 
Knights of Honor. 




ji euben D. Maxwell, farmer, section 7, 
North Star Township, was born in Monroe 
Co., N. Y., June 3, 1834, and is a son of 
Cyrus Maxwell, who brought his family from 
Troy to Geauga Co., Ohio, in 1836, and to 
Monroe Co., Mich., in 1844, where the subject 
of this sketch resided until after the war. He served 
one year in that gi-eat struggle, in Co. H, Ninth 
Mich. Vol. Inf. ; resided in Ingham Co., Mich., from 
1866 to 1879, where he followed farming five years 
and ran a dray eight years ; then came to this county, 
where he has since been engaged in agriculture, and 
now owns 1245^ acres of good land. 

Oct. 29, i86i, Mr. Maxwell married Miss Jane, 
daughter of Daniel Hillman, now deceased. She 
was born in Upper Canada, and was brought by her 
parents to Jackson Co., Mich., when only four years 
of age (1844). Mr. and Mrs. M. have three chil- 
dren, namely ■. Grace, Newton and Ira. 







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^ i C' \jlsariu8 Roop, farmer, section 5, North Shade 

f^^^al Township, is a son of John and Mary 

|r^^ (Mills) Roop, the former a nariveofNew 

WV York, and the latter of Canada. Farming 

fj was their occupation. Mr. John Roop came 

J when a young man to Toledo, Ohio, near 

which place he owned a farm. After a period, he 

moved 25 miles west of that city, and in 1856 to 

Montcalm County, this State, wherein 188? his wife 



died. He is yet living with his daughter, Mrs. Eva- 
line Thompson, in Montcalm County. 

The subject of this sketch was born March 16, ^' 
1832, in Lucas Co., Ohio, near Toledo, remaining 
with his parents until 22 years of age as a farmer. 
Spending one year in Indiana, he came to Montcalm 
Co., Mich., where he remained two years engaged in 
various occupations. He cleared the land where 
Carson City now stands. In 1857, he located on a 
tract of 40 acres on section 5, North Shade Town- 
ship, to which he subsequently added 40 acres. He 
now has 78 acres well improved, with house, barn, 
etc. Mr. Roop has been Justice of the Peace seven 
years, and School Director a number of terms. He 
is a Republican, and a member of Ithaca Chapter, 
No. 70, R. A. M. 

In the year 1856, Mr. Roop married Miss Eliza- 
beth, daughter of William F. and Eliza (Earls) Bige- 
low, natives of the State of New York. Her mother 
died a number of years ago, and her father is yet liv- 
ing, in Carson City, Mich. The two children of Mr. 
and Mrs. Roop are: Charles, born Aug. 24, 1858, and 
Alpheus, May 7, 1867. 






— ^^^- 



J-V/vv^-J- 




bornelius K. Samson, physician and drug- 
gist at St. Louis, was born in Dover, 



0> 



Dutchess Co., N. Y., March 21, 1825, and is 
a son of John and Sarah (Upson) Samson. 

/ The father was born in Dover, in 1776; the 
mother was a native of Waterbury, Conn., where she 
was born in 1780. In June, 1836, they came to 
Michigan and settled in Woodstock, Lenawee County. 
John Samson died Oct. 20, 1837. The demise of his 
wife occurred in i860, at White Church, Kan. 

Dr. Samson was a resident of Woodstock until he 
was 27 years of age, and was engaged in farming. 
In 1852 he went to Adrian and opened a store for 
the sale of books and stationery, and also entered 
upon the study of medicine. He continued the man- 
agement of his book trade about a year, and after 
devoting some time to his medical studies, he com- 
menced his career as a practitioner. In November, 
1872, he came to St. Louis and purchased a stock of 
drugs and continued to operate at the stand where 
he first established himself, on the corner of Mill and 
Center Streets, four years. In 1876 he purchased the 



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building where he has since conducted his business. 
His stock includes drugs, patent medicines, oils and 
paints, books, stationery, groceries, etc. His trade is 
popular and prosperous, and he has a good office 
practice. He compounds the following proprietary 
medicines : Alterative Tonic, Ague and Chill-Fever 
Pills, Compound Cough Elixir, Carminative, Cough 
Syrup, Dysentery Pills, Constipation Pills, Dyspeptic 
Elixir, Canker Lotion, Expectorant, Hair Dye, Horse 
and Cattle Powders, Hoof and Healing Ointment, 
Heave Powders, Nerve and Bone Liniment, Com- 
pound Carthartic Pills, Family Panacea, Syrup Sarsa- 
parilla Compound, Soothing Drops, Vegetable Liver 
Pills, Peptonic Vermifuge, Fluid Extract of VVitch- 
Hazel and Healing Salve. 

Dr. Samson was married Dec. 2, 1852, in Brook- 
lyn, Jackson Co., Mich., to Wealtha L. Youngs. 
Two children have been born of their marriage : 
Ellie M. and Mary L. The former is the wife of L 
C. Kendall. 

ndrew S. Jolly, farmer, section 20, Wash- 
I , />^^ ington Township, is a son of Charles N- 
S' and Tryphena (Pulfrey) Jolly, natives of New 
iir York State. They followed farming in that 
'1'' State, where the former died in 1842. The 
latter died in Gratiot County, in 1880. An- 
drew S. was born Nov. 20, 1835, in Fayette Town- 
ship, Seneca Co., N. Y. At the age of 10, he com- 
menced iieddling, which he followed for eight years. 
Coming to Monroe Co., Mich., he worked in the 
woods and on a farm for a year and a half; and then 
came to Gratiot County, in 1854. 

In 1863, he enlisted in Co. L, First Michigan En- 
gineers, and was assigned to the \rmy of the Cum- 
berland. He fought at Murfreesboro, Tenn., but 
was generally on detached duty; and was finally 
mustered out in September, 1865, at Nashville, Tenn., 
and discharged the following month, at Jackson, 
Mich. 

In 1854, he married Mary J., daughter of Daniel 
Brown, a farmer, and a native of New York. She 
was born in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Jolly first 
located on 40 acres in Fulton Township. In March, 
1866, they removed to section 17, Washington Town- 
ship, and in 1869 they removed to section 7, same 




township. In 1873, they settled at their present home 
on section 20, consisting of 240 acres, 100 of which 
are improved. They have a family of nine children, 
are members of the United Brethren Church, and 
Mr. Jolly is a member of Moses Wisner Post, No. 
I o I, G. A. R., at Ithaca, and votes the Republican 
ticket. 



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eorge Richardson, druggist, grocer and 
jeweler, Ithaca, was born in Monroe Co., 
"*■ N. Y., May 13, 1836, and is the son of 
^-^^ George S. and Laura L. (Tyler) Richardson 
natives of Connecticut and Vermont, and of 
English-German and New England ancestry. 
They reside in Oakland County, aged respectively 75 
and 74. 

The subject of this biography went when two years 
old with his parents to Genesee County, this State. 



^ 



^'j? England, who came to America in 1827, and 
^ r resided in the State of New York the remainder 

\ of their lives. 

Mr. John Jackson was born Nov. 20, 1817, in 
Yorkshire, England, came to this country with his 
parents and when he was a lad nearly grown 
they died, and he left the old homestead and en- 
gaged in a distillery two years, then in farming in 
New York State until i86g, when he came to this 
county, locating on section 4, North Shade Township, 
on a tract of 77 acres of partially improved land, 
which he now has in fine cultivation. He owns 
altogether 400 acres. In religious belief Mr. Jack- 
son is a Universalist, and in politics a Republican. 

In 1850, Mr. Jackson was married to Miss Sarah 
A., daughter of Isaac and Jemima (White) Leonard, 
the former an agriculturist and a native of New York, 
and the latter of Connecticut ; both died in New 
York State. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have the follow- 
ing children : Martha, born in 1852; Edwin, 1854; 
and John, 1865. The parents are members of the 
Grange, and Mrs. J. is also a Universalist. 



ohn Jackson, farmer, section 4, North Shade 
Township, is a son of John and Hannah g^ 
(Mathers) Jackson, farmers of Yorkshire, f- 









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His father being a drover, George had his full time 
for school until 20 years of age. He then engaged 
on the New York Central railroad as brakeman, 
afterwards changing to the Chicago, Rock Island & 
Pacific, on which road he was for a time a conductor. 
After four years of railroad life, he became a foreman 
in the Holland saw-mill in .Saginaw County, where 
he remained two years. 

On the breaking out of the great civil war, he re- 
sponded to the first call of President Lincoln for 
troops, and enlisted in the first company of volunteers 
raised in Oakland County, of which he was made a 
Sergeant. This company was never mustered into 
the service, as many more companies offered than 
were needed under the call for three-months men. 
After the disbanding of the company, he enlisted in 
Co. A, ist Mich. Lancers. That kind of troops was 
discontinued after seven months, but being deter- 
mined to fight for his country he enrolled himself in 
Co. I, 2 2d Mich. Vol. Inf, and served under Gen. 
Thomas. Shortly after his enlistment, he was se- 
lected as special messenger for Gen. Thomas at 
headquarters. Here he remained until July, 1865, 
and after his discharge he returned to Gratiot 
County. 

He then settled on a farm of 320 acres, 160 of 
which he had purchased in 1861, in Lafayette Town- 
ship. Only 10 acres were then improved, but after 
six years' residence he has improved 100 acres. He 
still retains 280 acres of that farm. In the spring of 
1872, he came to Ithaca and purchased 44 feet front- 
age on Center Street, on which he established a 
grocery store. In 1875, he and Mr. Weatherwax 
erected the first brick building in the village. It 
was built 80 feet deep, with a front of 22^ feet, but 
is now iro feet deep. The firm was Richardson & 
Weatherwax for two and a half years, when Mr. R. 
became sole proprietor. When he started in busi- 
ness, his stock was worth butSij^oo; but when, in 
1 88 1, he sold out to D. G. Hall, his stock was valued 
at $7,000, and he did an annual business of $18,000. 
Jan. 12, 1884, he resumed the business, now carry- 
ing a stock worth $6,000. The period from 1881 to 
1884 was spent at Petoskey, this State, two years of 
the time in the drug business. 

July 3, 1862, in Northville, Wayne Co., Mich., he 
was married to Miss Jennie A. Watson, daughter of 
J. T. and Harriet (Wilcox) Watson, natives of Gene- 









see Co., N. Y., and of Scotch and English descent. 
She was born in Livingston Co., Mich., May 13, 
1842, and when 16 years old went with her parents 
to Oakland County, where she lived until her mar- 
riage, teaching school for some time previous to that 
event. Mr. and Mrs. R. have been the parents of 
seven children, four of whom survive: Flora H., born 
April 22, 1863; Rena L., July 3, 1867; Hattie H., 
Oct. 28, 187 I ; and George E., May i, 1878. The 
deceased are : Iva, Laura L. and Jennie. The par- 
ents attend the Congregational Church. Mr. R. is 
politically a Republican, and has held the offices of 
Justice of the Peace and Township Treasurer in La- 
fayette Township. He was also Postmaster at La- 
fayette for five years. He belongs to the Masonic 
fraternity. 



|iyron A. Hicks, merchant, Bridge ville, 
Washington Township, is a son of Andrus 
and Betsy (Tilton) Hicks, natives of New 
York State. Mr. Hicks has been most of his 
life a tanner and farrier in New York State, 
where he and wife yet live. Byron was born 
May 27, 1844, in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and lived 
with his parents, working summers and attending 
school winters, until 15 years old. 

In October, i860, he came to St. John's, this State, 
where he was engaged in the store of John Hicks, in 
buying wheat, and at other employment. In 1864 
he came to Gratiot County and engaged in buying 
staves, making his headquarters at J. B. Smith's ho- 
tel at Pompei. In the spring of 1865, he bought 
the grocery of Wilbur Coon, of Pompei, and carried 
on business there until the spring of 1867, when he 
removed to Bridgeville. He now keeps a full line ot 
groceries, dry goods, boots and shoes, and has a ])ros- 
perous trade. 

While at Pompei, he was married to Mary Avery, 
the daughter of John R. and Lovina (Saunders) 
Avery, natives of Rhode Island and Connecticut, 
respectively. Mr. Avery was a farmer. Mary Avery 
was born in the State of Wisconsin,, in 1845, and 
died at Bridgeville in 1868, leaving one child, which 
died shortly after its mother. Mr. Hicks was again 
married, to Sarah M. Avery, a sister of his first wife, 
in April, 1870. This union has been blessed with 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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xy three children, viz. Bessie L., Clyde B. and Leo M. 
'- Mr. Hicks has held the office of Supervisor from 

'-. Washington Township, being elected in 1882. He 
■ has also been Township Treasurer for four years, and 
• Township Clerk. He is a member of the Masonic 
~^ Order, belonging to a lodge at St. John's. In politics, 
he is a supporter of the Democratic party. 




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it.enretch Moench, farmer, section 4, North 
'K Shade Township, was born Feb. 2, 181 7, in 
Germany, of German parents, namely: 
John D. and Barbara Hoffman, who died in 
i Schwartzburg-Rudolstadt, Germany. The sub- 
1 ject of this sketch emigrated to America in 
1853, landing at New York, and settling in Waterloo, 
Jackson Co., Mich. In 18 or 19 months, that is, in 
1855, he moved to this county, locating on sections 
3 and 4, North Shade Tiownship, the tract containing 
320 acres, all wild land. Of this he has since sold 
one-half, and he now has about 70 acres in good cul- 
tivation. 

Mr. Moench was married in 1855 to Wilhelmina, 
daughter of Conrad and Jacobenia Walter, natives of 
Wurtemburg, Germany, the former by occupation a 
butcher, and both long since deceased. The chil- 
dren of Mr. and Mrs. Moench are: Lewis W., Polly 
L., Henry R. and Wilhelmina. Their Church rela- 
tions are Evangelical and Lutheran. Politically, Mr. 
M. was formerly Republican, but is now Democratic. 



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fFpl'° eter Hoffman, farmer, section 32, North 
^ EmI ^^^^ Township, was born in France, Feb. 
||,tXii-^i'J 19, 1816, a son of Frederick Hoffman, who 
ijk^ was a native of Germany, and died in Havre 
jLV- de Grace, on his way to America. Peter was 
' educated in his native country, and when he 
was 14 years of age the family emigrated to America, 
landing at Charleston, S. C. ; two months later they 
came to Canton, Ohio, and in 1833 to Sandusky Co., 
Ohio, where Mrs. H. entered 80 acres of land, and 
finally died. Peter Hoffman came to Hillsdale Co., 
Mich., in Februarj", 1849, and to Gratiot County in 
April, 1854, settling upon his present place May 13 
following, — in the wild woods, with only savage 
beasts for neighbors. He had wild meat for a con- 




stant article of food for years. He built the first 
house in North Star Township, a double log house, 
on section 29, on a part of the land he had entered. 
By industry and economy patiently exercised for 
many years, Mr. H. succeeded in developing and 
furnishing a fine farm. He has been engaged in ag- 
riculture all his life, except six months when he was 
in the boot and shoe trade in Alma, this county, and 
18 months in Pompei. 

Dec. 22, 1840, is the date of Mr. Hoffman's mar- 
riage to Miss Elizabeth Kay, daughter of Moses Kay, 
now deceased: she is a native of Crawford Co., 
Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. H. have had seven children, 
six of whom are living, namely : Eliza A., now the 
wife of Mr. Trask; Charles N. ; Adolphus P.; Ann 
M., now Mrs. Johnson; Mary E, now Mrs. Hous- 
man ; and Phocion P. The deceased was James, 
who died at the age of 11 years. Mr. H. owns 40 
acres of land, and his wife 80 acres : total, 1 20 
acres. He has been Highway Commissioner many 
years. 




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R. Lathrop, farmer, section 29, 
Bethany Township, is a son of George C. 



i 



and Mary E. (Hall) Lathrop, and was 
born in Washtenaw Co., Mich., Dec. 24, 1840. 

x-.^ His father, a farmer, was a native of New York 
State, and is still living at Meadville, Ingham 
County, this State. His mother, also a native of 
New York, is still living. Wjien he was but a year 
old, the family moved to Waterloo Township, Jack- 
son Co., Mich., locating upon a half section of land, 
and remaining there 20 years, and then moved to 
Ingham County. _ 

Mr. Lathrop was brought up to agricultural pur- 
suits, attending winter terms of school. He was 
married in Ingham County, May 29, 187 i, to Miss 
Frances, daughter of William C. and Artemisia Mun- 
son, who was born in New London, Huron Co., Ohio, 
Feb. 26, 1845. Mr. L. followed farming in Ingham 
County until 1875. January 7 of that year, he 
bought his present farm of 80 acres, then all timber 
land. He has cleared 3T acres, and is under full 
headway toward permanent prosperity. He has been 
School Inspector and Drain Commissioner one year 
each in his township, and is a member of the Order 
of Knights of Labor. 



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The children in this family are: Miles, born in 
Ingham County, June ig, 1872; Carleton, Sept. 20, 
1875; Charles, born in Bethany Township, June 4, 
1878; Fidelia, July 4, 18S0; and Aslier, March 31, 
1882. 



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homas W. B. Greaser, farmer on section 17, 
Fulton Township, is a son of William and 
Elizabeth (McCombs) Creaser (see sketch 
of William Creaser); and was born in the Prov- 
ince of Quebec, Oct. 19, 1851. He was quite 
young when his parents removed to Upper 
Canada. He received a common-school education 
when in the Dominion, and was aboul 20 years old 
when his parents came to Gratiot Co., Mich. He 
continued to live with his father until 25 years of 
age. In 1880 he settled on 50 acres of partly im- 
proved land on section 17, Fulton, to which he has 
added 40 acres. He has 35 acres improved. 

Feb. 18, 1879, in Newark Township, he married 
Miss Ida M., eldest daughter of George L. and Car- 
oline (Jones) Naldrett. To this marriage two sons 
ha>e been born, Albert N. and Charles C. Politically, 
Mr. C. is a Democrat. 



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f^irohn Harrison, farmer, section 17, Bethany 

"ownshii), is a son of Thomas and Eliza 

o^-'i-'T, (Hunter) Harrison, and was born in Kitley 



Township, Leeds Co., Canada, Jan. 19, 1833. 
His parents followed the occupation of farm- 
ing, and Mr. Harrison was a constant resident 
under the parental roof-tree and followed the same 
vocation until 16 years old. 

Mr. Harrison was united in marriage, April 17, 
1853, with Miss Margaret, daughter of Andrew 
and Mary (Thompson) Lawson. She was born 
in Ensley Township, Leeds Co., Canada, June 30, 
1839. They have had five children, namely : Thomas, 
born June lo, 1857; Walter, born Aug. 3T, 1850; 
Eliza J., born Sept. 9, 1861 ; James H., born Dec. 26, 
1863, died April 2, 1864; and John A., born Feb. lo, 
1865, died April 3, 1866. 

In March, 1866, Mr. H. and family came to this 
State and located at St. Louis, this county, and was 




there variously engaged for some time. In the 
spring of i86g, he purchased 80 acres of land on the 
section on which he now resides, lived on it for two 
or three years, and then moved to St. Louis, this 
county, and afterward returned to the farm. 

Wlien he first purchased the land, it was covered 
witli timber, and through his own energetic labors 60 
acres have been cleared and 50 acres placed under 
good cultivation. He has a good barn and commo- 
dious residence and good orchard. 

Their son Thomas is a farmer by occupation, re- 
sides in the same township as the parents, and was 
united in marriage to Miss Angeline Quidort. Wal- 
ter was married to Miss Isabel Broadhead, is a 
farmer, and resides with tlie parents. Eliza J., their 
only daughter, is the wife of V. B. Ludwig, at present 
living in Ludington, this State, and engaged in "life- 
saving service." 

Mr. and Mrs. Harrison are members of the Con- 
gregational Church and honored and respected 
citizens of their township. 

Mr. H. has held the position of Township Drain 
Commissioner for two years. 




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|!a^dward N. DuBois, farmer section 18, 
North Star Township, was born June 13, 
"fj^' 1820, in Cayuga Co., N. Y. ; his parents 

j>l^ were Abraham and Elizabeth (Graves) Du- 
Bois, the former a native of Dutchess Co., N. 
Y., and the latter of Connecticut. They emi- 
grated to Plymouth Township, Richland Co., Ohio, 
in 1822, where Edward was brought up and learned 
the shoemaker's trade. After following this vocation 
for about six years, he went, in January, 1853, to 
California, for his health, which he fortunately recov- 
ered. He returned in January, 1854, and soon after- 
ward commenced farming. In 1857 he settled in 
Fulton Township, this county, and in 1867 upon his 
present farm, where he has since lived with the ex- 
ception of six years when he resided in Ithaca. 

July I, 1841, Mr. DuBois married Miss Adeline 
A., daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Weeden) Board- 
man. Of their nine children only three are now 
living, namely, George M., Ida B. (wife of Mr. 
Jeffrey) and Edward. One daughter, Ella, died in 
her 17th year. The others deceased were, Theodore, 
Mary E., Harry and Frank. Mr. DuBois and his sons 




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own altogether 2 1 o acres of land, where they are car- 
rying on a prosperous business in agriculture. 

Mr. DuBois was Deputy Sheriff of this county 13 
years, Justice of the Peace four years in Fulton 
Township, and Highway Commissioner in North Star 
Township one year. He was the first Village Mar- 
shal of Ithaca, and held that position three years. 



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jjyron H. Sawyer, attorney, at Ithaca, is a 
f. son of Robert and Caroline W. (Webb) 



Sawyer, natives of New York and Con- 
necticut. The fomier has followed the occu- 
pation of farmer, and, with his wife, resides 
in Hillsdale County, this State. Byron H. 
was born Nov. 29, 1846, near Lima, Steuben Co., 
Ind., and lived with his parents until 22 years old. 

He attended the common schools, and at 17 com- 
menced a course at the Medina Academy, where he 
studied two years. Entering the office of Sawyer & 
Bean, he read law for one year, after which he took a 
two years' course in the Law Department of the 
University of Michigan, graduating with the class of 
1872. Forming a partnershijj with Thomas J. Hiller, 
he practiced law at Hudson, Lenawee County, until 
1879, when he came to Ithaca. Here he has since 
resided and practiced law. He also deals in real 
estate, and he owns 120 acres on section 5, North 
Star Township, 65 of which are improved. He has 
been Village Attorney of Ithaca for two years, and is 
now Trustee of the village and Circuit Court Com- 
missioner. He is a member of the I. O. O. P., and 
is politically a Re])ublican. 



Tohn McCuaig, farmer, section 17, North 
WtL Shade Township, is a brother of Alexander 
''■' ^ McCuaig, whose sketch is given, with 







parentage, on another page. The subject of 
this sketch was born June 15, 1835, in Newton 
Township, Canada. He remained with his 
parents on the farm, and attending school until 2 1 
years of age ; lived five years in Wayne Co., Mich. ; 
then from November, 1861, he lived a year in the 
town of New Haven ; and finally located on 80 acres 
of wild land, where he now resides and has 6q acres 



finely improved. His large and commodious barn 
he built in 1881. He has been an industrious and 
judicious manager, and has accordingly enjoyed a 
good degree of prosperity. 

In 1861 Mr. McCuaig married Miss Jane, daugh- 
ter of William and Mary Clements, who was born 
Dec. 10, i84i,in Canada. Their eight children are: 
Mary A., John D., William H., Annie E., Samuel S., 
Myron, Alexander and Ernest S. 

In 1864, Mr. McC. enlisted in Co. A, 23d Mich. 
Inf, which was assigned to the Army of the Cum- 
berland, 2d Brigade, 2d Division, 23d Army Corps. 
He was in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, 
Tenn., and in all the engagements in which his regi- 
ment participated. On the mustering out of his 
regiment, he was transferred to the 28th Mich. Inf., 
and was finally mustered out at Raleigh, N. C, in 
October, 1865. Mr. McCuaig has been Town Treas- 
urer 1 1 terms, and has held several school offices. 
In all these capacities he has served the community 
well, being able, judicious, and a man of unimpeach- 
able integrity. 






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esley J. Miller, farmer and teacher, sec- 
tion 24, Bethany Township, is a son of 
,«..— , .Tohn U. and Esther, we Cronce, Miller, 
-Ikl^A'' and was born in Erie Co., Ohio, March i, 
1841, in which county his father and mother 
both died, the former June 18, 1853, and the 
latter Dec. 8, 1863. The father of our subject was a 
farmer by occupation, and on his farm, under the 
ennobling influences of kind and loving parents, our 
subject was reared. He attended the common 
schools of his native county, and assisted on the 
farm until he attained the age of 18 years, when he 
entered on the "morning" of his vocation, and 
taught school winters and assisted on the farm sum- 
mers. At this period in his life, although thoroughly 
competent to pursue his chosen profession, he de- 
voted a portion of two years to the pursuit of his 
studies in Oberlin College, the more thoroughly to 
prepare himself for the work of educating others. 

In December, 1865, Mr. M. came to Ingham 
County, this State, and purchased 50 acres of land 
in that county. He then returned to his native 
county and was united in marriage, March 6, 1866, to 






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Miss Abbie E., daughter of Gilbert B. and Sarah 
(Roe) Hasbrook. She was born in Dutchess Co., N. 
Y., Feb. 3, 1846, and to their union two children 
have been born, namely, Alva R., May 4, 1869, and 
Fred J., March 26, 187 1. 

After their marriage they came to the land pur- 
chased by Mr. M. in Ingham County, and resided on 
the same until the following December, when they 
sold it and removed to this county. They located on 
40 acres of land on section 24, Bethany Township, 
where they now reside. Mr. M. has cleared and 
brought under cultivation about 30 acres of this land, 
built himself a good barn, and has under contempla- 
tion the erection of a new and commodious building 
as a residence. 

Mr. M. has taught 1 2 terms of school in this 
county, and has given universal satisfaction as to 
competency. He has held the office of Justice of 
the Peace for ten years, and is recognized as one of 
the representative men of his township. 

The husband and \v'\{ii are both members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church and respected and es- 
teemed citizens of Bethany Townsliip. 




"' ^i orenzo W. Kyes, farmer, section ig, Pme 
River Township, was born in Jackson Co., 
Mich., Sept. 20, 1832, and is the son of 
James and Cassandra Kyes, both of whom were 
born in the State of New York. Mr. Kyes has 
has been a farmer since the days of his boy- 
hood. Previous to engaging in farm labor, he passed 
his time in obtaining his education at the common 
school. In January, 1859, he came to Gratiot 
County and purchased the farm on which he has 
since lived, comprising 80 acres of wild land. He 
has placed 60 acres under improvement and cultiva- 
tion, and thus added his quota to the progress and 
agricultural advancement of Gratiot County. Politi- 
cally, Mr. Kyes is a Democrat. 
^ He was married in Calhoun Co., Mich., Jan. 26, 

,i i^S.Si 'o Sarah S., daughter of Frederick and Sarepta 
j*^ (Fox) Wright. Her parents were among the earliest 
settlers in Gratiot County, and the family name is 
one of the leading ones in its pioneer records. Mrs. 
Kyes was born Sept. 18, 1837, in Jackson Co., Mich. 
-^ Of eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Kyes five 




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survive — Emmet M., Frederick M., Albert C, Charles 
R. and Hattie M. Those deceased were named 
Gertrude, Frank and Melissa. Mrs. Kyes died Dec. 
8, 1883. 

---^^ 

nman N. Cowdrey, farmer, section 25, 
!tt Newark Township, is a son of William P. 
and Mary (Bruce) Cowdrey. The parents 
were of Scotch descent, and after their mar- 
riage settled in Southern Ohio, where the wife 
and mother died in 1847. The senior Cowdrey 
removed his family, eight years after the loss of his 
wife, to Michigan, and located in Newark Township, 
Gratiot County, where he resided until his death, 
which occurred March 16, 1883. 

Mr. Cowdrey was born March 8, 1848, in Ohio. 
He was in his first year of life when his mother died, 
and was a lad of nine when his father settled in 
Gratiot County, where he spent the intervening years s 
until he reached the period of his legal freedom. ^ 
When he was 15 years old (in 1863), he enlisted in 
the I St Mich. Regiment Engineers and Mechanics 
as a musician, and served until November, 1865. 
His command was with Sherman in the historic 
march to Atlanta and the sea. On the morning of 
the day when he awoke and found himself the legal 
inheritor of man's estate, he started for Ohio with the 
purpose of fitting himself to pursue the calling of a 
carpenter and joiner. He found plenty of employ at 
that business summers, and engaged in teaching 
winters, thus alternating for a period of ten years, 
and at the end of that time (in 1879) abandoned his 
trade. 

In 1872, he purchased 40 acres of improved land 
in the township of which his father was a citizen, and 
in 1876 erected thereon the necessary farm buildings. 
In 1879 he became a resident in Newark Township, 
and has since been closely identified with all its in- 
terests. In politics, he is a Republican of decided 
type. He has officiated one year as Constable, sev- 
eral years as Superintendent of Schools, one term as 
Supervisor, and is a member of the Board of County 
School Examiners, of which body he has been Secre- 
tary two years, and is present Chairman. He was 
elected to a term of four years as Justice of the Peace, 
hut resigned at the end of the first year. He now 
owns, in addition to his first purchase, 66 acres of 









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land in North Star Township, and has 85 acres im- 
proved. 

Among the reminiscences of the Hfe of Mr. Cow- 
drey is one unique and staithng incident, which oc- 
curred while his father was eti route to (iratiot 
County. They traveled in the manner common to 
emigrants of that primitive period — family and effects 
in a wagon drawn by an ox team. The road was 
shaded on one side by the uncut forest, and the boy 
and his father occupied the front seat together. The 
,/ day was windy, and suddenly a hollow bass-wood 
tree, about 30 inches in diameter, fell across the 
wagon. The top was forked, and, as the tree fell, 
the spreading limbs enclosed the occupants of the 
seat, and they were preserved unharmed. The 
wagon was almost entirely demolished. 

Mr. Cowdrey was married Nov. 5, 1874, in Ohio, 
to Alwilda, daughter of James and Sarah Hibbins. 
Her parents were natives of Ohio, and the children 
born to them numbered seven, six of whom are liv- 
ing. Their names are: Mary E., Martha E , Al- 
wilda, Laura B., Edwin T. (deceased), Nettie M. and 
Roberta. Mrs. Cowdrey is the third daughter, and 
was born Jan. 27, 1854. Frank C, born July 20, 
1877, and James R., May ig, 1882, are the two 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Cowdrey. The latter 
is a member of the United Brethren Church. 



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f ohn JefiTrey (deceased), a pioneer settler of 
Gratiot County, to whom the township and 
village of Ithaca are largely indebted, and 
with whose name their growth and progress are 
indissolubly connected, was a native of Mon- 
mouth Co., N. J., where he was born Aug. 26, 

I«I2. 

The record of his early life is incomplete, but suf- 
ficient is known to warrant the inference that the 
years of his later youth and earlier manhood were 
passed in the exercise of the traits of character 
which secured the prosperity of his prime and later 
life, and rendered him a valuable acquisition to the 
citizenship of a new country. His earliest known 
occupation was in freighting on the Erie Canal, wjiere 
he was engaged some years, but met only moderate 
success. He went to Niagara Co., N. Y., in 1836, 
which section was then in its early days. He bought 



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a considerable tract of land, and for a number of 
years devoted his energies to the improvement and 
cultivation of his farm. He achieved a success in 
proportion to his efforts, and accumulated what was 
then considered a fair competency. In 1853 he vis- 
ited several of the Western States for the purpose of 
fixing on a suitable field for the development of his 
plans and projects in life, and finally located a tract 
of land at the geographical center of Gratiot County, 
which included the site of the present village of 
Ithaca. He took possession of his property in 1855, 
at which date his permanent residence and the im- 
provements on his estate began. In 1856 he platted 
the village of Ithaca, and on the third day of March 
of the same year the Board of Supervisors estab- 
lished there the county seat. In i860 the action 
was re-affirmed. 

Mr. Jeffrey's location of land in 1853 included 
1,120 acres, and he was continually buying additional 
tracts up to the date of his death. It was his policy 
to make no sale? of land save to actual settlers, to 
which principle he strictly adhered. At the time he 
died he was the proprietor of about 5,000 acres, in- 
cluding choice farmnig and pine lands, and also a 
considerable portion of the original plat of the village. 
At the time Mr. Jeffrey became a resident of Gratiot 
County, the country in every direction was for miles 
an unbroken wilderness, and the position in which he 
found himself was one that required the exercise of 
untiring energy and exertion. But he possessed an 
iron constitution, perseverance and judgment, which 
made him equal to the emergency, and in the aggre- 
gate he probably underwent as much hardship and 
suffered as many privations as any of the early pio- 
neers of Gratiot County; and to no one of them is 
the county more indebted for its present remarkable 
status of advancement and improvement. Prudence, 
economy, temperance and industry were marked 
traits of his character, and all the acts of his life 
were tempered by good judgment, sound sense and 
consideration for the permanent prosperity and wel- 
fare of the community to which he belonged, and of 
which he was for so many years a useful and hon- 
ored member. He died March 5, 1874. 

The portrait of Mr. Jeffrey appears on another 
page. It is a valuable addition to the collated his- 
tory and biography of Gratiot County, and without 
it no book of the character claimed ior the present 
volume would be in any sense complete. 

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Mr. Jeffrey was married Dec. lo, 1868, in St. Louis, 
to Mrs. Louisa (Smith) Baney. She was born 
March 6, 1835, in Newfane, Niagara Co., N. Y., and 
is tlie daughter of George and Arvilla (Bromley) 
(^ Smith. Her first husband was David lianey, to 
whom she was married June 30, 1864, and by whom 
she had two children : Glenn E., born June 12, 1865, 
in Pompei, Gratiot County ; and May P., born March 
25, 1867. Mr. Jeffrey left two children : John, born 
Oct. 21, 1869, and Ira, Dec. 24, 187 i. His widow 
became tiie wife of Joseph H. Seaver, June 18, 1879. 



i^ohn Broadhead, farmer, section 18, Beth- 
any Township, is a son of Cornelius and 
Elizabeth (Jersey) Broadhead, and was 
born in Maryland, July 20, 1829. When he 
was a small boy the family moved to the State 
of New York, locating in Ulster County. As 
he grew up he followed mill sawing for 14 years. In 
1856 he came to Michigan and was married, in New- 
ark Township, this county, to Miss Emily Rooks, 
daughter of David and Sophia (Thompson) Rooks, 
who was born in Erwin, Steuben Co., N. Y., May 3, 
1837. Their children are: Charles W,, born July 
24, 1862; Cora I., Jan. 10, 1865 ; Hattie E., Nov. 3, 
1867; Ray, March 6, 1S70. Cora I. is the wife of 
Walter Harrison, a farmer of Bethany Township. 

Mr. B. is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and 
has served as Constable several years. 

Ij iUiam F. Brown, farmer, section 21, North 
Star Township, was born April 5, 1818, in 
Massachusetts. His parents were Will- 







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V iani and Clarissa {iirc Flowers) Brown, natives 
•^l-sP also of Massachusetts. The latter died 

t\ when William F. was iiut three years old. Mr. 
Brown is a descendant of one of three brothers who 
j came from England among the first settlers of 
America. His parents located in Genesee Co., N. 
Y.,in i8ig, where his mother died. His father mar- 
ried again, and in 1827 moved to Chautauqua Co., 
v * N. Y , and in 1833 to Warren C'o., Penn. 
C 'Ihe subject of tins sketch left home at llie age 18 



years, worked by the month several years, and in 
1863 came to this county, where now, in North Star 
Townshij), he owns 70 acres of land. He was mar- 
ried March 20, 1841, to Miss Mary, daughter of 
Francis Ploof. Of the four children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Brown two are living, namely, Eli W. and 
Chades W. One son, George F., was killed in the 
late war while fighting in defense of his country, in 
a skirmish near Louisa Court-House, soon after the 
battle of Spottsylvania Court-House. He was but 21 
years of age. The other deceased son, James L., 
died when three years old. Eli W. is in Billings, 
Montana Territory, and Charles W. resides on a part 
of the homestead. Mrs. B. died Nov. 30, 1840, and 
Mr. B. married again .Aug. 20, 1857, Miss Louisa M. 
Miner, daughter of Warren and Sophinia Miner, and 
by her had one child, Jay A. They have an adopted 
son, James W., now 28 years of age. 

Mr. Brown is a member of the Masonic fraternity 
and Mrs. B. of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 



Partello, farmer, section 10, 



ri'Sl^elcome P. 

^ isSj Bethany Township, is a son of Welcome 
J. and Rhoda (Phinr.ey) Partello, and was 



v|r@\'' ''°'" '" Cazenovia, N. Y, Oct. 22, 1818. 
4-3 R When eight )eais old his parents came to 
Washtenaw County, this State, settling in Salem 
Township, the second family in that township. There 
the father bought 80 acres of timber land, built a 
good log house, dug a well, and cleared 12 acres 
when he discovered that he had located on the 
wrong piece of land. Accordingly he moved. When 
the subject of this sketch was 19 years old the family 
moved to Clinton Co., Mich., five miles east of 
DeWitt. 

At the last mentioned place, July 31, 1845, he 
married Amelia J. Hoople. who was born in Canada, 
Nov. 28, 1S21. By this marriage seven children 



have been born, viz. : Livonia, Julia, Welcome, 
Persis, Elson, Dwight and Olivia. 

In Clinton County Mr. P. was most of the time 
engaged in agricultural pursuits, and had some real 
estate in the village of DeWitt. In March, 1856, he 
came to Bethany and took possession of a quarter- 
section of timber land where he now resides, having 
60 acres in a profitable state of cultivation and 



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the value of the place enhanced by a number of 
improvements. When he first arrived on this tract 
it was all a wild forest. He moved with a yoke of 
oxen led by a horse. His father had settled on an 
adjoining place the year previous, and died eight 
years afterward : was the first Supervisor of the 
township. His mother died two years later. He 
has been Justice of the Peace three years. 

The children are now scattered as follows: Livo- 
nia is the widow of Stephen R. Goodwin, and resides 
in Bethany Township; Julia is tiie wife of William 
Denman, a farmer in Huron Co , Ohio; Welcome is 
engaged in connection with a railroad at San Anto- 
nio, Te.\as ; Persis is the wife of Harvey Atvvell, a 
farmer in Bethany Township; Elson is living at 
home; Dwight is also at home, and Olivia is the 
wife of Ira Bentley, a farmer in Huron Co., Ohio. 



I' Ml illiam Seifried, farmer, section 8, New Ha- 

I^^^K) ven Township, was born in Salt Creek 
jK>^^ Township, Wayne Co., Ohio, March 25, 
'I^^Wi '^33- ^'^ parents, Henry and Mary A. 

(dJ^ (Steele) Seifried, were natives of Pennsylva- 
nia and of German descent. His father was a 
farmer by occupation, and after the year 1854 he 
lived until his death in the vicinity of Des Moines, 
Iowa. 

Mr. William Seifried, the subject of this notice, 
lived with his parents (after 15 years of age in Wy- 
andot Co., Ohio,) until his marriage, April 27, 1854, 
to Miss Martha, daughter of Isaac and Eva (Bor- 
ders) George, natives of Pennsylvania and of " Penn- 
sylvania Dutch " ancestry. Both died in their na- 
tive State. Mrs. S. was born in Westmoreland Co., 
Pa, Oct. 9, 1832, and when five years of age her 
residence was changed to Wayne Co., Ohio. Six 
months after marriage Mr. and Mrs. S. moved to 
Hancock Co., Ohio. 

When the first call for 600,000 niore troops was 
made to aid in suppressing the great insurrection, 
Mr. S. enlisted, Aug. 11, 1862, in Co. G, 11 8th Ohio 
Vol. Inf., commanded by Capt. Samuel Howard, of 
the Army of the Cumberland. He particijiated in 
all the engagements of his regiment until the battle 
of Perryville, and for the nine months following that 
event his regiment was detailed for special duty on 



the Kentucky Central railroad ; then they were in ac- 
tive service again, being in the engagements at Cov- 
ington Heights, Perryville, Knoxville, London, Mossy 
Creek, Resaca, Chattanooga, Buzzard Roost, Kene- 
saw Mountain, etc. He was then sick for more than 
two years in the iiosijitals at ("hattanooga. Lookout 
Mountain, Nashville and Camp Dennison, Ohio, 
where he was honorably discharged. May 22, 1865. 
After residing then at his home in Hancock Co., 
Ohio, until fall, he came to Maple Grove, Barry Co., 
Mich. A little more than two years afterward he 
moved to Kent County, where he preached eight 
months as a minister of the "Church of God," then 
one year in the same capacity in Saginaw County. 
In r87o he came to this county and homesteaded 
80 acres where he now resides, and has improved 50 
acres. He was the third settler on this section. 

Mr. S. is now a minister in the Free-Will Baptist 
Church, serving acceptably. He is a strong Prohi- 
bitionist Republican, and has held some of the of- 
fices of public truit in his district. His wife is also 
a member of the Free-Will Baptist Church. The 
children in this family are: Isaac G., born May 31, 
1855; Henry F., March r, 1857; John W., Feb. 21, 
1859; George M., Aug. i, 1861; David M., Nov. 11, 
1865 ; and Ella E., Oct. 9, 1867. 



tc f!;^ reeman H. Rice, farmer, section 11, Fulton 
w|^gjj„ Townsliip, is a son of Freeman and Sally 
^^^-,,- ^jjQ^j.,f(j ji jj,g^ natives of the State of New 



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l^ York. They settled after marriage in their na- 
-^w tive State, and afterward removed to Delaware 
i Co., Ohio., where they lived until the fall of 
1 859. They afterwards removed to Mecosta County, 
this State, where the father died, in September, 187 i. 
The mother afterwards removed to Eaton County, 
where she died, in June, 1873. 

Their family comprised six sons and one daughter. 
Freeman H., the fourth son, was born in Genesee 
Co., N. Y., Feb. rg, 1830, and was seven years old 
when his parents reitioved to Ohio. He lived at 
home until about 34 years of age, and in the fall of 
1864 came to Gratiot Co., Mich., and settled on 120 
acres in Fulton Township, which he had bought 
during the administration of President Pierce. He 
has now 80 acres improved. 



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Oct. 14, 1863, in Eaton Co., Mich., he was married 
to Mrs. Mary E., daughter of Martin and Abigail 
Williams, and widow of Chester B. Rice (a brother 
of Freeman H., who died Aug. 10, 1861): Mrs. 
Rice had by her first marriage one daughter, Sarah 
A., and by her second a daughter and a son, — Viola 
and Herbert F. Mr. Rice is politically a Republi- 



ohn M Walker, farmer, section 34, New- 
\ ark Township, is the son of Stephen and 

Lydia (White) Walker. They were natives 

respectively of New York and New Hampshire, 

ir and after their marriage settled in the former 

y State. They came to Lenawee Co., Mich., in 

its pioneer days and there passed the ultimate years 

of their lives. Five children were born to them, — 

Martha, David, John M., Nathaniel and Ransom. 

Mr. Walker is the second son of his parents and 
was born March 15, 1831, in Niagara Co., N. Y. He 
was two years old when his parents removed to 
Michigan, and he continued under the parental 
authority until he reached his majority. He then 
apprenticed himself to learn the business of wagon- 
making and served two years. He was engaged in 
labor at his trade and as farm assistant five years, 
when he bought a farm in Lenawee County contain- 
ing 75 acres, which he continued to manage until the 
spring of 1880, when he sold out and came to 
Gratiot County. He bought 100 acres of land in a 
State of partial improvement in Newark Township, 
on which he has since continued to reside and of 
which he has now 75 acres under cultivation. Mr. 
Walker held the position of School Director in Len- 
awee County si.x years consecutively, and in the 
fall of 1 88 1 was elected School Assessor of District 
No. 4, Newark Township, of which position he is 
present incumbent. In ix)litical affiliation he is a 
Republican. 

Mr. Walker was married in Fairfield, Lenawee Co., 
Mich., Oct. 12, 1856, to Elsie E., daughter of Job T. 
and Lydia (Laycock) Reynolds. Her parents were 
settlers in Jackson County, where the father died in 
1840, and the mother seven years later. Mr. and 
Mrs. Walker are the parents of five living children : 
Milton D. died when he was nine years old ; Ran 
som D., Cynthia I., Elveretta E., Lydia A. and Jessie 
S. are the names of those surviving. 




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P. 

\ acob W. Snyder, general farmer, section 

^j^,^ 21, New Haven Township, was born in 
-.^"^ Montgomery Co., N. Y., Feb. 27, 1819. 
When 13 years of age he commenced to work 
out for neighbors, at farm labor, as his par- 
ents were poor; and his education was conse- 
quently limited. He was a laboring man in this 
capacity till he was about 30 years of age. Li the 
meantime, Sept. 27, 1838, he married Miss Mehita- 
ble, daughter of David and Amy (Chapman) Hopkins, 
who was born in Stafford, Genesee Co., N. Y., Aug. 
27, i82r. When six years of age she moved with 
the family to Allegany County, same State. 

Mr. Snyder came to Michigan in the fall of 1853, 
locating first in Ionia County, and two years later in 
this county, pre-empting 80 acres on the section 
where he now resides, and undergoing the experi- 
ences common to frontier life, more fully described 
elsewhere in this volume. He" and his noble wife 
bravely persevered and surmounted all obstacles. 
During the noted famine of 1856, they received but 
$3 donation. Mr. Snyder has improved 60 acres of 
the old homestead, and he has never changed his 
residence since his first settlement. In national af- 
fairs he is a Republican, and he has held various of- 
fices in his township and district. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are : Ame- 
lia, Edwin F., Laura and Amy M., living; and Har- 
rison, who died in the army, and Mary J., who died 
in infancy. 




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'homas A. Porter, farmer, section 18, Beth- 
any Township, is a son of John and Jane 
'^ (Atchison) Porter, and was born in Indiana, 
Nov. 5, 1827. When six months old the fam- 
ily moved to Canada. When he was 16 years 
of age he left home and learned the millwright 
which he followed in various )iarts of the 
United States until 1861, and he has worked at it 
some since that date. He was for a time in Califor- 
nia, where he was a member r>f a vigilance com- 
mittee. His residence for six years was above 
Sacramento, near Auburn, Placer County, and he 
followed lumbering. 






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He first came to Michigan in 1845, stopping on 
the Saginaw Bay. In 1861, he returned to St. Clair 
Co., Mich., and shortly afterward he went to Saginaw 
County, where he "located" 960 acres of land for 
himself and brothers, his share being a third: at one 
time he owned 2,200 acres. He cleared 75 acres. 
As he was interested in lumbering in Missaukee 
County, he operated there two years. He then took 
an i8-months trip through the South, visiting the 
old battle-grounds. He entered the navy and was 
assigned to the U. S. gunboat " Pittsburg," of the 
Mississippi Squadron, being in the service ten 
months, and engaged in several skirmishes. 

After the close of the war he returned to Saginaw ; 
came to his present location in May, 1882, purchas- 
ing 45 acres. It is all in cultivation, and Mr. P. has 
shown himself to be a judicious and prosperous 
farmer. 

Since 1854 he has belonged to the Masonic frater- 
nity. He was married in St. Clair Co., Mich., Nov. 
28, 186 1, to Miss Julia P. Beech, daughter of Lucius 
and Julia A. Beech, who was born in that county, 
April 4, 1835. 



tanley L. Nichols, farmer, section 14, Pine 
1^, River Township, was born in Monroe Co., 
N. Y., June 16, 1837, and is the son of 
Vj Ezra and Hannah (Hipp) Nichols, botli of 
*-' .whom were natives of New York. At the age 
of 18, Mr. Nichols began for himself in the 
world, and, for three years, worked out by the month 
as a farm laborer. He has devoted most of his life 
to the same noble calling, with the exception of about 
eight years, three of which were spent in the army 
and the remaining five years he labored as a teacher. 
He enlisted Aug. 14, 1862, in the 4th Mich. Cav., 
and received honorable discharge at Nashville, Tenn. 
The regiment was attached to the Army of the Cum- 
berland, and Mr. Nichols took an active part in the 
various engagements in which it was involved, and 
upon him, as well as all others belonging to the same 
command, reflected the luster of the 4th Mich. Cav. 
in the capture of Jefferson Davis. 

In April, 1879, he came to (iratiot County and 
bought 40 acres of land in section 14, Pine River 
Township. The entire tract was unimproved, and he 




has since placed 20 acres under cultivation. He is a 
Republican in political sentiment, and a member of 
the Masonic Order. He was married in BerkshiireCo., 
Mass., Dec. 11, 1866, to Ellen E. Harrison, dai-.ghter 
of John and Chloe Harrison. Her mother was a 
native of New York, her father of Massachusetts. 
Mrs. Nichols was born Oct. 18, 1843, in Lenawee 
Co., Mich. Three children have been added to the 
family circle — Maud C, Stanley E. and Ida L. The 
parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 







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■'. ephthah Earl, farmer, section 23, Newark 
Township, was born June 20, 1830, in Sen- 
eca Co., N. Y., and is the son of Stephen 
and Ann E. (Evans) Earl. Both parents were 
born in the State of New York, where they 
lived until the spring of 1841, when they re- 
moved to Michigan and settled in Kalamazoo County, 
where they continued to reside during the remainder 
of their lives. The motlier died in January, 1863 ; the 
father's demise occurred in the following April. 

At the age of rg, Mr. Earl became his own man, 
pursuing the vocation of agriculture, to which he had 
been trained. He passed six years as a farm laborer 
and two years^was engaged in butchering, associated 
with his father. In the spring of 1861 he came to 
Gratiot County and bought the place where he has 
since resided, and labored until he has placed 60 
acres under first-class cultivation. He has sold five 
acres. The family remained in occupancy of the 
pioneer log house until the summer of i88i,when 
a fine frame house was erected on the farm in which 
they have since resided. 

Mr. Earl was married Dec. 7, 1854, in Ionia Co., 
Mich., to Mary J., third daughter of Natlian and 
Chloe (Tyler) Benjamin. Mrs. Earl's parents were 
natives of the State of New York, and on leaving 
there first settled in Ohio, afterward removing to 
Oakland Co., Mich ,and from thence to Ionia County. 
They passed the last years of their lives with their 
children, the mother dying Jan. 18, 1866. The 
father breathed his last nine days later. 

Mrs. E. was born in Oakland County, Aug. 8, 1833. 
She and her husband assumed the care of Viola M. 
Benjamin, a niece, when she was five years old, who 
remained with them until her marriage. They have 












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>f also a foster-child, Leonard E. Smith, born Jan. 26, 
■§', 1 87 4, who has been in their charge since his birth. 

.i^ Mr. Earl is a Republican in political sentiment. He 
f has held the various offices of his school district and 
is a member of the Odd Fellows fraternity. 







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if I. ttM; illiam Isenhath, farmer, Pine River, is a 
^^^^ son of John C. and Catherine Isenhath, 
)P natives of Germany, where they lived and 
died. William was bom in Germany, Feb. 6, 
1837, and resided in his native country- until 
;o years of age. Coming to the United States, he 
located in Erie Co., Pa., and was employed in fann- 
ing for two and a half years. He then went to Ohio, 
and, lived in Ashtabula Count\- until the breaking out 
of the war, when he enlisted in the nth New York 
Batter\-. He was in the service somewhat over one 
year, and was then discharged on account of disa- 
bility. 

In December, 1S62, he came to Gratiot County, 
and with his brother-in-law, purchased 40 acres of 
land. He after^vards traded his share of the land for 
Sy/ 40 acres on section 30, Pine River Township, where 
he now resides. He has since added ;o acres, and 
has 30 acres nicely improved and unde* the plow. 

Nov. 20, 1S63, in Gratiot County, he was married 
to Catherine Mulen, a native of Pennsylvania. This 
union has been blessed with nine children, seven of 
whom survive: Henry A., Mar>- A., .\lvin. Willie E., 
Annie B., Wilda M. and Frankie D. Adeline and 
Elmer L. died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Isenhath 
\^ are consistent members of the Lutheran Church. In 
^ politics, Mr. I. votes the Republican ticket. 




Kpalvin C. Kryder, farmer, section 36, New- 

Ci-~^*^ ark Township, was bom Oct. 6, 1839, in 

^ J v: Ohio. His parents, Jonas and Mar)- (Ever- 

'"v^ hard) Kryder, were born respectively in Penn- 

( sylvania and Ohio. He was engaged in fami- 

ing in his native State until the age of 24 years. 

He went to Illinois in 1S63 and there remained 15 

years, and engaged in famiing in Christian County. 

In the spring of 1S78 he sold his fami in the Sucker 

^-AJ^)^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ 






State and removed to Michigan, settling where he 
now resides in Newark Township, where he became 
proprietor of 40 acres of improved land by purchase. 
Mr. Kryder is a Republican in (xslitical affiliation. 

He was married Jan. 25, i866, in Medina Co., 
Ohio, to Charity, fourth daughter of Joseph and 
Sarah (Lance) Coolman. Following are the records 
of the five children born of this marriage, three of 
whom survive: Leslie A., born July 3, 1867, died 
July 31, i868; Frankie F., l)orn Jan. 17, 1869, died 
May 24. 1877; J. S. Shirley, Sept. 11. 1870; Orie 
D. F., Dec. iS. 1872, and Cordie ^L C, Nov. 26, 
1874. 

Mr. Kr>der enlisted Jan. 25, iS65,in the 41st Reg. 
111. Vol. Inf., and was in the service si.x months, re- 
ceiving honorable discharge July 27, 1865. at Chi- 
cago. He was never in active service, as before the 
regiment could be duly equipped, mustered in and 
re.ach the front the rebellion was in a state of collapse 
and militar)' necessities virtually at an end. 



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,=^^5^ eely Amsbury, farmer, section 36, Seville 
~ ^^^i Township, was born Jan. 14, 1853, in Jack- 
son Co.. Mich., and is a son of Ira and Sarah 
(Patch) .\msbur>. His father was bom in 
il Wayne Co., N. Y., and came when a child to 
Michigan with his parents. He was a famier 
by occupation, and came to Gratiot County. On the 
bre.iking out of the war of the Rebellion he became 
a soldier, enlisting Oct. 8, 1864, in Co. C, Sth Mich. 
Vol. Inf. Among the noted incidents of the war in 
which he took part was the surrender of Gen. Lee 
to Gen. Grant at Appomatto.x Court-House. He re- 
ceived his discharge July 30, 1865. At the time of 
his enlistment he w.is Sui^rvisor of Seville Town- 
ship, which office he tilled seven yearns. He was also 
Township Clerk two years. He died Feb. 5. 1873. 
The mother is still residing in Seville Township. 

Mr. .\msbury was brought up to the calling of 
agriculture, which he has made the business of his 
life. In 1 86 1 he came to Gratiot County with his 
parents, where his father located So acres of land in 
Seville Township, chiefly in an unimproved condi- 
tion. The family encountered all the variety and 
incidents common to pioneer life. Mr. .Amsbury 
owns 25 acres of improved land on which he is en- 



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V^ gaged in prosperous farming. Politically he is a 
member of the National Greenback party, and in the 

'■'[■ years 1882 and '83 was elected Township Treasurer. 
' He was married in 1878 to Izora, daughter of Ira 

'' t and Jane Phelps. The parents and daughter were 
natives of Wayne Co., N. Y.; the latter was born in 
i860. She died April 30, 1881, in Seville. 




rs. Mindwell L. (Spencer) Crispel, re- 

_ siding on section 9, New Haven Town- 

^1 -?^^'' ^^'P' ^^^ y^in in Ontario Co., N. Y., Jan. 
j\i_^'\ 26, 182 I. Her parents were also natives of 
'^ that State, of English descent. Her father 
Aaron Spencer, of Puritanical stock, died in 
California in 1874; and her mother, Martha, tiee 
Moore, was of New England ancestry, and died in 
this State about 1855. 

When 13 years old the subject of this sketch came 
with her parents to Hillsdale Co., Mich., where she 
attended the common school and was married, 
March 14, 1838, to John A. Crispel, a native of 
Ulster Co., N. Y., born June 20, 1812. He came to 
this State in 1836, where he lived until his death, in 
Jackson County, Oct. 7, 1880, aged nearly 70. He 
was a farmer, a prominent and exemplary citizen of 
the community, and satisfactorily filled several public 
offices, as Supervisor, etc. In religion he was a 
Spiritualist, and in politics a Republican. As a 
farmer he owned at one time two whole sections, less 
only 40 acres. 

Mrs. C. is now in her 641!) year, enjoying good 
health and her mental activity unimpaired. She has 
ever been an active, intelligent and philanthropic 
member of society. She attends the Methodist 
Ejjiscopal Church. 



|'tA'€'^rigg8 B. Ellison, farmer on section 31, Pine 

^iS(!0% River Township, is a son of George and 

''Tii>°' Julia (Drake) Ellison, natives of Orange Co., 

N. Y. Thefathei died in that county in 1814; 

the. mother afterwards came to Michigan, and 

and died in Jackson County. The subject of tiiis 

biographical sketch was born in Orange Co., N. Y., 






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June 29, 181 2. He being quite young at his father's 
death, the first 15 years of his life were mostly passed 
with friends of the family in Orange County. He 
was then apprenticed to the baker's trade, at which 
he worked until 19 years of age. In 1831, he went 
on a whaler, and made two voyages, lasting six years. 
In 1838, he came to Michigan and bought 120 acres 
of land in Jackson County, on which he settled and 
lived nearly 14 years. Selling out, he bought a farm 
in an adjoining township, where he lived for seven 
years. He then sold again, and in November, 1854, 
came to Gratiot County and bought 160 acres of 
partly improved land on section 31, Pine River Tov/n- 
ship, where he now resides. He has disposed of 120 
acres, and of the remaining 40, 35 acres are under 
good cultivation. He has a good residence and a 
comfortable barn. 

March 17, 1842, in Jackson Co., Mich., he was 
married to Miss .Ardelia I)., daughter of Francis and 
Henrietta (Carpenter) Bargarow. He was of Eng- 
lish and French ancestry, and she was a native of 
Connecticut. Their daughter Ardelia was born in 
Saratoga Co., N. Y., June 2, 1825. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ellison have had a family of three, two living: Mary 
J., Carrie A. (died Jan. 5, 1867, aged 23) and Joseph 
A. Mr. Ellison has held for several years the office 
of Constable in his township. Politically, he is an 
ardent Republican. 

; orman H. Wells, general farmer and 
% stock-raiser, section 15, New Haven Town- 
ship, was born in Westphalia, Clinton Co., 
|[s^ Mich., April 13, 1843. His parents, David 
'K' and Melinda (Gould) Wells, were natives of 
[^ Connecticut and of English descent, and emi- 
grated to Michigan about 1836, settling first in Oak- 
land County, as pioneers ; later, in • Westphalia 
Township, Clinton County, where Mr. David Wells 
resided until his death, Aug. 28, 1883, having lived 
in that county 41 years! His wife had died Sept. 3, 
1859, in that ccunty. 

Norman H., the subject of this sketch, remained 
at home until 19 years of age, working on the farm 
and in his father's brick-yards and attending school 
in his district, and at Wacousta, three miles away. 
He received a good education and taught public 

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school a short time. At the age above mentioned he 
set out as a common laborer, lumbering and farming, 
and attending school, in Portland, Ionia County, 
preparing to take a course at the State Agricultural 
College at Lansing, but lack of funds prevented him 
from carrying oat the much desired project. In 
1864 he came to this county and bought 80 acres, on 
section 13, New Haven Township. This was then 
principally covered with timber. He has since 
added by purchase 40 acres, and of the total 120 
acres he has improved 100 acres, putting it in fine 
condition. He also owns 80 acres on section 23, of 
which he has 40 acres improved. Both of these 
farms are well etjuipped with the necessary buildings, 
orchards, etc. In 1874 he purchased 40 acres on 
section 15, to which he has recently added 40 acres, 
and has made some improvements upon the place. 

In an-eariy day Mr. Wells established a general 
store in Newark Township for country patronage. 
His was the first successful store in the country in 
ihis county, and he is considered the father of that 
branch of mercantile life in Gratiot County. He af- 
terward sold out to George E. Blain, and returned to 
farming, in which vocation he has been successful. 
He owns an aggregate of 320 acres, divided into four 
different farms, having a total of 180 acres of good 
arable land. He has also been a real-estate dealer 
and loan agent for Eastern parties for some lime, ex- 
hibiting a high order of business qualifications. He 
is a thoroughgoing, energetic and common-sense 
farmer. In political matters he is a ReiJublican ; 
was the first Township Superintendent of Schools 
after the abolition of the county-superintendency sys- 
tem, and has also Ijeen Township Inspector, Justice 
of the Peace and Highway Commissioner, holding 
each office two years. In all these capacities he has 
faithfully served the public. 

Mr. Wells was married Nov. 6, 1870, in North 
Shade Township, this county, to Miss Martha, daugh- 
ter of John and Sarah A. (Leonard) Jackson, natives 
respectively of England and New York, who came to 
the above mentioned township in 1869. Mrs. W. was 
born in Brownville, Jefferson Co., N. Y., Oct. 6, 1851, 
and came to this county when 17 years old. She 
has taught school several terms, successfully. Both 
she and Mr. W. are members of the MetJiodist Epis- 
copal Chnrcli. Their four children are: Herbert J., 
Laura A., John Floyd and Sarah J. 

(M^iA(v;i«L- .■■.. i^yf^j^s^ L 





This family have in their possession an English Vf 

sugar-bowl which was owned by great-grandparents, -i 

and is more than 150 years old; and another, of the >'*"- 
American order, tliat is nearly 100 years old. They " 

also have a hymn-book, 65 years old. . f^ 






oses Stevens, mechanic, carpenter and 
joiner, section 31, Ithaca Township, was 
'^ born in Gloucestershire, Eng., Oct. 30^ 
' ■■ 18 1 9, and was the son of Emanuel and Eliz- 
abeth (Gasser) Stevens, natives of England 
and of English descent. In his native coun- 
try the father was a tinsmith, and he came to Amer- 
ica in 1 83 1, settling in the State of New York. He 
there engaged in farming, and died in 1842. The 
mother died in Tuscola Co., Mich., in 1881, at the 
age of 86 years. 

When 12 years old Moses came with his parents 
to this country, and he lived in New York State un- 
til he was 2 1 years old. He was then married to 
Susan M. Hulett. They came afterwards to Tus- 
cola County, this State, where she died, in Septem- 
ber, 187 I. April I, 1874, he was married to Sabra 
Blair, who died in the same county a year later. 
Oct. 3, 1876, he was a third time married, at East 
Saginaw, Mich.; and he took for his life partner this 
time Mrs. Elmira M. Potter {nee Lake), daughter of 
Nicholas and Alzina (Cross) Lake, natives of St. Law- 
rence Co., N. Y., and of English descent. They 
followed farming, and removed at an early day to 
Ontario, Canada. After 20 years' residence there, 
they came to Forestville, Sanilac County, where the 
father died, in September, 1S54. His wife afterwards 
removed to Gratiot County^and then went on a visit 
to Iosco County, where she died, in December, 1874. 
Elmira M. was born at Smith Falls, Can., Jan 24, 
1S33. At the age of 19, she came to this State ; and 
she was married at Grand Ledge, Eaton Co , Oct. 
12, 1856, to William Potter, a native of New York. 
Three months later, they came to this county, and 
located a half a mile from Ithaca. Mr. Potter im- 
proved 120 acres of land, and died Sept. 2, 1863, 
aged nearly 33, leaving to the care of his widow 
three children, Ida B., George W. and Cora M. . 

Mr. Stevens had by his first marriage three sons ^ 






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and seven daughters, all of whom are living except 
one son and two daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens 
now live on the Potter homestead. They belong to 
the society known as Seventh-Day Adventists. In 
ixilitics Mr. Stevens is an adherent of tlie Republican 
party. 

^ #.#► ^ 





ohn Pool, general farmur and stock-raiser, 
f section 12, New Haven 'J'ownship, is a na- 
tive of Jefferson Co., N. Y., where he was 
born Oct. 22, 1823. His father, Isaac Pool, 
was also a native of the Empire State, of Eng- 
lish and Welsh descent, was a carpenter and 
joiner by trade, as well as farmer at times, and emi- 
grated to Wisconsin in 1854, settling in Waushara 
County, where he was a prominent and respected 
citizen, and finally died. John's mother. Diadem, 
iiec Buck, was also a native of New York State, of 
English ancestry, and died in Wisconsin. 

The subject of this sketch was only five years 
old when his parents moved with him from his 
native place to St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., where he 
worked on a farm and at the carpenter's trade, and 
attended school, until he was of age. He then 
worked as a common laborer a few years near home. 
When 22 years of age, he bouglit 50 acres of land in 
St. Lawrence County, i)artly improved, and set to 
work upon it. Three years later he returned to his 
native county, where, June [3, 1S49, he married Miss 
Lucy, daughter of John and I^ydia (Jones) Kanautz, 
natives of the Empire State. Mr. K. was of pure 
German descent, and Mrs. K. of New England par- 
entage and of English extraction. The former, an 
agriculturist, died in St. Lawrence County, May 30, 
1880, and the latter in Jefferson County, July 31, 
1850. Mrs. P. was born in Pamela Township, Jef- 
ferson County, Oct. 27, 1820, and was the third 
daughter and fourth child of her parents. Mr. and 
Mrs. P. have had tliree children, only one of whom 
survives, namely : Anna E., born Aug. i, 1854, and 
married May 26, 1874, to Alex. McLaren, now resid- 
ing in New Haven Township on a farm; Amanda J., 
born April 10, 1852, and died Feb. 4, 1853; and 
John W., born April 2, 1862, died June 2, 1880. 

After marriage, Mr. P. followed farming on his 
place for three years, sold out, and one year later he 



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purchased property in the village of Herman, St. 
Lawrence Co., N. Y., where he was engaged as a 
general laborer and farmer. He sold out there, and 
in the fall of 1854 came to Gratiot County, and pur- 
chased, under the Graduation Act, the southwest 
quarter of section 12, New Haven Township, where 
he now lives. Before settling here, however, he 
spent a short time in Iowa, then in Ionia County, 
this State, where he purchased 80 acres in the town- 
ship of Fair Plains. While there, he and his family 
suffered a great deal from chills and fever. He sold 
out there in November, 1855, and the following Feb- 
ruary returned to this county and settled on his land. 
It was then a wilderness. Here, in a log shanty, 
13x17 feet, he and his little family started out again 
to make a permanent home. The scenes of frontier 
life here, and the kindness and sociability of their 
early neighbors, are remembered with an ever-in- 
creasing fascination and delight. 

His little cabin, afterward enlarged to 14 x 22, 
stood till the spring of 1861, when it was supplanted 
by a good-sized house, which still stands in striking 
contrast with his present mansion, built in 1874. 
His barn, 30 x 40 feet in dimensions, was erected in 
1858, the first frame barn in the township. By addi- 
tions to this structure, he has made it one of the 
largest barns in this part of the county. He has 200 
acres of the best land in the township, with 100 acres 
well improved, watered and slocked, with a thrifty 
orchard of three acres, etc. 

Mr. Pool has always been a strong Re|)ublican, 
and as a citizen of his township he has been honored 
with various offices, as Highway Commissioner for 
several years. Township Treasurer six years, etc. 
He and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. 

Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Pool are given in prox- 
imity to this sketch, as they are representative of a 
worthy and exemplary class of citizens. 



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-^-•<^-^-#=^-^>-^ 



ohn Hamilton, M. D., physician and sur- 
geon at Pompei, was born in Paisley, Ren- 
frewshire, Scotland, Oct. 31, 1830. He is 
I son of Thomas Hamilton, deceased, a native 
'^r of Scotland, and who emigrated to America 
and settled in Carlton Place, near Ottawa, 
Canada, in 1842, and where two years later, in 

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1844, his family, including our subject, joined h.m. 

Dr. Hamilton in early life manifested a desire to 
become a medical practitioner, and devoted his time 
and energies to the accomplishment of that purpose. 
He received the advantages afforded by llie common 
schools, and then attended the High School at Al- 
monte, Canada. He then turned his attention to 
teaching, and followed the same for some 1 2 years, 
devoting all his leisure tin.e to research after medical 
knowledge, and afterward, before coming to tlie 
United States, was engaged in practice for some 
time. He then came to Michigan and entered the 
Detroit Medical College, from which he graduated 
with honors in 1876. In April of that year the 
Doctor came to Ponipei, this county, entered upon 
the practice of his profession, and has built up a 
lucrative and successful one. 

The Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Jessie 
Lang, daughter of Arthur Lang, deceased, and was 
born in Almonte, Canada. Ten children have been 
Ijorn to their union: Amelia, Helen, Thomas, Arthur, 
Marion, Jessie, John 1)., William R. and Harry H. 

Amelia is the wife of Hiram White, and lives in 
Cranbrook, Huron Co., Canada. Helen is also mar- 
ried, and is the wife of John Taylor, who resides near 
Brussels, Huron Co., Canada. 

Dr. Hamilton is a member of the I. O. O. F. and 
Masonic Order. 



4p^|i obert r. rieming, farmer, section 30, Pine 

A^l^^j River Township, was born at Ann Arbor, 

Mich., Feb. 1, 1834, and is a son of Cliarles 

iX^ M. and Peninah J. Fleming. His parents 

were both natives of the State of New York. 

During the years of his minority, the life 

of Mr. Fleming was passed in the manner common 

to the farmers' sons of the place and period. The 

succeeding five years he spent in working by the 

month, and expended his earnings in the purchase of 

?40 acres of land in Jackson County, on which he 
settled at the age of 26 years. Between five and 
six years later he sold the place, and in October, 1865, 
came to Gratiot County, and bouij-ht 50 acres of 
land in Pine River Township, most of which was in 
an unimproved condition. Of tiiis he has placed 40 
\r^ acres under cultivation. Mr, l''leming is a Repuljli- 
r can in political affinity. 



He was married March i, i860, at Eaton Rapids, 
to Eliza A., daughter of Gardner Rice, a native of 
the State of New York. Mrs. Fleming was born 
July 30, 1835, in Cayuga Co., N. Y. Six of seven 
ciiildren iiorn of this marriage yet survive, — Edward 
E., James H., Willie F., Carrie E., Cora E. and El- 
vira P. Calvin A. died when nearly two years old. 
The parents belong to the Presbyterian Church. 



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^Ik ■■? illium J. Naldrett, farmer, section 36, 
iL New Haven Township, is a native of Eng- 
land, where he was born April 10, 1828. 
His parents, Clement and Hannah (His- 
cock) Naldrett, were also natives of the same 
county. (See sketch of George S. Naldrett.) 
Mr. Naldrett was trained to the occupation of 
gardener in his native land, and at the age of 21 
came to the United States. He first found employ- 
ment in a nurser)' near the city of Rochester, N. Y., 
where he remained about three months. He prac- 
ticed all the economy possible and saved sufficient 
money to enable him to proceed to Michigan. He 
came directly to Ann Arbor, where he remained six 
years, chiefly occupied in gardening. In the fall of 
1854 he went to Lansing, Mich., and during the ses- 
sion of the Legislature in the winter following he 
was employed at the State House as fireman. He 
was engaged in gardening through the next summer, 
and in August, 1855, bought 58 acres of unimproved 
land on section 30, Newark Township, Gratiot County, 
built a small house and entered at once upon the 
labor of improving and cultivating his farm. In the 
fall of 1853 he had purchased 80 acres of land on 
section 29 in tlie same township, which he has since 
sold. He has increased his homestead farm to 112 
acres and has put 70 acres under good cultivation. 
Mr. Naldrett is connected with the Order of Masonry 
and is an adherent to the Democratic party in jxaliti- 
cal views. 

He was married Sept. 28, 1854, in Detroit, to 
Mary, third daughter of Cliristian and Barbara Leon- 
ard. Her parents were natives of Germany, and she 
was born Sept. 29, 1831, in I'.aden, in the same coun- 
try. When she was 2 1 years old her parents came 
with their family [to America, settling at Ann Arbor, 



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Mich., where they both died. Of six children born 
to Mr. and .Mrs. Naldrett, three died in infancy — 
George, Cornelia and Clara. Those surviving are 
William C, Rose B. and Ernest H. 



=£>- 



K illet Reynolds, farmer, owning 40 acres on 
section 17, North Star Township, was 
born in Chenango Co., N. Y., Feb. 7, 1834. 
His father, Abel Reynolds, deceased, was a 
native of Rhode Island. Mr. R., the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was reared as a fanner, and 
received his education in the common school in his 
native county. He came to Clinton County, Mich., 
in 1854, and to this county in 1S56, where he has 
since lived, except three years temporarily in Oak- 
land Co., Mich. He served three years in the great 
war, as a Corporal of Co. G, Fifth Mich. Cav., par- 
ticipating in the battles of Gettysburg, Willianisport, 
Hagerstown, Boonslioro, Snicker's Gap, and in oppos- 
ing Early's raid on Washington. 

Mr. Reynolds was married in 1856 to Miss Lydia 
J., daughter of Nathaniel Neal (deceased), who was 
born Dec. 25, 1833, in Oswego Co., N. Y. Their 
four children are : Elizabeth, who married B. B. 
Tuttlc; Jennette ; Emma J., who married Marion 
Miner; and Helen L. 

Mr. R. and wife are memljers of the Seventh-Day 
Adventist Church. 



homas J. Clark, fanner, section 21, Pine 

River Township, was iiorn July 5, 1855, in 

the city of Norfolk, and is the son of 

Thomas and Rosa Clark; His parents lived in 

iNew York and had but two children, Thomas 
and William. The father was a naval officer 
and lost his life in the engagement at Hampton 
Roads when the Congress and the Cumberland were 
sunk by the Merrimac, an iron-clad Confederate ves- 
sel, now called the Virginia. 

When Mr. Clark was ten years old he came to 
Michigan under the guidance and management of 
the Children's .'\id Society, which at tliat time sent 
out 46 children to find home and friends in the shel- 




tering homes of the Peninsular State. He spent the 
intervening years until 1868, in Lenawee County, with 
different individuals and variously employed. In 
the year named he went to live with Thomas J. King, 
of Hillsdale County, and, for three years, he worked 
for his board and clothes, after which he received 
wages, continuing to make his home with Mr. King 
until 1880, when he came to Gratiot County, where 
he owned 80 acres of land on section 22, Pine River 
Township, which he had bought seven years previ- 
ous and had been partly improved. This he ex- 
changed for So acres on section 21, on which he now 
resides. He has placed 40 acres under good cul- 
tivation and, in 1881, erected a fine barn of modern 
architecture. 

Mr. Clark was married Dec. 9, 1S80, to Myrtie H., 
daughter of Reuben and Rebecca (Smith) King. 
She was born April 2, 1856, in Jackson County, Mich., 
and her parents were natives respectively of New 
York and England. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have two 
children, Lloyd L. and Hiel C. 

Mr. Claik is actively interested in local politics and -^ 
is a Republican of decided type. He is a valuable == 
citizen from his active, i)ublic spirit and warm inter- •'• 
est in the progress and well-being of the community. i=a 
He is rapidly placing his farm in the best possible "C/ 
shape for future profit, and deservedly is awarded the 
respect and confidence of his fellow-townsmen. 






(^) 




ohn Franklin Henry, farmer, section 31, 
f Nortii Star, was born in the village of 
Dummcrston, Windham Co., Vt., April 29, 
829. His parents, John and Sandona (Daven- 
port) Henry, were also natives of the Green 
Mountain State; they moved to Bellows Falls, 
in the same county, when the subject of this sketch 
was very young. Here the latter attended the village 
school during the winter seasons, and after he was 
13 years old he worked upon the farm. In the win- 
ter of 1851-2 he went to California, where he en- 
gaged in packing supplies by mule express to the 1 
miners in the mountains. Al)out the ist of October, ^V 
1854, he started on his return, on the steamer (j-l 
" Yankee Blade," which, just after leaving the coast, ^ 
was purposely wrecked by the Captain, who ran her ^o 
on the breakers, expecting to secure the money on ^ 



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board; but he was caught and placed in custody. 
A picture of this wreck is still in the possession of Mr. 
Henry. Remaining in California until the following 
July, he returned to his home in Vermont. During 
the month of August, 1862, he and family came to 
Gratiot County on a visit, and concluded to remain. 
He owns 67 acres of good farming land, where he is 
prosperously engaged as an agriculturist and cheese 
manufacturer. 

Jan. 30, 1856, Mr. Henry married Miss Mary P., 
daughter of Thomas Mills, now deceased. She was 
born in Colchester,"Chittenden Co., Vt., on the shore 
of Lake Champlain. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
Henry are the following named : Edgar L., Inez L. 
(deceased), Charlotte M., Georgia B., Charles B. and 
George Hugh. Mr. and Mrs. H. are members of the 
Baptist Church, and he is also a member of the 
Orders of Masonr)' and Knights of Honor. 



— ^^Sp- 




ownsend A. Ely, Post.naster at Alma, was 
born Aug. 27, 1843, at Wabash, Ind., and is 
the only son of Gen. Ralph and Mary E. 
(Halstead) Ely. (See sketch.) The parents 
were married at Brookville, Ind., and after 
marriage settled at Wabash, where they re- 
sided two years. They returned to New York, their 
native State, and after a year's residence there they 
came to Ionia Co., Mich., where Gen. Ely purchased 
200 acres of unimproved land, and he entered into 
the merits of pioneer life. He vigorously prosecuted 
the improvement and cultivation of his farm. In 
14 April. 1856, he sold the place, and purchased i6o 
acres of land in Arcada Township, Gratiot County. 
The family constituted the first settlers on the north 
side of Pine River. Gen. Ely again commenced life 
as a pioneer, built a log house, platted the village of 
Alma, and eniliarked in various pursuits for the pur- 
pose of furthering the advancement of the place, and 
establishing, so far as lay in his power, substantial 
business interests at that point. He was engaged 
chiefly in farming, trade and milling interests until 
1861, when he enlisted. On leaving the army in the 
fall of 1866, he went to Florida and purchased 130 
acres of land, a part of which was located in the vi- 
cinity of Jacksonville. The remainder was situated 
\^ 120 miles south of that city, and there he set out an 
C 



^ 



orange orchard, which included 40 acres of land. 
He spent a year in planting, and the second year 
lost the entire result of his labor, the frost killing all 
the young trees. He became disheartened, and re- 
turned to Alma, where he resumed farming, and pur- 
sued that vocation until 1874, when he was elected 
Auditor General of Michigan, and was re-elected to 
the office in 1876. While engaged in the discharge 
of the duties of the position, his business relations at 
Alma and in Gratiot County practically terminated- 
and when his connection with the office of Auditor 
General ceased, he interested himself in lumbering 
in Enimett County, where he remained until his 
death, which occurred April 14, 18S3. His family 
included one son and six daughters. 

At the age of 17, Mr. Ely, of this sketch, succeeded 
to the charge of the farm and other business interests 
of his father, who had entered the service of the 
United States, and he continued the management of 
his business and domestic affairs until the close of 
the war. Mr. Ely became roused, by the course and 
exigencies of the struggle with the South, to an inter- 
est in its issues, and enlisted Feb. 25, 1865, in the 
8th Mich. Inf. He became Sergeant of Co. C, and 
was promoted to Second Lieutenant April 25, 1865. 
He was in the service until Aug. 14, 1865, and was 
under fire at Fort Stedman, and at the siege at 
Petersburg. He received honorable discharge at 
Detroit, Mich. 

When he was 23 years old, he embarked in busi- 
ness for himself, and purchased 240 acres of land in 
Arcada, to which he afterwards added 100 acres. 
He continued the management and improvement of 
his property three years, when he sold out. He was 
appointed Mail Messenger between St. Louis and 
Saginaw, a jxjsition which he filled two years and 
nine months. He resigned the situation to accept 
one as conductor on the Saginaw Valley and St. 
Louis railroad. He operated in that capacity three 
years and three months, and resigned to establish 
himself in the hardware business at Alma. A year 
later he sold out, and was appointed to his present 
position of Postmaster at Alma. He succeeded to 
the place Aug. 6, 1881, by appointment under Post- 
master-General James, and has discharged the obli- 
gations of the office with credit and honor, and to the 
entire satisfaction of the pui)lic. In jx)litical princi- 
ple, he is an adherent to the tenets i)f the Republi- 
can party. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



339 



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"Mr. Ely was married at Alma, Sept. 25, 1866, to 
Maggie C, daughter of Dewitt C. and Edna F. 
(Utley) Chapin. Mrs. Ely was born at Chicago, 
111., June 27, 1845. Palph C, born March 5, 1870, 
is the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Ely. 



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eorge Johnson, farmer, section 36, North 
Shade Township, is a son of Robert and 
Ann (Bell) Johnson, the latter a native of 
'^^^ England; the former, a native of Ireland, set- 
tled in Canada in 1842; in 1866 he came to 
this county and settled on 40 acres of wild 
land, on section 26, North Shade Township, where 
he yet resides. 

The subject of this sketch was born Aug. 17, 1857, 
in Peterboro, Can., and was brought by his parents 
to this county; at 20 years of age he commenced 
working by the month on a farm, and by this means 
he accumulated a sufficient amount of means to buy 
a farm of 80 acres, on section 36, North Shade Town- 
ship, where he now has about 50 acres in a high 
state of cultivation. 

Oct. 18, 1881, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss 
Sarah, daughter of George and Lovina (Belden) Ed- 
monds. The latter were natives of New York State, 
Mr. E. a farmer. He located on section 26, North 
Shade Township, in 1873, where the family yet re- 
side. Mr. and Mrs. J. are the parents of two chil- 
dren, namely : Glenn, born Aug. 6, 1882; and Ora, 
Sept. I r, 1883. 

On political issues Mr. Johnson is a Republic an. 



'if^-ornelius A. Deline, farmer, section 35, 
jp,5# Newark Township, wasborn Aug. 20, 1831, 
«^(g in Ridgeway, Orleans Co., N.Y. His i)arents, 
^1? Peter and Charity (Snell) Deline, were natives 
of Montgomery County in the same State. 
They passed the years of their married life there 
until 1862, when they settled in Newark Township, 
and there the father still resides. The mother died 
May 15, 1869. Their family included seven daugh- 
ters and one son. The sisters of Mr. Deline were 
named Miranda E., Mary J., C'athcrine K., Hannah 
L., Francis E., Martha A. and Julia J. 




Mr. Deline is the eldest child. He obtained a fair 
education in the common schools and engaged in 
farming with his father until he was 23 years of a^e. 
In October, 1862, he came to Gratiot County and 
bought 110 acres of unimproved land, located on 
section 35 of Newark Township, and section 2 of 
Fulton Township. He has since added by purchase 
40 acres to his original tract of land, and now has 
120 acres in advanced cultivation and most promis- 
ing condition. The log cabin, which was his home 
in his early days of labor and struggle, has been sup- 
planted by a fine residence, of which he took posses- 
sion in May, 1880. He is a Democrat. 

He was married July 4, 1854, in I.ockport, Niag- 
ara Co., N. v., to Mary S., daughter of Peter and Su- 
sannah (Ziglar) Jones. Her parents were natives of 
Pennsylvania, and their family comprised 12 children, 
viz.: John F., Evan, Rebecca A., Sarah, Lany E., 
Amanda, Rhoda .\., Siglar, Lovisa, Lovina, Mary S. and 
Lotilla. Mrs. Deline was the eighth daughter and was 
born Oct. 15, 1836, in Genesee Co., N. Y. All the 
children of Mr. and Mrs. Deline, seven in number, 
died in infancy 



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jaron Stanton, deceased, a pioneer on sec- 
tion 18, North Star Township, was a native 



of the State of New York, where he was born 
May 28, 1827. His father, Hiram Stanton, 
brought his family to Lenawee Co., Mich., 
when Aaron was a small boy, and where the latter 
was reared on the farm and educated in the coirrmon 
school. When he was 18 years of age the family re- 
moved to Clinton Co., Mich., where he resided until 
December, 1854, when he came to North Star Town- 
ship, this county, settling on section 18, the present 
home of the family. 

Although Mr. Stanton's occupation was principally 
that of farming, his natural genius and practical 
ability early led him to tlie skillful use of tools. He 
therefore worked much in wood, and some in a saw- 
mill. He was married IVc. 11, 1854, to Miss Han- 
nah Hawkins, daughter of Benjamin Hawkins. She 
also was a native of New York Stale. Mr. and Mrs. 
S. had four children, namely: Philena J. (Pritchard), 
George L., Annie F. and William A. Mr. Stanton 
died Feb. 21, 1863, in Alexandria, Va., of measles, 









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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






about six months after he was enrolled into the 
United States service, as a member of Co. D, 26th 
Mich. Vol. Inf He was then a member of the Free- 
WiU Baptist Church, but formerly of the Christian 
Church in this county, there being no Church of his 
choice in his neighborhood. Mrs. Stanton after- 
ward (1867) married M. M. Heath, and by him has 
had six children, two of whom are now living, 
namely, Emma M. and George E. 




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oren M. Sutphin, dealer in wines and 
liquors at Alma, was born April 5, 1852, in 
;,j.i/ r Niagara Co., N. Y. He is a son of Ralph 
61 J and Margaret (Crego) Sutphin, both of whom 
/\s were natives of New York. They first located 
\^ in Niagara County and afterwards removed to 
Michigan, where they settled in Jackson, and after a 
residence there of more than three years they moved 
to Clinton County, where the father died, March 14, 
1864. The mother is still a resident of that county. 

Mr. Sutphin was in the first year of his life when 
his parents came to Michigan. He passed his early 
years in obtaining an education, and at 16 was em- 
ployed as a sawyer in a mill, wlierc he worked nearly 
three years. Ten years succeeding he was employed 
as a clerk. In August, 18S3, he came to Gratiot 
County and located at Alma, where he established 
himself in the business in which he still continues. 
In political faith he is a Republican. 

He was married in Ensley Township, Newaygo 
County, March 27, 1872, to Adelia M., daughter of 
Calvin and Ellen Cook. Parents and daughter are 
natives of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Sutphin have two 
children : Claude L. and Maud M. 

^rederick Beyer, farmer, section 20, New 
SME 'trk Township, was born May 18, 1834, in 
^ "'■' Herkimer Co., N. Y. His parents, Joseph 
and Nancy (Shell) Boyer, were also natives of 

f^ the Em[)ire State. He was 14 years old when 
he came to Michigan and settled in Eaton 
County, where he remained until 1858. In 1854 
he came to Gratiot County and bought 80 acres of 
land, and of this he took pcjssession in August, i860. 
The place was in a wholly unimproved state and he 



built a log house and proceeded, with all his energies, 
to clear and put his farm in a suitable condition for 
the successful pursuit of agriculture. 

In 1862 he enlisted in the 26th Reg. Mich. Vol. 
Inf, and served until July 14, 1865, when he was 
honorably discharged at Detroit. Among other en- 
gagements in which he participated were those of 
Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg. In one of 
the numerous skirmishes in which he took part, he 
received a slight wound in the right hip. On return- 
ing to Gratiot County he resumed his farm labors and 
has put 57 acres under a fair state of improvements. 
A good frame house has replaced the log cabin of his 
pioneer days, and he is in circumstances which war- 
rant him in expecting a future of comfort. He is in 
sympathy with the beliefs and issues of the Demo- 
cratic party, and has held the various offices in his 
school district. ■ 

Mr. Boyer was married March 17, 1858, in Eaton 
County, to Mary H. Boyer, a native of Herkimer Co., 
N. Y., and of their marriage five children have been 
born : Catharine M., Imelda L., John P. and Henry 
H. Another daughter, Ellen L., died when she was 
18 years old. 



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„ eorge W. Jennings, lumberman and far- 
iMMt iiier, residing at Alma, was born Aug. :i, 
1828, in Erie Co., N. Y., and is the son of 
y^> Hiram and Mary (Rhodabaugh) Jennings. 
;"" The parents were natives respectively of Vir- 
ginia and Pennsylvania. After marriage they 
settled in Erie Co., N. Y., where they passed the re- 
mainder of their lives, the mother dying in 1829, the 
father in the fall of 1873. He was a blacksmith by 
trade. Tiieir family included four children. 

Mr. Jennings obtained his education in the com- 
mon and high schools of the section where he was 
reared. He was nine months old when his mother 
died.. At the age of 15 years, he engaged with a 
blacksmith to learn the trade, and worked as an a))- 
prentice about two years- Just before he was 17 
ye.irsold his health failed, and he accordingly aban- 
doned liie trade of blacksmith, and embarked as a 
sailor on a whaling vessel. He continued in that 
vocation nearly five years. He suffered shipwreck 
once off the coast of Japan. After leaving the sea 



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GRATIQT OOUNTY. 



341 









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he returned to Erie County, and spent three years in 
lumbering. In 1854 he came to Clinton Co., Mich,, 
where he pursued the same vocation si.x years. In 
1858 he came to Ciratiot County, and settled in Ar- 
cada Township, where he bought 320 acres of unim- 
proved land. On this he built a " block " liouse, 
claimed to be the best in Cratiot County erected 
after that method. He operated on this farm until 
1862, when he removed to Alma, and has sirce been 
engaged as stated. Politically, Mr. Jennings is a 
Republican. In i860 he was elected Justice of the 
Peace, and held the office successively until 1^75. 
He was Supervisor of Arcada one term, and held 
various minor offices. He is a member of the Ma- 
sonic fraternity. 

Mr. Jennings was first married at Maple Rapids, 
Clinton County, in July, 1854, to Zilpha A., daughter 
of Harvey P. and Lydia Lansing, natives of New 
York. Mrs. Jennings was born in 1839, in New York, 
and of her marriage three children were born : Frank 
E., Ida M. and George. The latter died when three 
years old. Mr. Jennings was a second time married 
at St. John's, Clinton County, April 29, 1866, to Sibyl, 
daughter of Ale.xander and Jane (Sprague) Fraker. 
Mrs. Jennings was born Jan. 29, 1845, in St. Law- 
rence Co., N. Y., and her parents were also natives 
of that State. Three children have been born to 
them: Harry A., Jennie M. and Morton F. The 
eldest of these died when nine months old. Both 
parents are members of the Congregational Church. 




iKl, iram "W. Havens, farmer, section 27, North 
Shade Township, is a son of Samuel and 
^j"]^ Sarah A. (Tubbs) Havens, the former a 
native of New Jersey and the latter of New 
York. Mr. Samuel Havens was a farmer. His 
first wife's maiden name was Amy Bennett : she 
died at an early day, and he subsequently married 
Miss Tubbs. He moved from New York to Michi- 
gan in 1837, settling in Lenawee County, where he 
died, in 1861 ; his widow is yet living, in Seneca 
Township, Lenawee Co., Mich. 

The subject of tliis sketch was born March 28, 
1837, in Niagara Co., N. Y.; remaining at home with 
* his parents until he was 24 years of age, became, in 
> 1862, to Michigan and located 80 acres of wild land, 



on the section where he now resides. He resided 
in Lenawee County five years longer, and then came 
to Gratiot County; but not until he was 35 years of 
age did he settle here to make it his permanent 
home. He has been Highway ("ommissioner three 
terms and School Inspector one term; has always 
been a Republican. 

In 1872 Mr. Havens was married to Miss Ellen, 
daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Burras) Huyck, 
natives of Huron Co., Ohio, who first moved to Will- 
iams County, that State, then returned to Huron 
County, thence to Lenawee Co., Mich., Fulton Co.,' 
( )hio, and finally Bloomer Township, Montcalm Co., 
Mich., where they now reside. Mr and Mrs. Ha- 
vens' two children are, Alta M., born June 13, 1875, 
and Hiram W., April 18, 1883, both in this county. 



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'5^r 'imuel Lepley, farmer, section 34. Newark 
Township, was born in Union Co., Pa., Oct. 



25, 181 6, and is the son of John and Mary 
Lejiley, both natives of the same State, where 
they married and reared their family. Mr. 
Lepley is a l)orn and bred farmer, having spent 
the years of his early life in the practice of the details 
of that business, preparatory to making it the calling 
of his life. At 15 years of age he found himself at 
liberty to make a decided encounter with the world 
on his own behalf, and from that age until the year 
1849 he was engaged in agriculture at various places. 
In the year named he came to Hillsdale Co., Mich., 
and in 1855 came to Gratiot County. He bought 
120 acres of unimproved land in the township of 
Newark, settled on it and operated in true pioneer 
style. He reduced his estate by the sale of 40 acres 
and has, in the brief time included within the date 
named and the current year (1884), placed 70 acres 
of the remainder in satisfactory farming condition. 

Mr. Lepley is a Democrat in political i)roclivity, 
and has always been keenly alive to everything that 
seemed to bear any reasonable promise of benefit to 
the community in which he has lived. He was in- 
strumental in establishing the first school in the dis- 
tiict in which he resides. Having been elected Di- 
rector, he conducted a subscription and raised a small 
sum of money, with wliich he hired a teacher, i)aying 
her one dollar a week. For the first month she had 









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342 



GRATIOT COUNTY. 





one pupil, but the school has been sustained ever 
since, and now numbers about 50 students. Mr. Lep- 
ley has held the office of Township Collector seven 
years in succession. 

He vk^as first married in Seneca Co., Ohio, to Eliz- 
abeth, daughter of Charles Caty, who was a German 
by birth. Mrs. Lepley was born in Maryland. Of 
her marriage to Mr. Lepley, eight children were born, 
whose names are : John W., Maria H., William F., 
James C, Cyrus, Mary J., Sarah L. and Andrew J. 
The mother died in March, 1872. Mr. Lepley was 
again married April 16, 1873, in Clinton Co., Mich., 
to Mrs. Mary (Boardmaii) Leary, daughter of Watson 
and Elizabeth Boardman, and widow of Walter Leary. 



rank E. Jennings, witli the firm of Brad- 
ley & Jennings, resident at Alma, was born 

fe^ '^" July 4, 1857, at Maple Rapids, Clinton 
^^ Co., Mich. He is a son of George W. Jen- 
J>\~^ nings, who was a native of the State of New 

{. York. His mother, Zilpha (Lansing) Jennings, 
was born in Michigan. After their marriage they 
settled in Gratiot County. Their family included 
two children : F. E. and Ida M. The mother died 
in Alma, in 1865. The father is still a resident there. 
He was formerly proprietor of the planing mill at 
Alma, where the son was trained to the same busi- 
ness. 

Mr. Jennings was educated at the common and 
graded schools, and at the age of 20 years he went 
to Ithaca, where he was apprenticed for two years to 
learn the trade of making sash, doors and blinds. 
At the expiration of his indenture he went into part- 
nership with his father. This relation continued two 
years, when it was dissolved by the withdrawal of 
Mr. Jennings, senior. Mr. Jennings, of this sketch, 
formed a partnership with A. Bradley in the fall of 
1883, under the firm style of Bradley & Jennings, 
which relation continued until early in 1884, when 
Mr. Jennings sold his interest. He is at present 
contemplating erecting a store and entering mercan- 
tile life. 

He was married at Saginaw, May 13, 1882, to Uora, 
daughter of A. J. and Louisa Brooke. Mrs. Jen- 
nings and her parents were natives of Wood Co., 
Ohio. One child has been bom to Mr. and Mrs. 
Jennings: Nina, Oct. 13, 1883. 



Mr. Jennings is an active temperance worker and 
belongs to Blue Ribbon Society and Order of Good 
Templars. He is a Republican in political senti- 
ment. 



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V 



t ra B. Ellsworth, merchant at Riverdale, 
Seville Township, was born May 26, 1826, 
in Erie Co., N. Y., and is a son of William 
and Lydia (Bentley) Ellsworth, natives respect- 
ively of Vermont and Canada. The father 
was a farmer in New York, and removed to 
Canada, where he lived some eight years ; thence to 
Lexington, Sanilac Co., Mich., in 1837. He and 
wife both died in Sanilac County. 

Their son, Ira, lived at home until 18 years old, 
when he lived a year with a Mr. Hurd in Marshall, 
this State. He returned to Lexington and for five 
years following was engaged in farming. He was 
then for six seasons on the waters of Lakes Huron 
and Erie, sailing to Cleveland and Sandusky. Coming 
to Montcalm County in 1861, he followed farming 
seven or eight years. 

During the civil war he enlisted, Oct. 16, 1864, in j^ 
Co. A, 1st Mich. Eng. and Mech., and served under .^^ 
Gen. Sherman. The regiment participated in the 
battles around Knoxville, but was principally occu- 
pied in such work as repairing bridges. He was 
discharged at Washington in 1865 and returned to 
his family in Montcalm County. They removed to 
Millbrook in 187 i, and to Stanton three years later. 
They then lived a short time at Belltown, and for a 
year kept a hotel at Itiiaca. His last move was to 
Riverdale, where he also engaged in the hotel busi- 
ness, following that a little over four years, before 
entering mercantile life. 

He was married in 1847 to Almira Vancamp, 
daughter of John Vancami). She was born in 1829, 
and died in 1850, leaving five children: Jefferson, 
Dewitt, Henry, Emeline and Ira. He subsequently 
married Louisa Pherris, a widow, the daughter of 
Rufus and Elizabeth Colburn, natives of New York 
State. Mr. C. was a manufacturer, and died when 
the daughter was quite young. 

Mr. Ellsworth is a member of Ithaca Lodge, No. 
123, F. & A. M., of Riverdale Lodge, No. 343, I. O. 
O. F. and of Pine River Lodge, No. 343, I. O. G. T. 
Politically he is an ardent Prohibitionist. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



345 



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r. p. Schneider, of the firm of 
Wright, Schneider & Stuttz, merchants and 



^.\ p^j-erman 

7-Ms 

V' Xu? dealers in grain at Alma, was born June 29, 
1^ 1849, in Ponierania, Germany. William C. and 
] Louise (Penzel) Schneider, liis parents, were 
natives of the same country and emigrated to the 
United States in the month of June, 1864. They at 
A once located in Detroit, whence they removed in Oc- 
; tober, 1882, to Alma, and are still living there. 
^ Mr. Schneider had reached the age of 15 years 
^ when his family came to the New World; and, owing 
to his father having become incapacitated from effort 
by illness, he has been their sole dependence and 
support. His first piece of labor was in the capacity 
uf a wood-5awyer. He sawed and split a cord of 
" iron-wood," and has still a clear remembrance of 
profoundly wishing that he had never seen America. 
During the first year of his residence in Detroit he 
was variously employed, meanwhile suffering much 
from fever and ague. He found so little satisfaction 
and comfort in the disorder that, while operating as a 
laborer in Elmwood Cemetery, he could not help en- 
vying the freedom from hardship and disease of the 
silent sleepers in the city of the dead. The year fol- 
lowing he became an employe' at the Russell House, 
where he was engaged nearly three years. In 1868 
he entered the dry-goods establishment of Sebastian 
Kirchner, of Detroit, and a year and a half later en- 
gaged with Campbell & Linn as a clerk. After four 
months he was employed by Freedman Bros., enter- 
ing their service when they opened their new store on 
Woodward Avenue. In July, 1870, he engaged with 
James Lowrie & Sons, where he remained until July, 
1878, when he again became connected with the 
house of Freedman Bros. Two years later he was 
employed by Taylor, Wolfenden & Co. He remained 
with them ir months, and in August, 1881, came to 
Alma. He formed an association with A. W. Wright 
and George D. Baiton for the sale of general mer- 
chandise, under the firm style of Barton, Schneider 
& Co. This relation continued five months, when 
Mr. Barton withdrew and was succeeded by James 
A. Stuttz, the style becoming Wright, Schneider & 
Stuttz. The firm is established on a substantial 
basis, and its yearly transactions amount to $100,- 
000 in merchandise only. 



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the mother in 1821, in Brattleboro, Vt. He 
was first a tin peddler, then a tanner, and later 
a real-estate dealer. He and wife now reside at 182, 
Duffield Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. They have four 
sons, four daughters, all younger than the sons, and 
18 grandchildren, and the fortunate family has not 
as yet had a single visit from death. 

The subject of this notice was born Aug. 27, 1845, 
in Sullivan Co., N. Y., and remained at home with 
his parents until he was 22 years old. He was first 
engaged in lumbering, and later in farming. He 
came from the Empire State to Grand Rapids, Mich., 
in the year 1870 and remained there one year look- 
ing after his father's affairs. He then came with his 
brother to Gratiot County and lo'^.ated on 320 acres 
of wild land on section 30, Seville. They built a 
fine house and a large barn, and cleared a portion of 
the land, and Dec. 31, 1873, Mr. B. was united in 
the bonds of matrimony to Miss Mary E. Whitney, 
daughter of Chauncey B. and Mary (Birmingham) 
Whitney, natives of Cayuga Co., N. Y. They came 
from that State to Ingham Co., Mich., in 1854, and 
in 1867 came to Sumner Township, Gratiot County. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley have a family of three : Wel- 
lington, Chandler and Forrest. 

Mr. B. enlisted in September, 18C1, in Co. F, 56th 
N. Y. Vol. Inf. The regiment was on detached duty 
with the Eastern army much of the time at Washing- 
ton, and participated in two engagements, which nearly 
annihilated it. The remnant were finally discharged 
in New York State, with due honors. Mr. B. is polit- 
ically a Republican. He is a member of Col. Ely 
Post, No. i58,G.A. R. 



Mr. Schneider belongs to the German Lutheran ^> 
Church, of which his parents are also members. In 
political principle and action he is a Republican, and 
holds tolerant views. He is a member of the A. O. 
U. W., Peninsular Lodge, No. 12, at Detroit. i^ 

The portrait of Mr. Schneider, on another page, is 
a valuable addition to the collection of pictures of 
young and rising men of the present generation pre- 
sented in this volume. 



Hi }| III? illiarn A. Bradley, farmer on section 31, 
plg^^L Seville Townshiij, is a son of William and 
W^r* Ha,rriet J. (Fisk) Bradley. The father was 

' *■ born in 1808, in Litchfield Co., Conn., and 



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illiam C. Beekwith, proprietor of the Beck- 
with planing mill and sash, door and blind 
factory at Ithaca, was born Aug. 8, 1827, 
at Utica, N. Y. Joseph P. and Sophronia 
(Coolidge) Beekwith, his parents, were both 
natives of the Empire State. ' His father was 
English by descent and a merchant by occupation. 
He died in the city of New York, at the age of 85 
years. The mother was born in St. Lawrence 
County in 1805, and died there when her son was six 
mouths old. The father married a second time, and 
Mr. Beekwith of this sketch remained in St. Lawrence 
County until he was eight years old, when he ac- 
companied his grandfather to Mendon, R. L He 
went, shortly after, to the city of New York, where 
his father was engaged in the furniture business. 
He was a pupil in the common schools until he was 
16 years of age, when he entered his father's furni- 
ture shop and thoroughly qualified himself for the 
vocation, acquiring a complete comprehension of the 
business in all its branches. In 1852 he went to 
Rochester, N. Y., and two years later to Ashawa, 
Can., and operated there four years. 

He arrived at Ithaca April 9, 1858. The county 
was then in its incipiency, but was also in the full 
flush of its ambitious courage and pushing the en- 
terprises which marked its spirit and purpose ; and 
Mr. Beekwith entered into them with all the strength 
and energy of his manhood's prime. He bought 120 
acres of land in Emerson Township, situated on sec- 
tion 29, built there the log cabin of the pioneer and 
moved upon his property, where he exerted all his 
resources to the purposes of improvement until 1862. 
In the fall of that year he was elected County 
Clerk and successively re-elected until he had filled 
the position eight years. To facilitate the discharge 
of his duties he removed to Ithaca, where he has 
since resided. In 1870 he commenced the manu- 
facture of furniture and also engaged in building. 

In 187 I he built the court-house at Ithaca. On 
Ihe sixth day of June, 1874, his mill, which occupied 
the present site of the Journal office, was destroyed 
by fire, entailing a loss of $7,000, with no insurance. 
The business community of Ithaca felt the importance 
of his works as an accessory to the growth and pros- 




perity of the place, and contributed a little over 
$1,000 for his relief, which enabled him to construct 
the building in which he is now actively pursuing his 
business. It is 40 x 60 feet and two and a half stories 
high. The wing is 12 x 30 feet in dimensions and 
the engine house is 16 x 24 feet. He manufactures 
furniture, sash, doors, blinds and frames, and dresses 
lumber. He erected in his own interest the buildings 
used for the Masonic hall and the Journal office, 
which he afterward sold. In August, 1882, he formed 
a business association with Irving C. Wright and dealt 
in furniture. This connection existed until Aug. 17, 
1883. 

Mr. Beekwith has been prominent in local polities 
in the township of Emerson, where he has acted in 
the capacities of Clerk and Justice of the Peace. 
He belongs to Ithaca Lodge, No. 123, Ithaca Chap- 
ter No. 70, and the Council of Royal and Select 
Masters, No. 33, Masonic Order. He is a charter 
member of the organization known as the Knights 
of Honor. 

His marrige with Emily R. Lane occurred July 7, 
1848, at Colchester, Delaware Co., N. Y. She was 
born at Nevevsink, N. Y., Aug. 30, 1826, and is a 
daughter of William S. and Rachel Lane. Eight 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Beekwith, 
three of whom are living. Josephine H. married 
George W. Helt, and has two children — Clark and 
Althia. Charles L. is in his father's employ. He was 
married April 22, 1878, to Flora Brooks. They have 
two children — Sylvia M. and William H. Grace G. 
was married Dec. 24, 1883, to Walter L. Hilborn, 
one of the editors of the Times. The family of Mr. 
B. attend the Baptist Church. 

ijf J^} eorge W. Hearn, of the firm of Hearn & 
i|; Grote, marketmen at Alma, was born July 
f'i^ 12, 1856, in Oakland Co., Mich. He is a son 

of Edward and Mary A. (Polten) Hearn. Mrs. 

Hearn's first husband was William Salomon, 
and to this marriage was born one son, John W., now 
residing in Corunna. Mr. and Mrs. Hearn were 
natives of England, and came to tlie United States 
in May, 1853. They settled at first in Wayne Co., 
Mich., and afterward removed to Oakland County. 



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They went thence to Shiawassee County, where they 
yet reside. 

Mr. Hearn was under the parental guidance until 
he reached the period of his legal freedom, devoting 
his time to study in the common and graded schools 
and in assisting in the farm labors. At the date 
named he began to work by the month as a farm 
laborer, and a part of the time as a butcher. He 
spent three years in this manner, when he gave up 
farming to devote his whole attention to the meat 
business. He came to Alma in 1878, and was em- 
ployed in a meat-market for three years. In 1881 
he established himself in that business in company 
with his brother, Charles W., which relation continued 
until January, 1884. Charles W. then sold his inter- 
est to Henry W. Grote. Mr. Hearn is a member of 
the Order of Odd Fellows, and is a Republican in 
political sentiment. 

He was married at Si. Louis, Mich., May 26, 1881, 
to Josephine, daughter of Nelson and Fidelia Rogers, 
natives of the State of New York. She was born in 
Alma, Aug. 9, 1866. 



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.onroe J. Bosserman, general farmer and 
mechanic, section 16, New Haven Town- 
ship, was born in Hancock Co., Ohio, 
-)''ft^ April 18, 1856, and was a laborer on his 
father's farm until 23 years of age. Having 
obtained a good education, he taught school in 
his 20th year; the next two years he was learning 
the carpenter and joiner's trade; then he went to 
California, Colorado Territory, Kansas, Missouri and 
home in Ohio again, resuming his trade and taking 
contracts. Having bought 40 acres of land in his 
native county, he pursued farming until April, 1882, 
when he sold out, came to Gratiot County and, in 
company with his brother, purchased 100 acres of 
improved land where he now resides, on one of the 
best sections of the township. His works prove him 
to be a skillful farmer and carpenter, and his conduct 
in the community shows him to be a kind and oblig- 
ing neighbor. In political matters he is a Repub- 
lican. 

Nov. 6, 1879, Mr. B. was married, in Hancock 
Co., Ohio, to Miss Lucy A. Krabill, who was born 



347 >^ 



Aug. 6, 1 88 1, in Seneca Co., Ohio, and moved to 
Hancock County, that State, when ten years old. 
Mr. and Mrs. B. are members of the German Baptist 
(" Dunkard ") Church. Their children are: Oliver 
B., born Nov. 3, 1880; and John E., Jan. 8, 1883. 



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\ eorge W. Abbott, teacher, resident at Al- 
ma, was born April 26, 1848, in Jackson 
^6^ Co., Mich., and is the eldest son of Jacob and 
Mary (Thornton) Abbott. The parents were 
natives of Ohio, and settled first in Jackson 
County, where the father was engaged in farming. 
They came to Gratiot County in the fall of 1883, 
where they are now resident. Their family consisted 
of three sons and two daughters. 

Mr. Abbott is the eldest son of his parents, and 
during the years preceding his majority he passed his 
time in obtaining an education and assisting his 
father in the labor of the farm. After reaching man's 
estate he devoted the alternale seasons of the ensu- 
ing eight years in working on the farm and attend- 
ing school. He next entered the college at Hillsdale, 
and after a period of study there he went to the State 
Normal School at Ypsilanti, his course at both insti- 
tutions covering three years. He then entered into 
the business of teaching, and has pursued that voca- 
aon in Jackson, Hillsdale, Ionia and Gratiot Coun- 
ties. 

Mr. Abbott is keenly alive and active in all matters 
of reform, especially in temperance work, to which 
he is ardently devoted. He belongs to the Sons of 
Temperance, and to the Order of Good Templars. 
He is liberal in religious views and is an adherent of 
the Republican party. 






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!;j'f §||fc illiam Franklin, farmer, section 20, North 
'I^^Ski Shade Township, is the son of Samuel and 
tII^^P Sarah (Muns) Franklin, natives of England. 
The former was a soldier in the British army 
some 23 years. He served in the numerous 
wars and was finally discharged and became a 
pensioner of the English Government. Both parents 
died in their native country. 

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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Mr. Franklin, the subject of this sketch, was born 
Sept. 29, 1829, and remained with his parents at home 
until he was 26 years of age. At that age he came 
to the New World, landing in New York. He then 
came to Detroit, Mich., and remained in Wayne 
County for six years, when he came to Gratiot County, 
and located upon 40 acres of land on section 20, 
North Shade Township. To his original claim he has 
since added J40 acres, and he now has about 70 
acres under cultivation. He has been largely en- 
gaged in stock-raising, and has one of the best 
equipped farms in the county. In 1876 he built a 
large barn, and in 1883 he erected a residence, at a 
cost of about $2,000. 

In 1856 Mr. Franklin was united in marriage with 
Miss Ellen, the eldest daughter of James and Honor 
(Dean) Watts, natives of England. Mr. Watts was a 
farmer by occupation. He died Nov. 12, 1883, in his 
native country. Mrs. Franklin was born in England, 
March 14, 1831, and came to America Dec. 19, 1857. 
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin are the parents of six children, 
as follows : Ellen, Mary, John, Anna, Addie and 
William. 

Mr. Franklin and his wife are members of the 
Baptist Church, at Carson City. 






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ames Knowles, farmer on the east half of 

the southeast quarter of section 17, Beth- 

'"'^ any Township, is a son of Willard and 

Mirum (Nearpass) Knowles, and was born in 

Jackson Co., Mich., April 25, 1836 : was brought 

up on a farm. When he was 17 years old, the 

• family moved to Sauk Co., Wis., where they resided 

a number of years, and where his father bought 40 

acres of land. 

In the last mentioned place. May 4, 1S50, he was 
married to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and 
Mary (Staples) Oler, and a native of Ohio. By this 
marriage six children have been born, four of whom 
are living, namely : Charles, Mary E., Albert and 
Almeda. The deceased are William and Lewis. Mrs. 
K. died Aug. 4, 1874, in Wisconsin, and Mr. Knowles 
again married, June 7, 1877, Mary Thomas, a native 
of Wisconsin, who was born in 1850. By this mar- 
riage there have been three children, — Leonard, 
Rosa and Ernest. 







Mr. Knowles returned to Jackson County, this 
State, in the fall of 1878, for one year, and then came 
to Bethany Township, this county, and purchased his 
present farm of 80 acres, 30 acres of which are well 
improved. 

While a resident of Wisconsin, during the war, Mr. 
K. was drafted for the army, attached to Co. H, 6th 
Wis. Inf, and served bravely, engaging in the battles 
at Hatcher's Run, South Side, Yellow House, Lee's 
surrender, etc., besides a number of skirmishes. He 
was discharged at Jeffersonville, Ind. During the 
service he was slightly wounded in the right shoulder, 
by a minie ball. 

He and his wife are members of the Baptist 
Church. 



F. Covert, of the firm of Retan & Covert, 

proprietors of the Retan House at Ithaca, 

was born Feb. 4, 1846, in Seneca Co., N. 

He is a son of Joshua and Rebecca 



^J- (White) Covert. The father was born in 1S17 



in Seneca Co., N. Y., is one of the descendants 
of three brothers who came to America from Holland 
in the latter part of the 17th century. They settled 
respectively in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New 
York. From the latter Mr. Covert is descended. 
His mother was born in 1819, in New Jersey; both 
parents are yet living, in Ovid, Clinton Co., Mich. 

Mr. Covert was educated in his native county, 
where he resided with his parents until he was 16 
years old, when they moved to Munday, Genesee 
Co., Mich. There his father bought 160 acres of 
land, in an unimproved condition and covered with 
oak timber. The place was sold 13 years later and 
was justly considered the finest in the township, hav- 
ing been the field of the unremitted labors and cares 
of the father and his five sons. The family removed 
to Ovid Center, where Mr. Covert, senior, engaged 
in the drug business one year and then retired. 

At the age of 22 years Mr. Covert engaged in the 
sale and shipment of cattle, in company with James 
Fires. This enterprise was conducted two years with 
success, when tlie same parties opened a meat market 
at Ovid. This relation and business existed seven 
years. On its discontinuance, Mr. Covert established 
himself singly, and continued to operate until April 
25, 1883. At that date, associated with his father- 



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in-law, H. K. Retan, he bought the Fox House at 
Ithaca, which they remodeled and converted into the 
Retan House. It is the leading hotel at Ithaca, and 
has a capacity for 60 guests, and is doing a fine busi- 
ness. The popular and gentlemanly proprietors have 
secured an excellent reputation for the home and its 
management. Mr. Covert is the owner also of a fine 
home and three lots at Ovid. He is a member of the 
Masonic Order, and also belongs to the Order of A. 
O. U. W., an insurance organization. He was a mem- 
ber of the Village Council of Ovid two years. 

Mr. Covert was married at Ovid, Oct. 14, 1872, to 
Harriet, daughter of H. K. Retan. One son — Leroy 
J., was born at Ovid, Sept. 19, 1874. 




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Tehu E. Parkinson, farmer, section 9, Pine 
1^- River Township, was born Nov. 16, 1816, 
-'•'^^ in Greene Co., Pa. He is a son of Jona- 
than and Elizabeth (Whitlock) Parkinson, both 
JL natives and life-long residents of the Keystone 

' State. 

Mr. Parkinson is the youngest of the children be- 
longing to his father's household, and he received 
such education as was afforded by the common 
schools of the section where he was born and reared. 
He was an industrious and ambitious boy, and at 19 
years of age he took a farm to work on shares, which 
he continued to manage four years. For some years 
subsequent he rented different farms, and also be- 
came proprietor of several by alternate purchase and 
sale. In June, 1866, he came to Gratiot County, 
and bought 80 acres of land in Pine River Township, 
all in an entirely original condition. He afterwards 
bought 80 acres additional on section 4, and has 1 10 
acres under most creditable cultivation. His fertile 
fields and premises arranged and kept in fine order, 
together with his elegant brick house, which he erect- 
ed in 18S0 on section 9, all attest his prudence, judg- 
ment and good management. Politically, Mr. Par- 
kinson is in affiliation with the National Greenback 
party. 

While a resident of Pennsylvania, he lived in 
close proximity to the Virginia border, and being 
a Politizer he suffered many indignities and much 
persecution, which in nowise tended to diminish his 
loyalty to his political faith. On the organization of 

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the Republican party he adopted its principles, and 
furthered its issues with all the zeal of his nature. 
On the outbreak of the rebellion, his sympathies were 
strongly with the North, and in September, 1861, he 
enlisted in the 6th W. Va. Vol. Inf. He remained 
in the service over three years. The regiment was 
principally occupied in keeping open the communi- 
cations between Grafton and Parkersburg, and also 
with Wheeling, besides doing special duty in giving 
all possible attention to the guerrillas that infested 
the mountains of West Virginia, a species of warfare 
involving the regiment in many petty engagements, 
which were fraught with more danger than impor- 
tance. Mr. Parkinson was the first who safely con- 
ducted a party of contrabands, 13 in number, from 
bondage to freedom, piloting them through the mili- 
tary lines at the peril of his life, as the act was an 
infringement of military orders, and if detected the 
perpetrator was liable to be shot for disobedience. 
He received honorable discharge at Grafton. Mr. 
Parkinson is a gentleman of well-known philanthropy 
and generosity, and enjoys in an unusual degree the 
confidence and esteem of his fellow townsmen and 
neighbors. 

He was married Feb. 27, 1837, in Greene Co., Pa., 
to Sarah Bradford, a native of that county, where she 
was born Oct. 8, 1815. Of this marriage, 12 children 
have been born, of whom six are living : Mary J., 
Henry J., Minerva, Nancy, Sarah A. and Clarinda. 
The deceased were as follows : Robert, Eli, a child 
that died in infancy, Rebecca, Elizabeth and Pau- 
lina. The family attend the M. E. Church. 




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ohn A. Sias, farmer, on the southwest quar- 
ter of the northwest (juarter of section 15, 
Bethany Township, is a native of the Em- 
pire State. He was born in Cattaraugus Co., 
N. v., March 14, 1849, and is a son of Solomon 
and Emily Sias. In 1859 his parents came to 
Pine River Township, this county, coming up Pine 
River from Saginaw in a canoe, with a family of 
seven children. His father purchased 20 acres on 
section 2, Pine River Township, and resided there 
some years. He died at the residence of his daugh- 
ter, Ann Woodmansee, Feb. 4, 1884. His first wife 
died in New York, and his second wife is yet living. 



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He was a manufacturer of saleratus, potash, pearl- 
ash, etc. 

Mr. John A. Sias, the subject of this sketch, 
bought 40 acres north of St. Louis, in the fall of 
1877, resided there about six months, and then came 
to his present place, where he owns 40 acres and has 
30 acres in cultivation. 

He was married in Ithaca, this county, July 5, 

1875, to Miss Nancy E., daughter of John G., and 
Esther Thompson. Slie was born in Ohio, Jan. 8, 
1848. Their two children are Bessie, born May 9, 

1876, in Pine River Township; and Katie, born in 
Bethany Township, July 10, 1877. 



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wfomer Burns, farmer, section 23, Arcada 
sm. Township, was born in Rutland Co., Vt., 



Sept. II, 1817, and is a son of Stephen and 
Rhoda (Record) Burns. Stephen Burns was a 
native of Scotland, and by occupation a farmer. 
Coming to this country early in life, he settled in 
Vermont, where he died when Homer was but two 
years old. Rhoda Record was a native of Vermont, 
of New England parentage, and of English and Ger- 
man descent. After Mr. Burns' death she married 
again, and she died in the State of Wisconsin, about 

1873. 

When he was six years old Homer's mother and 
step-father removed to Chenango Co., N. Y., and five 
years later they went to Cheshire Co., N. H. Homer's 
step-father, a blacksmith, not treating him kindly, at 
the age of 1 1 he set out to care for himself. He was 
employed at various things until 22 years old, in 
Cheshire County, and then went to Oneida Co., 
N. Y., where for nine years he worked in a pail fac- 
tory. June 27, 1843, at North Bay, Vienna Town- 
ship, that county, he was married to Caroline M., 
daughter of Benjamin B. and Caroline (Hosmer) 
Murray, natives of New York and of Scotch descent. 
They followed farming, and moved to Hillsdale Co., 
Mich., where Mr. Murray died, July 2, 1873, at the 
age of 78, and Mrs. Murray, March 29, 1883, aged 
7 2. Caroline was born in Oneida, Vienna Township, 
Oneida Co., N. Y., March 2, 1826, and died in Ar- 
cada Township, this county, April 2, 1881, aged 57 
years and one month, leaving a family of four chil- 
dren. For 16 years previous to her death she had 







been an invalid, but she bore her sufferings with true 
Christian fortitude, and complained, not even to her 
family, of her lot. She was a professing Christian, 
and died as she had lived, a kind-hearted mother 
and an affectionate wife. To her husband and sons 
and daughters, her loss is irreparable, and Gratiot 
County has lost one of its noblest pioneer women. 

In 1S47, Mr. Burns and family settled in Fayette 
Township, Hillsdale County, and seven years later 
they came to Gratiot County, locating on 180 acres 
on section 25, Arcada. Their land was then covered 
with the primitive forest, and not a stick had been 
cut from it. They built the second log hut in the 
township. During the first 18 months after his 
arrival the immigrants were so numerous that Mr. 
Burns spent 100 days of that time in helping new 
comers to build their dwellings. He has retained 
140 acres of his original purchase and has 100 acres 
in a high state of cultivation. Though advanced in 
years he is active and energetic and one of the en- 
terprising citizens of the county. 

Mr. and Mrs. Burns have had five children, three 
of whom survive: Caroline A., born April 19, 1847; 
Benjamin H., March 24, 1854; Charles E., Sept. 2, 
1856. Charles A. was born March 23, 1845, and 
died when four months old ; Adella R. was born Oct. 
26, i860, and died Feb. 9, 1883. Mr. Burns has 
held all the various school offices at different times 
and is now Assessor. He has been in office ever 
since his coming to the county. In political senti- 
ment he is a Democrat. 



^jg^Ider V/illiam S. Everest, minister and 
farmer, section 11, New Haven Township, 
was born in Sweden, Monroe Co., N. Y., 
!|i^ Oct. 23, 1820. His father, Silas Everest, was 
a native of Vermont and a soldier in tlie war 
of 1 81 2, and liis grandfather was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war. Mr. E. is of the fourth genera- 
tion in America from the old French Huguenot fami- 
lies of Normandy. His father was a mechanic, and 
died in 1858, aged 71; and his mother, Dora, «^c 
Surgis, was a native of Connecticut, of Welsh 
descent, and died in 1854, in Oakland Co., Mich. 

The subject of this sketch was taken with the 
family to Orleans Co., N. Y., when two years old, 




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where, in a village, he was reared and educated 
until 13 years of age, when the family removed upon 
a farm; one year later (1834) they settled in Wayne 
Co., Mich., in a comparatively new section of the 
country. 

July 2, 1843, Mr. E. married Miss Eliza, daughter 
of Henry and Maria (Worden) Balwin, natives of 
Dutchess Co., N. Y., of New England parentage and 
of Holland Dutch descent. Mrs. E. was born in 
the towhship of Rose, Wayne Co., N. Y., March 15, 
1827, and was brought to Michigan when only nine 
years old, the family settling in Wayne County. A 
year later they removed to Royal Oak Township 
Oakland County. In this place Mr. E. remained, 
taking care of his parents until the death of his 
mother, when the remainder of the family moved to 
Montcalm County, this State, in 1854. Three years 
later his father died, and he resided there until Oc- 
tober, 1872, e.\cept the years 1864-5, when he was 
engaged in the ministry at Ithaca. At the date 
above mentioned he sold out his farming interests in 
Montcalm County and settled on the quarter-section 
where he now resides, and where he has made im- 
provements and established a comfortable home. 
The cultivated area comprises 90 acres. 

Elder Everest began the public Christian ministry, 
in the Regular Baptist Church, in 1850, and has un- 
interruptedly continued in the ministry since that 
time. His wife has been an active member of the 
same Church for 34 years. The Elder is a staunch 
Republican, has been Township Supervisor, School 
Superintendent, Highway Commissioner, etc., and is 
a charter member of the blue lodge, F. & A. M., at 
Carson City. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. E. are: William 
H., Edward E., Anna E,. Worden J. and Ada E., 
besides one deceased, Maria. 




IwJolamore R. Moulton, farmer, section 31, 

P*s^ Pine River Township, was born July 8, 
g,i^ 1838, in Jackson Co., Mich. His parents, 
fh Warren C. and Caroline (Woodward) Moulton, 
I were natives of the State of New York, and 
after their marriage settled in Jackson County, where 
they still reside. 




Mr. Moulton remained a resident of his native 
county until he was 22 years old, and in the fall of 
1863 came to Gratiot County and bought the farm 
where he now resides, consisting of 40 acres, chiefly 
in a state of nature. He has increased his property 
by an additional purchase of 20 acres, and has 30 
acres under improvement and fine cultivation. Mr. 
Moulton is an outspoken adherent of the Republican 
party. 

He was married in Jackson Co., Mich., Dec. 24, 
1862, to Mary J., daughter of B. B. and Ardelia Elli- 
son, residents of Pine River Township. Mrs. Moul- 
ton was born in Jackson Co., Mich., April 11, 1845. 
Of this union, one child has been born,Carra B. She 
died Nov. 12, 1880, when nearly 17 years old. The 
parents attend the M. E. Church. 



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ames Greeley, farmer, section 20, Bethany 
Township, occupying the west half of the 
northwest quarter of tiie section, is a son 
of Philip and Polly (Garland) Greeley, and 
was born Dec. 31, 18 14; was reared on a farm. 
His father was a Deputy Sheriff of Penobscot 
County, and was thrown from his horse and killed, 
leaving a wife and six children, in good circumstan- 
ces. 

The subject of this sketch was the third in the 
family of children. When 18 years of age he left 
home and began in the world for himself. He went 
to Boston and for three years did odd jobs with a 
team. He then went to Maine and bought a farm 
of 50 acres in Garland, where he resided until 1853. 
He was married in Hampden, Penobscot County, 
May 23, 1836, to Miss Sophronia Dow, a daughter of 
Amos and Hannah Dow, who was born in Hampden, 
Aug. 14, 181 2. Of the seven children born of this 
marriage, four are living, viz.: Henry C, born in 
Garland, June 14, 1837, and died June 1, 1863; 
Mary, born July 18, 1829, is now the wife of Martin 
R. Weeks, a carpenter in St. Louis, Mich.; David, 
born Nov. 4, 1841, now in the lumber business in 
Foxcraft, Maine, and manufacturing spools ; Sophro- 
nia G., Oct. 23, 1844, died March 27, 1857; Lucy 
W., July ig, 1847, and died April 10, 1871: Amos 
D., Sept. 16, 1849, now at home; and Charles F., 
' J'^'y.7).'8s5, now in the employment of Wright & 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Ketchum, a lumber firm of Saginaw. The first two 
were born in Garland, David in Hampden, and the 
last two in Kenduskeag. 

Mr. Greeley followed farming in Maine until April, 
1876, when he came to Midland City, Mich., remained 
nearly a year, then pursued farming two years in that 
county, and finally, in 1879, came to his present 
place, purchasing 80 acres, where he has 30 acres 
cultivated and made a number of improvements 



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Alexander Johnston, farmer, section 36, 
\ Pine River Township, was born Sept. 27, 
1 83 1, in Scotland, of which country his 
parents, Joseph and Jane (Morrison) Johnston, 
were also natives. Mr. Johnston was 19 years 
of age when he came to America. He went 
first to the State of Pennsylvania, and three years 
later to Canada. He resided 1 2 years in the Domin- 
ion, and in the spring of 1866 became to Gratiot 
County. He bought 60 acres of land in an unim- 
proved condition, on which he built a small frame 
house, and at once proceeded to the work of clearing 
and improving. He has placed 50 acres in a fine 
state of cultivation. Mr. Johnston is independent in 
political views. 

He was married July r2, 1856, to Maria, daughter 
of Samuel and Elizabeth (Black) Thompson, natives 
of the North of Ireland, where Mrs. Johnston was 
born, Dec. 25, 1833. Of this union seven children 
have been born, five surviving : Mary J., Margaret 
E., Sarah E., Annie M. and George A. William and 
Joseph are deceased. The parents coincide with the 
Presbyterians in religious belief 



dney H. Dobson, farmer on section 32, 
^S Arcada Township, was born in Adams 
■«l'to Township, Hillsdale Co., Mich., Sept. 25, 1847, 
' '"' and is a son of John and Julia A. (McCurdy) 
Dobson, natives of New York. They now re- 
side on a farm in North Shade Township, this county. 
.\dney came to that township with his parents when 
seven years old and was there reared. Being on a 
new farm and in a new country, more hard work 





than schooling fell to his share, and he worked with 
his father almost constantly until 187 i. 

Oct. 17, 1871, he was united in marriage to Susan, 
daughter of Manford and Susan (Riggs) Felton, na- 
tives of New York and Massachusetts. Mr. Felton 
is still living, in Ingham County, at the age of 68. 
Mrs. Felton died when Susan was two weeks old. 
Mr. and Mrs. Dobson resided for two and a half 
years in North Shade Township, and then moved to 
their present place of 80 acres on section 32, Arcada 
Township, which he had purchased in 1872. When 
he moved there in May, 1874, he found a dense for- 
est ; but he has now 60 acres nicely improved. He 
has done all the work of clearing and fencing him- 
self, assisted only by one yoke of cattle. Mr. and 
Mrs. Dobson have two children : Ada, born July 21, 
1872, and Inez Maud, born Aug. 23, 1881. Politic- 
ally he is a staunch Republican. 



•^ — -=- 




eymour S. Teed, farmer and stock-raiser, 
Tij^ section 31, New Haven Township, was born 
l\>iJ' in North Star Township, this county, Sept. 
24, r856. His parents, Joseph B. and Louisa 
J. (Stone) Teed, were natives of Pennsylvania 
and descendants of the early Dutch settlers of 
that State. In the fall of 1854 they came and 
located a quarter of section 17, North Star Township, 
there being but three families before them. In 1868 
they moved to New Haven Township, where Mr. T. 
died, Nov. 27, 1878, at the age of 6oJ^ years. His 
widow, now aged 48 years, is living with her son, and 
enjoys good health and a high degree of activity. 
She has been the mother of seven children, six of 
whom are yet living. 

The family were pioneers in this county, and Sey- 
mour S., the subject of this sketch, among the first 
born in North Star Township, was therefore com- 
pelled to commence hard work at a comparatively 
early age. He was 12 years of age when the family 
moved to New Haven, and here, in the first school- 
house erected in the township, he began to receive 
his first book knowledge. He was extraordinarily 
studious, and, " pursuing knowledge under difficul- 
ties" at night, he injured his sight for life. He at- 
tended a college at Ionia for a time, and at the age 
of 21 began teaching in Ionia, Clinton and Gratiot 



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Counties. Since the death of his father, in 1878, he 
has had charge of the homestead, still the property 
of his mother. There are 55 acres in cultivation, 
and Mr. T. proves himself to be a practical and pro- 
gressive agriculturist. He has been School Inspector 
three years; is an active and intelligent Republican, 
a public-spirited citizen, and in every public capacity 
has shown himself to be a man of the strictest 
integrity. 

Mr. Teed was married June 30, 1878, in North 
Shade Township, to Miss Melissa, daughter of John 
W. and Catharine (Slepp) Force: the latter are 
natives of Pennsylvania and of Dutch descent. Mrs. 
T. was born July 27, 1861, in Lorain Co., Ohio, and 
was 1 1 \i years old when brought by her parents to 
this county. Mr. and Mrs. Teed have one child, 
Bertha, born May 21, 1879. They are active mem- 
bers of the " Church of God " at Carson City. 

-^^...^.^^^..^^ 

B'^'ohn B. Adams, merchant at Riverdale, Se- 
y^m^ ville Township, is a son of Bradley and 
^K' Nancy (Bacon) Adams, natives respectively 
mi of Vermont and Massachusetts. The father 
]t was a carpenter and millwright and a man of 
y energetic character, well adapted to the build- 
ing of material interests and with the natural capac- 
ity to enjoy and make useful the future which he 
merited. But disasters by fire and losses in other 
avenues prevented such a consummation. He came 
from New York to Michigan and located at Ypsilanti, 
Mich. A year later he purchased a tract of land in 
Shiawassee County, but after a twelvemonth of labor 
he discovered that his title was worthless. The loss 
entailed was $4,800, which rendered him compara- 
tively destitute. After spending a year with his son 
in Saginaw County, he once more bought a farm and 
engaged in its management. His wife died in 1863 
in Brant, Saginaw County ; his own demise, at St. 
Charles, in the same county, followed a year later. 

Mr. Adams was born Nov. 11, 1836, in Brattleboro, 
Vt. He was reared under his parents' care until he 
reached his majority. He was reared as a farmer's 
son and acquired a liberal degree of tact, which with 
his natural talents and practical experience has en- 
abled him to carve out for himself a successful career. 
His first venture in business life was in lumber inter- 



ests at first, and later in mercantile affairs, in which 
he is still engaged. He has operated singly since 
1883. During the 28 years previous to that date he 
was associated in business relations with a man 
named Freeman. At one period of his life he was 
engaged in navigation, and acted as engineer, mate, 
master and owner of a vessel, plying between St. 
Charles and Bay City. After this he was engaged as 
a lumberman in Montcalm County one year. In 
1876 he came to Gratiot County and located on sec- 
tions 21, 28 and 29, Seville Township, where he was 
heavily interested in lumbering. He brought his 
family to Gratiot County in February, 1878, and after- 
ward purchased 320 acres of land on section 30, 
Seville Township, where he at present resides. 

His wife, formerly Miss Ett Maxfield, was born in 
December, 1836, and is a daughter of Varius and 
Persis Maxfield, natives respectively of New Hamp- 
shire and New York. They are now residents of 
Genesee Co., Mich., and are aged 76 and 68 years. 
Mr. Adams is a member of Riverdale Lodge, No. 
343, I. O. O. F., and Pine River Lodge, No. 343, I. 
O. G. T. In political sentiment he is an ardent 
Prohibitionist. His portrait is given on page 354. 



I alter Graham, farmer on the east half of 

the northwest quarter of section 20, Beth- 

J^^ri ^"y Township, is a son of William K. and 

jM^ Margaret E. Graham ; the father died in the 

spring of 1883, in Lowell, Kent Co., Mich.: 

mother is also deceased. 

The subject of this sketch was born in the north 
part of England, June 17, 1843. When he was nine 
years of age the family emigrated to Canada, and 
five years afterward to Lowell, Kent Co., Mich., where 
the parents both died. He came to this county in 
the fall of 1864 and purchased 40 acres, being the 
northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 
20, which he still owns. 

The following spring, March 30, 1865, Mr. Gra- 
ham married Mary E. Adams, a native of Ohio. By 
this marriage there have been ten children, as fol- 
lows : George W., John W., Ida M., Jay W., Frank 
I., Fred, Edna M., Henry, Mary D. and Margaret 
D. (twins). 

After a residence of eight years on his farm he 




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formed a partnership with George J. Acker and 
Charles B. Graham in St. Louis, in the manufacturing 
of sash, doors and blinds, in which relation he con- 
tinued seven years, with marked success. He was 
in the furniture business six years, sold out and 
formed a partnership with his brother, C. B. Graham, 
in the grocery trade in St. Louis. The latter died 
one year later and Mr. Graham sold his interest and 
returned to the farm. He now has 120 acres of land, 
with 45 acres under'good cultivation. 

Mr. and Mrs. Graham are members of the Presby- 
terian Church. 




\ 



'harles L. rieming, senior member of the 
firm of Fleming & Church, dealers in fan- 
cy and staple groceries at St. Louis, was born 
W Feb. 8, 1842, in Concord, Jackson Co., Mich. 
He is a son of Charles M. and Elvira (Hum- 
phrey) Fleming. His father in early life followed the 
business of a blacksmith and afterward engaged in 
agriculture, and later as a merchant ; he was born 
Oct. 31, i8og, in Seneca Co., N. Y., and is now liv- 
ing in retirement at St. Louis, whither he removed 
about 1864, and where he has since resided. The 
mother was born Sept. 10, 1818, at Clyde, N. Y. 

Mr. Fleming was brought up on a farm and com- 
pleted his education by a course of study at May- 
hew's Commercial College at Albion, Mich. He was 
engaged 16 years as a traveling salesman and passed 
the last five years of that period in the employ of 
Johnson & Co., of Detroit, handling specialties in the 
dragline. In 1878 he came to St. Louis, and in 
June, 1879, purchased an interest in his father's bus- 
iness, with whom he continued about a year and a 
half. At the expiration of that time his present asso- 
ciate, John M. Church, purchased his father's inter- 
est, and this connection has existed ever since, with 
gratifying success. 

Mr. Fleming was married Dec. 11, 1866, in Leroy, 
Ingham Co., Mich., to Abigail, daughter of Joshua 
and Elthina (Wilkinson) Barnes. She was born Sept. 
29, 1846, at Bakersfield, Vt. Following is the record 
of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Fleming: LinaA. 
was born Oct. 30, 1867, in Pine River Township; 
Lewis A. was also born in that township, Sept. 30, 



187 I, and died Jan. 26, 1873. Duane I. was born 
June 6, 1875, in Howell, Livingston Co., Mich. Ida 
May was born in Pine River Township, May 25, 1879. 
The parents and eldest daughter are members of the 
Presbyterian Church. 




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jfeiram B. Giddings, groceryman and provis- 
^■» ion merchant at St. Louis, was born July i, 
1850, at Palmyra, Portage Co., Ohio. He is a 
son of Jonathan C. and Mary E. Giddings 
who settled at St. Louis in 1866. He was then 
16 years old, and he attended school until he was 
18, when he entered the employ of his brother Charles 
W. Giddings (see sketch), as clerk in his furniture 
store. He operated in that capacity three years, 
when he engaged as assistant in the grocery of Thom- 
as McDowell, with whom he remained two years. 
He then went to Saginaw City and was there appoint- 
ed Deputy Sheriff under R. W. Andrus. He oflScia- 



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|j|Wi9Ufred B. Scattergood, resident at Ithaca, 
J^yi3^ was born in Plymouth, Wayne Co., Mich., 
|]^f Oct. 25, 1853, and is a son of Joshua and 
'4?? Caroline (Barker) Scattergood. His parents 
'K, moved to St. John's when he was 12 years 
' old, and, three years later, went to Mankato, 
Minn., where he resided eight years. He attended 
school until he was 16 years old and was then placed 
in a jeweler's shop at Mankato to learn the details 
of the business. He served three years and con- 
tinued to follow the business until 1876, when he 
came to Ithaca and bought out the jewelry stock of 
A. A. Wood. He transacted business at the stand 
occupied by his predecessor three years and then 
transferred his stock to the store with C. E. Fink, 
where he operated two years. Mr. Scattergood sold 
his interest to Dixl G. Hall, who removed the same 
to the Richardson Block, where the management of 
the business in all its details is in the hands of the 
former proprietor. 

Mr. Scattergood was married Oct. 25, 1883, in 
Hillsdale Co., Mich., to Nellie, daughter of Dr. James 
W. Niblack. She is a native of Ohio. 

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ted one year and then entered the employ of his chief 

■A\ in his grocery, where he remained two years. In 

s^^i 1879 he returned to St. Louis, and, after a short pe- 

1 riod spent as a clerk, he opened his present business 

/j,. in which he established himself in August, 1880. He 

is a member of the Royal Arcanun. 

Mr. Giddings was married June 23, 1880, at Sagi- 
naw City, to Gertrude B., daughter of Orrin J. and 
Jennie E. (Jeffreys) Showers. She died at St. Louis, 
July r8, 1883, leaving one child — Orrin C, born June 
29, 1881. 




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^idney Thompson, farmer, section 8, North 
Star Township, is the son of Jeremiah D. 



and Elizabeth (Hoag) Thompson, and was 
born in the county of Schoharie, State of New 
York, Jan 17, 1813. His father was a native 
of Dutchess County and his mother of Albany 
County, N. Y., both of English extraction. 

Our subject is enabled to trace the genealogy of 
his family on his father's side as far back as the year 
1610, viz. : His father was a son of Silas Thompson 
who was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., and who was 
a son of Caleb Thompson, born in New Haven, 
Conn., in 1732, a son of Samuel Thompson, born in 
the same State in i6g6, a son of Samuel Thompson, 
born in Connecticut in 1669, a son of John Thomp- 
son, bora in England in 1632, and he a son of 
Anthony Thompson, who was born in the same 
country in 1610. 

Mr. Thompson remained with his parents in the 
Empire State, attending the common schools, assist- 
ing on the farm and developing into manhood, when 
he accompanied them to Lenawee County, this State, 
in which place they arrived and settled in 1834. 
The family at this time consisted of the father, 
mother and 14 children, and earnestly and energeti- 
cally did they, with one united effort, enter on the 
task of clearing and improving the parental home- 
stead. Their trials and struggles were numerous, 
yet their souls were animated with that spirit of de- 
termination which so often, in the lives of Michigan's 
pioneers, has surmounted the " hill of difficulty " and 
conquered adversity that they successfully battled 
against and overcame them. Mr. T. having acquired 
a fair education in his native State, devoted consider- 






able of his time to teaching, especially during the 
winters, and thus was enabled to replenish the family 
coffer with the proceeds of his mental labor. 

March 8, 1838, Mr. Thompson was married to 
Miss Sarah Abbott, who died Jan. 22, 1839, leaving 
one child to the care of the father. Mr. T. was mar- 
ried a second time, Nov. ir, 1840, to Miss Catharine 
Baragar; by her he had three children, two of 
whom — Jerry D. and Mary E.— are living. Mrs. T. 
died April 24, 1876, leaving her husband a widower 
for the second time. Oct. 6, 1878, Mr. T. was mar- 
ried to Mrs. Eleanor Hill, daughter of John English, 
with whom he is now living and by whom he has had 
two children, namely : Sidney, Jr., and Walter. Mrs. 
T. had four children by her first husband, named as 
follows: Minnie, Marian, Mary and Elsie Hill. 

Mr. Thompson owns a farm of 40 acres in North 
Star Township, and was Supervisor of the township 
for four years. While living in Lenawee County he 
was Postmaster at Dover about four years, Notary 
Public six years. School Inspector 21 years, and 
Township Clerk for 18 years. 

— ^«-<fei~ 

• i^sC ohn Burns, manufacturer of and dealer in 
^^ir- saddlery and horse furnishing goods at St. 
fi^*^ Louis, was born Jan. 18, i860, at Toronto, 
Can., and is the son of Hugh and Betsey (Mc- 
Cormick) Burns. His father was a Canadian 
by birth and a marine captain by vocation, 
which line of business he is still pursuing. The 
mother was a native of Toronto and died when her 
son was but two years old. 

Mr. Burns has been the maker of his own fortunes 
and career since he was nine years old. In his boy- 
hood he went to school and labored alternately as he 
found opportunity, and at the age of 14 years he set 
about to learn his trade, and four years after he went 
to Detroit, where he worked in a harness shop six 
months. He proceeded thence to Bay City, where he 
remained three years. After spending six months at 
Saginaw, he went into business for himself at Port- 
land, Ionia County, and was engaged in business 
about two years, with reasonable success. In Febru- 
ary, 1883, he came to St. Louis and opened a shop 
for the prosecution of his business, opposite the Wes- 
sell House. Five months later he removed to the 



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stand he now occupies, where he has a well-assorted 
and valuable stock. He employs several assistants 
and contemplates the enlargement and extension of 
his manufacturing and retail business. 



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f f1 'foshua Scattergood, flour, feed and provis- 
^K 11 dealer at Ithaca, was born April 7, 1814, 

Ijix; - 111 Bucks Co., Pa. He is a lineal descend- 
^ ant from the early Quaker element of New 
Jersey, his ancestors on both sides being mem- 
bers of the Society of Friends, and of English 
extraction. His father, Thomas Scattergood, was, in 
his early manhood, extensively engaged in the shad- 
fishing in the Delaware River; was an officer in the 
war of 181 2 and stationed at Havre de Grace; (his 
military accouterments were preserved a long time by 
his descendants;) he died in 1834, at Lambertville, 
N. J., where he was keeping hotel, and was 46 years 
old. His mother, Elizabeth (English) Scattergood, 
Burlington Co., N. J., in 1784, and died in the city 
of Burlington at the age of 66 years. 

Mr. Scattergood obtained a fair education at the 
public schools and at 16 engaged as a clerk, in which 
employment he continued until he was 22 years old. 
In 1836 he went to Plymouth, Wayne Co., Mich., 
and there secured a position in the same capacity, 
where he was occupied three years. In 1839 he en- 
tered into partnership with Benj. G. Barker for the 
purpose of prosecuting mercantile interests. The 
connection was discontinued at the end of three 
years, Mr. Barker retiring. Mr. Scattergood con- 
ducted the business singly until 1866, when he dis- 
posed of his stock and interests by sale and removed 
to St. John's, Clinton Co., Mich. He opened there a 
grocery establishment, which he conducted between 
two and three years. He made another remove to 
Mankato, Blue Earth Co., Minn., where, associated 
with his son Theodore, he engaged in the manufac- 
ture of fanning-mills and steel-toothed horse-rakes. 
Five years later, his health became so much impaired 
that he retired from business for the time being. He 
came to Ithaca in the fall of 1883, and has since 
been engaged in selling the celebrated patent flour 
of Minnesota. In November of that year, he erected 
a building for business purposes, where he is engaged 
in trade, as stated. Besides his property here he owns 



^7^ 



real estate at Mankato. He is a charter member of 
Tonquish Lodge, No. 32, I. O. O. F., of which fra- 
ternity he has been a long time a member. While 
in Plymouth he held the offices of Justice of the 
Peace and Township Clerk, occupying the incumben- 
cy of each four years. 

Mr. Scattergood was married at Plymouth, June 4, 
1839, to Caroline E., daughter of B. G. and Deborah 
Barker. The parents moved from the city of New 
York to Detroit in 1835. Mrs. Scattergood was born 
in New York and died in Plymouth, in October, 1854, 
and left five children — Theodore, Edward B., Will- 
iam B., Helen C. and Alfred B. Mr. Scattergood 
was again married Sept. 10, 1857, at Plymouth, to 
Harriet B. Barker, sister of his former wife. Of this 
union one child — Bessie — has been born. 



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^ l^lijah H. Travis, farmer, section 19, Pine 
M\i River Township, was born Oct. 28, 1835, 
$-.\^/° in Cayuga Co., N. Y. His parents, Lewis 
ilS- and Minerva (Roberts) Travis, were natives of 
the State of New York. They removed to Oak- 
j land Co., Mich., in i860, and later came to 

Clinton County, where the mother died. The 
father died in Montcalm County. 

Mr. Travis was educated in the common schools 
and was bred to the pursuit of agriculture. In 1859 
he came to Michigan, and after a stay of six months 
he returned to his native State. The next year, i860, 
he became a settler in this State, and in February, 
1863, he bought the farm on which he has since re- 
sided, in Pine River Township. It included 80 acres ^ 
of wild land, of which he retains 40 acres, with 30 
under cultivation. Mr. Travis is a Republican in 
his political views. 

He was married the first time Jan. 2, 1 862, in Oak- 
land Co., Mich., to Nancy S., daughter of Ralph and 
Hannah Quick. She died July 22, 1866, and left 
one child, Bert S. On the 21st of September, 1879, 
Mr. Travis was again married, at Alma, to Mrs. Hes- 
ter A. (Hart) Baker, daughter of Philo and Dorothy 
Hatt, and widow of Lewis K. Baker, who was one of -^^ 
the pioneers of Arcada Township, and who died Oct. y 
19, 1876. Her parents were natives of New York, ^ 
and her mother died in Chautauqua County in that ^ 
State. About the year 1S68 her father came to "vL 



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359 



Michigan, and now resides at Alma. Mrs. Travis 
was born May 25, 1838, in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., 
and was 18 years old when she came to Michigan. 
She is the mother of two children by her first mar- 
riage : Forest W. and Mary H. Mr. and Mrs. Travis 
are members of the Presbyterian Church. 



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IWI^xrank E. Murdock, of the firm of Murdock 
^•^-lIt 1'1'os., dealers in granite and marble ceme- 
■^ ''■" tery work, buildmg work, cemetery fencing 
^ and stone goods at St. Louis, was born Feb. 24, 
1849, in Dexter, Washtenaw Co., Mich. He 
began learning his trade in De.xter, and when he 
was 15 years old he went to Ypsilanti, where he spent 
a year perfecting himself in its details. He has 
worked at the same in various places, and came to 
St. Louis, Jan. 1, 1883. He purchased the interest 
of a former partner of his brother, who had estab- 
lished the business in which the firm of Murdock 
Bros, are engaged. They have supplied the mate- 
rials for a number of prominent buildings in Gratiot 
County, among which are the opera house at St. 
Louis, the dwelling of Mr. Turck, at Alma, and the 
union school house at Ithaca. They deal in the 
New England granite and marble and all other pop- 
ular stones for use or ornament. 

Mr. Murdock was married Dec. 27, 1878, in Plym- 
outh, Wayne Co , Mich., to Lillie, daughter of Hon. 
Bethuel and Annis Noyes. Siie was born April 24, 
1854, at Plymouth, and of this marriage, one child — 
Agnes — was born Jan. 31, 1881, in Norwalk, Ohio. 




ev. George Older, residing on section 20, 
North Star Township, was born in New 
^^' Pound Co., England, Dec. 15, 1824. He 
is a son of Samuel Older (deceased), who was 
a native of the same country in which our 
subject was born, and who emigrated to the 
United States in 1832 and settled in Athens Co., 
Ohio. Here our subject lived, assisting his father on 
the farm, which was situated on Minker Run, near 
Nelsonville, and attending the common schools of 
tiie county and developing into manhood. 

Mr. Older was married in April, 1846, to AUelha, 



daughter of Robert Calliss, deceased, and moved to 
Wood Co., Ohio. They remained there for several 
years, and then removed to this State, arriving here 
in 1865 and locating in Sumner Township, this 
county. 

Rev. Older began his studies for the ministry after 
coming to this State, and traveled as a minister of 
the United Brethren Church for 13 years, and visited 
some 19 or 20 of the counties and organized many 
Churches. He is still engaged in the cause of Chris- 
tianity, and preaches regularly every two weeks. 

Mrs. Older died Aug. 5, 1858, leaving four chil- 
dren — Perry C, Randolph M., Emily A. and Martha 
E. — and many friends and relatives to mourn her 
loss. 

Rev. Older was again married Aug. 23, i860, to 
Miss Frances Kimberlin, and to this union one child, 
John, was born. Rev. Older owns 40 acres of land 
on which he and his family reside. 




m^ 



tohn T. Noble, barber at St. Louis, the 
oldest resident of the tonsorial profession 
at this point, was born Oct. 4, 1849, in 
France. He is the son of John and Anna (Su- 
pine) Noble, who were natives of France.born 
respectively in 1824 and 1831. They came to 
the United States in 1854, and, nine months after 
their arrival in the new world, they went to Galli- 
polis, Gallia Co., Ohio, where they resided 13 years, 
the father following the vocation of a stone-cutter. 
In the spring of 1866, they came to Chesaning, Sag- 
inaw County, and two years later to Bath, Clinton 
Co., Mich., where they still live. His father owns 40 
acres of land. 

Mr. Noble learned the'trade of his father, but, find- 
ing it distasteful, resolved to devote himself to some- 
thing more to his liking. He worked in a barber's 
shop in Chesaning, and one 'in St. John's, where he 
acquired the skill necessary to the manipulation of 
the razor and shears. In the fall of 1869, he came 
to St. Louis, and 0])ened the business in which he 
has been continuously engaged ever since. He has 
three chairs, and is assisted by his wife. 

Mr. Noble is one of the oldest members of the Fire 
Department at St. Louis, being one of the first com- 
pany. He organized the first Hose Company in the 

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place and was foreman seven years. In 1883, he 
was Chief of the Department, which, during the same 
year, he represented at the National Convention held 
at Cincinnati. While occupying the position of chief 
officer, he was presented with a fine silver trumpet by 
the Rubber and Gutta Percha M'f'g Co. of New- 
York, valued at $45. He is the iiventor and pat- 
entee of Noble's Durable Reel Hose Cart, which was 
patented June 26, 1883, and is considered a first- 
class machine. 

In the fall of 1876, he went into training as a foot- 
runner, and, running his first race the following spring, 
traveled as a professional athlete for two years. He 
ran at one time loi yards in ten seconds. 

Mr. Noble was married Aug. 5, 1S71, at St. Louis, 
to Emma A. Gifford. She was born Nov. 26,18153. 
Her parents came to Gratiot County in its very earli- 
est days, she being but five months old when they 
became pioneers. They built at first, for purposes 
of shelter, a bough house, on the .'\lma road. Her 
father owned a large farm, now known as the Good- 
rich place. Mr. and Mrs. Noble have two children — 
John E., born May 7, 1S7 i, and Sarah S., born March 
10, 1877. 






Ig^dward. R. White, farmer, section 5, Pine 
River Township, was born Nov. 24, 1832, 
in Lake Co., Ohio. He is the son of Nor- 
man and Albina (Gloyd) White, natives of 
Massachusetts. Some years after their mar- 
riage they went to Lake Co., Ohio, and later in 
life to Medina County, in that State. They were the 
parents of 1 2 children. 

Mr. White is the fifth son, and was about three 
years old when his parents went to Medina County. 
His father was a farmer, and he lived at home until 
he was nearly 24 years of age. In May, i860, he 
came to Gratiot County, and became the possessor 
by purchase of 40 acres of unimproved land, and not 
long after made a further investment in an additional 
40 acres. He has expended his time and energies 
with judicious management, and has a snug farm 
with 35 acres in fine improvement and under good 
cultivation. Mr. White is a citizen in excellent 
standing in his township, and has been Postmaster 
of Forest Hill (Pine River Township) two years. 






He was married Sept. 11, 1856, in Medina Co., 
Ohio, to Almeda, fourth daughter of Daniel and 
Susannah (Whitcomb) Ross. She was born March 
12, 1840, in Medina County, and her parents were 
natives respectively of Vermont and Canada. Mr. 
and Mrs. White have five children living : Cora A., 
Myrtie A., Orrin E., Ardie L. and Lettie E. They 
are the foster parents of a boy whom they took in 
charge when he was two weeks old, and have reared 
him as their own child. He is called Ernest White. 
Mr. and Mrs. White belong to the Disciples' Church. 



ohn L. Sinclair, Register of Deeds of Gra- 
^' tiot County, residing at Ithaca, was born 
March 26, 1848, at Inverness, Scotland. 
His father, John Sinclair, was a native of the 
same place, born Aug. 26, 181S, and died 
near London, Ontario, Dec. 4, 1855, whither he 
emigrated and worked at his trade of contractor and 
builder until his death. The mother, Catherine 
(McKay) Sinclair, is a native of Scotland and is still 
living, near London, Ont. 

Mr. Sinclair was still young when his father died, 
and at 12 years of age was left to face the world 
alone. He went at 14 years of age to Ailsa Craig, 
Ont., where he engaged as a clerk in the store of A. 
G. Mcintosh, general merchant. He remained there 
until the fall of 1866, when he came to St. Louis, and 
engaged a short time in lumbering. His next em- 
ploy was with Luther Smith as clerk in his mercan- 
tile establishment, and he passed the next two years 
in his service and that of J. W. Wesels. He returned 
at the expiration of that time to London, Ont., where 
he became a clerk for R. McKenzie, grocery and 
provision merchant. He came to Ithaca in the fall 
of 1873 and entered the employ of John W. Howd, 
with whom he remained three years. He next en- 
gaged with Nelson & Barber, with whom he remained 
until the fall of 1882, when he was placed in nomi- 
nation for the office of County Register, on the Dem- 
ocratic ticket, and made a successful run against 
George S. Van Buskirk, scoring a considerable num- 
ber of votes in advance of his ticket. He has served 
a number of years as Village Clerk of Ithaca. Mr. 
Sinclair has taken 12 degrees in Masonry, of which 
Order he has been a member nearly 15 years. He 



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has been Master of Ithaca Lodge, No 123, three 
years. 

He was married June 10, 1870, at St. Louis, to 
Mary J. Finch. She was born in Waterloo, Jackson 
Co., Mich., in August, 1847, and is the daughter of 
Reuben and Jane Finch. She died in Ithaca in 
1877, leaving two children — Anna S. and Ernest L. 
Mr. Sinclair was again married in May, 1880, to Juli- 
ette L., daughter of Lathrop M. Lyon, and was born 
in Clyde, N. Y. 









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•fcharles R. Wright, farmer, section 19, Pine 

p?3^ River Township, was born Oct. 28, 1846, 
'&)§< ''^ Parma, Jackson Co., Mich. He is the son 
^^ of Frederick and Sarepta (Fox) Wright, and 

^ his father was a prominent pioneer of Gratiot 
County, with whose progress and comparative rank 
among the counties of the Peninsula State his name 
is inseparably connected. 

Mr. Wright was nearly 13 years of age when his 
parents came to Gratiot County, and he has resided 
chiefly in Pine River Township from that period of 
his boyhood. He has pursued farming all his life 
and now owns 80 acres of land, with 65 acres under 
first class cultivation. Politically he is identified 
with the Democratic party. 

Mr. Wright was married Oct. 28, 1866, in Pine 
River Township, to Sarah, daughter of Henry and 
Susannah (Bigley) Wolf. She was born in Ravenna, 
Ohio, Jan. 17, 1845, and her parents were natives of 
Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have lost two 
children by death : Charles R. and Jessie M., who 
died in infancy. There are now living: Mary E., 
Susannah and James K. 



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was born in Erie Co., N. Y., Jan 12, 1807. 



.^& He is a son of Victory Beard, deceased, a 
native of Connecticut and a soldier under Gen. 
Wadsworth in the war 181 2, and who moved 

his family to Delaware Co., Ohio, in 1816. Here our 




subject attended subscription school, assisted on his 
father's farm and developed into manhood. 

Elder Beard was married Aug. 16, 1829, to Miss 
Emeline, daughter of Peter Sunderland, a native of 
Pennsylvania, and was born in Miami Co., Ohio, in 
1 810, and to their union six children, all girls, have 
been born, namely : Mary E. (Martin), Louisa 
(Vance), Elmira (Vance), Catharine (Herrington), 
Christina (Herrington) and Annie E. (Morris). 

In early manhood Elder Beard turned his attention 
to the gospel, and in addition to his farm labors was 
engaged in preaching in the Christian Church until 
1855, when he moved with his family to this county. 
His labors as a minister have been quite extensive. 
He organized the first Christian Church in Green- 
bush, Clinton Co, this State; and the first one in 
Gratiot County, in Barns' settlement. North Star 
Township, and preached throughout this and Clinton 
Counties. He has recently sold his farm to his son- 
in-law, who has taken possession of it, and has also 
retired from the ministry, satisfied with his labors. 



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j^Lilas Moody, farmer, resident on section 9, 
Pine River Township, was born in Chat- 
ham, Medina Co., Ohio, May 30, 1839. 
is parents, William and Maria (Ross) Moody, 
were natives respectively of Massachusetts and 
Vermont. The father is a minister of the Dis- 
ciples' Church, and has been an active laborer in its 
interests for more than 50 years. He was born Aug. 
29, 1810, and was married Aug. 29, 1838, in Granger, 
Medina Co., Ohio. Ebenezer Moody, his father, was 
descended from one of three brothers who emigrated 
from England to Newburyport, Mass., about the year 
1632. He married Lucy Wood about the year 1776, 
and of their family of nine children, two yet survive. 
He was a soldier of 181 2. 

Mr. Moody was a pupil in tlie coimnon schools 
until he was r7 years of age, after which he spent 
four years in teaching and study, and attended a 
select school at Chatham summers. He spent seven 
winters in teaching school. In i86i,iie came to 
Gratiot County and bought 80 acres of wild land. 
Subset^uent purchases have increased the aggregate 
of his estate to 400 acres, and of this 200 acres are 
under cultivation. He taught two winter terms of 



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school in Gratiot County, and spent the winter sea- 
sons of the following 20 years in traffic in hay, in 
which he has been extensively engaged, as well as in 
the purchase and sale of oats, pork and other agri- 
cultural products. His stock includes eight horses, 
17 head of cattle, 180 slieep and 10 hogs. 

In political connections, Mr. Moody is a Republi- 
can of decided type, and has been for many years an 
important factor in local affairs. He has been Town- 
ship Clerk, School Inspector, Highway and Drain 
Commissioner, and has held several other positions 
of trust. He is President of the Gratiot County Ag- 
ricultural Society, and has been connected with the 
County Board eight years. 

Mr. Moody was married in Chatham, Medina Co., 
Ohio, April 6, 1861, to Ellen M., second daughter of 
Luther and Hannah (Jackson) Clapp. She was born 
in Chatham Jan. 8, 1842, and her parents were na- 
tives of Hampshire Co., Mass. The household in- 
cludes two children, George A. and Ira C. Two 
others, Arthur N. and Edith C, have passed to the 
land of voiceless mystery. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moody are both zealous members of 
the Disciples' Church, and during the past 14 years 
Mr. Moody has officiated as Superintendent of a 
Sunday-school. He is also President of the county 
Sunday-school organization. 




ohn Lanshaw, farmer, section 17, Pine 
River Township, was born Jan. 25, 1830. 
He is the son of Hans and Anna Lanshaw, 
who passed their entire lives in the Father- 
land. Mr. Lanshaw passed the first 25 years 
of his life in his native country in the vocation 
of a farmer. He came to the United States in July, 
1854, and went at once to New Jersey, where he re- 
mained four years, coming thence to Detroit. He 
s])ent three years in that city, and after a subsequent 
stay in Oakland County for a short period, he came 
in January, 1866, to Gratiot County, for the purpose 
of engaging in farming in accordance with early plans 
and purposes. He bought 100 acres of land in Pine 
River Township, to which he has added by subse- 
quent purchase, and now is proprietor of 1 80 acres, 
with no in a state of advanced cultivation. 

Mr. Lanshaw took a deep interest in the events of 



the civil war, and finally became a soldier. He en- 
listed in March, 1865, in the 22d Reg. Mich. Vol. 
Inf Three months after going to the field, 500 
members of the regiment were transferred to the 29th 
Mich. Vol. Inf. He was among the number, and 
served in that command until his discharge at De- 
troit on the last day of August, 1865. 

In the summer of 1883, he replaced his pioneer 
house with a substantial residence, where he now re- 
sides in the comfort and content which is sure to 
follow persistent and well-directed effort. He be- 
longs to the National Greenback party. 

Mr. Lanshaw was married Aug. 3, 1856, in New 
Jersey, to Anna Ziesse. She is a native of Germany, 
where she was born Nov. 29, 1833. Of six children 
born to them, four are living: William C, John H., 
Lillie A. and Minnie L. Eliza L. died when she 
was 1 1 years old. Another child was lost in early 
infancy. 



ilbert H. Lowry, agent of the American Ex- 
press Company and manager of the West- 

ij^ ern Union Telegraph office at St. Louis, was 
born April 13, 1854, near Romeo, Macomb 
Co., Mich., and is the son of William H. and 
Charlotte (Teeter) Lowry. His father resides in East 
Saginaw; he is a native of New York, and was mar- 
ried in Jersey City. In 1851 he removed his family 
to Romeo, and in 1865 to East Saginaw. The wife 
and mother was a native of New York and was born 
in Dryden, April 12, 1824, She died Feb. 6, 1883, at 
South Saginaw, 

Mr. Lowry received a good common-school educa- 
tion, and, at the age of 16, entered a grocery in 
the capacity of clerk, where he remained two years- 
He then learned telegraphy in East Saginaw, and af- 
ter six months' study in that art he took an office at 
Vassar, Mich., where he remained a few months and 
went thence to Bay City, where he was manager of 
the American Telegraph office at the Frazier House. 
He continued in that position three months and came 
to St. Louis in the interest of the Saginaw Valley & St. 
Louis Railroad Company. He operated at the depot 
two years, when he took the city office for the West- 
ern Union, and during the last three years has been 
agent for the American Express Company. In the 







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spring of 1881 he was elected Village Clerk of St. 
Louis by a majority of three, himself and the candid- 
ate for the office of Assessor being the only Repub- 
licans elected on the ticket. In the spring of 1882, 
he was re-elected by a majority of 45 votes, and was 
the only representative of his party elected. He is a 
member of the Masonic Order, belonging both to the 
blue lodge and chapter. He belongs to the Fire 
Department of St. Louis, of which he has been a 
member five years, two of which he has acted as Fore- 
man of the Citizens' Hose Company, No. i. In Oc- 
tober, 1880, Mr. Lowry and Gen. Nathan Church, of 
Ithaca, built a telegraph line between St. Louis and 
Ithaca, which is the only line running into the coun- 
ty seat. It is owned and operated solely by Messrs. 
Church & Lowry. Mr. L. owns also a building lot at 
St. Louis. He is Captain of the St. Louis Bicycle 
Club, organized in January, 1884, with nine wheels. 



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homas H. Harrod, surveyor and civil engi- 
neer, section 5, North Star Township, was 
* born in England, Oct. 27, 1847, and is a 
u^ son of Jeremiah Harrod, also a native of that 
country. He came to Canada in the fall of 
187 I, and to this country in June, 1872, locat- 
ing where he now resides. He has been Deputy 
County Clerk one term, County Drain Commissioner 
one year, and Deputy County Surveyor one year. 
He is now engaged in the business of surveying, in 
Bay City. 

Mr. Harrod was married March 9, 1873, to Mrs. 
Jame E. Leappard, who was born in England, in 
1839, and was brought to New York State by her 
parents, in emigration, in 1856, and to this county in 
1864. Mr. and Mrs. H. have one child, John J., and 
one adopted daughter, Clara M. Harrod. Mrs. H.'s 
first husband, John Leappard, was born in England, 
April 15, 1848; was married Feb. 8, 1861 ; enlisted in 
the war for the Union in the fall of i86i,and died 
in Belle Island Prison, April 17, 1863. Mrs. Har- 
rod's father, John Humphrey, of North Star Town- 
ship, was born in Corydon, Surrey Co., England, July 
29, 1810, and settled on section 5, this townshij), in 
1864. He married Ann Best, and they had 13 cliil- 
dren, eight of whom are now living, viz. : Jane E., 



Emma, Richard, Susan, John W., Ambrose, Eliza and 
Robert. 

Mr. Harrod is in every sense a self-made man. 
He received a little schooling before he was 10 years 
old, but educated himself almost entirely by his own 
efforts. He acquired his knowledge of surveying 
before leaving England, at the age of about 20. 
Since 1876, Mr. H. has been licensed to preach in 
the M. E. Church, and he has labored regularly for 
the cause of Christianity. The likenesses of Mr. 
and Mrs. H. are given on contiguous pages. 



eorge S. Quick, farmer on section 3, Sum- 
ner Township, was born in Oakland Coun- 
ty, this State, Aug. 6, 1853, the son of 




Ralph and Calista (Treat) Quick, natives of 
Pennsylvania and New York, and of German 
and English descent. Ralph Quick was 
reared in his native State until eight years old, then 
in New Jersey until 16 years old. He then went to 
Seneca Co., N. Y., where he lived until 1834, work- 
ing as a common laborer. He then came to Oakland 
Co., Mich., where he followed carpentry and farming 
until 187 1. He then made his last move, to this 
county, purchasing I 20 acres on section 3, Sumner 
Township. Here he has since lived, being an active 
worker until the death of his wife, March 29, 1882, 
but now living a retired life, with his son, to whom he 
leases the farm. He has been an active man, a pro- 
gressive farmer and an intelligent citizen. He has 
been Highway Commissioner and Justice of the 
Peace one term each, was Supervisor of his town- 
ship in 1875-6, and has held other minor offices. 

He has always been connected witli the Presby- 
terian Church, and politically has supported the Re- 
publican party. His wife was the mother of 12 
children, and slie left five of them, and a large cir- 
cle of friends, to mourn iicr dcpa'ture. .She was 70 
years of age. 

The subject of tliis biograjiliy attended liie com- 
mon and graded schools and worked on his father's 
farm until 19 years old, and then came with his 
parents to this county. He has remained on tlie 
home farm until the present time, and now has the 
active management of it himself. 

June 25, 1878, at St. Louis, he was married to 



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Miss Alvira, daughter of Nicholas P. and Lucy 
(Wright) Watts, natives of Ohio and Kentucky. She 
was born in Mercer Co., Ohio, May 27, 1852, and 
came with her parents to Michigan when very young. 
The family lived in Jackson County eight years, then 
came to Gratiot County. She lived in Arcada Town- 
ship until her marriage. 

Mr. Quick is an enterprising young man, inherit- 
ing the business ability, as well as the political faith, 
of his father, to whom he is a worthy successor of the 
the family name. 

.artin Montigel, of the firm of J. M. Mon- 
tigel & Co., at Alma, was born at Erie, 
Pa., Oct. 6, 1856, and is a son of J. M. 
and Anna Barbara (Segrist) Montigel. (See 
sketch of J. M. Montigel.) The parents of 
Mr. Montigel went to Ashtabula, Ohio, when 
he was seven years old. They were residents there 
eight years, and there the son was a student at 
school nearly that entire period. In 1871 the family 
came to Alma, where he again attended school, and 
when of suitable age he was employed in his father's 
foundry. In 1878 he was admitted to a partnership 
in the business, and the connection still continues. 

Mr. Montigel is a member of the Order of Masonry 
and belongs to the blue lodge, No. 244, at Alma. 
He has also taken the Royal Arch degree and be- 
longs to Chapter No. 86, at St. Louis. He is a 
Republican in political sentiment and is Treasurer of 
the Fire Department at Alma. 




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>rank Gilken, farmer on section 10, Arcada 
Township, was born in Prussia, at Cologne, 
on the river Rhine, Feb. 14, 1828. His 
parents were German, and his father was a 
farmer and grape -grower. He received a good 
education in his native tongue, and worked on 
his father's farm until 18 years old. He then set out 
for America, unaccompanied by either friend or rela- 
tive. Landing at New York, he presently came to 
Detroit, where he was employed on the wharf for 
^ about two years. Thence he went to Ionia County, 
^ this State, where he engaged in farming for 15 years. 



Feb. 1 8, 1863, he was married in Ionia County to 
Miss Ursula Raycroft, a native of Ireland, born in 
the city of Cork, Dec. 25, 1843. When two years 
old, she was brought by her parents to this country, 
and she was reared in Rochester, N. Y., coming to 
this State some time before her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs Gilken, after three years of wedded 
life, came to Gratiot County and purchased 320 acres 
of wild land. By his own efforts, Mr. Gilken has 
cleared of the primitive forest and prepared for the 
plow 120 acres of good farming land. In place of 
his log hut and slab stable, he has now a substantial 
residence and good barns. One needs but to look 
at his buildings and stock to see that he is a pro- 
gressive, intelligent farmer. 

Mr. and Mrs. G. are the parents of eight children, 
six of whom are living : Frank D., born Dec. 14, 
1863; Clara, April 5, 1865; Lizzie, Feb. 16, 1868; 
Mattie, Jan. 17, 1870; Elias J., July 29, 1877; 
Freddie, June 15, 1883; Thora, born Dec. 29, 1875, 
and died July 29, 1876; Alfred, bon. July 6, 1880, 
and died Feb. 6, 1882. In political sentiment, Mr. 
Gilken is an ardent Democrat. 




iUiam Hayes, farmer, section 22, Pine 

ivTvTi^!)? River Township, was born in Geneseo, 
H^P Livingston Co., N. Y., Oct. 3, 1821, and is 

l?W the son of Dennison and Margaret (Daily) 
Hayes. His father was a native of Pennsylva- 
nia, and his mother was born in Ireland. After 
their marriage they located in Livingston County, 
where they resided until the death of the father, 
which occurred in 1S46. The mother died in Alle- 
gany County, N. Y. 

Mr. Hayes remained at home as his fatlier's assist- 
ant on the farm until he was 23 years old. At that 
age, in 1847, he came to Ann Arbor, and after a res- 
idence there of two years removed to Ionia County. 
In the fall of 1867 he bought 80 acres of land in 
Gratiot County, of which he has since been the pro- 
prietor. It was principally in a state of nature, and 
he has now a fine farm of 40 acres, all under im- 
provement. He disposed of 40 acres by sale. Mr. 
Hayes is an adherent to the principles and issues of 
the Democratic party. 

He was married in Geneseo, Nov. 26, 1843, to 

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Tirzah J., daughter of Silas and Cheney (Kent) Nor- 
ton, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes 
have had six children : William C)., John D., Isadore 
C, Marion A., Flora E. and Herbert N. The eldest 
son became a soldier in the war of the Southern Re- 
bellion. He enlisted in February, 1865. On arriv- 
ing in Washington his command was detailed for 
frontier sevice and ordered to Dakota to aid in quell- 
ing the Indians. He was seized with typhoid pneu- 
monia, and died Sept. 9, 1865. He was 23 years old 
and at the dawn of a promising manhood. He left 
a widow and one child. 



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il?Lamuel H. Loveland, dealer in furniture 
and undertaker's goods, at Alma, is the 
youngest son and child of Erastus and 
Olive (Forbes) Loveland, and was born July 
28, 1832, in Washington, Berkshire Co., Mass. 
The parents were natives of Connecticut, 
where they continued to reside for several years fol- 
lowing their marriage, when they removed to Wash- 
ington, Mass., where the father engaged in the occu- 
pation of agriculturist. They continued to reside 
there between 30 and 40 years, when they went to 
Hinsdale, in the Bay State. Eight years later they 
returned to Washington, where they lived during the 
remainder of their lives. The father died Aug. 12, 
1840, and the mother followed to the land of ever- 
lasting peace, in July, 1847. Four sons and four 
daughters were born to them, in the following order: 
Lewis, Amanda, Lucy, Erastus, William, Orrin, Al- 
mira, Louisa and Samuel. 

Mr. Loveland was 15 years old when his mother 
died, and about the same time the privilege of con- 
structing his own fortunes devolved upon himself 
He hired out as a common laborer at $5 a month, 
and worked diligently and steadily eight months. 
He bought a good suit of clothes, a trunk and minor 
articles necessary to a comfortable and creditable out- 
fit. Thus equipped, he attended school and contin- 
ued two years in alternate labor and study. At 17 
years of age he began to work in a saw-mill, where 
he was employed two years. He next went to Seneca 
Co., N. Y., where he worked about 18 months in the 
machine shop of Messrs. Silsby, Race & Holly. 
(The senior member of the firm was the patentee of 
the Silsby fire engine, and the junior partner was the 




inventor of the celebrated Holly water works sys- 4 
tern.) The employ proving unwholesome, he aban- 
doned it and came to Midland Co., Mich. He 
arrived there in June, 1855, and bought 80 acres of 
pine land, where he si)ent 18 months in lumbering. 
He sold his place and went to Isabella County, 
where he bought 80 acres of farming land and en- 
tered ujwn the realities of pioneer life. He reached 
the county Feb. 7, 1857, and was the fourth settler 
in the township of Isabella, and for nearly two years 
his log house was the only meeting-house in that 
section. 

Isabella Township was organized in 1856, and in 
the spring of 1857 the county was organized and 14 
townships. Mr. Loveland was elected first Clerk of 
Isabella Township. He was the first Class-leader in 
the county, and the first Sunday-school Superin- 
tendent. He was also the first licensed exhorter in 
the Methodist Episcopal Church in the county, and 
his house was open to the preachers of every denom- 
ination who came to that section. 

His tract of land was wholly in a state of nature 
and he proceeded with energetic and patient, untir- 
ing labor to the work of clearing and improving. 
He pursued his purpose until Aug. 13, 1862, when 
he yielded to the spirit aroused in him by the de- 
mands of the nation for help in her sore extremity, 
and enlisted in the 8th Mich. Vol. Inf. He was in 
the service nearly three years and experienced the 
pains and privileges of the soldier's fate at South 
Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, 
Jackson, Knoxville, Blue Springs, Wilderness and 
Petersburg and numerous other engagements of 
minor importance. He was wounded in the side, at 
the battle of the vVilderness, May 6, 1864, and was 
confined a month in the hospital. He was honoralily 
discharged in 1865, at Detroit, and returned to his 
family and labors in Isabella County. He there re- 
sided until the spring of 1874, when he sold his farm 
and entered into a partnership with David Lamb, in 
the manufacture of lumber, locating in Saginaw 
County. They were engaged in the prosecution of a 
prosperous and extending business when their prop- 
erty was almost entirely destroyed by fire. Mr. 
Loveland lost $2,000. He removed to St. Louis, 
Gratiot County, where he engaged in labor as a car- 
penter. This he followed about a year, and subse- 
quently spent one and a half years in the meat 



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business. In 1877 he bought a stock of furniture, in 
comjiany with S. C. Smith. After operating two 
years they divided the stock, and in January, 1879, 
Mr. Loveland moved to Alma, established himself in 
the business in which he has since been engaged, 
and which he is managing with satisfactory results. 
In spite of his several reverses he has continued his 
efforts with brave hopefulness, and is fast regaining 
what he has lost. 

Mr. Loveland was married at Seneca Falls, N. Y., 
May 24, 1854, to Sarah E., daughter of H. H. and 
Eleanor (Runyon) Baker, natives of New York. 
The mother died in the Empire State, and the father 
in Washtenaw Co., Mich., at the residence of his 
son. Mrs. Loveland was born Jan. 12, i83i,in On- 
tario Co., N. Y., in the village of Bethel. 

Mr. Loveland is a decided radical in religious, 
moral and political sentiments. He has been from 
early life active and zealous in the interests of Chris- 
tianity, and of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
His religion is a concomitant of his daily life. In 
Isabella County he brought his views into bearing 
upon all his intercourse with the world at large, and 
was a pioneer representative of Christian principles 
coequal with his solicitude for the agricultural progress 
of the locality. He was there licensed as an ex- 
horter and local preacher and aided materially in the 
construction of the first church structure built in Isa- 
bella County. He was true to his convictions of his 
obligations to his fellow-men while a soldier in the 
army, and by his consistent life and unremitting en- 
deavors accomplished much permanent good. He 
is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows and belongs 
to the Good Templars. In the work of the latter 
society and the cause of temperance generally, he is 
fearlessly outspoken and zealous. He is a Repub- 
lican in political connection. 



oseph Bussell, farmer, section 21, North 
jj^^jfe- Shade Township, is a son of Jonathan and 
•^^ Mary Bussell, natives of England. His 
^Ig^ father, a farmer, came to America in 1853, 
^L^ landing at New York and settling in Hillsdale 
\ Co., Mich., where he lived until 1867, when 
he died. His wife had died in England, in 1S45. 
Mr. Joseph Bussell was born April 20, 1839, in 




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Devonshire, England. At the age of 13 he came to 
America, and was first employed on a dairy farm for 
five years ; he then came to Michigan and resided 
four years in Hillsdale County, and finally to the 
place which he now occupies. He first took posses- 
sion of 160 acres, but has since sold half this land. 
When he came here it was all a howling wilderness; 
but by steady labor and judicious economy he has 
developed and e(|uipped a fine farm, and is now sur- 
rounded with plenty. Besides, he seems to know 
how to enjoy the fruits of his many long and weary 
years of toil and care. 

In 1862 Mr. Bussell married Miss Maria, daughter 
of Florival and Sarah (Leslie) Bartlett, who was born 
June 17, 1840, in the town of Cornish, New Hamp- 
shire. Her parents moved from that State to New 
York and thence to Michigan, and they now reside 
in Meridian Township, Ingham Co., near Lansing, 
Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Bussell are the parents of seven 
children, viz.: Rowena, Alfred D., Mary E., Will- 
iam H., Joseph E., Luella and Elsie E. Mrs. B. is 
a member of the Christian Church, and Mr. B., in 
politics, is a Democrat. 



— ^^^^-I^B-v^^ — S- 




rank Abbott, merchant, at Alma, was born 
Nov. 16, 1849, in Pulaski, Jackson Co., 
Mich. He is the son of Jacob and Mary 
(Thornton) Abbott, who are residents of Gratiot 
■jh-^ County. He obtained a fair education at the 
common schools of his native county, and 
studied subsequently at Ypsilanti, in the State Nor- 
mal School. Till the age of 19 years he was engaged 
during the farming season in agricultural labors, and 
obtained his advanced education after that age, sub- 
sequently engaging in teaching, which vocation he 
followed until he was 31 years old. 

In the spring of 1882 he engaged in mercantile 
traffic at Pompei, Gratiot County, where he continued 
until May, 1883. In that month he removed his 
stock of goods to Alma, and there established his 
business interests, which he is still conducting. He 
is a Republican in political principle and a warm ad- 
vocate of temperance. He is a member of the 
Order of Good Templars and of the Sons of Tem- 
perance. 
Mr. Abbott was married Dec. 5, 1883, at Alma 






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■vlx Mich., to Fanny E., daughter of S. C. and Fannie 
/W Blinn. The parents are natives respectively of the 
.'•^ State of New York and Michigan. Mrs. Abbott was 
% born Nov. 22, 1862, in Jackson Connty. She is a 
x^, member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 



jwa OSes G. Tyler, farmer, section 35, North 

-Jl^ Shade Township, is a son of David and 

1^^^ '' Phebe (Orsburn) Tyler, natives of New 



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^)\\V\ York State. The former was a carpenter 
and a farmer. They moved to Wisconsin, 
where they both died. 

The subject of this sketch was l)orn June 8, 1822, 
in the town of Stafford, Genesee Co., N. Y. ; living 
with his parents until he was 22 years of- age, he 
went to work for himself, and was engaged on a 
farm by the month for 10 or 1 1 years,— five years 
for two different uncles. At the age of 30 he mar- 
ried Miss Salina, a daughter of Solomon and Axy 
(Law) Simon, natives of New York, the first-named 
a farmer. They both died in New York State. Mrs. 
T. is the fourth daughter in a family of nine chil- 
dren. In 1863 Mr. Tyler moved to Gratiot County, 
settling on 40 acres of wild land, on section 35, 
where he still resides. By his energy and judicious 
management he has made a fine farm on this place. 

Mr. T. was once elected Justice of the Peace, but 
did not serve. He is now Constable. He is a zeal- 
ous Republican. He has had four children, namely : 
Phebe A., Alvin L., Lyman M. C, Lorilla M. and 
Lucia: the last mentioned died at the age of 18 
years. 




-5 v^^^-i^S-VA" — 5- 



„ harles Grover, a highly respected young 
lej farmer on section 2, Arcada Township, 
;j,v< was born in Ogden Township, Lenawee Co., 
j{^ Mich., Oct. I, 1857; and is the son of 
"Iv Thomas and Maria (Sherwood) Grover, na- 
tives of Yorkshire, Eng. Thomas Grover was 
by occupation a carriage smith, and came to this 
country in 1850, locating in New York State. Two 
years later, he came to Lenawee Co., Mich., and after 
a few years there he came to Gratiot County, where 



he died at his home on section 2, Arcada Township, 
Aug. 27, 1877, at the age of 65. His wife now re- 
sides at St. Louis, in this county, at the age of 68. 

The subject of this sketch, when two years old, 
came with his parents to this county, and lived with 
them on section 2, Arcada Township. Here he 
was reared and educated. He now owns 60 acres 
of his father's homestead, 30 acres being improved 
and under cultivation. Aug. 29, 1881, at St. Louis, 
he was married to P^stella Fields, daughter of Albert 
and Julia N. (Sparry) Fields, natives of Crawford 
Co., Pennsylvani;i, where, at Girard, Estella was 
born, Aug. 24, 1857. Coming with her parents to 
Bethany Township, this county, she was there reared, 
and lived until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Grover 
have one son, William. They are regular attendants 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, Mr. 
Grover sympathizes with the National Greenback 
party. He is a young man of intelligence and in- 
dustry, and popular among his friends. 



arcus Bing, farmer, section 5, Pine River 

Township, was born Oct. 16, 18 16, in 

' Nova Scotia. His parents, Marcus and 

\i \ Mercy Ring, were both natives of the Prov- 
■■jj ince where their son was born, and where they 
passed the entire extent of their lives, the 
mother dying in 1826, the father in 1872. The lat- 
ter was a sea captain, as was his father before him. 

Mr. Ring went to sea with his paternal grand- 
father whsn he was 12 years of age, and was absent 
on his first voyage four years. On returning, he be- 
came a sailor on a vessel belonging to his uncle, in 
whose service he remained until he reached man- 
hood. His early seafaring life was spent on English 
sailing vessels, and later he sailed on American ves- 
sels, the first of which was called the Susan Abigail. 
He was quartermaster one season on the steamer 
Atlantic, plying between Boston and Portland, Me. 
When Mr. Ring was 34 years old, he abandoned his 
sea life and went to Boston, where he learned the 
painter's trade, and for six years devoted himself to 
its pursuit in that city. In January, 1858, he re- 
moved to Gratiot County and bought 60 acres of land 
in its original condition in Arcada Township. He 
began making improvements, and two years later 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






exchanged the property for 80 acres of land in Pine 
River Township. He now owns 120 acres, and has 
erected good and substantial buildings, and placed 
70 acres under first-class improvements. Mr. Ring 
is a Republican in political connection. 

He was married in Nova Scotia, May 4, 1844, to 
Zilpha, fifth daughter of Rufus and Letitia (Wyman) 
Robbins. Nine children have been born of their 
marriage : William H , Eliza A., James M., Helen, 
Ada L., Jennie, Josopliine, Norman J. and Effie M. 
The eldest son died in the army, and the second son 
and third daughter are deceased. Mrs. Ring is a 
woman of energy and fine abilities. She has been 
the able assistant of her husband, and is the blessed 
mother of a creditable family. She is one of the 
women whose energies, undaunted courage and per- 
sistent hopefulness have proven such eminent factors 
in the present prosperity of Gratiot County. The 
father of Mr. Ring died in 1868; her mother died in 
1873. They were married May 28, 181 1. 

Mr. and Mrs. R. are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

t r(^# ij illiam Wright, farmer, section 25, North 
i? l|ggJ i Shade Township, is the son of John and 
jlSfe^ * Sarah (Barnaby) Wright. His parents 
s^Sx' were natives of England and in 1853 came to 
America, landing in New York City. From 
there they went to Ohio and located in Lo- 
rain County, where they remained about three years, 
when (in 1856) they came to Gratiot County. Upon 
coming to this county they located on 40 acres of 
land upon section 35, North Shade Township. To 
the original tract of land they subsequently added 
240 acres, all wild land. Of this they afterwards 
sold 128 acres, leaving them still a large farm. The 
elder Wright remained upon this farm until his 
death, which occurred April 3, 1876, when he was 
at the age of 63 years. Mrs. Wright is still living 
upon the old homestead. 

William Wright, the subject of this biography, was 
born March 14, 1839, in Suffolk Co., Eng., and came 
to America with his parents, and continued to reside 
under the ])arental roof until he was 21 years of age. 
At that time he went into the lumber woods, where 



he worked during the winter and ran logs in the 
spring. 

In 186 1, when the dark and dreadful war cloud 
arose from the South, William Wright was among the 
very first to step forward in defence of the flag and 
honor of his adopted country, and none did more 
noble and valiant service than he. He enlisted in 
Co. D, Third Mich. Inf , which was attached to the 
Army of the Potomac. Among the numerous bloody 
engagements his regiment [larticipated in were both 
the first and second battles of Bull Run and the 
seven days' fight before Richmond. At the terrible 
battle of Bull Run, Mr. Wright was tvounded in the 
side and hip, and now receives a pension from the 
grateful Government he was then defending. He 
was taken prisoner at Centerville, Va., at which place 
he was also finally paroled. After his discharge he 
returned to the home of his parents, conscious that 
he had done his whole duty toward his country. 

Mr. Wright was united in marriage in 1871, with 
Miss Libbie McFarlane. Her parents, John and 
Caroline (Johnson) McFarlane, were natives of New 
York State, and the parents of nine children, of 
whom Mrs. Wright is the fourth daughter. She was 
born, July 22, 1846 in Washtenaw Co., Mich. Mr. and 
Mrs. McFarlane are residing in Bath Township, Clin- 
ton Co., Mich., and engaged in farming. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Wright have been born three children : Ed. J., 
Ora C. and Ray. 

Mr. Wright is a member of the Masonic Order, 
Lodge 145, Maple Rapids, of the Order of United 
Workmen and of the Billy Begole Post of the G. A. 
R., and politically is a Republican. 



ii l;f ii^il :cnj. D. Ackmoody, merchant at Elwell, 
f- on section 35, Seville Township, is a son 









i|P^^ of Abraham H. and Hannah (Atkins) 
'®'^ Ackmoody, natives of Ulster Co., N. Y. The 
father was a farmer, and moved with his wife 
to Ingham County, this State, where he died 
in the year 1865. She died Sept. 2, i860, in Cicero, 
Onondaga Co., N. Y. 

The subject of this biographical notice was born 
Dec. 25, 1842, in Onondaga Co., N. Y., and lived at 
home until I S years of age. After the death of his 
mother, he lived with his brother in Cayuga Co., N. 



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373 



Y., until he joined the army. In July, 1862, he en- 
listed in Co. H, I nth N. Y. Vol. Inf., and he was 
assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He was taken 
prisoner of war at Harper's Ferry, Sept. 15, 1862, but 
was immediately paroled and sent to Chicago. He 
was declared exchanged in November of the same 
year, and Dec. 18 following he was sent to the hos- 
pital with the small-pox. He was finally discharged 
Feb. 17, 1863, at Camp Convalescent, Va. He re- 
turned to his native State, but July 21, 1864, he 
again offered his services to his country, enlisting in 
Battery L, i6th Heavy Artillery. He remained in 
the service until the close of the war, and was duly 
discharged Aug. 29, 1865. 

He was married to Ellen Stone, a daughter of 
Elisha Stone, of New Hampshire. Mr. Ackmoody 
came with his wife in September, 1874, to Hillsdale, 
this State, where he lived six years. He then came 
to Gratiot County, and located on 80 acres in the 
township of Sumner. A year later, he went to El- 
well and engaged in mercantile life. He has a stock 
of drugs, dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, and 
has a good trade. Mr. and Mrs. A. have one son, 
horn in the State of New York, March i, 1867. They 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Mr. A. is politically a Republican. He is a member 
of the F. & A. M., the P. of H., and the I. O. C. '1'. 



t ll » illiam W. Jackson, farmer, section 34, 
'lis Newark Township, was born in Erie Co., 



»P N. Y., Sept. 16, 1832. His parents, William 
and Mary A. (Havens) Jackson, were na- 
tives respectively of Massachusetts and New 
York. They settled in the latter State and af- 
terward removed to Connecticut, where they died. 

Mr. Jackson was brought up to the calling of a 
farmer and has pursued it all his life thus far. At 
the age of 29 he rented his father's farm and contin- 
ued its management three years. In March, 1865, 
he came to Michigan and bought 74 acres of land on 
section 3 of Fulton Township. On this he resided 
and labored 14 years. In 1878, he bought 30 acres 
of improved land on section 34, Newark Township. 
He still retains the ownership of his first land invest- 
ment in Fulton, and, of the 104 acres in his posses- 



sion, has 65 acres under improvement and in an 
advancedstate of culture. Mr. Jackson is a Republi- 
can in political sentiment. 

He was married in Erie Co., N. Y., Nov. 20, i86r, 
to Maria, only daughter of Alfred and Eliza (Rath- 
bun) Cnaffee. The former was born in Vermont, 
the latter in Cayuga ('o., N. Y. Mrs. Jackson is a 
native of the county where she was married and was 
born March 12, 1840. Five children have been born 
to Mr. and Mr?. Jackson. The survivors are : Hat- 
tie E., William A. and Charles H. Twin daughters, 
Alvira S. and Alniira M., died in early infancy. 



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'i\}ax E. Pollasky, merchant at Alma, was 
^, born Feb. i, 1855, in Hungary. He is a 
son of Michael and Celia Pollasky, and 
^ K ^ ^ ^^^^ '^^'' '^ months old when his parents 
'V came to the United States. (See sketch of 
I Michael Pollasky.) They settled in Detroit, 
Mich., where they resided some years, and when they 
removed to Alma in 1862 he remained in that city 
to obtain his education. He there attended the 
common schools and the high school, and was grad- 
uated from Goldsmith, Bryant & Stratton's Commer- 
cial College. In 1871 he came to Alma to take 
charge of his father's business, operating as book- 
keeper and general manager for si.K years. At the 
end of that time he engaged in the manufacture of 
wooden-ware, with his father as manager. In this 
he continued until 1878, when he removed to St. 
Joseph, Mich., and in company with a resident of 
that place erected one of the largest establishments 
for the manufacture of wooden-ware in the \Vest. 
At the end of the first year this business relation was 
dissolved, and Mr. Pollasky went to Chicago and en- 
tered the employ of Messrs. Work, Packer & Co., as 
traveling salesman. He remained with them six 
months and engaged with Hays Thalheimer & Co., 
of Rochester, N. Y., for a period of one year. In 
1880 he became connected with the mercantile house 
of Schloss Bros., whom he left in July, 1882, to en- 
gage with L. Newbouer & Sons, of Milwaukee, where 
he remained until the spring of 1883. In the winter 
previous, while still employed in the Cream City, he 
formed a partnership with his brother, Frank E., and 
they established themselves in the mercantile busi- 









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G^^ 77<9 r CO UNTY. 



ness, in which they are still engaged. Mr. Pollasky 
is a member of the Masonic Order, and is a decided 
Republican in politics. 




-i ^^^p^-i^S'V^^ 



jj( lit ulius Mey, farmer, resident on section 9, 
'\Mm\,- Pine River Township, was born in Prussia, 
Jan. 22, 1827. He is the son of Ludwig 
and Amalia Mey, both of whom were natives of 
Prussia. When Mr. Mey was 19 years old he 
was conscripted to serve in the Prussian army, 
and pursued the career of a soldier three and a half 
years. After he obtained his release, in 185 1, he 
came to America, and for two years was variously 
employed at different points. He came to Gratiot 
County in November, 1853, and bought the farm on 
which he has since expended his time and energies. 
He now owns 140 acres and has 45 acres under good 
cultivation, with a fine house and suitable farm build- 
ings. Mr. Mey was one of tlie earliest settlers in 
Gratiot County, and the crowning event of his life is 
thus commemorated in rhyme : 

" Some nine and twenty years ago. 

And on a certain day, 
A young man left old Prussia 

And his name was Julius Mey. 
He settled here in Gratiot • 

And bought himself a home, 
But soon found it was not pleasant 

For man to live alone. 

And I think that not long after, 

From Germany tliere came 
A young and lovely maiden : 

Miss Bremer was her name. 
And she also came to Gratiot ; 

And I've heard that people say, 
She soon became acquainted 

With this young man, Julius Mey. 

The groom looked young but manly. 

And he liad a foreign air; 
And the bride was young and lovely, 

A wreath was in her hair. 
And the guests, though few in number, 

Said they had a pleasant time, 
Attending tlie first ^vcddiiii^ 

Thai luippciULl on I lie ' Pine.' " 

The marriage of Mr. Mey to Wilhehnine Bremer 
occurred Nov. 18, 1855. She was born in Germany, 
and left her native land when she was 28 years of 




Stt^ss 



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age. Hannah, Minnie, Otto and Augustus are the 
four children of Mr. and Mrs. Mey. The family are 
all members of the German Lutheran Church. Mr. 
Mey is a member of the National party. 

The three oldest children are all school-teachers. 
The son, Augustus, is considerable as a musician, the 
organ being his favorite instrument. 



rC ilPr_rank A. -Sexton, farmer, Bethany Town- 
IlL ship, occupying the southeast quarter of 
T'l^ the southeast quarter of section 22, was 
born in Huron Co., Ohio, March 21, 1855. 
•^K^ He was reared on a farm in his native county 
until 1875, when his parents, Hiram and Ade- 
line (Root) Sexton, moved witli the family to Breck- 
enridge, this county, which place then consisted of 
one grocery and two dwelling-houses, one of the 
latter a log structure and the other a frame. 

Here, March 26, 1879, the subject of this sketch 
was married to Miss Ida A., daughter of Lewis and 
Ellen Campbell, who was born in Marshall, Calhoun 
Co., Mich., Jan. 3, 1858. Mr. and Mrs. S. have one 
son. Dorr, who was born March 11, i88i,in Bethany 
Township. 

At his present residence, Mr. Sexton bought 40 
acres of land, and moved upon the place in 1880. 
It was then covered with timber. He has since 
cleared about 20 acres, erected a tasteful residence 
and barn, and is making many substantial improve- 
ments. 



Imeron Bradley, of tlie firm of Bradley & 
Stevens, i)roprietors of a planing-mill at 
Alma, was born Jan. i, 1832, in Onondaga 
Co., N. Y. His parents, Almeron and Marinda 
(Norton) Bradley, were also natives of the 
same county, were married there and there passed 
the entire period of their lives, which continued but 
two years after their marriage. 

Mr. Bradley was in early infancy when lie became 
an orplian, and he was brought up by his grand- 
father. When he was 19 years old he turned his 
attention to learning the trade of a car|)enler, which 
lie followed six years in the city of Syracuse. In 





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GHA TIO T CO UNT Y. 



377 *^ 



1856 he came to Michigan and followed his trade in 
Oakland County. He was also engaged in mercan- 
tile pursuits three years, when he sold out and 
removed to Midland County. He was there em- 
ployed as a builder and contractor about two and a 
half years. He then removed to Saginaw, where he 
was similarly engaged until 187 i. In that year he 
went to Iowa and there operated as a hotel-keeper 
five years, at (Jreene, Butler County. At the expira- 
tion of that time he went to Cedar Rapids and once 
more followed the pursuit of building. He was oc- 
cupied there five years, and then returned to Saginaw 
with three small children, his wife having died at 
Cedar Rapids. He worked at his trade in Saginaw 
three years, and in the spring of 1883 came to Alma. 
The following fall he entered into partnership with 
Frank E. Jennings for the purpose of engaging in 
the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds, and 
in the general building business, the firm being con- 
stituted as Bradley & Jennings. The firm is now 
Bradley & Stevens. 

Mr. Bradley was first married in Orion, Oakland 
County, Jan. 9, 1859, to Almira J., daughter of Zetus 
Newell. She was born at Moore's, Clinton Co., N. 
Y., in 1839. Five children were born of this mar- 
riage, three of whom survive : Maud A., Minnie B. 
and Charles C. The mother died May 10, 1880. 
The deceased children died in infancy. Mr. Bradley 
was again married Jan. i,.i88i, at Saginaw, to Char- 
lotte Hurd, a native of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bradley are both active members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. In political connection he is a 
Republican. 



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ohn W. Lewis, cashier and stock-holder in 
'^ the banking house of Steel, Turck & Co. 
at Ithaca, was born in Stonington, New 
London Co., Conn., Nov. 20, 1844. He is a 
^r son of Benj. F. and Sarah (Rogers) Lewis. 
His father was born in Stonington, Dec. 13, 
1814, and has been a resident there nearly all his 
life. He was engaged through his active career as a 
boot and shoe dealer, which branch of business he 
carried on extensively until his retirement. He is 
still a resident of Stonington. The mother was born 



in New London Co., Conn., Dec. 28, 1817, and is 
still living. 

Mr. Lewis received a careful education in the 
common schools of his native place, which he sup- , 
plemented by two years' attendance at select schools. K^ 
He had determined upon the vocation of carpenter 
and joiner, and spent two and a half years fitting 
himself for that calling as a pursuit in life. He fol- 
lowed that six months longer; and in June, 1865, 
came west to Jackson Co., Mich., remaining three 
months in Parma, after which he went to St. John's, 
Clinton County. He passed between two and three 
years officiating as a dry-goods salesman in a mer- 
cantile house, and in 1869 he became bookkeeper in 
the First National Bank of St. John's. He was there 
engaged seven years, and in July, 1877, he came to 
Ithaca, Mich., where he became manager in the 
banking establishment of Church, Bills & Co. In 
April, 1880, associated with nine others, he founded 
the banking house designated under the style of 
Steel, Turck & Co., which has continued in success- 
ful operation since, and in which he is still interested 
and officiating as Cashier. The house is engaged in 
all the branches of business common to similar estab- 
lishments. In August, 1880, the banking establish- 
ment of Turck, Winton & Co. was founded at Alma, 
in which Mr. Lewis was interested as an organizer 
and stock-holder. His connection with the institu- 
tion terminated in August, 1883. In the spring of 
1880, in company with J. H. Seaver, he opened a 
general mercantile business at Ithaca, where the firm 
are having a profitable trade in dry goods, notions, 
crockery, ready-made clothing, groceries, etc. Their 
stock is well assorted in accordance with the local de- 
mand, and is valued at f 18,000. The annual trans- 
actions amount to $65,000, and the magnitude of 
the regular business renders necessary the aid of six 
salesmen. The proprietors are also engaged in 
handling wool, grain and other local products, in 
which branch of business they embarked in 1882. 
Their warehouse is located on Pine River Street, 
near the railroad. 

Mr. Lewis is the [iresent incumbent of the office 
of Village Treasurer, and has held the office four 
years in succession. He is a prominent member of 
the Masonic fraternity, and is High Priest of Ithaca 
Chapter, No. 70. He also belongs to St. John's Com- 
mandery, No. 24, K. T. He owns his residence and 



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'^ grounds at Ithaca, and, in company with Mr. Seaver, 
is the proprietor of a lot on Main Street, with 60 feet 
frontage, adjoining the bank block. 
I The marriage of Mr. Lewis to Ida Fox took place 
(ch at Ithaca, Sept. 10, i88r. She was born in Bascom, 
Seneca Co., Ohio, Dec. 31, i860. 

The portrait of Mr. Lewis is given on a preceding 
page. 



— ^' 



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juba Sexton, farmer, section 22, Bethany 
lil &fe^ Towriship, occupies 40 acres, the southwest 
>^||S' quarter of the southeast quarter of the section. 
i{«r He was born in Huron Co., Ohio, Oct. 29, 1853, 
1 is the son of Hiram and Adeline (Root) Sex- 
ton, and was reared and educated upon the farm. 
In 1874 he cam£ with the family to Breckenridge^ 
this county, where his father purchased 240 acres, 
and still resides. His mother is deceased. la 
the spring of 1880 he bought 40 acres of section 
32, Wheeler Township, and a year afterward he sold 
it and purchased his present farm, the tract consist- 
ing of 40 acres, one-half of which is now in good 
cultivation. He himself has made all the clearing, 
built a nice house, barn, etc. 

He was married Dec. 3, 1875, to Hattie, daughter 
of Aaron M. and Lucy (Landon) Wheeler. To this 
marriage have been born two children : Seth and 
Maud. 




'f N.Y. 



Ibert C. Barrow, of the firm of Adams & 
rs^siTS^ Barrow, proprietors of the City Bakery at 
jr^ Alma, was born June 6, 1847, in Monroe Co., 
His father, Thomas C. Barrow, was a 
native of England ; his mother, Cordelia 
(Spicer) Barrow, was born in New York. After their 
marriage they located in Monroe County, where the 
father foUov/ed the vocation of wagon-maker nearly 
20 years, afterward engaging in farming. They had 
a family of nine children, seven sons and two 
daughters. 

Mr. Barrow of this sketch is the eldest son. He 
was under the guidance of his father until he reached 
the age of 19, when he went to Erie Co. N. Y., and 
engaged in business with Truman Willis. The rela- 



tion continued 16 months, when their establishment 
was destroyed by fire and their business interests 
suffered irreparable damage. They dissolved part- 
nership, and in the fall of 1866 Mr. Barrow came to 
Michigan and located at Alma. He afterward went 
to Edniore, in Montcalm County, where he was en- 
gaged in the management of a boarding-house for 
W. G. Pierce. On the termination of that engage- 
ment he bought a building at Alma and proceeded 
to put it in suitable condition for the prosecution of 
the baking business, in conjunction with a restaurant. 
While the repairs were in progress the building 
burned, involving a heavy loss. He formed a part- 
nership with his present associate, D. W. Adams, in 
order to establish the business which they are now 
managing. In 1882 they erected the building they 
at present occupy, and where they are conducting a 
prosperous business. Mr. Barrow is a member of 
the Masonic Order and a Republican in political 
connection. In the spring of 1883 he was elected 
Councilman of the Village of Alma. 

He was married July 4, 1874, at Alma, to Joseph- 
ine, daughter of George H. and Eliza Gantz. She 
was born Feb. 18, 1856, in Gratiot Co., Mich. Her 
parents were natives of Ohio. The household of 
Mr. Barrow includes three children: Walter H., 
Thomas W. and Frances E. 

Ill Lll" iHr\i^l 

gf^SI'l erbert N. Robinson, farmer and teacher, 
j?|^y^' resident on section 16, Pine River Town- 
Slfli^"'* ship, was born in Medina Co., Ohio, July 
21, 1842, and is the son of Joshua N. and Julia 
*t A. (Bisbee) Robinson. They were natives of 
1 Massachusetts, and soon after their marriage 
settled in Ohio, where they resided until 1866. In 
the spring of that year, they came to Gratiot County 
and settled on section 16, where the family resided 
until the death of the father, June 8, 1872. The 
mother resides in St. Louis. Their family included 
three sons and two daughters. 

Mr. Robinson obtained a good common-school 
education, and afterwards studied at Oberlin and 
Berea, Ohio. He was graduated from the Commer- 
cial College at Oberlin. When he was 20 years old, 
the shot fired at Sumter aroused his ambition to aid 
in suppressing the rebellion, and he enhsted in Oc- 
tober, 1862, in the 128th Reg, Ohio Vol. Inf., and 



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remained in the United States service until the close 
of the war. He was in many important actions, and 
received honorable discharge at Columbus, Ohio. 

On leaving the army, Mr. Robinson came to Mich- 
igan and bought 80 acres of unimproved land on 
section 16, where he has since expended his energies 
and labor until he has cleared and improved 60 acres 
of the land belonging to him, and built commodious 
and suitable farm buildings. Mr. Robinson has had 
a successful career as a teacher. He taught two 
consecutive years in Ithaca, and has devoted the 
winter seasons of the past 17 years, with but a single 
exception, to that calling. He taught three terms in 
Ohio previous to enlisting in the army. He belongs 
to the National Greenback party, and has officiated 
as School Superintendent. 

Mr. Robinson was married April 23, 1S68, in Pine 
River Township, to Melissa S., daughter of John S. 
and Diana (Ganong) Hildreth, both of whom were 
natives of New York. Mrs. Robinson was born Oct. 
17, 1850, in Clinton Co., Mich. She and her hus- 
band have been the parents of five children, two of 
whom are yet living, James and Glen. Three died 
in early infancy. The parents are members of the 
Disciples' Church. 



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^ ly;^ ames M. Hendershott, farmer on sections 
12 and 13, Seville Township, is a son of 
Isaac and Nancy (Worthington) Hender- 
shott, natives of Pennsylvania. The great- 
grandparents came to the colony of Pennsyl- 
vania with the renowned William Penn. 
James' mother died in Michigan in 1837, when he 
was only six months old, the family having removed 
from Pennsylvania to Groveland, N. Y., and later to 
Tectimseh, Mich. The father, a carpenter, afterward 
removed to Manchester, where he was employed for 
12 years, and then he went to Jackson County, where 
he died, in 1870, at the advanced age of 90. He 
served as a teamster in the late civil war, though then 
very old, and was discharged in 1865. 

The subject of this biographical narrative was born 
Aug. 19, 1836, at Tecumseh, Lenawee County, Mich., 
and remained at home until 24 years of age, since 
which time he has followed farming. He went from 
Lenawee County to Manchester, Washtenaw County, 



where he lived for 1 2 years. He then resided in 
Jackson County for ten years, working on his father's 
farm, after which he removed to Portland, Ionia 
County, and bought 20 acres of land, on which he 
lived for one year. He next lived for six years at 
Muir, Ionia County, and in 1872 came to Gratiot 
County and located 80 acres of wild land. He cut 
the first tree on his place, and by diligence and in- 
dustry he has now opened up a nice farm. 

In 1857, he was married to Mary Slater, the daugh- 
ter of Joseph and Betsy (McKinstry) Slater, natives 
respectively of New Jersey and New York. The 
daughter was born May 7, i84t, and came with her 
parents from lire Empire State to Lenawee Co., 
Mich. Mr. and Mrs. H. have a family of five: 
Isaac, Cora, Ellsworth, Leroy and Edward. Mr. H. 
has been Moderator of his district a number of terms, 
and is politically a Republican. 



R^l^avid Bailey, farmer and raiser of fine stock, 




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a son of Thomas and Lavina (Hayes) Bailey. 

Mr. Bailey was a native of New England, 
\ and followed farming. Lavina Hayes was a 

native of Ohio. The Baileys for several generations 
past have been sailors. David lived in Ohio with 
his parents until 11 years old, when they came to this 
State and located on a farm in Lenawee County. 
When 18, he engaged in the manufacture of brick; 
and in the spring of 1853 he went to Delta, Ohio, in 
the 'same business. A year later he returned to 
Lenawee County and became overseer of the brick- 
yards of M. C. Perkins & Co. He was thus engaged 
until his marriage. 

April I, 1857, at Delta, Ohio, he was united in 
marriage to Mary A., daughter of J. I. and Lucy 
(Sackett) Rector, natives of New York, and of Ger- 
man and English descent. They carried on farming 
in New York, and then at Delta, Ohio, where Mr. 
Rector was considered one of the most practical 
farn.urs in that part of the State. At Delta, Mary 
A. was born, March 8, 1837. She was educated in 
the common schools, and at Adrian College, and then 
taught school until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bailey remained in Fulton Co., Ohio, until late in the 






section 12, Arcada Township, was born in ^ 
Geauga Co., Ohio, Feb. 27, 1833; and is ^ 






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winter of 1861, when they came to this State and 
county, and located on 80 acres of wild land which 
he had purchased in the winter of 1855. He has 
since added 80 acres by purchase, and now has one 
of the finest farms in the county. He has just com- 
pleted a really handsome dwelling, at a cost of $4,000, 
and all his farm buildings are first-class. In the 
spring of 1870, he established a large brick-yard, 
which he worked until 1S81, in connection with his 
farm. 

They have had a family of four children, two of 
whom are now living: Luella B., born Dec. 29, 
185- ; Clara B., born Jan. 20, 185- ; and twins, born 
Aug. 12, 1863, and died in infancy. Mr. Bailey is a 
member of the Masonic Order, belonging both to the 
blue lodge and to the chapter. He held the office of 
Sheriff of Gratiot County for four years. In politics 
he is an active and influential Republican. Mrs. 
Bailey and her eldest daughter are members of the 
Baptist Church. 



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ohn W. Doane, farmer, upon sections 8 
and 9, Pine River Township, was born July 
2, 1833, in Ontario Co., N. Y. He is son 

of Erastus and Hester (Stringham) Doane, who 
jt were both natives of the State of New York. 

They first settled in Cato, Ontario County, and 
in 1834 located in Livingston Co., Midi., where they 
passed the remaining years of their lives. The father 
died in August, i86i. The mother survived until 
Nov. 27, 1883. Rebecca, Jemima, Joseph, John W., 
Robert, Henry, Elnathan and Mary were the names 
of their children. 

Mr. Doane was less than a year old when his par- 
ents settled in Michigan, where he has since been a 
resident. On reaching his majority he decided on 
the life of a pioneer, and in October, 1854, he bought 
160 acres of wild land in Pine River Township. He 
has made subsequent purchases of land until he now 
owns 280 acres. He has cleared and improved 180 
acres, and in the summer of 1875 he built a commo- 
dious frame house to replace the log cabin where he 
planned for the future, lived in primitive simplicity 
and which was endeared to him as the place where 
his children were born, and made sacred by the en- 
trance of the" Guest "" who crosses threshold, passes 



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door, and glides at will from floor to floor." In the 
summer of 1883 he erected a barn, after a modern 
pattern, which adds materially to the substantial ap- 
pearance of the place. 

On setting out in the enterprise which he has ac- 
complished so successfully, and which manifests so 
unmistakably the quality of the efforts he has brought 
to bear upon the fulfillment of his projects, he bor- 
rowed the money with which to obtain proprietorship 
of his land. Energy, industry and perseverance have 
worked their inevitable results. He enjoys the con- 
fidence and esteem of his fellows and has acted in 
the capacity of Treasurer of his township. He is 
deeply interested in educational affairs and has filled 
the several school offices in his district. 

Mr. Doane was early aroused in the war of the 
rebellion to a sense of his duty in the exigency which 
threatened the integrity of the Union. Under the 
second call for troops lie enrolled as a soldier, enlist- 
ing Aug. 12, i86i,in the 8th Mich. Inf His service 
in behalf of the United States covered a period of 
three years and five days. The trophies of the Eighth 
Michigan are recorded in the pages of all the histo- 
ries of the war. The valor of its soldiers and the 
hard-fouglit battle-fields which make up its roll of 
honor, are perpetuated by a deathless fame. Mr. 
Doane was engaged at James Island, where the bay- 
onet charge of his regiment was made, whose daring 
had few parallels in the whole course of the war, at 
the second Bull Run, Chantilly, South Mountain, An- 
tietam, Fredericksburg and the battle of the Wilder- 
ness. In the last he was wounded in the left knee 
by a minie-ball. He was so much disabled that 
he was discharged from the service at Annapolis, Md., 
Aug. 17, 1864. He enlisted as a private, passed 
through the non-commissioned grades of promotion, 
and on May 6, 1864, received his commission as First 
Lieutenant for meritorious conduct. He was wound- 
ed the same day. 

Mr. Doane was first married Dec. 10, 1857, in Pine 
River Township, to Lucinda, daughter of Amasa and 
Mercy Packard. Of this union one child — Ida — was 
born, who died at the age of two years. The mother 
died Nov. 4, i860. Mr. Doane was again mar- 
ried, in Pine River Township, March 17, 1865, to 
Martha A. Packard, sister of his former wife. Four 
children were born to them : Amasa, Erastus, Lu- 
cinda M. and Edith M. The second wife died Aug. 



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6, 1880. The third marriage of Mr. Doane was con- 
tracted April 3, i88r, with Minnie L., second daugh- 
ter of Julius and Wilhehnine Mey (see sketch). 
She was born in Pine River Township, Aug. 28, 1858, 
and is a member of the German Lutheran Church. 
Mr. Doane is a Republican in political faitli and ac- 
tion. 



— }- 



#«# 



{ iTfp^j, aniel Chambers, farmer, section ^4, New 
j; iw^^J ' Haven Township, is a son of Elias and 
4lcSy- Christiana (Stockman) Chambers, natives 
Xjfii of Stark Co., Ohio, who died in Crawford 
County, that State, the former about 1838, aged 
35, and the latter in November, 1850, aged 45. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Liberty 
Township, Crawford Co., Ohio, July 14, 1836. After 
the death of his father he resided at various places, 
working at manual labor during the summer seasons 
and attending school winters. By his industry he 
thus obtained a good common-school education, and 
at 21 began teaching school, following this vocation 
for ten terms. 

Oct. 17, 1861, Mr. Chambers was married, in his 
native county, to Miss RosannaBrillhart, daughter of 
John and Mary (Hull) Brillhart, natives of York Co., 
Pa. Mrs. C. was born in Stark Co., Ohio, Feb. 23, 
1842, but was brought up and educated in Crawford 
County, that State. In 1878 Mr. C. sold out his 
place in Ohio and purchased 80 acres of partly im- 
proved land on section 34, New Haven Township, 
where he now resides. He has the place well im- 
proved. The buildings are in good trim, the soil is 
in fine tillable condition, and there are present the 
usual appointments of a comfortable home. 

Mr. Chambers is an Elder in the Dunkard Church, 
of which religious body his wife is also an active 
member. He has always refused to accept the many 
offices which have been tendered him by his fellow- 
citizens. 

Mr. and Mrs. Chambers have had the following 
children : John W., Daniel E., Milton M., Mary R 
and James M. — the two latter deceased. John W. 
completed his education at the age of 18, and has 
since devoted his time to the profession of teaching 
in the common schools of this county. He is a 
thorough student and a skillful and successful 
teacher. 



• o<->o " 

l^sther A. Runyan, widow of Marshal F. 
Runyan, resident on sec. 31, North Shade 
wiw Township, is a daughter of Silas and Mary 

j>J^ (Barnes) Runyan, natives of West Stockbridge, 

I Mass. The father was a cooper by trade, and 

\ also followed the occupation of a farmer. The 
parents moved to Oneida Co., N. Y., where they re- 
mained for a period of time and then removed to 
Ashtabula Co.,Ohio, where they both died, the father 
Nov. 14, 1869, and the mother June 22, 1875. 

Esther A. Runyan was born Dec. 2, 1814, in . 
Oneida Co., N. Y. May 25, 1834, she was married 
to Marshal F. Runyan, who was born Sept. 19, 18 10, 
and died Oct. 23, 1866, in Ionia Co., this State. 

After their marriage they came from Ashtabula 
Co., Ohio, to Ionia city, this State, where they re- 
mained for a portion of a year and then moved to 
Lyons, same cour)ty, and there he followed the occu- 
pation of wagon-making for seven years, when they 
emigrated to this county and located on the west half 
of the southwest quarter of section 31, North Shade 
Township. They were among the first settlers in the 
township, and experienced all the trials and troubles 
incident to pioneer life. They have 35 acres of land 
under good improvement. 

Mr. and Mrs. Runyan have been blessed with the 
birth of eight children, namely : Mary A., Frances, 
William, Harriet, George A., Alice A., Francis T. and 
Emma R. 

Mr. R. held the position of Town Clerk, and in 
politics was a staunch Republican. 







lA^))^^!^^'- 



^Wborman D. Vincent, deceased, was a son of 
.^M<^ John and Lucretia Vincent, was born in 
'■* New York, Oct. 10, 1827. When a boy he 
^ was employed in a cotton-mill at Colioes, 
'1^ N. Y.; afterward he learned the trade of car- 
penter and joiner, which he followed a number 
of years. He was married in Niagara Co., N. Y. 
April 18, 1847, to Miss Sarah E. Miller, daughter of 
Daniel and Mary (Cress) Miller, who was born in 
Montgomery, May 10, 1831. By this marriage there 
were nine children, of whom four are living, viz. ; 



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Mary, now the wife of Franklin Rowley, a farmer of 
Bethany Township; John H., deceased; Freeman, 
who died at the age of 21 ; Milo, now at home ; Ida, 
widow of Clinton B. Snyder; Emma J., Hiram E. 
and Carrie A., all deceased, and Sarah E. 

Mr. Vincent came to St. Louis in 1862, and 
bought the present homestead, 80 acres, in the 
spring of 1864. Having no house, he resided on the 
farm of John H. Suydam, near by. He followed his 
trade, mosdy in St. Louis, until his death. In this 
village he built the residence of Henry L. Holcomb, 
helped build the grist-mill and a number of other 
large structures. The last house he put up was the 
residence of S. D. Hicks, a neighbor. 

At the time of his arrival in this county his farm 
was covered with heavy timber. There were no 
roads, bridges, school-houses, etc. He built the 
school-house in his district in the spring of 1869. 
St. Louis at that time was very small, and the family 
had many trials incident to pioneer life. In October, 
1863, Mr. V. was drafted to serve in the war, and 
placed in Co. D, 4th Mich. Cav., serving until the 
close of the war, working at his trade, building 
bridges, etc. He was for a time Township Treas- 
urer, and he held other school offices. Of the home- 
stead left by him there are now 35 acres in cultiva- 
tion. 

Mr. Vincent .was killed Feb. 26, 1878, by the fall- 
ing of a tree which he had cut. This sudden 
calamity cast an indescribable gloom over a large 
circle of relatives and friends. 




f homas Argent, farmer on section 22, Sum- 
ner Township, is a son of John and Eliza- 



pi^ beth (Green) Argent, natives of England. 
Thomas was born in Huntingtonshire, Eng., 
Aug. 8, 1833, and at the age of zr emigrated 
to the United States, locating first in Huron 
Co., Ohio, and two years later coming to Detroit. 
Except six years in Washtenaw County, he was en- 
gaged in farming near Detroit and in other places in 
Wayne County unril the spring of 1881. He then 
came to this county and purchased 80 acres, partly 
improved, on section 22, Sumner Township. He has 
since added much to the value of the land by making 
further improvements. 



June 5, 1854, in Cambridgeshire, England, he was 
married to Miss Elizabeth Golden, a native of that 
country. She died in Washtenaw County, this State, 
Sept. II, 1867, leaving a family of four: Mary E., 
Alice M , George E. and Minnie, and these chil- 
dren are the only near relatives Mr. Argent has in 
this country. April 12, 1870, at Canton, Wayne Co., 
Mich., he was again married, to Miss Mary Gill, 
daughter of Richard and Hannah (Smith) Gill, na- 
tives of England, where the former was a shoemaker. 
The daughter, now Mrs. Argent, was born in Canton, 
Wayne County, Dec. 6, 1837, and lived in that county 
until her marriage. Mr. Argent has made many 
friends during his brief residence in Gratiot County. 
He has held the office of Overseer of Highways, and 
is politically " on the fence." 






i7^ Lleazer F. Wiley, farmer, section 7, Pine 
y^i^ River Township, was born Dec. 23, 1834, in 




Pennsylvania. His parents, Isaac and 
^.^ Mary (Woods) Wiley, were natives of the State 
of New York, where they resided some time af- 
ter their marriage. They went thence to the 
Keystone State, where they lived only about one 
year, then moved back to New York, where they 
reared their family, consisting of five sons and four 
daughters. 

Mr. Wiley is the youngest child, and in early youth 
was thrown by circumstances upon his own resources. 
He maintained himself in a manner every way cred- 
itable, and in later years was largely instrumental in 
the care and support of his mother. He came to 
Gratiot County in the winter of 1S59, and bought 80 
acres of land in Seville Township. He came thither 
from the State of New York, driving the entire route 
\vith two horses and a buggy, which he exchanged in 
payment for his land. On this he resided fouryears. 
In 1863 he sold out and purchased 40 acres in Pine 
River Township, which constitutes his present home. 
He has increased his estate by the purchase of 63 
acres additional, and his tillable land includes 50 
acres, which is under advanced cultivation. He has 
made substantial progress in worldly affairs, and, in 
the summer of 1883, erected a good farm house. He 
is independent in political faith and action. 

Mr. Wiley was married Dec. 23, 1857, in Orleans 



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Co., N. Y., to Clarissa, daughter of Luther and Sally 
(Strickland) Sackett. She was born Aug. 7, 1840, in 
Orleans County, and her parents were natives respect- 
ively of Pennsylvania and New York. Clara R., 
Mary C, Emory L. and Orson A. are the names of 
the surviving children. Two are deceased — Ells- 
worth and Marion F. The parents are members of 
the Disciples' Church. Mr. W. has been Justice of 
the Peace three years, and School Inspector one year. 



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oses H. White, farmer and stock-raiser, 
section 33, New Haven Township, is a 
son of Noah and Dorotha (Sleeper) White, 

.^^■\ natives of New Hampshire and of Scotch 
descent; the former, an agriculturist, died in 
1861, in Vermont, aged 68 years; and the latter 
died about the same time, at the age of 65. 

Moses H. was born Oct. 26, 1815, in Waldron, 
Caledonia Co., Vt.; was brought up on his father's 
farm until nearly 14 years old, and then lived with an 
uncle until 18 years of age, during which time he had 
to labor hard and have no opportunities for education 
or recreation; and, although he was bound to his 
uncle by his father until he was 2 1 years of age, he 
ran away to Saratoga Springs and found employment 
as a stage-driver. After a time he went to Genesee 
Co., N. Y., and attended school a short time, paying 
his way by what he had earned as a stage-driver. 
Next he worked for awhile as a helper in the carpen- 
ter and joiner's trade; then, going to Rochester, N. 
Y., he made $200 by riding the horse " Blucher " in 
a race and in speculating upon the race, and then 
drove stage awhile; then he found employment upon 
the farm of a gentleman of turf distinction ; a year 
later he engaged as chieftain to the ho\isehold, livery- 
man, etc., for a wealthy Quaker, serving in this 
capacity two years. 

During the latter period, in Ajjril, 1838, lie mar- 
ried Miss Miranda Wheelock, who was born Aug. 1 1, 
1822, in Batavia, N. Y.; and they at once came to 
Jackson, Mich., where he was liveryman a year; the 
next summer he helped build a saw-mill. During 
this time he was for awhile disabled for work by 
fever and ague. Two years later he moved to 





Ingham Co., Mich., locating on a farm of 40 acres; 
five years later he went to Lansing, and two years 
still later he returned to his farm. In the spring of 
1856 he came to Gratiot County, settling upon a 
40-acre tract, where he now resides. To the original 
purchase he has added 120 acres, and he now has 
this amount well improved. His farm, indeed, is not 
to be excelled in this part of the country. He has a 
good residence, barn and other buildings, etc. 

Mr. White is a member of the I. O. O. F., is a 
staunch, influential Republican, has been Supervisor 
for five consecutive years, and has held all the other 
township offices. He was also Postmaster for a 
number of years. Mrs. W. is a member of the 
Regular Baptist Church. The living children of Mr. 
and Mrs. White are: Frances Z., Charity M., Phebe 
and Alfarata; the deceased are Charles A. and 
Chloe J. 



ruman Richmond, farmer on section 34, 
Seville Township, is a son of Otis and Har- 
riet (Van Brunt) Richmond, natives of the 
State of New York. Otis Richmond, a far- 
mer also, resided in his native State until he 
was a young man, and then, coming to Michi- 
gan, located on 120 acres in the township of Bridge- 
water, Washtenaw County, where he lived about 20 
years. Spending one year in Lenawee County, he 
then resided 19 years more in Washtenaw County. 
He died in 1857, and his wife survived him but six 
years. 

The subject of this biography was born July i, 
1839, in Washtenaw County, and remained with his 
father until 21 years old. Forsome time he was then 
engaged at farming, carpentry, blacksmithing and 
other occupations, receiving on an average about $14 
per month. After three years he engaged in farming 
in Jackson County, and four years later he returned 
to Washtenaw County, where he was similarly en- 
gaged for three years. The ensuing eight years he 
lived in Hillsdale County, at the expiration of wliich 
time (in 1876) he came to Gratiot County and located 
on 80 acres on section 34, Seville. He has now one 
of the best farms in the townshi[) and good buildings, 
having erected a large barn in 1879, and a neat 
dwelling in 1882, at a cost of $1,100. 



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He was married May 23, 1861, to Eliza J. Pykett, 



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GRA TIO T CO UNTY. 






who was born March i, i84i,in Washtenaw Co., 
Mich., and is the daughter of Thomas and Catharine 
(Freeman) Pykett, natives respectively of England 
and Germany. They came to the United States at 
an early day, and settled in Washtenaw County, this 
State, where the mother died Aug. 6, 1864. The 
father yet lives, and has attained to the advanced 
age of 108. He has an iron constitution, has lived 
an active life, and is yet hale and hearty. Mr. Rich- 
mond is politically a National, and is a member of 
Elm Hall Lodge, No. 257, F. & A. M. Mrs. R. is a 
member of the Star Lodge, of Hillsdale County. 






ohn Medler, farmer on section 3, Sumner 
ij' Township, was born in Bayham Township, 
Elgin Co., Ont., May 20, 1835. His par- 
ents were natives of Nova Scotia, and his father 
was a sailor most of his life. John was under 
the care of his parents until 16 years old, when 
he apprenticed himselfto a carpenter, a Mr. McGinnis, 
of Burwell, in his native county. After serving a part 
of his time, he commenced working by the month for 
another gentleman. Thus he was engaged for two 
years, when he quit the carpenter business and en- 
gaged in farming on shares. Afterwards resuming 
his trade, he took job-work for four years. Then 
selling out, he came to this State and county, making 
his first settlement on section 3, Sumner Township, 
where he bought 40 acres of wild land. 

He zealously set to work to improve hii land, ex- 
periencing most of the privations of pioneers. He 
brought his flour 22 miles. He has by industry and 
economy added 40 acres, and the majority of the land 
is well improved. He has also a comfortable resi- 
dence and farm buildings. 

Oct. 20, 1858, he was united in marriage in his 
native county to Miss Mary Ryckman, a native of 
the same county, born July 29, 1839. She is the 
mother of one daughter. Bind J., who was born April 
29, i860. She was married March 13, 1879, to 
Charles E. Slingluff. who was born in Crawford Co., 
Pa., Dec. 3, 1854. He came to this State when 23 
years old, and now works his father-in-law's farm. 




Mr. and Mrs. Slingluff have a son, Marley, born Jan. 
I, 1880. 

Mr. Medler has been Road Commissioner, and has 
held other minor offices. In politics, he is a Na- 
tional. 





vi 



;."oseph Wesley FuUerton, farmer on section 
t- 12, Sumner Township, is a son of John B. 
'•^^^^^ and Achcy (Moody) Fullerton, natives of 
New Jersey and New York, and was born in 
Sharon Township, Washtenaw Co., Mich., 
Feb. 23, 1839. His father being a farmer, he 
worked at home until 24 years old, when he was 
married, in Addison Township, Lenawee Co., Mich., 
July 3, 1863, to Miss Jane E. Bragg, born in New 
Hampshire, May 1 1, 1838. Her father was by occu- 
pation a blacksmith, and followed his trade in New 
Hampshire until a year after the birth of the daugh- 
ter, Jane. He then moved to Licking Co., Ohio, and 
three years later came to Michigan, locating in Som- 
erset, Hillsdale County. Her mother dying when 
Jane was 11 years old, the latter was left to care for 
herself, and she worked as a domestic until her mar- 
riage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fullerton remained in Hillsdale 
County six years, and in December, 1869, came to 
Gratiot, locating 40 acres of timbered land on section 
12, Sumner Township. He has now improved 30 
acres. They have two children, Fred and Eva. Mr. 
F. has held the various offices of his school district, 
and politically is a Republican. 

He enlisted Aug. 16, 1 861, in Co. C, 7th Mich. 
Vol. Inf. He served in all the engagements of the 
Peninsular campaign, and was honorably discharged 
in the spring of 1863. 



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illiam Spurgeon, farmer, section 24, New- 
^ ark Township, was born in England, July 



il^P 6, 1828. His i>arents, Stephen and Ann 
(Warren) Spurgeon, were natives of the same 
country and there reared their children — two 
sons and four daughters. 
Mr. Spurgeon was the eldest child and remained 
in the place where he was born until he was 22 years 



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old. In 1850 he emigrated to Canada and there en- 
gaged in farming three years, when he went to Niag- 
ara Co., N. Y., and there passed the same length of 
time in the same employ. In 1854 he removed to 
Oakland Co., Mich., and rented a farm on which he 
remained three years. He resided in the county six 
years. Meanwhile, in the summer of 1855, he came 
to Gratiot County and bought 80 acres of Government 
land on sections 34 and 35 in xVewark Township. In 
January, 1862, he removed his family, then including 
his wife and one child, to his possessions in Gratiot 
County, then in a wholly original state of nature. 
Here he has expended his energies with certain judg- 
ment and success, and now 60 acres of his farm are 
in a condition of advanced cultivation. In political 
faith he is in sympathy with the Republican party. 

Mr. Spurgeon was married Aug. 30, i860, in Oak- 
land County, to Julia, eldest daughter of Crowell and 
Mary A. (Arthur) Moore. They were natives respect- 
ively of Nova Scotia and New York. Mr. Spurgeon 
is the eldest of three children — two daughters and 
one son — and was born in Canada, July 16, 1833. 
To lierself and husband seven children have been 
born : Arabella, Willmina, Charles W., Stephen M., 
Lottie A., Susie M. and Willard H. Mrs. Spurgeon 
dejjarted this life March 15,1884. She was taken 
with a congestive chill and in 20 hours had left 
husband, children, relatives and friends to mourn 
their loss. She was a loving wife, a kind mother, a 
generous friend and a true Christian woman. Mr. 
Spurgeon belongs to the Baptist Church; Mrs. Spur- 
geon is a member of the Church of United Brethren. 



ig^lbridge Franklin, farmer. North Star Town- 
ship, was born in Lenawee Co., Mich., Jan. 
14, 1S40; his parents were John and Lucy 
(Carter) Franklin, natives of the State of New 
York. His father came to Lenawee County in 
1835, when Michigan was a territory, remain- 
ing in that county until 1854, when he moved to 
Gratiot County and located in North Star Township, 
building the third house in the township, on section 
33. Here he lived until his death, vvliich occurred 
in 1873. His widow is still living, and resides in this 
township. 

Mr. Franklin, the subject of this biographical 




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notice, was 14 years of age wlien he came with his 
parents to this county ; he remained with them until 
lie was of age, when, the great war having com- 
menced, he enlisted, in August, i86i,in the 5th 
Mich. Vol. Inf., and served as a faithful soldier 15 
months, being in the battles of Williamsburg, Va., 
and Fair Oaks. In the former engagement. May 5, 
1862, he was slightly wounded in the breast, and in 
the latter, May 31, 1862, severely in the thigh. After 
five months at the hospital he was honorably dis- 
charged, Oct. 29, 1862, and returned home. His 
brother Luther enlisted in the same company as El- 
bridge, slept in the same tent, ate at the same mess, 
and fought in the same battles until the battle of 
Gettysburg, when he fell, a martyr to the cause of 
the Union. He then proceeded to improve 80 acres 
of land, which he had bought on section 32, where 
he now resides, and also worked on his father's farm ; 
but in September, 1S64, he again enlisted, this time 
in the 8th Mich. Vol. Inf., and served to the close of 
the war, being a participant in the siege of Peters- 
burg, Va. Returning home, the subject of this 
sketch built the house which he now occupies. He 
has 170 acres of land, one-half of which is culti- 
vated. 

Sept. II, 1864, in Ingham Co., Mich., Mr. Frank- 
lin was married to Miss Wealthy, third daughter of 
Lewis and Sarah Shaver, natives of the State of New 
York, who settled in Emerson Township, this county, 
in 1856. Mr. S. died in 1869, and his widow is still 
living, a resident of that township. Mrs. Franklin 
was born in New York State, March 22, 1845. The 
children of Mr. and Mrs. F. are Florence W., Luther 
E., Lewis T. and Grace O. 

Mr. F. is a staunch Republican and temperance 
man, as a citizen setting an intelligent and consistent 
example for the community. He has held the offices 
of Township Clerk four years. Superintendent of 
Schools one year, and School Inspector four years. 
In the fall of 1864, he was elected Coroner, but 
being at the front, fighting for his country, he did not 
qualify. Mr. Franklin has been an educational man, 
having taught school 18 consecutive winters in this 
county. He is a member of the Masonic Order, of 
Moses Wisner Post, No. loi, G. A. R., and, with his 
wife, of Liberty Grange, No. 391, P. of H. 

Mr. Franklin's portrait is given in this work, as one 
of the representative citizens of the county. 






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eorge H. Steele, foreman and general man- 
ager of Steele's mill on section 28, Hamil- 
ton Township, was born in Orleans Co., 
Vt., May 16, 185 I. He is a son of William 
Steele, a native of Scotland, who came to 
Vermont when a young man, where he died, in 
March, i86i. 

Mr. Steele was raised on his father's farm until he 
was 15 years of age, at which time he left the paren- 
tal liome to battle against the trials of life alone, and 
came to St. John's, Clinton County, this State. Here 
he engaged in the sash, door and blind department 
of Steele's manufactor)-, and remained four years. 
For the next four years, he was engaged in the flour- 
ing-mill business. In December, 1879, he went to 
Detroit, where he was variously employed until April, 
1 88 1, when he came to this county. 

He was married Aug. i, 1871, to Dora, daughter 
of Bingley Russell, of Ithaca, this county. She was 
born in Ionia Co., Mich., July 8, 1854. To this 
marriage three children have been born ; namely, 
Rena H., Eda M. and George Glen. The mill that 
Mr. Steele operates was built in 1866, and rebuilt 
and furnished with new machinery in the spring of 
1871. 



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acob Lewis, farmer, section ^6, Wheeler 
j ^^S i.^ Township, was born in June, 1844, in Wex- 
1^^ ford Co., Ireland, and is a son of John and 
Jane (Livingston) Lewis, farmers in Ireland, 
where Mr. Lewis died Nov. 27, 1855, and Mrs. 
Lewis died Dec. 23, 1878. At the age of 20, 
Jacob came to America, landing at Portland, Me., 
and was engaged in lumbering for 18 years. He was 
also the owner of a saw-mill in Saginaw Co., Mich. 
In i8Sr, he came to Gratiot County, locating on sec- 
tion 36, Wheeler Township. He has a farm of 240 
acres, of which no acres are now nicely improved. 
He has erected a very fine residence and two large 
barns, built in 1878 and 1881, respectively. 

In the year 1880, he was married to Elizabeth, 
daughter of George and Mary (Pierce) Lewis, natives 
of Ireland, where the father died Oct. 18, 1857, and 
where the mother yet resides. Elizabeth was born 



I 



in September, 1843, in county Wexford, Ireland, and 
came to America in 1880 with her husband, who had 
crossed the waters to find his lady love. They are 
the parentsof one son, John G. E., born July 11, 1881, 
in this county. Mr. Lewis belongs to the Episcopal 
and Mrs. Lewis to the Wesleyan Methodist Church. 
He has held the office of Highway Commissioner in 
Wheeler Township, and during his brief residence in 
the county has acquired the esteem and confidence 
of a large circle of acquaintances. Politically he is 
an earnest supporter of the Republican party. 



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obert T. Barrus, farmer, section 25, New- 
ark Township, was born Jan. 16, 1822, in 
Onondaga Co., N. Y. His parents, William 
K. and Mary A. (Neal) Barrus, were natives 
of the same county, were there married and 
there the father died, Sept. 4, 1842. The mother 
died in Clinton County, Mich., March 18, 187 i. The 
family comprised Robert T., Lucinda J., Calvin P., 
James C, John W., Mary E., Abigail A., Caroline, 
Sarah E. and Eunice. 

Mr. Barrus was the eldest son of his parents and 
grew to the estate of manhood in his native State, 
where he was engaged in farming until 1866, when he 
came to Clinton Co., Mich. He bought 40 acres of 
wild land. Three years later he sold out and came 
to Gratiot County. In the winter of 1870 he bought 
40 acres of partly improved land in the to wr. ship of 
Newark, where he has since resided. 

Mr. Barrus was married in Cayuga Co., N. Y., Dec. 
17, 1845, to Harriet A., daughter of Nathaniel S. and 
Huldah M. (Tuttle) Ludington. The father was a 
native of New York and the mother of Vermont. 
They settled, after marriage, in Oswego County and 
afterward removed to Onondaga County, where the 
mother died, April 25, 1872. The father died in 
Ohio. Mrs. Barrus was born June 10, 1827, in Os- 
wego County. She was seven years of age when her 
parents made their removal and she resided tliere 
until her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Barrus six 
children have been born, three of whom survive — 
Mana A., Edwin R. and Anna H. William P. and 
Herbert E. died in infancy. Lois \., a daughter, 
was born May 4, i860, in Cayuga County and died 



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Feb. 2, 1880. She was as a child studious and am- 
bitious, and, in addition to a course of study in the 
common schools, she attended the High School at 
Ithaca. At 16 she began her career as a teacher in 
Newark Township and continued the labors of her 
chosen calling in Newark, North Star, and Lafayette 
Townships in Gratiot County. She contracted a se- 
vere cold in her school-room, which resulted in 
typhoid-pneumonia. A complication of diseases fol- 
lowed and she died, after nine weeks of unremitting 
suffering. She was taken back to her native county 
for burial. She was warmly regarded and esteemed 
in both her social relations and her capacity as teach- 
er. In religious connection she was a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 






eorge W. Aldrich, farmer, section 26, La- 

,, fayette Township, is a son of Asquar and 

-m0r ^ Betsy (Tarbell) Aldrich, natives of Ver- 
-*- ' mont and Massachusetts respectively. His 
father left his farm in Massachusetts in 1813, 

1 and settled near Detroit. He there was en- 
gaged in farming for a number of years, and then 
removed to Macomb County, where he died in 1845. 
George W. was born May 27, 1828, at Detroit. He 
was married Aug. 16, 1853, to Martha A. Sturgis, 
born April 4, 1836,3 daughter of Benjamin and Car- 
oline (Olmstead) Sturgis. 

Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich began to keep house in Oak- 
land County, where he was engaged in farming for a 
year and a half. They then lived two years in Liv- 
ingston County, and a short time in Shiawassee, 
Genesee and Clinton Counties. They then came to 
Lafayette Townshij), Gratiot County. They entered 
160 acres of land, but afterwards sold 40 acres to one 
of the sons. Of their farm, 100 acres are well im- 
proved. They are the parents of eight children : 
George R., Anna D., Ira B., Emma J., Nora B., R. 
T., Charles E. and Robert G.; the last died July 23, 
18S0. 

Mr. Aldrich served one year during the war, en- 
listing in Co. D, 6th Cavalry, Sept. 6, 1862, and 
being discharged Aug. 29, 1863, at "Convalescent 
Camp," near Alexandria, Va. In civil life, he has 
been Township Clerk, Highway Commissioner, Spe- 
cial Commissioner and Justice of the Peace, and has 

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held various school offices. He is a member of the 
I. O. O. F. and of the G. .\. R. He and his wife are 

Spiritualists. 



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IIK^i;^ tephen T. Sprague, farmer, section 3, Pine 
^M^ River Townshii), was born in Onondaga 
Co., N. Y., Oct. 23. 1828. His parents, 
Samuel and Phebe (Secoy) Sprague, were na- 
tives respectively of New York and Massachu- 
setts, and removed from the Empire State to 
Fulton Co., Ohio, about the year 1849. The father 
was a soldier in the second war with Great Britain, 
and died while on a visit to his native State in Janu- 
ary, 1857. The mother died in Hillsdale Co., Mich. 
Their family included eleven sons and one daughter. 
Seven are now living. 

Mr. Sprague went to Ohio when he was 13 years 
old, there obtained his education, and was under his 
father's care and guidance until he was 20 years old. 
On leaving home, he was engaged as a farm assist- 
ant, and worked by the month one and a half years. 
He next rented a farm, which he conducted two 
years, after which he bought 40 acres of land in Will- 
iams Co., Ohio. He expended the labor of two years 
in its improvement, when he sold it, and again rented 
a farm in Fulton County, which he continued to 
manage two years. He came to Gratiot County in 
February, 1863, and purchased 80 acres of land in 
Pine River Township, located on sections 10 and 3. 
He drew lumber from St. Louis, and built a frame 
house on the section last named, and proceeded with 
the work of improving and cultivating his land. He 
bought 80 acres later, which he disposed of, and of 
his remaining tract has about 60 acres under im- 
provement. Mr. Sprague has contributed to a large 
degree to the improvement of the county in which he 
resides. He has cleared 1 10 acres of land, chopi)ing 
the timber thcvcon with his own hands. He is a 
Democrat in political connections. 

He was married March 10, 1853, in Lenawee Co., 
Mich., to Susan, daughter of Eli and Annie (Thomas) 
Packer. She was born March 13, 1826, in Clinton 
Co., Pa., and her parents were also natives of the 
Keystone State. Mrs. Sprague is a lady of creditable 
literary attainments, and has had some experience as 
a teacher. The household includes seven children : 
William T., Letitia A., Alice L., David H., Hadsell 






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^flT L., Ellen D. and Thomas C. The fourth child, 
& David H., died when he was eight months old. The 
^v'is parents are members of the Disciples' Church. 






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orenzo Blackman, grocer, Wheeler village, 
Wheeler Township, is a son of Ansel and 
Sarah (Higgins) Blackman, natives of Mas- 
sachusetts and New York, respectively. They 
emigrated to Lorain Co., Ohio, where they farm- 
ed until their death, his occurring in April, 18551 
and hers taking place in November, 1865. Lorenzo 
was born in Erie Co., Ohio, April 29, 1830. At the 
age of 19, he started out for himself, working on a 
farm until the war. In March, 1864, he enlisted in 
Co. G, 72d Ohio Inf He followed his regiment 
through all its career, was engaged at Greentown, 
Tupelo, Nashville, Spanish Fort and other places. 
He came through without a wound, and was dis- 
charged at Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 19, 1865. He then 
came to Gratiot County, and located on 80 gcres on 
section 17, Wheeler Township. He has 35 acres well 
improved. He is now engaged m the grocery busi- 
ness, carrying a well-assorted stock, and having a 
growing trade. 

He was married in 1850, to Rachel Furman, daugh- 
ter of Benjamin and Mary Furman, natives of New 
York and Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Blackman are 
the parents of seven children, — Mary J. (deceased), 
Lovina E., Sabra D., Evaline, Juliet, Nora M. (de- 
ceased), and Wilbur. Mr. Blackman has been High- 
4 way Commissioner of his township three years, Clerk 
two years, Supervisor one year, and Treasurer si,\ 



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years. 



illiam C. Jenkins, farmer, section 17, La- 
fayette Township, is a son of Richard L. 
and Ann (Lake) Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins^ 
Sr., was a native of England, and emigrated 
to the "Great Republic" in 1800. Landing 
at New York, he was in a woolen factory for 
seven years, then a sailor for seven or eight years, 
and then in the woolen business again. The re- 
mainder of his life he followed farming. His wife 




was a native of New York State, and died July 27, 
1866. 

The subject of this sketch was born Oct. 23, 1838. 
He remained with his parents until he was 28 years 
old, and then came to Clinton County, this State, 
where he lived ten years. He then came to Lafayette 
Township, locating first on section 19, and after a year 
moving to his present farm on section 17. He found 
it in a primitive state, and is rapidly converting it 
into a well improved farm. 

June 29, 1869, he was united in marriage to Lucia 
J. Steenburg, an only daughter. They have been 
parents of four children, but one of whom survives, 
named Lee W. The other three died within a few 
days of each other: Ann E., Oct. 4, 1879; Joseph 
L., Sept. 30, 1879, and Buell J., Oct. 17, 1879. 

Mr. Jenkins calls himself a Greenbacker politically. 
He has held the office of Commissioner of Highways 
for one term. He is liberal in his religious views. 



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SToseph Wright, one of the representative 
men and pioneer settlers of Hamilton 
Township, resident on section 18, is a na- 
tive of Clinton County, this State, where he was 
born April 9, 1836. He is a son of Joseph 
Wright, deceased, a native of the State of New 
York, who came to this State at an early day and 
located in Oakland County and afterward removed 
to Clinton County, where our subject was born. Mr. 
Wright remained under the parental care, assisting 
in the supiwvt of the family and developing into 
manhood. He received the advantages afforded by 
the common schools of his native county and at- 
tended the State University at Ann Arbor and suc- 
cessfully prosecuted his studies. 

In 1854, following the dictates of an ambitiousde- 
sire, and relying on the combined elements so neces- 
sary to the success of the early pioneer, energy and 
perseverance, he came to this county, arriving Nov. 
29, 1854, and entered on the arduous though pleas- 
ant task of establishing a home. Aided by that en- 1 
ergy and determination so early inculcated into his ^'; 
mind, he laboriously entered on the task of improv- 0^' 
ing his land, and now has 160 acres, the greater por- j^ 
tion well improved. He has held the office of (iji 
Supervisor two terms. Township Clerk two terms, ^ 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



391 



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Highway Commissioner two terms and Justice of 
the Peace eight years. 

Mr. Wright was married Sept. 5, 1855, to Hannah, 
daughter of Tartekis Eckles, and one child born to 
them, Charlotte N., is deceased. They have reared 
and educated two nieces of Mrs. Wright : Charlotte 
E. Robinson, born May 26, 1857, in North Star Town- 
ship; and Sophronia V. Eckles, born April 19, 1863, 
in Washington. Charlotte was taken by Mr. and 
Mrs. W. when ten months old. After receiving a 
good education, she taught school ten terms, previous 
to her marriage, which occurred April 19, i88t, to 
Fremont H. Cook, of North Star Township. So- 
phronia was taken at the age of six, and lived with 
Mr. and Mrs. W. until her marriage, Aug. 8, 1882, 
to Henry J. Goodhall, of Hamilton Township. Mrs. 
Wright is a regular attendant on the United Breth- 
ren Church. 



|Lohn Schmidt, Jr., merchant, Wheeler vil- 
^ lage, Wheeler Township, is a son of John 
and Christiana (Rascher) Schmidt. The 
former was a ta.x-gather and pass-master in 
^L Germany, where he died in 1S54; and the lat- 
ter died in Germany in 1849. John was born 
Nov. I, 1835, in the old country. At the age of 13, 
he came to America. Landing at New York, he first 
went to Toledo, where he spent 18 months learning 
the blacksmith's trade. The following summer he 
spent as mule driver on the Wabash Canal. He then 
enlisted in Co. D, 82d 111. Inf., and served three years. 
He was engaged in 18 different battles, and was 
wounded in the battle of Dallas, Ga. He received 
his discharge at Chicago, July 3, 1865. Thence he 
went to Dallas City, Hancock Co., 111., and from there 
he came to Michigan in March, 1866, locating on sec- 
tion 9, Wlieeler Township. He sold his place, 120 
acres, after improving 50 acres, building a good house 
and starting an orchard. When Mr. Schmidt settled 
on his place, there were no roads of any kind, and in 
after years he often went to St. Louis when the roads 
were almost impassible. In 1878, he entered upon 
mercantile life, and now has a large stock of dry 
goods, groceries and general merchandise. 

In 1858, he was united in marriage to a widow 
lady, Christiana Wolfrom, whose maiden name was 




Sibble, a native of Germany. They are the parents 
of one son — Edward, born in i860. Mr. Schmidt 
has been Constable and Drain Commissioner of his 
township. In former years, he has supported the 
Republican party; but now he is classed as an inde- 
pendent. 



lidam Gwinner, farmer, section 6, 

|j Township, was born near Darmstadt, Ger- 




Ilhaca 



many, June 24, 1821, and his father, John M. 
Gwinner, was a native of Frankfort, and emi- 
grated in 1830, with his family, to America, 
locating in Cumberland Co., Pa., and in 1833 
removing to Seneca Co., Ohio, where he died in 
1857. 

Mr. Adam Gwinner came to Gratiot County in 
March, 1882, where he now owns a valuable farm of 
77 acres, besides 14 acres within the corporation 
limits of Ithaca (known as Gwinner's addition). Mr. 
G. is a genius, being able to turn his hand to almost 
anything. Nov. 12, 1846, he married Miss Hannah, 
daughter of Austin McKinzie and a distant relative 
of McKinzie, the great Western explorer. She is a 
native of Carroll Co., Md. To Mr. and Mrs. G. have 
been born the following children : Philip, Melinda, 
Mandey, Mary E., Franklin, Esther and Emma. 



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i^ j^mery Crosby, farmer, section 22, Lafayette 
'm\4 Township, is a son of John and Harriet 
j!j|^' (Owen) Crosby, natives of Connecticut. 
-M^ The father was at an early age taken by his 
parents to .Mbany Co., N. Y., where he was 



reared, and where he farmed until his death in 
1867. The son was born in Albany, N. Y., Jan. 26, 
181 9. At the age of 19, he married Nancy M. Miller. 
In 1844 they removed to Wayne Co., Mich., where 
they lived three years, Mr. Crosby being engaged in 
teaching and preaching. In the same vocation, he 
lived at different times in Lenawee and Hillsdale 
Counties. In August, 1856, they removed to North 
Shade, Gratiot County, and located on 200 acres on 
section 32, arriving Aug. 16, 1856. He improved 20 
acres of this farm. 

In the spring of 1858, he was elected to the office 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



of Supervisor for North Shade Township. In the 
autumn of that year, he was nominated and elected 
County Clerk on the Republican ticket. He removed 
his family to Ithaca in February, 1859, and assumed 
the duties of his office. He opened the first set of 
Circuit Court books kept in Gratiot County. During 
all the sessions of court for the first year or more, he 
carried the books and files of the County Clerk's 
office to Alma and return on his back, a portion of 
the way through the wilderness. For a time after 
the expiration of his term of service, he served as 
Deinity Probate Clerk. 

His first wife was buried in the year 1S72. He 
was again married in 1877, to Elizabeth Morton, who 
was born in Huron Co., Ohio, Jan. 30, 1833, the 
daughter of Benj, K. and Catharine (States) Holiday, 
natives of New York and West Virginia respectively. 
Mr. Crosby had by his first wife two sons, James F. 
and Lott V.; and Mrs. Crosby has by a former mar- 
riage two daughters, Cindona M. and Mary S. In 
1873, Mr. and Mrs. Crosby removed from Ithaca to 
Lafayette Township on section 22, and now live on a 
farm of 200 acres owned by William P. Stacy. 

Mr. Crosby has been several times Superintendent 
of Schools in his township. He belongs to the 
Christian Church, and his wife to the Seventh-Day 
Adventists. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and 
the Masonic Order. Politically, he is a Republican. 







IjIggaUbert M. Shaw, farmer, section 31, Ithaca 
^a Townshiii, is a son of John C. and Matilda 
(Berry) Shaw. (See sketch of John C. Shaw.) 
He was born in Pittsfield Township, Washte- 
naw Co., Mich., Mar. 19, i860, and obtained a 
good education in the public schools. In 1877, 
he completed a course of commercial law and book- 
keeping at the Ann Arbor High School. For the en- 
suing few years, he assisted his father in running a 
dray line and in farming. He came to Gratiot County 
at the same time with his parents, and settled on sec- 
tion 31, Ithaca Township. 

July I, 1882, he was united in marriage to Emma, 
daughter of Richard and Margaret (Cooney)Ormerod, 
natives of Staffordshire, England, where she also was 
born, Feb. 19, 1864. Richard Ormerod was a black- 
smith by trade, and came to America about 1872, 




settling in Ohio. He died in that State Aug. 25, 
1878. Mrs. Omierod and daughter soon after came 
to this county and settled in Emerson Township. 
Mr. and Mrs. Shaw were married at Elm Hall, in this 
county, and now live on 30 acres deeded them by 
Mr. Shaw's father. They are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. He is a young man of intel- 
ligence and integrity. 



|t eorge E. Stone, farmer and stock-grower, 
a| section 32, New Haven Township, was 
^jg^TCj; 1^^^^ .^^ Milford Township, Defiance Co. 
C'r-f\ Ohio, June i, 1847. His parents, Norman 
and Electa (Spaulding) Stone, were natives- 
respectively of New York and Vermont, and 
of New England ancestry. Mr. Norman Stone was 
a farmer, and moved in 1844 to Ohio, as one of the 
first settlers in the northwestern part of the State. 
They are still living there, aged respectively 63 and 
60 years. 

It was in this settlement that the subject of this 
sketch passed his early boyhood. Being the eldest 
of the children, it fell to him to take a prominent part 
in the management of the new farm, which, amid 
the untoward obstacles of a frontier life, developed 
in him considerable executive ability. He secured 
withal a good common-school education. At the age 
of 20, Aug. 4, 1867, in his native township, he was 
married to Miss Matilda, a daughter of Daniel 
and Elizabeth (Clay) Gingery, natives respectively 
of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and of Pennsylvania 
Dutch ancestry. Mrs. Stone was born in Seneca Co., 
Ohio, Aug. 2, 1849, and was seven years of age when 
her parents moved with her to Defiance County. 
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. S. resided on a farm in 
Defiance County until the fall of 1874, when they 
came to this county and settled on 80 acres on sec- 
tion 32, New Haven Township. This tract was then 
a wild forest, but Mr. Stone has now 40 acres in 
good cultivation, and the place equipped with a fine 
residence, barn, etc. He is a thoroughgoing, practi- 
cal farmer. He is a minister in the Dunkard Church, 
of which religious body his wife is also an active 
member. In ]X)litical matters Mr. Stone is a decided 
Prohibitionist Republican, and also a Good Templar. 
Has held the offices of Justice of tiie Peace and 



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Township Superintendent of Schools. He has taught 
singing-school at times for 17 years. 

The family record is as follows : John H., born 
Aug. 24, 1868; Minnie P., Jan. 31, 1870; Electa A., 
July 9, 1875, and died Sept. 11, 1877 ; and Ira A., 
born July 28, 1880. 




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ohn F. Shaw, farmer, section 31, Ithaca 
Township, was born in Pittsfield, Washte- 
' naw Co., Mich., July 29, 1859, and is a son 
of John C. and Nancy Ann (Bowen) Shaw, na- 
tives of New England and Ontario, Can., re- 
spectively. When five years old, he went with 
his parents to Hamburg, Livingston County, and 
later to Ann Arbor. In the latter city, he attended 
the ward schools for six years. After completing his 
course of study, he assisted his father in running a 
dray line for three years. In May, 1878, he came 
with his father to this county, and lived on his farm 
/N near Ithaca. 

Dec. 4, 1 88 1, in North Star Township, he was 
united in marriage to Eliza, daughter of John and 
Ann (Best) Humphrey, natives of England. They 
were farmers, and emigrated to Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
where Eliza was born Feb. 25, 1863. Two years 
later, she came with her parents to North Star Town- 
ship, where she grew up and was educated. After 
marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw commenced keeping 
house, and made their home on 30 acres on tiie east- 
ern half of his father's farm, which was given to them 
Nov. 12, 1881. Here they are making a comfortable 
residence. Mrs. Shaw is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. Mr. Shaw is an energetic and 
industrious farmer, and is popular among his friends. 
They have one son, Benjamin Franklin, born Dec. 
22, i: 

.ames G. Brady, farmer, section 6, Pine 

it" River Township, is a son of Jose|)h and 

Martha (McKee) Brady, and was born in 

Seneca Co., Ohio, June 13,1836. His father 

and mother were born in Pennsylvania. They 

first fixed their residence in Seneca Co., Ohio, 

and, later in life, came to Michigan, and settled in 

Gratiot County. In 1879, they Jenioved to Mary- 

?■ land, where the father died, April 21, 1880. The 




mother returned to Gratiot County after his death, 
where she still resides. 

They had five daughters and two sons : James G., 
Mana, Barbara, Samuel S., Mary J., Sarah, Alice J. 

Mr. Brady came to Gratiot County in June, 1855, 
and bought 80 acres of wild land in Pine River Town- 
ship, on which he has since resided and now has 60 
acres of tillable land. 

During the war of the Rebellion, Mr. Brady 
became a soldier and was mustered into the service 
of the United States Feb. r3, 1862. He had enlisted 
in the 14th Mich. Vol. Inf, and was in active service 
until the close of the war, serving three years and 
one month and receiving an honorable discharge. 
Among other engagements he participated in the 
siege of Corinth, Stone River, and the march to the 
sea with Sherman, taking part in all the actions ot 
that campaign. Mr. Brady belongs to the Masonic 
fraternity and is an adherent to the National Green- 
back party. 

He was married in Pine River Township, Aug. 27, 
i860, to Helen, daughter of Silas and Martha J. 
Biggs. Mrs. Brady was born in Branch Co., Mich., 
Dec. 27, 1846; and her parents are natives of the 
State of New York. She died Jan. 30, 1874, leaving 
four children : James S., born Aug. r5, 1861 ; Mar- 
tha J., Jan. 10,1866; Barbara E., July 29, 1867; 
Josephine H., Dec. 19, 1873. 



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i"U^artin Kidder, farmer, owning 35 acres on 
^ the east half of the southwest quarter of 



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' section 21, and also 40 acres, being the 
-< \ N. W. quarter of the N. VV. quarter of section 
28, Bethany Tp., is a native of Nashua, N. H., 
where he was born Oct. 6, 1840. His parents 
were Nathan and Oriine (Simons) Kidder. When 
nine years of age he lost his father. He then moved 
to Elsted, N. H., remaining there six years, then was 
at Yonkers, N. Y., three years and then moved to 
New Haven, Conn. His father was a teamster most 
of his life, and died in Nashua. 

In Yonkers the subject of this sketch learned the 
trade of machinist, which he followed until the out- 
break of the war, when. May 23, 1861, he enlisted in 
Co. F, 4th Conn. Vol Inf; three months afterward 
he was transferred to the ist Heavy Artillery. He 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 







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was in the army service three years, participating in 
the engagements at Fair Oaks, Yorktown, White Oak 
Swamp, Malvern Hill, under Gen. Butler, Drury's 
Bluff, and in a large number of skirn.ishes. He was 
honorably discharged in the field near Richmond. 

Shortly after returning home to New Haven he 
went to Watertown, Conn., and worked on a farm 
seven years; then, in 187 1, he came to St. Louis, 
Mich., and purchased a farm of 1 12 acres, in Lafay- 
ette Township, on section 4, but did not take up his 
abode there. He sold it seven years later. In 1872 
he bought 40 acres on section 28, Bethany Township, 
and in 1877 he purchased land where he now re- 
sides, on section 21. He has cleared a portion of 
this land, put it in a fine tillable condition, erected 
good buildings, etc. Mr. Kidder is an influential 
man in his community, and is at present a Justice of 
the Peace. 

Sept. 29, 1869, in Watertown, Conn., Mr. Kidder 
was married to Miss Mary J., daughter of David and 
Maria J. (Hubbell) Munn, who was horn in Connect- 
icut, June 18, 185 i. Their two children are : Nathan, 
born in St. Louis, April 12, 1875, and Wealthy, born 
also in St. Louis, Dec. 10, 1877. An ancestor, Sam- 
uel Munn, moved from Milford, Conn., to ancient 
Woodbury, previous to 1680. His children were: 
Jane, Amy, Mary, Daniel and Samuel. John, the 
son of Daniel, had ten children. Of the third gen- 
eration, Abel was born in 1758. David L., of the 
fourth generation, was born in 1794. David S., of 
the 5th generation and father of Mrs. Kidder, was 
born in 1826. 




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^aniel C. Mills, farmer, section 15, Pine Riv- 
er Township, was born Oct. 9, 1835, in the 
Iv-/ State of New York. His parents, Cyrus and 
Marilla (Chase) Mills, were also natives of 
the same State, and afterward removed to Penn- 
sylvania. They went thence to Ohio, where the 
father died, in Medina County. The mother died in 
Stark County, Ohio. 

Mr. Mills remained with or near his parents until 
he was 25 years old, obtaining his education in early 
life at the common schools. He made his first ac- 
quaintance with Gratiot County in August, 1854, and 
remained here more than a year, returning then to 



Ohio, where he engaged 12 years in farming. He 
then sold his farm, and, in the spring of 1866, again 
came to Gratiot County and bought 40 acres of land 
on section 15. It was in a wild state and is now 
nearly all improved and cultivated. Mr. Mills is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity and belongs to the 
Republican party. 

He was married Sept. 15, 1859, in Medina Co., 
0,to Esther, daughter of Daniel and Esther (Mitch- 
ell) Lepley. Mrs. Mills was born April 16, 1842, in 
Ohio. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania. 
Of four children born to her and her husband, two 
survive : Perlie A. and James. The deceased chil- 
dren were Frankie and Willie, who died in infancy. 
Mrs. Mills is a member of the Disciples' Church. 




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?^fl't'ohn C. Shaw, farmer, section 31, Ithaca 

Townshiii, was born in Durham, England, 

Feb. 19, 1826, and is the son of William 

and Mary (Camcel) Shaw, natives of Yorkshire 

and Lincolnshire respectively. William Shaw 

^ was engaged in the cutlery shops of Sheffield, 
England, for a number of years. In 1831, he emi- 
grated to .\merica, and died in Kingston, Canada, of 
the cholera, one year later. John remained with his 
mother until 17 years old, when he came to Detroit 
and engaged as errand boy with Mr. George Dufiield. 
He was thus thrown amongst a family of excellent 
breeding and high moral and intellectual qualities, 
and the impressions made on his youthful mind pro- 
duced a most beneficial effect. The next few years 
were spent partly on a farm in Canada, and partly 
on the lakes. 

March 3, 1846, at Troy, Oakland Co., Mich , he 
was married to Matilda Berry, a native of New York, 
and the adopted daughter of Charles M. Howard, of 
Detroit, Mich. She was born in 1824, and died in 
June, 1849, three years after her marriage, leavin ; 
two children to comfort her husband: Mary W., now 
of Detroit, and Charles H., now of North Star Town- 
ship, this County. He was a second time married 
in Wayne Co., Mich., late in the fall of 1849, to Nancy 
Ann Bowen, a native of Canada. Being left an 
orphan when quite young, she knew little of her par- 
ents and relatives. She came to this State when 16 
years old, and lived in Wayne County until her mur- 



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riage. One year after that event, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw 
went to Ann Arbor and then to Adrian. Their next 
move, in 185 i, took them to Monroe City, "where they 
lived three years. They then went to Ypsilanti, and 
lived there also three years, Mr. Shaw being janitor 
of the union school at that place. He then worked 
a small farm in Pittsfield, Washtenaw County, for 
nine years, when he went to Livingston County and 
purchased a farm of 200 acres. He cultivated this 
farm until April, 1869, when he went to Ann Arbor, 
and was a drayman and coal dealer until 1878. He 
then came to this county and purchased 98 acres 
adjoining the village plat of Ithaca, 40 acres being 
within the corporation limits. Only four acres had 
been improved at that time, but 60 acres are now in 
a state of thorough cultivation. He has deeded 30 
acres to each of his two married sons, who live on the 
place, and otherwise disposed of six a'^.res, so that he 
retains 32 acres in his own name. 

By his second marriage, Mr. Shaw has six children, 
as follows: William A., born July 18, 1850; Matilda 
B., Feb. 9, 1853; Elizabeth, Oct. 13, 1854; Eva M., 
Sept. 12, 1851 ; John F., July 29, 1858; Albert M., 
March 19,1860. Mrs. Shaw and four of her children 
are connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Mr. Shaw is a Republican in political matters. Dur- 
ing his brief residence in this county, he has by his 
progressive spirit and upright habits won the esteem 
of all his fellow citizens. 



''ff^valmore Hoyt, farmer, section 19, Pine River 
./iji 'i' Township, was born Sept. 23, 1826, in Mon- 
S^s^'iv jQg Qq^ |yf_ Y., and is the son of Calvin and 
Sally (Holmbeck) Hoyt. His father was a na- 
tive oi Massachusetts, and his mother was born 
in Pennsylvania. Until the age of 20 Mr. 
Hoyt remained under the control of his parents. 
They had removed to Jackson Co., Mich., five years 
before and continued there to reside for 18 years. 

Mr. Hoyt came to Gratiot County in January, 1855, 
and bought 320 acres of land in Pine River and Se- 
ville Townships. He sold that part of liis estate 
lying in the latter, and has now a snug farm of 160 
acres, with 100 acres improved and cultivated. In 
political affinity Mr. Hoyt is a Democrat. He has 
held the office of Justice of the Peace one term, and 



that of Highway Commissioner three years. He has 
served as Township Treasurer five terms and held 
various other offices in his township and school dis- 
trict. 

He was married in Calhoun Co., Mich., Jan. 26, 
1858, to Ann E., daughter of Frederick and Sarepta 
(Fox) Wright. She was born in Jackson Co., Mich., 
June 26, 1840. Eight children have been born of 
this marriage: Emma S., Dec. 5, 1861 (died Feb. 20, 
1884); Calvin B., Nov. 8, 1863; Dudley M., Sept. 
23, 1865 ; Millicent A., Aug. 11, 1868 (died Aug. 9, 
1870); George V., Oct. 8, 1870; Charlotte E., Dec. 
16, 1873; Frank L., July 16, 1878; Edwin S., July 
13, 1883. 

The pcrrtrait of Mr. Hoyt maybe found on another 
page. He is a leading, representative agriculturist 
and belongs to a family more intimately connected 
with the earlier history of Gratiot County than any 
other within its limits. 







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illiam W. Comstock, farmer, section 19, 
Emerson Township, was born in Leyden, 
Lewis Co., N. Y., May 18, 1823, and is 
the son of E. H. and Lucy (Jenks) Com- 
stock, natives of New England and of New 
England descent. The father was proprietor 
of a large dairy farm in Lewis County, and worked 
it until his death, at the age of 74. The mother 
lived to the advanced age of 93. Until 20 years 
old, William worked on his father's farm and at- 
tended the district schools. In May, 1843, he came 
to this State and settled in Hillsdale County. 

He was united in marriage, in Hillsdale County, 
June 14, 1846, to Margaret M., daughter of William 
and Mary (Thurston) Carothers, natives of New 
York, and of Scotch-Irish and English extraction, re- 
spectively. She was born in Yates Co., N. Y., Aug. 
26, 1829. Her mother died four years later, and at 
the age of 10 she was adopted by Robert Mitchell, 
of Geneva, Ontario Co., N. Y. Here she remained 
as one of the family until the fall of 1845, when with 
her father she came to Hillsdale County, this State, 
and settled in Wheatland Township, where she 
lived until her marriage. Fifteen months after their 
marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Comstock returned to their 
native State, and settled in the vicinity of his birth- 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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place. In the winter of 1854-5, they came to this 
county and settled in Washington Township. Oct. 
I, 1855, they started the Ithaca Hotel, at Ithaca, 
when there were but two business houses in the" place. 
He first erected a hewed-log house for a hotel, but 
put up a frame building as soon as he could get 
sawed lumber. A part of that building still remains, 
as an attachment to the Retan House. He cut the 
trees from the ground on which the hotel was built. 
A few years later, he erected a three-storj' hotel on 
the lot now occupied by the Desermia House. This 
burned, and be erected the present Desermia House. 
In the summer of 1877 he removed to his farm two 
miles north of Ithaca. Here he now owns 240 acres 
of good land, with 100 acres well improved. 

Mr. and Mrs. Comstock have had a family of 
eight children, four of whom are living : Nettie H., 
born Dec. 6, 1847 ; Addie A., Jan. 15, 1850; Eugenie 
L., Oct. 4, 1853; Wallace W., Jan. 30, i860. The 
deceased are: Clarence E., born May 15, 1852, died 
Sept. 5, 1853; Clarence W., born July 30, 1855, died 
Sept. 16, 1858; Ralph T., born Sept. 29, 1862, died 
Aug. 2, 1865 ; Carlton H., born Sept. 22, 1866, died 
Oct. 27, 1873. 

Mr. Comstock was the first Supervisor of Wash- 
ington Township, and has been Justice of the Peace, 
Clerk and Highway Commissioner in Emerson Town- 
ship. In politics, he is a staunch Republican. He 
started the first Republican paper in this county, 
called the Gratiot A''e-ieis. He is a member of Ithaca 
Lodge, No. 123, F. & A. M., Ithaca Chapter, No. 70, 
R. A. M., Ithaca Council, No. ^3, R. & S. M., and 
St. John's Commandery, No. 24, K. T., at St. John's. 



•homas J. Tann, resident of the village of 
Elwell, Seville Township, is a son of Will- 
iam and Hannah (Jenkins) Tann, natives 
of the city of London, England. William 
Tann was a merchant while in England, and 
came with his wife to the United States in 
They landed at New York city, and, railroads 
being then unknown, proceeded to Albany in a 
schooner. Thence they went shortly to Pittsford, 
N. Y., where Mr. T. followed the pursuit of agricult- 
ure until his death, in May, 1865. Mrs. T. died in 
1825. 
The subject of this biographical sketch was born 




April 27, 1813, in the great city of London, and, 
coming to America with his parents, he lived with 
them until 21 years of age. Since then he has been 
employed in running a steam engine, in mercantile 
pursuits and in farming. He came to Oakland Co., 
Mich., in 1839, and remained in that county until 
1846. Going to New York State he made that his 
home until 1854, when he came to Gratiot County 
and located a tract of 80 acres of land on sections 
35, Seville, and 2, Sumner. He still owns that place, 
purchased 30 years ago, without any financial incum- 
brance whatever. He received a duplicate of the 
land from Ionia, and two years later a deed from the 
Government, signed by James Buchanan. He has 
now 40 acres improved and suitable farm buildings. 
April 27, 1839, he married Mrs. Sarah C. Lathrop, 
a widow, and a daughter of William Truman. She 
was born in 1802 and died in this county in 1876, 
leaving two sons and a daughter: George J., Charles 
W. and Emily H. (wife of Charles G. Phelps, a mer- 
chant of Elwell). Mr. Tann was elected County 
Coroner in 1861 and 1862. He has been Justice of 
the Peace two years, and is now School Inspector. 
He is a Notary Public, appointed by Gov. Jerome, 
and re-appointed by Gov. Begole. He belongs to 
the Seventh-Day Adventists, and to the Patrons ot 
Husbandry. He is politically a staunch Greenbacker. 




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Tohn W. Mouser, resident at Ithaca, was 
^;- born March 31, 1832, in Virginia. Daniel 
"'*' and Elizabeth (Hahen) Mouser, his parents, 
were born in the same State and were there 
engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. In the 
year 1846 the family removed to Ohio and re- 
sided some time in Seneca County, removing thence 
to Wood County, where they remained about ten 
years, going thence to Williams County, where the 
death of the father occurred, Sept. 11, 1877. The 
mother died in 1842, in Virginia. 

The first important event in the record of Mr. 
Mouser was his marriage, which occurred Feb. 28, 
1855, with Hannah, daughter of Jacob and Sarah 
(Clemens) Landis. The father of Mrs. Mouser be- 
longed to the agricultural community, and was also 
interested in stock-rearing. They went from Penn- 
sylvania to Columbiana Co., Ohio, and afterward 



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moved to Wood County, in the same State. Later 
on they went to Indiana, but not long after returned 
to Toledo, Ohio. They are both deceased. 

Mr. Mouser remained in Ohio after his marriage 
until 1857, when he removed with his family to Isa- 
bella Co., Mich. He located a farm in the unbroken 
wilderness, cutting his road thither tlirough the 
forest. His family were among the first wliite settlers 
of the county, and he aided in every possible way in 
advancing the general interests and prosperity. 
Among other pioneer experiences was the cutting of 
the road from his farm to Indian Mills, near where 
Mt. Pleasant now stands. In 1872 he came to 
Gratiot County and located on section 13, Newark 
Township, on 80 acres of land. Of this tract about 
70 acres are under good improvements, and a fine 
large barn, which Mr. Mouser built in 1875, is a 
noticeable addition to his valuable farm. 

In 1862 Mr. Mouser became a Union soldier. He 
enlisted in Co. C, Eighth Mich. Vol. Inf , and was 
in actual service in three engagements. He received 
final discharge March 14, 1863, in Convalescent 
Camp, in Virginia. In political faith Mr. Mouser is 
an uncompromising Republican. He and his wife 
are members of the United Brethren Church, and 
are zealous workers in its interest. They are the 
parents of six children : James L., Sarah A., Daniel 
J., Mary L., Lincoln J. and George G. 






almon Yerington, insurance agent, resident 
at Alma, was born in Rollin, Lenawee Co., 




Mich., Jan. rs, 1842, and is the son of Will- 
iam and Amanda (Bennett) Yerington. The 
)arents were natives of Connecticut, and after 
their marriage settled in Lenawee County. In 
r866 they came to Gratiot County and fixed tlieir 
residence at Alma, where the father died, Sei)t. 11, 
1877, and the mother passed to her home of un- 
broken rest and peace, Jan. 25, 1875. Nine children 
were born to them, three of whom died in infancy. 
Almon, Stephen D., Gertude, Mary E., George H. 
and Charles W. lived to years of maturity. 

Mr. Yerington was 1 9 years old when the war of 



the rebellion broke out. He had been reared under 
influences which fostered the principles he inherited 
of love of freedom and unity of country, and in 
May, 1861, he enlisted in the Third Mich. Vol. In- 
fantry. Tiie regiment was mustered into the service 
of the State in the same month, and into that 
of the United States in June following. Mr. Yering- 
ton was discharged in August, 1862, after 14 months' 
service. Among other engagements of less moment 
in which he was a participant were the first battle of 
Bull's Run and the fights of the Peninsula Campaign 
under McClellan. In December, 1862, he again en- 
listed as a soldier for the Union, in the Sixth Mich. 
Cav., and was detailed for service in Gen. Custer's 
Brigade Band. He was with Sheridan in the Valley 
Campaign, and was present at the surrender of Gen. 
Lee at Appomattojc Court-House. He served in Gen. 
Custer's command during the remainder of the war, 
and when the Brigade was ordered to Wyoming Ter- 
ritory, on an expedition against the Indians, Mr. 
Yerington was detailed a member of the Post Band 
at Fort Leavenworth. He was mustered out of ser- 
vice Oct. 13, 1865. 

In the spring of 1866, Mr. Yerington settled in 
Alma and opened a drug store — the first establish- 
ment in that avenue of trade in Gratiot County. He 
continued its management vmtil 1875, when he sold 
out. In the spring of 1876 lie was elected Justice 
of the Peace and has since continued the incumbent 
of the office. In 1875 he began to operate in insur- 
ance, in which he has been prosperous to a satisfac- 
tory degree. In political sentiment and affiliation 
he is a Republican. In 1867 he was appointed 
Postmaster of Alma by President Johnson and filled 
the position with honor 12 years. He has officiated 
several years as Village Clerk, and since he became 
resident at Alma has been intimately identified with 
its interests and prosperity. He is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity and belongs to William Mover 
Post, No. 152, G. A. R. 

He was married May 21, 1871, at Ahna, to Mary 
B., daughter of William and Lois A. (Peckham) 
Moyer. She was born March 21, 1853, in Oneida 
Co., N. Y. Her parents were natives respectively of 
Pennsylvania and New York, and were among the 
pioneer settlers of .Mma. The latherdied in March, 
1869; the mother is an inmate of the house of her 
daughter. 



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jilton M. Lewis, farmer on section 3, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of James H. and 
'''^ Sophronia (Hodges) Lewis, natives of 

New York. They came from New York to 
X this State, and settled in Hillsdale County, 
I where they reared a family of six children. 
Milton, the eldest son, was horn in Hillsdale Co., 
Mich., Sept. 29, 1850. He received his education in 
the common schools, and remained at home until 19 
years old, assisting his father while not at school, 
having come to Gratiot County with his parents when 
five years old. 

At the age of 19 he settled on a farm in Fulton 
Township given him by his father. After a year and 
a half, he sold and bought 60 acres on section three, 
where he now resides. He has 40 acres under cul- 
tivation. 

April I, 1870, in North Star Township, he married 
Clara A., daughter of W. W. and Cornelia Baker. 
She was born in Ohio, Oct. 10, 1852. This union 
has been blessed with three children, but one of 
whom, William W., now survives. One died in in- 
fancy, and Herbert H. died when three years old. 
In the spring of 1883, Mr. Lewis was chosen Clerk 
of Fulton Township; and he has also held the vari- 
ous school offices in his district. Politically, he is a 
National. He and wife are members of the Chris- 
tian Church. 



mMf eremiah Brodebeck, farmer on section 30, 
,_8aili' Fulton Township, is a son of John K. and 
-■^■>'''* Elizabeth Brodebeck, natives of Pennsyl- 
vania. They first settled in the Keystone 
yi State, after marriage, and afterwards removed 
to Morrow Co., Ohio, where they lived until their 
death. Jeremiah, the fifth son of a family of seven 
sons and four daughters, was born in Morrow Co., 
Ohio, June 26, 1832. 

He received a common-school education, and re- 
mained at home until 24 years old. He came to this 
county in January, 1859, and bought 80 acres of wild 
land in North Star Township, where he lived till 
March, 1882. Selling out, he then purchased 100 

1.^ .j^ 




acres in Fulton Township, where he now resides. 
He owns 190 acres, of which 145 are cleared. 

Oct. I, 1847, in Morrow Co., Ohio, he married Miss 
Sarah J., daughter of James and Margaret (White) 
Baggs, natives of Virginia. She was born in Mor- 
row County, May 3, 1836. Mr. and Mrs. B. have 
one son, Isaiah W,, born Oct. 8, 1858. Mr. B. is a 
progressive farmer, and much interested in blooded 
stock. He supports the Democratic party. 

Sept. 8, 1864, he enlisted in the 178th Ohio Vol. 
Inf., and he served in the Union army about 1 1 
months, generally on dstached service. He was 
honorably discharged at Raleigh, N. C. 



if^ii^ eorge D. Barton, lumberman, residing at 
i^A Alma, was born in Rockinirham, Vt., Tan. 
3~ 10, 1836. His parents, Jeremiah and Sa- 



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rah (Wetherby) Barton, were also natives of *^ 
the Green Mountain State, where they married, /iv 
lived and died. e3 

Mr. Barton, after obtaining an elementary educa- 
tion at the common schools, pursued a course of 
study at the academy at Saxton's River in his native 
State, and subsequently attended the Green Moun- 
tain Liberal Institute at Woodstock, Vt. After the 
completion of his education he engaged as a farm 
assistant with his father until he was 26 years old. 
In 1862 he went to Chester, Vt., where he was in- 
terested in agriculture eight years. At the e.xpiration 
of that period he engaged in trade there, which he 
pursued eight years. In 1879 he disposed of all his ^ 
interests in his native State and, in March of that r.'' ' 
year, he came to Michigan and settled in Alma. He 
engaged in mercantile affairs with A. W. Wright, un- 
der the firm name of George D. Barton & Co. After 
operating in this relation three years he sold his in- 
terests to Mr. Wright. His next business venture 
was in lumbering with Mr. Wright and John O. 
Lumsdon, the concern operating as George D. Barton ^K 
& Co., which constitutes his present business connec- 
tion. The daily products of their mill comprise 
35,000 feet of hard wood or 50,000 feet of pine lum- 



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Mr. Barton was first married in Chester, Yt., Nov. 
4, 1861, to Lucy A., daughter of Henry and Lucy 
(Lee) Morris. The father was a native of Vermont, 



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the motlier of Massachusetts. The daughter was 
born Oct. 31, 1841, at Chester. Mr. Barton was 
again married Jan. 12, 1881, to Ehnira C, daughter 
of Charles and Sylvia (Peck) Esty. The latter were 
natives of Vermont. Mrs. Barton was born Jan. 12, 
1S60, at Ludlow, Vt. One child, Fanny S., was 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Barton, Aug. 2, 1882. 

Mr. Barton belongs to the Masonic fraternity and 
in political sentiment is an independent Republican. 



KLamnel C. Robinson, farmer and County 
Drain Commissioner, resident on section 
\V/^ 24, New Haven Township, is the fourth son 
and seventh child of Stephen H. and Barbara 
(Noss) Robinson, and was born in Wayne Co , 
Ohio, Dec. 17, 1845. The elder Robinson was 
of Irish-English descent, and followed the life of a 
farmer. He died in Paulding Co., Ohio, June 27, 
1875, at the age of 72 years. His mother was a 
native of Cumberland Co., Pa., and died at her 
home in Paulding County, Oct. g, 1882. 

When seven years old Samuel accompanied his 
parents to Paulding County, where they located upon 
a new farm. Consequently during his early youth 
he encountered much hard work in helping to de- 
velop the farm and build the new house. He 
enjoyed only the advantages of the common schools 
in which to obtain an education. When the call for 
volunteers was made by President Lincoln to defend 
the Nation's honor and the Union, four sons left the 
home of Stephen Robinson, among whom was Sam- 
uel. At this time he was rejected on account of iiis 
tender age. In the fall of 1862, however, being then 
only 16 years old, he entered the service as a team- 
ster. At the expiration of one year he returned 
home, and a few months later enlisted as a private in 
the company stationed at Carlisle (Pa.) Barracks. He 
was shortly afterwards discharged on account of dis- 
ability, not being considered sufficiently strong for 
the duties of the standing army. He, however, at 
once enlisted in the 2d Ohio Heavy Anillery, com- 
manded by Col. H. Gibson, of the Army of the Cum- 
berland. This regiment was kept in reserve, and 
thus Mr. Robinson saw ro particularly active service, 
although he was in several sharp skirmishes. In 
1865, while in the service, he received a sunstroke, 




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which has since prevented him from engaging as 
actively and energetically in his work as his nature 
prompts him. 

Mr. Robinson was honorably discharged from his 
country's service Aug. 23, 1865, returned to his home 
in Paulding County and became manager and tiller 
of his father's farm. During this time, however, he 
attended school preparatory to teaching. Two years 
later he purchased a small farm in the same county, 
and, Oct. 27, 1867, united his fortunes with those of 
Miss Almeda E. Cushman, daughter of John and 
Nancy (Russell) Cushman, natives of Ohio, and 
farmers by occupation. The father died in Pennsyl- 
vania in 1853, and the mother remains with her 
children and is 72 years of age. 

Mrs. Robinson was born Sept. 8, 1844, and resided 
with her parents until she was 16 years of age, at 
which time, having completed her education, she 
began teaching school. This she followed for i 
terms. After Mr. and Mrs. Robinson's marriage 
they settled down upon their new farm, and he began 
teaching, which profession he followed till 1873. In 
the spring of that year he came to Gratiot County 
and located on section 24, New Haven Township. 
He at first purchased 40 acres of land, and subse- 
quently sold it and bought 80 acres on another part 
of the same section. It was then timber land, but 
he now has 30 acres well improved, with a comfort- 
able farm-house on it. To Mr. and Mrs. Robinson 
have been bom four children: Lily May, born April 
18, 1869; Ray C, Jan. 24, 1871; Roy F., Oct. 26, 
1874; Nellie H., Oct. 13 1876. 

Mr. Robinson was elected as County Drain Com- 
missioner in 1882, and re-elected in 1884. He has 
also served three years as Supervisor, and filled all 
the minor ofificea of his township. Politically he is a 
staunch Republican. 



apoleon Bradley, proprie:or of the Com 
f merciil Hotel of Riverdale, Seville Town- 
ship, is a son of William and Harriet (Fisk) 
Bradley, natives respectively of Connecticut 
and Vermont. The father has followed the busi- 
ness of dealing in real-estate, and now resides ^ 
in the State of New York, aged 76. His wife is 69 '^^ 



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daughters, all alive and in good health, and 17 grand- 
children. Remarkable to state, there has never yet 
been a deatli in the family. 

The subject of this biography was born June 20, 
1838, in SuUivan Co., N. Y., and at the age of 12 
went to Montgomery and attended academy for six 
months. Then he studied three years at the State 
Normal School, and a year and a half at Woodbury, 
Ct. For the ensuing two years he was engaged in 
the wholesale dry-goods store owned by Conklin, 
Shepard & Co., and then he lived at home until the 
breaking out of the civil war. He enlisted in the 
first company raised in Sullivan County, which was 
made Co. H, 28th New York Vol. Inf. He was sent 
to the Army of the Potomac under Gen. Banks, and 
fought at Winchester, Cedar Mountain, Rappahan- 
nock, Antietam and Chancellorsville. At the last 
named place he was taken prisoner and was sent to 
the famous Libby Prison. Three weeks later he was 
paroled. His regiment was in the service two years 
and was then sent home and discharged at Lockport, 
N. Y. In June, 1863, he came home and remained 
a year. 

In 1864 he was united in marriage to Harriet Bar- 
ton, born April 17, i84r, and the daughter of William 
and Jane Barton, of the State of New York. Her 
father is dead, died in the year 1878, but her mother 
still lives, in the State of New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bradley are the parents of three children : William 
A. J., Alvin N. and Marion H. Mr. B. is at present 
Deputy Sheriff of Gratiot County, appointed by Sheriff 
Peet. He is a member of Riverdale Lodge, No. 343, 
I. O. O. F., Riverdale Lodge, No. 343, I. O. G. T., 
and Col. Ely Post, No. 158, G. A. R. Politically he 
is a Prohibitionist. 



ornelius A. Franks, farmer on section 

4l''V^ 19, Fulton Township, is a son of George 

%}^ S. and Barbara A. Franks (see sketch of 

fj» George S. Franks); and was born in Wayne 

, Co., Ohio, March 19, 1843. He received his 

education in the common schools, and also attended 

the Edinburgh Academy, located in Wayne County. 

With the exception of six months, he lived at home 

until 23 years of age. In 1869, he bought 100 acres 

of wild land on section i, North Shade, 25 acres of 



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which are improved. He has not lived in North 
Shade, however, having continued to live on his 
father's farm until the present time. 

Oct. 29, 1864, in Wayne Co., Ohio, he was married 
to Miss Mary J., daughter of Armor and Jane (Orr) 
Anderson, natives of Ireland and Ohio. Mrs. Franks 
was born in Crawford Co., Ohio, Aug. 21, 1842. She 
and her husband have a family of four, Sylvester A., 
George A., Winifield S. and Annie J. Mrs. F. is a 
member of the Presbyterian Church. Politically, 
Mr. F. is a Democrat. 



illiam H. Brown, farmer, section 30, Em- 
erson Township, was born in Royalton, 
Niagara Co., N. Y., Dec. 26, 1836, and 
was the son of Captain Robert and Ann M. 
(Noyes) Brown, natives of Rhode Island. 
\ Capt. Brown was most of his life a sea captain, *^ 
and died in Royalton, N. Y., in 1858. His widow 
still lives, in Niagara County. Much of her life was 
spent in teaching in the village school. 

The subject of this sketch passed his boyhood on 
his father's farm in his native county, and then gave 
his time to preparing for teaching. Attending the 
common schools and the college at Lockport, N. Y., 
he engaged in teaching at the age of 20. He was 
subsecjuently taken with inflammatory rheumatism, 
which made him an invalid for eight years. 

After regaining his health he was married, in Roy- 
alton, to Malvina B., daughter of William and Jane 
(Searles) Morey, natives of Rensselaer Co., N. Y., of 
Welsh extraction. She was born near Lockport, N. 
Y., Oct. 24, 1837. At the age of 20 she began 
teaching, which she followed successfully till her 26th 
year, when she was married to Mr. Brown. They 
settled on a farm in their native county, teaching win- 
ters, and in the early spring of 1878 emigrated to this 
State and county, and settled on a farm of 80 acres 
in Emerson Township, which he had purchased the •^ 
previous year, after selling his New York farm. Since j 
coming here, he has come to be considered one of | 
the most skillful and progressive farmers in the 
county. 

Mr. and Mrs. Brown have had seven children, 
of whom five survive : Alice May, born July 13, ~V 
1870; George N., born Jan. 31 1874; Reuben S. jS-j,^ 



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born Oct. 16,1875; Robert H., born May 8, 1877; 
Willie E., born May 8, 1882. Barker M. and Bina 
M., twins, were born Jan. 10, 1866, and died, the 
former March 13, 1870, and the latter, June 16, 1867. 
Mrs. Brown is an active member of the Baptist 
Church, while Mr. Brown is a member of the Uni- 
versalist Church, of which he was a Trustee for 11 
years. Politically, he is a Democratic Prohibitionist. 



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icajah. Wood, farmer, section 17, Pine 
River Township, was born Oct. 10, 1848, 
'"^ in Pennsylvania. His parents, William and 
Hannah (Hartley) Wood, were also natives 
of the Keystone State. Mr. Wood spent the 
years of his minority under the care of his par- 
ents, assisting on the farm and attending school. In 
1865, he came to Isabella Co., Mich., and remained 
until the spring of 187 i, purchasing 40 acres in 1870. 
In 1877, he bought 40 acres of land on section 1 1, 
Pine Piver Township, and in September, 1882, he 
bought 80 acres, where he established his homestead 
and has since resided. Of the first purchase he has 
25 acres under cultivation, and, of the last, 55 acres 
are unproved and under tillage. He belongs to the 
I^ ) Republican party in political connection. 

Mr. Wood was married Oct. 10, 1869, in Isabella 
County, to Rosa, daughter of John and Matilda Van- 
derbeek. 

Mrs. Wood was born Sept. 22, 1854, in the State of 

New York. Lillie, Leslie and Minnie are the names 

4s of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wood. 



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>U The parents are members of the Disciples' Church. 

~,ef>^a>i\ orace B Angell, farmer, section 17, Pine 
River Township, was born Aug. 21,1853, 
in Lyon Township, Oakland Co., Mich., and 
is a son of Albert and Annie (Doane) Angell, 
natives respectively of New York and Michigan. 
Soon after their marriage, they located in Oak- 
land County, and, later, in Wayne County, removing 
thence to Clinton County, where the father now 
resides. The mother died July 14, 1877. 

Mr. Angell obtained his education at the common 





schools and also at the select schools at Maple Rap- 
ids, where he was a pupil neariy three years, and at 
the age of 17 left home to make his own unaided way 
in the world. He was employed in a mill and as a 
farm laborer for about three years. He was engaged 
four successive winter seasons in teaching, and in 
1873 he came to Gratiot County and bought his farm 
of 160 acres in Pine River Township. He afterward 
sold 80 acres and lias 70 acres of the remainder un- 
der advanced cultivation. Since 1879, he has bred 
blooded sheep, and now he has also thorough-bred 
cattle. Mr. Angell is a Republican in political faith. 
He was married April 10, 1879, in Oakland Co., 
Mich., to Clara E., daughter of John and Susan 
(Spinning) Travis. Mrs. Angell was born in Jordan, 
Onondaga Co., N. Y., Jan 22, i860. Her parents 
were also natives of the Empire State. Annie M. and 
Ira D. are the two children now included in the fam- 
ily circle. Mrs. Angell is a member of the Baptist 
Church. 



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B. Vliet, farmer, sec. 13, Pine River 
- Tp., was born Dec. 13, 1837, in New Jer- 
sey, of which State his parents, Nathan 
and Sarah ( Jewell) Vliet, were also natives. 
They resided there some years after their mar- 
riage, and removed to Oakland Co., Mich., 
where they remained until 1855- In that year they 
transferred their family and interests to Gratiot Coun- 
ty. They lived about nine years in Fulton Town- 
ship, occupied in agriculture. They removed thence 
to Pine River Township and bought 40 acres of land 
on section 14. On this they resided until the close 
of their lives, the father operating as a farmer and 
also working at the business of a mason, which was 
his trade. He died in January, 187 i. The demise 
of the mother occurred in August, 1866. 

Mr. Vliet was a child of two years when his par- 
ents came to Oakland County, and he continued to 
reside at home during the years of his minority. 
About the time he reached manhood he entered the 
employ of the U. S. Government and operated as a 
sawyer in the Indian Mills, on the Chippewa River, 
in Isabella County. He continued in that employ 
about three years. In i860 he came to St. Louis, 
Gratiot County, and associated with his brother James 
established a grocery and provision trade, which they 



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conducted two years. On the termination of this 
period, Mr. Vliet bought the farm on which he has 
since Uved, comprising 80 acres of land. Of this he 
has 35 acres under cultivation. He also owns sev- 
eral lots in St. Louis, on which he is now erecting 
buildings and otherwise improving them. The histo- 
ry of Mr. Vliet is similar to that of most of the better 
class of citizens of Gratiot County. He made his 
start in life with no aid but a laudable ambition, for- 
tified by disposition and strength to work, and later 
by a helpful, faithful wife, one of the sort that forms 
one of the best elements in the substantial progress 
of the Peninsular State. 

Mr. Vliet was married May 15, 1861, at St. Louis, 
to Deborah, daughter of Jonathan and Lucetta Me- 
cum. She was born July 6, 1840, in Pennsylvania, 
her parents being also natives of the Keystone State. 
Of five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Vliet, four sur- 
vive. They were born in the following order: Mary 
L., Mina A., Ernest L., Bertie G. and George. Ber- 
tie died when he was 17 months old. 

Mr. Vliet is a member of the Order of Masonry, 
and in political connections belongs to the National 
Greenback party. 



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Thomas Raycraft, farmer, section 20, Pine 
River Township, was born in County Cork, 
^ Ireland, May 15, 1846, and is a son of 
Richard and Martha Raycraft, also natives of 
Ireland. They came to the United States in 
1847, and settled in Rochester, N. Y., where 
the mother died. The father came, later on, to Clin- 
ton Co., Mich., where he died, in June, i860. 

Mr. Raycraft is practically an American citizen, 
having been less than a year old when he was brought 
to this country by his parents. He has followed the 
vocation of agriculture since he was old enough for 
active labor, commencing his career as a farmer at the 
ageof 13 years. In 187 1, he came to Gratiot County, 
where he worked as a farm laborer two years, and in 
1872 he bought 80 acres of land under partial im- 
provements, where he has since lived and labored. 
In 188 r, he built a fine farm house, which the family 
are now occupying. The farm consists at present of 
120 acres of land with 100 acres under cultivation. 
Politically, Mr. Raycraft is identified with the Na- 
tional Greenback party. 



He was married at Alma, Mich., July 4, 1871, to vV 

Mary, daughter of Harmon and Dora Coleman, na- ^• 

lives of Germany. Dora M., Ely, Lee, Ora, Lottie r'\ 
and Thomas C. are the children born to Mr. and ''■ 
Mrs. Raycraft. 



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'. ohn W. Otto, farmer on section 3, Fulton 
Township, is a son of George and Ara 
(Parrish) Otto, natives of New York State. 
He was born in Jackson Co., Mich., Jan. 20, 
jt 1^38' ''^"d '^^^s quite young when his parents 
removed to Hillsdale Co., Mich. At the age 
of 17, he came to this county, in the spring of 1855, 
with bis parents. He remained at home until 24 
years of age, when he bought the old homestead of 
60 acres on section 3. He has since added 5o acres 
to his farm, and has 100 acres well improved. 

June 28, 1863, in Newark Township, he married 
Hannah M., daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth 
(Cady) Lepley, residents of Newark Township. She 
was born in Wood Co., Ohio, Feb. 28, 1846. Mr. 
and Mrs. Otto have three living children, George S., 
Charles F. and Cora E. They have buried two 
children, — Sophronia J. and an infant. Mrs. Otto 
is a member of the Christian Church. Politically, 
Mr. Otto is a Republican. 




^ 






illiam J. Pendell, farmer and stock-raiser, 
ma section 36, New Haven Township, was 
jfe^p born in Wayne Co., N. Y., April 2. 1839. 
11^^ His father, PeterB., was a native of Saratoga, 

N. Y., of German descent, and was a farmer | ' 
by occupation. He died at his son's, in this 
township, Sept. 14, i88i, at the age of 83. The 
mother of William J. was Mary M., nee Babcock, of 
English parentage. She died at her son's, in New 
Haven Township, in i860. His step-mother, C'hloris, 
)ic-c Holliday, was born June 18, 1820, in Allegany (^\ 
Co., N. Y., and is now living at her son's. f 

When seven years old the subject of this sketch 
came with his parents to Macomb Co., Mich., and 
three years later to Ionia County, where he worked Vj' 
on a farm and attended school for eight years, f^vj 
Thence, in 1856, he came to this county, where his ^ 






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father purchased 80 acres of perfectly wild land for 
a homestead. In 1858 they moved upon the place, 
to which the subject of this sketch has since added 
So acres and made a comfortable home. There are 
1 20 acres under the plow, and his residence, recently 
built, cost about |i,8oo. Mr. Pendell is an active 
and progressive agriculturist. 

Sept. 12, 1 86 1, is the date of the marriage of Mr. 
Pendell to Miss Elizabeth Husted, a native of Oak- 
land Co., Mich., where she was born July 26, 1838. 
She died at her home, in this township, July 12, 1 862 ; 
was the mother of one child, Leonora M. Mr. Pen- 
dell again married, Nov. 28, 1867, Amelia R. Wor- 
cester, who was born Nov. 29, 1843, in Allegany Co., 
N. Y., and when six years old came to Jackson Co., 
Mich.; at the age of 24 she came to this county, and 
was shortly afterward married. Her children are: 
Benjamin S., born Dec. 26, 1870; Thomas J., Jan. 
21, 1873; Grace E., March 24, 1875; Gertrude E., 
July 14, 1878, and Adeline, Dec. 17, 1883. 

Mr. Pendell has held the offices of Highway Com- 
missioner and School Director; is a Republican on 
political issues; a member of lodge No. 145, F. & 
A. M., at Maple Rapids, and with his wife is a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 




^|ampson Ovenden, farmer, sec. 19, Wash- 
ington Township, is a son of William and 
Frances (Birch) Ovenden, natives of Kent, 
England. William Ovenden was by trade a 
bricklayer and plasterer, and came to America 
in 1852. He settled in Genesee Co., N. Y., 
and followed his calling until his death, in i860. 
His wife still lives, in this county. The subject of 
this sketch was born Oct. 10, 1834, in Kent, Eng- 
land. 

He first left home at the age of nine, but at 14 he 
left home permanently, going on the sea as a com- 
mon sailor. His interesting travels lasted for a 
period of 12 years. He first shipped on a brig, 
under a Capt. Bray, at Margate, and made four voy- 
ages to Hartly Pole, England, in the coal trade. He 
ne.xt went on the schooner " Isabella," under a Capt. 
Smith, and ran from Margate to Liver[)ool. The 
schooner being then sold, he was discharged. His 
next service was on the brig " Hugh," under Capt. 



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Anderson, which carried coal to Brazil, and came 
back with cotton. Returning, he shipped on the 
brig •' Burkby," under Capt. Henry, which went first 
to Cardif, Wales, for coal, then to Sierra Leone, Africa, 
then to Cosanco, back to Sierra Leone, and thence • ^ 
home to Liverpool. On the barque "Ellen Mary," 
under Capt. Legg, he went to the Isle of France, 
through tlie straits of Malacca to Singapore, to Amoy, 
to Shanghai, to the East Indies, to Singapore and 
China again, and once more to the East Indies. He 
next served on the ship " Englewood," under Capt. 
Randal, and went to Java ; thence to St. Helena 
(Napoleon's prison), and thence to London. On the 
packet barque "Stratford," under Capt. Forrest, he 
sailed from London to Sidney, Australia, to Newcas- 
tle, Raymontares, and Sidney again. Shipping next 
on the packet barque " Jessie Burns," under Capt. 
Baker, he visited Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, and 
San Francisco. Going inland for the first time in 
many years, he worked for a time in the mines near 
Sacramento. Returning to San Francisco, he took 
passage on the " Golden Gate " to Agopoko, South 
America, and thence to Panama. Crossing the isth- 
mus to Aspinwatl, he went on the ship " Illinois " to 
New York City, where lie found his parents. He 
then came to Michigan in search of his sister, whom 
he finally found in Graliot County. For a time he 
was employed in Hillsdale County, by a man whom (J, 
he had met in California. 

July 28, 1862, he enlisted in Co. D, i8th Mich. 
Vol. Inf. During his service he fought in several 
sharp engagements, and he was finally discharged at 
Jackson, Mich., when he came to this county and 
purchased his present home on section 19. He was 
married to Jane M., daughter of James V. and Sarah 
Carr, both deceased. Mr. Carr died at Ithaca, Jan. 
4, 1884. He was a soldier in the 23d Mich. Vol. 
Inf , and was buried with the honors of the G. A. R. 
Mr. and Mrs. Ovenden have had eight children, five 
of whom survive. He is a memljerof Eureka Lodge, 
No. 3x8, F. & A. M. Politically he has been a Re- 
publican ever since his arrival in the States. In 
local elections, however, he votes for the best man, 
regardless of party. 

Mr. Ovenden was but a green sailor when he and 
his plucky little wife settled in the forest, and they 
were derisively called " bantas," by others who proph- 
esied they would be soon starved out. They have, 



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^ by indomitable perseverance, triumphed over obsta- 
'■^ cles; and, though yet in the prime of hfe, they have 
,',^ lived to see many of their early neighbors give up 
the task of earning a home and drop out of sight in 
the race of life. Mr. and Mrs. Ovenden amply de- 
serve representation among the portraits with which 
this work is embellislied, and a double page near by 
is accordingly awarded them. 



dward Creech, farmer, section 9, Pine 
River Township, was born in Woodbridge, 
'^ N. J., Dec. 25, 1 84 1. His parents, Richard 
and Catherine Creech, were born in Ireland, 
and on coming to the United States located in 
New Jersey, and afterwards settled in the 
State of New York, where the mother died and the 
father still resides. 

At the age of 15 years, Mr. Creech was thrown 
upon his own resources, and from that time until the 
advent of armed rebellion, he maintained himself by 
farming and as a sailor on the Hudson River. He 
enlisted June, 1861, in the ist Mich. Vol. Inf., en- 
rolling in Co. D. He served four years, and June 
27, 1862, at the battle of Gaines' Mill, was severely 
wounded in the head by a minie ball, and was cap- 
tured at the same time by the rebels. He was 
paroled two months later. 

After his recovery, Mr. Creech was offered his dis- 
charge, but he declined its acceptance, and also re- 
fused assignment to the Invalid Corps. He returned 
to his command, and joined his regiment in July, 
1863, while it was on the march to Gettysburg, and 
he participated in that engagement. His first enlist- 
ment was for three years, but in January, 1864, he 
again enrolled in the Union ranks. His regiment 
was one ordered on duty up the Weldon railroad, and 
when on the return from the work of destruction 
there, in a slight skirmish, he was hit in the right 
knee by a spent ball, and sustained some injury, but 
not sufficient to incapacitate from duty. He received 
a similar hurt in his left arm about ten minutes before 
Lee capitulated at Appomattox Court house. An- 
other significant incident was a conversation Mr. 
Creech held with a rebel soldier on picket guard at 
Yellow House Tavern, on tlie Weldon railroad. The 
" butternut " anxiously inquired if McClellan was 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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likely to be elected the next President. Mr. Creech 
replied : " No, sir! We shall elect Abraham Lincoln 
and fight this thing out." The disheartened rebel 
exclaimed in despairing tones : " Oh, my God ! 
when will I get home .'" 

After his discharge from the army he came to 
Jackson, Mich., where he was employed about six 
months in the capacity of guard at the State Prison. 
He went afterward to Hillsdale County, where he 
was engaged in buying and selling land to some ex- 
tent. In the spring of 1872, he lost his home by fire, 
a misfortune rendered wholly disastrous from ihe fact 
that the building was uninsured. Mr. Creech went 
to Nebraska for the purpose of locating land, and en- 
tered a claim of 160 acres ; but he did not conclude 
the terms of his claim, and soon after returned to 
Hillsdale County. He bought a farm there, which 
he sold later on, and coming to Gratiot County he 
bought the farm on which he has since resided, com- 
prising 120 acres, with 90 acres under cultivation. 
Mr. Creech belongs to the National Greenback party 
in political affiliation. 

He was married Oct. 30, 1866, at Jackson, to Me- 
linda, daughter of Tunis and Eliza (Craig) Vrooman. 
Mrs. Creech was born Dec. 7, 1844, in Jackson Co., 
Mich. Of eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Creech, three survive: Fred C, Ina A. and Tunis B. 
Five children died in infancy. The parents are 
members of the Disciples' Church. 





"ohn M. Trask, ex-County Clerk of Gratiot 
11^ County, resident at Ithaca, was born in 
'AW' Lucas Co., Ohio, April 8, 1840. He is a 
WA ^°" °^ Linus L. and Nancy E. (Thompson) 
^r Trask, natives of New York. The father was 
' a mechanic, and removed his family to Ottawa 
Co., Ohio, and, later in life, to Winnebago Co., III. 
In 1852 another removal was made, to Ottawa Co., 
Ohio, where the mother died, Feb. 21. 1865. The 
father's demise occurred Dec. 31, 1855. 

Mr Trask came to Michigan on attaining his ma- 
jority, and entered;! machine-shop at St. John's, Clin- 
ton County, where he spent eight months, in the year 
1861. In December, i860, he located a farm in 
I Gratiot County. He enlisted as a soldier for the 



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Union in 1863, enrolling in Co. I, 27th Mich. Vol. 
Inf. The regiment was at first assigned to the Army 
of the West and was afterward transferred to the 
Army of the Potomac. Mr. Trask participated cred- 
itably in all the engagements of the Ninth Corjjs. 
He was wounded June 3, 1864, at Cold Harbor and 
received his muster-out Aug. 25, 1865. 

Mr. Trask was married in 1862 to Eliza A., 
daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Kay) Hoffman. 
The father was of German birth, and emigrated to 
America when he was 14 years old. He has been a 
farmer all his active life, and is one of the first white 
settlers in the township of North Star. To him is ac- 
credited the honor of naming the town. Mr. and 
Mrs. Trask have three children: Clyde O., Midge 
M. and Ord J. 

Mr. Trask is an adherent to the tenets of the Re- 
publican party. He has served the township of 
North Star six years as Clerk, and acted in the same 
capacity nearly a year in Fulton Township. In 1880 
he was elected Clerk of Gratiot County, and proved 
one of the ablest officials in the discharge of the 
duties incumbent upon him known in the records of 
the county. He is now engaged with Nelson & 
Barber, general merchants at Ithaca. He is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic Order, and belongs to Ithaca 
Lodge, No. 123; also to Ithaca Chapter, No. 70; 
Ithaca Council, No. ^:^ ; and St. John Commandery, 
No. 24. 



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^alah J. Day, farmer, section 22, Pine River 

Township, was born Dec. 16, 1846, in 

Jackson Co., Mich. He is a son of Salah 

and Sarah (White) Day. His parents were 

natives of the State of New York, and after 

their marriage settled in Steuben County, 

where they resided until 1833, when they removed 

to Jackson Co., Mich. The father is deceased, and 

the mother is still living, in that county. 

When Mr. Day reached his majority, he purchased 
a farm in Jackson County, which included 40 acres 
of land. On this he operated about two years, when 
he sold out, and in January, 1S68, came to Gratiot 
^i^ County and bought 50 acres of partly improved land 
( i) in Arcada Township. He returned to Jackson 
N*. County without settling \i\ion the farm he had pur- 



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chased, and in November, 1874, he exchanged the 
place for a livery stable at Alma. He managed that 
business upwards of a year, when he sold out, and in 
February, 1875, removed tu Branch Co., Mich., where 
he had become the owner of a farm of 60 acres. On 
this he labored nearly a year, and then made an ex- 
change of the property for 80 acres of land, where he 
has since operated, and which he has all improved, 
and has well cultivated. He is an adherent to the 
tenets of the National Greenback party in political 
views. 

He was married Sept. 16, 1875, at Alma, to Eva 
J., daughter ot James and Elizabeth Morrison, na- 
tives respectively of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Mrs. 
Day was born in Eureka, Clinton Co., Mich., Oct 6, 
1856 The family includes one child, Floyd S.,born 
June 17, 1876. Mr. Day is a member of the Royal 
Arcanum. 



— «*• 



esse Casteel, farmer on section 25, North 
Shade Township, is a son of James and 
Sarah (Bierbauer) Casteel, natives of West- 
moreland Co., Va., and Fayette Co., Pa., re- 
spectively. The father followed the occupation 
of a farmer, and during the winter months 
taught school. The parents moved to Ohio, in 1857, 
and located in Wayne County, where the mother died, 
in the year 1838. The father then returned to Penn- 
sylvania, where he remained for a period and then 
removed to Fayette Co., Pa., where he is at present 
residing. 

The subject of our sketch was born in Westmore- 
land Co., Va., Dec. 5, 1825. He remained at home 
assisting on the farm until the death of his mother, 
when he went to live with a friend of the family and 
with whom he remained until he was 18 years of age. 
On attaining that age he set out to battle against the 
trials of the world alone, unaided except by the in- 
domitable energy and perseverance inculcated into 
his mind in childhood, and went to Richland Co., 
Ohio. He remained there, variously occupied, for a 
period of five years. 

On the 14th day of March, 1850, Mr. Casteel left 
Ohio and started for the " Land of Gold," landing at 
San Francisco, May 7, of the same year. He went 
from there to Sacramento and thence to Georgetown, 







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and prospected in and around the latter place for 
some time. Not finding any claims worth working, 
he went to a canyon some 25 miles distant, but on 
arriving there the water was so high they could not 
work it, and he was compelled to return. He then 
went to Spencer Bar on the Middle Fork of the 
American River, and remained two months; from 
thence he went two miles below, formed a company, 
and dug a race 80 rods long and dammed the river. 
He was engaged in his mining operations for some 
17 years, and three years acted as agent for a ditch 
company. 

Mr. Casteel returned to Indiana in 187 1, settled 
in Allen County, and remained three years, and then 
came to this State and located on section 25, North 
Shade Township, securing i6o acres. He has since 
disposed of 80 acres and added by purchase 19 acres. 

He has held the position of Highway Commis- 
sioner, and in politics is a Republican. 









C3 f fp^° rof. Adelbert E. Barstow, for several years 



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teacher of District No. 2, North StarTown- 
'l-:i-l^ ship, was born in Madison Co., N. Y., Oct. 



^ii>~J 2, 1846, and is a son of Wm. M. Barstow, 
•'/li^ whose sketch is given elsewhere in this work. 
His parents came to Hillsdale County, this 
State, in 1853, and to this county in 1856. He was 
educated at the common schools of his district and 
at Ithaca, this county, and at the age of 2 1 began 
teaching. He has taught during ihe winter season 
most of the time for 16 years, — six terms in his home 
district, where he is now teaching. This is sufficient 
evidence of his ability to give satisfaction. He re- 
sides in Ithaca, where he is also conducting an insur- 
ance business, which his father attends to during the 
winter. 

Mr. Barstow was married Oct. 2, 1871, to Cassie 
A. Barton, daughter of Wm. Barton, of Ithaca, an 
ex-soldier of the British army and a participant in 
the battle of Waterloo : he is now 86 years old, and 
has a very retentive memory. Mrs. Barstow 's brotlier, 
Wm. Barton, was starved to death in the rebel prison 
at Salisbury, N. C. 

Mr. and Mrs. B. have had four children, as fol- 
lows: Lottie (deceased), Hattie, Willie and Nellie. 



Mr. B. has been Drain Commissioner two years 
and School Inspector two years. Mrs. B. has taught 
20 terms of school, and as an educator she has 
become prominent. 



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enry Swift, farmer, section 22, North Star 
Township, was born in Dutchess Co. N. Y., 
Oct. 30, 1805 ; his parents were of English 
ancestry. His father, Theodosius, was born in 
Litchfield Co., Conn., and his mother, Polly, 
nee Winchester, was born in the town of 
Amenia, Dutchess Co., N. Y. 

Mr. Swift emigrated to St. Joseph County, this 
State, in the spring of 1837, and to this county in 
1855, settling where he now resides. He is a black- 
smith by trade, which he has followed nearly all his 
life. He was married in November, 1828, to Polly 
Lineberg; she died Feb. 8, 1845, and all her five 
children are now deceased. Nov. 22, i860, Mr. S. 
married Mrs. I, aura E. Flanagan, whose three chil- 
dren by a former husband and one child by Mr. S. 
are all deceased. Two of Mr. Swift's sons, Henry 
M. and George, grew to manhood, became soldiers 
in the late war, — in which George died, — and both 
on their decease left families to mourn their loss. 
One of Mrs. Swift's children, William H. Flanagan, 
was also a soldier in the late war, in which he was 
surrounded and taken prisoner: and after his return 
home, in February, 1864, he died, at the age of 19 
years. Her daughter Nellie died at the age of 1 2. 

Mr. Swift has been Highway Commissioner many 
years, and Township Treasurer one year. 



pon. Jacob M. Kemp, retired merchant, resi- 

,^^ dent at St. Louis, was born in Fayette Co., 

^^ Pa., July II, 181 1. When he was five years old 

/f his parents, Edward and Eve (Pemod) Kemp, 

removed to Brook Co., Va. They remained 

there three years and again removed to Jefferson 

Co., Ohio. In 1S26 they went to Richland Co., 

Ohio. 

Mr. Kemp bought 80 acres of land in Vernon 
Township, Richland County, where he resided until 









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185 1, when he settled near Bryant, in Wilhams 
County, in that State, bought a farm and remained 
on it six years. In 1857 he went to Isabella County 
and located in the township of Coe, near the north- 
ern limit of Gratiot County. He bought 320 acres 
of land, which he increased by subsequent purchase 
to 480 acres. He expended his best energies and 
judgment in its improvement. He built the first 
frame barn in Isabella County, and a suitable frame 
farm residence. He cleared 100 acres of the place, 
and in 1873 sold out. He came to St. Louis and en- 
gaged in keeping the hotel in 1870, then known as 
the Wessels House. He continued its management 
two years, when he opened a grocery, and later ad- 
mitted his son, Joseph Kemp, to a partnership. The 
latter bought the entire establishment in February, 
1882, and the father retired from active business life. 
He owns, besides his fine residence at St. Louis, ten 
dwelling-houses, two store buildings and a livery 
stable. He is a member of the Republican party in 
political principle, and while a resident of Richland 
County was prominent in public affairs. He was 
Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of that county 
three years. 

He was married in the township of Plymouth, 
Richland County, to Harriet, daughter of Robert and 
Alice Hoy. She is a native of Virginia. Twelve 
children were born of this union, five of whom are 
living: Joseph W., grocer at St. Louis; Narcissa, 
widow of James Bennett, resident at St. Louis; Kate 
B., wife of A. J. Harrington, a practicing physician 
at St. Louis ; George L., farmer of Pine River Town- 
ship ; Elizabeth, wife of N. E. Barber, a cabinet-maker 
at St. Louis. 



ohn Srodes, real-estate, loan and insurance 
agent, in company with S. W. Ambler, 
Ithaca, is a son of Thornton and Caroline 
(Strodes) Srodes, natives respectively of Vir- 
ginia and Iowa. Thornton Srodes went with 
his parents from Virginia to Ohio, and thence 
\^ to Iowa, where he married Miss Strodes. After mar- 
riage, he lived some 20 years in the State of Ohio, 
and then came to Gratiot County and located in North 
Star Township, where he is still engaged in agricul- 
ture. His wife died in Wyandot Co., Ohio, in 1856. 



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The subject of this biography was born May 4, 
1 854, in Wyandot Co., Ohio, and at the early age 
of 12 began to do for himself. He worked during 
the summers to obtain money with which to attend 
school during the winter. He attended Heidelberg 
College at Tiffin, Ohio, for three years, and thus at- 
tained a sufficiently liberal education to enable him 
to teach, which profession he has followed at times 
since. 

May lo, iS77,he was married to Eunice, daughter 
of William M. and Eunice C. (McBride) Barstow (see 
sketcii), She was born Aug. 11, 1859, in the county 
of Gratiot. Mr. Srodes is politically a staunch Re- 
publican. He is the second son of a family of three 
sons. The other two are: Solomon, a farmer of 
North Star I'ownship, and George, a resident of the 
State of Colorado. 



i- ilas Randolph, farmer, section 8, Pine Riv- 



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^h- er Township, is a son of Cornelius S. and 
Margaret C. (Barber) Randolph. His father 
ji\^j was born in the State of New York, Nov. 14, 
18 1 r, and became a resident of Michigan in 
the spring of 1834, when he settled in Seneca, 
Lenawee County. He was married June 10,18381 
in that township, and there resided until the autumn 
of 1882, when he removed to Gratiot County and 
now resides in Pine River Township (see sketch of 
Cornelius S. Randolph). 

Mr. Randolph is the eldest of six children, five 
sons and one daughter, born to his parents. His 
birth occurred March 25, 1839, in Seneca, where he 
attended the common schools. He completed his 
education at the High School and Adrian College, at 
Adrian. When he was 17 years old he entered the 
employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- 
road Company, and spent five years in their service 
save the terms of school which he attended mean- 
while. The following five years he was engaged in 
agriculture, taking farms on shares. In 1870 he came 
to St. Louis and was employed four years in the bath 
house of the Magnetic Springs, afterwhich he engaged 
as ticket agent for the Flint & Pere Marquette Rail- 
road ('ompany. The latter business not completely 
occupying his time, he also acted as clerk in a store. 
In 1877, he entered the service of the C. S. & C. R. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






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R. Company, where he was occupied two years. He 
came to Pine River Township in the spring of i88o, 
and bought 40 acres of land, which was chiefly in a 
state of nature. Of this he now has 30 acres under 
tillage. Mr. Randolph is a Republican in political 
principle. 

He was married Sept. 15, 1864, at Adrian, Mich., 
to Rachel, daughter of Eben and Fanny Sparhawk. 
The parents were natives of Vermont, and, after their 
marriage, settled in Medina Co., Ohio, and afterward 
went to Summit County in that State, where Mrs. 
Randolph w,!* born,.\pril 18, 1842. She is the young- 
est of seven children — four daughters and three sons. 
Three children have been born of her marriage to 
Mr. Randolph : Emma, Maggie and Frank E. 

The parents are members of the Disciples' Church. 



ilbert C. Smith, salesman with Nelson & 
Barber, Ithaca, is a son of Elihu and Maria 
(Sellick) Smith, natives of Vermont. The 
father has always followed farming, and moved 
from the Green Mountain State to St. Law- 
rence Co., N. Y., and in 1867 came to Gratiot 
County. He now resides with his son, at the ad- 
vanced age of 89. Gilbert's mother died in St. Law- 
rence Co., N. Y., in i860. 

The subject of this notice was born Aug. 26, 1842, 
in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and at 18 entered a tub 
factory, where he was employed two years. Coming 
to Michigan, he worked at carpentry in Kent County 
a year and a half, and then lived for eight years 
north of the village of Ithaca. Next, he bought Gen. 
Church's interest in the dry-goods business of Nelson 
& Church, which he retained for two years. The 
ensuing five years he was engaged in the hardware 
business, and then he engaged as salesman with 
Nelson & Barber, in which capacity he has since 
continued. 

He was first married in 1867 to Celia E. Putnam, 
daughter of Israel and Jane (Barber) Putnam. She 
was born March 8, 1845, and died Dec. 8, 1877, in 
the village of Ithaca, leaving two daughters — Lottie 
M. and Minnie J. He subsequently, in January, 
1879, married for his present wife Molly Handy, 
who was born in Pontiac, this State, March 11, 1853. 
Mr. Smith has been Treasurer of Arcada Township, 




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Ifc;**ik^ the son of William Barlon, 
T;^^ County Tyrone, North Ireland. 



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y^^uncan Cameron, farmer, section 28, Beth- 
3 any Township, was born in York Co., Can., 
Oct. 29, 1844, and is a son of Archibald 
and Barbara (Lyon) Cameron, the foniier a 
native of Scotland, a farmer, and died in the 
Dominion of Canada, where the latter is still 
living. 

In 1864, Mr. C. left Canada, resided a year in 
St. Clair Co., Mich., then a year at Richmond, Ma- 
comb County, this State, where he commenced to 
learn the carpenter and joiner's trade, which he fol- 
lowed about a year at Ann Arbor, Mich. He next 
resided several years at Jackson, Mich., where he fol- 
lowed his mechanical vocation and erected some very 
fine houses, six of which he sold for the proprietors. 



II 



and has been connected with the School Board ever '^'f 
since he has lived m Ithaca. He is a Republican, ', 
and with his wife belongs to the Baptist Church. 



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illiam Barton, of Ithaca, was born in 
Kinross, Scotland, May 22, 1798, and is 

a native of 
He was 
brought up and educated in the classic city 
of Glasgow. In 1814, he enlisted in the 
Duke of Wellington's regiment, and served nine 
years. He was in the famous battle of Waterloo, on 
which occasion only four privates and a sergeant be- 
sides himself, out of all his company, were able to 
walk away from the battlefield. Jan. r, 1822, he 
crossed the ocean to the island of Jamaica, and the 
ensuing fall went to New Brunswick, thence to East- 
port, Me., Quebec, Portland, Boston, Pawtucket, R. 
I., and to Columbiana Co., Ohio, in 1823, where he 
engaged in wool-manufacturing until 1854, when he 
came to this county, settling in Hamilton Township. 
Jan. 17, 1827, he married Catharine Stickels, and 
five of their eight children are living, namely : 
Samuel, Sarah J., Mary L., Cassie and Laura H. 
William was starved to death in the prison at Salis- 
bury, N. C. Cassie is the wife of Prof. A. E. 
Barstow. Mr. Barton is 86 years of age, and his 
wife 77 : a venerable pair. 



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In the fall of 1878 he bought, in Rives Township, 
Jackson County, 80 acres of improved land, resided 
there three years, and in the fall of 1881 came to 
Bethany Township, this county, and purchased the 
40 acres where he now resides, on the southeast quar- 
ter of section 28; 20 acres are improved and in a 
high state of cultivation. Since residing here he lias 
built a number of residences in this township. 

On national questions, Mr. C. is a Democrat, and 
in religion he, as well as his wife, is a member of the 
Church of the United Brethren in Christ. 

While a resident of Aurora, Can., Dec. 25, 1866, 
Mr. Cameron was married to Jennie McKinley, a 
native of that Dominion. Of the six children born 
by this marriage, four are living, viz. : Maggie, born 
April t2, 1868; Gracie May, April 15, 1871, and 
died in Bethany Township, April 12, 1882; Minnie 
Maud, born Aug. 2, 1873; Annie Albertha, June 8, 
1876; Arthur A, Jan. 14, 1879; and Albert E., April 
14, 1880, and died August 7th following. The first 
four were born in Jackson, and the last two in Rives 
Township. 

Mrs. C. died in Rives Township, May 2, 18S0, and 
Mr. C. was again married, in Jackson, Dec. 25th fol- 
lowing, to Miss Annie B., daughter of George and 
Belle (Furgeson) Grindall, who was born in Jackson, 
Feb. 19, 1 86 1. They have been the parents of two 
children: Georgie, born Aug. 22, 1881, and died 
Sept. 7, 1881 ; Frankie, born Dec. 31, 1883. 



orenzo Squire, section 2r, North Star Town- 
ship, was born in Portage Co., Ohio, Jan. 
22, 1 82 1, and was the son of Aaron Squire, 
^yj' a native of Connecticut, who moved to Geauga 
f^*) Co., Ohio, in 1823 or '4. Lorenzo was reared 
on a farm, and educated in the common school, 
also at Meadville, Pa , and at the Twinsburg (Ohio) 
Seminary. In 1850 he crossed the plains to Califor- 
nia, where he followed mining, mostly in the mount- 
ains, until the fall of 1853, when he returned home 
by water ; but the next year he went to California 
again, remaining until 1859. The following year he 
commenced to establish a home in this county, and 
Feb. 13, 1862, he married and settled here. His 
wife is Caroline C, a daughter of Bohan Blair, de- 
ceased, and a distant relative of ex-Gov. Blair. The 




two children of Mr. and Mrs. Squire are Aaron L. 
and Julia E. 

Mr. S. has been Township Supervisor one year, 
and is a member of the Adventist Church. 



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j!!|^^j>':arlow Cramer, farmer, section 24, Bethany 
^'.;f^f:fsi Township, is a son of Jeremiah and Ruth, 
^[^ nee Lowry Cramer, and was born in Onondaga 
K Co , N. v.. May 28, 1830. His parents moved 
I from that State to Freedom 'i'ownship, Washte- 
naw County, this State, where they purcliased 60 
acres of land and followed the occupation of farming 
unul their death, which occurred in 1843 and 1846 
respectively. Mr. Cramer continued to follow the 
vocation of his father until 1855, when he came to 
this county and located 320 acres of land, being the 
south half of section 9, Bethany Township, on which 
he settled and began the arduous task of clearing 
and improving a home. 

Mr. Cramer was married in North Plains Town- 
ship, Ionia County, July 4, 1858, to Miss Mary C, 
daughter of Eli and Mary, nee Stevens, Dalrymple, 
and was born in Livingston Co., N. Y., April 14, 
1840. 

The husband and wife are the parents of nine 
children : Emily, wife of Elbert E. Ostrander, farmer 
in Bethany Township; Cheever, deceased; Adcla, 
Harlow J., Minnie A., deceased, George D., Herbert 
R., Mary E. and William H. 

Soon after his marriage, in August, 1858. Mr. C. 
moved on his farm and from thenceforth he threw 
all his energy and perseverance into the clearing and 
improving of the same. His trials were numerous, 
and yet his indomitable energy overcame them one 
and all. For his first residence he had eight sticks 
driven in the ground equidistant from each other, 
covered with boards and a blanket for the door. 
That same fall he cleared three acres of timber and 
put the land in wlieat. He resided on this land 
until 1864, and then purchased r20 acres, on which 
he is at present residing. Here he began anew the 
clearing and improving of a home, and has cleared 
and improved 60 ocres of it, and has a good resi- 
dence, barn and orchard. He is a man of strong 
constitution, and on two occasions carried a bushel 
of wheat to St. Louis on his back and brought the 



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grist home in the same way. There was no road to 
his place and he had no team. 

Mr. Cramer was Township Clerk in i860, and sub- 
sequently held the position of School Inspector. He 
is a man of ability, aiid in addition to following the 
vocation of a farmer has been extensively engaged 
in the occupation of a teacher. He began teaching 
when 20 years of age, in 1850, and taught in the 
schools at Freedom, Washtenaw County. In 1852 
he taught in Bridgewater Township, and in 1854 in 
Superior Township, same county. In 1857 he taught 
the first winter school in the village of Hubbardston, 
and is a man closely identified with the educational 
interests of the county. 

Mr. Cramer is a member of the Wesleyan Method- 
ist Church and an honored and esteemed citizen of 
the county. 



lias W. Lyon, photographer, at Ithaca, was 
born May 29, 1847, in Clinton Township, 

'S^'""' Essex Co., N. J. He is a son of Hervey 

^ and Elizabeth J. (Whaley) Lyon, both of whom 
were natives of New Jersey. His father was 
born July 20, 18 to, in Clinton. He was a 
shoemaker by trade, and in 1 85 i removed his family 
to Essex Township, Clinton Co., Mich., where he 
bought a farm and resided until his death, which oc- 
curred Dec. 13, 1880. The mother resides on the 
homestead, which is a fine farm of 102 acres, with 
first-class improvements. 

Mr. Lyon left home when he was 22 years of age 
for the purpose of fitting for the business which he 
has pursued thus far in life. He went to St. John's, 
and after a course of thorough preparation he went 
to several places in Michigan to prospect. In Octo- 
ber, 1870, he came to Ithaca and established his 
present business, which has been popular and pros- 
perous. Mr. Lyon owns his place of business and 
residence in Ithaca, and 80 acres of land on section 
4, Washington Township, witii 20 acres under culti- 
vation. 

He was married Aug. 19, 187 i, to Viola R., daugh- 
ter of Thomas L. and Anna R. (Good) Wasson. She 
was born Feb. 15, 1852, in Charlotleville, Niagara 
Co., N. Y. Floyd R., born Sept. 15, 1880, at Ithaca, 
is the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Lyon. 



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The maternal grandfather of Mr. Lyon was a 
Major in the war of 181 2, and his epaulets and cap 
were preserved some time in the family. 



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•X?harles D. Bryant, farmer, section 27, 
^^^ North Star Township, was born in Cuya- 



hoga Co., N. Y., May 12, 1827 ; his father was 
Charles Bryant, a native of Vermont, and his 
mother was Eunice, /we Blackniore, a native 
of Cuyahoga Co., N. Y. : both are deceased. 
The former removed to Lorain Co., Ohio, 1831, where 
the subject of this sketch was brought up on a farm 
and educated in the common school. At 18 he com- 
menced to learn the trade of tanner and currier, and 
followed this business until 1854, when he settled on 
his present place, in a wilderness of deer, bears, 
wolves and Indians : the latter, however, were peace- 
able. In this lonely retreat Mr. Bryant built his 
humble log cabin, and he and his good wife laid to 
the task of creating a comfortable home by long, 
weary years of patient toil; and success has crowned 
their efforts. The land for which they paid 50 cents 
an acre is now worth more than $75 an acre. 

Mr. Bryant, Oct. 15, 1848, married Miss Elizabeth, 
daughter of John S. and Eliza (Stover) Tarr, natives 
respectively of Virginia and Pennsylvania. Mrs. B. 
was born July 6, 1830, in Wayne Co., Ohio. Their 
two cliildren have Ijeen: Wilber, born Feb. 14, 
1850; and Henry, born Nov. 14, 185 1, and died 
Aug. 15, 1866. 

Mr. B. enlisted in the last war, in February, 1865, 
in Co. C, — 111. Vol. Inf., at Chicago. He is a mem- 
ber of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. 



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[oseph Barden, liveryman at St. Louis, was 
born June 30, 1837, in Niagara Co., N. Y., 
near the city of Lockport. His parents, 



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Hiram and Eliza (Fleming) Barden, left I^ck- 

jt POf'^ '" '^-^4 ^^""^ went to London, Ont., where 

I they resided about a year. The father was a 

native of Massachusetts, and to the labors of his 

calling, which was that of a stone-mason, he added 

those of agriculture. In the early spring of 1847 he 



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went to Huron Co., Mich., to buy Tand. When 
returning in a sail-boat, in company with Dr. Heth 
and his son and Peter Shooks, the lighthouse-keeper 
at Point aux Barques, the boat was capsized, as is 
supposed, as it was afterwards found stranded, but 
tne bodies of its occupants were never discovered. 
The mother was born in Canada and is at present 
living near Cadillac, Mich. After the tragic fate of 
her husband, she removed to Port Huron, where the 
son worked for a time in the jewelry business, and 
afterward went to Mount Clemens, Macomb Co., 
Mich. Later he went to Troy, Oakland County and 
was there employed in farming. In 1865 he went to 
Ovid, in Clinton County, and there he bought a farm 
of 80 acres, on which he worked five years. In Feb- 
ruary, 1870, he opened a livery stable in the town of 
Ovid, and continued its management 13 years. He 
operated to a considerable e.xtent in real-estate, 
bought and sold several farms, and did much in the 
way of clearing and otherwise improving the prop- 
erty in his hands. In September, 1882, he sold his 
properly at Ovid, and the following December came 
to St. Louis, where, associated with P. Cornell, he 
bought the Commercial Hotel and barns. He keeps 
17 horses, carriages and first-class livery fixtures, and 
conducts boarding, feed and sale stables. 

Mr. Barden was married Feb. 13, 1862, in Troy, 
Oakland County, to Delia C, daughter of Rev. John 
and Margaret Martin. She was born on the family 
homestead, where she was married May 22, 1841. 
Mr. and Mrs. Barden have two children, born in 
Ovid: Lura K., May 11, r866, and Josie Belle, Dec. 
25, 1873. The oldest child, Willie J., is deceased. 
Miss Lura is an accomplished young lady, a graduate 
from Miss Noble's Elocutionarj' Training School at 
Detroit, where she was awarded a gold medal. 

Mr. Barden held the position of Marshal of the 
village of Ovid several years, and was also Constable 
while resident there. He belongs to the fraternity of 
Odd Fellows. 

Rev. John Martin was born July 7, 1796, in Cay- 
uga Co., N. Y. : his wife was born in December, 1800. 
They came from Fleming, in August, 1831, and set- 
tled in Troy, Oakland Co., Mich., and were among 
the early pioneer settlers there, where the father com- 
bined the two vocations of farmer and preacher. 
He experienced the varied conditions of pioneer 
farmer and circuit preacher in an unsettled country, 



discharging the duties of his clerical position through 
several counties, sometimes being obliged to go on 
fool, and sometimes making his trips to his appoint- 
ments on horseback. He labored in the interests of 
the Baptist Church, and at one time lived several 
years in Shiawassee County, near Corunna, where he 
was in charge of a religious society. Both the par- 
ents of Mrs. Barden are living, at Ovid, Clinton 
County. 



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aniel C. Johnson, of the firm of Peet & 
Johnson, liverymen at Ithaca, was born in 
"^ Madison Co., N. Y., Nov. 12, 1836, and is 
a son of Leman and Sabrina (Rice) Johnson. 
His father was born March 12, 1810, in Litch- 
field Co., Conn., and was of French and English 
descent. In early life he was a millwright, carpenter 
and joiner, and in 1852 came to Gratiot County and 
bought 160 acres of land in Newark Township. He 
went back to the State of New York, where he resid- 
ed until 1859, in which year he made a settlement 
on his property, where he died Sept. 15, 1880. He 
was Supervisor of the town of Newark eight years in 
succession. The mother was born in July, 1812, in 
Madison Co., N. Y., of English parentage. She died 
on the homestead in Newark Township, Oct. i, 1879. 
Mr. Johnson passed the years of his youth in alter- 
nate farm labor and school until he was eighteen 
years old. On leaving school in 1854, lie came 
to Gratiot County to take charge of the land his 
father had bought two years previously, and which 
was, at the date of purchase, in a wholly natural con- 
dition. His uncle, Nelson Johnson, erected thereon 
tile first structure built in the township of Newark. 
This was done in the spring of 1852, and the same 
individual cut five acres of timber, but did not put 
the same in a wholly improved condition. Mr. John- 
son cleared 30 acres and erected a frame house. In 
1859 his father took possession, and in the same year 
the son bought 80 acres of land on section i, Fulton 
Township, where he moved in the spring of i860, 
and there resided nine years. He cleared 66 acres, 
put the place in a finely improved state, with suitable 
buildings, orchard, etc., when he sold out and bought 
a home in Ithaca. In company with B. F. Shepard, 
he opened a general store, and continued in that 



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'^}.f business relation until 1872. In the fall of that year, 
' Mr. Johnson embarked in the grocery trade, which 
:y^ he managed successfully until the spring of 1876. 
■;' In 1874, he accepted the appoint.nent of agent for 
the administratrix of the estate of John Jeffrey, and 
the duties of the position occupied his attention 
chiefly until 1879. In that year, he formed a part- 
nership in a general mercantile business with J. H. 
Seaver, which existed about a year and a half On 
its termination, he once more embarked in the gro- 
cery trade, but closed the business on account of 
impaired health. In January, 1882, he was appointed 
Deputy Sheriff of Gratiot County, and in the summer 
of 1883 he and K. P. Peet entered into company in 
the building of a large barn for livery purposes, where 
they have since conducted an extended business. 
They keep 1 1 horses, with all necessary equipages 
and fixtures, also sale, feed and boarding stable. Mr. 
Johnson has held the various offices of the School 
Board, and has officiated several years as a member 
of the Village Council. He was Treasurer of Emer- 
son Township one year; belongs also to the Masonic 
fraternity. 

He was married Nov. 15, 1859, to Minnie Haight. 
She was born Dec. 26, 1836, in Madison Co., N. Y., 
and was the daughter of David and Orilla Haight. 
The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were born 
as follows ; Edith, Feb. 7, 1862, who is now engaged 
in teaching in the graded school at Ithaca; and 
Dewitt, March 4, 1866, who is now working at the 
jewelry business in Ithaca. Mrs. J. died April 15, 
1879, in this county. 

The portrait of Mr. Johnson on a preceding page 
is the likeness of a representative citizen of Gratiot 
County, who has borne the brunt of its pioneer hard- 
ships, discharged his obligations as a man in every 
avenue to which he has been called, and who is still 
exerting an influence for the progress of his genera- 
tion and the community of which he is a member. 
He owns a fine farm in Newark Township— one-half 
the original purchase of his father in 1852. 

Mr. Johnson was a second time married at Ithaca, 
Nov. 8, 1880, to Helen M., youngest daughter of 
Henry and Nancy M. (Colister) Goodrich, who was at 
that time engaged in the millinery business. The for- 
mer was born in New Jersey in 1808. He was a 
^ farmer, and removed to New York, whence, after a 
>^ short residence, he came to Oakland County, this 

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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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State, where he was one of its pioneers. He after- 
wards went to Bath Township, Clinton County, where 
he entered a Government claim of 80 acres. It was 
in dense timber, and its proprietor cleared and im- 
proved it until il was one of the best farms in the 
section where it was located. He died in March, 
1863. The mother was born Oct. 29, 181 2, at Bald 
Hill, Ontario Co., N. ¥., and died June 30, 1882. 
Of tlieir nine children, eight are living. The eldest 
daughter, Phoebe, is deceased. Emily is the wife of 
W. D. Voorhies, a farmer of Ogemaw. Elizabeth is 
married to Henry Stockford, of Ithaca. Sarah A. is 
the wife of Isaac Hall, a farmer of Ingham County, 
located near Diniondale. Elvira is Mrs. A. B. Ed- 
wards, wife of a farmer of WatertDwn, Clinton Co., 
Mich. Philena is the wife of Edward M. Southwell, 
a farmer near Shaftsburg, Shiawassee Co., Mich. 
William H. is a farmer in Bath, Clinton County. 
Caroline M. is the wife of James Culver, a farmer of 
Bath Township, Clinton County. 

A brother of the above, named Frank A. Johnson, 
who was born Nov. 25, 1839, in Madison Co., N. Y., 
once resided a few years in this county, and returned 
to Miller's Corners, Ontario Co., N. Y. 




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^~^^6nry Wiseman, farmer, section 28, Newark 



' ^i^yJ ^ Township, was born in Hanover, Germany, 
f(^ in September, 1S31. His parents, Henry 
^d and Louisa Wiseman, were also natives of Ger- 
many. His father and two sons and a daughter 
came to the United States in 1848, but, his 
father being somewhat advanced in years, they re- 
mained but a short time, and returned to "Das 
Vaterland." 

Mr. Wiseman remained in the State of New York 
six years, engaged as a farm assistant. He went in 
1854 to Indiana, whence he returned, after spending 
one season there, to the Empire State. In the fall of 
1855, he came to Michigan and fixed upon Gratiot 
County as favorable to his hopes and aspirations. 
He bought 160 acres of unimproved land on section 
28, Newark Township, where he at first erected a 
" shanty " to shelter his small household until he 
could make arrangements for something better. Not 
long after he built a log house, which was their home 
until 1874, when he erected the fine frame house 



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which is now the family home. In 1880, he built 
one of the best barns in the township, 40 by 60 feet 
in extent. Of his original acreage, he has placed 85 
acres under cultivation. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wiseman are among the earliest set- 
tlers in Gratiot County, and have undergone all the 
pioneer experiences incident to the period of their 
location. Among them, they passed through the 
memorable "starvation period " of 1857, when corn 
bread was a luxury almost beyond reach. The old- 
country industry and energy which Mr. Wiseman has 
expended on his farm mark him as having met the 
success he has merited. His farm and its arrange- 
ment, fixtures and buildings, amply testify to his 
thrift, perseverance and good management. He is a 
Republican in political connection. In addition to 
his fulfillment of the duties of local citizenship, Mr. 
Wiseman furnished incontrovertible proof of his entire 
adoption of the country and its interests by enlisting 
as a soldier when they were in peril. He enrolled 
Aug. 5, 1862, in the 26th Mich. Vol. Inf., and was in 
the service two years and four months. His com- 
mand was attached to the Army of the Potomac, and 
he was under fire through the seven days' fight in 
the Wilderness and at Spottsylvania Court-house. 
He received a severe wound in the left shoulder dur- 
ing the latter engagement, and in conseiiuence was 
discharged, with honor. 

He was married in the State of New York April 7, 
1852, to Rosina, daughter of Jacob and Christiana 
Feldman, natives of Germany. Mrs. Wiseman was 
born in Germany Feb. 19, 1833. She is the mother 
of eight children, five of whom yet survive: Rosetta 
L., Luthera, Charles, John and Morris. Sophronia 
died when she was 1 1 years old, Caroline at the age 
of 13 years, and Dorothea died when nine years of 
age. 



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!jl'|raj!t orenzo C. Clark, farmer, section 9, North 
■1 flifj ii Star Township, was born in Crawford Co., 
^v^ijs? pa.^ June 18, 1839. His parents were 
Watson D. and Elizabeth (Trace) Clark, both 
natives of that State, the former of English and 
the latter of German ancestry. They lived in 
Monroe Co., Mich., from 1849 to 1876, except four 
years in Wayne County. While in the latter place 
Lorenzo C. worked in a store and saw mill. 



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Mr. Clark, the subject of this sketch, enlisted in ^jf 
Co. E, Sixth Mich. Vol. Inf., Feb. 4, 1861, and was 
honorably discharged Aug. 20, 1865, his regiment 
doing garrison duty. In 1876 he settled on section 
5, North Star Township. He is pursuing general 
farming, having 40 acres in his homestead. In the 
spring of 1883 he was elected Township Treasurer, 
which position he now fills. March 20, 1862, he 
married Miss Elizabeth N., daughter of David and 
Marietta (Baker) Brake, both of whom are deceased. 
Mr. and Mrs. Clark have had nine children, namely : 'I 
Willis C, Elva M., Lettie A., David G., Minnie R., ^ 
Jennie E., John T., Libbie M. and Iva F. 



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l^^elon Fleming, senior member of the mer- 
., cantile firm of Flemint; & Newton at River- 
dale, was born April 3, 1854, in Jackson 
MfiT Co., Mich. He is a son of Chades M. and 
^ Elvira (Humphrey) Fleming, natives of New \^_ 
S York. After their marriage, they located in ^ 
Jackson County, where they resided 25 years, after 
which they came to Gratiot County, and settled near 
St. Louis on 160 acres of land, which was principally 
in a wild state. The father proceeded to make im- 
provements, and had placed 50 acres in tillable con- 
dition when he sold his farm. He moved to St. Louis, 
where he is now residing. He is 74 years of age, 
and his wife is 68 years old. 

Mr. Fleming began his life as an independent 
seeker of his own advancement in the world when he 
was 23 years of age. His first employ was with A. 
G. Newton as clerk in his store at Riverdale. Later 
on, his employer established his business at Ithaca, 
and Mr. Fleming accompanied him thither in the 
capacity of assistant, and remained with him one 
year. Meanwhile his father had removed to St. 
Louis, and they opened a grocery in that village. 
The relation e.xisted two years, when he sold his in- 
terest to his brother, Charles L. Fleming, now of the 
firm of Fleming & Church, at St. Louis. Mr. Flem- 
ing went to Vestaburg, Montcalm County, where he 
was interested in the grocery business more than a 
year and a half, when he returned to St Louis and 
again entered the employ of Mr. Newton, who had 
established his business there. He acted as clerk 
about six months, when he became associated with 

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Mr. Newton in mercantile interests at Riverdale. 
Mr. F"leming is a Republican in political affiliation. 

He was married in 1879 to Katie, daughter of 
Jacob Fell, now a resident of Fostoria, Seneca Co., 
Ohio. She was born in 1857. Elsie, eldest child of 
Mr. and Mrs. Fleming, was born in June, 1881, in 
Montcalm County, Maud was born Jan. 25, 1883, in 
Gratiot County. The ))arents belong to the Presby- 
terian and Congregational Churches. 



jkenjamin Ray, farmer, section 3i,Arcada 

Township, was born in Leroy, Lake Co., 

5, 1823, and is the son of 



Ohio, Nov. 5, 1823, and 
^^ George G. and Betsey (Billington) Ray, na- 
tives of the Mohawk Valley, in New York. 
They were of Dutch descent, and followed 
farming. Benjamin left the parental roof at the age 
of 20, and worked on his neighbors' farms as a com- 
mon laborer until 23 years old. 

July 24, 1844, at Madison, Ohio, he was married 
to Nancy, daughter of Joseph and Abigail (Billing- 
ton) Post, natives of New York. Three years later, 
they came to Van Buren County, this State, and loca- 
ted near Paw Paw. They farmed there for 23 years, 
and had a disastrous fire, that cost them $1,000 and 
deprived them of their home. Mr. Ray then took a 
tour through the West, going as far as Virginia City, 
in search of the precious metals. He visited Mon- 
tana and Idaho, and became familiar with the grand 
scenery of those territories. A year later, they set- 
tled on their present home in Arcada Township. He 
purchased 100 acres, of which 60 are under cultiva- 
tion. Mr. and Mrs. Ray are members of the Free 
Methodist Church. Politically, he is a Republican. 




— _i-^-v/w; 



2^S■VV/^~-^- 



f^f i ; illiam T. Pitt, Supervisor of Seville Town- 
ship, residing on section 22, is a son of 
, _ George and Eliza (Duncan) Pitt, native-;, 
2' the former of England, and the latter of 
Cayuga Co., N. Y. The mother died when 
William T. was ten years old. The father came 
to Gratiot County in 1868, and located on 40 acres 
in Pine River Township. He now owns 80 acres. 




The subject of this sketch was born May 13, 1841, 
in Oakland Co., Mich., and remained at home with 
his parents until 14 years of age, after which he 
worked out on a farm until 17 years old. He then 
lived for eight years in California, engaged in mining, 
dairying and farming. Returning to Oakland Coun- 
ty, this State, he resided there until 1879, when he 
came to Gratiot County and located on 80 acres on 
section 22, Seville. 

In 1869, he married Miss Betsy Lawson, daughter 
of Moses and Elsie (Baird) Lawson, natives respect- 
ively of Pennsylvania and New York. The father 
was a wagon-maker. She was born in Wayne Co., 
Mich., March 7, 1846. Mr. and Mrs. Pitt'have one 
daughter, born July 14, 1872, in Oakland County. 
Mrs. Pitt is a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. 
Pitt is politically a National. He was elected Super- 
visor in 1882, and re-elected in 1883. 



j*HJH5)ee^ »- 




eorge S. Naldrett, farmer, section 31, New- 
ark Townsliip, was born in England Oct. 
I, 1834. His parents, Clement and Han- 
' nah (Hiscock) Naldrett, were also natives of 
England. In 1849, they came to the United 
States and settled in Livingston Co., Mich., 
whence they removed three years later to Gratiot 
County and located in the township of Newark. 
They continued to reside there about 23 years, when 
they removed to Eaton County, and there completed 
their lives. 

Mr. Naldrett was 15 years old when he came with 
his parents to America, and he remained under the 
parental authority until he arrived at the estate of 
manhood. On the advent of that period, he bought 
80 acres of wild land on section 31, Newark Town- 
ship. To this he has since added by purchase, and 
now owns 253 acres of land. His tillable land in- 
cludes 160 acres. On taking possession of his farm 
in Newark, he erected a small but every way suitable 
and comfortable frame house, which his family occu- 
pied until 1 88 1. In that year, he built a fine brick 
residence opposite the home of his pioneer days and 
labors, where he enjoys the results of his life of well- 
directed effort. He is one of the leading agricultur- 
ists of his township, and has been, in former years, 
extensively engaged in handling stock, but from im- 



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■i^ paired health has been compelled to abandon that 

'a^\ branch of his business. He keeps, on an average, 

-■^5 50 head of cattle, 15 hogs and 4 horses. He is a 

■? Democrat in affiliation, but not aggressive in any 

sense ; has always declined preferment in local offices, 

for which he has been frequently presented. He is 

a member of the Masonic Order. 

Mr. Naldrett was married in Gratiot Co., Mich., 
Jan. 15, 1857, to Caroline, youngest daughter of 
Simon and Lydia (Kirby) Jones. The parents were 
born respectively in Vermont and Massachusetts, 
and settled in the State of New York, and later went 
to Ohio. In 1856, they became residents of Fulton 
Township, Gratiot County, where they passed the 
remainder of their lives. Mrs. Naldrett was born in 
Seneca Co., Ohio, July 18, 1839, and was an inmate 
of her father's home until her marriage. Mr. and 
Mrs. N. have become the parents of five children : 
Charles S., Ida M., Clement, Laura J. and Lydia J. 



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ohn Price, farmer, on section 15, Fulton 
f Township, is a son of William R. and 
Mary G. Price, natives of New Hampshire. 
They first settled in that State, after marriage, 
and in 1857 came to Gratiot County. Here 
they lived until 1873, and then removed to 
Maple Rapids, where he died, April 16, 1878; and 
she followed him from this world of trouble and of 
care four days later. 

The subject of this notice was born in New 
Hampshire, Sept. 21, 1845, and was but 11 yearsold 
when his parents removed to this county. He re- 
mained on the farm, attending school and working 
for his father, until 18 years old. For almost ten 
years subsequent to leaving home he worked by the 
month at farming and brick-making. He then en- 
gaged in peddling for one year. In the spring of 
1873 he bought 40 acres of partly improved land on 
section 15, where he has put up good buildings and 
has 30 acres under cultivation. 

March 26, 1873, at St. John's, Clinton County, he 
married Mrs. Ann E. Price {/lec Jenne), daughter of 
Ansel Seth and Narcissa Jenne, and widow of 
Charles A. Price. The latter died in Fulton Town- 
ship, Jan. 7, 1868. She was born April 22, 1840, and 
had by her first marriage a son, Charles A., bom 
July 16, 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Price have three chil- 




dren : Eugene H., born Feb. 6, 1874; Frank A., born 
March 26, 1876; Jennie, born March 4, 1880. Mr. 
P. is a member of the Masonic Order, and votes the 
Democratic ticket. 



ijiram W. rrench, farmer on section 15, Se- 
ll^' ville Township, is a son of Joseph and El- 
vira (Loomis) French, natives of Vermont. 
He has followed the trade of blacksmithing, and 
came from New York to Michigan in 1854, and 
settled in Kent County. He afterwards came 
to Gratiot County, and located on 80 acres of wild 
land on section 15, Seville. He has 50 acres well 
improved. 

In the year 1849, he was married to Chrisrina, 
daughter of Peter and Julia (Massado) Jerue, of 
French descent. Her mother was drowned in Seneca 
Lake in 1853. This marriage has been blessed with 
three children : Adelbert H., Mary S. and Francis E. 
Mr. French has been Justice of the Peace four terms, 
and Highway Commissioner also four terms. 

Francis E. French was born in Grand Rapids 
July 26, 1858. Emma Dubois, his wife, was born in 
Wayne Co., Ohio, Feb. 29, 1864, and is a daughter 
of Edward and Mary A. (Burkhart) Dubois, who 
came in 1865 to Isabella County, this State, where 
they now reside. Francis French is politically an 
anti-Monopolist. He was chosen Clerk of his town- 
ship in the spring of 1882. He and wife have one 
son, Francis E., born March 4, 1884. 




afayette Sweatland, one of the pioneer set- 
||IH| tiers of North Star Township, resident on 
fl^T section 12, was born in Franklin Co., Vt., 
W July 25, 1829. He is a son of Philetus and 
^>^ Hannah (Barton) Sweatland, narives of Con- 
necticut and Massachusetts, respectively. They 
moved to Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, in 1831, and Mr. S. 
remembers Cleveland at that time as no larger than 
Ithaca, this county, is at present. The family re- 
mained there until 1843, when they removed to Hu- 
ron County, same State. 

In 1854 Mr. Sweatland came to this State and en- 
tered 320 acres of Government land on the north 



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half of section 12, North Star Township, a portion of 
which he still owns and on which he is now living. 
He brought his family here, consisting of his father, 
motlier, wife and child, in December of that year and 
entered at once upon the arduous task of clearing 
and improving his land. 

Mr. Sweatland experienced all the trials of the 
early pioneer. His customary "log cabin" was 
erected in the woods and under the most adverse 
circumstances. He had only one neighbor within a 
radius of seven miles, and incessant individual toil 
were necessary to accomplish the aim so fondly cher- 
ished in his energetic mind. He worked diligently 
and earnestly, and to-day can look back upon the 
past and smile at the difficulty and adversity they 
ofTered. 

Mr. Sweatland enlisted in the late civil war, enroll- 
ing in Co. D, 26th Mich. Vol. Inf., Aug. 9, 1862, and 
was discharged June 13, 1865. He was detailed to 
accompany the ambulance train and had charge of 
one consisting of 18 wagons. 

He was married in Seneca Co., Ohio, April 28, 
1853, to Lydia, daughter of Dr. Elias Sower, whose 
biography we present in this work, anc^ six children 
have been born to them, namely : Lorena, Josephine 
(died Jan. 14, 1875, aged 19), Hortense (died Dec. 
2, T872, aged 14), Theodore (died June 25, 187 1, 
aged four years and ten months), Arthur E. and 
Benson D. 

Mr. S. is recognized as one of the prominent men 
of the Township, straight-tbrward and honost in his 
dealings with his fellow man and one who has never 
soviglit political favor. He owns 240 acres of land 
in the County, and devotes his time to the cultivation 
and improvement of the same. 

Mr. S. is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and likewise of the Knights of Honor and 
I. O. O. F. 



|g athaniel Walker, farmer, on section 24, 

Fulton Township, is a son of Stephen and 

Lydia (\\'hite) Walker, natives of New 

York and New Hampshire. They settled first 

1^ in Seneca Co., N. Y., and came to Lenawee Co., 

Mich., about 1832, where they lived until their death. 

He died May 27, 1878, and she Aug. 7, 1882. Their 

family comprised four sons and one daughter. 




*i^- 



(iRiP^.;. arius Reid, of Reid & Bro., farmers and 

1'" 1 lift *' /<' 

?;lii;:^£)i, sheep-raisers, section 18, Arcada Township, 



•"1 iJjV- was bom in Almont Township, Lapeer Co., 
"^T<v Mich., July 28, 1841 ; and is the son of Hul- 
^ bert Reid, a native of Genesee Co., N. Y. The 
< father is a farmer in Lapeer County, where he 
located in 1835, in a then new covmtry. Having his 
full share of the hard work incident to clearing and 
improving a timbered farm, his time for study was 
limited. Such opportunities as he had, however, 
were assiduously improved, so that he acquired a very 
fair education. On the breaking out of the Rebell- 
ion, his patriotic impulses led him to offer his ser- 
vices to his country; and accordingly, when only 20 
years old, Aug. 15, 1861, he enlisted in Co. L, ist 
Mich. Vol. Cav., which belonged to Custer's hrigadi-, 
and served in the Army of the Potomac. He fought 
inall engagementsin which his regiment i)articipated. 
He was never wounded, though he had some narrow 
escapes. At one time, in the Shenandoah Valley, he 
had a horse shot from under him, liut he soon obtain- 
ed another, and was off in pursuit of the enemy. At 
Pevrysville, Va., .-ifter three years' service, he was 
honorably discharged. 



'^ 



Nathaniel, the third son, was born in Lenawee 
Co., Mich., Feb. 19, 1836, and worked on the farm 
and attended school until 2 1 years of age. In the 
spring of 1859 he came with his wife and one child 
to Gratiot County, and settled on 80 acres of land 
which he had bought two years previously. He at 
once built a log house and commenced to improve 
his place. He has since added 80 acres, and has 
now under cultivation 125 acres. He has recently 
erected a fine dwelling-house. 

Nov. 2, 1856, in Fairfield, Lenawee Co., Mich., he 
married Miss Ellen E. Reynolds, daughter of Job "^j^ 
and Lydia (Laycock) Reynolds, natives of Rhode 
Island and New York State. Mrs. Walker was born 
in Jackson Co., Mich., Jan. 26, 1838, and is the 
mother of 10 children, eight of whom survive: Sterah 
B., Effie E., Martha J., Anna C, J. D., Glenn A. 
A., Nora M. and Gertie Z. The two deceased are 
Lydia A. and John M. Mr. Walker has been Super- 
visor of his township two years. In politics he is a 
zealous and life-long Republican. 



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425 






Returning home, he taught school one winter, and 
then studied in an academy with a view lo teaching. 
He next took a course in the Iron City Business Col- 
lege, at Pittsburg, Pa., studying also telegraphy. He 
was, after completing his course, then employed on 
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and then as operator 
on tiie Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad at St. John's, 
Mich. Here he remained until 1869. 

June 4, 1869, in Shiawassee County, he was manied 
to Jennie, daughter of Edward and Isabella (Savage) 
Lawrence, natives of the North of Ireland and of 
Scotch descent. The father was by occupation a 
farmer, and died at his home in Vernon Township, 
Shiawassee County, in August, 1876; the mother 
resides on the old homestead, enjoying a hale old age. 
Jennie was born in Brownsville, Jefferson Co., N Y., 
Feb. 25, 1847, and when very young she came with 
her parents to Shiawassee Co., Mich., where she was 
educated and lived till her marriage. In July, after 
that event, Mr. Reid quit the railroad, and with his 
brother engaged at St. John's in shipping wheat and 
other produce. In May, 1872, they came to Gratiot 
County and purchased 280 acres of partly improved 
land on section 18, Arcada Township. Messrs. Reid 
& Bro. have 175 acres under good cultivation, and 
keep 200 and upward fine sheep on hand. 

Mr. and Mrs. Reid are the parents of six children, 
four of whom are living: May Lillian, born Jan. 4, 
1870; Adelia, born Oct. 13,1873; Anna, born Oct. 
i3i '875; ^"d Frank, born June i, 1882. Mr. Reid 
is an active citizen as well as business man. He 
was elected Supervisor of Arcada Township in 1881, 
and again in 1883 ; was for some time Superintendent 
of Schools, and is now School Director. Politically 
he is a staunch Republican. In February, 1883, he 
was appointed for three years President of the Farm- 
ers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Gratiot and 
Isabella Counties. 



= (ev 




atrick Sheridan, farmer, on section 21, 
|: ------ _ Fulton Township, is a son of Michael and 

J^^ Mary (Healey) Sheridan, natives of Ireland, 
SjJ^ where the mother died. The father came to 
Ji^ the United States in 1827, and settled in 
Monroe Co., N. Y., where he died, Nov. 9, 1850. 
Patrick was born in Ireland, Jan. 5, 1826, and came 




to this great republic with his father when 16 years 
old. He lived for eight years in Monroe Co., N. Y., 
and then went to Orleans Co., same State. A year 
later he went to Ohio, afterward returning to New 
York. He lived in the Empire State until October, 
1853, when he came to Brooklyn, Jackson Co., Mich. 
During his stay here he was for a few months in the 
employ of the Government, as a blacksmith. He 
lived there until February, 1865, when he came to 
Gratiot County and settled on 80 acres of section 
21, Fulton Township, which he had bought the year 
previous. He now owns no acres, of which 90 are 
improved. 

Oct. 2, 1849, in Rochester, N. Y., he united him- 
self in marriage to Miss Margaret, daughter of 
Richard and Ellen (Murphy) Hughes, natives of 
Ireland. She was born in County Down, Ireland, 
Nov. 10, 1828. Mr. and Mrs. S. have been the 
parents of ten children, six of whom survive: 
Michael H., Margaret A.,, Francis E., Tom J., Mar)' 
A. and Agnes. The deceased are : Ellen, Thomas, 
Patrick H. and Teresa. The parents are attached 
to the Catholic Church. Politically, Mr. S. votes 
with the Democratic party. 




V^ 



homas Culy, farmer, section 25, New Ha- 
i^i ven Township, is a son of Benjamin and 
Mary E. (VVykes) Culy, natives of England, 
who came to this State in 1835, and died in 
Scio Township, Washtenaw County, where the 
subject of this sketch was born, Sept. 22, 1835. 
He remained with his parents until 16 years of age, 
working on the farm. He then apprenticed himself 
to Alex. Sonier, in the vicinity of Dexter, that coun- 
ty, to learn the cooper's trade. In six months he 
commenced work as a "jour," but after a short time 
he tried farming; then resumed his trade a few 
years; next he worked at blacksmithing some time at 
Williamston, Ingham Co., Mich.; then worked on. a 
farm again for a year, for his brother in his native 
township, then followed railroading three years, and 
then for a time alternated between farming and coop- 
ering. 

He lost his wife, mother and sister at nearly the 
same time, an affliction seldom experienced by any 
one. At this time he lived in Parma, Jackson Coun- 



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ty. Soon afterward, in the fall of 1867, he came to 
Gratiot County, settling first on 40 acres of section 
25, where he still resides. To this he has added 80 
acres, and made good improvements, recently erect- 
ing a fine house and barn. He is now considered a 
first-class farmer. 

Mr. Culy was first married in September, 1856, to 
Miss Charlotte Baker, who was born and brought up 
in the State of New York. After a sliort residence 
with her parents in Washtenaw County, whither the 
family had moved, she was married, and then resided 
in Jackson County until her death, which occurred 
Aug. 29. 1865. Nov. 7, 1867, Mr. C. was again mar- 
ried to Miss Elizabeth Myra, who was born June i, 
1849, in Clinton Co., Ohio. She has become the 
mother of six children, namely: Clara, Sarah E., 
Rosa M., Frederick J., Emma G. and Ansel B. 

Mr. Culy is in politics a Democrat, and has held 
several township offices. 



eorge W. Pulfrey, proprietor of the Pul- 
frey House, at Alma, was born ijan. 18, 
T'!is~' 1852, in Seneca Co., N. Y. His parents, 
^ Alexander and Susan A. (Longwood) Pulfrey, 
were natives of the State of New York, where 
they established their home after marriage. 
In 1S63 they came to Michigan and settled in Wash- 
ington Township, (iratiot County. After a stay there 
of five years they went to St. John's, Clinton County, 
where the father is yet living. The mother died 
there in 1874. 

Mr. Pulfrey became his own master when he was 
16 year'i old. About the time his parents removed 
to Clinton County, he began to drive stage between 
St. John's and St. Louis, and acted in that capacity 
about three years. In 1875, he engaged as aclerkin 
the Exchange Hotel at St. Louis, and was there em- 
ployed until the spring of 1878 when he leased the 
Seaman House, at Alma. A year and a half later 
he bought the property and is still conducting the 
same business. The hotel is now known as the " Pul- 
frey House " and has accommodations for 35 guests. 
Mr. Pulfrey is a Republican in political principle. 

He was married at Maple Rapids, Clinton County, 
Sept. 2, 1873, to Eliza, daughter of Joseph and Eliz- 
abeth Eicher. Mrs. Pulfrey was born Jan. 24. 1855, 




in Gratiot Co., Mich. Her parents were born on the 
river Rhine, in France and Switzerland. Three chil- '^\ 
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Pulfrey are named Her ^^ 
bert G., Grace M. and Iva M. 



^■®H«)>-» 



rffim illiam Smith, farmer, section 34, New Ha- 
tiHr4™ i9 ven Township, is a son of Joseph and 
»-<p'Mary (Stifler) Smith, natives of Pennsylva. 
nia and of English descent. William was 
born in Stark Co., Ohio, Nov. 31, 1839, where 
he lived till he was nine years old, when the 
family removed to Seneca County. There our sub- 
ject worked on the farm, attending school during the 
winters, till he arrived at manhood's estate. He re- 
mained in his father's employment till he was 24 
years of age, at which time he was united in marriage 
with Catharine Brillhart. The newly wedded couple 
settled down at once on a farm in Seneca County, 
where they remained for 16 years. At the end of 
that period they came to Gratiot County and pur- 
chased the farm owned by James Blain. This con- 
sisted of 80 acres, part of which was improved. He 
has since made some excellent changes in the farm 
buildings, has added 50 acres to his farm, and now 
has 93 acres under the plow. 

Mrs. Smith was born in Stark Co., Ohio, Dec. 25, 
1841, moving with her parents when 1 1 years of age 
to Crawford County, and afterward to Seneca County, 
where she was married. She is the mother of three 
children, as follows: Clara A., born Sept. 25, 1864; 
Jennie M., March 3, 1868; and Sarah B., May 31, 
1872. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of theGer- 
man Baptist or Dunkard Church, of which Mr. Smith 
is a Deacon. He has held several offices of his town- 
ship and in politics is a strong Republican. 

-tet' — 

_^|C eorge H. Yerington, agent of the Amer- 
_^^|' ican Express Company, resident at Alma, 
^^llS^ ^ was born at Ionia, Mich., Aug. 19, 1853, 
^y|v > and is the son of William and Amanda (Ben- 
nett) Yerington. His father was a native of 
Connecticut, his mother of Michigan. In the 
spring of 1865 they came to Alma, where they are 
yet resident. 

At the age of 16 Mr. Yerington entered the cm- 



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ploy of his brother Almon, then a druggist at Alma. 
He was occupied there five years, until the business 
terminated by a change of proprietorship, and he 
was variously employed until June, 1881, when he 
engaged as clerk in the drug store of Geo. C. Waller. 
A year later he obtained a situation with George C. 
Beebe, and operated in the capacity of assistant sev- 
eral months. In January, 1883, he secured a posi- 
tion with Joseph B. Salisbury in the drug business, 
which relation continued until March, 18S4. He is 
now with B. S. Webb, druggist. In the fall of 1883 
he received his appointment as express agent. He 
is a Republican in political principle. 

Mr. Yerington was married at Alma, Oct. 26, 1881, 
to Ada, daughter of C. P. and Maria Sherman. She 
is a native of the State of New York. 



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a tiles Kennedy, M. D., physician and sur- 
geon, at St. Louis, is the son of Rev. 
George W. and Ellen (Jennings) Kennedy, 

and was born April i, 1838, in Lebanon, Ky. 

His father was born in 1805, in New London, 

Pa., and was educated at Princeton College, 
at which institution he graduated with honor. He 
studied theology and entered the ministry of the 
Presbyterian Church, in whose interests he has 
labored since he commenced his career of active 
ministerial service. He has labored chiefly in Ken- 
tucky, Maryland and Delaware, and is still acting in 
his vocation in Middletown, Del. On the paternal 
side Dr. Kennedy is descended from the sturdy race 
known and distinguished as Scotch-Irish. His 
grandfather, accompanied by two brothers, came to 
the American continent just prior to the colonial 
struggle for independence, and all three adopted the 
issues of the Revolution, engaging in the war, in 
which one of them held the rank of Major. They 
settled at New London, Pa., and founded the 
academy at that place. The institution has always 
held first rank in educational standing, and they 
continued its management a number of years. On 
the mother's side Dr. Kennedy is a lineal descend- 
ant of John Jennings, Duke of Ghent, better known 
to history as John of Gaunt. Humphrey Jennings, 
son of the Lancastrian ancestor, resided in Birming- 
ham, England. He had five sons and two daugh- 



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ters. Three sons — Daniel, Augustin and William — Af 
came to America. The daughters were : Sarah, wife ■(%] 
of the Duke of Marlborough, and Frances, Duchess %^ 
of Tyrconnel. women whose beauty turned the heads 
of kings and revolutionized courtly circles. Daniel \ 
Jennings was born in 1690, in Suffolkshire, England. 
He sold his estate and came to Maryland in 1722, 
afterward removing to Virginia. His sons, Daniel 
and James, were in the colonial service during the 
entire period of the Revolution. The former was 
born Oct. 3, 1737, in Fairfax, Va., and died in 1783. 
The latter was born in 1735 and died in i8ii. 
Daniel Jennings (third) was born in Virginia in 
r769, was married in 1799, and died at Lebanon, 
Ky., in 1846. He married Sarah Jennings, a de- 
scendant from a collateral branch of the same family, 
born 1776, died 1852; and his daughter, whose full 
name was Mary Elinor Foster Jennings, was the 
mother of Dr. Kennedy. She was born in Virginia 
in 1808, and died in Lebanon, Ky., in 1840. 

The parents of Dr. Kennedy removed to Delaware j>, 
when he was in his boyhood, and soon after he be- ^ 
came a pupil at the Milford Academy, where he was ^ 
a student until he was 17 years old, when he entered ^ 
the University of Pennsylvania, and was graduated = 
from the Medical Department in the spring of 1858. S-/ 
He spent two years in prospecting through the West 
and Southwest, and finally settled in the Shenandoah ' 
Valley, Va., where he engaged in practice about one 
year, when he was appointed Surgeon in the Con- 
federate Army, in the corps of Stonewall Jackson. 
He was afterward assigned to the command of Beau- 
regard, and later to that of Gen. Robert E. Lee. He 
was taken prisoner at Newbern, N. C, and held in 
durance about one month in the city of Washington. 
After the close of the war he returned to private 
practice in Newark, Delaware. 

The professional standing of Dr. Kennedy during 
the war is fully evidenced by the fact that, after the 
batde of Antietam, he was sent under a flag of truce 
by Gen. Lee to Frederick City as chief of a corps of 
surgeons to co-operate with the surgeons of the Fed- (^ 
eral army in relieving the wounded of both armies, f 
The special order of Gen. Lee prescribed that all .,■■-., 
bills created by Dr. Kennedy in tlie line of his offi- 
cial duty and ajiproved by him should be paid in »,/ 
gold by the Secretary of the Confederate Treasury at ^^ 
Richmond. He was at Frederick six weeks, and on ^ 
his return was appointed Inspector of Hospitals as a ^y.^^,^ 




43° 



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mark of appreciation of his services in the discharge 
of his responsible and arduous labors. Gov. Jervis, of 
North Carolina, while in attendance at the Yorktown 
celebration in i88i, related the following incident to 
Judge Brown and Robert Smith, Esq., of Ithaca. He 
was terribly wounded at the battle of Drury's Bluff 
in the shoulder joint, and the examining surgeons 
had decided on amputation as a necessity, and loss 
of life as more than probable. Dr. Kennedy chanced 
to pass at the moment, and Gov. Jervis called his 
attention to his case, and stated the determination 
of the other surgeons. After an examination Dr. 
Kennedy stated his opinion, which was that the arm 
could be saved with a lossof several inches in length. 
The instruments were turned over to him, and he 
successfully performed the difficult and, at that time, 
rare operation, resection of shoulder joint, to the great 
satisfaction and admiration of the surgeons present. 
On concluding his remarks, the Governor extended 
a very useful arm, observing: " Here, gentlemen, is 
the arm, shortening and all." He declared that he 
was furthermore indebted to Dr. Kennedy for his life. 
After the close of the war in 1865, Dr. Kennedy was 
offered the chair of Medical Practice in Richmond 
Medical College, but declined the honor. 

In 1 87 I Dr. Kennedy came to St. Louis, where he 
has established a prosperous and popular business. 
He has taken a conspicuous part in the establish- 
ment of all public improvements, as the Holly water 
works, a good system of sewerage and splendid pub- 
lic schools. He is the owner of considerable village 
property, and is a member of the State Medical So- 
ciety of Michigan. He is also known in the circles 
of medical literature as a contributor to the medical 
journals of the day. 

In 1866-7, Dr. Kennedy wrote a series of papers, 
which were published in the Medical and Surgical 
Reporter of Philadelphia, on " Mistakes in Surgical 
Diagnosis," and cited many cases of patients and 
practitioners then living. These were the occasion 
of many acrimonious professional disputes, but the 
general consensus of opinion settled in favor of Dr. 
Kennedy. In 1869, he published a statement of his 
experiences in treatment of scarlet fever by cool baths 
and cool regimen. The idea was unique at that 
time, and called forth a storm of denunciation, but its 
great merit was soon demonstrated, and the treat- 
ment may now be found in all works on practical 




medicine. In 1872, he wrote "The Mineral Springs 
of Michig-an," a work which gave the first and only 
authenticated account of the (juality of the famous 
waters of the State and its health results. It was 
published in a handsomely bound octavo volume, the 
first edition of which was soon exhausted. A second 
edition was about to be issued when the establish- 
ment doing the work was burned, and the plates were 
destroyed. Dr. Kennedy's work is mentioned by re- 
cent publications on the topic of mineral waters and 
summer resorts as authoritative. In 1870, through 
the Medical and Surgical Reporter, he called the at- 
tention of the profession to the value of Iodoform as 
a remedial agent, and recited numerous cases illus 
trating its use. These papers were copied by the 
leading medical journals of this country and Europe, 
and Iodoform has taken a high position all over the 
world as a therapeutic agent. Since 1872, he has 
been a contributor to the Detroit Review of Medicine 
and its successors. Among his recent contributions 
to medical journalism which have attracted much 
notice are, "The Direct Abstraction of Heat as a 
Method in the Treatment of Typhoid Fever," and on 
the " Philosophical Treatment of Diphtheria." 

Dr. Kennedy is prominent in local politics, and 
has been for several years Chairman of the Demo- 
cratic County Committee. 

In 1876, at the beginning of the " absolute money " 
furor. Dr. Kennedy made a speech at the Democratic 
convention in Ithaca in favor of " honest money." 
This speech was published in nearly every paper in 
the United States that was opposed to the absolute 
money scheme. The following paragraph caused it 
to be known as " Kennedy's milk-ticket speech :" 

Gentlemen, I show you another paper credit used 
a good deal in my neighborhood. It reads ; 

GOOD FOR ; 

: ONE QUART OF MILK. : 

: E. Goodrich. : 

Now, Mr. Goodrich is a very worthy, energetic 
farmer who lives near me. Last winter we had a lit- 
tle deal, and I got several dollars worth of these 
paper counters. Now, suppose, when I applied for 
milk, Mr. Goodrich had fallen hack on his dignity and 
said : " Sir, do you doubt my solvency ? Art not my 
farms, lands, tenements and chattels pledged for that 
milk ? Are not my resources as large as any man's 






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in Gratiot County ? What you want is not milk but 
faith! You ought to have more faith in these tick- 
ets." Most of you would think Mr. Goodrich a very 
singular man. Now, suppose the murrain breaks out 
in Mr. Goodrich's herd of cows, or a drouth comes on 
and makes his pastures fail, and the quantity of milk 
is decreased by one-half, so that every morning, in- 
stead of giving him two of these tickets and getting 
tivo quarts of milk, I can only get one quart and give 
him one ticket. Everybody is served the same way. 
Pretty soon a part of our population get tired of half 
rations of milk and they hold a rousing indignation 
meeting, and a terrific resolution is passed that Good- 
rich shall issue — not more milk — -but more milk tick- 
ets! which shall read, " This is one i\\.\ax\ absoliile 
milk!" 

But, gentlemen, I have a piece of " absolute "mon- 
ey here. It was on white paper originally, but it has 
become yellow with age. It is rudely engraved. On 
its face is a ship, a plow, and three sheaves of wheat, 
emblematic, of course, of agriculture and commerce. 
It bears this legend, " This bill shall pass for six- 
teen shillings." This bill is about in the hundredth 
year of its existence, and it has failed to pass for any- 
thing for about 95 years. The '" faith and credit " of 
the grand old commonwealth of Pennsylvania that 
issued this paper was as great as the human mind 
can conceive. Her men were of the highest order of 
patriots; they gave fortune and life as a free libation 
on the altar of their country, in the cause of freedom. 
There is a sweet odor of liberty still clings to this old 
bill — political liberty, individual liberty, for which 
martyrs have died and heroes contended for ages. 
The charter of human rights, the habeas corpus, was 
not suspended to print this bill. No arrests without 
warrant of law was made. A speedy trial by jury was 
denied no one. All the great rights of personal and 
community independence were held sacred. If gov- 
ernment can create money out of nothing, this was 
the supreme moment of the world's history for the ac- 
complishment of so great an end. 

And yet, with all their patriotism and valor, with 
all their heroic deeds on land and sea, with a faith in 
the desiiny of their country which stood side by side 
with the faith in their Creator, witji a faith and credit 
built up of sterner stuff than ever bivouacked on the 
world's wide Ijattle-field, and yet its paper absolute 
money failed ; $500 would not buy a pair of boots 
to protect your patriot fathers' feet from the frozen 
ground as they marched forward to liberty or death. 
My God, what a commentary on absolute money ! 
We are told that the pensions of the soldiers of to- 
day's Republic are to l)e paid in this absolute money. 
If so when another centennial birthday comes to the 
Republic, some grandson of yours will stand here, 
where a grandson of the old Revolution stands to-day, 
and will show to that generation, as you see to-day, 



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the utter worthlessness of a dollar, so called, created 
out of nothing," 

Dr. Kennedy is enthusiastic on the subject of rev- 
enue reform and is violently opposed to a protective 
tariff. He has written a good deal on the tariff (jues- 
tion for leading journals of the country. One paper, 
on " Orange Culture in Michigan," first published in 
the Detroit News, has been republished in a large 
number of newspapers throughout the country, and 
published in pamphlet form by many of the free- 
trade clubs. It is styled by the New York Tiiiies 
"an exquisite burlesque on protection." 

Dr. Kennedy was married Jan. 22, 1872, in Dela- 
ware, to Mary Reybold, the daughter of William 
Reybold. The Reybolds have long been known for 
their energy, enterprise, integrity and wealth. She 
died at St. Louis, March 22, 1878, and left tliree 
children : William, born May 28, 1873; George, May 
23, 1876; and Mary, March 17, 1878. Dr. Kennedy 
was again married, Oct. 16, 1883, at Ghent, Ky., 
to Amanda, daughter of Hiram Froman, one of the 
most enterprising and successful agriculturists in the 
Ohio Valley. Mrs. Kennedy was born in 1859, in 
Kentucky. 

The people of Gratiot County will doubtless be grati- 
fied to see the portrait of Dr. Kennedy in this work, 
and it is accordingly given, on a preceding page. 



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ames McClelland, merchant at Sethton, 
was born in Seneca Co., Ohio, May 2, 1849. 
His parents were natives of Pennsylvania 
and of Scotch ancestry, and moved to Seneca 
If County in an early day. He remained with his 
parents laboring on the farm and attending 
school until 19 years old, when he entered Heidel- 
berg College, at Tiffin, Ohio, and laid the foundation 
for a good practical education. After two years' at- 
tendance at this institution, he took a preparatory 
course at the State Normal School, Republic, Ohio, 
contemplating teaching as a profession. He com- '?^ 
pleted a collegiate course at Oberlin, Ohio, and then | 
a commercial course. Next he learned telegraphy, ^-' 
and was operator at Ploomfield, Ohio, a year, then ^> 
managed his father's farm and homestead for six years, ^ 
and then came, in 1870, and purchased 80 acres of v?\ 
wild land in North Shade Township, this county, "^ 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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'^ where he commenced im|irovements. After clearing 
40 acres he sold out, in November, 1873, and estab- 

:% lished a general merchandise store, at what is known 
'■[' as Sethton postoffice, New Haven Township, with a 
stock of more than $1,000. He has since increased 
his stock, adding agricultural implements to his trade, 
and his business amounts annually to nearly $15,000. 
Mr. McClelland has held the office of Justice of tlie 
Peace. In politics he is a Republican. 

March 3:, 1S76, Mr. McClelland was married, in 
Morrow Co., Ohio, to Miss Mary McWiUiams, a na- 
tive of Woodbury, that county. She was born May 
14, 1856, and died Sept. 4, 1882, at her home in New 
Haven Township, leaving a husband and a large cir- 
cle of friends to mourn her death. She was a mem- 
ber of the Metliodist Kpiscopal Church, as is also 
Mr. McClelland. 





imothy D. Ackles, farmer, section 24, North 

I Star Township, was born in Onondaga Co., 

* N. Y., Aug. 13, 1835, and is a son of Tart- 

elus Ackles, a native of the same State. Mr. 

Ackles remained at home, on the parental farm, 

assisting in the maintenance of tiie family and 

attending the common seliools until he arrived at the 

age of 19 years, when he set forth on the voyage of 

life to fight the battles of adversity alone. 

Possessing an abundance of energy and persever- 
ance, two necessary reqviisites to success; and, follow- 
ing the dictates of an ambitious determination to 
" possess a goodly share of tliis world's goods," and 
realizing the rapid growth which Michigan was des- 
tined to make, he selected this State for his home. 

He arrived in Clinton County in the spring of 1854, 
and in the following fall came to this county. He 
experienced all the trials and adversities which en- 
countered the eady pioneers ; and, possessing the true 
weapons with which to battle against them, an indom- 
itable will combined with energy and pluck, success- 
'^ fully overcame them and added to his landed posses- 
sions until he now owns 282 acres of land, with a 
goodly portion urider cultivation, and" comfort sitting 
in the lap of plenty " smiles at the trials of tlie past. 

Mr. Ackles was married Aug. 20, 1865, to Abigail 
Fox, daughter of Jacob Fox, deceased. Three chil- 
dren have been born to them, and the Angel of 



Death has thrown her arms around them all and 
borne them to a better home. 

Mr. A. is a member of the Masonic Order and is 
one of the representative men of his township. He 
is now and always has been an active Republican. 
He has held several local offices in liis township and 
school district. 







r^harles Westfall, of the firm of Westfall & 

"^''r^^^ ^o-) druggists at Ithaca, was born in Lyon 

fi'l,,'^' Township, Oakland Co., Mich., Nov. 5, 1852, 

and is tiie son of Philetus and Lydia (Knapp) 

Westfall. His father was born April 1, 1822, 

in Phelps, Ontario Co., N. Y., and is now 

resident on his farm near Ypsilanti. His mother was 

born in Salem, Washtenaw C"o., Mich., June 7, 1829, 

and is still living. 

Mr. Westfall remained in his native township until 
he was 14 years old, where he was a pupil at school. 
In 1866, his parents removed to Ypsilanti, where he 
liecame a student at the Normal School. He was 
engaged in study tiiere until he was near his majori- 
ty, and he was graduated in the full English course. 
He went home to his father's farm, and stayed until 
the spring of 1882. In May of that year, he formed 
a partnership with Byron S. Knapp, and established 
his present business at Ithaca. The firm have a 
good repute, and are meeting with gratifying success. 
Mr. Westfall was married Nov. 26, 1872, to Ella, 
daughter of Nelson and Caroline Fowler, born in 
Superior Township, Washtenaw Co., Mich., June 17, 
1853. One daughter, Myrtie, was born in Canton, 
Wayne Co., Mich., Aug. 24, 1874. 



'^^^WK ci-ry D. Pettit, liveryman, at Alma, was 

(*-4; born April 6, 1848, in Allen Co., Ohio, and 

•'.'^ is the son of Melancthon and Jane (Thorpe) 

Pettit. His parents were born respectively in 

Niagara Co., N. Y., and Wayne Co., Ohio. The 

father was a farmer by occupation and, soon 

after his marriage, settled in the Buckeye State. In 

185s the family came to Gratiot County. Tiie 

mother died Jan. 25, 1865, the father Aug. 5, 1866. 

Mr. Pettit come to Gratiot County with his parents 



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when he was seven years old. In 1863 he became 
a soldier for the Union, and was one of the youngest 
men in actual military service from the Peninsular 
State being but 15 years old. He enlisted in what 
proved to be one of the most celebrated regiments 
engaged in the war — the Fourth Mich. Cav, He 
served nearly two years and was in the engagements 
at Selma, Ala., and Double Bridges, Ga. He was in 
many skirmishes and unimportant actions, and also 
participated in the pursuit of Jefferson Davis in his 
flight from Richmond. 

He returned from the army to Gratiot County and 
remained at home while his parents lived. For some 
years after their deaths, he was variously engaged at 
different points. He had bought meanwhile 80 acres 
of land in Emerson Township, on which he located 
in 1874. He continued the pursuit of farming until 
1 88 1, when he sold part of liis farm and came to 
Alma. He at once opened an establishment for the 
prosecution of tlie business in which he has since 
been engaged. He is a Republican in politics. He 
has been Justice of the Peace in Emerson Town- 
ship, and in the spring of 1883 was elected Constable 
of Arcada Township. In the summer of the same 
year he received the appointment of Village Marshal 
of Alma. He is a member of Moses Wisner Post, 
No. loi, G. A. R. 

Mr. Pettit was married at Ithaca, April 6, 1874, to 
Cora A., daughter of Merritt and Fanny (Swan) 
Brown. She was born Aug. 26, 1854, in NiagarajCo., 
N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Pettit have two children — Roy 
E., born April 15, 1875, and Clara J., born Dec. 6, 
1877. 






erdinand Montigel, of the firm of J. M. 

in Montigel & Co., at Alma, was born in Erie, 

22, 1854, and is a son of J. M. 

(See 




Pa, Nov, 
and Anna Barbara (Segrist) Montigel 
^l'^ sketch of J. M. Montigel). Mr. Montigel re- 
ceived an education in both German and Eng- 
lish, and when he was between nine and ten years 
old went to Ashtabula, Ohio, whither liis parents re- 
moved. In March, 187 1, he came to Alma and 
learned the details of the business in which his 
father engaged. In 1875 he became a member of 
the firm of J. M. Montigel & Co., founders and ma- 





-K^^D!l>:illlr> 



chinists. He is a man of industrious and energetic 
business habits and has gained an enviable position 
in society and business circles. He is a member of 
the Masonic Order and is in political views a Repub- 
lican. 



ames A. Stuttz, merchant and member of 
the house of Wright, Schneider & Stutlz, 
''^^ resident at Alma, is a descendant from Ger- 
man ancestors. His parents were both born 
in Germany, whence they emigrated with their 
respective families in youth. On reaching 
America they settled in Detroit, and after some years 
went to Canada, where they married and settled. 
The family of Jacob and Mary A. (Vetor) Stuttz 
comprised 14 children, eight daughters and six sons, 
of whom James A. was si.xth in order of birth. 

He was born June 12, 1852, in Rochester, Essex 
Co., Canada, and resided in the Dominion until he 
was 15 years of age. He passed the time previous 
to that age in acquiring his education at the common 
schools, and was also instructed in German. 

In 1868, although a mere youth, he entered upon 
his struggle for place and advancement in life. He 
obtained a position as cashier in the dry-goods estab- 
lishment of S. Kirchner, at Detroit. He operated in 
that capacity about a twelvemonth. 

He was employed successively by Freedman Bros., 
J. Lowrie & Sons. With the latter he remained nine 
years, and at the expiration of that period re-entered 
the employ of Freedman Bros., with whom he has 
served one year. He operated in their behalf a 
second year, when, in November, 1880, he engaged 
with Taylor, Wolfenden & Co. as manager of the 
silk department in their new store. In June, 1882, 
he resigned his situation and came to Alma, where 
he l)ecame junior partner in the firm with which he is 
still connected. The business of the concern in- 
cludes general merchandise and traffic in grain. 
The annual transactions rci)resent $100,000, exclu- 
sive of grain. 

Mr. Stuttz is a Renublican in political faith and 
connections. 

The publishers of this volume take great pleasure 
in presenting the portrait of Mr. Stuttz on another 
page. He holds deserved I'ank in the generation 
whose interests his efforts serve to advance. 



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lexander McDaid, faiiner.section 28, North 
Star Township, and an early pioneer of the 
S|i$-W same, was born in County Londonderry, Ire- 
land, Sept. 13, 1828. He is a son of Joseph 
McDaid, deceased, native of Ireland, and he 
emigrated to the United States and settled in 
Chester Co., Pa., in 1846, from whence he moved, in 
1849, to Hancock Co., Ohio, and in the fall of 1854 
came to this State and settled on section 28, North 
Star Township, this county, where our subject has 
resided ever since. On his arrival in this county he 
entered the west half of the northeast (juarter of sec- 
tion 28, Government land, on which he is now living. 

The difficulty of establishing a home in the woods 
and clearing his land amid the adversities so common 
to the early pioneer, were successfully overcome by 
honest effort and ambitious aim, and Mr. McDaid 
remembers the past with smiles of satisfaction and 
content. 

Mr. McDaid was married March 17, r849, to Ele- 
anor, daughter of Thomas Bartrim, and seven chil- 
dren have been born to tlieir union, six of whom are 
living, namely: Joseph T., (ieor'ge M., Mary A., 
Margaret J., Warren A. and Cora M. The second 
son, John J., was drowned in Bad River, Saginaw 
County, this State, in 1873, and while in his 2tst 
year. 

Mr. McDaid is a member of the I. O. O. F.,and an 
acknowledged representative man of his township. 



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obert J. Bittner, farmer, section 22, La- 
fayette Township, is a son of Karl and 
iCS.\ Joanna (Horzick) Bittner, natives of Prus- 
\^ sia, where they lived until their deatli. He 
was born March 20, 1828. At the age of 24 
he came to America, and settled in Macomb 
Co., Mich., where he lived for eight years. He then 
spent several montlis in the Stale of Iowa. Return- 
ing to Macomb County, he shortly went to Shiawas- 
see County. Sept. 14, i86r, he enlisted in the Eighth 
Infantry. He served three years, and was discharged 
in front of Petersburg, Va., Sept. 23, 1864. Among 
the many engagements in which he was present were 
James Island (S. C), the second battle of Bull Run, 

- g^.cj.. ^^^^ — --^n 




South Mountain (Md.) and Antietam. He was 
wounded in the last engagement. After his dis- 
charge he came to Shiawassee County, and in the 
spring of 1865 he came to Gratiot County. He 
bought 80 acres of land on section 22, Lafayette 
Township, where he now resides. He has 42 acres 
under cultivation. 

He was married April 5, 1866, in Lafayette Town- 
ship, to Jennie C, daughter of Ebenezer and Nancy 
(Bickford) Brownell, natives of New York. Mr. 
Brownell died in that State, and Mrs. Brownell still 
res-ides in Chautauijua Co., N. Y. Mrs. Bittner was 
born in New York, April 15, 1838. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bittner have had one son, Julius R., born Sept. 5, 
r867. 

Mr. Bittner is a member of Moses Wisner Post, 
No. loi, G. A. R., at Ithaca. In politics he is a 
Republican. 




I athan Boyer, farmer, section 7, Arcada 
Township, was born m Maumee, Ohio, 
Oct. 7, 1840, and was the son of Daniel 
Boyer, a native of Schuylkill Co., Pa. The 
father was a gunsmith by trade, and worked at 
tliat in Pennsylvania, then in Ohio, and then in 
Michigan. He died in Pine River Townshi]), near 
Alma, in this county, Aug. 3, 1874, aged 63 years. 
Nathan's mother was Savila Holcomb, a native of 
New England and of Scotch ancestry. She died 
when Nathan was ipiite young, in Medina Co., Ohio, 
whither the family had removed in 1840. After his 
mother's death, Nathan and his father went to Wyan- 
dotte County, and in the fall of 1855 they came to 
Alma, this county. At that time Alma contained 
three dwelling-houses and a log store, and was sur- 
rounded for miles by an unbroken forest. Here he 
passed his boyhood from T5 to 21, attending the 
common schools of Pine River Township. 

Aug. 7, 1862, he enlisted in Co. D, 26th Mich. 
Vol. Inf., and was assigned to the Army of the Poto- 
mac. He participated in some heavy skirmishes, 
but escaped unhurt. After 14 months he was de- 
tailed to the Brigade Commissary department, where 
he served till the close of tlie war, being honorably 
discharged June 4, 1865. Returning home, he was 
married, Feb. 21, 1866, to Rosanna Winslow, who 



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was born in Ionia County in 1847, and died in Alma, 
Nov. 3, 1867. He was again married, in Pine 
River Township, to Flora E., daughter of William 
and Teresa Jane (Norton) Hayes, natives of New 
York. He was of Irish and German descent, and 
she of French and English. They followed farm- 
ing, and came to Michigan in 1848, stopping at Ann 
Arbor. At that place Flora E. was born, April 24, 
1850, and not many years later they moved to North 
Plains, Ionia County, where they lived 15 years. In 
that county she received her education. Afterward 
^ they came to this county and located in Pine River 
Township. 

In the summer of 1870 Mr. and Mrs. Boyer located 
on 40 acres on section 7, Arcada Township. He has 
since added 40 acres, and has improved 68 acres. 
He erected a good house and barn, the former of 
which was burned March 21, 1873. This was a se- 
vere loss, but by perseverance he has conquered, and 
has rebuilt his house. 

They have a family of three children : Dora Ar- 
minnie, born May 4, 1870; \Villiam Daniel, born 
May 4, 1872; and Herbert Merle, Aug. 31, 1882. 
Mr. Boyer is in politics a Greenbacker. Mrs. Boyer 
is a member of the Christian Church. 



^^-H^S'^ 



i^p^dward A. Chase, farmer, section 9, North 
:[_^g,-; .Star Township, was born in Greene Co.i 
^'t^' '" N. Y., July 4, 1826, and is a son of George 
^ik Chase; now deceased, a native of the same 
'' county, and a farmer and mechanic, who re- 
j moved with his family to Livingston Co., N. Y., 
in 1830. The subject of this sketch was reared on a 
farm and educated in the common schools of the 
county last named. He came to Ingham Co., Mich., 
in 1852, thence to Ionia County in 1856, and the fol- 
lowing year to this county, settling where he now 
resides, in what was then wild woods. He lived in 
an extemporized shanty until fall, then built a log 
house. His wife helped clear and plant the garden 
spot. They planted tlieir first corn with an ax; it 
came up nicely within six days after planting. 

Mr. Chase enlisted in tlie late war, in Co. G, 23d 
Mich. Vol. Inf, bu'., being an invalid much of the 
time, he was kept at light-guard duty around the hos- 
pital. In his township he has been Justice of the 




Peace 12 years, and has been Superintendent of the 
Poor about 14 years. 

Mr. Chase was married Oct. 25, 1850, to Miss Su- 
san, daughter of Richard Baldwin (deceased); she 
was born in Lancashire, England, Aug. 16, 1826, and 
came to America with her parents when 1 1 years 
of age. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Chase are, 
George B., Hattie (deceased), Richard, Cora (de- 
ceased) and Ella. 





1 



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evi Leonard, farmer, section 3, Pine River 
Township, was born April 6, 1828, in Penn- 
sylvania, and is a son of Lot and Elizabeth 
(Mosher) Leonard, both of whom were natives 
of the Keystone State, where they resided all 
their lives. 

Mr. Leonard continued to live in his native State, 
engaged in milling, until November, 1S74, when he 
came to Gratiot County, and he has since been occu- 
pied in farming. In the same year of his removal 
hither, he settled upon the farm he now owns, con- 
sisting of 40 acres of land, all of which is now im- 
proved. He belongs to the National Greenback 
party. 

He was married Dec. 31, 1863, in Greene Co., Pa., 
to Mary J., daughter of Jehu E. and Sarah Parkin- 
son. (See sketch of J. E. Parkinson.) She was born 
in that county March 19, 1839. George C"., Annie 
M. and Barnett P. are the names of the three chil- 
dren that have been added to the family circle. The 
mother is a member of the Disciples' Church. 



illiam A. Moore, farmer, section 34, La- 
fayette Township, is a son of Ezra A. and 

Mary (Wrigleworth) Moore, natives of 
Clarefield and Center Counties, Pa., respect- 
ively. Ezra A. Moore was by occupation a 
farmer, and lived in Pennsylvania until 1864. 
The family then removed to Ohio, and farmed in 
Medina County one year, and Sandusky County two 
years. In the spring of 1867 they came to Michigan 
and settled on the northwest <piarterof the northwest 
quarter of section 34, Lafayette Township, this 
county. Mrs. Moore died July 11, 1868; Mr. Moore 



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married again, and is still living, in that township. 

The subject of this sketch was born Nov. 9, 1852, 
and lived with his parents until 18 years of age, 
working on the farm and attending the common 
schools. He then went to live with H. R. Wilcox, 
on section 6, Lafayette Township, and learned the 
carpenter's trade. This he followed altogether for 
seven years'. Sept. 16, 1877, he was united in mar- 
riage to Louisa, daughter of E. H. Burgin, of Lafay- 
ette Ton'nship. The following spring he purchased 
80 acres on section 34, and has since followed 
farming. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moore are the parents of two boys: 
Merton A. and Frank G., born Dec. 22, 1878, and 
March 4, 1883. Mr. Moore is a young man of en- 
terprise, and is very popular in his community. He 
was elected Township Treasurer in 1878, and again 
in 1879; in 1880 was chosen Supervisor, and 1882 
was appointed to a vacancy in the same office. 
Politically, he is a member of the National party. 
He belongs to the Masonic Order and to the 
Grangers. 

' trf|.i. onathan Courter, farmer, section 7, Arcada 

|t" Township, was born in Yates Co., N. Y., 

^(^'=3' j^jy 2(3^ 1827, and is the son of David and 
Fanny (Sutton) Courter, natives of New York, 
Y ^nd of New England parentage, though for- 
merly of Irish and German extraction. They 
followed farming, and died in this county, the 
father Nov. 12, 1871, aged nearly 65, and the 
mother in the spring of 1881, aged 73 years and 10 
months. Jonathan lived in his native county till 
four years old, then in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., until 
16 years old, attending school and working on the 
farm, and then came with his parents to Ionia Co., 
Mich. The family were early settlers of Orleans 
Township, in that county, and Jonathan being the 
eldest son, and there being no school in his neigh- 
borhood, he spent many years at work that most boys 
usually spend in study and play. He worked early 
and late, to help his father get their farm in good 
condition, until he was 21. 

Dec. 25, 1848, he was married to Sarah A. Barton, 
who was born in Oakland County, Oct. 10, 1830. 
She died Sept. 28, 1856, leaving two children to com- 



fort her husband: David F., born Oct. 18, 1850; 
John S., born Nov. 7, 185 1. He was again married, 
in New Haven Township, this county, April 11, 1858, 
to Esther, daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Gin- 
gery) Wiles, natives of Pennsylvania and of German 
descent. The mother died at New Haven Center, 
Jan. 23, 1874. Tlie father is still living on the 
homestead at the same place, at an advanced age. 
Esther was born Oct. 10, 1846, and passed her 
maidenhood in Wood Co., Ohio, and in New Haven 
Township, Gratiot County. 

Immediately after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Courter 
settled on his homestead on section 7, Arcada Town- 
ship. This consists of 170 acres, of which 100 are 
nicely improved and under cultivation. They have 
had a family of nine children, three of whom are 
:iot living. The living are: Alexander, born Jan. 
10, 1859; Katie, Nov. 21, 1862; Rosa, March 25, 
1864; George, March 7, 1868; Belle, April 11,1875; 
Melville, March 2, 1877. The deceased are: Ida, 
Myrtie and Arthur. 

Mr. Courter enlisted Nov. 4, 1864, in Co. F of the 
loth Mich. Vol. Inf, and was assigned to the Army 
of the Cumberland. He did not serve in any active 
engagement, but was on garrison duty. He was 
honorably discharged July 19, 1865, at Louisville, 
Ky. He has been Assessor of his school district for 
two terms. In politics he is an ardent Republican. 



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ohn A. Federspiel, farmer, section 25, La- 
fayette Township, is a son of Balthaser and 
Catherine (Conrad) Federspiel, natives of^ 
France. They came to America in an early %) 
day, and located at Buffalo, N. Y. She died f) 
in 1877, and he is still living, with his children 
in Michigan. John A. was born in Buffalo, N. Y., 
Sept. 29, 1840. He left home at the age of 14, and 
worked at farming and other things until he was 20, 
and then was in a saw-mill one year. In 1862 he 
came to Michigan, and was employed in the woods '_ 
during the winter seasons until 1872, when he bought [ 
120 acres of wild land on section 25, Lafayette ^a 
Township. He put up the necessary farm buildings ^ 
and set about clearing and improving his farm, and ^ 
now has about 80 acres under cultivation. 

He was married in Niagara County, N. Y., Oct. 8,^' 



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1861, to Catherine Biggy, daughter of Philip and 
Mary (Gugarty) Biggy, natives of Ireland, where Mrs. 
Biggy died. Mr. Biggy first came to Canada, and 
then, after six months, to T,ocki)ort, N. Y. After 
several years there he went to Chicago, where he 
died. Mrs. Federspiel was born in Ireland, April 10, 
1840. Mr. and Mrs. Federspiel arc the parents of 
nine children: Anna E., born Nov. 26, 1862; Will- 
iam A., born May 25, 1864; Charles C, born July 
23, 1866: Ella E., born June 5, 1869; Ada P., born 
June 19, 1872; Orin J., Iiorn March 11, 1S75; Elmer 
B., born July 30, 1879; Melvin I,., born Sept. 26, 
1879; and Clarence A., horn April 30, 1881. 

Mr. Federspiel was Treasurer of his township for 
two years, School Treasurer three years, and was also 
elected Drain Commissioner to fill a vacancy. In 
politics he is a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Feder- 
spiel are adherents of the Catholic Church. 

l&iatus E. Wright, farmer, section ig, Pine 
tj^MSL River Township, was liorn June 26, 1859, 
^ in the same township, of which he has been 
a resident all his life. He is a son of Fred- 
j^ erick and Sarepta (Fox) Wright, and belongs to 
a family which has been identified with the 
history of the progress of Michigan since the termin- 
ation of its Territorial days. 

Frederick Wright was born in 181 4, in Wayne Co., 
N. Y. He was reared to manhood in his native State, 
and in 1837 removed to Jackson Co., Mich. He was 
trained to the pursuit of agriculture and devoted 
himself to that calling in the township of Parma, 
where he settled and became a part of the pioneer 
element. He passed 21 years of his life in that 
place, actively engaged in aiding the growth and 
prosperity of his township and county. He wa~, 
prominent in public affairs and contributed materially 
to the rapid development of that section of the 
Peninsular State. In 1858 became to Gratiot County 
and purchased 500 acres of wild land in Pine River 
Township, where he spent the remainder of his life 
in striving to benefit his generation, and left a record 
of usefulness and merit which will live long in the 
memories of his neighbors and fellow-townsmen. 
He died May i, 1880. 

Mr. Wright aided his father in his agricultural 




441 "% 

- — ' « ' 

I 



labors as soon as he reached a suitable age and ac- 
quired a good education in the common schools. 
His father died just previous to his attaining his ma- 
jority, and he siuceeded to the management of the 
farm. It then included 240 acres of land, 100 a( res 
of which are in tillage and constitute, with tlie farm 
fixtures, a place which ranks in value with those of 
similar dimensions in Pine River Township. Mr. 
Wright is an adherent of the National Greenback 
party. 

The marriage of Mr. Wright with Lillie E. John- 
son occurred Oct. 13, 1878. She was born in the 
State of Iowa, May 29, 1859, and is the daughter of 
Theron A. and Julia Johnson. (See sketch of T. A. 
Johnson.) Pearl, only child of Mr. and Mrs. Wright, 
died at the age of two years. 

"Two little childish hands, folded soft and silently; 
Two little curtained eyes, looking out no more for 

me; 
Two little waxen cheeks, dimple-dented never more ! 
Two little trodden shoes, that shall never touch the 

floor; 
Shoulder ribbon, softly twisted; apron folded, clean 

and white, — 
These are left me, and these only 
Of the childish presence bright." 

In the portrait of Mr. Wright, which appears on 
another page, is a representative of the family whose 
energy and enterprise have been the source of inesti- 
mable value to the development of Gratiot ("ounty, 
and the mantle of his ancestral thrift and virtues 
has fallen upon one who will preserve them worthily. 



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Igl'ornelius S. Randolph, farmer, section 8, 

mfii^ Pine River Township, is the son of Josiah 

^^iff and Esther Randolph, and was born in War- 

^^ ren (b., N. Y., Nov. 14, 181 1. His parents 

I were also born in the Empire State, and first 

settled in Warren County. They came to Michigan 

to spend the closing years of their lives with their 

son, and died in Lenawee County. 

Mr. Randolph was 23 years of age when he came 
to Michigan, and he spent 13 years in Lenawee 
County engaged in farming and teaching. After that 
time, he devoted himself exclusively to agriculture, 



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and continued to operate there until the fall of 1882, 
when he came to Gratiot County and bought the 
farm he now owns. It consists of 40 acres of land. 

Mr. Randolph was married June 10, 1838, in Len- 
awee County, to Margaret C. Barber. She was born 
Dec. 13, 1808, in Catlin, Chemung Co.,N. Y. Silas, 
Thomas, Martha, James, Cornelius and Henry are 
the names of the si.x children born of their marriage. 
The parents are members of the Baptist Church. 



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harles Butler, farmer on section 20, Ful- 

^Tj^ ton Township, is a son of Asa H. Butler, a 
ft/* 

native of New England, and was born m the 

5 J State of New York, May 12, 1826. He lost 

his mother when quite young, and conse- 

fjuently but little is known of her. She left seven 

children, and Charles was left to care for himself to a 

certain e.xtent. He received a limited education in 

the common schools. When seven years old he 

went to the State of Ohio, where he lived until the 

spring of 1864, when he came to Gratiot County and 

settled on 80 acres in Fulton Township, which he 

had bought the fall previous. He has most of his 

land now under cultivation. 

Oct. II, 1857, in Fulton Co., Ohio, he married 
Miss Emma, daughter of John and Laura C. (White) 
Stitt, natives of Massachusetts. Mrs. Butler was 
born in Portage Co., Ohio, July 25, 1836. Mr. and 
Mrs. B. are the parents of six children : AValter W., 
Delia L., John S., Clara E., Lois B. and Melvin C. 
Delia L. died when two and a half years old. 

Politically, Mr. Butler is a Democrat. 



illiam F. Thompson, proiirietor of the tub 
^i^^^ factory at Ithaca, was born at Massena, 
f^^* St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., March i, 1832. 
K' He is a son of Peter S. and Keziah (Fen- 
tress) Thompson. His father was an Eng- 
lishman by birth, and was graduated from Ox- 
ford. He became a tutor, and spent some years as a 
teacher in his native land. In 1816, he came to the 
United States and settled in Virginia, where he fol- 
lowed the same calling, and was there married. In 



1828, he removed with his family to Massena, N. Y., 
and there engaged in teaching. Later on he went to 
Potsdam, N Y., where he was employed as sexton of 
Trinity Church 18 years. He afterwards went to 
Colton, in the same county, where he died at ihe age 
of 72 years. The decease of the mother, who was a 
native of Virginia, occurred when she was 80 years 
old. They were the parents of but two children, the 
elder of whom was a daughter, Jane S., the wife of 
George Dove (deceased), a farmer near Potsdam. 

In early life, Mr. Thompson commenced a career 
of active business. He was but 17 years of age 
when he engaged in lumbering and milling, and soon 
after bought 120 acres of heavy timber land. He 
brought his property through the various processes of 
clearing and improving until he had the satisfaction 
of seeing it coniparatively one of the finest farms in 
that section, and it was for some time the home and 
support of his ))arents, and the place where his father 
died. .After that event, in 1S64, he came with his 
mother to Howard City, Mich., and there built a mill 
for the manufacture of lumber, shingles and butter 
tubs, and associated vi^ith his sister's son, W. S. Dove, 
he bought a i)ine tract of 1,100 acres, under the firm 
style of W. S. Dove & Co. On this they have since 
been engaged in lumbering, and have nearly com- 
pleted it. The mill and land is still in their posses- 
sion. The mother returned to New York, and passed 
her remaining years in the care of her daughter at 
Potsdam. 

In the fall of 1882, Mr. Thompson came to Ithaca 
and bought a grist-mill of J. H. Seaver, which he has 
remodeled and fitted for the prosecution of the enter- 
prise in which he is now engaged. He is doing a 
prosperous business, and employs about 40 assist- 
ants. The works produce between five and six hun- 
dred tubs daily. In the winter of 1882 and 1883, he 
manufactured over 1,000,000 feet of lumber. The 
markets for the tubs manufactured are principally 
Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City. While at 
Howard City, Mr. Thompson was a member of the 
Council seven years, and served three years as Su- 
pervisor of Reynolds Township. 

He was married while living at Colton, St. Law- 
rence, N. Y., Oct. 21, 1855, to Harriet Knapp, of 
Pierrepont, in the same county. Six children were 
born of the marriage, two of whom are yet living : 
William F., now foreman in the office of the Jackson 



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Enterprise, and Maud S., a young lady of 13 years. 
The mother died at Howard City, and Mr. Thompson 
was again married at Howard City to Annis S. Bush, 
of Pierson, Montcalm County. One daughter, 
Beulah, has been born of this marriage. 




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[pemard Fox, fanner, section 13, Bethany 
Township, is a son of Peter C. and 
■"^ Elizabeth, nee Shults, Fox, and was born 
in Palatine Township, Montgomery Co.,N. Y., 
Jan. 27,1814. His father followed the voca- 
tion of blacksmithing, and our subject worked 
at that occupation for some time and then learned 
the tailor's trade. He was occupied in the latter 
trade in Bath, Steuben County, for several years until 
1853, and then returned to his former trade of black- 
smithing. 

Mr. Fox was married Sept. 2, 1835,10 Miss Do- 
rinda, daughter of Col. Henry and Anna, nee Blair, 
Kennedy. She is of Scotch descent, and second 
cousin of ex-Gov. Austin Blair, and was born in 
Bath, N. Y., Oct. 13, 1813. Mr. and Mrs. Fox were 
the parents of ten children, eight of whom are living, 
namely : Hiero B., born Dec. 26, 1836, now a farmer 
in Pierre, Dak.; Elizabeth A., wife of Frank B. 
Myers, of Ithaca, born July 21, 1838 ; Sarah V., wife 
of David C. Rounds, farmer, in Lafayette Township, 
this county, born Aug. g, 1841; Clarence K., farmer 
adjoining the parental homestead, born March 30, 
1845; Dorinda, wife of Joseph E. fjolton, farmer in 
Bethany Township, born April 4, 1848; I'.vangelia 
E., wife of Joseph Hutchison, farmer in Calhoun 
County, this State, born May 23, 1850 ; I.eander M., 
farmer in Branch County, this State, liorn Jan. 29, 
1853; Dewitt C, born Sept. 5, 1855 ; Peter W., born 
Sept. 6, 1839, died June t8, 1841, and Eleanor, born 
June 10, 1843, died Feb. 18, 1856. 

Our subject moved to this State in May, 1854, and 
located in Ingham County. In 1855, he procured 
200 acres of land, under the Graduation .\ct, on sec- 
tion 13, Bethany Township, this county, on wiiich lie 
is at present residing. 

In 1857, Mr. Fox moved on this land and entered 
on the arduous tiiough pleasant task of clearing and 
improving his home. He experienced all the trials 



of the early pioneer, and being endowed with a large 
amount of energy and perseverance concjuered all 
obstacles. He built the customary log cabin, which 
still stands near his present residence as a living 
tomb of the trials of the past. He cleared over 60 
acres of his land and subsequently sold all he had 
with the exception of the lot on which his residence 
now stands, and where he and his life companion are 
living a retired and ([uiet life. 

Mr. Fox is one of the citizens of the county who 
never asked or received the charity of the friendly 
outside world, but always contributed to the suffer- 
ing around him, and more than a few have cause to 
look with gratitude upon his charitable donations. 

In recognition of his integrity and ability, he has 
been honored with offices of trust. He was Super- 
visor, Township Clerk, and Justice of the Peace, and 
is recognized as one of the representative men of his 
township. 

The eldest two sons of Mr. Fox were soldiers in 
the late war, and Mrs. F.'s father was a Revolution- 
ary soldier under Gen. Sullivan, as Colonel. Her 
eldest brother, John Kennedy, was in the war of 181 2, 
as Major, and was captured at Queenstown. 




/Jir ® fli Ifred Burnett, farmer on section 29, Fulton 
^k Township, is a son of Nelson and Jane 
(Foreman) Burnett. They were born, reared 
and married in Dutchess Co., N. Y., and after- 
wards removed to Monroe County, same Slate. 
They lived there 18 years, and then removed 
to Livingston Co., N. Y., where Mr. B. died Feb. 26, 
1845. His wife yet survives. The family comprised 
three sons and six daughters. 

The third son, Alfred, was liorn in Dutchess Co., 
N. Y., June 25, 1832, and was about three years old 
when his parents removed to Monroe County. Los- 
ing his father when 13 years old, he worked out by 
the month until 20 years of age. When 21, he came 
to Oakland Co., Mich., and worked a farm on shares 
one year. He then lived in Livingston County until 
1868, wlien he came to Gratiot County and bought 
60 acres on section 29, Fulton, where he now resides. 
He owns 80 acres, 62 of which are under cultivation. 
Dec. 10, 1854, in Livingston Co., Mich, he married 
Miss Susan J., daughter of Philander T. and Betsy 



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(Wood) Utter, natives of Ontario Co., N. Y. She 
was born in Hopewell Township, same county, May 
r6, 1837. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett have four children 
living: Celia B., Mary J., Flora E. and Marion A.; 
and four deceased : James E., Julia M., Adelbert N. 
and Ada E. 

Mr. Burnett has been an active member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church ever since his connec- 
tion with it, holding oflicial relations for 26 years. 
He fust held the office of Steward for four years, then 
Class-leader and Superintendent of Sunday-school 
five years. This was prior to his coming to Fulton. 
Since his residence here, he has held the offices of 
Trustee, Steward, Superintendent of Sunday-school, 
and has been Treasurer of the Board of Trustees 
ever since its organization. One important work of 
his Christian life was the raising of funds and the 
soliciting of aid for the erection of the first Methodist 
Episcopal Church edifice at Fulton Center. He was 
also one of the finance and building committee. 
When discouragement seemed to overshadow the 
enterprise, he pushed forward with great vigor the 
labor of raising money, and said so long as he could 
get i|5o a day, he would not give up the work. Thus, 
by faithful and persistent labor, the object desired 
was accomplished, the contract let, and the work 
begun. He continued with fidelity the collecting of 
money and i)aying off the debt, finally completing it, 
and leaving money in the treasury. Among the 
heaviest donors were Sidney Sessions, Addis C. 
Gillett, W. W. Daigliesh, Charles Kellogg, Alfred 
Burnett, Jason Kingman and William Kellogg. 



— @) 




V 



pharles W. Hicks, sec. 32, Bethany Tp., was 
born in .Schuyler t'o., N. Y.. July 29, 1842, 
and is a son of 1 )avid and Mary (Buck) Hicks- 
He was brought up as a farmer's son. Sept. 9, 
1861, in Ehnira, N. V., he enlisted in Co. C, 
50th Regl. Eng'rs. and Mech's., and served until 
April, 1863, in the mechanical department, building 
bridges, etc. He then returned to New York and 
was married, June 26, 1864, to Esther M., daughter 
of Virgilius and Sylvia (Dodge) Sweet ; she was born 
in Richmond Township, Tioga Co., Pa., Jan. 16, 1847. 
In January, 1868, they came 10 draiiot County, set- 
tling upon 40 acres, where they now reside. His 



land at first was mostly timber, and a log house was 
the only building upon the place. He has now 
about 35 acres under cultivation, and is an indus- 
trious, economical farmer. He is a member of the 
G. A. R. 

There are nine children in this family, as follows : 
Cora W., born in Steuben Co., N. Y., July 13, 1866; 
Arthur W., born in Gratiot County, June 13, 1.S68; 
Edna A., Nov. 23, 1870; Clara A., Oct. 30, 1871 ; 
Esther M., June 26, 1873; Lula S., May 5, 1875; 
Louisa E., Feb. 7, 1878; Charles W., May [9, 1881, 
and Seely D., Dec. 17, 1883. All except the first are 
natives of this lounty. 



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ames B. Allen, farmer, section 6, Pine River 
I^Sil Township, was born Nov. i, 1 831, in Seneca 
i^ Co., N. Y., and is the son of Cornelius B. 

m{ and Ann (Peterson) Allen. His parents were 
^r natives of New Jersey, and were respectively 
\ of English and German descent. They first 
located in New Jersey, and later on in life removed 
to the State of New York. In 1838, they settled in 
Lapeer Co., Mich., where the father died the next 
year. 'Che mother died in Eaton County. 

Mr. .'Mien came to the State of Michigan with his 
parents when he was only seven years old, and when 
he was 1 1 years of age he went to Ohio, anil there 
remained three years, when he returned to Lapeer 
County. On reaching man's estate, he went to Eaton 
County and acted as assistant in his brother's store 
two years. He then formed a partnership with A. 
Howland, and established liimself in mercantile bus- 
iness, a relation which existed a year and a half. 
On disposing of his interests, Mr. Allen came to Gra- 
tiot County and invested his means in 320 acres of 
land in Pine River Township. He subsetpiently sold 
1 60 acres, and of the remainder has 90 acres under 
cultivation, with commodious farm buildings. 

In all local history, it is nearly impossible to find the 
periods within one generation so widely contrasting 
as that of the date of Mr. Allen's settling in Gratiot 
County and his present circumstances, both of which 
periods are strongly typical. Soon after he located, 
the well-remembered time known as the starving 
period came on, from causes too well-knowu to re- 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



449 



quire elaboration here. Mr. Allen, like all others, 
exerted every effort in behalf of the suffering, and 
among other practical deeds established the sale of 
articles generally required, operating on his farm. In 
1859 he went to Alma, and there engaged in trade 
for nearly two years. He met with financial reverses 
and lost nearly all his property, but honest effort and 
careful management have placed him among the 
substantial residents of Gratiot County. 

He was married at Grand Ledge, Eaton Co., Mich., 
June 29, 1854, to Lucy H., daughter of Jacob and 
Betsey Wood. Her parents were natives of New 
Hampshire, and settled in life in the State of New 
York. On coming to Michigan, they first went to 
Oakland County and thence to Eaton County, where 
the father died in 1877, and where the mother still 
resides. Two children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Allen : Nettie T., May 12, 1856, and Myrtle H., 
Jan, 29, 1861. The latter died in Milford, Oakland 
County, June 23, 1883. 

Mr. Allen was for many years an active Republi- 
can, but of late has allied himself with the National 
Greenback party. He has served three years as 
Justice of the Peace. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are both 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They 
have been zealous adherents to the interests of the 
Christian religion, and contributed of their strength 
and means to its maintenance. The first preaching 
in this part of Gratiot County was done in the house 
of Mr. Allen, by the Rev. Ellery Hill. 



r^assius M. Gardner, farmer, section 8, New 

bt?3^ Haven Township, was born in Cayuga Co., 

ag Ohio, Feb. 6, 1848. His parents, Nelson P. 

mt and Nancy (jice Wood) (iardner, were natives 

I of New England. His father, a carpenter and 

joiner l>y trade, ai'id also a farmer, resides in Lyons 

Township, Ionia Co., Mich. 

Cassius M. remained with his parents until 20 
years of age, when he went to work in a saw-mill in 
Ionia Co., Mich. In the fall of 1872, lie came totliis 
county and purchased 40 acres of unimproved land, 
five acres only being cleared, where he began as a 
farmer and has since been successful. He now has 
32 acres in good cultivation, lias made many im- 
provements and has demonstrated himself to be a 



progressive, practical agriculturist. In political af- 
fairs he is a Greenbacker, and among his fellow citi- 
zens he has held the offices of Road Commissioner 
and School Director, with satisfaction to the people. 
Mr. G. was married in the township of Lyons, Ionia 
County, Oct. 16, 1869, to Miss Nellie Dykeman,who 
was born in Yates Co., N. Y., Aug. 29, 1849. Her 
parents were natives of that State, of German and 
English descent. The children of Mr. and Mrs, 
Gardner are, Eva, born Jan. rj, 1871; and Bennie. 
March 12, 1873. 



■ "^a iESa^'iOESlE: 





g^benezer W. Kellogg, a leading agricultur- 
ist of Gratiot County, resident on section 
,,^ 17, Newark Township, was born in Hadley, 

3S»- Mass., Feb. 6, 1815. His father, Giles C. Kel- 
logg, was also a native of Hadley, and was a 
prominent personage in the Bay State in his 
generation. He was graduated from Yale College in 
the class of 1799, and studied for the profession of 
law, which he pursued during the whole of his active 
life. He was Register of Deeds of Hampshire 
County and was an efficient officer for 21 years. He 
represented his native town 10 years in the Legisla- 
ture of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He 
was in retirement 20 years before his death, which 
event occurred when he was 85 years of age. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Martha Hunt Warner, 
belonged to a distinguished family. Her father, 
Noahdiah Warner, was an officer of the Revolutionary 
War, and served from Bunker Hill to the surrender 
of Cornwallis. 

Mr. Kellogg attended the common schools of his 
native town and afterwards completed his education 
at Hopkins' Academy, an institution which is still in 
existence, and has a world-wide and enduring fame. 

On leaving school, Mr. Kellogg turned his atten- 
tion to farming. Massachusetts offered little to an 
agriculturist of extended aspirations, and lie came to 
Michigan to prospect somewhat. He left Hadley in 
August, 1839, and hail but little intention of settling 
permanently or remaining long. In passing, it may 
be remarked that he has not since been East farther 
than the city of Buffalo. He settled in Cambridge, 
Lenawee Co., Mich. I le and his wife owned 90 acres 
of partly improved laiul, whicli Mr. Kellogg culti- 
vated 12 years, and, among other improvements, set 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



out a fine orchard, that section being pecuharly 
suited to the successful cuhure of fruit. He sold the 
place in 1853, and in the summer of 1854 bought 
320 acres of wild land in Gratiot County, paying 
therefor 50 cents per acre under the regulations of 
the Graduation Act, a law which provided for the 
sale of Government lands, the prices ranging from 
25 cents to $1.25 per acre, according to the length of 
time such lands had been in market. 

Mr. Kellogg entered upon his career in Gratiot 
County in true pioneerstyle, beginning with the build- 
ing of a primitive log cabin, in the depths cf the 
woods, to which he removed his family ir. May, 1855. 
He applied himself with all his vigor and energies 
to the work of clearing and improving, and has since 
added 180 acres by purchase. The noble farm of 
500 acres exhibits one-half its acreage in tillage of 
the most creditable character. The fine residence, 
which supplanted the log cabin in 1876, and the 
barns and other farm buildings, are in keeping witii 
the reputation of the owner as a progressive farmer. 

Mr. Kellogg is a Republican in political sentiment 
and connections. He has been from the first inter- 
ested in the progress of Newark Township and Gra- 
tiot County. He was elected second Supervisor of 
his township in 1858, and has been elected to the 
position 13 times, which he once held 7 years in suc- 
cession. He was Chairman of the Board four years. 
He has been Township Clerk and officiated in most 
of the minor local offices. In 1859 he rented his 
farm and removed to Lansing, to obtain rest and re- 
cuperate his impaired health, as well as to give his 
children better educational advantages. The family 
remained at the capital two years. 

Mr. Kellogg was married in Cambridge, Lenawee 
County, March 3, 1842, to Adaline L., eldest daugh- 
ter of Abraham and Rebecca (Johnson) Butterfield. 

Mrs. Kellogg was born Sept. 17, 1817. Of three 
children born of her marriage to Mr. Kellogg, two 
survive. They were born in the following order: 
Mary R., Jan. 22, 1843; Francis E. B., March 31, 
1847 ! Hugh J., May 23, 185 i (died Nov. 24, 1869). 

Mary R. was married to Charles W. Howland and 
resides in Newark Township, on section 18. 

Francis was married Feb. i, 1881, to Sarah E., 
daughter of Chester and Sophronia (Wade) Howland. 
Her parents were natives of New York, and were 
lineal descendants of John Howland and John Car- 




ver (the first Governor of Plymouth Colony), both ^ 
of whom were among the list of Pilgrims who came ^} 
in the Mayflower in 1620. Mrs. Kellogg was born ^^^ 
Feb. 5, 1855, in Hudson, Lenawee County. The | 
young couple have two children and are cherished yE^ 
inmates of the Kellogg homestead. 

The portraits of Mr. Kellogg and his estimable 
wife are presented on adjacent pages. 



eorge M. Ruppert, farmer on section 27, 
,i_ Fulton Township, is a son of John P. and 




VV^^S-g^g-V'V f- 




l^bram M. Jessup, farmer on section 26, 
Arcada Townshij), was born near the city 
of Albany, in Greenbush Township, Renssel- 
aer Co., N. Y., Feb. 8, 1S36, and is a son of 
Isaac M. and Eleanor S. (Schermerhorn) Jes- 
sup. Isaac Jessup was first a cabinet-maker 
and painter, and afterwards a farmer. He now re- 
sides in Ionia County, tliis State, at the age of 73. 
Eleanor S. Schermerhorn was a native of the '" Hol- 
land jiurchase " in New York .State, and was of Hol- 
land ilescent. 

When Abram was only four years of age, he was 
brought by his parents to Wayne Co., Mich. The 
family afterward moved to Charlotte, Eaton County, 
but later returned to Wayne Co. Wher. he was ig 
years old, the family removed to Ionia Cuonty and 



Anna B. (Buttner) Ruppert (see sketch of 
John P. Ruppert). He was born in Germany, 
May 25, 1852, and .was about one year old 
when his parents came to America. He was edu- 
cated in the common schools, and has continued to 
live with his parents until the present time. In 
1 87 8, he purchased 40 acres, mostly wild, on section 
26, Fulton, and now has about 1 2 acres improved. 

Jan. 2, i88r, at St. Louis, Mich., he married Miss 
Pauline, daughter of Chambers and Phieta (May) 
Garte, of German ancestry. This marriage has been 
blessed with one child, Nettie A. Mrs. Ruppert is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr 
Ruppert votes the Democratic ticket. 



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GRATIOr COUNTY. 









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settled in North Plains Township. His education 
however, was received while in Wayne County. 

Jan. I, 1863, he was married to Amanda J., 
daughter of Sylvester and Hannah (Peck) Whcclcr, 
natives of New York State. They have always fol- 
lowed farming, and they now reside in Newark Town- 
ship, this county. Amanda was born in Oswego Co., 
N. Y., March 14, 183S, and moved with her [larents 
at the age of 15 to Campton, Kane Co., 111. They 
moved to Mason, Ingham Co., Mich., 15 months 
later, and afterwards came to Gratiot County, locat- 
ing on a farm in Newark Township. Her parents 
now live in that township. 

For the first 18 months after marriage, Mr. Jessiip 
was engaged in burning lime on his father's home- 
stead. He then came to this county, and purchased 
63 acres, 40 in Newark and 23 in North Star. In the 
latter township he lived for a year, and then he 
moved across the line into Newark. Here he lived 
a number of years, and changed his forest tract into 
a highly cultivated farm. In August, 1880, he ex- 
changed for 100 acres on section 26, Arcada Town- 
ship, where he now resides. He has excellent farm 
buildings on his place, and expects to make it a 
model farm. 

Mr. and Mrs. Jessup have two children : Eleanor 
E., born May 31, 1864; Mary V., born June 25, 
1866. He is often solicited to accept township of- 
fices, but always declines. He was for two years 
Postmaster at Pompei. Politically, he is a Republi- 
can. Mrs. Jessup is a member of the U. B. Church. 



1 1 ichards, Althouse & Co. The firm of 
Richards, Althouse & Co. are located at 
St. Louis, and engaged in the manufacture 
'.-x^ of all varieties of slack-barrel cooperage. The 
business is managed by Josiah C. Richards 
and Clarence W. Althouse. 
Mr. Richards came to St. Louis in the fall of 1880 
and, associated with Isaac Morris, built a stave mill 
in the township of Breckenridge, which establish- 
ment has since been sold. The mill which the com- 
pany are now running at St. Louis was built in the 
spring of 1882, and is furnished with all the latest 
improved machinery. The firm became J. C. Rich- 
ards & Co., and, Jan. i, 1884, Mr. Althouse was ad- 




mitted, the firm style becoming as stated. The con- 
cern owns a large mill at Ithaca, which was built in 
the spring of 18S3. Each mill requires about 35 
men in its oi)eration, and the aggregate product of 
both rejiresents about $70,000 in value annually. 



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avid Van Leuven, general farmer, se( tion 
iij> lO, New Haven Township, was born in 



|(^"^ Pleasant Valley, Livingston Co., Mich., 
P«V March 2 1, 1834. His parents, John (a farmer) 
and Anna Eliza (Dietz) Van Leuven, were natives 
of Albany Co., N. Y., and came to Michigan in a 
very early day, crossing Lake Erie on the vessel 
" Walk-in-the-Water," on its first trip, and the first 
ever made by steamer, across that Lake. Owing to 
adverse winds, they were five weeks on the lake. Ar- 
riving in Detroit, then a village of but a few log huts, 
Mr. V. found he had but sixpence. After settling 
for a time in Wayne County, near Detroit, he moved 
to Livingston Co., Mich. 

David, the subject of this biographical notice, was 
1 1 years old when the family moved with him back 
to Wayne County, locating 17 miles from Detroit, 
Here he lived until the death of his father in the 
spring of 1S64; one year later his mother died, both 
aged 61. To him, then 30 years old, was left 
by will the homestead, then of 74 acres, which he 
continued to manage for 15 years ; then, in 1875, he 
rented this farm, came to Oratiot County and settled 
upon his wild tract of r2o acres, which he had pur- 
chased in 1862. Three years later he returned to 
Wayne County, and soon afterward sold his farm 
there, returning to his farm in this county, where he 
has since resided. The first year he improved 90 
acres from the stump. He erected saw-mills, etc., 
and induced other enterprising parties to settle around 
him, thus accelerating the rise of the value of real 
estate in his vicinity. Indeed, his noble ambition lad 
him to over-exert his physical energies and injure his 
constitution. He is still enthusiastic. Politically, 
he belongs to the Republican party, and socially to 
the Masonic Order, being a Master Mason in the 
lodge at Elm Hall, No. 257. 

July 9, 1869, Mr. Van Leuven was married in 
Wayne Co., Mich., to Miss Katie, daughter of Timo- 
thy and Sarah (Choate) \Valling, the former a native 



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GRATTOT COUNTY. 



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of Mew York State and the latter of Michigan. Mr. 
W. was of English descent, and died in Monroe Co., 
Mich., in February, 1855, aged 44 years. Mrs. W. 
was a second cousin of the eminent Boston jurist 
and Senator, Rufus Choate. She is now living with 
her daughter, Mrs. V., is 64 years of age and retains 
her usual good health. 

Mrs. Van Leuven was born in Monroe Co., Mich., 
Oct. 13, 1844, near the site of the famous Indian mas- 
sacre on the River Raisin. From the age of t8 until 
24, the date of her marriage, she was a school-teach- 
er; and she would excel in that capacity now were 
she still in the profession. 






''■■' v{' TVi'i artin W. Cramer, farmer, section 1 1 , Beth- 
j'l'cSaLiS-a'^ any Township, is the son of Jeremiah and 
'^^^ Ruth (Lowry) Cramer, and was born in 
<. \ Marcellus, Onondaga Co., N. Y., Oct. 12, 
831. In 1837 the family moved to Freedom 




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( Township, Washtenaw Co., this State, and pur- 
chased 60 acres of land and followed the vocation 
of farming until their death, which occurred in 1843 
and 1846, the father dying in the former and the 
mother in the latter year, leaving nine children. 

In 1850 he left Washtenaw County and went to 
Plymouth, Wayne County, and remained there, va- 
riously occupied, for two years. He then located 
120 acres of land in Tuscola County, on the present 
site of the village of Union. Mr. Cramer remained 
on this land for 15 months, and then came to this 
county and jjurchased 240 acres of land in Bethany 
Township, for 50 cents an acre, and on which he is 
at present residing. 

In 1857, Mr. Cramer was selected by the citizens 
as the bearer of a petition to the Supervisors of the 
county at Ithaca for the naming of the Township 
"Fremont." The majority of the Supervisors did 
not favor the name and consequently rejected it. 
Mr. C. was then requested to give another name 
and offered the name Bethany, which was voted on 
and adopted. 

Mr. Cramer was married Oct. 28, rSss, and was 
the first resident of Bethany Township to marry. 

Mr. Cramer moved on his land early in 1855, and 



in December of that year escorted his new bride to 
the humble " log cabin " on his place. Her effects 
consisted of a pillow-case full of bed-clothes, which 
she shouldered and started for the "land of promise." 
Coming to the river, the same being partly frozen, 
and there being no way to cross except by wading, 
Mr. C. "shouldered" his wife, "together with the 
bed-clothes," and safely forded the stream. At the 
raising of their cabin, all the white men in the town- 
ship were present, namely: W. J. Partello, Sylvanus 
Groonie, Alfred Clark, John J. Partello and Charles 
Vorce; and the remainder who assisted in tlie erec- 
tion were Indians, some seven of them from the 
Mission. 

Mr. Cramer now owns 105 acres of land, of which 
65 acres is under good improvement and adorned 
with good buildings. 

Mr. C. is and has been identified with the educa- 
tional interests of his township and has been honored 
with the position of School Inspector. 

Mr. C. was again married, to Miss Cliarlotte An- 
drews, of Bismarck, Eaton County, this State, March 
24, 1876. 

To his first union were born eight children, 
namely : Ambrosia, Alice, C'hestei, Ben Butler, Syl- 
vanus, Martin AV., Jeremiah and Enimett. One childt 
Sarah, has been born to tlie latter union, but has 
passed to the "better land." 

Mr. Cramer was among the first to respond to the 
call of the martyr President for troops to engage in 
the late civil war, and enlisted at Ithaca, Aug. 12, 
r86i, in Co. C, 8th Mich. Vol. Inf., as private, under 
Capt. Ralph Ely, and served until Sept. 23, r864. 
He participated in the engagements of the taking of 
Port Royal, Coosaw Ferry, S. C; Wilmington Island, 
James Island, second battle of Bull Run, Chantilly, 
Antietam, South Mountain and Fredericksburg, and 
assisted in the capture of Morgan. He was also en- 
gaged in numerous skirmishes, and becoming indis- 
posed was taken to the hospital at Louisville, where 
he remained several months, and was finally dis- 
charged at Lexington, Ky. At Coosaw Ferry, Jan. i, 
1862, he was one of the 20 picked men taken by Col. 
Ely, whose narrow escape is described at length in 
" Michigan and the War." 

Mr. and Mrs. Cramer are members of the Chris- 
tian Church and are respected and esteemed citizens 
of their township. 






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I »^W(|,4 illiara M. Barstow, fanner 



section 22, 

l^a^JJ L North Star Township, was born in Sijiith- 
t^^ field Township, Madison Co., N. Y., Nov. 
\ I, 1826, and is a son of Elias and Sally (Mor- 
gan) Barstow, both of English ancestry, the 
former a native of New York State and the 
latter of Ohio. 

Mr. Barstow attended the common schools until 
17 years of age, and then was employed in a woolen 
factory for 10 years, the last four years as foreman of 
the weaving department. During this time, namely, 
Oct. 15, 1845, at Morrisville, he married Miss Eunice 
McBride, daughter of John and Polly (Wilbur) Mc- 
Bride, who was born also in Madison Co., N. Y., 
July 30, 1828. Mr. and Mrs. B. have had eight 
children, seven of whom are livin<i:, viz. : Adelbert 
E., Mary E., Ellen E. (deceased), Charlie E., P2unice 
M., William Henry, Hiram Chancy, and Nellie F 
The first named is married, and now resides in Ith- 
aca, where he is an insurance agent. Mary E. is the 
wife of A. J. Brown, who is in the employ of Nelson 
Barber at Ithaca. Charlie is married and is living 
on section 15, North Star Township. Eunice M. is 
the wife of John A. Srodes, real-estate dealer at Ith- 
aca; William Henry resides on the homestead; and 
Hiram Chancy is attending school at Ithaca. 

.\bout 1853 Mr. Barstow came West with his fam- 
ily and settled in Wright Township, Hillsdale Co., 
Mich., where he bought a farm of 40 acres and re- 
mained three years; he then came to North Star 
Township, bought r2o acres of timber land, erected 
a log cabin and began clearing away the forest. The 
country was new and Mr. B. had to encounter the 
hardships and struggles common to the pioneer. 
Here he cleared 65 acres, 40 of which he ultimately 
gave to his eldest son. 

As a patriot Mr. Barstow has had both military and 
official experience, — the latter often as bitter as the 
former. Aug. g, 1862, he enlisted in Co. D, 26th 
Mich. Vol. Inf, Capt. Lafayette Church. Having 
helped recruit the company he was mustered in as 
Second Sergeant, and he served until Dec. 20, 1864, 
as Orderly Sergeant, participating in the battles of 
Mine Run, Spottsylvania Court-House and in a num- 
ber of skirmishes. In the last named engagement 



he was wounded, his right leg being shattered by a 
minie ball, which troubled him for a number of 
years. On account of this disability he was mus- 
tered out, at Detroit, .\bout the same time he was 
wounded, he received a commission as Second Lieu- 
tenant ; but he did not muster in as such. Officially, 
Mr. B. has been Township Supervisor nearly five 
terms. Township Clerk two years, Township Treas- 
urer one year. Township School Superintendent two 
years. Justice of the Peace one year, and is at present 
School Inspector. He has also served as County 
Treasurer two terms, — 1878-82. He was first elected 
on the Republican ticket, over Washington Clark, 
Greenback, running ahead of his ticket by a large 
number. In the fall of 1880 he was re-nominated 
by acclamation, and elected. He is a member ol 
the G. A. R., and, with his wife, also of the Method- 
ist Church. 

Mr. Barstow's many friends will be pleased to see 
his ])ortrait in this Album. 






^jftf^r^ber Loomis, farmer, 



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section 17, Seville 
June 14, 1821, in 
'i^s^' "* Cuyahoga Co., Ohio. He is a son of Eber 
1§. and Julia (Thompson) Loomis. The former 
was born Jan. 25, 1779, in the State of New 
York; the latter was born Aug. 23, 1792, in 
Connecticut. The father was a farmer and shoe- 
maker, and combined the two callings all his active 
life. After his marriage, he settled in his native 
State, where he resided some years, and removed 
thence to Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, whence they went 
later to Lorain County. The father died there in 
April, 1843; the mother died Oct. 9, 1865, in Branch 
Co., Mich. 

After his father's death, Mr. Loomis was thrown 
upon his own resources, and was variously engaged. 
Among other occupations, he was a sailor on the 
lakes for some time. He was first married in 1840 
to Delilah, daughter of Nicholas and Rachel (Haynes) 
Wood. She was born in the State of New York, and 
died in Erie Co., Ohio, in r8s6. Of six children 
born of this marriage, three survive. The eldest son 
died in the army in 1865. In i860, Mr. Loomis was 
married to Emily Eldred, daughter of Job and Mary 
(Dethrick) Eldred. Her parents were natives of the 



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"^ State of New York. The children born of this second 

^ij marriage are: Sarah E., Jessie, Ada, Eber, Cora, 

^i, Maud and John W. 
I Mr. Loomis enlisted in 1865 in Co. B, nth Mich. 

(^j Vol. Inf The regiment was assigned to garrison 
duty on the Knoxville & Chattanooga railroad, and 
was finally discharged Sept. 28, 1865, at Jackson, 
Mich. On leaving the army, Mr. I,oomis joined his 
family in Branch Co., Mich., whence they came, in 
.1867, to Gratiot County, and Mr. Loomis located 
where he now resides. He bought 40 acres at first, 
and is now the proprietor of a farm containing 120 
acres. .Of this, 70 acres are cleared and improved. 
Mr. Loomis is a Republican in political faith and 
action, and has served a term as Road Commissioner. 
He is a member of the Order of Masonry, Lodge No. 
257, Elm Hall. Mrs. Loomis belongs to the Church 
of the Disciples. 



GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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i^enry L. Holcomb, lumberman and manu- 
i. facturer of salt, residing at St. Louis, was 

born Aug. 22, 1S08, in Granliy, Hartford Co., 

Conn. He is a son of Thomas and Clara (Petti- 

bdne) Holcomb. His father was an attorney of 

some prominence, and passed the latter years of 
his life in the jjursuit of agriculture. 

Mr. Holcomb was reared to the calling of a farmer 
and was engaged in that vocation until he was 25 
years old. At that age he embraced a seemingly 
feasible project for improving his fortunes, and oper- 
atfed four years as a contractor on the canal then 
being built between New Haven and Northampton. 

He again engaged in farming a short time, and then -muuiiifiS^^ 

went to Georgia for the purpose of taking a contract 
on the Savannah Central railroad. This enterprise 
occupied two years, and at the expiration of that 
time he returned to the North. In 1848, he again 
went South and became a contractor on the South- 
western, Savannah & Brunswick railroad, and after- 
ward on the Columb\is Branch of the Southwestern. 
He was thus engaged eight years, after which he re- 
sumed farming. 

In i860, Mr. Holcomb came to St. Louis and 
made extensive purchases of timber land, owning in 
the aggregate 2,000 acres. The tract included the 
present site of the village of St. Louis. In 1861 he 



built the saw-mill just north of the present grist-mill 
of James Henry. He continued its management 
until 1867, when he sold all his property in Michigan 
and returned to Connecticut and resumed operations 
on his farm, which he still retained. Six years later 
he found himself once more in possession of his 
property at St. Louis, the parties to whom he had 
sold it failing to meet the terms of the sale. The 
village had been platted and part of the lots sold, 
and Mr. Holcomb continued to dispose of them. 
The real estate of which he acquired jiossession 
amounted to 1,500 acres. He built the grist-mill re- 
ferred to in 1875, and sold the same to James Henry 
in 1S82. He has been continuously and extensively 
engaged in lumbering, and besides his operations 
nearer home, owned a saw and shingle mill in Rock- 
land, Montcalm County, which lie managed until 
.883. 

Mr. Holcomb built his present fine residence soon 
after coming to St. Louis the first time. In 1881 he 
built the Opera House Block, and another adjoining 
in 1882. The first-named is one of the finest struct- 
ures at St. Louis. The auditorium of the Opera 
House seats 1,000 ])ersons, and in the two blocks 
there are six commodious rooms for store purposes. 
The upper floor of the second block is devoted to 
offices and society rooms. Mr. Holcomb is the pro- 
l)rietor of several business buildings on Mill Street. 

He was married at Granby, Conn., Sept. 22, 1S2S, 
to .\ura P., daughter of Origen and Rosabelle Pinney. 
She was born Jan. 13, 1810, Simsbury, Conn., and 
died May 5, 1883, at St. Louis. Mr. Holcomb is a 
communicant in the Episcopal Church. 




t'^&m^rsv 



- Ti\ ilo Standish, farmer and stock- raiser, sec- 
.'I'i^saiM' tion 9, New Haven Township, is a son of 
4:^^!-''^ Samuel W. Standish, who was born March 
f^^'K 12, 1797, in Vermont, and died July 26, 1883, 
in Hillsdale Co., Mich., at the age of 86 years. 
He was a descendant of Capt. Miles Standish, 
whose name is celebrated, and from whom the sub- 
ject of this notice is of the sixth generation. 

Milo Standish was born in the township of Bristol, 
Ontario Co., N. Y., Dec. 11, 1833. When he was 
three years old the family moved with him to Hills- 



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dale Co., Mich., and at the age of i 2 he set out in the 
world for himself, engaging to a farmer at $4 a month. 
Four years later he began to work in a brick-yard as 
a molder, at Coldwater, Mich., in which vocation he 
wrought successfully until he was 21, except one year 
ill Illinois, at the same trade. He then came to this 
county and engaged as a common laborer for John 
A. Crispel, and one year later he began to work uiwn 
and improve his present farm, which he had pur- 
chased in the fall of r86t. To this he has added 
120 acres, and he now has 170 acres in a good state 
of cultivation. When he came here he had but $3, 
and he is already worth about $15,000. He has large 
and commodious farm buildings, and his residence, 
recently built, cost $2,000. He has also been High- 
way Commissioner and held several townshij) school 
offices. He is prominent among tlie farmers of his 
portion of the county, as a progressive, judicious and 
energetic agriculturist. On National issues he is a 
Democrat. 

Mr. Standish was married March 22, 1862, in Lib- 
erty, Jackson Co., Mich., to Miss Mary Crispel, daugh- 
ter of John \.. and Mindwell L. (Spencer) Crispel 
(see sketch of the latter). Mrs. S. was born in Spring 
Arbor Township, Jackson Co., Mich., Jan. 6, 1844. 
When ten years of age, the family moved to Mont- 
calm Co., Mich., and thence to Hillsdale County, 
where she received her education. 



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ohn Thomas, farmer, section 4, Pine River 
^r Township, is the son of Stephen and Jane 
Thomas, and was born in England April 7, 
1829. His parents were also of English birth 
]C and spent their entire lives in their native land. 
Mr. Thomas caught the Australian gold fever, 
and, at the age of 19, went to the island continent, 
where he engaged in mining more than a twelve- 
month, and in 1849 came to the United States, and 
to .Michigan. He spent the first year of his life on 
the American Continent in Clinton County, Mich., 
and in the spring of 1855 came to Gratiot County. 
He bought 240 acres of land in an entirely unim- 
proved state, where he now resides. He has disposed 
or 80 acres, and, of the remainder, has 50 acres in 
tillage. Mr. Thomas is a Republican in [lolitical 
faith. He is one of the early settlers of Gratiot 



County, and has passed through the vicissitudes of 
the pioneer's life, observing the gradual progress of 
the county to a fair rank in the Peninsular State. 

He was married near Lansing, Michigan, to Mary 
A. Saunders. .She was a native of the State of New 
York, and died Jan. 8, 1876. Four of six children 
born of her marriage to Mr. Thomas yet survive : 
Edgar S., Loretta J., Delia A. and Irving J. Ada 
and Mary E. are deceased. Mr.'T. belongs to the 
Disciples' Church. 




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eorge W. Dawes, photographer at St. Louis, 
'^^ was born June 15, 1847, at Goshen, Mass., 

0^'^ and is the youngest son of Dryden and Per- 
melia (Hubliard) Dawes. He resided in his 
native place until he was 18 years old, when 
his parents, having sold their farm, they removed to 
Grass Lake, Jackson Co., Mich., where they had pur- 
chased a farm three years previous. The father's 
health failing, he sold his property at Grass Lake 
and removed to Manchester to give his children 
better educational advantages. The family now re- 
side at Dowagiac, Mich. 

Mr. Dawes received a substantial education, and 
in 1871 was graduated in the classical department 
of the union school at Manchester, Mich., when he 
was appointed Principal of the union schools of 
Antioch, Ind. He acted in that capacity two years, 
when he returned to Manchester and worked at his 
trade of builder, which he had learned previous to 
reaching his majority. In the spring of 1876 he 
came to St. Louis and operated as a carpenter and 
builder until the fall of 1882, when he entered the 
establishment of C. N. Stark, a photographer at Ann 
Arbor, and remained under his instructions until 
March, 1883, when he opened a gallery at St. Louis, 
where he has since been engaged in a prosperous 
business of increasing proportions and rei|\iiring two 
assistants. 

He was married .\pril 7, 1S73, in Ypsilanti, Mich., 
to Eva S. King. She was born Oct. 28, 1854, at Ann 
Arbor, and is the eldest daughter of William S. and 
Sarah (Hall) King. Her parents removed to Ypsi- 
lanti in the fall of i860, where she received a liberal 
education. One daughter, Nona, was born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Dawes, Dec. 17, 1878. Mr. Dawes is a 



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meraberof the order known as the Knights of Labor. 



He has been Superintendent of Schools of Pine River 
'% Township four years. He owns his residence on 



Olive Street. 









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dwin S. Hoskins, editor and proprietor of 
the St. Louis Leader, was born in Ogden, 
Monroe Co., N. V., July 2, 1843. He is a 



X# ^?- ^°" °'^ Myron and Sarah S. (Brown) Hoskins. 




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* His' father is a native of Vermont and spent 
the earlier part of his business life as a con- 
tractor and builder, and later as a farmer. He is now 
in the insurance business at Paw Paw, Mich., and 
still retains his farming interests. The mother is 
also a native of Vermont and is still living. 

■ Mr. Hoskins was reared on a farm and attended 
school chiefly, until he was 18 years old. He acted 
for nearly five years as a clerk in Brockport, and 
spent two years as an assistant in the postofRces at 
Brockport and Rochester. In 1866 he opened a 
grocery and provision store at Brockport in company 
with his brother, George W. Hoskins. A year later 
this business closed, and in 1 867 the brothers went to 
Leavenworth Co., Kan., where he was employed on 
the Union Pacific railroad. Afterwards Mr. Hoskins 
was placed in charge of the Fairmount Station, 
where he operated two years. Returning East, he 
went to Allegan, Mich., where he engaged in milling 
and buying grain for his uncle, A. S. Brown, of whose 
business he had charge. He was well fitted for its 
management, having been engaged in Kansas in han- 
dling grain, in connection with railroading. He was 
thus occupied until the death of his relative, which 
event occurred in about four years. 

In 1S73 he went to Bellevue, Eaton County, and 
bought the Bellevue Gazette, which he conducted 
eight years, with reasonable success. In July, 1881, 
he came to St. Louis and bought the St. Louis 
Leader. It is published as a Republican sheet and 

■ enjoys a fine patronage, which is constantly increasing. 
A job office is conducted in connection therewith, in 
which branch Mr. Hoskins is doing a successful bus- 
iness. The work requires three assistants. 

Mr. Hoskins was Assistant Secretary of the Senate 
of Michigan during the last session of that body 



held in the old capitol building, in 1877-8. He 
was elected Secretary of that body in 1879 and has 
been successively elected every session since that 
date. He was Clerk of the village of Bellevue eight 
years, and held the same position in the township 
two years. He was married May ii, T869, in Brock- 
port, N. Y., to Minnie, daughter of Nathan and Me- 
linda Fisk. She was born Jan. 2, 1847, in Monroe 
Co., N. Y. Following are the records of the children 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins: Etta L., Nov. 6, 
1871; Frederick M., May 29, 1873; Fern, Nov. i, 
1879; Ralph, June 21, 1882, at St. Louis, where 
he died Oct. 9, 1883. The two eldest children were 
born in Allegan ; the third in Bellevue. 



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iram Burgess, deceased, was born Oct. 1 o, 
^''^ 1802, in Cayuga Co., N. Y., married Keziah 
~ii^ Terry for his first wife, and she died five years 
later. He married Betsey Placeway, a native 
of Vermont, and located in Allegany Co., N. V. 
In 1837 they removed to Michigan and passed 
two years in Northville, Wayne County. They re- 
moved thence to Clinton C'ounty, where they settled 
on 160 acres of land in the midst of an unbroken 
forest. They held possession of the place four years 
and went to Livingston County, where they spent 
12 years in agricultural pursuits. In 1853, they re- 
turned to Clinton County, and in 1855 settled on 80 
acres of land on section 25 of Pine River Township, 
Gratiot County. It was situated in the unbroken 
wilderness, which had never before hardly known the 
presence of the foot of a white man, and the house- 
hold experienced pioneer incidents sufficient for a 
volume. 

Mr. Burgess afterward added 40 acres, on section 
26, to his original tract of 80 acres, and, later in life, 
sold 20 acres to one of his sons, which left him in 
possession of 100 acres of land at the time of his 
death, which occurred April 9, 1879. He was a 
prominent citizen of the county from its organization, 
which he was instrumental in effecting, and was elect 
ed its first Sheriff on its obtaining its municipal reg 
ulations. He was also active in all matters pertain- 
ing to the progress and welfare of his township, of 
which he was the first Supervisor. 

Mrs. Betsey (Placeway) Burgess is still living and 



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and resides on the homestead. She was born Oct. 
lo, 1806, in Vermont, and is a daughter of William 
and Mary (Robbins) Placeway. Her parents were 
natives respectively of Nova Scotia and Massachu- 
setts. She married Hiram Burgess Jan. 10, 1830, 
and became the mother of the following children : 
Nancy M.,, Frederick L., Julia A., Ann M., Mary A., 
Emery \V., Clarkson h., James W., Seth C. and Bet- 
sey A. 









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ohn B. Mallory, farmer on section 24, Se- 
ville Township, is a son of Isaac and Amy 
>y • (Briggs) Mallory, natives of the vicinity of 
Glens Falls, N. Y. The father was early in 
life a blacksmith, but later was in agricultural 
pursuits. Both parents died in the Empire 
/\ State. 

The suliject of this biography was Ijorn May 12, 
1821, in Chautaucpia Co., N. Y., and lived at home 
with his parents until 28 years old, attending school 
auring the winters of his youth, and working on the 
paternal farm in the summers. At the age men- 
tioned, he was married to Corinna L. Wright, the 
second daughter of a faiuily of one son and three 
daughters. Her parents were James and Julia 
(Strong) Wrigjit, natives of Connecticut. James 
Wright was a farmer, and moved to Oswego Co., N. 
Y., and thence to Chautauqua County, same State, 
where he and wite Ijoth died. 

Mr. Mallory resided in Hillsdale County, this 
State, two years, and in 1856 came to Cratiot Coun- 
ty. He located on section 24, Seville, but a part of 
his land was situated on section 23. Settling in 
the midst of a dense wilderness, he has by persever- 
ance brought into good shape a farm of about 100 
acres, with good house and barns. He has been 
Treasurer of his township five years, and has also 
held the office of School Inspector. He has been 
elected Justice of the Peace several times, but has 
declined to qualify. Mr. M. is politically a Repub- 
lican. He and wife are the parents of ten children : 
Walter C, Fayette A., Julia B., Frances C. (died 
•' June 19, 1873), Mina, Maurice, Eunice M., Nevada, 
^ Ralph and Anna. 

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|lL ranklin Squire, farmer, section 30, North 
j!p Star Township, was born in the County of 
'^ Ceauga, State of Ohio, Feb. 15, 1827, and 



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is a son of Aaron Squire, deceased, a native of 
•^ihs ('onnecticut. The son remained with his 
parents in his native county, assisting the 
father on the farm and receiving such instruction as 
was obtainable from the common schools and de- 
veloping into manhood. 

Feb. 23, 1851, Mr. Squire was united in marriage 
to Miss Eliza Ann, daughter of John Herrington, de- 
ceased, and he and his " life partner " came seeking 
a home in this State, and settled in Lenawee County. 
They remained there for three years, when, in 1854, 
they came to this county, and Mr. C. entered a 160- 
acre homestead for himself, and over 500 acres for 
his brothers, who soon afterward came to the county. 
His early settlement was characterized by all the 
trials and hardships experienced by the jiioneer 
settler of the county. Nobly did lie battle against 
all difficulties, and truthfully hath he demonstrated 
that the hill of adversity reijuires indomitable energy 
and perseverance to ascend it. He has continually 
resided in the county since he entered his home- 
stead, following the occiqjatioii of a farmer, and has 
met with signal success in that calling. He has 
been honored with the offices of Clerk, Supervisor 
and School Director of his township, and possesses 
the respect and esteem of the citizens. 

In religious sentiments Mr. .Squire is an ardent ad- 
herent of the doctrines of the Seventh-Day Advent 
Church. He believes especially in the doctrine 
"that Saturday is the true Sabbath," and offers to 
those who dispute his belief the Decalogue to sub- 
stantiate it. He is also a firm believer in the 13th 
chapter of Revelations and likewise the spirit of 
prophesy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Squire have had eight children born 
to theni, seven of whom are living, namely: Frank 
E., Helen, Eli E., Alice, John, Lucy and Sarah E. 
One daughter, Adell (Harphan), died in her 21st 
year, leaving two children to the care of her husband. 

This work would be incomplete without a portrait 
of Mr. Squire, which is accordingly given, on the 
preceding page. 



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f auneelot H. Treat, farmer, section 11, Ar- 
cada Township, was born in Riley Town- 
ship, CHnton Co., Mich., July 9, 1844, and 
is tiie son of Gordon and Mary (VVillett) Treat, 
natives of New York. Gordon Treat was by 
occupation a farmer, and came to Michigan 
when, a young man, locating in Oakland County, 
where lie was married. He afterwards went to Clin- 
ton County, and died at his home in Riley Township, 
May 29, 1859, aged 59. He was one of the pioneers 
in both counties. His wife now resides in Clinton 
County, at the age of 63. 

Launcelot was the third child and second son of a 
family of five, and received a good education in the 
common schools. After the death of his father, 
he lived three years with his mother, and at the age 
of 18 left home to serve his country In the war. 
Aug. II, 1862, he enlisted in Co. G, 23d Mich Vol. 
Inf , and was assigned to the Army of the Cumber- 
land. He fought at Buzzard's Roost, Keuesaw Moun- 
tain, and other engagements. At Kenesaw, June 25, 
1863, he was wounded in the left shoulder by a rifle 
ball, cutting the shoulder blade in two. Excepting 
this, he escaped unhurt, and was honorably dis- 
charged July 12, 1865, after which he returned 
home. 

Jan. 26, 187 I, he was married to Sarah, daughter 
of Henry and Ann (Gardner) Fisk, natives of Poult- 
ney, Rutland Co., Vt., and Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., 
and of mixed descent, tliey having English, French 
and Dutch ancestors. Henry Fisk was by occupa- 
tion a carpenter and joiner, and died in Richland, 
Montcalm Co., Mich., in .\ugust, 1881. Ann (Gard- 
ner) Fisk is still living in that county, aged 58. 
Sarah Fisk was born in Bengal, Clinton County, \ug. 
23, 1S5 I, and received a fair education in her native 
county. 

Two years after marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Treat re- 
moved to Westphalia Township, Clinton County; 
and five years later, .Aug. 22, 1878, they came to 
Gratiot County, purchasing 124 acres on section 1 1, 
Arcada Township. He has since purchased 30 acres, 
and now has one of the best farms in the county, 134 
acres being well improved. He has recently erected 
a magnificent barn, at a cost of over ^2,000. Mr. 





and Mrs. Treat have two children, as follows : .\lta, 
born March 9, 1870; and Gordon D., born Feb. 1, 
1873. In political sentiment, he is a lilieral Repub- 
lican. 



ansler R. Reed, of the firm of Leckenby 
& Reed, wagon manufacturers at St. Louis, 
/j,^(^(^'" was born Jan. 6, 1826, at Norwalk, Ohio, 
i^ and is the youngest son of Hanson and Eliza- 
beth (Powers) Reed. His father was a native 
I of Kentucky, and, after marriage, went to 
Huron Co., Ohio, where, with the parents of his wife, 
he was among the pioneer settlers. The dates of 
birth and location in the Buckeye State have not 
been preserved, but the nativity of tlie father occurred 
about 1788, and that of the mother about three years 
later. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Reed was a 
soldier of the Revolution, and was more than 100 
years old when he died. At the date of the settle- 
ment of Mr. Powers and his son-in-law in Huron 
Co., Ohio, inhabitants and improvements were very 
scarce. Where is now the beautiful city of Norwalk, 
there was then but an Indian encampment, and the 
father and grandfather of Mr. Reed erected and put 
in running order the first saw and grist-mill in that 
section. They were obliged to travel 70 miles for 
the fixtures of the establishment, which were con- 
veyed all that distance on horseback. Hanson Reed 
was a prominent man in the section where he spent 
many active years engaged in aiding in the substan- 
tial progress of Northern C)hio. He was a God-fear- 
ing man, and on his death left a family of six sons, 
whose records in no sense detract from the remem- 
bered uprightness and integrity which characterized 
the life of the father. The latter died suddenly in 
1828, when about 40 years old, at Perrysburg, Ohio, 
where he was engaged in fulfilling the conditions of 
an extensive contract to build a macadamized road 
over the "Black Swamp," a region which was the 
source of untold annoyance and dread to tlie emi- 
grants, who were obliged to traverse its slouglis anu 
ijuicksands. His widow survived until 1865, when 
she died, aged 74 years. The six sons are all living, 
and attest the tenacity of life and fine physical vigor 
wliich marked the ancestral lines from which they 
are descended. Franklin D., eldest son, lives at 
Norwalk, Ohio; Janies P. is a resident of Mason, 



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GRATIOT COUNTY 



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Ingham ("o., Mich.; Eli H. resides in the northern 
/t? peninsula of Michigan ; Abraham P. lives in Mis- 
M> soiiri, and Dennis A. in Wisconsin. Kli, 



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Dennis and 
Mr. Reed of this sketch became sailors, and the 
first-named lias followed that calling all his life, 
during the business seasons. He spends hi^ wintc-rs 
in hunting and trapping, and has tnade an extra- 
ordinary record with his rifle. He became a sailor 
when he was nine years old and has been on the 
lakes nearly 60 years. 

Mr. Reed was less than two years old when his 
''L father died. At the age of 15 he became a sailor, to 
\r* gratify an inclination to obtain a wider view of the 
iA world than what he saw bounded by the horizon 
inclosing the fields and hills of his native place. 
He followed the lakes until he was 32 years old and 
rose to the position of mate, which he occupied on a 
number of vessels. On becoming a landsman, he 
engaged in the calling of ship-carpenter, as he had a 
natural aptitude for the use of tools. In i<S6o he 
/■ came to Ionia Co., Mich., and bought 80 acres of 
\^_ land, on wliich he pursued farming and combined 
S the labors of a builder with the duties of agriculture. 
Later, he went to Adrian, where he worked at his 
trade two years He went thence to Macon, in the 
same county, where, associated with Israel Perring- 
ton, he Iwught a saw-mill, which they conducted two 
years. Mr. Reed next went to Corunna, Ind., where 
he owned a third interest in a lumber-mill. Two 
years later he went to Kendallville, in Indiana, wliere 
he engaged a short time as a wagon-maker. His 
next business venture was at Atwood, Ind., where he 
managed a lumber-mill in his own interest seven 
years, and afterwards pursued agriculture at that 
place about the same length of time. After working 
as a carpenter at Warsaw, Ind., a short time, in May, 
1882, he came to St. Louis and bought out a furni- 
ture store, which he conducted six months and sold 
out. He entered into his present business relation 
Dec. 15, 1883, with E. Leckenby, and is engaged in 
the manufacture of carriages and wagons. Their 
works require four assistants, and each of the iirinci- 
pals manages a different branch of the business. 
Mr. Reed is the owner of 36 feet frontage on Sagi- 
naw Street, and the lot runs back 30 feet, tire tract 
containing two iniildings, which are used for store- 
rooms, painting and turning rooms. The blacksmith 
and ironing shop connected with the establishment 
is the property of the senior partner. 






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Mr. Reed was married Dec. 4, 1843, in Nonvalk, 
Ohio, to C'yrena M., daughter of Alvin Blodgett, a 
farmer of H\tron Co., Ohio. Their three children 
are : Rose, Lora D. and Ella D. The first-named is 
the wife of Samuel Hatch, traveling salesman for 
Thorb & Hawley, of Detroit. The second daughter 
is the wife of John W. Ackley, foreman of the lum- 
ber-mill of the (irand Haven Lumber Company. 
The youngest is the wife of A. S. Thompson, foreman 
in the employ of H. L. Holcomb, of St. Louis. Mr. 
Reed is a member of the Order of Masonry and of 
the Odd Fellows. Himself and wife belong to the 
Presbyterian Church. 



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homas Gallagher, farmer, section 5, Pine 
River Township, was born April 4, 1833, in 
Pennsylvania, and is the son of Thomas and 
Lucy (Hubbs) Gallagher, both of whom were 
born in the Keystone State. They removed in 
later life to Ohio, and after a residence there 
covering a period of nine years, they came to Michi- 
gan, where they passed their subsequent lives. The 
father died in Ingham County, the mother in Eaton 
County. 

Mr. Gallagher was an infant about one year old, 
when his parents went to Ohio, and when he was ten 
years of age they came to Michigan. His father died 
the following year and he went to live with a man 
named Alexander Ingersoll, a miller by vocation, and 
was under his care and guidance until he was near- 
ly 21 years old. He then engaged in a saw-mill, and 
continued there a year. The following season he 
rented a farm, which he conducted one year. In Jan- 
uary, 1855, he came to Gratiot County and bought 
160 acres of wild land, on which he has since resided 
He has sold 40 acres, and of the remaining portion he 
has placed 90 acres in a fine state of improvement 
and cultivation. His farm buildings are such as 
will compare favorably with any in the township. He 
is independent in political views, and has held various 
local official positions. He has been School Inspect- 
or and taught a term of school in his own district. 

Mr. Gallagher was married Nov. 28, 1852, at Grand 
Ledge, Eaton County, to Amanda, daughter of Oli- 
ver and Catharine (Grant) Russell. She was born in 
Shelby Co., N. Y., March 23, 1835. Her parents 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






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were natives of the same State and her mother is 
cousin to General (irant. Five children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher: Emily V., Mary 
J., Adelhert C"., William J. and Charles H. The 
father and mother are zealous and active members of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. 



xB^lLarius Ingalsbe, farmer, on section 25, 
yil ^^ll . Arcada Township, was born in Ontario 
1^^ Township, Wayne Co., N. Y., April 13, 
T^ '827, and is the son of Ebenezer and Alzada 
^ (Aldrich) Ingalsbe. Ebenezer Ingalsbe was a 
i native of Vermont, of English and Scotch de- 
scent, and a farmer by occupation. When very 
young he went to Wayne Co., N. Y., when that 
part of the State was covered with the primi- 
tive forest. He afterward removed to Alabama 
Township, Genesee County, where he died, June 15, 
1855, a little over 77 years old. Alzada Aldrich was 
a native of Connecticut, of Welsh descent. After 
receiving her education in her native State, she re- 
moved to New York State, where she was married. 
She died in Wayne County, that State, Sept. 3, 1839, 
leaving a large family, of which the subject of this 
sketch, at that time 12 years old, was the sixth 
child. 

Remaining with liis father until of age, Darius 
then worked as a common laborer until his marriage, 
Feb. 12, 1852, to Clarissa, daughter of Israel and 
Laura (Jennings) Halleck. Israel Halleck, a rela- 
tive of Gen. Henry W. Halleck, was a native of 
Long Island, and of Welsh descent. He farmed 
most of his life in Wayne Co., N. Y., and died m 
Wheatland Township, Hillsdale Co., Mich., Nov. 14, 
1865, at the age of 78. Laura Jennings was a native 
of Truxton, N. Y., and of English parentage. In 
1845 she came to Hillsdale County, this State, where 
she died April 12, 1882, at the age of 84. Clarissa 
(Halleck) Ingalsbe was born in Wayne Co., N. Y., 
July 3, 1832, and at the age of 13 came with her 
parents to Michigan. Here slie was educated and 
lived until 19 years old, when she returned to New 
York and was married. 

A few months after that -event they removed to 
Spencer, Medina Co., Ohio, locating on a farm. 
After one year they removed to Lenawee Co., Mich., 



and a year and a half later they went to Hillsdale 
County. They lived there on a farm for 9 years, 
and, .4pril 27, 1863. they came to North Star Town- 
ship, Gratiot County, locating on section 3. Four 
days were required, on account of the muddy roads, 
to draw their load from St. John's, a distance of 22 
miles. They located on 160 acres of heavily tim- 
bered land, and lived through most of the familiar 
experiences of all pioneers in a new country. The 
luxuries and many of the necessaries of life were 
wanting. Mr. Ingalsbe resided there 16 years, im- 
proving his land, and in April, 1880, he sold and 
purchased his present home on section 25, Arcada 
Township, one mile from Ithaca. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ingalsbe are the parents of three 
living children: Lydia, born Sept. 21, 1853; Dee, 
born Sept, 25, 1859; and Laura, born April 3, 1865. 
Three are dead: Mary, born Oct. 25, 1855, and died 
Jan. 12, 1S61; Amelia, born June 22, 186 1, and died 
Oct. 10, 1874; and Clara, born Sept. 11, 1867, and 
died Sept. 2, 187S. Mr. Ingalsbe is one of the most 
respected citizens of the county. He is a Royal 
Arch Mason, of Ithaca Chapter, No. 70. He has 
held the office of Overseer of Roads for several 
years, and in politics is an active Republican. 







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amuel Gordon, tanner and currier at St. 
Louis, was born in the District of Montreal, 
' Canada, July 28, 1838, and is the son of 
John and Elizabeth (Dickson) Gordon. His 
father is a native of Scotland and is now living 
in Canada, aged 96 years. His mother was 
also a native of Scotland and died in ("anada, in the 
year 1855. 

Mr. Gordon began to learn his trade when he was 
16 years old and spent three years in preparation for 
the business which he has made the vocation of his 
life. After completing his indentures he entered the 
employ of the same man and remained until he was 
26 years old. In 1862 he went to Redford, Clinton (q>, 
Co., N. Y., and there worked at ius trade three years. 
In the spring of 1S65 he came to St. Louis and built 
a tannery, which was located near the residence of \9. 
Dr. C'heesenian. Two years after, he built his pres- •' 
ent place of business. The structure is 28 by 36 
feet, with two wings, one of which is 16 by 26 feet in 



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dimensions, the other 15 by 36 feet. In addition to 

the various branches of his business, he buys and 
sells grain, lime and coal, in company with J. O. Hil- 
ton. They are doing a heavy business and are the 
Oily dealers in coal and shippers of grain at St. 
Louis. Mr. Gordon owns his residence and ;in acre 
of land at St. Louis, and 40 acres in Jasper Town- 
ship, Midland County. He was married at St. Louis, 
April 17, 1865, to Attie Slack, a native of Jackson 
Co., Mich. Five cliildren were born to them, three 
of whom are deceased — Frank, Charles and Pearlie. 
Those living are William and Robert. 

Mr. Gordon is a member of the A. O. U. VV. He as- 
sisted in building the first church edifice erected at St. 
Louis. It was built by the Presbyterian society, and 
Mr. Gordon hewed the first stick of timber used in its 
construction. 



■^^iieury R. Pattengill, Superintendent of 

^Is Schools at Ithaca, was born Jan. 4, 1852, 

(|p«^ at Mount Vision, Otsego Co., N. Y. 



»«>? . ^ . Lem- 

(,J uel C. Pattengill, his father, was born June 3, 
i 181 2, in New Lisbon, Otsego Co., N. Y., early 
I in life was a farmer by vocation, and later en- 
tered the ministry and spent many years laboring in 
the interests of the Baptist Church. In the latter 
liart of 1852 he removed to Akron, Erie Co., N. Y., 
where he spent six years as a minister of the gospel, 
and went thence to Wibon, Niagara Co., N. Y.,with 
his family. During his residence there he acted one 
year as Chaplain in the hospitals and among the sol- 
diers, under the auspices of the Christian Commis- 
sion, with headquarters at Harper's Ferry. In the 
fall of 1865 he removed to Litchfield, Hillsdale Co., 
Mich., where he was occupied in ministerial labor. 
In 1872 he removed to Ann Arbor, and in the sum- 
mer of 1874 he came to Ithaca, where he died in 
March, 1875. 

Lemuel Pattengill, paternal grandsire, was a native 
of Canterbury, Windham Co., Conn., and was a Cap- 
tain in the Federal army during the second war with 
England. He was wounded and taken prisoner at 
(lueenstown Heights, and exchanged a few months 
later. The great-grandfather was a carpenter and 
passed most of his life at Canterjjury, where he died. 
The patronymic was originally " Pettengill," and a 



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large number of representatives of the name live in 
Connecticut. The mother of Mr. Pattengill, Mary 
G. (Gregory) Pattengill, was born in New Lisbon, Ot- 
sego Co., N. Y., Feb. 14, 18 14. Her father, Seth 
Gregory, was a Baptist clergyman in that place and 
officiated over one charge there about 30 years. She 
now resides at Ithaca with the subject of this sketch. 
Mr. Pattengill was in infancy when his jjarents 
went to Akron and was a lad of seven years at the 
date of their removal to Wilson. While the family 
resided there he met with a terrible accident. He 
was visiting in the adjacent country, and, while riding 
the leading horse attached to a reaping machine, the 
team became unmanageable and he was thrown. 
The fleeing horses dragged the reaper over him and 
he was caught in the gearing, the knives cutting into 
his hip and nearly severing his left leg, besides badly 
mutilating his left arm and hand. His life was de- 
spaired of many times during the months of suffer- 
ing and illness that followed, but at the end of a year 
he was sufficiently recovered to move about with the 
aid of a cane, and he gradually came back to health. 
He had had a strong desire to become a sailor, but 
during his long struggle for life and health he de- 
termined to obtain an education, and as soon as he 
was sufficiently recovered he entered the Wilson 
Academy, which he attended as long as his family 
lived there. On their removal to Litchfield he be- 
came a pupil at the graded school and studied there 
five years. He then went to Hudson, where he pur- 
sued a preparatory collegiate course and entered the 
Literary Department of the University of Michigan 
at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated with the 
class of 1874. He came to St. Louis, this county, 
where he received tlie appointment of Superintendent 
of Schools and occupied the position two years. In 
the fall of 1876 he succeeded to the same position 
at Ithaca, and has continued the incumbent since. 
He has received an offer of an associate editorship 
of the School Moderator, published at Grand Rapids, 
which position he intends to accept at the close of 
the present school year. 

He was " prophet " of his class when he was grad- 
uated, and was one of r r selected Commencement 
speakers of 1874. While in college he acted two 
years as an editor of the Chronicle, a college pape' 
published by the students. He has been Township 
Superintendent a number of years, and since 1877 
has held the position of President of the Gratiot 

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County Teachers' Association. He has identified 
himself with all educational movements, and has 
conducted Teachers' Institutes in several counties 
hereabouts. In the fall of 1883 he was elected 
member of the County Board of School Examiners. 
In January of that year, he was chosen Secretary of 
the State Teachers' Association. 

Although Mr. Pattengill has been untiring and un- 
remitting in the duties pertaining to his official posi- 
tion and incidental interests, he is nevertheless 
keenly alive to all other issues likely to affect ma- 
terially the general welfare of the community, and 
takes a proper and manly interest in local politics. 
In 188 [ he was a delegate to the State Convention at 
Lansing to nominate Regents for the University, and 
in the fall of 1882 was a delegate to the Gratiot 
County Convention. He " stumped " the county 
during the State campaign of 1882, in the interests 
of the Republican party. In 1881 he was elected 
President of the village of Ithaca, running on both 
tickets, and was re-elected in 1882. 

The portrait of Mr. Pattengill, appearing on a 
l,receding page, is an eminently fitting addition to the 
Biographical Album of Gratiot County. 

ustavus Quick, farmer and stock-raiser, on 

section 1 1 , Sumner Townshii), is a son of 

Ji;|S^ Ralph and Calista (Treat) Quick, and was 
^'^ born in Oakland Co., Mich., Feb. 8, 1846. 
'■" He was engaged with his father on the farm 
until he was 20 years 'old, and in the mean- 
time received a good common-school education. He 
then left home and for si.\ years worked as a carpen- 
ter and joiner in the summer and whatever he could 
find to do in the winter. In the spring of 187 i he 
came to Gratiot County and purchased 40 acres of 
partly improved land. He has since added 20 acres, 
and of his whole farm 40 acres are now well im- 
proved. He has also built ample farm buildings. 
He is an active and shrewd farmer and at the same 
time stands high socially. 

Oct. II, 187 1, he was married in Lyon Township, 
Oakland County, to Miss Rosalctta Taylor, daughter 
of Jonathan and Caroline (Christopher) Taylor, 
natives of Seneca Co., N. Y. She was born April 
II, 1852, in the same town in which she was reared. 





educated and married. She is the mother of one 
child, Jennie, born May 31, 1880. Mr. Quick is the 
present Treasurer of his township, and has held the 
office of Drain Commissioner two years. Politically 
he is a zealous Republican. 



:?fharles J. Willett, attorney, at St. Louis, 
was born at Essex, N. Y., June 5, 1849, 
^Ig^ and is the son of Rev. Joseph T. and Corne- 
W lia A. (Whallon) Willett. His father was a 

i[ Presbyterian minister and came to Grand Rap- 
ids in 1865, removing to St. Louis two years later, for 
the purpose of laboring in the interests of the Chris- 
tian religion. He discharged the duties of his minis- 
terial office at St. Louis and vicinity until 1879, when 
he went to Cincinnati and is now living there in re- 
tirement, aged 66 years. The mother is also living. 

Mr. Willett was graduated from the High School at 
Grand Rapids in 1867, after twoyears' study, then, in 
the fall of the same year entered the Literary De- 
partment of the LTniversity of Michigan at Ann Ar- 
bor, where he graduated in iSyr. He went to [Chel- 
sea, Washtenaw County, and officiated as Principal 
of the Union School there a year. He returned to 
St. Louis and obtained a situation as clerk in the 
Gratiot County Bank, where he operated two years. 
In 1874, associated with Hiram Harrington, Lemuel 
Savins and Aaron Wessels, he organized the Mer- 
chants & Farmers' Bank. He was its cashier, and 
acted as such about two years. He had devoted his 
leisure to the study of law and was admitted to the 
Bar, Jan. 4, 1877. He entered upon the duties of 
active practice immediately after. He has been en- 
gaged in a lucrative and increasing law business ever 
since, and has attained satisfactory prominence in his 
profession through his connection with several cases 
of more than ordinary importance. 

In the fall of 1880, Mr. Willett was elected Prose- 
cuting Attorney of Gratiot County, and held the po- 
sition one term. He has been Village Treasurer 
and President of St. Louis one year each. In the 
spring of 1881, he was nominated by the State Con- 
vention of the (Greenback party as one of the Re- 
gents of the University, but was defeated, and in the 
fall of 1882 he was placed in nomination by the 






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Democratic and Greenback parties to represent tlie 
Eighth Congressional District, against R. G. Horr, 
but was defeated. In 1883, he was again a candi- 
date for Regent, on the Union ticket, and was elected. 
In addition to his law business, Mr. VVillett is en- 
gaged in real-estate and loan brokerage, in compa- 
ny with E. C. Phillips, and has extensive relations in 
these branches in Gratiot and neighboring counties. 

He.was married at St. Louis May 13, 1874, to Har- 
riet Grossman. She was the daughter of Abisha R. 
and Margaret S. Grossman, and was born in Pelham, 
Ontario, Aug. 25, 1S52. Her father died in 1867, and 
in 1 87 I her mother removed to St. Louis, Mich , 
where she died in 1876. 



■ javid F. Courter, a progressive young far- 
mer on section 12, Sumner Township, is a 
%(Ji{y- "^ son of Jonathan and Sarah (Barton) 

'^ Gourter (see sketch of Jonathan Gourter), and 
was born in Orleans Township, Ionia Co., 
\ Mich., Oct. 18, 1850. Four years later he 

came with his parents to Gratiot County, and the 
family settled on section 7, Arcada Township. David 
remained with his father on this place until 22 years 
old, securing an elementary and practical education. 
He then purchased 120 acres of timbered land on 
section 13, Sumner Township, where he remained 
a year and a half, cutting timber, etc. Selling this 
place, he then bought his present farm of 80 acres on 
section 12. He has now 60 acres in a good state of 
cultivation, and has erected suitable farm buildings. 

Dec. 24, 1S75, at Alma, he was united in the 
bonds of matrimony to Miss Dena Clark, daughter 
of Charles and Harriet (Davis) Clark, natives of New 
York and Connecticut respectively, and of ScotcJi and 
English extraction. Mr. Clark was a farmer, and died 
in Sumner Township, this county. Mrs. Clark now 
lives in Canada. Their daughter, Dena, was born 
in Ontario, Canada, June 28, i860, and came to 
Michigan with her parents when 15 years old. Since 
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Courier have lived on the 
farm which he improved previously. March 22, 
1 88 1, his house and household goods were all 
destroyed by fire, the loss exceeding $700. He is 
not a man to be long set back by such a loss, how- 
ever, and is rapidly recovering. 



Mr. and Mrs. G. are the parents of two children, 
Bertha M. and Allan F. Politically, he votes the 
Democratic ticket. 



IJkI S^braham W. Russell, resident of Ithaca, and 
"^H^ Supervisor of the township of Ithaca, is a 
^ son of James W. and Jane (Wolfcale) Russell, 
'■|ier natives respectively of the Keystone State and 
•'1'' the Shenandoah Valley, Va. The father was 
a farmer, and settled in Trumbull Co., Ohio, 
as early as 1802. He served under Gen. Harrison 
in the second war with Great Britain, and was sta- 
tioned at Fort Meigs, at Perrysburg, on the Maumee 
River. After his discharge, he returned to the old 
homestead in Trumbull County, afterwards removing 
to Paulding County, where he died. The mother 
died in Mahoning Co., Ohio. 

The subject of this sketch was born Oct. 13, 1S30, 
in Trumbull Co., Ohio, and remained with his par- 
ents until the death of his mother. He worked at 
various employments, until 19 years old, and then 
served an apprenticeship of one year in the wagon- 
making trade, which occupation he has since fol- 
lowed. In 1853, he went to Fostoria, Seneca Co., 
Ohio, where he lived until 1861. He enlisted in 
Co. E, 49th Ohio Vol. Inf., and, attached to the 
Western Army, participated in the great' battle of 
Pittsburg Landing and in several other engagements. 
He was after a time transferred to the Signal Corps, 
in which he served the remainder of his term. He 
was finally discharged Aug. 22, 1864, at Chattanooga, 
Tenn. Returning to his home, he remained one 
year more in Fostoria, and in 1865 came to Gratiot 
County, locating at Ithaca. 

In June, 1S52, in Canfield, Mahoning Co., Ohio, 
he was united in marriage to Miss Emeline Morey, 
who was born July 10, 1829, in Perry Co., Pa., and 
is the daughter of William and Betsey (Sulibargcr) 
Morey. The parents were natives of Pennsylvania, 
and settled in Ellsworth, Trumbull Co., Ohio, in 
1836. Mr. Morey died the same year, his widow 
living until 1874, when she died at Gham])ion, 
Trumbull County. To Mr. and Mrs. Russell, eight 
children have been born, five of whom survive : 
Willis A., Florence R. A., Carlos B., Fred G. and 
Cora C. I. 



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Mr. R. is a member of the I. O. O. F., F. & A. M., 
G. A. R. and K. of H. ; and is politically an earnest 
Republican. He has been Supervisor of Ithaca 
Township from 1882 to the present time; Justice of 
the Peace from 187 1 to 1882; and Superintendent 
of the Poor for nine years. He and wife are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which 
he is a Trustee. 



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lijah Curtis, farmer, section 3, Hamilton 



Township, and one of the pioneer settlers 
of tiie county, was born in Cayuga Co., 
-sS- N. Y., June 6, 1802. His father, Ashbel Curtis, 
^ removed his family to London, Canada, in 
J 1820, and there Elijah remained until 1836, 
assisting his father, and receiving limited educational 
advantages, when he came to this State and settled 
in the county of Oakland. There he remained, en- 
during the trials and deprivations of the pioneer set- 
tler in clearing and cultivating his land until 1855, 
when he came to this county and settled on section 
3, Hamilton Township, where he at present resides. 

Mr. Curtis was married Feb. 21, 1826, to Abbie 
Burdick, and eight children have been born to their 
union, only three of whom, James, Winthrop and 
Abigail, are now living. Mrs. C. died in February, 

1868, and Mr. C. was again married in January, 

1869, this time to Mrs. Rebecca Pickett, wlio had 
four children by a former marriage, namely : Mary, 
Joseph, Charlotte and Perry. 

Mr. Curtis now owns 107 acres of land in this 
county; was Justice of the Peace 16 years. Postmas- 
ter seven years, and Supervisor of the township two 
years, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 



oolf Netzorg, general merchant at Ithaca, 
j^^ is a native of Russia, and is a son of 
'"^^' " Abraham and Rebecca (Keidan) Netzorg. 
'' He was educated in his native country, and 
at the age of 20 came to the United States. 
He joined his uncles, H. and J. Netzorg, at St. 
Charles, Saginaw Co., Mich., where they were in bus- 
iness. In order to accustom himself to the customs 
and language of the new world in which he found 




himself, Mr. Netzorg followed peddling about two 
years and a half, after which he engaged as a clerk 
in the store of ^his uncles, where he remained about 
six months. He came to Ithaca in September, 1877, 
and entered into partnership with Nyman E. Yesner, 
and opened a store for the sale of general merchan- 
dise. This relation existed until Feb. 26, 1883, when 
Mr. Netzorg purchased the interest of his associate, 
and has since been engaged in the prosecution of a 
prosperous and gradually extending business. His 
stock is estimated at a value of $12,000, and his an- 
nual business transactions represent an aggregate of 
$25,000, He is a member of the Masonic frater- 
nity. 

Since Mr. Netzorg came to America he has aided 
his brother Mayer and sister Dessie to come to 
this country. The former is in his employ as clerk 
and the latter is attending school. 

He was married Jan. 6, 1 88 1, at St. Charles, Mich., 
to Fannie Sodekson, of Mineola, Texas, and a native 
of Russia. Mr. and Mrs. Netzorg have a son and 
daughter, the former, Sallie, born April 12, 1882, the 
latter, Celia, May 29, 1883. 



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oseph W. Kemp, grocer and dealer in 

^ L- v ''' boots, shoes, crockery and glass-ware at St. 

'/jfjfjj ' Louis, was born May 28, 1834, in Richland 

^^ Co., Ohio. He is a son of Jacob M. and Harriet 

^r (Hoey) Kemp, who went to Williams Co., Ohio, 

I in 1851. They were pioneers and settled on a 

farm which was mostly in an original state. Seven 

years later the family came to Michigan and settled 

in Coe Township, Isabella County, where the father 

Ijought a farm. 

Mr. Kemp obtained his education in the common 
schools and was reared on a farm. He helped his 
father clear a consideral)le part of the farm in the 
Buckeye State, and accompanied the family to Isa- 
bella County. Soon after he went to Jackson County, 
where he spent two years. In 1858 he had bought 
100 acres of land in Coe Township, where his father 
resided, located on section 24, where he cleared 40 
acres and made other improvements. He came to 
St. Louis in January, 1872. His father had preced- 
ed him and established himself in trade. The son 
operated for a time as his assistant, and, later, enter- 






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ed the employ of Joseph Tibbett, where he remained 
1 8 months. On the termination of this relation, he 
formed a partnership with W. A. Williams, and en- 
gaged in the sale of groceries and provisions at St. 
Louis. This relation existed nearly two years, 
when Mr. Kemp, Sr., bought out the interest of Mr. 
Williams and the business was conducted by the 
father and son four years. Mr. Kemp then became 
sole proprietor by purchase and has continued since 
to manage the business singly. He established him- 
self where he is now located in the winter of 187 8-9, 
and is meeting with reasonable success. He owns 
his residence and grounds and four lots with dwell- 
ings, besides 40 acres of land on section 12, Pine 
River Township, and 200 acres of land in Jasper 
Township, Midland County. 

Mr. Kemp was married Dec. 25, i860, to Ro.xana, 
daughter of Joseph and Margaret A. Davison. She 
was born in Warren Township, Trumbull Co., Ohio, 
April 27, 1844. Of this marriage one child was born, 
in Isabella Co., Mich., Nov. 21, 1862 : JosephineC, 
now the wife of George Wilson, salesman in the store 
of Mr. Kemp. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have one child : 
Maud, born March 10, 1881, at St. Louis. 




oseph H. Dodge, farmer, section 4, Wash- 
ington Township, is a son of Alonzo and 
^'■'5' Mary A. (Morton) Dodge — the former born 
in Vermont in 1828, and the latter in Ohio in 
]C 1829. Alonzo Dodge came to Clinton County 
in 1S55, and 12 years later came to Gratiot, 
locating on 80 acres of wild land on section 4, Wash- 
ington Township, his present residence. He had to 
cut a road a mile and a half to his place. During 
his residence here, his occupation has been farming 
and threshing. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Medina Co., 
Ohio, Dec. 17, 1848. At the age of 20, he was united 
in marriage to Ella C. Krepps, third daughter of a 
family of eight — four sons and four daughters. She 
was born Oct. 5, 1852, and her parents are Christian 
and Elizabeth A. (Bear) Krepps, natives of Pennsyl- 
vania. Mr. Krepps is a farmer, and came to Michi- 
gan in 1852, locating in Clinton County, where he 
and wife yet reside, on a farm of 160 acres. 

When 19 years old, Mr. Dodge purchased 80 acres 



of land, and by industry and good management now 
has an excellent farm of 120 acres. In 1 881, he 
erected the finest house in his township, at a cost of 
$1,600, his former dwelling having been destroyed 
by fire the previous year. He has been Highway 
Commissioner, and has also held the office of Director 
in his school district. He is a member of Eureka 
Lodge, No. 318, F. & A. M. Politically, he is a 
Democrat. 



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aniel R. Sullivan, farmer on section ^t,., 
|L Pine River Township, is a son of Cornelius 

, _, • and Margaret (Mur])hy) Sullivan, natives 

jyiv of Ireland. They were married on the Erner. 

aid Isle, and soon after, in 1829, came to 

'•:• America, first settling in Boston for one year. 

They then removed to Newport, R. I., and in 1836 

came to Michigan and settled in Washtenaw County. 

Six years later they removed to Jackson County, 

where they both died. They had a family of 12 

children, eight sons and four daughters. 

Daniel R., the subject of this narrative, was the 
eldest son of the family, and was born in Newport, 
R. I., June 8, 1830. When six years old his parents 
removed to Michigan, and he remained with them 
much of the time until 32 years of age. He received 
a common-school education, and at the age of 18 
went to New Orleans, La., where he remained 13 
years, chiefly engaged in steamboating. 

In August, 1854, he located 160 acres of wild land 
in Pine River Township, this county, and in tiie fall 
of i86i,on his return from the South, he came to 
Gratiot County and settled on his farm, where he has 
since resided. He first built a frame house, but this 
was finally superseded by a fine brick residence, into 
which he moved Dec. 24, 1877. He has added to 
his estate 320 acres in Pine River and Arcada Town- 
ships, and now has one of the model farms of the 
county, 250 acres being under cultivation. 

In December, 1862, in Arcada Township, he was 
married to Miss Jeannette, daughter of Emery and 
Maria (Lewis) Adams (see sketch of Emery Adams). 
She was born in Liberty Township, Jackson Co., 
Mich., Dec. 28, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan have 
had four children: William C, John D., Pearl (died 
in infancy) and Maggie M. Mr. S. has held the 



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offices of Supervisor one year, and Highway Com- 
missioner several years. In the spring of 18S3 he 
was elected Township Treasurer, which position he 
now fills. He is a member of the Masonic Order, 
and politically is identified with tlie Democratic 
party. Mrs. Sullivan is a member of the Episcopal 
Church. 

The portrait of Mr. Sullivan on page 472 is that 
of a representative farmer and citizen of Gratiot 
County. His character as a man has secured for 
him the permanent respect and confidence of his fel- 
low-citizens, which is expressed in the various trusts 
committed to his care. 



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S. Townsend, farmer, section 33, 
Emerson Township, was born on the At- 
lantic Ocean Aug. 22, 1843, while his par- 
ents were on their way from Edinburgh, 
Scotland, to America. He is a son of Will- 
iam W. and Dorothy (Smith) Townsend, natives 
of Scotland. Mr. Townsend, Sr., was a dry-goods 
merchant in that country, and died in Toronto, Can- 
ada, soon after his arrival. The mother also died 
about the same time, leaving three children : George, 
now a farmer residing near St. Thomas, Canada ; 
Martha (died in Toronto) ; and William S., the sub- 
ject of this sketch. The last named learned the 
blacksmith trade in Belleville, Canada, and followed 
that calling for a number of years in Belleville, Can- 
ada, Albany, N. Y., Rome, N. Y., New York city, and 
Oswego, N. Y. 

On the breaking out of the war, he became infused 
with the idea of serving his country, and in August, 
1862, he enlisted in Co. G, 147th N. Y. Inf., under 
Capt. Gary. He served two years, being in a num- 
ber of engagements, and was discharged at Washing- 
ton City. Returning to Oswego, he settled on 14^ 
acres a mile and a half from that city, and engaged 
in raising garden truck. He resided on this place, 
which he had purchased before entering the army, 
until 1869, and then exchanged for his present farm 
of 160 acres. The next three years were spent in 
the mines in California, and then one year in Oswe- 
go. July 4, 1876, he arrived in Ithaca, and settled 
on his farm a mile and three-fourths from town. It 
was then all timber, but he has cleared 50 acres, 



chopped 20 acres, and made other improvements. 
He was married in Oswego, N. Y., July 12, i860, 
to Jane, daughter of Jesse and Thyrsa Gray, born 
near Oswego, May 3, 1843. They have one son, 
\Villiam E., born in Oswego July 11, 1861, and an 
adopted daughter, Minnie, born Sept. 7, 1876. Mr. 
Townsend is a citizen of standing in the county. He 
is a member of Ithaca Lodge, No. 70, F. & A. M. 




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^ P^.iiavid Elliott, superintendent of the Wright 
, l-^.-WI !, farm, on section 4, Arcada Township, near 
- 1 duV ^ Alma, was born in Durham Co., Canada, 

?on the banks of Lake Ontario, and in the 
vicinity of the city of Toronto, April 10, 1833. 
His parents. Moor and Catharine (McCombs) 
Elliott, were of Irish and Scotch descent, followed 
farming for a livelihood, and died in Canada. He 
passed the years of his youth on his father's farm, 
and was educated in the common school. Arriving 
at the age of independence, he worked at farming 
for himself for six years, and then, in company with 
his brother, went to Brant Township, Bruce Co., 
Canada, where they each purchased a farm. David 
kept " bachelor's hall "for one year, when the destroy- 
ing element, fire, consumed his dwelling and all its 
contents, entailing a loss of $1,000. He then re- 
turned to his native county, and one year later, in 
the spring 1864, he came to Michigan, locating in 
the vicinity of Adrian, Lenawee County. Here he 
was connected with a nursery, and also worked at 
farming. He next spent a short season in Canada. 
Returning to Adrian, he was for five years engaged 
with Mr. Brackley Shaw, the present State Senator 
from the Sixth District. 

Oct. 19, 1869, he was married in Hudson, Lenawee 
County, to Miss Jane, daughter of Henry and Jane 
(Burns) Burns. They were of Scotch descent, but 
were reared in Ireland. Jane was born in Adrian, 
Sept. I, 1845, and resided in her native place until 
marriage. Immediately after this event they went to 
Bruce Co., Canada; and two years later, selling their 
farm of 50 acres, they returned to Lenawee County 
and lived for three years on a rented farm. In the 
fall of 1S75 they came to Gratiot County, where Mr. 
Elliott purchased So acres of partially improved 
land in Pine River Township. This farm he operated 



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until recently, when he leased his farm for five years, 
and engaged with Mr. Amnii Wright, of Alma, as 
superintendent of his beautiful farm just east of the 
corporation limits. ' 

Mr. and Mrs. Elliott have one daughter, Alvira, 
born Sept. 2, 1870. Mr. E. is a scientific farmer, an 
intelligent citizen and a pleasant neighbor. Politi- 
cally, he is a Democrat. 



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--"'^^ mery W. Burgess, farmer, section 25, Pine 









River Township, was born May 2, 1837, 
in Northville, Wayne Co., Mich. He is the 
^^* sixth child and second son of his parents, 
Hiram and Betsey (Placeway) Burgess (see 
sketch of Hiram Burgess). He was 17 years 
old when the family came to Gratiot County, and 
passed his entire minority assisting his father on the 
farm, and experiencing all the incidents common to 
pioneer life. Gratiot County was unorganized, set- 
tlers were few and far between, and everything was 
in the most primitive condition. Emigrants to Gra- 
tiot County found no accommodations between Ma- 
ple Rapids and St. Louis, save at the " Half-Way 
House," in what is now the township of Ithaca, one- 
fourth of a mile from the village, which institution 
deserves permanent record as auxiliary to the first 
settlement of this section. It was built and managed 
through the enterprise of a man named Paul Avery. 
It was constructed of basswood bark, and was about 
eight by sixteen feet in dimensions. It had two 
apartments — one inside for a dormitory, and the other 
outside for a dining-room. The floor of the sleeping- 
room was covered with boughs and straw, and 
accommodated from two to twenty persons. Mrs. 
Avery was always the first to retire. Mr. Avery fol- 
lowed, and the guests arranged themselves in the 
space that remained. The furniture of the estab- 
lishment consisted of a table, constructed of bark 
laid across supports of poles, which were supported 
in turn by forked stakes driven into the ground, and 
the arrangements for sitting at a meal consisted of a 
bark bench similarly constructed. Later, Mr. Avery 
built a log house, which served as a tavern until the 
influx of inhabitants, the progress of civilization, and 
the building of good routes of travel made it no lon- 
ger necessary. One incident related by Mr. Burgess 



exhibits alike the perplexities of the early settlers and 
their solicitude for the welfare of each other. His 
father reached his home late one night from Maple 
Rapids, bearing supplies for the nearest neighbor, 
who lived miles away in the vicinity, and set out at 
daylight in comfjany with his son. They followed 
the road up to a certain point indicated by a beech 
tree, which was "blazed" to mark the turning oft 
place. On reaching it, they turned to the right and 
drove until dark through the woods and over a trail, 
covered with 14 inches of virgin snow, and indicated 
only by the absence of under-brush. It was a weari- 
some day. The horses moved reluctantly, and never 
faster than a walk, and the light which shone through 
the trees from the huge fire outside the cabin they 
were seeking was the most welcome sight Mr. Bur- 
gess can remember in all his life; The cabin was 
built of logs without chinking ; the floor was of the 
variety known under the term "'puncheon," and the 
roof was made of " shakes," with one square left out 
to serve the purposes of a chimney. Warmth was 
maintained by the fire outside, which was half the 
size of the domicile. This is one picture of pioneer 
life in Gratiot County in 1855, and it is believed that 
this was the first time a horse team passed over that 
route. 

Mr. Burgess was married Jan. i, 1859, in Pine 
River Township, to Marcelia S., daughter of Abraham 
and Annie M. (Barrett) Woodin. The ceremony 
Was performed in the log house of the bride's father 
by Elder Fay, a Baptist minister, in the presence of 
16 invited guests. At the time, Mr. Burgess owned 
40 acres of wild land, a yoke of two-year-old steers, 
and a cow. He rented a farm, and moved thither 
with his wife and all his earthly goods. The latter 
were drawn at one load on an ox sled by the steers 
aforesaid. After buying one-fourth of a pound of tea 
and a pound of saleratus, he had 25 cents left where- 
with to begin the world. The nearest neighbors were 
a mile and a half away in one direction, and three 
miles in another, and six weeks elapsed before Mrs. 
Burgess saw the face of a white woman. Mr. Bur- 
gess drove the team to St. Louis which moved Dr. 
Clifford, the first resident physician at that place, who 
went to housekeeping in a bough house with his wife 
and one baby. The party spent one night in the 
woods while en roi/fe, Mrs. Gifibrd and her infant 
daughter, four months old, being made comfortable 
in the shelter of a fallen [liiic, while the men slept 












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under the sky. The " baby " is the wife of John 
Nobles, of St. Louis. Mr. Burgess drew the logs to 
build the " Crawford House," the first hotel erected 
at St. Louis. 

The family lived on the rented farm a year, and 
took possession of the place they owned. This was 
increased by the purchase of 80 acres additional, and 
they resided on it six years. In 1869 it was sold, 
and Mr. Burgess bought 80 acres, where he has since 
resided, and managed his agricultural interests with 
success. He has 60 acres cleared and improved, 
and has erected a good house and barn. He is a 
Republican in political connection. 

Mrs. Burgess was born in Harmony, Chautau<pia 
Co., N. Y., Nov. 22, 1881. Abraham Woodin, her 
father, was born in Gorham, Ontario Co., N. Y., Oct. 3, 
1809, and died Nev. 23, i860. Jeremiah Woodin, his 
father, was born in Cobleskill, Schoharie Co., N. Y., 
in 1784, and died in 1871. His wife, Martha (Wal- 
lin) Woodin, was born in the same place in 1796, 
and died in March, 1862. Anna (Barrett) Woodin 
was born in Gorham, Ontario Co., N. Y., July i, 
iSii, and is still living. Her father, Cornelius Bar- 
rett, was born Nov. 6, 177S, on Martha's Vineyard, 
and died Nov. 10, 1853. Elizabeth (Sawyer) Bar- 
rett, his wife, was born in Connecticut Nov. 13, 1784, 
and died in November, 1864. Mrs. Burgess had four 
brothers and four sisters : Wallace W., Washington 
H., Jay A., Hiram U., Martha A., Ophelia N., Eliza- 
beth M. and Olilia E. She has been the mother of 
six children, born as follows: Etta, March 10, 1861 ; 
Lillie M., June 2, 1871; Glen H., Sept. 16,1878. 
Elberon C. was born Jan. 4, i86o, and died March 
g following; Clark was born March 10, 1864, and 
died March 20, 1866; Maud was born Aug. 14, 
1866, and died July 7, 1867. 



ilbert B. Porter, jeweler at Alma, was horn 
at Vermontville, Eaton Co., Mich., May 
6, 1854, and is the son of Stewart H. and 
Cornelia T. (Hopkins) Porter. His father was 
a native of New York, his mother of Vermont. 
They were married and settled where their son 
was born, and the mother is still resident there. The 
father died Nov. 10, 1882. Seven children were born 
to them — Robert S., Clara T., Gilbert B., Frederick 




R., Harry, Frank and Harry. The three last named 
died in infancy. 

Mr. Porter received a good education in the place 
of his birth, and when he was 20 years old interested 
himself in learning the details of the business which 
he has since followed. He worked at it a year in 
Vermontville and one year at Charlotte. In April, 
1879, he settled at Alma and established his busi- 
ness, which has been prosperous and increasing. He 
acts and believes in political matters in accordance 
with the principles of the Republican party. 

He was married June 29, 1881, at Alma, to Ella 
E., daughter of Reed Latimer. Mrs. Porter was born 
in Schoharie Co., N. Y., and her parents were natives 
of the same State. Olive T., only child, was born 
Jan. I, 1883, and died July to, of the same year. 
Mr. Porter belongs to the Congregational Church. 




;< illiam L. Litle, carpenter and joiner, sec- 
■'i9 tion 17, New Haven Township, was born 
W?^0 Ontario, Canada, Dec. 2, 1837. His parents, 
|*f^ Ralph and Miranda (Purchase) Litle, are 
natives respectively of Canada and New York, 
and are now residing on a farm in North Star 
Township, this county. 

When 1 1 years of age, the subject of this sketch 
moved with his parents to Hillsdale Co., Mich., where 
he worked with them upon a farm until of age, ex- 
cept two years, which he devoted to the trade of car- 
penter and joiner, under the instruction of John 
Rush, of that county. He was subsequently under 
the supervision of a carpenter named Potter for a 
year, after which he prosecuted the trade independ- 
ently for for some time. 

Nov. 17, 1861, Mr. Litle married Miss Sarah E. 
Smith, who was born in Williams Co., Ohio, Nov. 15, 
1847, and when eight years old came with her parents 
to Hillsdale Co., Mich., remaining with tliem there 
until her marriage. 

.•\fter marriage, Mr. Litle became a contractor for 
building, and he erected many houses in that county, 
from 1 86 1 to 1869, when he moved to North Star 
TownshiiJ, this county, purchasing 40 acres of land 
and, in connection with farming, followed his trade. 
In April, 1873, he exchanged this land for 80 acres 



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of unimproved land where he now resides, and 
moved iijx)n it. To this he has added by purchase 
80 acres, and of the quarter-section he now owns he 
has 50 acres in good cultivation, and the place well 
furnished with the necessary farm buildings, etc. 

Mr. Litlc has been Road Commissioner and School 
Director. In politics he is a decided Republican, 
and in social affairs a menibcr of the Masonic blue 
lodge at Ithaca. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. l.itle are five in 
number, and all living, viz.: Fred K., born Aug. 31, 
icS62; Clara E., March 23, 1864; Lillian A., Aug. 
19, 1865; Huldah E., June 29, 1S69, and Charles J., 
Sept. 6, 1877. 



'^ipk^flfred A. Wood, grocer and provision dealer 
Ir at Ithaca, was born Nov. 12, 1839, at 



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■^^1 Genoa, Cayuga Co., N. Y. He is a son of 
Jesse Y. and Harriet (Teed) Wood, both of 
i^^ whom were born in Dutchess County, in the 
I State of New York, in 1798 and 1802, respect- 
ively. The father was one of three brothers who 
came from England. 

Mr. Wood spent the first 16 years of his life in ac- 
quiring his education and assisting in the blacksmith 
shop of his father. At that age he went to Syca- 
more, DeKalb Co., 111., and learned the jeweler's 
trade, which he followed as a vocation five years. 
When armed rebellion involved the land in civil war, 
he returned to his native place, and enlisted in Co. 
G, 1 1 ith N. Y. Vol. Inf,Capt. Lewis W. Husk. He 
served two years and ten months, and was in the en- 
gagements at Harper's Ferry (where his regiment 
was captured by the rebels), Wilderness, Fairfax 
Seminary, Cold Harbor, and many others of greater 
or less importance. He was discharged at Philadel- 
phia. 

Three brothers of Mr. Wood were in the Union 
service. Luther Wood was wounded in the wrist 
during an action and sent to the hospital, where he 
contracted small-pox and died. Edwin L. Wood 
was drafted and assigned to the 76th N. Y. Vol. Inf , 
and died while in the service. William F. Wood 
enlisted in the 9th N. Y. Heavy .Artillery, and sur- 
vived the war. 

Six months after Mr. Wood's return to Genoa from 



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the battlefield, he came to Chadotte, Eaton ('o., 
Mich. Witliin a year he opened a jeweler's shop, 
which he continued to manage four years. In 1870 
he came to Ithaca and established himself in the 
same line of business, and, three years later, was 
ap|)ointed Postmaster. He discharged the obliga- 
tions of the position seven years, his wife acting as 
assistant. In 1873, he received the appointment of 
Deputy Sheriff under Wm. H. Pratt, which position 
he held four years. His appointment as Under- 
Sheriff with George L. Patch followed, and he re- 
mained in ths office four years more. In November, 
1880, he was elected Sheriff on the Republican 
ticket, and was placed in nomination in 1882 for the 
same position, but was defeated by the Fusion candi- 
date. In the spring of 1882, he was appointed 
Deputy United States Marshal. 

Among the many clever arrests madeby Sheriff Wood 
is that of Thayer and Lewis for passing counterfeit 
one-dollar pieces at several business places in Ithaca. 
The former was arrested May 12 at Ithaca while 
passing the liogus coin. Under a severe pumping 
by Sheriff Wood, he made a clean breast of the whole 
business, telling where he lived, who made the 
money, etc. Armed witii this information. Sheriff 
Wood and Constable Pettit went to Thayer's home 
on section 3, Elba Township, disguised as timber 
"lookers." Rajjping at the door of a small hut situ- 
ated in the woods away from anybody, they were met 
by the lady of tlie house, Mrs. Thayer. The lady 
was asked if Mr. Thayer was at home. After an 
answer in the negative, tiiey told her they heard he 
had some oak timber to sell, and if she had no objec- 
tions they would look the timber over. They then 
passed into the woods, taking the dimensions of trees 
with a log rule they had with them. After nearly a 
half hour they heard the report of a rifle, and shortly 
after another, when they espied the man with the 
gun, who moved in an opposite direction ; but Wood 
and Pettit still continued their new vocation as tim- 
ber buyers, and finally succeeded in entirely gaining 
the man's confidence, for he came to where they 
where, when he was asked, " Is this Mr. Thayer?" 
" No, Mr. Thayer is away from home." At this, the 
officers paid no more attention to him, as he carried 
a Winchester rifle on his shoulder, but continued to 
estimate timber, all the time carrying on conversation 
with him, when finally Sheriff Wood spoke of his gup, 
what a splendid-looking piece it was, at the same 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



time reaching for it. It was handed him, and after 
viewing it he handed it back. Then Pettit did the 
same thing, except handing it hack; but, instead, he 
covered the hunter with liis own weapon, Sheriff 
Wood at the same time placing the handcuffs upon 
him. He begged not to be handcuffed, nor to be 
taken to the house. He was left in charge of Pettit 
while Sheriff Wood proceeded to search the house, 
where he found four sets of dies for one-dollar pieces, 
and one set of steel dies for 25-cent pieces, brush, 
acids, etc., while upon the person of the prisoner 
were found 12 bogus dollars and a burglar's key. 
United States Marshal Matthews complimented Offi- 
cers Wood and Pettit very highly upon their capture 
of the prisoner, and said : " It was very seldom that 
such a neat haul was made by any officials, even 
those highly skilled in the business." 

Soon after coming to Ithaca, Mr. Wood bought the 
old Postoffice building, where, Dec. i, 1882, he 
opened the business he has since pursued. He car- 
ries a full line of staple and fancy groceries, and is 
engaged in a successful and popular trade. 

Mr. Wood is a member of Ithaca Lodge, No. 123, 
and Ithaca Chapter, No. 70, in the Order of Masonry ; 
of the Rising Star Lodge of Odd Fellows at Ithaca ; 
of Moses Wisner Post, G. A. R., and of the Union 
Prisoners of War Association. 

His marriage with Mary J- Haines occurred Dec. 
14, 1865, at Lodi, Kane Co., 111. She is a daughter 
of James and Margaret (McKinley) Haines, and was 
born in Kane County, Jan. 14,1847. Mr. Haines 
fought for the Union during the war of the rebellion. 
He enlisted in the 124th 111. Vol. Inf., and was in 
much active service. He died at Vicksburg soon 
after the battle fought at that place. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wood have had four children, whose 
record is as follows: Effie, born Jan. 14, 1869, in 
Charlotte, died May 21, 1873, at Ithaca; Alfred C, 
born May 3, 1874; Jessie, April 8, 1881 ; and Cassie, 
Sept. 8, 1883. The three last were born at Ithaca. 

The portrait of Mr. Wood, which appears on the 
opposite page, is that of a man whose career in life 
typifies the best element on which to found substan- 
tial relations in society and the community at large. 
He has served his generation in all laudable capaci- 
ties and emergencies, as the details recorded in this 
sketch manifest, and has accomplished the duties of 
his manhood and citizenship in a becoming and 




worthy manner. The portrait of his estimable wife 

is given as a suitable and worthy companion picture 
to that of Mr. Woods. 



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Sylvester B. Priehard, merchant, at Ithaca, 
k was born Jan. 26, 1826, in Nelson, Portage 
ll^?^ Co., Ohio. He is a son of Ephraim 
and Hannah (Seely) Priehard. The father 
was born Feb. 25, 1790, at Great Barrington, 
Mass., and died in Nelson, March 21, 1864. 
The mother was born in Cherry Valley, N. Y., July 
28, 1799, and died Aug. 18, 1866, in North Star 
Township, Gratiot County. 

Mr. Priehard was reared on a farm and received a 
common-school education. In November, 185 1, he 
began peddling for a livelihood, and continued to 
follow it on foot for about 18 months, when he 
bought a horse and increased his lines of goods ac- 
cording to his increased facilities, including groceries, 
Yankee notions, dry-goods, boots and shoes and tm- 
ware. His business prospered under his careful 
management, and at the end of si.\ years he drove a 
double team and carried, in addition, a line of light 
hardware. He continued the same branch of busi- 
ness seven years longer, operating almost exclusively ( ) 
in Oliio. In February, 1866, he came to the town- 
ship of North Star, in Gratiot County, and remained 
two months with his mother, who had removed 
thither in May of the previous year. He returned to 
Ohio, settled his business and returned to North Star 
to remain permanently. He bought, on coming to 
Gratiot County, 80 acres of land in Newark Town- 
ship, which he afterward sold. Soon after his return, 
Aug. 4, 1866, he bought the site of his present place 
of business of John Jeffrey, and built the store he 
now occupies and where he is engaged in a prosper- 
ous business. He opened his mercantile interests at 
Ithaca ten months later than Wilbur Nelson began 
operations in the same line, and is consequently the J-^ 
second oldest merchant in that place. He Iniilt his 
dwelling on St. John's Street in 1872. 

Mr. Priehard was married. May 25, 1869, in Rock 
Creek, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, to Emily J., daughter of 
Willian. B. and Hannah Hunt. She was born June 
25, 1839, at Hart's Grove, Ashtabula Co., Ohio. 
Two children have been added to the household of 



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Mr. and Mrs. Prichard: Lee W., born March 4, 
1870, and Blair S., born March 16, 1878. The latter 
died Aug. 29, i88r. He was crushed beneath a 
falling barrel of sand, pulling it over upon himself 
while trying to climb on the top of the same. 

— ^-€^<^^# 



i^ehemiah ]jamb, farmer, section 36, Elba 
Is Township, is a son of Thomas B. and 
^ ^ Clarinda M. (Gardner) Lamb, natives of 
New York. Thomas B. Lamb was a phy- 
sician, and came to Michigan in an early day. 
Nehemiah left home to make his own way in 
life, at the early age of 13. He first went to Wis- 
consin, remaining from September, 1858, to March, 
1859. He then lived in Illinois until May, 1861, 
when he enlisted in Co. B, 12th 111. Vol. Inf., serving 
seven months. In .September, 1862, he came to 
Hamilton Township, Gratiot County, and engaged in 
the practice of medicine and in farming. The 12th 
of July, the following year, he re-enlisted in Co. D, 
26th Midi, ^'ol. Inf., and served the remainder of 
the war. His regiment was engaged in all the Ijattles 
of the Army of the Potomac, and Mr. Lamb did his 
full share of the fighting. He then practiced medi- 
cine with his father in Oakland County, and by him- 
self in Wayne County, until 1878, when he came to 
Gratiot County and settled at his present residence. 
He is now principally engaged in farming, and is 
at present building a large dwelling-house. 

Dec. 18, 1872, he was married to Caroline, daugh- 
ter of William and Mary (Odell) Rodgers, natives of 
New York. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and 
the G. A. R., and in politics is a Republican. Mr. 
and Mrs. Lamb are active members of the Baptis* 
Church. 



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oseph Greer, farmer, section 23, Newark 
Township, was born May 30, 1826, in Co- 
lumliiana Co., Ohio. He is a son of Thomas 
VV. and Catherine (Rhodes) Greer, the former 
a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of Virginia. 
Their family included nine children, four sons 
and five daughters. Mr. Greer is the third son. 

He was engaged in farming with his father after he 
had passed the period of liis early boyhood, until he 



was 25 years old. In November, 1854, he came to 
Michigan and bought 160 acres of wild land on the 
section of the township where he now resides. He 
is a "dyed-in-the-wool " Republican, and in the civil 
war indicated his claims as a friend of his country 
by responding to the summons of her rulers in her 
time of need. He enlisted in July, 1862, in the 
26th Rcgt. Mich. Vol. Inf., and continued in the 
service, until Feb. 16, i S64. He lost his right arm 
in the first battle in which he engaged, receiving the 
injury Nov. 23, 1863, in the fight at Mine Run, Va., 
and was discharged on recovery. He is in receipt 
of a pension. He has held the various school offices 
of his district and has been Township Treasurer 
four years. 

Mr. Greer was married Oct. 23, 1851, in Wyan- 
dot Co., Ohio, to Lydia, daughter of John and Eliza 
Hawkins. The father was born in Rhode Island, the 
mother in New York. Mrs. Greeris the only daugh- 
ter, and was born July 7, 1832, in Knox Co., Ohio. 
Of her marriage with Mr. Greer, nine children have 
been born, of wjiom one, Thomas W., is deceased. 
He died Jan. 7, 1876. The living are: Eliza C, 
James W., Maria A., Mary J,, Carrie S., Clara S., 
George W. and Bertha E. 



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^IJCason Kingman, farmer, on section 20, 
^j^ Fulton Township, is the son of Justus and 
Patty (C'hatman) Kingman, natives of Ver- 
mont. They first settled in Madison County. 
N. Y., and afterward removed to Tioga Co., 
Pa., where he died, in 1830. Sjie died four 
years later, in Onondaga Co., N. Y. 

Tlie subject of this biography, Jason Kingman, 
was born in Cortland Co., N. Y., June 1 1, 1819, and 
was II years old when his parents removed to Penn- 
sylvania. When he was 16 years old, having lost 
both his parents, he was obliged to make a start for 
himself, and for two years he was employed in farm- 
ing for others. He then went to sea as a common 
sailor, and followed tiiat life until 1853, when he 
came to Lenawee Co., Midi. For two years he was 
engaged in making pearlash. In 1855 he bought a 
farm in Lenawee Co., Mich., which he worked for a 
short time. Selling tliis i)lace, he piircliaseil a farm 



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xV in Fulton Co., Ohio, where he lived eight years. In 
^K the spring of 1864 he came to Gratiot County and 
.-■5:;, bought 80 acres of land on section 20, Fulton. He 
V has since disix)sed of 30 acres and has 40 acres im- 
A proved. In the summer of 1883 he built a finely- 
planned residence. 

In Adrian, Lenawee Co., Mich., in December, 
1855, he married Miss Mary J. Cooley.who was born 
in Orleans Co., N. Y., Jan. 13, 1834. Her parents, 
Justus and Clarissa (Baker) Cooley, were natives of 
the State of New York, and came to Michigan in an 
early day, settling in Medina, Lenawee County, 
where they yet reside. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kingman are active members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of 
the Masonic Order. Politically, he has always sup- 
ported the Republican party, but being very pro- 
nounced in his temperance views, he casts all his 
influence with the Prohibitionists. 
) 




ucius J. Van Leuven, proprietor of Van 
Leuven's Hotel and lumberman, resident 
on section 6, Seville Township, was born 
Sept. 26, 1828, in Waterioo, Albany Co., N. Y. 
He is a son of Nicholas and Mary P. (Dela- 
mater) Van Leuven, both of whom were na- 
tives of Albany Co., N. Y. The father followed the 
calling of a farmer, and located in Washtenaw Co., 
Mich., where he became the proprietor of 40 acres 
of land on which he resided about 30 years. In a 
very early day in the history of the county, he came 
to Gratiot, and located on 160 acres of land in Sum- 
ner Township. The farm was entirely in a state of 
nature and he cleared 20 acres. The mother died on 
the homestead in 1873; the father died Feb. 22, 
1875, while living with his son in Seville Township. 
Mr. Van Leuven became his own master at the 
age of 19 years, when he bought his time of his 
father. He became a farm laborer and worked for 
$6 a month. He was thus occupied two years, and 
then was apprenticed to learn the daguerrean art, as 
it was then styled, and he spent two years in its acqui- 
sition ; but he decided not to prosecute it as a busi- 
ness, and accepted an offered situation as clerk in a 
grocery, where he remained a year. He returned to 



Washtenaw County and spent two years in the pur- 
suit of agriculture. In the autumn of 1854 he came 
to Gratiot County and located on section 3, Sumner 
Township. He pre-empted 120 acres of land, on 
which he resided about three years, when he went 
South and spent a year in Missouri ; after which he 
returned to Michigan and lived in Ionia County 
nearly two years. He then came to Seville Town- 
ship, Gratiot County, and located 160 acres on sec- 
tion 6. He bought afterwards another tract of 160 
acres, and suljsequently 80 acres adjoining, in Mont- 
calm County. The addition of loo acres more in 
Gratiot County, lying adjacent to his former acreage, 
makes him the possessor of a magnificent farm of 
500 acres. He has been extensively engaged in 
farming and lumbering ever since he came to Gratiot 
County. He also owns a saw-mill. In all his busi- 
ness affairs he has managed judiciously and is now 
the owner of a fine estate and has valuable business 
connections, which render him one of the most sub- 
stantial of the farmers of Gratiot County. Politically 
he is a Republican, and has served his township in 
the capacities of Justice of the Peace and Highway 
Commissioner. 

He was married to Mary, daughter of Reuben Uela- 
mater, and widow of Calvin Sweet. They have two 
sons and three daughters. Their names are; War- 
ren, Elton, Laura, Ida and Myrtle. 



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euben Botsford, farmer, mercluint and 

Postmaster, New Haven Center, was born 

■ in Whitby Township, Ont., C'anada, Jan. 

T^\ 27,1827. His parents, Geshem and Prudence 

(Plumb) Botsford, were natives respectively 

of New York and Canada, of New England 

parentage. Both are deceased, Mr. B. dying while 

sailing on Lake Ontario. 

Reuben remained at home until of age, obtaining 
a common-school education, learning the shoemaker's 
trade. Four years later he learned the trade of tan- "^ 
ning. In prosecuting the latter business he injured I 
himself physically, so that he had to return to shoe- w« 
making. He gradually passed into the mercantile ^^ 
business, which he followed for si.\ years, and then ^ 
returned to shoemaking again for three years. Next @\ 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Mich., which he improved to some extent, but spent 
most of the time for four years in lumbering. In 
1870 he came to tliis county and settled on 40 acres 
in Fulton Township, where he conducted a shoe- 
shop in addition to his farm. He sold out in a few 
years and bought a quarter of section 13, New Haven 
Township, and several years later still, he purchased 
a quarter of section 15, same township, which is now 
his farm. He has since sold 80 acres to his sons, 
and 40 acres of the remainder he has under good 
improvements. He was apijointed Postmaster in 
1880, and established a general store, commencing 
with a small stock, which is constantly increasing 
according to the demands of his growing trade. In 
politics Mr. B. is a Republican, and as a citizen, offi- 
cer, farmer, etc., he stands high. 

Mr. Botsford was married in Whitby Township, 
Ont., Can., Nov. 2, 1845, to Miss Martha Lambkifis, 
a native of England, who was born Feb. 2, 1830. 
She is a member of the Regular Baptist Church, in 
which denomination Mr. B. is a Deacon. 



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cj l^fi: everett H. Town, grocer at Breckenridge, 
4Efel^ Wheeler Township, is a son of Lorin and 
%^T Fidelia (Barns) Town, natives of New York. 
Lorin Town was by occupation a millwright and 
miller. He and wife are both dead. The sub- 
ject of this sketch was born Aug. 10, 1840, in 
Madison Co., N. Y. While still under 21, he enlist- 
ed, April 29, 1 86 1, in the 12th N. Y. Vol. Inf. He 
was discharged the same year. .Sept. 16, 1863, he 
re-enlisted, serving in Co. G, i6th New York Heavy 
Artillery. The following spring he was attached to 
Co. A, ist N. Y. Mounted Rifles. He was also on 
detached service, at the headquarters of Generals 
Butler, Cary and Smith. In 1865, he returned to 
New York, and being prostrated with sickness, did 
not return to the army. In the fall of 1872 became 
to Gratiot County, and engaged in the hoop business 
with Warren (.'randall. 

At the age of 28, he was married to Hannah Hicks, 
daughter of John W. and Ann Hicks, natives of 
Montgomery Co., N. Y. They are the parents of four 
children: Judson J., Fidelia A., Burr E. and Lena 
M. Mr. Town entered the grocery business in 1879. 
He now keeps a full line of general merchandise. 



and has a thriving trade. He is a member of tiie I. 
O. O. F. and of the K. of H. He has held the office 
of Township Clerk for two terms. In politics he is a 
radical member of the National Greenback element. 
Mr. Town's portrait may be found on the opposite 
page. 



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scar Morse, farmer, section 15, Arcada 
Townsliip, was born in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 
,g_^ near Cleveland, April 16, 1827; and is the 
son of Nehemiahand Olive (Underwood) Morsei 
natives of Pennsylvania and New York, and of 
New England ancestry. They followed farm- 
ing, principally in Ohio, and died, the father in that, 
State, in 1840, and the mother in Minnesota, in 1878. 
The subject of this biographical notice lived at 
home until two years after his father's death. Then 
at the age of 20, he began to work as a common 
laborer among his neighbors, giving the pecuniary pro- 
ceeds of his toil to his widowed mother, for her sup- 
port. In the winter of 1849, he came to Michigan, 
and first found employment in Ionia County. 

In that county, Nov. 9, 1851,116 was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Mary A., daughter of Abraham and 
Mary (Weston) Keefer, natives of Pennsylvania. 
They removed from that State to Ohio, where, in 
Stark County, June 30, 1830, the daughter, Mary h.., 
was born. She was educated in the graded schools 
of her native county, and lived with her parents un- 
til her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Morse remained in Ionia County un- 
til February, 1855, when they came to Gratiot (boun- 
ty and located on 160 acres on section 15, Arcada 
Township. This was then wild land, and the coun- 
try, for miles around, was covered with an unbroken 
forest. No roads were cut, and the only means of 
traversing the country was by following the In- 
dian trails. Their first habitation was a small log 
house, and was among the first of those pioneer cas- 
tles built in their neighborhood. Before erecting this 
dwelling, Mr. Morse passed his first night in the 
township in the house of Homer Burns (see sketch). 
He attended the first "town meeting " of Arcada. 
His primitive log hut is now supplanted by a com- 
modious residence, and he has one of the finest barns 
in the township. He has a large and productive 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



orchard, and his farm, which has been improved prin- 
cipally by his own efforts, reflects credit on his man- 
agement. He is a truly representative citizen. He 
and wife are pleasant neighbors, and their many 
friends hold them in high esteem. 

Mr. and Mrs. M. have been the parents of two 
daughters, both of whom are now deceased; Jennie, 
born Aug. 26, 1852, and died April 26, 1875; and 
Melissa, born April 26, 1854, and died May i, 187 1. 
In political sentiment, Mr. Morse is a Democrat. 



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^|^|i|"ames B.Wheeler, farmer, Wheeler village, 
Wheeler Township, was born Aug. 6, 1829, 
in Steuben Co., N. Y., and was the son of 
Joseph and Sarah (Kennedy) Wheeler, natives 
of New York and Vermont. Mr. Wheeler, Sr., 
died in December, i860, and Mrs. Wheeler in 
August, 1879, in Steuben Co., N. Y. James B. began 
to work for himself at the age of 23, and was em- 
ployed on a farm in New York until April, 1861, 
when he came to Gratiot County. He settled on 
section 28, Wheeler Township, on 320 acres, but 
now has 107 acres, having sold a portion. \Vhen he 
first came here he found an unbroken wilderness, 
there being no house nearer than St. Louis on the 
west, and seven miles to the east. 

He was united in marriage in 1864 to Ida L. 
Smith, who was born in the State of New Jersey, 
Nov. 28, 1848, the second daughter of John H. and 
Jane (Castimore) Smith. The former was a native 
of New Jersey, was by profession a millwright, and 
died in 1872. Mrs. Smith was also a native of New 
Jersey, and died in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler 
have had five children: Newell Grant, John H., Jo- 
seph H. (died in 1865), N.attie (died in 1870) and 
Francis C. 

Mr. Wheeler is one of the truly representative men 
of the county. In his own neighborhood he enjoys 
the respect of all who know him. He was the first 
Supervisor of the township which bears his name, 
and he held that office three terms. He has also 
been Justice of the Peace for two terms. He is a 
member of the Masonic Order. Both he and wife 
are active members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. Politically, he is a Prohibitionist or liberal. 
Mrs. Wheeler is an earnest temperance worker. 




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'dram Haring, farn.er, section 31, North 
— Ti Shade Township, was born Jan. 7, 1844, in 
^|k Summit Co., Ohio, and is a son of Charles and 
Hannah (Wiltroudt) Haring, natives of Lancas- 
ter Co., Pa., both of whom died in 1861, the 
former April 4 and the latter May 5. Mr. 
Haring, the subject of this notice, was reared on a 
farm and educated at the public school. At the age 
of 19 he began teaching school as a winter vocation. 
Wiien 26 years of age he married Susan Foltz, a 
daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Peck) Foltz, na- 
tives also of Lancaster Co., Pa. Mrs. Haring was 
born Dec. 4, 1843, in the same county, and her par- 
ents emigrated to Summit Co., Ohio, in 1857. Mr. 
and Mrs. H. have five children, viz.; Elton E., Jennie 
L., Parcy E., Mary E., Ophir L. 

In 1870 Mr. Haring came to Michigan, settling in 
Bloomer Township, Montcalm County; in 1875 he 
moved to the town of Lebanon, Clinton County, and 
a year later to his present locality, upon a tract of 
80 acres of land. He has since been also engaged 
in the lumber business to some extent. At present, 
in company with M. L. Peck, of Hubbardston, he is 
buying logs for Hays & Packard, of Muir. 

Mr. Haring is independent in politics. He has 
held the office of Town Clerk two terms, being 
elected in 1S80 and 1882; is Vice-President of the 
Central Fair Association of Hubbardston, and has 
been officially connected witli tiial body for ten 
years. He and his wife are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 



t saac Jason, farmer, section 28, New Haven 
E Township, is a son of George and Jane 
(White) Jason, natives of New York and of 
English descent, who moved first to Ohio and 
tiien to this State. His father, a farmer, is still 
living, in Montcalm Co., Mi( li., in which county 
his mother died, in May, 1876. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Ionia Co., 
Mich., Nov. 2, 1839. He lived with his parents 
until ten years of age. in his native county, then for 
a time in Medina Co., Ohio; and then eight years 
with his grandparents, in Harrisville Township, samel 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



491 



county, attending the common school during the 
winter seasons. After residing again in Ionia County 
awhile, and in Montcalm County, a portion of the 
time being mail-carrier from Greenville to Ithaca, he 
came to this county. While engaged as above he 
purchased 80 acres of land, where he now resides. 

Dec. 31, 1865, in this township, he married Miss 
Charity, daughter of Moses and Miranda (Wheelock) 
White. (See sicetch of the latter.) Mrs. J. was born 
in Aurehus Township, Ingham Co., Mich., in Septem- 
ber, 1846. When five years old she was brought by 
her parents changing residence, into Clinton Co., 
Mich., and three years later to this county, where she 
lived with her parents until marriage. Bv her energy 
and native tact she obtained a good education and 
for several years followed the profession of teaching. 

Mr. Jason has brought into cultivation the whole 
of his original purchase, and he now has also control 
of his father-in-law's homestead. He is an excellent 
farmer. He has also held the office of Constable, is 
a staunch Republican, and is a member of the 
I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 262, at Carson City. Mr. 
and Mrs. J- are members of the Regular Baptist 
Church. Their living children are : Elmer E., born 
Jan. 22, 1867; and Jessie B., Sept. 18, 1868, and 
they have had one child, Myrtie, now deceased, who 
was born Dec. 20, 1872. 



^ohn E. Densmore, farmer, section 2, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of Rufus and Louisa 
(Stebbins) Densmore, natives of Massa- 
chusetts. They settled first in Ionia Co., Mich., 
and there the mother died. The father after- 
ward removed to Clinton County, where he died, 
in Essex Township, in September, 1847. John E. 
was born in Ionia Co., Mich., March 28, 1837, and 
was only eight years old when the family removed to . 
Clinton County. He received some schooling, but, i 
his parents dying when he was very young, his oppor- • 
tunities were very limited. From the age of 11, he 
was thrown almost entirely on his own resources for 
making a livelihood ; but energy and perseverance 
brought their due reward. 

In May, 1858, he came to Gratiot County and 
bought 80 acres of partially improved land on sec- 
tion 2, Fulton Township, where he now resides. He 




has erected suitable buildings, and has 65 acres well ^' 
cultiv.-ited. Jan. 1, 1858, in Greenbush, Clinton 
County, he married Miss Lucinda M., daughter of l^^^-- 
John and Mary Ann (Watson), Manchester, natives | 
of New York. Mr. M. came to Clinton County in 1^ 
1844, his wife having died in New York State. Mrs. 
Densmore was born in New York, in Stafford, Gene- 
see County, June 18, 1838. Mr.andMrs. Densmore 
have had nine children, eight of whom survive : Ada 
M., Charies R., Lewis C, Elfie I., Delia F., Mary 
E., Henry J. and Helen A. (twins) and Jennie L. 
Lewis C. died Se|)t. 3, 1865. Mr. Densmore has 
held the various school offices of his district, and in 
politics is a firm and uncompromising Republican. 

Jan. 19, 1S64, he enlisted in a company of sharp- 
shooters attached to the 27th Mich. Vol. Inf , and 
served 17 months. He fought in the Wilderness, at 
Spottsylvania and Cold Harbor. In the last named 
engagement, June 3, 1864, he was wounded in the 
left foot by a minie ball, which kept him off duty for 
six months, and he was even then not fit for active 
service. He was accordingly detailed for hospital 
service. He was honorably discharged at Detroit, 
Mich., in May, 1865. Portrait on opposite page. 



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rederick H. Hamlin, senior member of 
mC the firm of F, H. Hamlin & Co., resident 
1'' at Alma, was born in Oneida County, N. 
Y., July 16, 1850. He is the fourth son and 
^fvj^ si.\th child of Joseph and Adelia (Willard) 
Hamlin, both of whom were natives of State 
of New York and born respectively in Oneida and 
Herkimer Counties. They are residents of the form- % 
er and are engaged in agriculture. They have had ' 
eight sons and three daughters. 

Mr. Hamlin obtained his education at theconnnon 
schools and at Whitestown Seminary, Oneida Coun- 
ty, residing at home until he was 20 years of age. 
In 1870 he went to Utica, N. Y., and procured a sit- 
uation as clerk in a dry-goods store, where he remain- 
ed two years. In 1872 he went to Iro(piois Co., 111., 
and engaged in stock business, in which he was occu- ^? 
pied three years. His ne.\t remove was to Cedar ^j 
Lake, Montcalm Co., Mich., where he had the sole 
management of the mercantile business of William 
S. Nelson, for nearly seven years. In January, 1883, 






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GRATIOT COUNTY. 




he came to Gratiot County, entered into an associa- 
tion with James T. Hall, of Alma, and they estab- 
lished the business in which they are at present 
engaged, the manufacture of hoops. With the aid 
of a working force of 20 men they make 25,000 to 
30,000 hoops daily. Dec. i, 1883, they admitted E. 
B. Green to an interest in the concern. In his busi- 
ness connections, Mr. Hamlin enjoys a high degree 
of confidence. In political relations he is a Repub- 
lican. 

■He was married in 1876, at Cedar Lake, to Anna 
E. Cavis. Mrs. Hamlin was born in Pennsylvania, 
of which State her parents were also natives. To 
her and her husband, one child, Walter J., was born, 
Feb. 22, 1878. 

5-K-^W^f3^^>-^— 

[pffenry Kelso, hardware merchant at Alma, was 
born in Richland Co., Ohio, Sept. 14, 1849. 
His parents, Samuel and Ann (Miller) Kelso, 
were born resiiectivcly in Pennsylvania and 
Ohio. They settled after marriage in the latter 
State, where they lived about 27 years. In the 
fall of 1875 they came to Michigan and settled at 
Berrien Springs. After a residence there of three 
years they went to Indiana. In the autumn of 1S83, 
the father was ordained a minister, and went to Illi- 
nois, where he was settled in charge of the Lutheran 
society at Mier, Wabash County. The family in- 
cluded 12 children. 

Mr. Kelso is the eldest son, and at ten years of 
age went to live with his grand-parents in Richland 
Co., Ohio, and remained with them six years, attend- 
ing school and assisting on the farm during the sum- 
mer months. He went to Wood County, where he 
was engaged for some time by the month as a farm 
laborer. He passed three years in this manner, and 
in 1867 entered upon an apprenticeship at Fostoria, 
Ohio, to learn the business of tinsmith, and served 
his full indentures of three years. He came to Mich- 
igan in the autumn of 1870, and followed his trade 
some months at Battle Creek. He next went to Lan- 
sing, where he spent a winter, going thence to Sagi- 
naw, and worked at his occupation in both places, 
remaining in the latter about two years. An attack 
of illness compelled him to go to his father's in In- 
diana, and after recovery he went to Ohio and remain- 



ed there one summer, after which he came again to 
Lansing. Soon after he went to Livingston County, 
where he was engaged a short time as a tinsmith, in 
the employ of a house in Fowlerville, and in a short 
time opened a shop on his own behalf, where he 
operated four years. On selling out, he moved to Web- 
berville, Ingham County, where he formed a part- 
nership with George L. Adams, under the style of 
Kelso & Adams. At the end of nine months, Mr. 
Kelso bought his associate's interest, and conducted 
the business singly about one year, when he sold out 
and moved to MaKjuib County. There he bought 
out a stock of goods and carried on the concern about 
ten months. He came to Gratiot County in the fall 
of 1881, and spent a winter at Ithaca, working at his 
trade. The following spring he came to Alma, and 
embarked in business with H. C. Staftbrd. Ten 
months later, the latter sold his interest to Mr. Kelso, 
who managed the business alone until the spring of 
1883, when he formed a business association with J. 
D. Mandeville. This partnership continued but a 
very short time, and was terminated by Mr. Kelso, 
who sold his interest to his partner. He engaged in 
business shortly after with his brother, diaries G. 
Kelso, under the firm name of Kelso Bros., and they 
are now managing a successful and growing business. 
Mr. Kelso was married in Livingston County, May 
6, 1876, to Marietta K., daughter of David Johnson. 
Two children . Albert R. and Remain, have been 
added to the household. Mr. Kelso is a member of 
the Republican party and huuself and wife belong to 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

■—• ^= 



jlexander M. Wiley, farmer, on section 5, 
\ Arcada Township, was born in Pittsburg, 





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Pa., April 28, 1832 ; and is the son of Isaac 

and Mary (Wood) Wiley, natives of New York 

State. Isaac Wiley followed the <alling of 

shoemaker, and died in Philadelphia about 40 

years ago. His wife died in Gratiot County, Feb. 2, 

1863. Alexander M. was taken to New York State 

when two years old, by his parents, where they lived ten 

miles south of the city of Rochester. Some ten years 

later, they removed to Otisco Township, Ionia County, 

this State, where they lived six years, farming and 

working a saw-mill. He then went to Portage City, 






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Columbia Co., Wis., where he worked at lumbering for 
three years. Then he came to Greenville, Montcalm 
Co., Mich., and thence to Jackson, this State. 

March 20, 1853, 10 miles south of Jackson, he 
married Cynthia C, daughter of Emery and Maria 
(Lewis) Adams (see sketch). She was born in Niag- 
ara Co., N. Y., Oct. 14, 1834, and when two years 
old came with her parents to Jackson Co., Mich., 
where she was educated and lived until her marriage. 
After that event, Mr. and Mrs. Wiley removed to 
Rushford, Winnebago Co., Wis. In the spring of 
1855, they came to this county, and located on 50 
acres on section 5, Arcada Township. 

Oct. 7, 1863, he enlisted in Co. C, 8th Mich. Vol. 
Inf , under Capt. Hovey, and was assigned to the 
Army of the Potomac. He fought atFortSteadman, 
March 25, 1864, and Petersburg, April 2, 1864, as 
well as in other engagements. Returning home, he 
located on 83 acres on the east half of the northwest 
(piarter of section 5, Arcada, and devoted himself to 
the imiirovement of the same. He has now 73 acres 
under cultivation. He and wife are well read, intel- 
ligent and kind-hearted people. They have had six 
children, named as follows: Fernando M., Fran- 
cis E., Alton G., Mattie M., Edwin J. and Millie. 
In political sentiment, he is a staunch Greenbacker. 






!| armer R. Phillips, retired farmer, resident 
■||^^^ at Ithaca, was born Nov. 17, 1822, at Pleas- 
JJila ant Valley, near Titusville, N. J. His fath- 
jK er, Joseph M. Phillips, was born May i, 1786, 
•^t^ in the same place, and came of a direct line of 
Scotch ancestry. In 1823 he removed his family to 
Ovid, Seneca Co., N. Y., and in June, 1832, he made 
another remove and settled on section r, Salem Town- 
ship, Washtenaw Co., Mich. He bought 80 acres of 
unimproved land, which his son Parmer was inter- 
ested in clearing and improving. He was married 
the second time, to Charity Hice, a native of New Jer- 
sey, who became the mother of two daughters and 
one son. The issue of his first marriage included five 
sons and two daughters. The names of tlie ten chil- 
dren are : Stephen, Phebe, Theodore, Ephraim, Pe- 
ter, Aaron and Mary (twins), by the first marriage ; 



-^<-Il!l 




and Parmer R., Frances and Charity by the second 
marriage. He made a permanent settlement with his 
family in Fulton Township, Gratiot Co., Mich., in 
1859, locating on section 36, where he died in Sep- 
tember, 1872. The mother also died on the home- 
stead in Fulton Township. Peter Phillips, the grand- 
father of Mr. Phillips of this sketch, was born July r, 
1742; was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and 
died in Seneca Co., N. Y., at the age of 84 years. 
His wife's maiden name was Mary Morehead. They 
were the parents of three sons and two daughters : 
Titus, Peter, Joseph M., Betsey and Rebecca. 

Mr. Phillips, youngest son of the family, was 19 years 
of age when he went to Northville, Wayne Co., Mich., 
to learn the trade of shoemaker with his brother Peter, 
and made that his business nine years. During that 
time his marriage with Louisa M. Bryant occurred, at 
Livonia, Wayne County. The event was solemnized 
Dec. 15, 1847. Mrs. Phillips was born June 7, 1830, 
in Weedsport, N. Y., and is a daughter of John 
and Annie (Hodge) Bryant. Ten children have been 
born to Mt. and Mrs. Phillips, six of whom are now 
living. They were born in the following order : Julia, 
deceased; Joseph, residing at Ithaca;; James H., 
manager of his father's farm in Fulton Township ; 
Mary H., wife of Stephen Barrett, resident on the fam- 
ily homestead ; Annie, Frank, Jennie and Freddie ; 
Fannie and Robert are deceased. Annie is teaching 
in a graded school at Alma, Frank is agent 
and operator at Cedar Lake, Jennie is a teacher and 
has been for several years Principal of the public 
schools in Estella. Joseph Phillips is believed to be 
the oldest white child born in Gratiot County. He 
was born April 30, 1852. 

In 1 85 I, Mr. Phillips came to Fulton Township 
and located 160 acres of Government land on sec- 
tion 35, to which he added 160 acres by later pur- 
chase, and owns the south half of the'section. He 
has placed 180 acres in first-class condition, with 
suitable farm house and other buildings, and with 12 
■ acres of unusually valuable orchard. He has en- 
gaged somewhat in lumbering. In 1864, in com- 
pany with Solomon Wyman and Capt. Roswell Danly, 
he bought a steam saw-mill in Bridgeville, which 
they reconstructed and operated seven years ; later on; 
associated with John Bryant, he contracted with the 
State for the construction of 1 1 \n miles of the State 
road from Leland to Northport. The work con- 



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sumed between two and three years and cost $8,000. 
Before it was completed, Mr. Phillips removed to 
Essex, Iowa, on account of the ill-health of the mem- 
bers of his family. They remained in the Hawkeye 
State about two and a half years. On his return to 
Fulton he bought a stage route from St. John's, Clin- 
ton County, to St. Louis, which he managed between 
two and three years, in company with Solomon Wy- 
man. At the end of the period named he sold his 
claim to his associate, and bought 35 acres in the vil- 
lage of Ithaca, which he platted, and has since sold, 
with the exception of four acres to which he has 
retired. During his connection with the stage busi- 
ness he removed to St. Louis, and while the family 
resided there the youngest son died, of fever. Incon- 
sequence of this loss, he disposed of his interest to 
Mr. Wyman, as stated. 

In political principles, Mr. Phillips is a Democrat. 
In 1879 he was elected to the office of Superintend- 
ent of the Poor, and in 1882 was elected again to the 
same position. He became a memberof the Masonic 
Order in i860. 

As one of the pioneers and prominent representa- 
tive men of Gratiot County we take pleasure in pre- 
senting the portrait of Mr. Phillips, in connection with 
that of his estimable wife. 



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.ames K. Jenne, farmer, section 11, Fulton 
1^ Township, is a son of Ansel S. and Nar- 
*cissa (Merrill) Jenne, natives of New York 
State. In an early day, about one year after 
marriage, they came to Ohio and settled in Me- 
dina County, where he died, Aug. 20, 1882. 
His wife survives, in Medina County. Their family 
comprised four sons and four daughters, of whom 
James K. was the second son. 

He was born in Medina Co., Ohio, Oct. 24, 1844, 

(c)\ and remained with his father, attending school and 

"] working on the farm, until 22 years of age. In the 

• spring of 1865, he came to Gratiot County and 

bought 120 acres of wild land on section 11, Fulton 

^ Township. He at once built a house and began to im- 

v prove his farm, and to realize how well he has 

\^^ succeeded one should visit his place. He owns 180 

r^^ acres, 140 of which are cleared and cultivated. In 



the summer of 1882 he built the fine residence which 
he now occupies. 

Dec. 16, 1866, in Fulton Township, he married 
Miss Miranda S., daughter of Albert and Miranda S. 
(Beach) Wheeler, natives of Connecticut, where Mrs. 
Wheeler died about 40 years ago. Mr. Wheeler after- 
wards came to Gratiot County and was one of the 
first settlers of Fulton Township, where he died in 
November, 1880. Mrs. Jenne was born in Litchfield 
Co., Conn. She and her husband are the parents of 
two sons : Burton S. and Herbert A. Mrs. J. is a 
member of the Congregational Church, and Mr. J. 
of the Methodist Episcopal. Politically he votes 
the Democratic ticket. 

*'^® "IJ Ivedo S. Barber, of the firm of Nelson & 






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■-'^' born July 21, 1846, in Pprishville, St. Lawrence 
Co , N. Y. His father, Cyrus R. Barber, is a 



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llfrt^ftl Barber, general merchants at Ithaca, was ( ] 

J native of Vermont and a farmer by occupa- 
tion. The mother, whose maiden name was Eliza- 
beth Parker, was also born in the Green Mountain 
State, of English 'ancestors. The parents still reside 
in Parishville, N. Y. 

Mr. Barber obtained his early education in the 
common schools until he was 17 years old, when he 
entered the academy at Potsdam and spent four 
terms at that institution. He next engaged as a 
clerk in Potsdam with Watkins, Leete & Co., general 
merchants, with whom he stayed five yers. In 1872 
he "went to Kansas, and engaged in teaching school 
near Garnett until the fall of r873, when he came to 
Ithaca and entered the store of Nelson & Smith as 
salesman. He remained in their employ until 
August, 1875, when he succeeded to a proprietary 
interest in the business by purchase, the firm style 
becoming Nelson & Barber. Their stock is valued at 
$25,000, and their annual transactions in their various 
avenues of trade aggregate about $200,000, covering ^ 
operations in grain, lumber, wool and merchandise. '< 
They own a fine elevator 32x61 feet, with a wing ,1 
28x28 feet in dimensions and one and a half stories ->-' 
in height. They have a retail lumber-yard in the >j/ 
rear of this structure, and handle lumber, lath, ^ 
shingles, etc., in which they are doing a successful '^J 
business. Mr. Barber owns a fine dwelling and_ >_ 



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grounds and several building lots in the town in com- 
pany with Mr. Nelson. They are also the owners of 
a farm of 80 acres in the township of North Star. 

Mr. Barber was married July 19, 1875, at Pots- 
dam, to Francene Swift. She was born in that place 
April 19, 1852, and is the daughter of Hiram and 
Aurilla Swift. Roscoe S., born May 15, 1878, and 
Anna, born March 19, 1880, are the children of Mr. 
and Mrs. Barber. 



i^harles E. Webster, farmer, on section 1 1 , 
^jWfs^ Fulton Township, is a son of Lyman and 
tg^ Dimmis (Stebbins) Webster, natives of Massa- 
*j|? chusetts, where they first settled and lived 
I about 12 years. They then came to Kent 
County, this State, where they were among the first 
settlers of the city of Grand Rapids. He built the 
first saw-mill in that city. The family afterwards re- 
/N^ moved to Ionia County, and then to Clinton County, 
n In 1850 the father went to California, and two years 
later to Australia. He was last heard from in 1856, 
in which year it is supposed that he died. The 
mother died Nov. 28, 1875. Their family comprised 
four sons and six daughters, of whom Charles E. 
was the third son. 

He was born in Clinton Co., Mich., April 2, 1839, 
and educated in the common schools of that county. 
He remained at home until 22 years old, taking care 
of his father's farm and being largely instrumental 
in the support of the family. In 1S61 he built a 
house on 40 acres of land, which had been set apart 
for him from his father's estate. After one year he 
came to Gratiot County (February, 1862) and for one 
year worked a farm on shares in Fulton Township. 
He then purchased 80 acres of partly improved land 
known as the Benson farm, on section 12, same town- 
ship. There he lived until December, 1874, and 
then moved into the fine residence he now occupies 
on section 1 1, where he had previously bought 40 
acres. He now owns 300 acres on sections 11, 12 
and 13, 230 acres being well improved. 

Jan. I, 1861, at Maple Rapids, Clinton County, he 
formed a life partnershij) with Josephine E., daughter 
of Cornelius and Parmelia (Amidon) Campbell, na- 
tives of New York State. Mrs. W. was born in St. 
Lawrence County, that State, June 7, 1840. Mr. 






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and Mrs. Webster have been the parents of three 
children : Carrie E., liirdella I. and Cornelius S. (died 
Oct. IS, 1866). 

Mr. Webster has been and still is an active and 
prominent man. He has been for 17 years Super- 
visor of Fulton Township, which is a longer service 
than any other man in Gratiot County can show. 
He was elected Justice of the Peace in April, 1 863, 
and served till July 4, 1882, over 19 years. In 1875 
he was appointed Notary Public, by Gov. Bagley, 
and held the commission four years. In 1883 he 
was re-appointed. He has been the Democratic 
nominee for Sheriff four times, but, though he ran 
ahead of his ticket each year, he has failed to receive 
a majority. He met the same fate twice when he 
ran on the Democratic ticket for County Treasurer. 
His Democracy is Simon-pure, and he is one of the 
most influential members of that party in the county. 
He is a member of the Masonic Order. 





[7|i«.ohn D. Mandeville, hardware iiierchant at 
&;aiVi y\inia, was born in Allegany Co., N. Y., 



March 29, 1858, and is the son of John D. 
and Susan (Pomeroy) Mandeville. The par- 
ents were of French and German descent, and 
were natives of the State of New York. They 
married and settled in thelEmpire State, where the 
father died Nov. 29, 1867. The mother still resides 
there. Their family included seven children, five ot 
whom grew to maturity. 

Mr. Mandeville was the youngest son, and remain- 
ed at home until he was 17 years old, and obtained 
his education in the common schools. He began 
life as a cleik at Elmira, N. Y., but acted in that 
capacity only six months, and resigned the position 
to engage with his brother in the insurance business 
at Olean, N. Y., where he continued to operate eight 
years. In April, 1883, he came to Alma and pur- 
chased an interest in the hardware store of H. Kelso. 
He afterward became sole proprietor, and has since 
conducted the business, which has been increasing in 
extent and profit, singly. In political views, Mr. 
Mandeville is a liberal Republican. 

He was married at Kendall Creek, McLean Co., 



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Pa., May 24, 1832, to Nellie, daughter of the Hon. 
A. A. Craig. Judge Craig was formerly a Paymaster 
in the United States Army, and now resides at Corry, 
Pa. Mrs. Mandeville was born Oct. 25, 1864, at 
Erie, Pa. 




Ip-teward Harrison, farmer, section 10, Pine 
River Township, was born in Ontario, Can- 
ada, Dec. 25, 1835, and is the son of 
Thomas and Elizabeth (Hunter) Harrison. 
His father was born in Ireland and his mother 
in Scotland. 

Mr. Harrison resided in Canada until 1861, when 
he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and there followed the 
vocation of a saddler about six years, having learned 
the trade in Canada. In the fall of 1867 he came to 
St. Louis, Gratiot County, and established his busi- 
ness there, working at his trade until the spring of 
1876, when he sold out and bought 80 acres of land, 
to which he has since devoted his time and energies. 
He has placed 40 acres under cultivation, and built a 
comfortable and creditable house. Mr. Harrison 
belongs to the Order of Masonry, and is independent 
in political belief. 

He was married Oct. 14, 1869, at Ithaca, to Mary, 
daughter of George and Nancy (Lackey) Woolley. 
Parents and daughter are natives of Canada, where 
the latter was born March 19, 1854. Two of three 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Harrison are living — 
Thomas H. and Nettie M. John died in infancy. 
The parents belong to the Presbyterian Church. 



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r. John H. DeMay, physician, at Ithaca, 
,,. was born Aug. 22, 185 i, in Fairport, Mon- 



roe Co., N. Y., and is a son of Abraham 
and Nancy (Davitt) DeMay. His father was 
born Aug. 18, 1814, in Amsterdam, Holland, 
where he was a musician. In 1856 he came to 
•^'' Shiawassee Co., Mich., and adopted the occupation 
;& of a farmer. He bought two farms in Conway 
^ Township, one containing 65 acres, the other includ- 
((, ing 80 acres. He sold his property three years later 
^ and went to Livingston County, where he bought 120 

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acres of land in the township of Deerfield, and was 
there resident seven years, going thence to Wright 
Township, Hillsdale County, where the family still 
reside. 

During the early manhood of Dr. DeMay he fin- 
ished his elementary education attending school win- 
ters, and passing the summer seasons as a clerk. He 
attended the High School at Hudson, after which he 
passed five years as salesman in hardware stores at 
Jackson, Mich., and St. John's. He began to pre- 
pare for his profession at the latter place, and read 
medicine under the direction of Dr. A. J. Wiggins. 
He afterward entered the Medical Department of 
the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he 
remained three years, and was graduated with the 
the class of 1879. He at once opened an office at 
Ithaca, where he has since continued the practice of 
his profession and has established a large and grow- 
ing business. He is now Medical Examiner for the 
Knights of Honor and the Knights of the Maccabees. 

Dr. DeMay was married Sept. 6, 1876, to Ella, 
daughter of Henry and Zilpah W. (Allen) Wal- 
bridge. She was born at St. John's, Oct. 31, 1856. 
Of this marriage there is one child, Gracie, born Jan. 
2, 1879. The Doctor is a member of the State 
Medical Society of Michigan, and belongs to the 
fraternity of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the 
Village Council of Ithaca. 



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■fconrad Westenhaver, farmer on section 



!2, Fulton Township, is a son of George 
and Sarah (Brown) Westenhaver, natives of 
Ohio, where the mother died. The father 
died in the State of Wisconsin. The subject 
of this biography was born in Stark Co., Ohio, 
16, 1822. 
Losing his mother when he was only seven years 
old, he was " bound out " on a farm until he should 
be rS years of age. He was consequently deprived 
of the usual privileges of home, and his education 
was very limited. When he was 13 years old, his 
master lost his wife, and he was left to shift for him- 
self. He followed farming for some time, and then 
came to Michigan. In June, 1854, he came to Gra- 
tiot County, and entered 160 acres of wild land on 
section 36, Newark Township. This land he soon 



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after traded for 80 acres on section 22, Fulton Town- 
ship, where he has since resided. He has 70 acres 
under good cultivation. 

Aug. 31, 1843, in Seneca Co., Ohio, he married 
Miss Rebecca Clark, daughter of Matthias and Maria 
(Copeland) Clark, natives of Pennsylvania. She was 
born in Huntington Co., Pa., Jan. 5, 1827. Mr. and 
Mrs. W. have had ten children : Maria E., Sarah 
R., Ananias, Sylvia E., Hettie, Minerva, Matthias, 
Effie and Nancy. All these grew to be adults. An- 
.anias died Aug. 28, 18S1, aged 32 years, seven 
months. Sarah R. died April 21, 1879, aged 32 
years, five months. Mr. and Mrs. W. are active and 
consistent members of the Christian Church. Polit- 
ically he has always been identified with the Demo- 
cratic party. 



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Oman Fyler, farmer, section 24, North Shade 
Township, is the son of Shaler and Mary 
(Hulbert) Fyler, of Puritan descent, the 
former a native of Connecticut, and the latter 
of New York. Mr. F. was a farmer, and still 
lives in New York State. He was married in 
1819, in that State ; his wife, the second child 
of a family of eight, died in September, 1824, in the 
same State. He came to Michigan in an early day 
and located land, but returned to New York, where 
he died, Oct. 12, 1850. 

The subject of this sketch was born Aug. 28, 1822, 
in Madison Co., N. Y. After his mother's death he 
lived at various places until 1843, when he settled in 
Jackson Co , Mich. In about ten years he came to 
this county and located on section 24, where he still 
resides. He took possession of 160 acres of wild 
land, 60 acres of which he has reclaimed from the 
forest and put into a fine tillable condition. 

Poli'.ically, Mr. F. is a staunch Republican. He 
has been Justice of the Peace so.ne four or five 
terms, Highway Commissioner, School Inspector, etc. ; 
indeed, he has held office almost continuously during 
his residence in this township. He has been Dele- 
gate to the County Convention a number of times ; 
was one of the first jurors of the county, while it 
was attached to Clinton County; had to go to DeWitt 
to serve on the jury ; and was also a member of the 
only grand jury ever subpoenaed in the county. 




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In 1852, Mr. Fyler was married to Miss Elizabeth 
M., daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Kinney) Brink, 
the former a native of New Jersey. They were the 
parents of five sons and five daughters. Mr. and 
Mrs. F. have no family of their own. 
The portrait of Mr. Fyler, on the opposite page, is a 
valuable addition to this Album. 



[pddis C. Gillett, fanner on section 15, Ful- 
fd^P'^ 'on Township, is a son of Jason and Emma 
I® (Fellows) Gillett, natives of Onondaga Co., N. 
Y. They came to Washtenaw County, this 
State, and resided there, on a farm, over 30 
years. Then selling out, he bought a farm in Law- 
rence Co., Mo., where they lived a year and a half. 
He died there in 1861. His wife returned to Wash- 
tenaw County, where she died, Nov. 16, 1867. 

The subject of this biography was born in Wash- 
tenaw Co., Mich., March 4, 1842, and was educated 
in the common schools. Feb. 16, 1862, at the age of 
20, he enlisted in the 14th Mich. Vol. Inf , and served 
three years and four months. He participated in 
Sherman's famous march to the sea, and on this 
march, while out with eight others foraging, he was 
taken prisoner. After four weeks of confinement, he 
was paroled, and set at liberty. At the expiration of 
his term of service, he returned to Washtenaw Coun- 
ty, and for a year worked by the month on a farm. 

In February, 1868, he came to this county and pur- 
chased 40 acres of partly improved land on section 
15, Fulton Township, where he now resides. He has 
since added 80 acres by purchase, and of liis whole 
farm, about 70 acres are cultivated. The house which 
he built soon after coming to Gratiot County was de- 
stroyed by fire, Feb. 19, 1881 ; and the following 
spring he built the fine residence which he now occu- 
pies. 

Aug. 29, 1867, in Sharon, Washtenaw Co., Mich., 
he married Miss Mary T., daughter of Moses T. and 
Harriet L. (Brown) Graham, natives of New York, 
where they were both veteran school-teachers. Mr. 
Graham died in March, 185 i. Mrs. Graham after- 
ward came to this State, and now resides in Washte- 
naw County. Mrs. Gillett was born in Cayuga Co., 
N. Y., Aug. 29, 1850. She and her husband are the 
iiarents of two daushiers : Winnie I. and EmmaH. 



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Mr. and Mrs. G. are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Churcli. Politically, he is a Republican and a 
firm Prohibitionist. He is an active worker in all 
temperance movements. 






Alexander C. Henry, farmer, section 11, 
J^ Pine River Township, is the son of John 




and Elizabeth Henry, and was born April 7, 
1857, in Washington Co., Pa. His parents 
were also natives of the Keystone State, and 
in 1866 they came to Michigan and settled in 
Pine River Township, where the father died Oct. 9, 
1869, and the mother followed him to the land of 
eternal rest and peace July 24, 1877. 

Mr. Henry came to Michigan with his parents, 
and has followed farming most of his active life. In 
1878 he bought 80 acres of land, part of which was 
under some degree of improvement, and he has in- 
creased its value and appearance by his judicious 
expenditure of labor and good judgment. He now 
has 55 acres under cultivation. In 1882, he built a 
commodious house and convenient barn. 

Mr. Henry was married Nov. 22, 1880, at St. Louis, 
to Clara R., daughter of Jerry and Henrietta Davis, 
natives respectively of Michigan and Pennsylvania. 
Mrs. Henry was born Sept. 29, 1865, in Midland Co , 
Mich. Clyde W., their only child, was born July 4, 
1883. Mr. Henry is a Republican in political senti- 
ment. 



J ark Burdette Suydam, deceased, form- 
erly resident on section 29, Bethany 
'' Township, was born March 28, 1854, in 
Granby, Oswego Co., N. Y. He is a son of 
John H. and Harriet A. (Buel) Suydam, and in 
1856 his parents removed to Ohio, where they 
passed about 18 months in determining upon a loca- 
tion. They settled in Elmore, Ottawa County, where 
they remained six years. In April, 1865, they re- 
moved to Gratiot County, and an incident of their ar- 
rival was the announcement by them of the fiiU of 
Richmond and the surrender of Gen. Lee, the first 
intelligence of the event which reached Ithaca. 





The family settled a mile and a half southeast of 
St. Louis, and a few months later removed to the 

village. 

The first marked event of the life of Mr. Suydam 
happened when he was less than three years old. 
He was playing in the yard and fell in the well. 
The screams of an older brother brought the mother, 
who instantly descended into the well and rescued 
the struggling child. But she could not climb to 
terra fir ma with him, and she ordered the otlier child 
to lower the bucket, which was fastened to an old- 
fashioned well-sweep, and the brother drew the child 
up in safety. The mother remained in the well un- 
til help came to her relief The farm where his par- 
ents settled was in the " uncut forest," and Mr. Suy- 
dam remembered cleaily the howling of the wolves 
and other incidents of pioneer life, which impressed 
themselves deeply on his childish mind. He first 
attended school in Gratiot County in an old log build- 
ing, without desks or other conveniences, which was 
located near the site of the Vincent school-house. 
After his father's removal to St. Louis he attended 
school there winters, and skated on what is now Milk 
Street. A wheat-field lay on the west side of the 
route and there were not more than a dozen frame 
houses in the village. He was a bright scholar and 
acquired an excellent education, which he at one 
time purposed to utilize in teaching, but his genius 
for tools and natural love for mechanical labor tri- 
umphed and he became a carpenter, and worked at 
that business some years. 

He was married June 8, 1873, to Mary E., daughter 
of Dr. Chauncey J. and Cornelia (Lombard) Goode- 
nough. The young couple set out in life with little 
means except epergy and determination, which they 
put into effective operation, the husband working as 
a carpenter, the wife as a teacher in the then " high 
school " of Brenckenridge, officiating in a small board 
house in the woods with only a small patch of ground 
cleared. In January, 1876, they settled on 40 acres 
on his father's farm, where he built a nice residence 
and barn. He worked without intermission until he 
had cleared 35 acres and had placed himself in cir- 
cumstances to live in comparative ease. In 1881 he 
disposed of most of his personal property and took 
a trip through the northern part of the State, for the 
benefit of his health. He was seized with fever im- 
mediately on his return, which left him in an enfee- 



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bled condition, and a violent cold in the spring of 
18S2 ended in bronchial consumption, of which lie 
died, Jan 10, 1884. His two little sons died within 
II months, during the last 15 months of his own 
life, which affliction depressed him greatly. 

Mr. Suydani was generous to the needy, provident 
for the future and a firm though affectionate father. 
He was conscientiously opposed to licpior, tobacco 
and secret societies. 

Mrs. Suydam was born in Lapeer, Mich., where 
both her grandfathers were among the earliest pio- 
neers. She was the eldest of si.K children, three of 
whom died young. Two brotliers, Albert and Willard 
Goodenough, reside in Isabella County. Her father 
came to St. Louis in the fall of i86g, where he re- 
sided until his death, June 15, 1875. Mrs. Suydam 
holds 31 acres of her homestead, where she resides, 
with her remaining child. Her children were born as 
follows: John C, April 25, 1874, and died Oct. 8, 
1882; Carrie E., March 18, 1876; Charles B., Dec. 
21, 1882, and died Sept. 10, 1883. 







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teenry A. Delavan, merchant at Alma, is the 

[8 son of Tompkins C. and Esther (Jessup) 

Delavan, and was born Aug. i, 1810, in 

Seneca Co., N. Y. His father was a native of 

Dutchess Co., N. Y., and his mother was born 

in Norwalk. Conn. After marriage they settled 

in Seneca County, where they resided 40 years and 

became, after that long period, residents of Jones- 

ville, Mich. Of 13 children born to them ten reached 

maturity. 

Mr. Delavan is the third son. His parents were 
pioneers of the county where he was born, having 
settled there about the close of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, and the son obtained his preliminary education 
at the common schools, whose sessions were held in 
the primitive log house. He finished his studies at 
the academy at Ovid in Seneca County. 

At 16 the privilege of self-support devolved upon 
him, and he eml)raced an opportunity to become an 
assistant in a country store at eight dollars a month. 
He soon became expert and efficient, and after eight 
months made a contract with his employer to serve 
at $200 yearly, and he received this compensation 
two years, after which his salary was $300 for a year's 



services. He remained in the same establishment 
until he was 19 years old, when he clerked for his 
brother in-law two years and then went into business. 
He opened a store at Jefferson, now Watkins, and did 
business, boarded and ran a warehouse, respectively 
in the counties of Schuyler, Steuben and Chemung. 
He continued to operate from that stand for seven 
years, when, in October, 1838, he forced a sale of the 
bulk of his stock and transferred the remainder to 
Jonesville, Hillsdale Co., Mich., where he established 
himself in traffic in general merchandise. He con- 
tinued to operate there until 1844, combining his 
mercantile affairs with speculation in land to consid- 
erable extent. In the year last named he purchased 
2,000 acres of land in Hillsdale, Branch and Jackson 
Counties, and engaged somewhat extensively in 
farming, locating near Jonesville. He continued ag- 
ricultural operations about ten years, when he sold 
his farm and moved into town. In 1861 he was ap- 
pointed by the United States Government, Assessor 
of Internal Revenue in what was then the First 
Michigan District. He discharged the duties of the 
position until 1865, when he again turned his atten- 
tion to farming. In 1870 he removed to Alma, where 
he resumed his former occupation as merchant. He 
has since operated continously as such, combining 
therewith transactions in grain. In 1876 he erected 
an elevator at Alma having a capacity of 7,000 bush- 
els. His possessions include two farms of 80 acres 
each in Arcada, and 60 acres of land in Seville. Of 
the aggregate 220 acres, 100 are in tillage. 

In 1874, Mr. Delavan associated with himself his 
two sons, Charles L. and George M. Their mercan- 
tile operations reach about $30,000 yearly, with heavy 
transactions in grain, the latter sometimes amounting 
to an aggregate of 140,000 bushels annually. 

Mr. Delavan was married in Watkins, N. Y., Dec. 
5, 1835, to Mary T., daughter of Isaac I. and Cath- 
erine (Tillinghast) Leake. The parents were natives 
respectively of New York and Connecticut. The 
daughter was born Oct. 8, 1812, in Albany Co., N. 
Y., was educated in the common schools and at- 
tended school of higher grade at Hyde Park, Dutch- 
ess County, in her native State. The issue of her 
marriage with Mr. Delavan was nine children, of 
whom three are dead — Cornelia, Anna L. and Julia, 
i'hose still living and who survive the mother are 
named Mary C, Catherine I., .\gncs T., William A., 



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Charles L. and George M. Mrs. Delavan died Aug. 
20, 1870, in Jonesville, Hillsdale County. 

On attaining to the dignity of man's estate and the 
assumption of the prerogatives of his citizenship, 
Mr. Delavan identified himself with the old-line 
Whig party under the leadersliip of Henry Clay. 
He is now a member of the Republican party. 



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iatthew H. Udell, farmer, section 15, Pine 
River Township, was born July 10, 1835, 
^^ in Canada, and is the son of Matthew 
'^^^''^ and Mary (Hamilton) Udell, both of whom 
were natives cf Canada. Mr. Udell pursued 
the vocation of a farmer in the Dominion until 
April, 1880, when he came to Gratiot County and 
bought 120 acres of land under partial improve- 
ments, on which he has since resided. Seventy 
acres of the farm are now under first-class cultiva- 
tion, and the place reflects credit on the proprietor 
in every detail. Mr. Udell is a Republican in his 
political belief. 

He was married in the County of York, Canada, 
Feb. 15, 1858, to Melinda, daughter of James and 
Nancy (Kester) Foresyth. She was born in Yoik 
County Dec. 25, 1841, and her parents were also na- 
tives of the Dominion. The family of Mr. and Mrs. 
Udell includes seven children : Rachel A., Albert E., 
Arthur S., Solomon O., Nathan B., Jane G. and David 
H. The parents are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 



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illiam D. Dickinson, farmer, section 17, 
q — tsMMii ta Bethany Township, was born in Marion 
j^Sfc^ * Township, Wayne Co., N. Y., July 28, 
{' 1838. His parents, David G. and Catharine 
(Foote) Dickinson, were also natives of New 
York, and were of Englisli and German descent. 
His father, a farmer most of liis life, died in Ohio, 
June 2, 1880, and his mother is still living, in that 
State, now aged 69 years. 

Mr. D. was 13 years of age when the family moved 
to Medina Co., Ohio, settling in Spencer Township, 
where he attended the public scliool until 18 years 



of age; then, after spending a year in the East, he 
followed farming a couple of years in Iowa, and two 
and a half years in Whiteside Co., 111. Returning to 
Ohio, he was married, in Ashland County, Sept. 2, 
1862, to Miss Harriet F., daughter of Leroy and 
Sophronia A. (Close) Chaffee, natives of New York 
and of English ancestry; she was born Jan. 21, 
1837, in Medina Co., Ohio. The children of Mr. 
and Mrs. D. are, Merrit N., born June 28, 1863; 
Leroy D., Aug. 3, 1867; and William H., Dec. 15, 
1870. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson 
resided in Sjjencer Township, Medina Co., Ohio, until 
the fall of 1868, when tliey came to Gratiot Co., 
Midi., and settled on a quarter-section of land where 
they now reside. Of the original tract they have 
sold 40 acres, and of the remainder 60 acres are 
improved, and a comfortable home is established. 
Mr. D. has proved himself to be a skillful agricultur- 
ist and an esteemed member of the community. 




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fejavid Fry, retired farmer, resident on sec- 

' tion 28, Sumner Township, was born in 

V'^-^'P -i Cumbedand Co., Pa., July 4, 1820. His 

fiS" father, John Fry, a native of Pennsylvania, 
was by occupation a farmer, and went from 
\ that State to Missouri, where he died in 1878, 

aged 81. His mother, Eve, nfc Fockler, was also a 
native of Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania Dutch 
descent, and died in Missouri in 1878, aged 85. 

The subject of this biographpy came with his 
parents to Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, when he was two 
years old, and two years later they went to Wayne 
County, same State. Thence the family removed to 
Seneca County, where they resided 30 years on one 
place. David remained under the paternal roof 
until 23 years old. Oct. 15, 1843, in Seneca County, 
he was united in marriage to Miss Susanna, daughter 
of Jacob and Letta (Marshall) Green, natives of New 
England and Ohio. Jacob Green was a farmer and 
carpenter, and both he and his wife died in Ohio. 

After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fry settled on liis 
father's homestead, which he worked on shares for 
seven years. In 1856 he went for a time to Mar- 
shalltown, Iowa. Returning, they went to Hancock 
Co., Ohio, in the summer of 1857, where lie farmed 
and ran a threshing-machine until 1866. In the 






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f summer of 1866 they came to Gratiot County and 
located 120 acres of wild land on section 28, Sumner 
,C^ Township. There were at that time ijut few pernia- 
I nent settlers, and only one other on the same sec- 
tion. Mr. F. has by his own efforts improved 113 
acres and built the necessary farm buildings, includ- 
ing a comfortable residence. 

Mr. and Mrs. F. have a family of 10: Sarah J., 
Lucinda, Rebecca, Joseph, Anna^G., Jacob, John, 
Grandville, Mary D. and VV. George. Mr. Fry has 
held various school offices, but has declined all other 
offices tendered him. Politically, he is a Democrat 
of high standing. 




allidney S. Hastings, farmer, surveyor and 
fe&^i engineer, resident at St. Louis, was born in 
iiy-.^ Champion, Jefferson Co., N. Y., Aug. 25, 
'* 1827, and is the son of Sidney S. and Clarissa 
(Fitch) Hastings. His father was a mechanic 
during the early part of his life, and in later 
years a farmer. He removed his family to Medina 
Co., Ohio, in 1837, and there bought 160 acres of 
land in Guilford Township. This land was mostly 
covered with dense forest, and absorbed the labor of 
ten years of himself and three sons wholly to im- 
prove it and put it in tillable condition, with com- 
fortable buildings. 

The educational advantages of Mr. Hastings were 
limited to two or three months at the district school in 
the winter, and when in his 20th year he attended one 
term at the village academy. The winter succeeding 
his attaining his majority, he taught a district school 
in a small log house, very dilapidated, where he ex- 
ercised the authority of a pedagogue over 54 pupils 
at the rate of $1 1 per month of 24 days. He taught 
school during the next two winters, and worked 
through the summers at the carpenter's trade. He 
spent part of a tail term at the village academy re- 
viewing his studies, and attended one term at Twins- 
burg Academy. In the winter of 1852-3, in company 
with a young friend, he went to Cincinnati, thence 
down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to New Or- 
leans. After a few days in that city, they [iroceeded 
across the Gulf of Mexico to Matagorda Bay, in 
Southern Texas, where they remained four months. 



working at the carpenter's trade, and receiving good 
wages. They returned by the river to Galena, 111., 
where they hired a conveyance to Rockford, the rail- 
road terminus west of Chicago. 

Mr. Hastings taught school in the winter of 1853-4, 
and in 1855 came West to look for a location. He 
remained two months at Lansing, where he learned 
something of Gratiot County through A. M. Craw- 
ford, who was a land-holder there, and had platted 
the village of Pine River. The Legislature of Mich- 
igan had, during its session in 1854-5, passed an act 
creating Pine River the county seat, and Mr. Hast- 
ings accompanied Mr. Crawford to Gratiol County, 
both walking the entire distance from Lansing. He 
located 200 acres of land on section 27, Bethany 
Township, went to Flint, and entered his claim. He 
proceeded to Lansing, and a few days later returned 
to St. Louis, where he arrived July 5, 1855. He 
found two log houses, one built by Sylvanus Groom, 
on the south side of the river, and on the east side 
of Main Street; since removed. The other was 
built by Joseph Clapp near the dam. Mr. Clapp 
was then building a saw-mill, and Mr. Hastings as- 
sisted in its completion. About the middle of August 
he decided to remain at St. Louis, and received from 
Mr. Clapp a lot, situated on the corner of Mill Street 
and Washington Avenue. It was covered with the 
primeval forest, and Mr. Hastings cleared a small 
space and built a log house, the third erected in the 
village, where at the time there were but 20 acres of 
partially cleared land. The house was raised by four 
white men and 12 Indians, and when it was finished 
Mr. Hastings sent for his wife, and proceeded in a 
canoe to Saginaw to meet her. They came by the 
same means of transportation to the "Forks," now 
Midland, where the man whom he had engaged to 
bring the party to Midland unloaded the family and 
effects on the bank of the river, five miles below Mid- 
land, wjiither Mr. and Mrs. Hastings walked. They 
found some friendly persons, who went with a flat- 
boat and conveyed their goods to Midland, where 
Mr. Hastings succeeded in engaging an Indian, who 
brought himself and wife and trunk to St. Louis, to 
whom he paid $8 for the service in advance. The 
journey consumed three days, and on his arrival at 
St. Louis Mr. Hastings engaged two Indians and 
two canoes, and returned for the goods left behind at 
Midland, camping at night. 



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He found his services as a surveyor were in im- 
mediate demand, and he at once engaged in the work 
in this vicinity and in Midland County. He was 
elected County Surveyor in the fall of the year of his 
(^ arrival, 1855, and has pursued the same calling ever 
since. He surveyed and plaited the villages of Al- 
ma, Ithaca, Riverdale, Estella, Breckenridge and 
Wheeler, besides ten additions to St. Louis. 

Among other important pieces of work he has ac- 
complished is the survey of the State Road to Sagi- 
naw from St. Louis when the country was in a state 
of unbroken wilderness ; and also the survey of the 
State Road to Newaygo, and from St. Louis to Mid- 
land; also from St. Louis to Bridgeville, near St. 
John's. He also assisted in surveying the route of 
the Saginaw Valley and St. Louis railroad. He has 
been County Conveyor or Deputy since the organiza- 
tion of the county. He is a mem.ber of the State As- 
sociation of Engineers and Surveyors, and has held 
the various village offices at St. Louis. He is a 
member of the Baptist Church, and upon the organi- 
zation of the society at St. Louis he was made Dea- 
con, and has held the position continuously ever 
since. He bought the site of his present residence 
in 1866, and also 180 acres of land. He now owns 
70 acres on the east side of the village, 50 acres of 
which are platted and known as S. S. Hastings' Ad- 
dition. 

Mr. Hastings was married in Guilford, Medina Co., 
Ohio, March 2, 1854, to Julia, daughter of David 
and Harriet Di\. Of this marriage seven children 
were born, four sons and three daughters: Frank W., 
born Dec. 29, 1854, mail agent between Saginaw and 
Lake View, is a graduate from the .Agricultural Col- 
lege at Lansing. He is a practical surveyor, and was 
Postmaster at St. Louis about three years ; Forest B., 
born Feb. 26, 1857, is a farmer on section 16, Beth- 
any Township; Russell M. was born March 16, 1859; 
Mary E. was born Jan. 11, 1862, and died Aug. 27, 
1863; Fannie E., born Sept. 6, 1865; Charlie S., 
May 31, 1869, and Hattie C, Nov. 30, 187 i, reside 
at home with their parents. 

The portrait of Mr. Hastings, which appears on 
JL another page, is presented with peculiar satisfaction, 
^ which is universally shared by the patrons of the 
oj work, among whom are a considerable number who 
^ live to remember the period referred to by Mr. Hast- 
\^ ings in the data given herewith, and the services he 
^ performed in which his wife shared : 



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"Nearly all the settlements in Gratiot County were 
made under the Graduation Act, passed by Congress 
Aug. 4, 1854, by the provisions of which the price of 
the land was reduced to 50 cents an acre. Probably 
three-fourths of the land in this county was located 
by actual settlers within eight months after its pass- 
age. Most of them were men of small means, who 
could only command sufficient money to enter claims 
of 40 or 80 acres, which were located in the dense 
forests, miles from roads or trails and discoverable 
only by expert woods;nen. Few of such settlers 
were able to take immediate possession of their 
claims, but they made some slight improvements and 
returned to their former homes to earn teams and 
sufficient provisions to ensure them from suffering 
until they could maintain themselves and families. 

"In February, 1856, the Commissioner of the Gen- 
eral Land Office issued the following ' Circular,' to 
all settlers on these lands : 

•• I- AND Oi'i'ici; AT lOKiA, Mich., / 
Ki'l). -20, IS-id. \ 
••Sir — I'lidci- instructions from tlii' < 'oininissioiicr of 
the (ieneral L:ui(l Ottice. yon are hereby enlleil upon to 
prodiiee testiiMony to perfect your title to the land en- 
tered liy you on tlie 'iTth day of Dee., l.s.54, at tliis ortiee. 
per certitieate of purchase. Xo. IMS.iS. foi- ■ actual settle- 
ment and cultivation." under the pi-ovisious of the act 
of Conn'ress, entitled • \n act to ;;i-aduate and ivduce 
the price of the public lands to actual sefllers and culti- 
vators," ap|iroved Aug. 4, LS.y. .\ furiii of the ii'quired 
testinioMV is hereto annexed. 

■■ If such testimony be not produced at this ottice u ilhln 
tv\(i months fidin this date, it will lie regarded as an 
abandoinnent of youi' I'laini to tlie land, and the c.ise 
will be reiiorted to the (ieneral Land Ottice, in order 
that steps uiay be taken t\)r throwing' the land into mar- 
ket aicain. after proper notice. 

'■ Verv lespectfnllv. vonr obedient servants. 

"A. V. Bkli.. Register. 
'• Fki;i> IIali.. Receiver." 

"This circular caused an immediate immigration 
of a large number of settlers into Gratiot County to 
fulfill its terms, which, under the circumstances, were 
simply outrageous. It was in the winter, and the 
hardships were greater and pro|)ortionately severe, 
as many of the settlers were compelled to take pos- 
session of their land and build houses withovit lum- 
ber. In many instances means were found to evade 
the law, and I was reminded of tlie results of an en- 
actment in the early days of Canada, which granted 
land to settlers on condition that they should ' chop 
down and cho[) up and roll out four rods of highway 
in front of the land.' The settler would take two 
witnesses, go to the land on the line of the highway, 
take his ax and 'chop down ' into the roots of a tree 

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and 'chop up' as high as he could conveniently 
reach, then lie down at length on the ground and 
roll over four or five rods out of the bounds of the 
highway. This done, he presented liimself at tlie 
land office, accompanied by his witnesses, and made 
oath that he had 'chopped down and chopped up and 
rolled out four rods of the highway in front of his 
landl ' The subterfuges resorted to by the sufferers 
of Gratiot County, sometimes presented features of 
equal absurdity. 

"The circumstances narrated must of themselves 
have been productive of unparalleled suffering from 
the influxof numbers so great as to render their sup- 
port in the unsettled sections an utter impossibility, 
but the condition that ensued was, in point of fact, 
beyond the vagaries of the wildest and most erratic 
imagination. The summer of 1856 was extremely 
dry and the small patches of corn and potatoes were 
well-nigh failures. A windy day occurred in Octo- 
ber after the leaves had fallen, and fires broke out 
from all the little clearings throughout the county. 
The woods were soon on fire in every direction, and 
when it expired the ground was covered with ashes 
to a depth of from one to four inches. The smoke 
was suffocating and so dense that vision beyond a 
few feet was wholly obstructed. People could not 
safely venture from their houses because of the in- 
tense darkness, and candles were necessary v^^hen 
sewing and reading were to be done. Our Board of 
Supervisors was in session and transacted its busi- 
ness by candle-light. The cattle died in consider- 
able numbers, and many of the inhabitants were 
violently ill. The river looked like lye, and the fish 
died. The sound of falling timber echoed through 
the woods continuously. This state of things con- 
tinued 14 days, when we were relieved by a shower. 

" As the winter drew on, we began to realize what 
hard times were. The small crops were divided with 
the new comers and were soon exhausted. As soon 
as the trails were passal)le for sleds, farmers from the 
south brought in provisions to barter for shingles, and 
soon nearly ever)' house was a shingle shanty. When 
the snow disappeared the trails again became impass- 
able, and by May supplies were almost wholly ex- 
hausted, many subsisting on fish, turnips and leeks. 
Rumors of the destitution in the north began to reach 
Lansing and the cities beyond. A meeting was 
called in Detroit and a clergyman named Hickey was 



selected for a tour of investigation. He shipped his 
horse to St. John's by railroad, and followed the 
trail thence to St. Louis via Ma))le Rapids and Ith- 
aca. There was no hotel at St. Louis and he stop- 
ped with me. He said he had inquired of all whom 
he had seen of the amount of provision on hand. 
On the morning following his arrival he made a long 
tramp north and west in Pine RiverTownship, return- 
ing at night to my house. Among other incidents of 
the day, he mentioned meeting a small boy, whom he 
questioned concerning his breakfast, and was inform- 
ed that he had " bagas and salt." Further inquiry 
elicited the fact that the bill of fare for dinner va- 
ried in the substitution of salt for bagas and bagas 
for salt. Mr. Hickey decided that the necessity de- 
manded immediate action, and that the supply of 
provisions would not hold out two weeks. Many 
were entirely destitute and borrowing of their neigh- 
bors. He recommended that the Board of Supervi- 
sors be immediately called together to take action in 
the matter. He said that the people of Detroit had 
raised several thousand dollars for the relief of the 
destitute, whom they wished to remain on their lands. 
I recommended that provisions be sent instead of 
money, and suggested that should supplies be sent to 
Saginaw they could be brought hither in canoes. Mr. 
Hickey returned to Detroit and submitted his report. 
In a few days I received a communication from John 
Owen, of Detroit, Chairman of the Relief Committee, 
staling that he had forwarded a quantity of provis- 
ions to G. W. Bullock at Saginaw City, subject to my 
order, and requesting me to take measures to con- 
vey them to St. Louis and distribute them to the 
needy and destitute. My field was to include the 
north half of Gratiot County, and all of Isabella 
County. He also stated that he had established 
a depot of supplies at Benedict's, near Maple 
Rapid?, for the benefit of the south half of Gra- 
tiot County. I was staggered by the letter and 
all it implied. I was young and unaccustomed to 
business of that character, and reflection greatly mul- 
tiplied the apparent difficulties of the situation. It 
invited a summer of labor without comi)ensation, 
and the probabilities of incurring enmity were great; 
but inclination gave way to duty, and I laid aside my 
compass and chain and entered into the work. The 
route to Saginaw by the river was at least 100 miles. 
There was no road and the channel of the river was 
dangerous from logs and rocks, and the current was 



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rapid. - But there was no alterrative. A trader named 
Wilden owned a boat, named for his daughter, a bux- 
om German maiden, the Red Susan, made for him 
by an Indian named Chib-i-nee, from a monster pine 
that grew near where now stands the residence of Mr. 
Elwell. The boat would carry 6,000 pounds, and its 
owner offered it for the required purpose. Seven men 
could take it to Saginaw and load it in two days. 
Five days were required in the return. None but the 
most hardy could endure the labor and fatigue 
and the exposure consequent upon camping nights 
on the banks of the river. Mr. L. D. Mosher, of 
Alma, owned a boat and brought up a number of 
loads. Following is one of his bills of lading: 

' Saginaw City, June 17, 1857. 
'Delivprod to L. D. Mosher. per your order, to enn y to 
you lit Pine Kiver, (iratiot < 'o.. Mirli., lor distrilnUionto 
the destitute tlie articles iianuMl lielow : 10 l)bls. Flour, 
1 bill. Pork, 1 bbl.IIanis. 1 bao- Potatoes, 4eaddies Tea, (i 
lbs. each. 4 packages Tea, Ibox containing i |)cs. Denims 
and Shirtings. 1 pr. Boots, 1 lot Wdinen's and Misses" 
Shoes. 

• To S. S. Hastings. Esq.. 

■ Sui). Pine Kivei-. Gratiot County. 

• (t. \V. Bullock. Agent."" 



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feed the hungry." Her name belongs to the record- 
ed historj- of the " starvation period " of Gratiot 

Countv. 




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Supplies were also brought in considerable quan- 
tities by Mr. R. Ely and the Indians, many of whom 
performed the same service with their canoes. All 
were paid in provisions. On the days when supplies 
were expected to arrive the people for miles around 
flocked to St. Louis, numbering from 25 to 100 
persons. I usually weighed out to each man 20 to 50 
pounds of flour, 10 of pork and a quantity of corn 
meal and beans, proportioning the amount to theirfam- 
ily and ability to carry. I had potatoes for seed, tea 
for the sick and a few pairs of women's shoes for the 
barefoot. Few or no applications were made for sup- 
plies by those who had money to obtain elsewhere. 
we continued to receive aid until the people began to 
use green corn and dig new potatoes, when I inform- 
ed Mr. Bullock that assistance was no longer neces- 
sary." 

Mr. Hastings omits to state the amount of labor 
he performed and the personal effort made by himself 
and wife to .lUeviate the suffering which was neces- 
sarily brought to their knowledge. The people who 
came in from the country were always pinched with 
hunger, and they never returned unfed. Mrs. Hast- 
ings' own hands prepared substantial meals for a large 
proportion of the needy, and she spent the summer 
\>^_^ of 1857 in virtual fulfillment of the command " to 



enry Stitt, farmer on section 19, Fulton 
Township, is a son of John and Laura 
(White) Stitt, natives of Berkshire Co., Mass. 
They lived in that county until some four years 
after marriage ; then lived in Portage Co., Ohio, 
15 years; then in Fulton County, same State, 
nearly 13 years; and finally came to Gratiot County, 
where, in Fulton Township, Mr. Stitt had previously 
purchased 100 acres. Before he was fairly settled, 
however, he was taken sick, and died at the residence 
of her son Harry, Sept. 4, 1864. His wife lived the 
remainder of her life with her children, and died at 
the residence of her son Winfield, Dec. 26, 1877. 
Their family comprised three sons and one daughter. 

The subject of this biographical sketch was the 
second son. He was born in Berkshire Co., Mass., 
July 4, 1833, and was only two years old when his 
parents removed to Ohio, in which State he was 
reared and educated He left the parental roof at 
the age of 22. In the fall of 1862, he purchased a 
tract of wild land on section 19, Fulton Township, 
and built a log cabin. The following February, he 
returned to Ohio and brought back his family to their 
new home. He has since added 40 acres, and has 
100 acres under cultivation, besides making neces- 
sary improvements in the way of erecting farm build- 
ings, etc. In November, 1880, he moved into his 
present fine residence, which he had just completed. 

March 24, i86i, in Medina, Lenawee Co., Mich., 
he was united in marriage to Miss Mary \., daughter 
of Henry and Roxa (Francis) Huyck, of German 
and American ancestry. She was born in Richland 
Co., Ohio, Nov. 8, 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Stitt have 
been the parents of three daughters, two of whom 
survive : Dora E. and Laura C, living, and Cora E., 
deceased when about six months old. 

In the spring of 1883, Mr. S. was elected Supervi- 
sor of Fulton Township. He was Treasurer for two 
years, and has held minor offices in the gift of the 
peo|)le. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
and in political sentiment is identified with tiie Dem- 
ocratic patty. 






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osiah P. Whitman, of the firm of Whitman 
iS: Son, liverymen at Ithaca, was born in 
Springport Township, Jackson Co., Mich., 
April 1 8, 1 84 1. He is a son of Clark R. and 
Ketiirah A, (Pratt) Whitman. His father was 
born in Stanbridge, L. C, and is now a resident 
of Ithaca. The mother was a native of the State of 
New York, and died Nov. 29, rSso, in Springport. 
^ The parents were pioneer settlers of Jackson County, 
and owned a tr'act of land in Concord, which they 
sold a year after its pitrchase, and removed to Spring- 
port, where the father owned several farms success- 
ively. 

Mr. Whitman was a pupil in the schools of his na- 
tive town irntil he was 15 years old, when he became 
an assistairt on his father's farm. When he reached 

/"S the age of 20 years, he engaged as traveling sales- 
man for George M. Cady in the notion trade, and a 
year later entered into the birsiness on his account. 
He operated several years with satisfactory results. 
In the fall of 1865 he came to Ithaca in company 
with two brothers, George and William Whitman. 
The three formed a partnership, opened a tea and 
grocery store and established a country exchange 
trade. Mr. Whitman bought the interests of his 
brothers a few months later, and, after managing the 
business one year alone, he sold to Cady Brothers. 
In 1867 he bought the site of the building where he 
is now doing business, and in the following summer 
erected a structure for a store in which he established 
a grocery. Four months later he sold his stock to 
Samuel J. Thoenen and opened a livery barn. In 
1881 he built a brick livery stable, t,t, by r57 
feet in dimensions. The barn is two stories high and 
he keeps r5 horses, with vehicles of all sorts, to ac- 
commodate the demand. The store building has a 
frontage of 60 feet and a considerable mercantile 
business is managed there by the proprietors. The 
residence of Mr. Whitman is located on the same 
grounds. He owns 40 acres of land on section r, in 
the township of Ithaca. He is the inventor of a 
patent carriage top bow support, which is becoming 

[(*; popular in the trade. It was patented Feb. 20, 1883. 

^ He has been one of the Trustees of Ithaca two years. 



Mr. Whitman was married Oct. 26, 1862, in Clar- 
ence Township, Calhoun Co., Mich., to Kate A. 
Kashenider. She was born Nov. 17, 1844, in Akron, 
Ohio, and is the daughter of Michael and Catherine 
Kashenider-. George M. was born in Springport, 
Sept. 4, 1863, and Floyd C, born at Ithaca, April 5, 
1875, are the surviving children of Mr. and Mrs. 
Whitman. Wilfred C, born March 5, r873, died 
Sept. 16, r877. 

The portraits of Mr. Whitrnair and wife appear 
on neighboring pages, and are, like many others in 
this volume, the likenesses of enterprising and worthy 
cUi/.ens of Gr'atiot County. 

.-■^tjTJf'l'.: ames D. Vallance, farmer, sectron 4, Ful- 
i l^Mt ir ton Township, is a son of James and Eliz- 
yiSuS'^^ abeth (Brewbaker) Vallance, who first set- 
%^ tied in Pennsylvania, then in Richland Co., 
^r Ohio, and then moved to Wood Co., Ohio, 

I where he died, and where she still lives. The 
subject of this narrative was born in Fayette Co., 
Pa., May 17, 183 1, and was about three years old 
when his parents removed to Ohio. He was edu- 
cated in the common schools, and lived at home un- 
til 22 years of age. He then engaged in farming, 
and rented different farms for six years. He then 
bought 40 acres, on which he lived until 1866. 

Coriiing to Gratiot County in that year he purchased 
80 acres of wild land in Fulton Township, where he 
now resides. He has since added 109 acres to his 
farm, and has aborrt 100 acres under cultivation. 
June 15, 1862, in Wood Co., Ohio, he married Sarah, 
daughter of Tobias Bassler, a native of Pennsylva- 
nia. They had two children, Geor-ge M. and John 
H. ; and the latter died when two and a half years 
old. Mrs. V. dying, he was again married, March 
II, i860, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of David and 
Mary Leslie, natives of Stark Co., Ohio. She was 
born in Carroll Co., Ohio, Aug. 10, 1842. By this 
marriage, Mr. Vallance has had two children, Jack- 
son D., and one who died in infancy. Mrs. V. is 
a member of the United Brethren Church, and Mr.- 
V. is politically a Republican. 

Mr. Vallance enlisted, Aug. 8, 1862, in Co. B, 
I nth Ohio Vol. Inf., and served till June 10, 1865, 



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when he was discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio. He 
was in the battles of London, Tenn., and Lcnoie 
Station. At the last named place, where the fighting 
began Nov. 14, 1863, and continued one week, he 
.-^ . was taken prisoner early in the morning of the third 
day. He was confined till Sept. 6, 1864, — two weeks 
in Atlanta, Ga., two months at Pembercon Castle, 
Va., three months on Belle Island, and then for a 
long time at Andersonville. In that iniiiuitous pen, 
he suffered for six months all the horrors of "man's 
inhumanity to man." He was then for two months 
at Charleston, S. C , and then at Florence, S. C, 
where he was finally exchanged. 




V 



fames Bates, farmer, section 1, New Haven 
Township, was born in Seneca Co., N. Y., 
May 31, 1802, his parents of English de- 
scent. His father, Thomas Bates, was a Cap- 
tain in the British army for 16 years, and, 
except a few years' sojourn in Canada, he lived 
^ all his life in England, where he died in 1854. His 
=1 mother, Ann, ncc Hutson, died in England, her na- 
t<: tive country, in 1858. 

When seven years of age, the subject of this sketch 
was taken by his parents to Cambridgeshire, Eng- 
land, and four years later he joined his uncle, James 
Bates, who was at the time Captain of a fruit vessel 
bound for Amsterdam. Shortly after arriving, they 
were pressed aboard a man-of-war, and the former 
was assigned the position of cabin boy, which jilace 
he kept about four years, when he had to go aloft as 
an active sailor. In the meantime they were taken 
to France, which country was then at war with Eng- 
land. While there he, in company with 11 other 
young sailors, maneuvered a scheme to " skip " the 
war vessel, and, succeeding, they soon arrived in 
England, where young James engaged to labor on 
the public works of the beach, etc. Thus employed 
until 1851, he emigrated to America, landing at New 
(9^ York, and settling in Oakland Co., Mich., where he 
had a farm on shares for three years. In 1854, he 
entered, at the Ionia land office, 120 acres of wild 
land, where he now lives, before examining it. The 
year following he settled upon the place, then sev- 
((^ eral miles from any other settlement. He had to go 
^ to Ionia and St. John's for provisions. Although 




many in this part of the country succumbed to the 
hardships of the period and returned East, Mr. Bates 
kept uj) his courage and bravery until a time of 
greater plenty arrived. He has retained his original 
purchase, added i 20 acres, improved 60 acres, and 
made for himself and family a good home. He is 
esteemed as a true, sturdy, and high-minded pioneer. 
He has worthily filled the school offices of his town- 
ship, and in respect to national issues he is inde- 
pendent. 

Daring his early travels, Mr. Bates visited the East 
Indies, and on his way was wrecked near the coast 
of Arabia, his vessel being lost in a chase by a pira- 
tical vessel. He, with others, had to work their way 
to shore in a row-boat, and were thus exposed to the 
dangers of the sea for 14 days with but little pro- 
vision. They were reduced to the last extremity, 
and were about to '" cast lots " as to who should be 
thrown overboard, when they suddenly reached 
shore. 

Mr. Bates was married Dec. 25, 1844, in Harding- 
ham, England, to Miss Elizabeth Mail, a native of 
that country. She was born Oct. 11, 181S, lived at 
home until 12 years of age, then was with her grand- 
mother until her death, and returned home, where 
she remained until her marriage. The living chil- 
dren of Mr. and Mrs. Bates are : Eliza, born Jan. 24, 
1852; James Thomas, Jan. 24, 1S55 ; Elizabeth, 
July 2, 1858; William, March 18, i860; Rosetta, 
March 16, 1862; and Susan A., Aug. 20, 1863. The 
deceased are five infants, four named Elizabeth U. 
and one named Ceorge. 



i;i[F|| [J 5 illiam W. Fraker, carpenter and farmer, 
K^^^l? section 12, Fulton Township, is a son of 
'^^p Alexander and Jane (Sprague) Fraker. They 
settled after marriage in St. Lawrence Co., 
N. Y., where they still reside. Their family 
comprised two sons and four daugliters, of whom 
William W. was the eldest son. 

He was born in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Jan. 13, 
1846, and lived at home attending school and work- 
ing on his father's farm until 18 years old. Sept. 5, 
1864, his patriotic impulses led him to enlist in the 
20th New York Vol. Cav., and he served about nine 



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months. He did not participate in any heavy en- 
gagements, as his company was generally on detached 
service, performing such duties as usually fall to the 
lot of cavalry commands. 

In July, 1S65, he came to Gratiot County. He 
was variously employed until 1872, when he bought 
40 acres of wild land on section 12, Fulton Town- 
ship. He has erected good farm buildings, has 
added 60 acres to his original [.urchase, and of his 
whole acreage, 82 acres are cleared and cultivated. 
Dec. 25, 1867, in Washington Township, this county, 
he married Miss Martha, daughter of William W. 
and Lucinda E. (Schuyler) Armstrong. Mr. and 
Mrs. A. were natives of New York, and came to 
Gratiot County in 1864, settling at their present 
home in Washington Township. Mrs. Fraker was 
born in Herkimer Co., N. Y., March 2, 1852. 

To this marriage has been born one child, Aug. 17, 
1870, named Ray. In political views, Mr. F. is a 
thoroughgoing Republican. 



Ison P. Kinney, farmer on section 31, Ful- 
^^ ton Township, is a son of David A. and 
■«I!(S? Esther (Piatt) Kinney, natives of Connecticut 
Iv' and New York. They first settled after mar- 
j riage, in Tioga Co., N. Y., afterwards remov- 
ing to Huron Co., Ohio, where they lived until death, 
his occurring Feb. 25, 1861, and hers in 1S72. 

Their family comprised four sons and two daugh- 
ters. Alson P., the second son, was born in Tioga 
Co., N. Y., June 7, 1828, and was about 1 1 years old 
when his parents removed to Ohio. He received his 
education in the common schools, and also attended 
the Norwalk .\cadeiny at Norwalk, Ohio, for eight 
terms. He remained at home until 22 years old and 
then was engaged for eight winters in teaching in 
different places. He partially learned the carpen- 
ter's trade, under his brother, Edwin Kinney, the 
well-known architect and builder. Afterwards he 
obtained employment as foreman on a farm in Rich- 
land Co., Ohio, whicli position he held for seven 
years. 

In March, 1861, he came to (Gratiot County and 
bought 120 acres of land in Fidton Township, sec- 
lion 31. He has since disposed of 20 acres, and has 





now 60 acres in an advanced state of cultivation. 
He enlisted during the rebellion in the 13th Mich. 
Vol. Inf , ar.d served nine months and one day, 
receiving an honorable discharge at Detroit, Mich. 

Oct. 3, 1865, in Richland Co., Ohio, he married 
Miss Lydia J., daughter of Abraham T. and Thank- 
ful (Kirby) Huff, natives of New Jersey and Massa- 
chusetts. Mrs. Kinney was born in the State of New 
York, March 16, 1833. She died Sept. 21, 1863, 
having been the mother of four children : Flora J. 
(died when 16 years old) ; Carrie K., Ida E. and 
Abraham P. Mr. Kinney is a member of the Bap- 
tist Church, and is politically a Republican. 

The portrait of Mr. Kinney will be appreciated by 
all, especially those of his neighbors who have 
worked by his side in carving comfortable homes out 
the dense forest. 



rs. Ellen M. Wolford, wife of Lewis B. 
Wolford, section 29, New Haven Town- 




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ship, was born in the township of New- x^r 
k, Wayne Co., N. Y., July 14, 1845. Her d 



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'''"•' parents, Peter B. and Mary M. Pendell, were 
ilso natives of the State of New York, and 
emigrated to Michigan in 1846. After spending two 
years in the eastern part of the State, they removed 
to Ionia County, and in 1857 they came to Gratiot 
County, then a wilderness. Seeing the situation, 
Ellen, then 13 years of age, began to devise some 
plan for her own support. As every family in the 
vicinity did their own housework and cared not to 
hire help, she could find nothing within her reach 
e.xcept the profession of teaching, for which she was 
yet to qualify herself There were then a few organ- 
ized school districts in the township of New Haven, 
which was lier lionie. 

According to her decision, she began in May, 1859, 
to follow her chosen profession, and for 13 long and 
weary years, through summer's heat and winter's 
snows, she fulfilled the duties of a pioneer teacher's "§) 
life. During this time she married George M. Ben- 
nett, who soon afterward joined the Union army ; but 
in the spring of 1863 he returned home with the 
dreadful disease, consumption, fastened upon him, 
and for seven tedious and painfi.l years his wife had 
to sujjport the family by her profession. Jle diecj in 



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the summerof 1870, before the Government had pro- 
vided for any pension, and the family had been in- 
creased in 1867 by the birth of their first child, 
Augusta E. In July, 1870, their second child, Geor- 
gia, was born; yet Mrs. B. had to support her little 
ones, providing a nurse, etc., by the means she could 
earn teaching school ; and she bravely succeeded. 

In March, 187 i, she went to Ithaca and taught 
two terms in the village school, and then returned to 
New Haven Townshiii, continuing her profession. In 
February, 1S73, she married Davis Wiles, and com- 
menced the duties of a farmer's wife, then entirely 
new to her. The tide of prosperity then set in, and 
continued until April, 1877, when Mr. Wiles died, 
after bequeathing to her the homestead on section 
29, New Haven Township. His father and brother 
resorted to litigation in order to obtain possession of 
her farm, which remained undecided for four years. 
This severe trial was a test of Mrs. W.'s bravery, 
fortitude and patience ; but she won in the contest 
and retained her home. For her judicious manage- 
ment of this perplexing case, she has received many 
compliments. 

In January, 188 i, she married Mr. Lewis B. Wol- 
ford, and to them one child, Mary L., was born Aug. 
12, 1882. 



ames Buck, farmer, section 1 4, Pine River 
\ Township, was born Oct. 2 1, 1837, in Can- 
ada, and is the son of John and Isabella 





(Potter) Buck. His father is a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and his mother was born in Ireland. 
They settled in Canada for a time, and after- 
wards went to Ohio, where they yet reside. 

Mr. Buck was an infant of one year or thereabouts 
when his parents removed to the Buckeye State, 
where he grew to man's estate, and remained a resi- 
dent of Medina County until his removal to Michi- 
gan. In July, 1863, lie enlisted in what was desig- 
nated as Hoffman's Battalion, and was afterwards 
assigned to the 128th Ohio Vol. Inf }Je was in the 
service two years, and at the close of the war was 
honorably discharged at Camp Chase, Columbus, 
Ohio. He came to Gratiot County in February, 
1874, and bought So acres of land, chiefly in an un- 
improved condition, situated on section 17, and now 



K 



owned and occupied by Micajah Wood. Mr. Buck 
owned the place about eight years, and while he 
resided thereon cleared and fitted for cultivation 40 
acres. He sold it in 1883, and purchased 80 acres, 
wliich he now occupies. Of this farm, 45 acres are 
under improvement. Mr. Buck belongs in political 
connection to the National Greenback party. 

He was married Nov. 2, 1858, in Medina Co., 
Ohio, to Hannah, daughter of Seth and Phebe (Clark) 
Lewis, natives of the State of New York, who settled 
in Medina County, and still reside there. Mrs. Buck 
was born in the same county April 25, 1842. Allen 
D., Jennie A., Minnie M., John L. and Walter E. are 
the children belonging to the household. The 
mother i; a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

— 1^«^-^ 

"i'™'™itra W. Montague, farmer, section ii,Ful- 
t ton Township, is a son of Thomas and 
Harriet (Rice) Montague, natives of Ver- 
mont, where they lived until the mother's death, 
Jan. II, 1851. The father then removed to 
Ottawa Co., Mich., where he lived until March 
5, i860, when he was killed by the falling of a tree. 
Ita W., the fifth of a family of ten, was born in Ver- 
mont, .Aug. 29, 1832, and was educated in the com- 
mon schools. 

At the age of 20 he left the paternal roof and went 
to Lucas Co., Ohio, where he worked by the month 
for two years. He was then at Grand Rapids, this 
State, for a year, and then at Granville, engaged in 
lumbering for eight years. -Aug. 13, i86i, he enlisted 
ill the I St Regt. Mich. Eng'rs. and Mech's., and 
served nearly one year, when he was discharged on 
account of sickness. Returning to' Michigan he set- 
tled on 160 acres in Ottawa County, which he had 
purchased previous to enlistment. There he lived 
three years, and then for two years again was em- 
ployed by the month. In February, 1867, he came 
to Gratiot County and bought 80 acres of partly im- 
[iroved land, where he now resides. He has 60 acres 
nicely under cultivation. 

Aug. 17, 1862, in Ottawa County, he was united 
in marriage to Miss Amelia, daughter of Samuel B. 
and Sybil (Seaton) !!rown, natives of the State of 
New York. She was born in Medina Co., Ohio, 
March i, 1838. Mr. and Mrs. M. have tivo daughters : 



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Edna M., born May 23, 1864, and Norma P., Sept. 
6, 1874. Mr. M. has held the office of Highway 
Commissioner, and the various school offices. He 
and wife are adherents of the Presbyterian faith. 
Politically he is independent. 



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v.^'^^ifames Paddock, Probate Judge of Gratiot 
' 'iL_j County, resident at St. Louis, was born in 
S'' Waterloo, Jackson Co, Mich., March 4, 
1842, and is a son of Griffin and Mary (Lin- 
coln) Paddock. The line of his parental an- 
cestors is of New York origin, and his grand- 
father came thence in 1836 to Jackson County, where 
he engaged in agricultural pursuits until liis death. 
His father was born Oct. 8, 1815, in Camillus, Onon- 
daga Co., N. Y. He was a man of fine intellect, and 
studied for the vocation of a lawyer. He became 
eminent in his profession, which he has followed all 
his life. He went to Watevloo in 1836, and practiced 
in the Circuit Courts of Jackson ten years, removing 
to Ligham County in 1846, where he bought 160 
acres of land in the township of White Oak. Soon 
after he located, he was elected Probate Judge of 
Ligham County, and moved to Mason to facilitate 
the discharge of the duties of the position, which he 
filled four years. He was then elected Circuit Court 
Commissioner, and served four years, after which he 
returned to his farm, and still resides thereon. The 
place is, in an unusually advanced state of cultiva- 
tion, and is highly creditable to the taste and sense 
of its proprietor. The mother died there Oct. 8, 
1883. 

Until the age of 22 years, Mr. Paddock remained 
at home. He obtained a solid fundamental educa- 
tion at the schools of the section where he resided, 
and was reared to the vocation of agriculture. In 
1S64, he took charge of his father's farm, and con- 
tinued its management until 1 868. In that year he 
came to St. Louis, and, associated with James K. 
Wright, opened an office tor the transaction of busi- 
ness in real estate and insurance. The relation ex- 
isted about a year, when he was elected Justice of 
the Peace, and, with the exception of a single year, 
he has held the incumbency ever since, meanwiiile 
continuing to prosecute his real-estate and insurance 



525 < 



business. In 1870, he commenced to read law with 
J. K. Wright, and in 1875 was admitted to practice 
in all the State Courts. He was nominated in the 
fall of 1880 for the position of Probate Judge, and 
was elected over the Fusion candidate by a majority 
of 227 votes. In political connection, he is a Repub- 
lican of decided type, and has served four years as 
Clerk of the village of St. Louis. He has served two 
years as a member of the Village Board of Trustees. 
He owns a fine residence at St. Louis, a farm of 40 
acres in Bethany Township, one of the same dimen- 
sions in Pine River Township, and a third, contain- 
ing 120 acres, in Ingham County. 

Judge Paddock was married Jan. i, 1865, in White 
Oak, Ingham Co., Mich., to Sarah Post. She was 
born Aug. 17, 1842, in Iosco, Livingston Co., Mich., 
and is the daughter of William C. and Ursula (Smith) 
Post. The household of Judge Paddock includes a 
lively and promising family of five children. The 
eldest was born June 26, 1868, in White Oak. Ber- 
tha, Katie, Alice, James, Jessie and an infant yet 
unnamed were born at St. Louis. Bertha and Katie 
are deceased. 

Judge Paddock's portrait appears on the opposite 
page. The fine character of its prototype, his stain- 
less record, and public and private position, render 
it ameritorious addition to the galler)' of portraits of 
the prominent citizens of Gratiot County contained 
in this volume. 



.:il:, amuel Sheller, farmer on section 10, Ful- 
'"Igm ton Township, is a son of Henry and Sarah 
K^" (Gantz) Sheller, of German descent. They 
/^\ ^ first settled in Washington Co., Pa., and re- 
moved later to Seneca Co., Ohio, where they 
lived until their death. Samuel was born in 
Washington Co., Pa., Jan. 24, 1823, and was about 
ten years old when his parents removed to Ohio. He 
received a very limited education in the common 
schools, but only before going to Ohio. 

He lived with his father until 24 years old, when 
he went to Hancock C"o., Ohio, where he had a farm 
of 100 acres given him by his father. He resided 
there 20 years, and then sold out. After six months 
in Morrow County, he purchased 80 acres near Fos- 



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toria, in Seneca County, where he lived nine years ; 
and then traded for 1 20 acres in Fulton Township, 
this county, where he now resides. He has 90 acres 
cleaied and in a good state of cultivation. 

June 15, 1848, in Seneca Co., Ohio, he married 
Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Susannah 
Hartman, natives of Pennsylvania, where Mrs. S. was 
born, March 19, 1824. By this marriage there have 
been 11 children, of whom eight survive: Will- 
iam H., Amos. Mary E., Francis M., Jacob M., Noble 
R., Chauncey B. and Imo E. The deceased are 
Samuel H., and two who died in infancy. Politically, 
Mr. Shellcris independent, with a leaning toward the 
Republican party. 

^..w,^^^^..^ 

1 arl A. Sheffield, hardware merchant at St. 
Louis, was born in Huron, Erie Co., Ohio, 
Aug. 31, 1837, and is a son of Augustus 
^S. and Clarissa (Pangborn) Sheffield. In early life 
i his father was a shoemaker and, later, gave his 
\ attention successively to the callings of lumber- 
man and grocer, and finally was concerned in the 
erection of an extensive machine shop at Findlay, 
Ohio, in wliich he retained his interest for a number 
of years. He died about the year 1864, in Texas, 
Ohio. The mother was born in Cleveland, Ohio, 
and is now residing at Findlay. Of a large family 
of children, four only are living. Mr. Sheffield of 
this sketch is the eldest ; Hattie is the wife of John 
Bolton, a traveling salesman of Findlay, Ohio ; Jean 
is a tinsmith at Charlotte, Mich.; Clara is the wife 
of Alvin Nichols, a photographer at Findlay. 

Mr. Sheffield was but nine years of age when his 
parents removed to Findlay, and he was there a res- 
ident until he had reached the age of 25 years. He 
acquired a substantial elementary education, and 
studied one year at the Wesleyan University of Ohio. 
In 1857 he began to read law under the direction of 
Messrs. O'Neil & Blackford, a distinguished law firm 
of Findlay. He remained in their office two years, 
whL-n he was admitted to the Bar. He entered upon 
the duties of a practitioner, but at last combined the 
labors of a teacher therewith and gave much atten- 
tion to the latter business. He taught school suc- 
cessively in Texas, Defiance, Macomb and Ottawa 
in Ohio, and in the two last named places officiated 





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two years in each as Principal of the schools. In 
the fall of 1S64 he enlisted at Findlay in Co. A, 
178th Ohio Vol. Inf., and was in the service until 
the termination of the war, serving as regimental 
clerk. On his discharge from the arn.y he went to 
Blanchard, Ohio, and opened a hardware store, wliere 
he operated about 18 months. In 1870 he came to 
Alma, Mich., and there established himself in the 
same business. He is the founder of what is known 
as Ellison Corners, where he operated about a year 
and a half He came thence to St. Louis, where he 
purchased the interest of Mr. Saint, of the firm of 
Saint & Shiffer, hardware dealers on Main Street. 
The new association removed their stock to the Suy- 
dam Block, and in December, 187 i, were burned out, 
losing $s,ooo with no insurance. Two months later 
they opened their business in the Ringenberg prop- 
erty under the firm style of Shififer & Sheffield. In 
August of the same year Mr. Sheffield became sole 
proprietor of the business and its relations by pur- 
chase, and has since conducted his affairs alone. He 
carries a fine and judiciously assorted stock and is 
doing a prosperous business, requiring several as- 
sistants. 

He is a member of the Order of Masonry, of the 
Royal Arcanum and belongs 10 the G. A. R. Post at 
Louis, and has been a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church since his sixteenth year. 

The marriage of Mr. Sheffield to Mary, daughter 
of Hyman G. Coates occurred near Macomb, Ohio, 
in the year 1862. Following are the names of the 
children born of this marriage : William (deceased), 
Arthur, Otie, Grace and Charles (twins), and Mamie. 



k/^fV ewis B. Miller, resident at Alma, was born 
Feb. 8, 1824, in Fayette Co , Pa. He is a 
f^ son of Ludwig and Barbara (Baysinger) 
Miller, who were natives of the same county. 

Mr. Miller resided in the Keystone State §/ 
until 1866, devoting his attention to farming. |, 
Here he cleared and nicely improved the greater part ':^- 
of a 160-acre farm, on which he lived 16 years. At 
the date named, he came to Isabella County, where 
he bought 234 acres of land,witli 25 acres improved. 
On this he lived five years, and cleared 90 acres. He 



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had 20 acres additional in " stumps," and had erect- 
ed a suitable and convenient farm house, when he 



^ exchanged the estate for property at St. Louis, to 
I which place he removed, and remained there between 
>!^ _ six and seven years. ^^ ^ "'"" " ""^ '^ " "^ 



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He also owned 80 acres of 
land in Pine River Township, which he managed 
and labored to improve for four years, when he sold 
out. He exchanged his property at St. Louis for 75 
acres in Pine River Township, whither he removed. 
He remained on it five years, cleared about 30 acres, 
and fenced the entire property. Among other im- 
;g provements, he set out a fine orchard. In the spring 
^of 18S3, he sold this property for $3,500, and took up 
'his residence at Ahna, where he had previously 
started a livery stable. In October, 1883, he dis- 
posed of the last named business. He is now erect- 
ing a feed store. He is independent in political 
connections, and has held the various school offices 
in Pine River Township. 

Mr. Miller was married in Fayette Co., Pa., Nov. 
^ 28, 1847, to Barbara, daughter of Robert and Eliza- 
\y^ beth Yates. She was born in the county where she 
a was married, Aug. 5, 1823. Of eight children born 
i<>; to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, two died in infancy. The 
° survivors are : Joseph L., Robert, Andrew J., I.ud- 
vy wig, Ellen and William M. 



ohn S. Wright, farmer on section 3, Ful- 

'{^ ton Township, is a son of John and Sarah 

(Barnaby) Wright, natives of Englai:d. 



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They came to the United States in the spring 

of 1853 and setded in Ohio, where they lived 

about two years. In the spring of 1855 they 

came to Gratiot County, and settled in North Shade 

Township, where the father died, April 3, 1876. 

The mother yet survives. 

The eldest son, John, was born in England, Jan. 

3, 1837, and came at the age of 16 with his parents to 

America. He was 18 years old when they settled in 

Gratiot County. In the spring of 1859 he purchased 

^ 40 acres on section 10, Fulton Tcttvnship, and built a 

log house. He has since added 115 acres by pur- 

,w.s chase, and has too acres nicely improved. In the 

1^ summer of 1881 he erected a fine brick residence on 

v/ section •?, where he now resides. 

July 3, 1859, in North Shade Townshi}), he mar- 
\^ ried Angenett, daughter of Isaac and Sarah Garner 



and widow of Benjamin Camp. Mrs. Wright's par- 
ents were natives of New York State, where she also 
was born, Feb. 23, 1837. She and her husband are 
the parents of eight living children : Sarah E., Er- 
mina M., John S., Emma J., William H., Burt E., 
Hattie L. and Lillie M. Arthur B. and Henrietta 
are deceased. Mr. Camp, Mrs. Wright's first hus- 
band, died in Wayne Co., Mich., in the summer of 
1858, and by him she had one son, Adelbert. 

Mr. Wright enlisted Sept. 8, 1864, in the 29th 
Mich. Vol. Inf, and served till the close of the war, 
being discharged at Murfree:.boro,Tenn. He fought 
at Decatur, Ala., and in a number of skirmishes. 
He is a member of the Masonic Order, and in polit- 
ical sentiment is a Democrat. 



artin V. Smith, senior member of the firm 
of M. V. Smith & Co., real-estate, insur- 
l^si" -^ ance and loan agents, St. Louis, was born 
)v\\\ March 24, 1839, in Tioga Co., N. Y., and is 
son of Stephen and Eleanor (Van Vliet) 
Smith. His father was a farmer and a native 
of Schuyler Co., N. Y. He removed with his family 
to Jackson County, Iowa, in 1861, and died there in 
1865. The mother was born in Schuyler County 
and died in Jackson Co., Iowa, in 1864. 

Mr. Smith was educated in the common schools 
and reared to manhood on a farm. He accompanied 
his parents to Iowa and was there engaged in farm- 
ing until 1865, when he opened a grocery in Maquo- 
keta, Jackson County, associated with his brother, 
Stephen S. Smith. This connection existed two 
years, when he engaged in the business of a livery- 
man and in purchase and sale of stock in the same 
place until 1869, when he went to Labette County, 
Kansas. After a brief delay he went to Springfield, 
Mo., and spent several years in the stock business' 
He returned to Jackson Co., Iowa, where he passed 
some time in inaction, suffering from an affection of 
the eyes, wliich rendered close apiilication to bus- 
iness dangerous. He passed a year at East Sagi- 
naw, and in the spring of 1877 he came to St. Louis, 
and in company with William A. McOmber, opened 
an office as a real-estate agent. Two years later the 
firm became Smith, Faunce & Brooks, and not long 
after other transfers of business made the firm 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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style Smith, Tripp & Garlnit. Later it became 
Paddock, Giddings & Smith, which relation soon 
ceased, and IMr. Smith was again associated with his 
former partner, Mr. McOmber. The last connection 
was entered into July 5, 1S83, and is still in opera- 
tion. Mr. Smith is the owner and proprietor of a 
large and fine residence on Main Street, six lots on 
Franklin Street, and one on Washington Avenue ; 
also 40 acres on section 1, I'ine River Township, 
which is all under improvement, with dwelling, 
barns, orchards and other attractions ; also 40 acres 
of land on section 12, Bethany Township; also 80 
acres in Coe Township, Isabella County, which is 
under improvements; also 40 acres on section 12, 
Pine River Township, in improved condition and 
under cultivation. 




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in October, 1882, became associated with him in his 
lumber mill, which he is still managing. 

Mr. Lumsden was married in Detroit Dec. 6, 1882, 
to Belle H., daughter of Hugh and Mary Louise 
(Copeland) Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Lumsden are 
the happy parents of one child, born Oct. 17, 1883. 

They are communicants in the Episcopal Church. 
Mr. Lumsden is a Republican of the most radical 
type. 



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^ylvester B. Heverlo, Treasurer of Gratiot 
County, resident at Ithaca, was born Sept. 
7, 1836, in that part of Delaware Co., Ohio, 



ohn O. Lumsden, lumberman and cashier 
tor A, \V. Wright, with whom he is also 
associated in the lumbering business in the 
firm of Geo. D. Barton & Co., their mill and 
yard being located at Alma, was born March 
5, 1856, at Detroit. His father, John Lums- 
den, was a native of Scotland, and his mother was 
born in England. The parents were married at 
Hampton Court Palace, England, and in 1837 came 
to America. They settled on the banks of the Hud- 
son River, in the State of Nf w York, and there be- 
came agriculturists. Two years later — in 1839 — 
they came to Detroit and engaged in farming. The 
farm was situated between Woodward and Cass Ave- 
nues, and extended one mile south. The father died 
Feb. 20, 188 t, in Detroit. The mother is still resi- 
dent there. The family included seven children. 

Mr. Lumsden was the third son of his parents, 
and remained under their jurisdiction until he was 
14 years old, when he became shiijping clerk in the 
business house of A. W. Copeland. After a service 
there of five years, he embarked in business on his 
own responsibility, and opened a produce and com- 
mission establishment, which he continued to conduct 
with varying success mitil June, 188 r. At that date, 
he engaged as clerk with Mr. Wright in his office at 
Saginaw City. Six months later, he came to Alma as 
a representative of the interests of his employer, and 






which is now known as Morrow County. He 
is a son of Barnet and Mary (Smith) Heverlo. 
His father was descended from Welsh ances- 
tors, and was born in Delaware ; he died in Morrow 
Co., Ohio. The mother was born in Maryland, and 
died in the same county in the Buckeye State. 

Mr. Heverlo spent the time previous to arriving 
at the age of 18 years, alternately in attendance at 
school and in farm labor. At that age he became a 
pupil at Mount Hesper Seminary, where he remained 
four years. He engaged in teaching five years and 
then in sheep-raising on his father's farm. This occu- 
pation he followed five years. In 1867 he formed an 
association with several parties in a general mercan- 
tile business, the firm being known under the style 
of Clark, Heverlo & Co. The partnership existed a 
little less than three years, and on its dissolution in 
187 1 he moved to Alma and established himself in 
the grocery trade, which he continued in that avenue 
solely until 1878, when he added boots and shoes to 
his stock. In the fall of 18S2 he was elected Treas- 
urer of the county on the Fusion ticket, running 
ahead of his ticket largely and receiving his election 
by a majority of 272 votes. While in business at 
Alma he filled many important positions of trust and 
responsibility. 

Mr. Heverlo was married at Duplain, Clinton ("o., 
Mich., March 5, 1867, to Mrs. K. K. Cobb, daughter 
of Joseph and Deborah A. Keen and widow of John 
T. Cobb. She was born in Delaware Co., Ohio. 
Her only child by her first marriage, Montruel C'obb, 
is deceased. Three cliildren have been born of her 
marriage to Mr. Heverlo: Aithur K. (deceased), Jesse 
F. and Bertha M. 



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ames Wood, farmer, section 29, Pine River 
Township, was born Jan. 13, i8i7,in Mad- 
ison Co., N. Y. His parents, David and 
Esther (Hunt) Wood, were also natives of the 
Empire State, and the father died there. The 
mother came to Michigan and passed the latter 
years of her life, dying about the year 187.4. 

Mr. Wood spent the years of his minority in ob- 
taining a common-school education and in acquiring 
a practical knowledge of the vocation of agriculture. 
He found himself at 21 years of age with his future 
to make unaided, save by his own merits and exer- 
tions, and he entered bravely into the struggle. He 
spent four years as a laborer by the month, after 
which he adopted the plan of working farms on 
shares. At the end of three years he found himself 
in circumstances to warrant his operating more inde- 
pendently, and he bought 100 acres of land in Mad- 
ison County, which he managed nearly four years. 
At the expiration of that time he found it desirable 
to change his business and he devoted the ensuing 
six years to operations in a saw-mill and in the manu- 
facture of cheese boxes. 

The agricultural capacities of Michigan after her 
admission as a State, increased in popubrity with 
augmenting speed and strength, and Mr. Wood de- 
termined to n.ake a venture in a portion of the State 
which seemed to offer rich promise, and he decided 
upon Gratiot County as a desirable point, from its 
proximity to civilization and its apparent resources. 
He came hither in the spring of 1855 and bought 
160 acres in Pine River Township, on which he es- 
tablished his homestead and where he has since 
resided. His land was all in primeval forest and he 
set himself vigorously to the work of clearing and 
improving, and now has one-half of his original 
acreage in the finest state of culture. Mr. Wood is 
a Republican in political sentiment and action, and 
has served his township three years as Road Com- 
missioner. 

The marriage of Mr. Wood to Deborah Cornel! 
occurred April 4, 1841, in Dryden, Tompkins Co., 
N. Y. She was born \\>x\\ 3, 1820, in Madison Co., 
N. Y., and is the daughter of Elijah and Eunice 
Cornell. She is a sister of the late Ezra Cornell, 



founder of the University at Ithaca, N. Y., which 
will bear an honorable name through successive gen- 
erations to come, in a perpetuity whose endurance 
will rank only with its merits. Ten children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wood, as follows: Eunice 
C, April 25, 1842; Daniel C, Jan. 29, 1844; W. 
Irving, Dec. 31, 1846; Alice E., June 30, 1848 (died 
Dec. 10, 1873); Ella F., May 22, 1850; Corydon L., 
Sept. 30, 1852; Frederick, Jan. 29, 1855; Edith M., 
Oct. 13, 1857 (died March 31, 1858); Ida J., March 
8, 1859; Lucretia M., Aug. 15, 1862. W. Irving 
became a soldier and lost his life in defense of his 
country, June 18, 1864. 

How sleep the brav<' ulio sink to rest. 
By all their country's wishe.s blest! 

The portrait of Mr. Wood appears on the last page. 
It is the likeness of a man who has wrought success 
and an honorable name by his integrity and useful- 
ness in his generation, and by undeviating effort in 
the line of duty and honor. 



tyte>'^' 



] homas J. Gulick, physician and farmer, 
i section 27, Lafayette Township, is a son of 
Henry and Rachel (Manning) Gulick, na- 




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Sc; lives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respect- 
r ively. They first settled in Ohio, and then 
I after two years moved to Davis Co., Ind., where 
they remained ten years, and where Mrs. Gulick 
died Sept. 4, 1820. Then he removed to Seneca 
Co., N. Y., and finally came to Hillsdale Co., Mich., 
and passed the remaining eight years of his life with 
his son Thomas. The latter was the second of seven 
children, and was born in Davis Co., Ind., Sept. 4, 
1820. Until 24 years of age, he worked hard on his 
father's farm, and his education was consequently 
very limited. Perceiving the advantages to be de- 
rived from a good education, he obtained one as he 
best could. He is a self-made man, made what he 
is by close application. Often did he sit up nights* 
to study by the light of a pine knot. He had three 
uncles who were i>hysicians, one of whom, Hon. Je- 
hiel H. Halsey, an ex-Congressnian from New York, 
rendered Thomas assistance by good advice and 
pecuniary loans. On leaving home, he went to 
I'.radford Co., Pa., where he was principally engaged 
in farming for two years. The next eight years he 



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passed in Seneca Co., N. Y. In February, 1854, lie 
came to Hillsdale Co., Mich., where he followed 
farming until 1867, when he went to Iowa. There 
he lived on a farm for a time. Returning to Hills- 
dale County, he remained there till February, 1874, 
when he came to Gratiot County. He bought 160 
acres, nearly all wild land, on section 27, Lafayette 
Township, where he has since resided, farming and 
practicing medicine. He has about 50 acres under 
cultivation. 

He was first married in Seneca Co., N. Y., Sept. 
8, 1844, to Phebe Jane Pollard, a native of New York. 
They had two children, Mary E. and Benjamin F., 
the former of whom died at the age of 16. Mrs. 
Gulick died May 24, 1859, and he was again married 
in Hillsdale Co., Mich., Sept. 24, 1859, to Mary E. 
Barber, a native of New York, born Sept. 26, 1831. 
This union has been blessed by four children, — Henry, 
Rachel E., Thomas J. and George N. 

Dr. Gulick was Health Commissioner three years, 
and State Road Commissioner one year. He is a 
member of the Masonic Order, and is in politics a 
Jacksonian Democrat. For 15 years, he was an ef- 
ficient minister of the gospel, though he at the same 
time followed other occupations for a livelihood. 

■'ffl' ohn M. Montigel, senior member ot the 
firm of J. M. Montigel & Co., at Alma, 
was born Dec. 3, 1822, in Germany, and is 
the son of Ferdinand and Regina E. (Dold) 
Montigel. His parents were born, married, 
r lived and died in Germany. 
Mr. Montigel remained in his native country until 
he was 32 years old, when he came to the United 
States and settled in Erie, Pa. He was employed in 
a foundry there, and continued to reside at that 
point ten years. In 1863 he went to Ashtabula, 
Ohio, bought out a foundry, and established himself 
in business. He continued the management of his 
affairs there eight years and sold out. In the fall of 
187 I he came to Alma, and commenced operating 
in his present line of business, which includes a 
foundry, wagon and carriage works, and a general 
repair shop. He is associated with John F. Schwartz, 
and the firm is known as J. M. Montigel & Co. 'l"he 



concern transacts a degree of business yearly that 
is represented by $20,000 in the aggregate. 

Mr. Montigel was married in Erie, Pa., March 5, 
1 85-, to Anna Barbara Segrist. She was born March 
26, 1825, in Switzerland, and came to the United 
States about the year 1850. They have had three 
children : Ferdinand, Martin and Wilhelmine. Mr. 
Montigel is a Republican in political sentiment and 
action, and both himself and wife are members of the 
Congregational Church. 



/- i (; v!jj.ouglass Hyatt, farmer on section 2, Fulton 
( !!:iiskj':. Township, is a son of James and Elizabeth 
'.'''-iiV ' (Sutphen) Hyatt, natives of New Jersey 
"ji^fii and Pennsylvania. They first settled in Yates 
A Co., N. Y., where she died. He died in 1875. 
' Douglass was born in Yates Co., N. Y., Oct. lo, 
1824. He received his education in the common 
schools, and remained with his father until 30 years 
of age. He then worked his fathers farm on shares 
for seven years. 

Coming to Gratiot County in the spring of 1866, 
he bought 40 acres of wild land on section 2, Fulton 
Township, and at once set about building a log cabin 
and improving his land. He has since added 40 
acres, and of his whole farm 50 acres are now well 
cultivated. 

Sept. 25, 1853, in Ontario Co., N. Y., he was mar- 
ried to Miss Susan, daughter of Robert and Sophia 
(Yakely) Robinson, natives respectively of Scotland 
and Orange Co., N. Y. Mrs. H. was born in Albany, 
N. Y., July 14, J835. They have seven children: 
Alphena I., Harriet I., Libbie M., James L., John H., 
Nettie S. and Albert D. William U. and Charles E. 
are deceased. He is a member of the Masonic Order, 
and is politically a Democrat. 









tames W. Howd, clerk and manager of the 
^ loan and real-estate office of Gen. Nathan 
'"*°^Church, at Ithaca, was born July 5, 1841, in 
Wayne Co., N. Y., and is the son of John W. 
and Elizabeth (Sutherland) Howd. His father 
,' was born in the State of New York, of English 
and Scotch ancestry, and during the early part of his 







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life was a carpenter and joiner by trade. In 1845 
lie removed his f.imily and interests to Branch Co., 
Mich., and bought 120 acres of hind si.v miles west 
of Coldwater. On this the family resided some 
years and made important and valuable improve- 
ments. In 1S51 they removed to a farm of 80 acres 
located near Rome Center, Lenawee Co., Mich., 
which they owned and occupied one year. At the 
end of that time the senior Howd bought a grist- 
mill located on the river Raisin, six miles northwest 
of Adrian, called the Warsaw Mills, which he man- 
aged nearly one year, and afterward engaged in buy- 
ing and shipping cattle, sheep and hogs. Sept. 3, 
1854, he came alone to Gratiot County, and bought 
225 acres of land on section 18, North Star Town- 
ship. He employed assistants and built a log house 
and arranged to occupy the place with his family. 
He settled there with his wife, two sons and three 
daughters in the spring of 1855. He helped to 
organize and had the honor of naming the township. 
The father and sons went about the work of clear- 
ing away the forest and put 60 acres in first-class 
condition. When the Southern Rebellion broke out 
their agricultural affairs were in a most promising 
condition. The sentiment which pervaded the whole 
North was shared by the settlers of Gratiot County, 
and Mr. Hoivd,ofthis sketch, enlisted Aug. 13, i86r, 
at Ovid, Clinton County, enrolling as a private in Co. 
D, ist Mich. Cav., Capt. J. B. Parks. He was in 
the service three years, and was in several engage- 
ments previous to November, 1862, when the com- 
pany was placed on detached duty as " Provost 
Guard," at Alexandria, Va., where it remained until 
August, 1864. Mr. Howd was mustered out at 
Washington, D. C, receiving his discharge at Detroit. 
On his return to his home he was appointed Under- 
Sheriff by David Bailey, Sheriff, and occupied the 
position over two years. In 1866 he associated with 
Giles T. Brown, in the prosecution of pension and 
bounty claims. This relation existed about two 
years. In 1870 he was appointed Deputy County 
Clerk, under Gen. Nathan Church. Two years later 
he was elected Justice of the Peace and filled the 
office several years in succession. This office he 
had also held from 1867 to 1870. His next appoint- 
ment was as Deputy County Clerk, under William B. 
Scattergood, where he officiated for six years, liaving 
entire charge of the office during the last year of Mr. 
Scattergood's term of office. 




In 1 88 1 he entered the service of General Church 
in the business in which he is now engaged, and in 
which he has since continued. Upon the organiza- 
tion of the townshiji of Ithaca in 1881, he was 
elected Justice of the Peace for a short term. Being 
re-elected in 1882, he is still the incumbent of the 
office. He is a member of the blue lodge. Masonic 
Order, and belongs to the fraternity of Knights of 
Honor. He is also a member of Moses Wisner Post, 
No. loi, G. A. R. 

Mr. Howd was married Aug. 12, 1866, at Alma, to 
Emma G., daughter of William and Lois A. Moyer. 
William C, eldest cl»ild,was born Nov. 2, 1867, and 
died Sept. 10, 1868. Lois E., born Sept. 26, 1870, 
and James G.. born July 9, 1881, are the surviving 
children. 

Mr. Howd owns his residence and two lots there- 
vifith ; also several business lots in Ithaca, upon one 
of which he has erected a business building, two 
stories in height, 22 by 65 feet in dimensions. He 
owns also 80 acres on section 4, Newark Township, a 
half interest in 160 acres on the same section, besides 
40 acres on section 15, Lafayette Township. 




Uvin Hodges, deceased, late farmer on sec- 
tion 8, Fulton Township, was born in Wyo- 
ming Co., N. Y., Nov. 3, 1834, and is the son 
■jjJf* of Alanson and Lucy (Pool) Hodges, both of 



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American ancestry. He was the second son 
of a family of five children, and lived with his 
parents until he attained his majority. 

In 1855, he came to Eaton County, this State, 
where he was engaged in farming until December, 
1864. He then came to Gratiot County and bought 
80 acres on section 8, Fulton Township. During his 
life, he added largely to his estate by purchase, and 
also sold some land. He was at times the possessor 
of 600 or 700 acres of land, and at the time of his 
death owned 430 acres, 200 of which were under 
cultivation. He had also erected good farm build- 
ings. For 10 or twelve years he dealt in staves, in 
connection with his other business. 

April 7, i860, in Barry Co., Mich., he took as the 
life partner of his joys Miss Amelia, daughter of 
Jacob and Mary (Dills) Van Volkenlnirg, natives 
of the State of New York. The father died April 5, 



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536 



GRATIOT COUNTY. 



1870; the mother yet survives. Mrs. Hodges vi^as 
born in Ontario Co., N. Y., Nov. 26, 1833. She and 
Mr. H. had two children : Ada A., died July 6, 
1875, when 13 years old; and Estelle M., died April 
13) 18731 3g2d 18. Mr. Hodges held the offices of 
Highway Commissioner, Township Treasurer and 
School Treasurer. He was politically a Republican, 
and was at the time of his death a member of the 
Masonic and Odd Fellows' fraternities. His death 
occurred March 18, 1882, at his home in Fulton 
Township. 

As one of the worthy representative pioneers of 
Gratiot County, as well as of Michigan, we present 
the portrait of Mr. Hodges in connection with this 
sketch. 

; '■ Mif I - acob H. Miller, millwright and miller, sec- 
• 'lEiZ] . t'O'i 34. Pine River Township, is a son of 
o - Henry and Barbara (Scease) Miller, natives 
} of Somerset Co., Pa. They were married and 
first settled in Pennsylvania, and afterwards 
removed to Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, where they 
resided until death. Their family comprised 14, 
seven of each sex. Jacob H., the subject of this 
biographical notice, was born in Tuscarawas Co., 
Ohio, Nov. 19, 1823, and was the fifth son. He re- 
ceived a common-school education, and when 16 
years old was employed by his oldest brother in a 
flouring mill for three years. For the ensuing two 
years, he was overseer in his lather's and brother's 
mill; and he has been similarly engaged to the pres- 
ent time. He came to Gratiot County in the winter 
of 1867, and built the first flouring mill of any con- 
sequence in Alma, for James Gargett. He also built 
the mill now used as a hoop-mill by F. H. Hamlin 
&Co. 

July 3, 1843, in Holmes Co., Ohio, he was united in 
marriage to Sarah, daughter of Abraham and Susanna 
Trayer, natives of Pennsylvania. She was a native 
of Holmes Co., Ohio, and was born March 24, 1822. 
Mr. and Mrs. Miller have had nine children : Mag- 
dalene, Susanna (deceased), Barbara, Daniel A., 
Jacob H. (deceased), Benjamin, Jane, Thomas W. 
and Sarah E. (deceased). 

In the spring of 1883, he traded his village prop- 
erty for his present farm of 38 acres, 15 of which are 




under cullivation. In the spring of 1881, he was 
elected a Trustee for the village of Alma; but he re- 
signed after serving one year. He is a member of 
the Masonic Order, and politically is a staunch Re- 
publican. 



evi Ceasar, farmer on section 24, Fulton 
Township, is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth 
V (Hoffer) Ceasar. He is of German and 
Swiss descent, and was born in Northumber- 
land Co., Pa., Nov. 14, 1 8 14. When he was 
ten years old his parents removed to Wayne 
Ohio, where they died. In February, 1841, he 
removed to Fulton Co., Ohio, where he lived 13. years. 
In 1854 he came to Gratiot County and bought 80 
acres of wild land on section 24, Fulton Township, 
where he now lives. He has put up excellent build- 
ings, and now owns 126 acres, of which 96 are under 
cultivation. 

In April, 1840, in Wayne Co., Ohio, he married 
Miss Angelina Cane, a native of that county. She 
bore him one son, Henry W., and died about 1S45. 
Feb, 18, 1848, he married Catherine, daughter of 
Philip and Catherine Brodbeck, natives of Germany. 
She was born in Maryland, Sept. 20, 1832. Mr. and 
Mrs. C. have had seven children, six of whom sur- 
vive: James F., Matilda A., Sarah C, Alma G., Al- 
vin A., Ida A. and Eda A. Alma G. died when two 
months old. Mr. C. has held the office of Superin- 
tendent of Highways for several years, and has also 
been School Inspector. He and wife have formerly 
been members of the United Brethren Church. Po- 
litically he is a Democrat. 



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i, arcus Bancroft, farmer, section 13, Ar- 



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age Co., Ohio, within a few miles of Hiram 
.^^^'^^ College (Pres. Garfield's alma mater), Sept. ^ 
•jI*'' 28, C834, and is the son of Austin and Nancy 

(Morris) Brancroft, natives of Connecticut, and -J-,„ 
of Englisli ancestry. The Bancroft family is dis- 
tantly connected with the historian Bancroft. .Aus- 
tin Bancroft has been a farmer, and still resides in 
Portage Co., Ohio, aged 76. 






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GRATIOT COUNTY 



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The subject of this sketch lived with his parents 
until of age, obtaining a fair education in the schools 
^%- of his county. March 4, 1857, he was united in 
% marriage at Ravenna, Ohio, to C'ynthia Hannah, 
i daughter of David and Cynthia (Mills) Hannah, na- 
^ tives of Connecticut, and of Irish and English de- 
scent. They followed farming, and are both dead, 
the mother dying when the daughter was but six 
months old. The latter was born in Nelson, Portage 
County, Feb, 15, I1S39, was there educated, and 
there lived until her marriage. 

Mr. Bancroft farmed in his native county until 
Feb. 9, 1865, when he enlisted in Co. E, 196th Ohio 
Vol. Inf., under- Captain Baker. The company 
served under Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, in the 
Army of the Cumberland. He was honorably dis- 
charged at Baltimore, .Seiit. 11, 1865, after nine 
months' service. In the fall of 1866, he and family 
came to Ithaca, this county, where he worked the 
following winter. May 3, 1867, he purchased 80 
acres of timbered land on section 13, .\rcada Town- 
ship. He has put 60 acres under the plow, and 
erected a comfortable residence and barn. They 
have two children : Jennie, born July 15, 1869, and 
Hallie A., born May 13, 187 i. Mr. Bancroft is an 
able farmer, and a good citizen. He votes with the 
Democratic party. 



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_osciusko P. Peet, of the firm of Peet &: 
Johnson, liverymen at Ithaca, and Sheriff 
of Gratiot County, was born Oct. 19, 1843, 
in Rochester, Lorain Co., Ohio. His father, 
John Peet, was born Aug. 5, 1801, on Long 
Mountain, Conn., and was of mixed English 
and Welsh lineage. He was a shoemaker in early 
life, and in later years became a farmer. He died at 
Jamestown, Ottawa Co., Mich., March 3, 1881. The 
mother, Betsey (Clark) Peet, was born in 1803, in 
Penfield, Monroe Co., N. Y., and died in Rochester, 
Ohio, Feb. 4, i860. They had 13 children, 12 of 
whom grew to maturity. 

Mr. Peet is the 12th child of his parents, and ac- 
quired a fair education in the common schools, and 
when he was 19 years old he went to the academy at 
Savannah, Ohio, where he studied one year. Two of 
his l)rothers, Charles D. and Rolla A., enlisted in 






the spring of 1863 as soldiers for the Union, enrolling 
in Co. B, I St Ohio Light .Artillery. Mr. Peet also 
enlisted Aug. 24, 1864, as a private in Co. I in the 
same regime, nt, Cajit. Hubert Dilger. He was dis- 
charged June 13, 1865, and returned to Rochester, \6) 
where, in the following spring, associated with his 
brother RoUa, he embarked in dairy business and 
stock-raising. They spent a year in the manufacture 
of butter and cheese and sold out. In the spring of 
1867 they removed to Kent Co., Mich., where Mr. 
Peet bought 84 acres of land on section 6, Bowne 
Township. .\ year later, he bought 140 acres on sec- 
tion 31, Lowell Township, and there resided until 
the fall of 1872, when he exchanged property with 
his father, who had bought and settled on a farm of 
50 acres in Jamestown, Ottawa Co., Mich. Mr. 
Peet resided there vintil the s|iring of 1875, when the 
exchange was reconsidered, and the places passed 
into the possession of their original owners. In the 
fall of that year, Mr. Peet engaged to teach a winter 
term of school (an occupation he has followed several 
terms) at Centervilte, Caledonia Township, and then 
exi:hanged his farm for 320 acres of land on section 
31, Lafayette Township, Gratiot County. It was all 
in timber, and he proceeded to clear and improve 
100 acres, on which he has placed farm buildings 
and fixtures of the most creditable character. He 
devotes most of the acreage to the production of hay, 
and with his brother, R. A., and N. G. Peet, his 
cousin, is interested in the raising of Holstein stock. 
He owns a fine young registered thorough-bred 
heifer, which he bought when she was two years old, 
at Meadville, Pa. He is also engaged in raising fine 
blooded horses. 

Mr. Peet belongs to the National Greenback party, 
and in the fall of 1882 he was elected Sheriff of 
Gratiot County by a majority of 187 votes on the 
Fusion ticket. He moved to Ithaca Dec. 22, 1882, 
and in the sirmmer of 1883 he formed his present 
business relation with D. C. Johnson, and erected 
the building they now occupy as a livery stable. It 
is 40 X 80 feet, and is two stories in height. Their 
business is in a flourishing condition. Mr. Peet has 
held the offices of Township Supervisor two years, 
Clerk one year, School Superintendent two years. 
School Director a long time, and numerous minor 
offices. He is a member of the Knights Templar, 
Masonic Order. 



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Mr. Peet was married April 8, 1864, at Adrian, 
Mich., to Lydia M., daughter of Isaac J. and Cla- 
rissa A. (Rising) Sage, the former a native of New 
York, and of English and Welsh descent. She was 
born Jan. 3, 1847, in Huntington, Lorain Co., Ohio. 

She was the youngest of eleven of her father's 
children, and the youngest of nine children born to 
her mother. Her parents moved to Ohio in 1818, 
where her father died about 20 years ago. Her 
mother is still living and residing in California, at the 
advanced age of 75 years. Mrs. Peet attended a 
course of a year and a half at college, at Savannah, 
Ohio, with a view of taking charge of the female de- 
partment of her brother's medical infirmary in Cali- 
fornia. The six children of Mr. and Mrs. Peet 
were born as follows : K. Rolla, Dec. 29, 1864, at 
Rochester, Ohio, where also a daughter, L. Amarette, 
was born Jan. 11, 1867; Susie E. was born Dec. 8, 
r868, in Lowell, Mich.; C D was born Dec. 22, 
1873, at Jamestown; J. Raymond was born Nov. 3, 
1877, in Lafayette Township; James O. was born 
in the same township Aug. 10, 1881. 

The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Peet on preceding 
pages are those of citizens of Gratiot County who 
have been active in the best general interests of their 
generation, and who have achieved success by effort 
and perseverance in laudable enterprises. 



I arren W. Baker, farmer on section 9, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of Philip S. and 
Hannah A. (Pearl) Baker, natives respect- 
ively of Westchester Co., N, Y., and Connect- 
icut. They lived first in Tioga Co., N. Y., 
then in Huron Co., Ohio, and then in Lorain 
Co., Ohio, where the mother died. The father died 
in Erie Co., Ohio. 

The subject of this narrative was born in Tioga 
('o., N. Y., Jan. 13, 1823, and was 1 1 years old when 
his parents removed to Ohio. He received a good 
common-school education, and lived under his father's 
roof until 27 years of age. He then rented a farm 
for a few years, after which he went to Fulton Co., 
Ohio. There he bought a farm on which he lived 
two years. In the fall of 1854 became to (iratiot 
County and bought 120 acres of wild land on sec- 
tion 10, Fulton Township. Here he built a log 





house and lived until the spring of 1865. In the 
fall of that year he purchased 162 acres on section 9, 
where he now resides. He has since added 78 acres, 
and has improved 200 acres of his farm, which is 
well cultivated. 

Feb. 24, 1850, in Erie Co., Ohio, he married Cor- 
nelia A., daughter of William and Margaret (Lewis) 
Rosecrans, who was born in Steuben Co., N. Y., Oct. 
27, 1834. Tiiis marriage has been blessed with five 
children : John C., (Hara A., Oscar M., Lewis L. and 
Edwin N. In political sentiment, Mr. Baker is a 
Democrat. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. 



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ames H. McNall, farmer, section 20, La- 
^j jj' fayette Township, is a son of John and 
>^'*'^ Lura (Kellogg) McNall, the former l)orn in 
Canada in 1 801, and the latter in Massachu- 
setts in 1816. During their wedded life, they 
settled in Niagara Co., N. Y., where he is still 
living, at the advanced age of 83. The wife died in 
i860. It was in Niagara County that James H. was 
born Jan. 28, 1839. In his youth, he attended the 
common schools of his neighborhood, and also spent 
two years at the Gasport Academy, and two years at 
the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in Lima, Livingston 
Co., N. Y. His home was with his parents until he 
was 26 years of age, when he bought a farm of 60 
acres in his native county. After cultivating this for 
a short time, he sold out and bought another farm, 
100 acres in extent, in the same county. He resided 
here 1 1 years, and then sold again, removing to Mid- 
dleport, and engaging in mercantile life for three 
years. Disposing of his interest in this business, he 
came with his brother in April, 1881, to Gratiot Coun- 
ty, and settled in Lafayette Township. Here he had 
previously bought a farm of 360 acres, which he has 
since divided with his brother. He now owns 160 
acres, about 70 of which have been under the plow. 

He was married in Middlejxjrt, Niagara Co., N. Y., 
Nov. lo, 1864, to Harriet E.. daughter of Benjamin 
F. and Harriet (Waterman) Freeman, natives of 
Niagara County. The latter died when the daughter 
was but two years old, but the former is still living. 
Mrs. McNall was born Aug. 12, 1841;, in Kent Co., 
Mich., where her parents owned 1,000 acres of land, 
and where they lived about two years. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



543 




Mr. and Mrs. McNall have two children : Laura 
A., born Aug. 23, 1866, and Benjamin F., horn May 
17, 1874. 

the spring of 1883, Mr. McNall was chosen 
Supervisor of Lafayette Township, which office he 
now holds. In piilitics, he is a staunch Republican. 

H v^^Sif-I^S'v^'^ — ^ — • 

Jtevi G. White, farmer, section 21, Pine 
^i LaJI X River Township, was liorn in Plainfield, 
Hampshire Co., Mass., Oct. 13, 1821, and 
and is the son of Norman and Albina (Gloyd) 
White. The family removed to Lake Co., Ohio, 
in 1825, and went afterwards to Medina County 
in the same State. 

Mr. White remained at home with his parents un- 
til he was 24 years old and followed farming as a vo- 
cation. His eyes became diseased and for some years 
he occupied his time in peddling. He came to Gra- 
tiot County in February, 1865, and bought 40 acres 
of land, nearly all of which was in an unimproved 
condition. He now owns 80 acres and has one half 
his place under fair cultivation. Mr. White is a Re- 
publican in political faith and has held the various 
school offices in his district. While in Ohio, he was 
for three years Assessor of his township. 

He was married Oct. 16, 1845, in Medina County, 
Ohio, to Fanny W., daughter of Seth and Mehitabel 
(Randall) Robinson, natives of Massachusetts. Mrs. 
White was born in Plainfield, Hampshire County, 
March 3, 1824. Three of ten children born to Mr. 
and Mrs. White are deceased. Those surviving are : 
James H., Annie E., Elliott L., Florence E., Myra 
A., Edward F. and Alta M. 




ewis Hood, farmer, section 27, Lafayette 
Township, is a son of William and Louisa 
(Bartlett) Hood, natives of New York. 
They came to Michigan in an early day, and 
settled in Lenawee County, where Mr. Hood 
took up 160 acres of land, and he has resided 
on it ever since. Mrs. Hood died in December, 
1883. Lewis was born in that county July 21, 1840. 
At the age of 18 he left home and learned tiie black- 
smith's trade, at which he worked till iSSi. In the 




spring of 1876, he came with his family to Gratiot 
County, and located in Ithaca, where he resided for 
nearly si,\ years, working at his trade. He then ex- 
changed his property in the village for 160 acres of 
l)artly improved land on section 27, in Lafayette 
Township, where he now lives. 

He was married in Hillsdale Co., Mich., Jan. 31, 
1863, to Elizabeth J., second daughter of Richard R. 
and Ellen (Collins) Britten, natives of New York, 
who came to Michigan in an early day, and settled 
in Hillsdale County, where Mr. Britten died, in the 
fall of 1875. His wife is still a resident of Hillsdale 
County. Mrs. Hood was born April 11, 1840, and 
lived at home (except seven years spent in teaching) 
until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Hood have had 
two children, but one of whom now survives. Uora 
D. was born Dec. 27, 1865 ; Myrtie M. was born 
June 10, 187 I, and died June 6, 1872. 

Mr. Hood was elected .School Director in the fall 
of 1883. He is a member of the Masonic Order. 
He and wife and daughter are members of the Pres- 
byterian Church. In politics. Mr. Hood is a Dem- 
oi:rat. 



4 



^f^m illiam H. Browser, farmer, section 32, Pine 
t.*.*^,!, Kiver Townsliip, was born in Seneca, 
.enawce Co., Mich., March 31, 1841, and 
is the son of Archibald and Julia A. (Mil- 
lett) Brown. His parents were natives of 
the State of New York and settled in Lenawee 
County about the year 1833. The father is still living 
in that county; the mother died in 1853. 

Mr. Brown remained at home as his father's as- 
sistant until he was 23 years old, when he engaged in 
the tiranufacture of brick, in which he continued 
three years. Since that time he has given his atten- 
tion exclusively to farming. He owned several 
places successively in Lenawee County and followed 
agriculture there until September, 1883, when he re- 
moved to Gratiot ('ounty and located on i 20 acres 
of land he had purchased in .\pril previous, and on 
which he has since resided. Of this, 40 acres are 
located on section 5, Arcada Township, and 80 in 
Pine River Township. He has 100 acres under 
good cultivation. Mr. Brower is an adherent to the 
principles of the National Greenback party. 



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He was married Jan. 8, 187 i, at Adrian, Lenawee 
Co., Mich., to Margaret M., daughter of Robert R. 
and Cynthia A. (Phetterplace) Fuller, natives of the 
State of New York. Mrs. Brower was born Nov. 13, 
1846, in Palmyra, N. Y. The family includes three 
children— Nellie C, Hattie M. and Charles W. 



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dward L. Drake, of the firm of Drake & 
McCurdy, druggists, general merchants 
and undertakers, at Estella, was born in 
Scipio, Cayuga Co., N. Y., April 3, 181 1, and is 
the son of Elijah and Abigail (Stoddard) Drake, 
natives of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and 
o 1 Puritan and English descent respectively. Elijah 
Drake was by occupation a farmer, and in 1835 came 
to Oakland Co., Mich., where he died in 1846, at the 
age of 92. He was one of the pioneers of Oakland 
County. 

When the subject of this liiograjihy was ten years 
old, his parents removed to Genesee Co., N. Y., where 
he lived until 15 years old, being educated in the 
common schools. He then apprenticed himself to 
Willard J. Cheapen, a tanner at Perry, N. Y., and 
worked for him for four years. For the ensuing 1 1 
years he taught school winters and worked at farm- 
ing in the summers, alternately. In 1849, he con- 
nected himself with the publishing house of Allen & 
Co., of Detroit, and for five years was engaged in 
supplying township libraries. He afterwards became 
a resident of Ingham County, where he carried on 
farming for a time. He was also engaged in buying 
wool and selling cloth for a New England company, 
being the first man to establish a wool trade in that 
county. 

He came to Gratiot County in iS6j, and engaged 
in mercantile business at St. Louis. Two years later, 
near that place, he engaged in farming; and after 
being thus occupied for two years, he was again for 
two years in mercantile life at St. Louis. Thence, in 
the same calling, he removed to Estella. Here he 
has been occupied in his store ever since, excepting 
when l)usied in official duties. Tlic firm carry a 
stock wortli $3,500, and do an annual lousiness of 
about $s,ooo. Mr. Drake is also engaged in dealing 
in real estate. 

Jan. 12, 1836, in Wyoming Co., N. Y., he was 



married to Miss Ambrosia Lacey, daughter of David 
and Polly (Williams) Lacey, natives of New York. 
Mrs. Drake was born in Saratoga Co., N. Y., May 
24, 1813, and died at Ann Ari)or, Mich., in August, 
1839. Mr. D. was again married in Allegany Co., 
N. Y., April 15, 1842, to Mrs. Cynthia B. Caper {nee 
Condevy), born in Vermont, March 23, 1810. She 
is now in her 74th year, and in excellent health. 

Mr. Drake's first marriage was performed by the 
father of President Chester A. Arthur, a Baptist min- 
ister, and the President was himself for two years a 
member of Mr. Drake's Sunday-school class. Mr. 
D. has held every township ofiRce from Supervisor 
down, excepting Pathmaster. He is now Justice of 
the Peace, which office he has filled for six years. 
Politically, he is a zealous supporter of the Republi- 
can party. He is highly respected as a citizen and 
liked as a neighbor. 



I srael B. Wolfe, farmer, section 5, Arcada 
Township, was born in Jefterson Co., Pa., 
Jan. I, 1839, and is the son of Henr)' and 
Susanna (Bigley) Wolfe, natives of Pennsylva- 
nia, and of German descent. Henry Wolfe 
was a farmer, and died in Gratiot County in 
1862. Mrs. Wolfe still lives in Pine River Town- 
ship, aged 68. 

When four years of age, Israel was taken by his 
parents to Portage Co., Ohio, and settled in the 
vicinity of Ravenna. They went 16 months later to 
Lucas County, wliere they lived until 1S50. They 
then came to Monroe County, and lived five years on 
a farm in Whiteford Township. Israel then came to 
this county, and worked on a farm for one of his 
father's acquaintances vmtil his majority, giving the 
proceeds to his parents. For a time he then worked 
on farms in tlie summer and in the lumber woods in 
the winter. Later, he purchased a threshing-machine, 
and engaged in threshing during the proper season. 
He was the first to cross Pine River with such a ma- 
chine. 

Dec. 21, 1862, he was married to Martlia, daughter 
of Emery and Maria (Lewis) Adams (see sketch). 
She was born March 17, 1846, and died Feb. 10, 
1864, leaving an infant, which survived her but a few 
months. She was a woman of excellent character, 



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^ and of one of the first families in the county, and her 
;lj loss was a great one to her many friends. Jan. i, 
*vjji> 1866, he was married to Mrs. Amanda Turner (/itv 
T Hildreth), daughter of John S. and Diana (Ganung) 
,cjf Hjldreth, natives of New York. Amanda was born 
in Tompkins Co., N. Y., Feb. 12, 1843, and when 
five months old was taken with her parents to Oak- 
land Co., Mich. They afterwards removed to Clin- 
ton County, where her first marriage occurred to Burr 
Turner, a native of New York. He was a farmer, 
Ij and was accidentally drowned in Pine River at St. 

f'*^ Louis, this county. She had one son by that mar- 
riage, James W., now a resident of Fulton Township, 
this county. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe settled on 40 acres on section 
5, Arcada Township, and have since added 40 acres 
by purchase. He has 60 acres nicely improved and 
cultivated on the banks of Pine River. The have 
had two children . Ida B., 14 years of age, and .\llie 
H. died when three years old. Mr. Wolfe is a mem- 
ber of Alma Lodge, No. 244, F. & A. M. He has 
held the offices of Treasurer in the lodge and School 
Assessor, of which latter office he is the present in- 
cumbent. Politically, he is a liberal Democrat. 



GJiA TIO T CO UNTY. 



547 ^ 







arcus PoUasky, attorney and real-estate 

broker at .'Vlma, was born Sept. 6, 1861, at 

'^ Detroit. He is the son of Michael and 

'"'^■N Celia (Wix) Pollasky. (See sketch.) In 1863 

his parents came to Alma. He was an infant 

in his mother's arms, and the early years of his 

life were passed at home. Until he was ten years of 

age he was a i)upil at the district schools of Alma, 

when he was sent to Detroit, where he attended 

English and (Jerman schools in that city for three 

years. 

On returning to Alma Mr. Pollasky engaged in 
mercantile occupations as his father's assistant. In 
1876 he went to Ann Arbor and entered the High 
School, where he studied two years prei)aratory to 
entering the University. After a year of study in 
tile Literary Department of the latter institution, he 
went to Detroit to accept a situation as traveling 
salesman in the interests of J. K. Burnham & Co. 
He continued with them two and a half years, and 
' _ returned to his early habits and inclinations, entering 



the Law Department of the University of Michigan, 
and at the same time resuming his studies in the 
literary course. He pursued a full course of legal 
study, to which he devoted two years, and was gradu- 
ated in March, 1883, with the degree of Bachelor of 
Laws. At the close of the first year of his legal 
course at Ann Arbor he was admitted to the Bar of 
Michigan at Ithaca, and during his vacation he was 
admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the 
.State. He was afterward admitted to practice in the 
United States Court at Detroit. 

Mr. Pollasky is still in the earliest years of his 
manhood. Although so young, he has all the 
privileges of a practitioner in the State and Federal 
Courts, and is already distinguished in his profession, 
in which he holds a deservedly high rank as an 
advocate. 

He is a Republican in politics and liberal in his 
religious convictions. In April, 1883, he was elected 
Village Attorney of Alma, which position he still 
iiolds. His marriage to Nellie A. Waldby occurred 
Jan. r6, 1884, at Adrian. She is the only daughter 
of Ebenezer I. and Emmeline (Backus) Waldby, and 
her father is one of the pioneer bankers of Michigan. 
He is still engaged in the prosecution of a general 
banking business, having succeeded the First Na- 
tional Bank of Adrian. The young wife of Mr. 
Pollasky had won enviable position among the 
famed daughters of Southern Michigan through her 
lovely character and personal merits. Mr. Pollasky 
is an ardent admirer of pleasant domestic surround- 
ings, and in this latest addition to his successes he 
considers himself newly eipiipped for struggle and 
achievement. 

'["he portrait of Mr. Pollasky is presented on page 
546. It is that of a fine type of the manner of men 
who are to be incorporated in the immediate and 
future annals of Oratiot County. 

H— K>^=#^>>-^- 




^"oseph Grover, fijriner, section 13, .\rcada 

Township, one of the representative citizens 

of this county, is a son of Thomas and 

Maria (Sherwood) Grover, natives of Yorkshire, 

England. Thomas Grover was by occupation 

a carriage smith, and came to this country in 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



he came to Michigan and settled in Lenawee Coun- 
ty. Seven years afterwards, he came to this county, 
where he died at his home on section 2, Arcada 
Township, Aug. 27, 1877, at the age of 65. His wife 
now resides at St. Louis, in this county, at the age of 
68. 

The subject of this sketch was horn IVLirch 12, 
1837, and attended the common schools in his native 
country until 13 years old, when his jjarents emi- 
grated to this country, and came first to New York 
State and then to Michigan. Excepting one year 
spent in the far West, he lived witli his father until 
32 years of age. 

Jan. 13, 1868, he was married to Mary A., daughter 
of William Barnes, a native of England. Wdliam 
Barnes was a farmer, and came to this State and 
county, and located in North Star Township about 
30 years ago, where he and wife died in the latter 
part of 1864. Mr. and Mrs. (Irover lived on the old 
homestead about four years, and then removed to 
Lenawee County. Nine years later they returned to 
Gratiot, and purchased 160 acres of good land on 
section 13, Arcada Township. He now owns 159 
acres, of which 125 acres are well improved. 

They have a family of four sons, as follows : Will- 
iam H , born June 20, 1870; Thomas A., Sept. 16, 
1872; Joseph, Aug. 30, 1874; diaries, April 30, 
1877. Mr. and Mrs. Grover are highly respected by 
a wide circle of friends. Mr. Grover is politically a 
Democrat. He invariably declines all offices. 



^^^^►^■^ 




Sjlarissa Baxter is the widow of Ben amin 
^^^ Baxter, who was a resident on section 34, 



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North Shade Township, and farmer by occu- 
pation. He was born Dec. 10, i84t, in St. 
Lawrence Co., N. Y., and was a son of Asa 
and Lucinda (Campbell) Baxter, natives of the same 
State. 

The i)aients came to this State and located in 
Ionia County in an early day, and thence removed to 
this county, and located on section 34, securing 200 
acres, 134 acres of which, by energy and persever- 
ance, have been placed under a good state of culti- 
vation, and adorned with suitable and substantial 
buildings. 

The son accompanied the parents to this county. 



and after the death of the father, which occurred 
June 24, 1847, he assisted in the support of the fam- 
ily until he attained the age of 23 years. He was 
married to Miss Clarissa, daughter of William and 
Clarissa Edmister, April 15, 1863. 

Mr. Baxter died Sept. 3, 1883, in this county, leav- 
ing five children to the care of the mother, namely : 
Ellswortli, Anna, Asa, Elgivie, Benjamin. 

Mr. Baxter was a member of the Disciples' Church. 
In political senti.nent and belief, he was a staunch 
Reiiublican. 



t VT^fii M ; oloott L. Stebbins, manufacturer and 
^^3j dealer m boots and shoes at St. Louis, was 
Jlj^-^^n * ^^o''" '" Monroe Co., N. Y., Sept. 10, 1822, 
■'^' and is the son of William and Sarah (Bra- 
dish) Stebbins. His father was a builder by 
vocation and was born March 19, 1795, in 
Springfield, Mass., where he died in September, 1858. 
His mother was a native of Vermont and is also de- 
ceased. 

Mr. Stebbins passed the first 18 years of his life in 
obtaining his education, and, in 1840, turned his at- 
tention to acquiring the details of the calling which 
he has since made the business of his life. He 
served an apprenticeship of three years. In 1845, 
his parents removed to Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, 
and a year later he went to Rochester, N. V., and 
owned a boat on the Erie Canal. He engaged in 
freighting until i849,when he made a trip to Philadel- 
phia for the purpose of obtaining a load of coal, and 
on his way homeward his barge sunk, at New York, 
whereby he incurred a loss of $300 above the insur- 
ance. He went to Troy, N. Y., and tliere obtained a 
position as clerk, which he filled until January follow- 
ing, when he let himself to learn tlie business of a 
wood-turner. In 1853 he removed to Lansingburg, 
and there spent three years acting as foreman in a 
bedstead factory. He went thence to Warren Co., 
N. Y., where he was engaged in the erection of a saw- 
mill and remained there some months, when he re- 
turned to Troy and found employment in a nail 
factory. He made his next change of base to War- 
ren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, where he resided from De- 
cember, 1857, until March, 1859. In that year he 



came to St. Louis, where he bought 156 acres on sec- 










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tion 6, in Bethany Township. After clearing 20 acres 
of this, in 1864, he exchanged for properly in St. 
Louis, consisting of six village lots, which he yet owns. 
He then engaged in the sale of general merchandise, 
which enterprise he continued two years. He next 
entered the eniplov of Holcomb & Evens, in a saw- 
mill, and remained in that situation and in other 
branches of lumbering until 1874, when he entered 
the foundry of the same firm and operated as fore- 
man two years. The firm became Holcomb & Clark, 
and he acted in the same capacity until 1.S76, when 
Mr. Holcomb liecame sole owner of tlie liusincss and 
retained Mr. Stebbins as chief manager until July, 
1877, when he was stricken with paralysis. He recov- 
ered his health to some degree, and in .'Xugust, 1SS3, 
he opened his present shop, where he is doing a fair- 
ly prosperous business. While he was on his farm, 
Mr. Stebbins held the office of School Director two 
years, and also officiated as Highway Commissioner. 
He has been Justice of the Peace and Townshi[i 
Treasurer since his location at St. Louis. 

Mr. Stebbins was married in Troy, N. Y., May 22, 
1850, to Lucinda Francisco. She was born in Rens- 
selaer Co., N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins are the 
happy parents of eight children, all of whom are liv- 
ing. They are named : Edgar A., Arthur M., Clara 
F., Frederick A., Orville W., Minnie !\L, Bessie B. 
and Myrtie B. 



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(eiel F. Wright, hardware merchant at .St. 
^p_lJ4 Louis, was born .\ug. 15, 1846, in Parma, 
'iWM' ' Jackson Co., Mich. He is the son of Deo- 
,.^jj^ datus and Serena (Fox) Wright. His father 

'■'Z, was born April 25, 1812, in Wayne Co., N. Y. 

i His mother is a native of the same county, 
and both parents are still living in the township of 
Parma, whither they removed about the year 1837, 
and purchased 320 acres of land. Their farm now 
includes 240 acres, and is one of the finest in that 
section of Michigan justly noted for its agricultural 
progress. 

Mr. Wright did pioneer duty on his father's farm, 
and aided in clearing it of timber and otherwise im- 
proving it. He attended school winters until he was 
18 years old. In 1870 he came to St. Louis, and in 
company with his brother, Smith W. (since deceased), 



opened an establishment for the sale of agricultural 
implements, and they continued to prosecute the 
business until the death referred to, when Mr. Wright 
became sole proprietor. He has by degrees changed 
the character of his trade, and now deals in general 
hardware, tinware, cutlery, etc., and makes a spe- 
cialty of stationary and portable engines, boilers, saw- 
mills and all fixtures pertaining to the machinery in 
which he deals. He employs about half a do/.en men ; 
carries a stock estimated at $15,000 in value, and is 
doing a prosperous business. When Mr. Wright 
came to St. Louis, the town was in its first days. He 
purchased a building site, and erected a structure for 
the establishment of his business, which was one of 
the first for the purpose in St. Louis. The building 
at the commencement was i6x 24 feet in dimensions, 
but since has grown to the following sizes : the hard- 
ware store, 20 X 1 20 feet ; small ware room in the 
rear of store, 16 x 32 feet; and a large store house 
near the railroad, 24 x 70 feet and two stories high. 
The latter is used for the storage of buggies and ma- 
chinery of all kinds. The term " self-made " has 
become trite in its frequent application, and in the 
case of Mr. Wright simply means that, starting empty- 
handed, he has held the confidence of the business 
world by integrity and devotion to his business re- 
lations, and by his strong good sense and reliable 
judgment, which constitute a man's best capital. 

Mr. Wright is a Democrat in political affiliation, 
and has held the office of Town Clerk of Pine River 
two years ; he has been a member of the Town Coun- 
cil the same length of time. He belongs to the 
Royal Arcanum, is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias, and for 12 years has been a prominent mem- 
ber of the Fire Department of St. Louis. About 1873 
he was appointed Secretary of the Company, and 
held the position two years, when he was elected 
Foreman, and cimtinued in that capacity until 18S2. 
He was appointed Chief of the Department, and at- 
tended the first Firemen's Convention at Battle Creek- 
is now First Assistant Chief of the organization. In 
1876, the Company presented him with a fine silver 
trumpet as a testimonial of their esteem and appre- 
ciation of his services. The Company is considered 
the best in the State, an estimate amply justified by 
its achievements. In 1882, the organization went to 
the tournament at Charlotte, and bore away the sec- 
ond prize for merit, including $100, with a hand en- 



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gine. At the contest at Marshall in 1883, it took 
the first prize, $125 in money, and the State Banner 
of Championship, valued at $100. 

The property of Mr. Wright consists of his business 
building and site, residence and two lots, a store 
building, and a farm in Isabella County, comprising 
40 acres of land. 

He was married at Parma Nov. 25, 1868, to Re- 
becca, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Geiger. 
Parents and daughter were natives of Pennsylvania. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wright have been the parents of two 
children: Hattie L., born at .St. Louis Nov. 18, 1876, 
and Serena, who died when she was ten months old. 

The portrait of Mr. Wright, which appears on page 
550, has more than a common value to his genera- 
tion from the family to which he belongs, and in his 
connection with the affairs of St. Louis. 






f^S^lWft^ 






ndrew Townsend, farmer, section 8, New 
,„^S3 Haven Township, was born in Ireland, 
SIt'S/ Dec. 10, 1810, of Irish parentage. His father, 
a farmer, died in the old country, March 11, 
1846, at the age of 82. His mother died a few 
years later, aged about 70. Young Andrew 
worked with his father uiion the farm until 1830, 
when they emigrated to.\mcrica, locating first in De- 
troit, Mich., and afterward buying some land near 
that city in Wayne County, where they pursued agri- 
culture until 1840. .Andrew then enlisted in the 
United States frontier service, as a member of Co. I, 
4th Artillery, and served five years, in Michigan and 
the East. 

On receiving his discharge, at Fortress Monroe, 
Va., he returned to farming again in Wayne Co., N. 
Y., until 1866, when he sold out and purchased 80 
acres of section 8, New Haven Township. The 
place was slightly improved. Three weeks after his 
location here with his family, his son Joseph, 12'^ 
years old, lost himself in the swampy wilderness while 
out hunting, and died from sheer exhaustion in run- 
ning to find himself He was found a corpse in the 
deep wild-wood, and indescribable was the conse- 
quent terror of the commiuiity. 

Most of his original purchase Mr. Townsend has 
improved, and added the usual farm buildings. He 




is an exemplary farmer, an earnest Republican and 
faithful in the discharge of the duties of the public 
offite.i which his fellow citizens have given him. 

Dec. 24, 1845, in the Emerald Isle, Mr. Townsend 
was married to Miss Jane Rodgers, a native of that 
country, of Scotch-Irish descent, and a great-grand- 
niece of John Rodgers, of martyr fame. Others of 
her ancestral relatives have also been martyrs. Her 
father, Joseph Rodgers, was in early life a weaver. 
He educated himself for the ministry, but ill health 
compelled him to abandon the idea of entering that 
profession, and lie became a merchant and a writer 
for various periodicals. He died in 1844, at the age 
of 62. Mrs. T.'s mother, Mary, mr McCory, is of 
Scotch ancestry and is yet living. Mrs. Townsend 
was born Feb. 2, 1827, about 25 miles from Belfast, 
Ireland. She was educated in the common school of 
her country, bat, owing to the prejudice of the people 
at that period, she was not allowed more. Neverthe- 
less, she is a well-informed, intellectual, affable lady, 
blest with a happy memory and sound faculties. She 
and her husband are members of the Reformed Pres- 
byterian Church. The children of Mr. and Mrs. T 
are six, namely: Mary, Agnes, Eliza, Margaret, Jo- 
seph and Leander ; Joseph being deceased, as be- 
fore mentioned. 

on M. Wheeler, farmer, occupies the 
northeast quarter of the northwest quarter 
^ of section 26, Bethany Township, a 40-acre 
tract. This gentleman is a native of Wash- 
ington Co., N. Y., where he was born Feb. 23, 
1 82 1, the son of George and Sally (Patten) 
Wheeler. He was reared as a farmer's son, but 
when he was ten years of age his father died. He 
was married June 23, 1843, in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., 
to Eliza J. Preston, a sister of the well-known banker 
of Detroit, David Preston. Of the three children 
born of this marriage, Melissa is the wife of Julius P. 
Gilmore, a book-keeper in Mr. Preston's bank at De- 
troit; Ellen is the wife of Henry Bridge, foreman of 
the Detroit Water- works; and David is a member of 
a paint-manufacturing firm at Des Moines, Iowa. 

Mrs. W. died Jan. 19, 1849, aged 26 years; and 
Mr. Wheeler again married April 19, 1849, in Chau- 
tauqua Co., N. Y., Lucy J. Landon. By this mar- 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






557 



riage, there have been eight children, seven surviv- 
ing, as follows: Sarah, now the wife of Seth Burgess, 
a farmer in Pine River Township, this county; Mary, 
the wife of Wm. C. Garbutt, a merchant at St. Louis; 
Hattie, wife of Alba Sexton, a farmer of Bethany 
Township; Emma, the wife of W'm. Holmes, of De- 
troit; James A., clerk in the postofifice at St. Louis ; 
Frederick, at home; and William, at St. Louis. 
Chesley U. is deceased. 

Mr. Wheeler, the subject of this biographical notice, 
located in Bethany Township in November, 1S67, 
upon his present place, where he now has 30 acres 
cleared and a comfortable home. A good residence, 
barn, etc., grace the premises. Mr. W. is a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in his town- 
ship lie has been Highway Commissioner three years. 

^^M} illiam Culy, farmer and stock-raiser, sec- 

y^ tion 36, New Haven Township, was born 

in Lincolnshire, England, April 24, 1826. 







'' His father, Benjamin, and mother, Ann 
(Ward) Culy, were also natives of Albion's 

Isle, and of pure English blood. The first 
mentioned, a farmer, emigrated in March, 1835, and 
settled in Washtenaw County, tliis State, in the vi- 
cinity of Dexter, where he improved an 80-acre farm. 
His wife had died in 1833, in Lincolnshire, England, 
at the age of aliout 40 years. Mr. C. died in Wash- 
tenaw County, in 1858, aged 73. He was one of the 
first settlers in Scio Township, that county, and was 
a prominent and highly respected citizen. 

The subject of this sketch worked on the farm 
with his father until he was 26 years of age, receiv- 
ing a common-school education. At this age. May 
26, 185 1, in that county, he was married to Miss 
Eliza Naldrett, who was born in Middlesex, England, 
June 15, 1830, and came to this country when 19 
years old. Her parents, also English and of Eng- 
lish ancestry, emigrated to this country two years 
afterward and located on 240 acres of wild land on 
section 36, New Haven Township, this county, which 
they improved and made of it a splendid farm. Mrs. 
Cs'. third child, Ann K., was the first child born in 
this townshii), her birth being Dec. 13, 1855. The 
children of Mr! and Mrs. Culy are : Eliza J.,- born 



April 8, 1852; George, July 21, 1853; Ann R., Dec. 
13, 1855 ; Hannah M., .\ug. 8, 1857 ; Alice J., Feb. 
5, 1858; Mary H., July 25, i860; Stephen B., Oct. 
17, 1866; and .Mbert H., Feb. 19, 1S67. 

On national issues Mr. C"uly is a decided Demo- 
crat, and as a citizen he has been rewarded with 
various school offices in his district. 

.\ jxjrtrait of this gentleman and also that of his 
wife aijpear in this Album, on pages just preceding. 



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•iV>Sa5 eorge O. Doud, farmer, section 36, Wash- 
.,?^^|- iiigton Township, is a son of Theodore and 
fiMf^ Julia .\. (Brewer) Doud. Theodore Doud was 
born in Poultney, Vt., and, serving an appren- 
ticeship at Fair Haven, Rutland Co., Vt.. was 
employed as an edged-tool manufacturer. He 
afterward removed to Geauga Co., Ohio, where he 
died. Mrs. Doud was born in Boston, in 1797. The 
subject of this sketch was born in Rutland Co., Vt., 
Aug. 13, 1816. Leaving the parental roof at the age 
of 16, he was employed on a farm until 28 years old. 
In rS4o, he was married to Mary A. Lyon, daugh- 
ter of F^phraim and Eunice (Saunders) Lyon, natives 
of Nevyf Jersey. They afterward removed to Knox 
Co., Ohio, where Mr. Lyon died at the age of 65, and 
Mrs. Lyon at the extreme age of 107. In the year 
1836, Mr. Doud came from Vermont to New York 
Stale, and in 1839 he went to Ohio, where he en- 
gaged at the carpenter's trade. In the fall of 1856, 
he came to Gratiot County, where he had purchased 
80 acres on section 36, Washington Township, two 
years previously. To this he has since added 40 
acres, and he has 50 acres well-improved. He and 
wife were among the first settlers in the township. 
He has filled the office of Township Treasurer for five 
successive years, but will accept no more offices. 
When first elected, the township was in debt $500, 
and at the e.\piration of two years the debt was clear- 
ed and the treasury in a sound condition. Political- 
ly, Mr. Doud is a Republican. He and wife are the 
parents of three children : Theodore, Julia A. and 
Eunice. Theodore enlisted in the 3d Mich. Vol. Cav. 
in 1862, and served in the Western army about six 
months. He olitained a furlough on account of dis- 
ability, and was then discharged, in May, 1863. In 



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6;i?y4 TIO T CO UNTY. 



the spring of 1864, he re-enlisted and was assigned 
to the 2d Mich. Vol. Inf. At Petersburg, in July, 
he was gallantly leading his company against the 
enemy, when he was killed by a shell from a Union 
gun. Mr. and Mrs. Doud now live alone, excepting 
with a young man named Daniel, who was given to 
them in infancy. 



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^^^>dwm Hasbrook, merchant, Breckenridge 

^f-J; village, Wheeler Township, is a son of 

>-Wf' Gilbert and Sarah (Roe) Hasbrook, who 

-^^ followed farming in their native (Dutchess) 

County, N. Y., until 1857, wlien they moved to 

i Iowa. Their ne.xt move was to Ohio, where 
they lived eight years, and then they came to Beth- 
any Township, Gratiot County. 

Thesifbject of this sketch was born Dec. 26, 1839, 
in Dutchess Co., N. Y. Coming West, he located 
240 acres of wild land in this county April 18, 1866. 
He cleared 36 acres. Commencing in 1876, he 
clerked six years for C. H. Howd in a store, and in 
the autumn of 1882 he started in business for him- 
self. He has a nice store, a good stock of dry goods, 
groceries and general merchandise, and a growing 
trade. 

Oct. 28, 1873, he was married to Julia, tlie second 
daughter of Reuben and Hannah Coffin. This mar- 
riage resulted in one child, Eddie J. His second 
marriage occurred in 1880 to Cora B. Goodno, daugh- 
ter of Romanzo and Susan Goodno. Mr. Hasbrook 
is a popular citizen of his township, and holds the 
office of Township Clerk, to which he was elected in 
1883. In politics, he votes uniformly with the Re- 
publican party. 




ev. Francis T. Flewelling, minister and 
farmer, resident on section 31, Bethany 
Township, was born July 26, 1831, in 
ix^ Warren Co., N. Y., and is a son of Francis 
and Jedidah (Tyler) Flewelling. The family 
patronymic is a corruption of the Welsh name 
Llewellyn, one of the titles of a former Prince of 
Wales, to whom the family trace remote kinship. 




Francis Flewelling, Sr., was born in the vicinity of 
the city of New York in 1807. He was a wagon- 
maker by trade, and in the year 1829 he was married 
to Mrs. Jedidah (Tyler) Fletcher. The mother was 
i)orn in 1790 in Crittenden Co., Vt., and belonged to 
the same family from which President Tyler descend- 
ed. The father pursued his vocation at different 
])oints in the State of New York some years. In the 
fall of 1S44, he came to Michigan and settled at 
Hanover, Jackson County, where he purchased a 
farm and engaged in agriculture. He sold the place 
in 1864, and removed to De Witt, Clinton County, 
where he purchased another farm. He continued its 
management about 12 years, when, his health becom- 
ing impaired, he again sold his estate and bought 
property in the village of De Witt, to which he re- 
tired. His death occurred Dec. 6, 1879. The 
mother survives, and is residing with her son in Beth- 
any Township. She is 94 years old. The Flewelling 
family are among the heirs of Anneka Jans, and 
claimants to the Trinity Church property in the city 
of New York. 

The Rev. Mr. Flewelling obtained his early educa- 
tion in the common schools. He received his dis- 
charge from his obligations as a minor at the age of 
18, when he began his contest with the world. The 
year following he bought 40 acres of land in Jackson 
County, paid sufficient to secure his title and posses- 
sion, and ran in debt for the remainder. He taught 
school the following winter in Pulaski, receiving %\ 2 
a month and " boarding round." The board was 
assessed according to the " scholars," and sometimes 
the school money was six months in being collected, 
the method being //•(? ;'i7/'i?. He continued teaching 
winters and working on his land summers until it 
was wholly improved and paid for. 

In the fall of 1857, Mr. Flewelling applied for and 
obtained a position as an officer of the State Prison, 
located at Jackson. He became a " guard," and 
was assigned to a place on the wall, armed and un- 
der orders to shoot convicts who attempted to escape. 
On the third day, about 40 prisoners tried to escape 
by scaling the walls, and two succeeded. The bul- 
lets flew but no one was injured, and the rebellious 
convicts were secured. 

The marriage of Mr. Flewelling to Mary C. Whit- 
ney, of Jackson, occurred in December, 1858. Her 
parents, Nathan and Elizabeth Whitney, were pioneer 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



559 



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settlers of Wheatland, Hillsdale County. They came 
from the State of New York in 1837, and located 160 
acres of land in the (then) wilderness. 'I'hey en- 
countered all the varieties of pioneer e.\perience, 
among which were frequent nightly visitations by 
wolves, and at one time a harvest of 50 heads was 
piled in the cellar awaiting the payment of the boun- 
ty. Mrs. Flewelling was born on the homestead 
June 24, 1841. In 1855, her father liecame an em- 
ployee at the prison in Jackson, where he officiated 
in various positions until 1862. The daughter is the 
only survivor of a family of four. 

After his marriage, Mr. Flewelling assumed charge 
of the paint shop attached to the wagon works of the 
prison contractors. Three years later, he engaged 
in farming on a place he had purchased near De Witt, 
Clinton County. He sold the place in the winter of 
1882, and bought the farm where he now resides, 
including a quarter of section 31. It is in fine agri- 
cultural condition, and fitted with a nice residence 
and highly creditable farm buildings. His family 
includes two children : Frank L.,born April 14, i860, 
in Jackson, and Ralph Tyler, born Nov. 23, 187 i, in 
De Witt. 

Mr. Flewelling was ordained a minister of the 
Free Methodist Church in the fall of 1880 at Gaines, 
Shiawassee Co., Mich. He was in the traveling 
connection two years while a resident of De Witt, 
since which time he has been in the local ranks. 







iehael S. Howell, farmer on section iS, 
Fulton Township, is a son of William L. 
i '"' and Belinda .S. (Taft) Howell, natives of 
New York State. Soon after marriage they 
came' to Michigan and settled in Macomb 
County, afterwards removing to Hillsdale County. 
In 1S58, they came to Gratiot and made their home 
in North Shade Townshi|), where Mr. Howell still 
resides, and where Mrs. Howell died in June, 1868. 
Their family consisted of five sons and three daugh- 
ters. 

The eldest son, Michael .S., was born in Hillsdale 
Co., Mich., Aug. II, 1839, and made his home with 
his parents until 21 years old, although much of the 
time after he became old enough he worked by the 



month for others. In the fall of 1861, he enlisted in 
the Ninth Mich. Vol. Inf.; and lie was in the ser- 
vice of his country aliout four years, most of the lime 
on detached duty. He was honorably discharged at 
Nashville, Tenn., and coming to Gratiot County he 
bought 40 acres of wild land in Fulton Township. 
There he settled and lived two years, when he traded 
for 80 acres in North Shade. Eleven years later, he 
sold, and then Ijought So acres on section 18, Fultonj 
where he now resides. He has about 45 acres under 
cultivation. 

Aug. 18, 1866, at Maple Rapids, Clinton County, 
he married Miss Hattie M., daughter of Henry and 
Roxy (Francis) Huyck, natives of New York State 
and Massachusetts. Mrs. Howell was born in Huron 
Co., Ohio, May 5, 1844. She and her husband have 
lieen the parents of four children, three of whom 
survive, — .Arthur W., Myrtie B. and Laura M. 
Floyd R. died when si.\ montiis old. Mr. Howell is 
a member of the Masonic Order, and supports the 
Democratic party. 



5i^rl« ohn Christman, retired capitalist residing 
I^^Si ^' ^'- Louis, was born June 20, 1807, in 
vIp) ' Tonawanda, N. Y. He is a son of Jacob 




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''& '^"*^ Mary (Nellis) Christman, and resided in his 
^r native place until the fall of 1836, when he 
\ bought 160 acres of land in Williams Co., 
Ohio. In February, 1S39, he came to Washtenaw 
Co., Mich., where he prosecuted his trade of builder, 
which he had learned in early life in his native State. 
He pursued that business a number of years, and at 
length bought 135 acres in Saline Township, in 
Waslitenaw County, where he resided 28^2 years. 
He then sold out and bought 90 acres in the same 
township, which he retained one year. His health 
failed, and he sold his farm, removing into the village 
of Saline. In the fall of the same year, 1865, he 
came to Gratiot County and bought 80 acres of land 
on section 25, Pine River Township, on which he 
made considerable improvement. In 1866, he 
bought some lots at St. I-ouis, near where he now 
lives, and the following year built his residence. He 
engaged in the grocery trade, in which he continued 
six years, and on selling out he retired from active 
business. He owns two lots near his home, which 



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are devoted to the culture of strawberries and other 
small fruits, etc. He also owns seven dwellings in 
St. Louis, which he rents. 

The marriage of Mr. Christman with Jane Decow 
occurred .\pril 6, 1827, in Tonawanda, N. Y. She 
is a daughter of Eber and Susannah (Baumwart) 
Decow, and was born July 8, 1812, in Canada, near 
the present location of Simcoe. Ten children were 
born of this union, as follows : James D., farmer, re- 
siding at New Boston, Wayne Co., Mich. ; Henry C, 
carpenter, living at Rome Center, Lenawee Co., 
Mich. ; Amanda J., wife of Winters White, a farmer 
of Winneshiek Co., Iowa; Margaret D., wife of Henry 
Decow, farmer of Jasper Townsliip, Midland County ; 
Frances, wife of Artemus Cook, a farmer of Pine 
River Townshij). The remaining five are deceased. 
Mr. Christman has been Constable of St. Louis five 
years, and has served a short time as Marshal of the 
village. He and his wife are members respectively 
of the Wesleyan Methodist and Methodist Episcopal 
Churches. 

Mr. Christman 's grandfather on father's side was a 
soldier of the Revolutionary war, and was wounded 
in the shoulder at Bunker Hill. 



*; |f|^|^(. ames A. Cassada, farmer on section 32, 
^fflic Fulton Township, is a son of James and 
^'^^ Abigail (Kinyon) Cassada, natives of Mas- 
sachusetts and New York. They settled in 
rioga ("o., N. Y., where he died in 1836, and 
she in 1842. 

The subject of this biography was born in Tioga 
Co., N. Y., Sept. 10, 1828. Losing his parents when 
quite young, he lived from the time he was 12 years 
old until of age with his brotliers. He then learned 
the carpenter's trade, at which he had already worked 
to some extent. He worked diligently, and before he 
was 21 he was taking contracts on his own account. 
In this business he has since been engaged. 

He came to Michigan in 1846, and lived in iMt)n- 
roe County eight years. He then lived one year in 
Ingham County, and in the spring of 1855 came 
further North. In July he bought the farm he now 
owns. 

Oct. 20, 1852, in Bedford, Monroe Co., Mich., he 



married Miss Clarissa W., daughter of Matthias and 
Eunice (Kinyon) Gardner. She was born in South- 
port, Tioga Co., N. Y., Dec. 12, 1827. Mr. and Mrs. 
C. have had five children, three of whom survive: 
Lannes, Adelaide B. and Elmer E. Kansas and 
Harris Kendall are deceased. 

Mr. C. is a member of the I. O. O. F., and is po- 
litically an ardent siqiporter of Democracy. He has 
held tile office of Justice of the Peace for 12 years, 
Constable two years, and Township Clerk 14 years. 



?t^rt.?i- 




eorge W. McHenry, real-estate and loan 
agent at St. Louis, was born near Almond, 
Allegany Co., N. Y., Jan. 11, 1813. His 
1-^ father, Matthew McHenry, was born in Penn- 
sylvania, was a farmer, and died when the son 
two years old. His mother, Anna (Dudder) 
McHenry, was a native of New Jersey, and dieil in 

•853. 

Mr. McHenry followed the vocation of fanner until 
he was 40 years old, when he met with an acc:ident 
and sustained a fracture of his right thigh, which ne- 
cessitated some different calling, and he abandoned 
agriculture. He moved to Almond, and soon after 
was appointed Deputy Postmaster, a position he filled 
tliree years. He then engaged in the grocery busi- 
ness and also assisted in the postoffice, thus covering 
a period of two and a half years. In the sjiring of 
1S57 he came to St. Louis and built the first hotel 
structure erected in tiie town and named tlierefor. 
It was located on tiie cornerof North and Pine Streets. 
He managed the St. Louis House nbout ten years, 
sold out and built his residence. Mr. McHenry act- 
ed as Deputy Postmaster two years, and, just before 
the breaking out of the war, was appointed Postmas- 
ter and held the position until 1876, when he estab- 
lislied the business in which he is at present engaged. 

The year in vvhicii Mr. McHenry came to St. Ix)uis 
was that indicated as the " Starvation year," when 
the [jrivations precii)itated upon the peoi)le of (Iratiot 
County i)y the rapid influx of the population invited 
the attention and interest of the surrounding States. 
Among other deficiencies which caused much incon- 
venience and, indirectly, suffering, was the lack of 
houses, there being literally none at this point. St. 






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Louis had but six houses, and Mr. McHenry assisted 
in building the first bridge across Pine River. A 
grist-mill was built the same year, part of which is 
preserved in the mill now owned by James Henry. 
He was elected Treasurer of Pine River Township, 
and held the position in 1 87 9-80, and was also Town- 
ship Clerk six years. He has acted as Justice of the 
Peace 16 years, and is a member of the Pioneer So- 
ciety of Gratiot County. 

Mr. McHenry was married in .Almond, N. Y., to 
Lucinda, daughter of Charles and Lucy Holloway. 
She was born June 5, 181 2, and died June 10, 1880. 
She became the mother of five children, four of whom 
survive her: Susannah is the wife of Geo. L. Boyn- 
ton, a boot and shoe dealer at Hornellsville, N. Y. ; 
Matthew is deceased; Augustus is a jeweler at Hor- 
nellsville; Harriet is the wife of William Nelson, 
lumberman and farmer of Cedar Lake ; Sarah mar- 
ried A. P. Poland, a merchant and farmer of Whee- 
ler, Gratiot County. 

ohn T. Swigart, Clerk of Gratiot County, 

resident at_Ithaca, was born July 5, 1845, 

n Bloom, Seneca Co., Ohio, and is a son 

of Samuel and Maria (Dinkel) Swigart. His 

]L father was born in Maryland, was a carriage 

and wag&n maker l)y trade, and died in Seneca 

Co., Ohio. His mother was born in Rockingham 

Co., Va. 

Mr. Swigart is of German descent, his grandpar- 
ents on both sides having been emigrants to the 
United States from the Fatherland. When he was 
about ten years old, his mother came with her family 
of five children to Fulton Township, Gratiot County, 
and there bought 40 acres of land. \Villiam, the 
eldest son, was then a young man, and is now living 
near Dixon, Lee Co., 111., where he is a farmer and 
dealer in agricultural implements; Robert, third son, 
and Scott are engaged in the hardware business at 
Maple Rapids; Mary E., only daughter, is the wife 
of Warren E. Dewitt, proprietor of a sash and l)lind 
factory at Ithaca. 

Mr. Swigart is the second son of his parents. He 
was 16 years old when the war of the rebellion broke 
out, and too young to enlist: but as youth is a disease 
which time is sure to remedy, he waited as patiently 





as possible, and in October, 1863, he enlisted at De- 
troit, in Co. M, ist Mich. Engineers and Mechanics, 
and served until the close of the war. The company 
was one that made a distinguished record for gallant- 
ry, and is mentioned specially for meritorious service 
in some of the most authentic histories of the South- 
ern rebellion. 

Mr. Swigart is now the owner of 100 acres of 
farming land in Fulton Township, which he has ma- 
terially improved, and supplied with good buildings, 
farm fixtures, etc. Its orchards and other improve- 
ments render it one of the most valuable places in 
that section of the county. From 1874 to 1879, he 
and his brother, Robert, were engaged in buying 
staves and timber for Merrick, Fowler & Esselstein, 
of Detroit, handling large sums of money. He held 
the position of Township Clerk one year (iS8i), 
Justice of the Peace five years, and officiated in other 
positions of trust and responsibility. In the fall of 
1882, he was elected County Clerk on the Fusion 
ticket, running against J. M. Trask, the previous in- 
cumbent. He received a majority of 48 votes. Mr. 
Swigart belongs to the Orders of Masonry and Odd 
F^ellows, and is a member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic. 

He was married Dec. 25, 1876, to Ella A., daugh- 
ter of Lyman and Martha Crowley, a native of New 
York. Edna M., born March 26, 1879, and Ray- 
mond G., born May 22, 1881, are Ihe names of their 
two children. The mother of Mr. Swigart married 
Roswell Reynolds, now deceased, and she lives at 
Ithaca vvith her son. 

Mr. Swigart's portrait may be found on the last 
page. As a type of the possibilities within the reach 
of every American citizen under the fostering influ- 
ence of American institutions, it forms a valuable 
addition to the collection in this volume, and takes a 
finer worth from the manly integrity and unblem- 
ished character of its prototype. 



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'harles V. Bostwick, proprietor of the Ith- 
aca barber shop, was born Nov. 18, 1850, 



^jg" in Scio Township, Washtenaw Co., Mich., and 

W is a son of Dr. Victor M. and Phebe W. 

(Ray) Bostwick. The father was a native of 

Eastern New York, and a graduate from the school 



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of the Rensselaer County Medical Society. He 
was a practitioner in his native State some years, and 
came to Washtenaw County in its pioneer days. . He 
died Aug. 2, 1862, in Webster Township. The 
mother is also a native of the Empire State, and is 
now living with her youngest son in Dexter. She is 
the mother of nine children, seven of whom survive: 
Electa, Henry, Harrison and Harriet (twins), Sarah, 
Charles and Oliver. John and Robert are the de- 
ceased. The former was a soldier for the Union during 
the war of the rebellion, and lost his life in the serv- 
ice of his country. Harrison was also a soldier 
throughout the entire war, and spent three months in 
Libby Prison. Henry was in the service of the 
United States two years. 

When he was 16 years old, Mr. Bostwick went to 
De.xter to learn the art of photography, which he fol- 
lowed six years there, and then removed to Plymouth, 
Wayne Co., Mich., purchased a gallery and remained 
two years. He followed the same business four 
years longer, operating successively at Detroit, Grand 
Rapids and East Saginaw. At the latter place he 
fitted himself for his present business, and in the 
spring of 1876 opened a shop at St. Charles, in Sag- 
inaw County. A year later he came to Ithaca and 
established himself, and has continued to do a suc- 
cessful business. Bath rooms are connected with his 
operating rooms, and his business requires the aid of 
one assistant. 

Mr. Bostwick was married Dec. 25, 1871, at Plym- 
outh, to Josephine, daughter of James and Olive 
Miller. She was born April 20, 1852, in Plymouth. 
James, Katie and Charles are the names of the 
three children of Mr. and Mrs. Bostwick, born in 
Plymouth, Jan. 31, 1S76, May 25, 1879, and Jan. 16, 
1884, respectively. 



-4— v'XA,^^-|^S'VW~-}- 

ichard Hughes, niai-liinist, section 30, 
Bethany Township, adjoining the village of 
.St. Louis, was born in C-heshire, England, 
April 21, 1S36. When 16 years of age, Mr. 
Hughes went to Manchester, England, and 
there learned the trade of a machinist. This 
was not accomplished until six years of apprentice- 
shi]) had passed. In 1857, he emigrated to Canada 
and located at Hamilton, where he was engaged in 




the Great Western railroad shops for four or five 
yea IS. 

He was married at Hamilton, Sept. 30, 1858, to 
Miss Mary, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Clark) 
Pritchard, and was born in Simcoe, Canada, Nov. 26, 

1837. 

Mr. and Mrs. H. are the parents of eight children, 
seven of whom are living, namely : John R., born 
Aug. 9, 1859; William H., Nov. 8, 1S61 ; Richard E., 
Sept. 13, T865; Alice E., Oct. 22, 1867; Emma I., 
Apil 20, 1870; Maud M., June 9, 1872; Charles C, 
Oct. 21, 1879. Margaret is deceased. 

The parents originally owned business property in 
Detroit, this State, which they exchanged for the 80 
acres on which they at present reside. Mr. H. is at 
present engaged in the Alma Machine and Black- 
smith Shops. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
Politically he is identified with the Republican party, 
though he believes in voting and working for the best 
candidates regardless of party. 



eorge H. Newton, farmer on section 32, 
Fulton Township, is a son of Harris and 
Eliza A. ((Perrin) Newton, natives of Ver- 
mont and New York. (See sketch of T. T. 
Newton.) He was born in Avon, Oakland Co., 

I Mich., March 29, 1840, and received a com- 
mon-school education, also attending for three terms 
the academy at Rochester, Mich. 

He lived at home until 21 years of age, and Aug. 
6, 1861, he enlisted in the 5th Mich. Vol. Inf. Go- 
\\\% into the service as a private, he was promoted for 
gallant conduct to First Sergeant. He fought in 38 
engagements, and at the battle of tlie Wilderness was 
wounded in the left leg by a minie ball, which in- 
jury confined him for eight months. At Hatcher's Run^ 
he was twice taken prisoner on the same day ; but 
he made his escape both times, on the first occasion 
by his own efforts, and on the second by being retak- 
en by the Union forces. He was in the service of 
the United States for four years. 

Returning to Michigan he bought 80 acres in Clin- 
ton County, which he farmed for five years. Selling 
out, he then engaged in the hardware and agricul- 
tural implement business at Maple Rapids, in con- 
nection with H. J. Ridenour. This partnership 





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continued for two years, when Mr. N. bought out the 
entire business, which he conducted for eight years. 
He then sold his hardware business, but he continues 
to deal in agricultural implements. 

In the spring of 1882, he bought 100 acres of land 
on section 32, Fulton Township, anct he has now 
about 90 acres under the plow. He traded his stock 
of hardware for a farm on section 20, Fulton, consist- 
ing of 80 acres, 70 of which are under cultivation. 

Dec. 26, 1865, at Avon, Oakland County, he form- 
ed a life partnershi]! with Miss Ann, daughter of 
Benjamin and Mary (Postle) draham. She was born 
March 17, 1841, in the same county in which she 
was reared and married. Mr. and Mrs. N. are the 
parents of three children, as t'ollows : Mary E., born 
Sept. 21, 1866; Thomas M., Sept. 29, 1868; and 
Sarah G., April ig, 187 i. 

Mr. Newton has been Highway Commissioner in 
Clinton County, was for one term village Councilman 
of Maple Ripids, and is now Treasurerof that place. 
He is politically a Democrat; is a member of the F. 
& A. M., A. O. U. W. and G. A. R. ; and with his 
wife, of Essex Grange, No. 429, P. of H. They are 
also members of the Christian Church. 



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L oseph Harlock, farmer on section i, Fulton 
'^^i C Township, is a son of William and Mary 
■■'X''' " A. (Wclbury) Harlock, natives of England. 
He died July 30, 1880, while she yet survives. 
Joseph was born in Boston, England, April 30, 
r837, and when 17 years old came to America 
with an older brother, having received a common- 
school education. For two and a half years he was 
variously occupied, and then for a while he worked 
for a firm in Lansing, this State. For the ensuing 
six years, he was employed in a carding-mill in the 
summers, and in other mills winters. 

In February, 1864, he came with his family to this 
county, and bought 40 acres of wild land on section 
I, Fulton Township. After completing a log house, 
and just getting fairly settled, in the fall of 1864 he 
enlisted in the 23d Mich. Vol. Inf., and served till 
the close of the war. He fought at Franklin and 
Nashville, Tenn., and in minor engagements, and 
was finally discharged at Detroit, this State. Re- 
turning to Gratiot County, he resumed his occupation 



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of farming, which he has since followed. He has 
added 40 acres to his original purchase, and has 
improved 72 acres. 

Dec. 25, 1862, at Lansing, Mi(h.,he married Lod- 
ciska J., daughter of John and Alzina (Peck) Groom, 
natives of New York State. Mr. Groom died at the 
age of 50, and Mrs. Groom died at the age of 35. 
iMrs. Harlock was born in Clinton Co., Mich., Jan. 
19, 1846. She and her husband are the jtarents of 
seven children : Mary A., born June 19, 1864; Orelia 
A., Aug. 8, 1866; William J., April 14, 1868 ; Frances 
E., July II, 1871; Lillian Pearl, Jan. 8, 1874; 
Charles D., April 6, 1876; and Myrtie V., Feb. 7, 
1S7S. Orelia A. died when only five years old, April 
6, 187 I. Mrs. Harlock is a member of the Congre- 
gational Church. Mr. Harlock is politically a Re- 
publican. 



(^1 

* eorge W. Clark, farmer on section 12, Ful- />^ 
; ton Townsiiip, is a son of Nathaniel and i=i 



^y\ Lucy (Flint) (Hark. They were natives of Ot- i^ 
^^ sego Co., N. Y., where they married and settled. = 
After a few years, in September, 1837, they re- ^l. 
moved to Novi, Oakland Co., Mich., where they <^ 
resided until their death. They reared a family of ( 
nine, of whom George W. was the second son. He 
was born in Cooperstown, Otsego Co., N. Y., Sept. 
27, 1833, and was but four years old when his parents 
removed to Michigan. He received his education in 
the common schools of Oakland County, and lived 
with his parents until he attained his majority. In 
December, 1854, he came with his wife to Gratiot 
County and selected 80 acres of wild land un sc( tion 
12, Fulton Township. 

He built a log house and set about clearing his 
land, and occupied the pioneer cabin until the sum- 
mer of 1879, when he built the fine residence which 
he now occupies. He has added 140 acres to his 
farm by purchase, and 185 acres are now cleared and 
scientifically cultivated, making really a model farm. 

He was first married at Farmington, Oakland Co., 
Mich., Oct. 13, 1854, to Maltha L., daughter of Lewis 
Norton, natives of the State of New York. Mrs. 
Clark died April 20, 1877, having been the mother of 
six children : Wilbur, VVikla E., Burr A., Nora A., 
Clifton S. and Claude L. Wilbur, Clifton S. and 



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Claude L. are deceased. Mr. C. was again married, 
in Ithaca, Sept. 27, 1882, to Ruth A., daughter of G. 
W. J. and Sarah A. (Hills) VVilloughby, natives of New 
York Slate. Mrs. W. died in Ohio, Jan. 29, 1S59. 
Mr. W. came to Gratiot County in 1869 and settled 
in Fulton Township, where he lived till his death, 
which occurred June 3, 1882. The daughter, Ruth 
A., was born in Oceola, C'rawford Co., Ohio, Aug. 16, 

•853- 

Mr. Clark is a member of the Masonic Order, and 
in politics votes the National ticket. He has been 
Highway Commissioner three years, and Justice of 
the Peace four years. 

As one of the prominent citizens and agricultur- 
ists of Gratiot County, we present in connection with 
this sketch the portrait of Mr. Clark. 




sear F. Jackson, hardware merchant at Ith- 
aca, and dealer in Ovid buggies, Jackson and 

S^' Harrison wagons, was born May 11, 1846, 
n Westminster, Canada. He is a son of An- 
drew and Elizabeth (Hammond) Jackson. His 
father was born in Vermont, in November, iS 16, 
and is a millwright by trade. His mother was born 
in May, 1820, near London, England. In 1S57 they 
came to Almont, Lapeer Co., Mich., where the father 
pursued his trade. They removed in 1859 to Lapeer, 
where the senior Jackson is still living. The mother 
died Dec. 31, 1876, in North Branch, Lapeer Co., 
Mich. 

Mr. Jackson attended the common schools of La- 
peer and was also a student in the union school of 
that place until 1863, when, although but 17 years 
old, he became a soldier. He enlisted in June of 
that year in Co. K, 4th Mich. Cav., Capt. \V. H. 
Smith. He was in the service 1 1 months, and was 
discharged from hospital No. 8, at Nashville, Tenn., 
on account of disability. His father enlisted in the 
I St Mich. Regt. Engs. and Mechs., on its organiza- 
tion, and served 'until it was disbanded, and on the 
organization of the 4th Mich. Cav. he enlisted as 
Conmiissary Sergeant and served until March 4, 1864, 
when he was honorably discharged and returned to 
La peer. 

On leaving the army, Mr. Jackson went to learn 
the trade of a tinsmith, in Lapeer, and served three 



years. He then went to Flint and worked there at 
his trade a year, when he returned to Lapeer and 
engaged in the same occupation until November, 

1870, after which he followed it at North Branch, La- 
peer County, until April 23, 1871, when he came to 
St. I^uis, Gratiot County, and entered the employ of 
Wessels & Scriver. He worked two years in their 
tinshop and three years as book-keeper and sales- 
man. In 1877 he formed a partnership with A. F. 
Wright, who was engaged in the same business. 
They operated together successfully two years, when 
Mr. Jackson sold his interest to his partner and 
came to Ithaca in January, 1879. He bought a 
stock of hardware of G. C. Smith, and has since 
operated at the same stand. He carries a fine as- 
sortment of hardware and articles common to the 
trade, and his annual transactions represent about 
$12,000. His trade in wagons and carriages is also 
considerable. He owns his residence and grounds. 
In 1880-1 he was Trustee of the village of Ithaca, 
and is a member of the Odd Fellows Order and 
Royal Arcanum. 

He was married, Sept. 4, 1870, in Lapeer, to Cyn- 
thia S., daughter of Edward C. and Rebecca Ney, of 
Oregon Township, Lapeer County, where Mrs. Jack- 
son was born, April 20, 1853. Gillian, born Sept. 6, 

187 1, in North Branch, Lapeer County, and Arthur 
M., born April 23, 1882, in Ithaca, are the names-of 
their two children. 




^^^Hfheodore O. Daniels, farmer, section i5, 
Fulton Township, is a son of John and 
Betsy (Ramage) Daniels, natives of Ireland 
and New Jersey. They settled after marriage 
in the State of New Jersey, where the father 
died in January, 1829. The mother came to 
Michigan many years after, having remarried, and 
died in Fulton Township, this county, Jan. 9, 1863. 

Their family comprised two sons, of whom Theo- 
dore was the younger. He was born in New Jersey 
March 17, 1829, and as his father died when Theo- 
dore was but two months old, he lived with his 
mother until he attained his majority. He came to 
Lenawee Co., Mich., in the spring of 1855, and re- 
mained there about six months, when he went to 
Van Buren County. In the spring of 1861, he came 









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to Gratiot County and bought 40 acres of wild land 
in Newark Township, where he lived 1 2 years, with 
the exception of over two years in the army. 

He enlisted Sept. 14, 1863, in the ist Mich. Engi- 
neers and Mechanics, and was honorably discharged 
at Jackson, Midi., Sept. 22, 1865. Returning to his 
home in Gratiot County, lie lived in Newark Town- 
ship until the spring of 1873. Selling out, he then 
bought 40 acres on section 15, Fulton Township, 
where he lived eight years. He again sold, and 
bought a farm of 100 acres, where he resided a year 
and a half. Disix)sing of that place, he then bought 
125 acres on section 16, where he now resides. He 
has 100 acres under the plow, and everything about 
his place betokens thrift and good management. 

Aug. 28, 1852, in the State of New Jersey, he was 
married to Miss Margaret, daughter of Jeptha and 
Elizabeth (Lemons) Denee, who were of Scotch and 
Irish descent. Mrs. Daniels was born in New Jersey 
April 10, 1827. She and her husband are the parents 
of si.x children : John S., Martha A., George H., 
William D., Viola E. and Rhoda S. Mr. Daniels 
has filled the different school offices, and is politically 
a supporter of the Republican party. He is a mem- 
ber of the I. O. O. F. and the A. O. U. W. 



^{|^|3harles W. Marvin, M. D., physician and 
^i|~?S^ surgeon at Ithaca, was born April 15,1824, 
^^ in Sharon Township, Richland Co., Ohio. He 
fj(j is a son of Stephen and Sarah B. (Sherwood) 
'^ Marvin. The father was born in Fairfield 
Co., Conn., Jan. 8, 1797. He was a tanner 
and currier by trade, and married Sarah (Burr) Sher- 
wood, a relative of the celebrated Aaron Burr, and 
two months after that event came with his parents, 
Isaac and Hannah (Hoyt) Marvin, to Richland Co., 
Ohio. They drove with their teams through Penn- 
sylvania to the verge of civilization, and cut the last 
miles of their route through the woods to their loca- 
tion in Shelby Township. Stephen Marvin located 
60 acres of primeval forest land, which is now in- 
cluded in the site of Shelby. On this he settled, 
cleared and improved the entire tract, and there 
reared his family. He died on his homestead, .Aug. 
10, 1868. His wife was born June 26, 1800, and 



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died in Sharon, on the place which had been her 
home for 60 years. Isaac Marvin, Jr., was born 
February, 1774, and became a pioneer settler of Ohio 
in iSig. He was married Jan. 8, 1794, and died 
Oct. 12, 1850, on his farm, which was located a short 
distance northeast of Shelby. The wife was born 
Aug. 19, 1773, and died March 27, 1858. Isaac 
Marvin, Sr., great-grandfather of Dr. Marvin, was 
born Fell. 10, 1745. The great-grandmother, Rachel 
(Burns) Marvin, was born Dec. 9, 1746. The ma- 
ternal grandmother of Dr. Marvin, Deborah (Sher- 
wood) Moyer, was born Jan. 5, 1783. She was twice 
married. Her first husband, Daniel Sherwood, was a 
Captain in the West Indian service. After his death 
his widow became Mrs. Moyer. 

Dr. Marvin spent his youth in acquiring his ele- 
mentary education, and on arriving at a suitable age 
assisted in the business of his father. In the winter 
of 1845-6 he taught school, and then began to read 
for his profession. In 1847 he entered the office of 
Dr. H. O. Mack, under whose direction he pursued 
his studies for some time, and during the winters of 
1849-50-5 I he was a student at the Western Reserve 
Medical College at Cleveland, Ohio, where he was 
graduated in the spring of 185 i. He at once began 
his career as a practitioner at Johnsville, Morrow 
Co., Ohio, where he remained two years, going thence, 
to Freeport, Wood County, in the Buckeye State. In 
the fall of 1859 he commenced practice in Perrys- 
burg, and in the following spring (i860) he came to 
' Gratiot County. He selected a site for a residence 
; at Ithaca, and daring the erection of his house he 
i resided with Russell Burgess, his brother-in-law, a 
I farmer, residing three and a half miles northwest from 
the village. He took up his abode at Ithaca in the 
fall of i860, and continued the practice of his pro- 
fession there until June, 1864, when he was commis- 
1 sioned Assistant Surgeon of the 26th Mich. Vol. Inf , 
\ and was in that service until the close of the war. 
He was mustered out with the regiment at Jackson, 
and resumed his vocation at Ithaca, which he has 
continued since without intermission. He has ac- 
. quired reputation and popularity in his profession, 
and is now occupying the position of United States 
E.xamining Surgeon for pensioners. He owns a fine 
farm of 80 acres on section 2, Newark Township 
with 45 acres under cultivation. On first coming to 
the county he took the declared position of a friend 






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GRATJOr COUNl Y. 



^ of general education, and has ever since been active 
'B^ in promoting school interests. In 1863 he was 
.^j elected a school officer, and lield ons position six 
f years, when he was elected Director, and has dis 
-5. charged the duties of that jiosition ever since, having 
been successively re-elected. He has been one of 
the most prominent in the establishment of schools, 
and one of the most successful in placing them in 
efficient operation. He was chiefly instrumental in 
selecting the site and supervising the construction of 
the Union School building at Ithaca. 

Dr. Marvin was married in Freeport, Wood Co., 
Ohio, Dec. 18, 1857, to Martha J., daughter of John 
and Sarah L. (Brenholtz) Brooke. She was born 
Sept. 27, 1827, in Hughesville, Lycoming Co., Pa. 
Louis J., born May 29, 1859; Seymour S., Nov. 7, 
io6[ (died Nov. i, 1867); Ella S., Oct. 23, 1866; 
and Burr, July 7, 187 i, are the names of the children 
who have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Marvin. They 
are members of tlie Congregational Church at Ithaca, 



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^ which the Doctor was instrumental in organizing 
June 7, 1866. He has been one of the official board 
since that date, and is now Clerk of the society. 

The portrait of Dr. Marvin may be found on page 
570. His private and public record is such as to 
render it a valuable accjuisition to the Biographical 
and Portrait Album of Gratiot County. 



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|J udwick D. Miller, liveryman, of the firm 
of Miller Bros., at St. Louis, was born July 
'\\%i '|T 27, 1854, in Greene Co., Pa , and is a son 
)(y" of Lewis B. and Barbara (Yates) Miller. His 
father was a farmer in the Keystone State, and 
in 1869 removed with his family and interest to 
Isabella Co., Mich., and bought 235 acres of timber 
land on sections 23 and 26, C'oe Township. There 
the family resided about seven years and cleared and 
otherwise improved i 25 acres of the land, putting the 
'tT* place into a first-class condition for profiable agricul- 
ture. It was afterward sold and the family removed 
•.'''» to St. Louis, where they resided four years ; going 
'!^) thence to Pine River, they settled on a farm and re- 
vp sided there until 1883, when they went to Alma. 'I'he 
/i) father there erected a building and went into husi- 
N» ness, opening a livery stable. 

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Mr. Miller was variously engaged for a year after 
reacliing his majority, when he went to Jackson, Mich., 
where he remained nine months. He returned to St. 
Louis and became assistant in Whitman's livery sta- 
ble, where he operated until Nov. 8, 1883. On the 
28th of January, 1884, he opened a feed and board- 
ing stab'e, where he is now established in the livery 
business, and, March 5, 1884, formed a partnership 
with his brother, Andrew Miller. They are doing a 
safe and profitable business, and keep six horses and 
livery fixtures to suit their patrons. They also man- 
age boarding, feed and sale stables in connection with 
their livery. 

Mr. Miller was married in Pine River Township, 
May 13, 1879, to Cora Olger. She was born near 
Bellevne, Montcalm Co., Mich., and is a daughter of 
James and Harriet Olger. They have one son, Floyd, 
born Aug. 22, 1882, at St. Louis. Mrs. Miller died 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



illaby B. Lathrop, senior member of the 
milling firm of Lathro[>, Kimball & Co., 

p Elm Hall, was born in Jackson, Mich., Aug. 
17, 1849; and is a son of George C. and 

Mary E. (Hall) Lathrop, natives of New York. 

rhey trace the family back to 1637, when John 
Lathrop, a priest in the Anglican Church, was for 
dissenting and heretical views expelled from the 
Cliurch. He, in common with many others who 
vvislied a place to establish their own religion, came 
to America, and for nine generations the Lathrops 
have been one of the prominent families of Puritan 
New England. George C. Lathrop lias been a farmer, 
and came from New York to Michigan more than 50 
years ago. He now resides in Ingham County, at 
the venerable age of 80. His wife is 77. His first 
location in this State was in Washtenaw County, on 
the present site of Ann Arbor. Not a house had then 
been erected, and scarcely a tree cut. Michigan was 
then a young 'Perritory. Afterward, he settled in 
Jackson County ; and seven years later he removed 
to Lansing. After two years more he removed 20 
miles from that place, and commenced to clear a farm 
for his three sons and five daughters. 

When seven years old, the subject of this biograiih- 
iral n.irralive commenced to make his own way in 




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GRATIOT COUNTY 



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life, spending one year in the American Express Com- 
pany's office at Ionia. Going into the lumber woods, 
he was there employed until 1876, and then began to 
take contracts for himself in Montcalm and Osceola 
Counties. He averaged 2,000,000 feet annually. In 
September, 1880, he established a flouring mill at 
Elm Hall ; and the following year, receiving Mr. Kim- 
ball, of Saginaw, as a partner, lie added a saw and 
shingle mill. They do a flourishing business in all 
departments of milling. They own in partnership, 
526 acres of land, 286 of which are improved. At 
the i)resent writing, there are in the mill-yard over 
3,000,000 feet of lumber. In their grocery, which 
they have besides their mill, the recei|)ts are $50 
daily. 

Oct. 24, 1883, at Ionia, he was married to Miss 
Julia Coffin, daughter of Benjamin Coffin. She was 
born in December, 1863, and receiving a good edu- 
cation, partly in the graded schools of St. Louis, she 
began teaching. She followed this four years, and 
one year later was married. Politically, Mr. L. is a 
staunch Republican. He is a public-spirited man, 
and has done much for his community. 




ames L. Clark, attorney, resident at Alma, 

y was born Feb. 17, 1855, in Lenawee Co., 

Mich. He is the son of Cortez C. and 



Laura (Daily) Clark, and his parents were born 
respectively in Ohio and New York. Mr. Clark 
is of Puritan descent, his ancestors having 
been among the early settlers of Plymouth, and of 
that com[)any which afterwards made the first settle- 
menls in the Connecticut ^'a^ey, where the grand- 
father of the subject of this sketch was born. The 
family were active in the French and Indian wars, 
and also the two wars against Great Britain. After 
their marriage Mr. C.'s parents settled in the Buckeye 
State for a few years, afterward removing to Lenawee 
Co., Mich. In 1862 they came to Alma, where they 
lived nine years. In the spring of 187 i they went 
to Ithaca, Gratiot County, and in 1880 the father de- 
cided on a lemoval to Austin, Texas, where his wife 
joined him the following year. The senior Clark was 
first married to a Miss Westbrook, of Ohio, by whom 
he had two children : Caroline and Hattie. She 




died, and Mr. Clark contracted marriage a second 
time, with Laura Daily. James L., Florence M., Del- 
bert J. and a child who died in infancy constitute the 
issue of the second marriage. 

At the time of the removal of his parents to 
Gratiot County Mr. Clark was but seven years old. 
He was a member of the paternal household until 
his father transferred his interests to Ithaca. On the 
loth of April, 1865, the people of .\lma were celebrat- 
ing the fall of Richmond, and Mr. Clark, then a lad 
of 10 years, stood on the steps of the residence of T. 
.\. Johnson in company with the children of that 
gentleman watching the proceedings, when an iron 
ring, wliich had been placed between the anvils to 
make the firing more effective, burst, and a piece 
four inches in length and an inch in width struck his 
right hand, another fragment hit his knee and glanced 
between his legs, injuring a child of Mr. Johnson that 
stood near. The injuries were severe and resulted 
in three months' illness which nearly cost liim liis 
life. The use of his right hand was permanently de- 
stroyed. Mr. Clark has been heard to say tliat this 
accident, though maiming him for life, was really a 
blessing, for it forced the consideration of other 
means of gaining a livelihood than by manual labor, 
which his surroundings would naturally have led 
him into. 

He acquired a knowledge of primary studies 
at the common school in Alma and attended the 
Slate Normal School at Ypsilanli. In 1S71 he com- 
menced teaching, which business he pursued dili- 
gently until 1877. In July of that year he entered 
the law office of William E. Winton, at Ithaca, where 
he read preparatory to his profession until June, 
1879. He was admitted to practice at the bar of 
the Peninsular State in Aj)ril preceding, and two 
months later established himself in practice at Elm 
Hall, in Gratiot County. He remained there one 
year and removed to Alma, where he opened an office 
for the prosecution of his busineis. 

Mr. Clark is a prominent member of the Repub- 
lican party and is largely interested and active in 
local political affairs. He has been much in public 
life, and during his vocation as a teacher he was 
elected School Inspector of Emerson Township, and 
discharged the duties of the position one year. In 
1S80, after his removal to Alma, he was elected Cir- 
cuit Court Commissioner, and in 1882 was re-elected, 



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and is still fulfilling the obligations of the office. He 
was chosen Village Attorney in 1880 and held the 
position two years. During the campaign of 1880 
Mr. C. somewhat distinguished himself as a cam- 
paign speaker, and it was frequendy remarked that 
he had a promising future before him. 

Mr. Clark is a man of brilliant parts, scholady at- 
tainments and unimpeachable record. He possesses 
a cultured mind, whose resources are i\nusually well 
disciplined, and he has the satisfaction of knowing 
that he has made the best use of his opportunities. 
He was married June 25, 1879, in Arcada Town- 
ship, to Florence, daughter of Lafayette and Sophro- 
nia (Benjamin) Church. (See sketch.) Mrs. Clark 
was born March 25, 1859, in Gratiot County. Of 
two children born of their marriage but one survives : 
Hugh, who was born May 14, 1883. Cornelia was 
born Oct. 8, 1881, and died Jan. 11, 1882. Mrs. 
Clark is actively and prominently connected with 
the Baptist Church. 

Mr. C. took an active interest in working up and 
organizing the L. A., Mt. P. & N. R. R. Co., and 
upon its organization was offered the position of Sec- 
retary, but declined it on account of his legal 
business requiring his entire attention. 

The portrait of Mr. Clark, which is presented on 
another page, is a valuable acquisition to the large 
collection appearing in this volume. His connection 
with a prominent family, his own merits as a citizen 
and his professional capacity make him prominent, 
and he is distinguished for his inherent traits of 
character which render his future a foregone con- 
clusion. 



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jartin Carlin, farmer on section 19, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of Patrick and 
Bridget (Moran) Carlin, natives of Ireland. 
^v\nX^ He was born on the Emerald Isle, County 
Mayo, Parish Barisoole, Nov. it, 1813, andwas 
about 33 years old when he came to America. 
He settled in Gratiot County in the fall of 1852, and 
purchased 80 acres on section rg, Fulton. He now 
owns 100 acres, 55 of which are under cultivation. 

He was married in Ireland, in February, 1844, to 
Mary Masterson, who was born about 1825. To 




this couple have been born 12 children: Michael, 
Martin, Margaret, Mary, John, Edward, Jane, Thom- 
as, James, Henry, Francis and Annie, 
politically a Democrat. He and wife are members of "? 
the Catholic Church. ,An 



Mr. Carlin is 0:. 



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ames ]j. Payne, residing in Maple Rapids, 
Clinton County, was born in the State of 
New York, Dec. 2, 1825, and is a son of 
Arnold and Loana (Parker) Payne, natives of 
New York. (See sketch of D . H. Payne.) He 
was brought up after the manner of farmers' 
sons, and followed farming until his services were re- 
quired by his country. 

He enlisted in the third year of the war, in Co. M, 
ist Mich. Eng. and Mechs., and served nearly two 
years. He now resides in Maple Rapids, and owns 
;i farm on section 32, Fulton. 

He was married in 1847, in Ingham Co., Mich., to 
Maria J., daughter of Watson and Eliza Boardman. 
She was born in Connecticut, in the year 1822. The 
following children have been added to the household : 
Sarah L., John A., Arastine M., Daniel VV., Gilbert 
R., Lizzie J., Emmett J. and Caroline J. 

Mr. Payne is politically a Republican. He is a 
member of the Christian Church. 



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I'jichael McNamara, a prominent farmer, 

_^ resident on section 10, Sumner Township, 

"^V- '* was born in County Clare, Ireland, Nov. 
^^^^\ I, 1826; and is a son of James and Mary 
(Curtis) McNamara, natives of the Emerald 
Isle. James McNamara was a farmer by occu- 
pation, and died in his native country, in October, 
1846. His wife died a year and a half later, in the 
spring of 1848. 

The subject of this biographical notice passed his 
youth on the farm on which his father was tenant, as- 
sisting in the slavish life of an Irish farmer in that 
land'.ord-ridden country, who has more powerful ob- 
stacles to his success than the Michigan pioneer who 
goes into the dense forest 20 miles from the nearest 
settlement. In spite of adverse circumstances, how- 



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ever, he acquired a fair common-school education, as 
well as a practical knowledge of life. At the age of 
17, he set out to make his fortune, and at Bristol, 
England, he worked for a master builder for six- 
months. Going then to Cardiff, Wales, he was em- 
ployed on a railroad. Thence he went to Doules, 
and thence to Rummay, where he was employed in 
the iron works for one year. Next, he proceeded to 
Tradaga, where he was similarly engaged for three 
years. 

He then returned to his native place, and after a 
few days' visit he, in company with a sister-in-law, 
tf embarked at Liverpool for the United States. Land- 
ing at New York city in May, 1849, he went first to 
West Stafford, Conn., where he worked for farmers. 
In 185 I, he journeyed to Springfield, Mass., and work- 
ed for one summer in the stone quarries there. He 
then came to Chicago, Grand Rapids and Ionia. 
While operating a hotel at the last named place, he 
met Messrs. Isaac and George Gee, of Gratiot Coun- 
Jr ty, who prevailed upon him to come into the woods, 
■ f. " keep shantv " and work for them. He consented, 
E=a and in April, 1855, made the move. For one year 
A he was thus employed as a common laborer, his wife 
1= doing the housework. During this time he purchased 
\y 80 acres of Government land under the pre-emption 
^ act, on section 10, and at the expiration of the year 
) he commenced working for himself. He built him a 
log house, covered with shakes, and gradually, in 
time, he redeemed his fertile acres from the dense 
forest and useless stumps, and brought into being a 
model farm. From time to time he has added to his 
original 80 acres, and now he has 400 acres, with 250 
^ acres under high cultivation, the most extensive farm 
'•/^ in the township. In place of his first rude dwelling, 
4 with puncheon floor, and with but three boards of 
sawed lumber in its whole construction, he has now 
one of the largest and finest residences in Gratiot 
County, and barns and other farm buildings in pro- 
portion. 

Dec. 31, 1854, near Springfield, Mass., he was unit- 
^ ed in marriage to Miss Margaret Hollarron, a native 
^ of Clare Co., Ireland. She came to this country with 
three sisters when quite young, and for the first four 
years after her arrival she worked as a domestic in 
New York City. She then went to Massachusetts, 
i^v where she was similarly employed until hermarriage. 
\,^ She has been an earnest worker, a faithful wife and 







affectionate mother, and a fit companion to her hus- 
band in his life work. She is the mother of seven 
children, of whom six survive: James, born J>me 6, 
1855; Cornelius, Dec. 29, 1857; Henry, Dec. 26, 
1859; Michael, March 10, 1862; Mary, March 31, 
1864 (died in July, 1866); Katie, July 31, 1869; 
Sarah, Nov. 1 2, 1873. 

Mr. and Mrs. McNamara are connected with the 
Roman Catholic Church. He has held many of the 
tovvnsliip offices, and is at present Drain Commis- 
sioner. Politically, he is a National Greenbacker. 
His oldest son, James, born June 16, 1855, was the 
first white child born in any of the three northern 
tiers of townships in the county. 






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il^mery Adams, farmer, section 5, Arcada 
Township, was born in Sullivan Co., N. Y., 
March 17, 1813, and is the son of Jason 
j>&- and Olive (Bears) Adams, natives of New Eng- 
land, and of the old Puritan stock. His early 
boyhood was spent with his parents in his na- 
tive county and in Seneca Co., N. Y., and later in 
Niagara Co., N. Y. He lived with his parents until 
his marriage, Dec. 24, 1836, in Newfane Township, 
Niagara County, to Rachel M., daughter of John and 
Phebe (Case) Lewis, natives of New York and of 
English and German descent. She was born in 
Montgomery Co., N. Y., Feb. 8, 1818. At the age 
of 14 she removed with her parents to Orleans 
County, and afterwards to Niagara County, where 
she lived until her marriage. 

In the fall of 1837, Mr. and Mrs. Adams came to 
Jackson Co., Mich., where they lived in Liberty 
Township until February, 1854. They then came to 
this county and purchased 360 acres of unbroken 
forest land in Arcada Township. They were among 
the first white settlers in that part of the county, but 
were surrounded by friendly Indians. By his own 
efforts, Mr. Adams has succeeded in improving 100 
acres; and he has given his three married children 
all a good start in farming. He and wife have a very 
pleasant lionie two miles from the village of Alma, 
and stand exceptionally high in the estimation of 
their friends, for upright character, energetic mind 
and hospitable disposition. 

Aug. 12, 1 86 1, Mr. Adams enlisted in Co. C, 8th 



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Mich. Vol. Inf., and he served under Gen. Stephens. 
The principal fighting he saw was in the South Car- 
olina campaign, at Port Royal, James Island and 
Wilmington. He was often detailed for special duty 
while in the service. He was neither captured nor 
wounded, but his health was seriously impaired by 
hard marcliing and by continued exposure. He was 
honorably discharged Dec. 9, 1862, when he returned 
home and gave his attention to improving his farm. 
And well has he succeeded. The first nine days 
after he brought his family to this county, they lived 
in a tent. They then liad a log cabin, and from that 
they have come to have a residence and farm build- 
ings that are an honor to the community in which 
they live. 

Mr. and Mrs. Adams have had 12 children, but 
Death has with unkind hand robbed them of eight. 
The living are: Cynthia C, born Oct. 14, 1855; 
Edwin T-, Feb. 26, 1841; Phebe J., Nov. 29, 1843; 
Loda G., Oct. 17, 1854. Lewis was born Dec. 25, 
1845, and died in October, 1846; Ralph A. was born 
Aprils, i8go, and died Sept. 17, 1852; Martha Maria, 
was born March 17, 1845, and died Feb. 10, 1863; 
and five others died in infancy. Mr. Adams held 
the office of Township Treasurer for three successive 
terms, being the second one elected to that office in 
the township. In politics he is an ardent Republi- 
can. He and wife are active members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church at Alma. 

The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Adams appear on 
other pages. The biographical records of Gratiot 
County are rendered more valuable to the future by 
the addition of the likenesses of these memliers of 
its pioneer settlers who have borne the labors and 
privations of its early history and now enjoy its pros- 
perity. 

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several years, after which he bought a saw-mill, in 
company with two partners. This enterprise lasted 
about three years, and on detacliing himself from it, 
Mr. Wood, associated with his brother, bought 150 
acres of land. His brother was then a soldier in the 
Union army, and his interest in the property contin- 
ued until March, 1865, at which time he came to 
Gratiot County. During the year he bought the 
fanr. he now owns, comprising 165 acres of wild land. 
Of this he retains 125 acres, and his tillable land 
now includes 40 acres. Mr. Wood is a decided Re- 
publican. 

He was first married in Greene Co., Pa., to Eliza- 
beth Leonard. She was born in the Keystone State, 
and became the mother of nine children : William 
L., Archibald H., Levi L, Cephas E., Lena L., Sarah 
Belle, Hannah A., George T. and Henry F. Mrs. 
Wood died in August, 1876. Mr. Wood was again 
married in May, 1880, to Mrs. Emily (Baker) Acker, 
widow of Jonas Acker. Mr. and Mrs. Wood are 
members of the Disciples' Church. 





Cacob Burnham, one of the oldest living 
pioneer settlers in Gratiot County, resident 
at St. Louis, was born April 22, 1805, near 



ames M. Wood, farmer, section 2, Pine 
River Township, was born March 10, 1832, 
in Greene Co., Pa. He is the son of Will- 
iam and Hannah (Hartley) Wood, both of 
whom were natives of Pennsylvania. Until 
he attained his majority, Mr. Wood passed his 
life in attending the connnon schools and working on 
his father's farm. On reaching the period of his 
legal freedom he rented a farm, which he conducted 

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Coburg, Canada West, and is a son of Nathan 
and Joanna (Ferguson) Burnham. He was 
reared on a farm and bred to the calling of an 
agriculturist. On reaching his majority he bought a 
farm and entered upon active, independent life with 
every prospect of smooth, safe progress to prosperity, 
but, in -an unfortunate moment, he signed obligations 
for other parties, whose failure to discharge their own 
indebtedness involved him in a loss of $5,000, by 
which he became dispossessed of his farm. He made 
a determined struggle through the next four years, 
working at carpenter work and in a saw-mill, and 
again bought a farm in the Dominion, located in 
Reach Township, Ontario County. On this he resid- 
ed until the fall of 1856, when he came to St. John's, 
Clinton Co , Mich. A year later he came to St. Louis, 
and entered the employ of Richard G. Hillyer in the 
management of a saw-mill belonging to him and 
Henry L. Holcomb, who afterward became the sole 
proprietor of the property. Mr. Burnham conducted 


















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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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the business of the mill 17 years altogether, since 
which he has been variously engaged. 

The marriage of Mr. Burnham with Nancy Brown 
occurred Sei)t. 16, 1827, near Grafton, Canada. She 
was tlie daughter of Edward and Rachel (Cole) 
Brown, and was born May 4, 18 [o, in Brockville, Can- 
ada. She died Jan. 14, i860, at St. Louis. Of nine 
children born of this union, four are living: Julia 
A., wife of Alexander Chisholm, a farmer of Lafayette 
Township; Phatima B. Z., wife of Moses Thompson, 
a farmer in Dickinson Co., Iowa; Ursula, wife of 
Elijah Going, a miller in Salt River village, Isabella 
County ; Sophronia, wife of Herbert L. Lord, a build- 
er, resident at St. Louis with Mr. Burnham. 

The old home first occupied by Mr. B. and his fam- 
ily on coming to St. Louis was built by Mr. Grooms, 
and it was the first house built on the present site of 
the village. At the date of Mr. Burnham's purchase, 
the town contained les;3 than a dozen families, and 
everything was in the most primitive condition. No 
streets liad been opened and he assisted in opening 
the first thoroughfare. The old home, which was 
purchased by him, together with one and a quarter 
acres of ground, has been recently torn down. It was 
situated on the bank of the river on Main Street, in 
block 46. The first grave was dug in the garden at- 
tached to the house, and received the remains of a 
young girl, Alice Clark. They were afterward in- 
terred in the St. Louis cemetery. Betsey Campbell, 
sister of Miss Clark, was the next to require a final 
resting place, and her body was also buried in the 
same garden, but was sent after some time to Salt 
River village, Isabella County. 





o eorge L. Kemp, farmer, section 16, Pine 
h^ ^ j; River Township, is the son of Jacob M. 
^^a*^ and Harriet (Hoy) Kemp, the former a native 
of West Virginia, the latter of Maryland. 
After their marriage they located in Richland 
Co., Ohio, and in 1857 came to Isabella Co., Mich., 
and thence to St. Louis, Gratiot County, where they 
still reside. 

Mr. Kemp was born May 25, 1846, in Richland 
County, and was a lad of 1 1 years when his parents 
came to Michigan. At 18 he became a soldier in 



the Union cause and enlisted in the 2d Mich. Vol. 
Inf He was in the service 17 months and received 
an honorable discharge. He was 21 years old soon 
after the close of the war, and on attaining his legal 
freedom he settled upon a farm his father bought for 
him while he was absent in his country's defense. 
It was situated in Isabella County, and included 160 
acres, which he continued to improve for 1 1 years, 
when he sold out, and in December, 1879, he re- 
moved to Gratiot County, where he bought 120 acres 
of slightly improved land on section 16 in Pine River 
Township. He has placed 50 acres under good cul- 
tivation, and in the summer of 1881 he built a fine 
modern barn on his farm. In political faith he is a 
Republican. 

Mr. Kemp was married March 14, 1877, to Fran- 
cinkey, daughter of Samuel and Elma Abbott. Her 
mother was born in Kentucky, her father in Pennsyl- 
vania. Mrs. Kemp was born in Kosciusko Co., Ind., 
Oct. 20, 1844. Mr. and Mrs. Kemp are the parents 
of three children : Kittie B., Samuel M. and Freddie 
S. The parents are members of the Disciples' 
Church. 



W\,\ hilip Fritz, farmer, section 36, Newark 
\^_ Township, was born in Venango Co., Pa., 




Jllla^ Feb. 8, 1822, and is the youngest son of his 
CliJ parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Huffman) Fritz. 
'fk They were both natives of the Keystone State 
and of German ancestors. 
When Mr. Fritz was seven years of age, his father 
moved to Medina Co., Ohio, where he lived till 1880 
He then came to Gratiot County, where he died May. 
3, 1882. On reaching manhood, the brothers, Philip 
and Amos, bought their father's farm and managed it 
in company for 18 years, when the former sold his 
interest to his brother and, purchasing a share in the 
estate of his father-in-law, conducted the place six 
years, then sold out, and in April, 1868, he came to 
Gratiot County and purchased 158^ acres of land, 
on which he has since resided. To this he has ad- 
ded 60 acres, and at present writing 136 acres of his 
farm are under cultivation. Mr. P'ritz is a "dyed-in- 
the-wool " Republican, and interested in all matters 
that seem to [xsssess inherent elements likely to ben- 
efit the general public. In 1870 he gave half an acre 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



of land to the township of Newark, adjoining the 
school-house in district No. i, on condition of the 
plat being surrounded with shade trees and the pro- 
per grading done. 

Mr. Fritz was married June 6, 185 i,in Medina Coun- 
ty, to Barbara, second daughter of John and Barbara 
(Giesinger) Wideman. The parents were natives of 
Pennsylvania, removed thence to Canada and later 
to Ohio, where the father died. The mother came 
to Michigan to pass her remaining days and died 
March 9, 1879, in Newark Township. Mrs. Fritz 
was born in Ohio, Dec. 29, 1826. Ten children born 
of this marriage are all living. Their names are, 
Francis J., William O., Amos W., Jacob M., John E., 
Radintha J., Rosalinda, Joseph A., Mary E. and 
Florence A. 

Mr. Fritz has served the township of Newark as 
Collector of taxes five years, and has held the vari- 
ous school offices. He is connected with the Ma- 
sonic fraternity and himself and wife are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 






^-^-SWZWv 




eorge Rockafellow, farmer and stock- 

raiser on section 16, Summer Township, is 

JjraS''* son of John and Elizabeth (Fraley) Rock- 
' y^ » afellow, natives of New Jersey, and of Scotch 

■; and German descent. The father has follow- 
ed the occupation of carpenter and joiner, and 
is yet living, in the State of Nebraska, aged 83. The 
mother died in 1849, in Crawford Co., Pa. 

The subject of this biography was born April 29, 
1839, in Livingston Co., N. Y., and when two years 
old his parents removed to Crawford Co., Pa. Here 
he lived with his parents until 18 years of age, and 
was tlien apprenticed to the trade of wagon-maker, 
under Elliott Byres, of Crawfordstown, Pa. Serving 
his time, he went to the oil regions of Pennsylvania 
and was employed as a drilleruntil July i, 1861. On 
that date iiis patriotic feelings led him to enlist in 
Co. C, 62d Pa. Vol. Inf , and he was assigned to tlie 
Army of the Potomac, under Gen. McClellan. July 
2, 1862, at Malvern Hill, he received a gunsliot wound 
in the right leg. A permanent lameness resulting, 
he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps. 
He fought in tlie seven-days' battle before Rich- 



mond, and in other engagements, and was discharged, 
July 1 1, 1864, after serving three years. 

Returning to his father's farm, he worked there for 
a few months ; and in the spring of 1865 he was ap- 
pointed mail agent on the Warren & Franklin rail- 
road, in Pennsylvania. After a year he was trans- 
ferred to the Farmers' railroad, where he remained 
a year. Coming then to this State, he located 160 
acres on section 16, Sumner Township, then entirely 
in its primitive wild state. After chopping about 10 
acres, he sold, and bought 120 acres on thesamesee- 
tion, where he has since resided. He has since im- 
proved 45 acres, has sold 50 acres, and purchased 80 
acres additional on section 20. 

Sept. 28, 1871, at Salt River, Isabella Co., Mich., 
he was united in marriage to Miss Jane, daughter of 
William and Susanna (Huff) Smith, natives of Somer- 
set Co., Pa. Mr. Smith died in Wood Co., Ohio, in 
1862, aged 60; and Mrs. Smith died in 1870, aged 
59. Jane was born in Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, Jan. 
20, 1842, and was reared and educated in vVood Co., 
Ohio, where she went with her parents when five 
years old. In 187 i, she came to Michigan, and one 
year later she was married. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rockafellow are the parents of four 
children: Charles E., George F., Samuel L., and 
John A. He has held the office of Highway Com- 
missioner, and has also held various school offices. 
Politically, he is a zealous and uncompromising Re- 
publican. 



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Eugene Kirby, manager of the Wright 
House at Alma, was born Sept. 12, 1853, 
;■' "" in Oswego, N. Y. His parents, Capt. Allen 
'A]a M- and Hannah (Scott) Kirby, were natives of 
\d^ Vermont. After their marriage, they located 
I at Oswego. In i860 they removed to East 
Saginaw, where they were resident about 23 years. 
The father there engaged as a Captain on the Lake 
steamers. In the summer of 1883 they removed to 
Detroit, where they now reside. 

Mr. Kirby was nearly six years of age when his 
parents came to East Saginaw. He was there edu- 
cated, and continued to reside until tlie fall of 1883. 
In 1S76 he liecame Clerk of tlie Bancroft House, in 
whicii caiiacity he served about one year, when he 



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engaged as steward of the same house. After dis- 
charging the obligations of the position three and a 
half years, he resumed the duties of clerk, and offi- 
ciated as such two years. He terminated his engage- 
ment in the autumn of 1883, and removed to Alma, 
where he assumed the management of the Wright 
House, which justly claims precedence of similar 
establishments in the Peninsular State. 

Mr. Kirby was married Oct. 30, 1883, at East 
Saginaw, to Hattie M., youngest daughter of Amos and 
Rachel (Ingals) Marlin. Mrs. Kirby was born July 27, 
r863, in Goderich, Canada, where her parents located 
after their marriage. 

Mr. Kirby is identified with the interests and issues 
of the Republican jiarty. He has been "mine host" 
of the Wright House but a comparatively short 
period, but long enough to render himself popular, 
and he has won a highly flattering degree of the 
public confidence. His affable, genial temperament 
and attention to the small considerations which con- 
tribute so largely to the comfort of the patrons of an 
establishment possessing the uncontested claims 
which pertains to the Wright House, is conclusive 
evidence that, in this instance, " the right man is in 
the ' Wright ' place " literally. 



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;, Hi (I (I .Mllard Davis Tucker, editor and proprie- 
^ tor of the St. Louis Herald, a.ViA President 
'l^f^P of the Village of St. I.ouis, was born March 
25, i84i,in Bainbridge, Chenango Co., N. 
Y. His father, Davis Tucker, was born in 
Cherry Valley, Otsego Co., N. Y., Aug. 21, 1808, 
and was the second of eight brothers, sons of Caleb 
and Thirza (Foster) Tucker, their grandfather being 
Joshua Tucker. This branch of his ancestry was 
from Connecticut and Vermont stock, and was orig- 
inally from England and Wales. 

His mother, whose maiden name was Catharine 
Lake, was born Sept. 24, 1808, in Dutchess Co., N. 
Y., and was the fifth in a family of 1 1 children. Her 
father, John McCord Lake, was a Connecticut Yan- 
kee of French and Irish antecedents, and her mother, 
Betsey (De La Matyr) Lake, daughter of Capt. Will- 
iam De La Matyr, of Brooklyn, descended from Hol- 
land stock, and belonged to the now numerous family 




of De La Matyrs who trace their ancestry to one 
Hollander of that name, who immigrated to this 
country and located at what is now Brooklyn, some 
time in the sixteenth century. 

Davis Tucker, father to the subject of this sketch, 
was a farmer and came to Michigan with his family 
in May, 1844, and located in Grass Lake Township, 
Jackson County, where (and in adjoining townships) 
he engaged in his occupation till the spring of 1854, 
when, having purchased a large farm in Branch Coun- 
ty, 1 1 miles west from Coldwater, he removed with 
his family to the new home. Here the father died, 
Oct. 4, 1854, and the property, passing into the hands 
of an administrator, mainly disappeared in costs and 
fees. The remaining members of the family migra- 
ted to Springport, Jackson County, in which town- 
ship, and in the adjoining townships of Hamlin, 
Eaton County, and Clarence, Calhoun County, they 
were engaged in agriculture, having purchased farms 
in each of those townships. 

The subject of this sketch was one of a family of 
seven children, five girls and two boys, being the 
sixth in order, and the second son. Only the two 
sons are living at the present time, the girls one by 
one having all passed away, all having arrived at 
womanhood, and all, excepting the youngest, mar- 
ried and with families. The brother, Albert C, 
resides in Charlotte, Eaton County. From and after 
1859, the subject of this sketch, his youngest sister, 
Martha De Ette, and his mother, constituted " the 
family," the others having all gone for themselves. 
Mr. Tucker received a common-school education, and 
has taught three terms of school ; the winter of 1863-4 
in his own district in Clarence, the winter term of 
1868-9 'f^ St. Louis, in what is now called the " West 
Branch," and in 187 1-2 in District No. 2, fractional, 
of Pine River and Arcada. 

\t the breaking out of, and during, the war, Mr. 
Tucker greatly desired to respond to the country's 
call for defenders, but, owing to the duties devolving 
upon him in the care of an aged mother and young 
sister,, it seemed a thing impossible to do. In the 
summer of 1864, however, circumstances seemed 
more propitious, and he enlisted as a private in Co. 
D, 28th Mich. Vol. Inf., and was mustered into the 
service at Marshall, Sept. i, afterwards going to Kal- 
amazoo, where the organization of the regiment was 
completed. The regiment went South in October, 



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hattii^ at Louisville, where Companies Dand B were 
put to detached service, and did duty at I^uisvilk, 
Nashville and intermediate localities, till February, 
1865, when the regiment was assigned to the 23d 
Army Corps, and ordered to join the command in 
North Carolina. Proceeding to Alexandria, Va., a 
three- weeks halt was necessary to await the breaking 
up of the ice in the Potomac, after which the regi- 
ment proceeded Ijy water to Beaufort, N. ('., thence 
to Newbern, where Mr. Tucker was left in the small- 
pox hospital, having contracted that dread disease in 
Alexandria, and suffering everything but death dur- 
mg the week's stormy passage on the Atlantic. 
When partially recovered from tliis. he passed througli 
a siege of pneumonia, supplemented with hernia of 
the lungs and mumps, and when discharged, June 
15, 1865, after the close of the war, his health was 
very much broken. He gradually recovered, but it 
was two years before he regained his usual health. 

In August, 1866, Mr. Tucker, with his mother and 
sister, removed to St. Louis, Gratiot County, then a 
small hamlet, and engaged in the business of build- 
ing, which calling he followed until March i, 1881, 
when he bought the St. Louis Herald, and the duties 
of editor and publisher have since occupied his time 
and attention. The Herald is the oldest paper by 
priority of establishment published at St. Louis, and 
is the only National Greenback paper in the county. 
It has a large and growing circulation in Gratiot and 
adjoining counties, and enjoys a liberal advertising 
patronage. The job work and ornamental printing 
done at this office is of the best, and would be a 
credit to towns of a much larger size. The Herald's 
influence in politics is considerable, it being a fear- 
less exi)onent and advocate of anti-monopoly and 
the principles of the National Greenback Labor 
party. 

The death of his sister, De Ette, occurred Nov. 8, 
1871, after an illness of more than seven months. 
His mother died Aug. 18, 1882, having been an in- 
valid with rheumatism for nearly five years, and most 
of that time in nearly a helpless condition. 

Mr. Tucker remained a bachelor until Dec. 17, 
1883, when he was married, in Jackson, Mich., to 
Miss M. Louise Briggs, one of the most highly es- 
teemed young ladies of St. Louis. She is a daughter 
of Ira R. and Eliza Briggs, and was born in Wales, 
St. Clair Co., Mich., June 30, i860. 



Mr. Tucker has for several years been quite prom- 
inent in local politics. On the incorporation of the 
village of .St. Louis in the fall of 1868, he was 
elected Street Commissioner, and served one term. 
In the spring of 1873 he was elected a member of 
the Village Board of Trustees and served two years. 
In 1875-6-7 he was Village Clerk, and in 1875 was 
also Clerk of Pine River Township, and was Village 
Marshal during tlie year 1877. In the spring of 
1880, having moved into tiie township of Bethany 
(in which St. Ix)uis is in part located), he was elected 
Supervisor of his township, and was re-elected in 
1 88 1 and 1882. In 1880 he was the Fusion candi- 
date for Judge of Probate, and received upward of 
2,400 votes in a total of 5,000. His defeat was the 
fate of the whole ticket, with the exception of Prose- 
cuting Attorney. In March, 1883, he ran on the 
"People's" ticket for Village President, and was 
elected, receiving considerably more than twice as 
many votes as his opponent. He was re-elected in 
the spring of 1884. 

The portrait of Mr. Tucker is presented on another 
page. 



-5- 



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{jlamuel Newton, farmer, section 20, Emer- 
^ son Townshij), was born in Bucknershire, 
Eng., June 12, 1831, and is a son of Thomas 



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1' and Ann (Hine) Newton, natives of England, 
and residing on a farm but 45 miles from the 
city of London. He is a lineal descendant of 
the old Newton family of which Sir Isaac was the 
most distinguished member. His parents came to 
the Great Republic in 1850, and finally settled in 
Barry Co., Mich. In that county his mother died in f 
1858. His father still lives, aged 73. 

Samuel's educational advantages were very limited. 
At the age of seven he went to live with his grand- 
parents, and when 14 years old he was apprenticed 
to John S. Monday, a butcher of Aylesbury, England. 
Two years and a half later, he went to London and 
worked as a " jour " in the trade he had learned. 
Afterward he was employed on a railroad. In 1850 
he took ship for this country. For the first eight 
years after his arrival, he farmed near Ann Arbor, 
this State. (fn 

Sept. s, 1852, in Washtenaw County, he was united ^ 



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in the bonds of matrimony to Jane, daughter of Will- 
iam and Isabella (Evans) Imisson, natives of York- 
shire, England. Mr. Imisson was a shoemaker b)' 
trade, and followed that calling until he came to this 
country in 1852. Since then he has been a farmer. 
He settled in what is now Emerson Township in 
1854. When the township was organized, it was in- 
tended to name it in his honor; but "E " was sub- 
stituted for " I " by mistake. He died in September, 
1880, nearly 70 years old. His wife now lives with 
her daughter, enjoying a ripe old age of 75 years. 
The daughter was born in Yorkshire, Eng., Nov. 10, 
1833. Six years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. 
Newton settled on section 21, Emerson Township. 
In 1867 he purchased on section 20, 80 acres, his 
present residence; he has since added 40 acres, and 
has altogether 60 acres of highly improved laud. 
He has made all improvements, and erected all build- 
ings, himself. 

Mr. and Mrs. Newton have had nine children, of 
whom si.x survive : Martha J., born July 19, 1854; 
Mary B., March 17, 1859; William H., Aug. i, 1861 ; 
Jessie L., Jan. 13, 1864; Ellie M., Oct. 7, 1866; 
Frederick C, July 11, 1870. A baby died in infancy; 
Sammie was born Dec. 30, 1869, and died Jan. 2, 
1870; Nora was born April 5, 1873, and died Aug. 
12, 1875. Mr. Newton is a member of Emerson 
Lodge, No. 375, I. C). O. F., and holds the office of 
Guard. He has been Overseer of Roads for a num- 
ber of years, and in jxslitics is a Democrat. 



^B 




.'ames Otto, farmer on section 9, Fulton 
Township, is a son of George and Ara 
(I'arrish) Otto, natives of New York State. 
He was born in Wayne Co., N. Y., Oct. r 1 , 
1833, and was but two years old when his par- 
ents removed to Hillsdale Co., this State. 
Here he received a common-school education, and 
remained at home most of the time until 24 years 
old. In the summer of 1S55, he came to tliiscounty, 
and bought 80 acres of wild land on sections 7 and 
10, Fulton Township. He has since added 40 
acres on section 4, and has over 100 acres nicely im- 
proved. 

April 26, 1858, in Fulton Township, he married 
Miss Josephine, daughter of .Vndrew T. and Sarah 




(Runnels) Wordwell, natives of New York State. 
Mrs. O. was l)orn in Waterloo, N. Y., Oct. 19, 1843. 
She and her husband are the parents of 1 2 children, 
eight of whom survive : .\ra, Ira T., Amasa J., Alma, 
Perry, Ampter B., Leroy and Zelma M. The de- 
ceased all died in infancy, Mr. O. has been Con- 
stable two years, and has held the minor school of- 
fices. In politics, he supports the Republican party. 
He and wife are members of the Christian Church. 



/^•>^ Witt C. Chapin, deceased, formerly one 
jl of Gratiot County's prominent citizens, was 
'^' "^ a son of Theodore H. and Margaret 
(Fox) Chapin, natives of New England and 
New York respectively. Theodore H. Chapin 
was by profession a lawyer, and practiced at 
the Bar until his death. The family comprised three 
sons : De Witt C, Theodore H., Jr., and Christo- 
pher F. 

The subject of this biography was born May 28, 
1816, and received his education m the common 
schools of Lockport, N. Y., and at the academy at 
Lewiston, N. V., of which latter institution he was a 
graduate. He then read law in the office of his 
father, and was admitted to the Bar before he was 2 r 
years of age. About 1837 he came to Michigan, lo- 
cating in Cass Coimty one year. He next lived for 
several years in Southern Illinois, and a short time 
in Farmington, Oakland County, this State. Going 
to Clinton County, he was elected Clerk of that 
county for two years. Then removing to Allegan 
County, he was for four years Prosecuting Attorney, 
and four years Judge of Probate. Returning to 
Clinton County, lie was for three terms again County 
Clerk. 

In December, 1864, he came to Gratiot County 
and located at .'Mma, where he followed his profes- 
sion five years. In the fall of 1870, he was elected 
Register of Deeds of this county, and removed to 
Ithaca. He was re-elected in the fall of 1872, and 
continued to fill that responsible office until his 
death, Jan. 29, 1873, ending a life of exceptional 
activity and usefulness. He had filled important 
county offices for nearly 20 years; was endowed 
with peculiar talents; possessed of unquestioned in- 
tegrity, and universally liked and respected. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






Dec. 25, 1843, he formed a life partnership, in 
•ij Clinton Co., Mich., with Miss Edna F., daughter of 
William and Mahala Utley, natives of Vermont. 
Edna F., the fourth of a family of nine, was born in 
Ontario Co., N. Y., Dec. 18, 1822. By her marriage 
with Mr. Chapin, she had a family of ten, six surviv- 
ing: Margaret M., Delia H. (deceased), William W. 
(deceased), Ella F., Laura C, Nettie M. (deceased), 
Frank W., Fred. W., Carrie F. and Louise (deceased). 

About i860, Mr. Chapin purchased 326 acres of 
land on section 31, Pine River Township, which 
estate has been equitably divided among the chil- 
dren ; and Mrs. Cliapin now lives a tran(iuil life with 
her sons, Frank and Fred. 

The portrait of Mr. Chapin is presented on another 
page. Its appearance in the Portrait and Biographi- 
cal Album of Gratiot County adds materially to the 
value of the volume, and will be the source of gen- 
eral satisfaction. 




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feenry Read, a prominent farmer, section :, 
^.j^^^l Fulton 'I'ownship, is a son of Henry and 
>^ Sarah A. (Ranger) Read, natives of England, 
where the father died, June 24, 1851. Mrs. 
Read came with her family to America in 1854, 
and settled in Ohio, where she married Albert 
Wheeler, March 17, 1858. He was a native of Con- 
necticut. They came to Gratiot County the same 
year, and settled in Fulton Township, where he died, 
Nov. 22, 1881. Mrs. Wheeler liad by her first hus- 
» band three children, — Rosa L, Henry, and Frederick 
(died at the age of nine). 

The subject of this biograj-liical narrative was 
born in England, Feb 26, 1848, and was four years 
old when the family emigrated to tiie (ireat Repub- 
lic. He received a limited education in tlie.common 
schools of Ohio and Michigan, antj at the early age 
of 14 began to work by the month at farming. This 
he followed seven years, and then rented a farm for 
himself, which he worked for two years. In 1S71, 
he bought 40 acres of partly improved land on sec- 
tion 1, Fulton Township, to which he has since ad- 
ded 40 acres. He has good buildings, and has 
about 60 acres under cultivation. 
(& Oct. 9, 1870, in Clinton Co., Mich., he was mar- 
N» ried to Miss Mary C, daughter of Jacob and Nancy 









(Lewis) Hanes, natives of Pennsylvania. She was 
born in WilUams Co., Ohio, Sept. 15, 185 i. Mr. and 
Mrs. Read are the parents of three children: Fred- 
erick H., Robert H. and Bessie F. Robert died 
when 14 months old. Mr. R. was elected Justice of 
the Peace in 1882, and now holds that otifice. Polit- 
ically, he supports the Democratic party. He and 
wife are members of the Congregational Church. 



^^^-^^S-^ — 




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elmar W. Ely, editor of the Alma Record, 
was born Aug. 29, 1853, in Chautauqua 
Co., N. Y., and is a son of Derwin and Hel- 
en (Hart) Ely. His father was a native of 
Chavitauqua County also, and the marriage of 
his parents occurred in the village of Delanti, 
in the same county. They remained there resident 
two years, when they came to Michigan and, in 1855, 
settled in Alma. The father was a farmer and built 
a pioneer house on the north bank of Pine River. 
He inhabited his log house a year and erected a 
dwelling on the south bank of the " Pine," which is 
now incorporated in the building known as the " Mey- 
er House." Two years later he sold out to his broth- 
er, Flavius, and returned to his native county, where 
he resumed his occupation as agriculturist and re- 
mained seven years. On the death of his brother, 
Flavius, at Alma, he returned to that place and as- 
sumed charge of the children of his brother. He is 
still resident at Alma, and combines the occupations 
of builder and farmer. 

Mr. Ely remained under the management and 
guardianship of his parents until he was 18 years of 
age, when he began teaching school. He taught a 
term in a rural district of Isabella County, and after- 
wards repeated the experience in Gratiot County. In 
order to improve his education, and to fit himself for 
a life of usefulness in accordance with his preferences 
and hopes, lie attended the State Normal School at 
Ypsilanti three terms. After leaving school, he ob- 
tained a position in the Auditor General's office at 
Lansing, and officiated in the capacity of clerk nearly 
seven years. In June, 1882, he returned to Alma, 
and was engaged during the summer in light farm- 
ing, after which he turned his attention to transac- 
tions in real estate, in which he was engaged until 
November, 1883. In that month, he assumed the 



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editorial management of the journal published at 
Alma, and known as the Alma Recoii/.- In political 
principles Mr. Ely is independent, but his tendencies 
incline to harmonize with the tenets and issues of 
the Republican party. 

He was married at Jackson Jan. 21, 1880, to Min- 
nie H., daughter of Newton and Jane (McFarland) 
Whitney. Mrs. Ely was born Nov. 8, 1855, in Lan- 
sing. Jessie G.,only child, was born April 21, 1882. 

eorge E. Gee, farmer and stock-raiser, sec- 
tion 15, Sumner Township, is a son of 
*^ Joseph and Eleanor (Seaton) Gee, and was 
' » born in Lyons Township, Wayne Co., N. Y., 
Sept. 23, 1 833. At the tender age of six years, 
he was left to fight life's battles without the 
protecting guidance of a father. For three years he 
was under the care of a Mr. Gardner, of his native 
county, attending school winters, and working sum- 
mers for his board and clothing. From this time 
until 18, he worked by the month for two substantial 
farmers in his neighborhood. He then went home 
and worked the homestead farm for three years. In 
the summer of 1854, he went to Cleveland to join his 
brother Isaac (see sketch), and in the fall of that year 
came to this county and located 400 acres on the 
corners of sections 10, 11, 14 and 15. 

The following spring, in company with his brother, 
he began the task, which, persevered in, has made a 
model farm, one of the best in the county. He has 
retained of his original purchase 230 acres, 200 of 
which are in a state of scientific and profitable culti- 
vation. He has over 2,200 rods of tile drainage, and 
his residence, barns, etc., are just what one would 
expect to see under the ownership of a man like 
George E. Gee. He has a well 206 feet deep, from 
which excellent mineral water flows. 

April 25, 1858, in Pine River Township, at tlie 
residence of the bride's parents, he was married to 
Miss Rachel A. Kress, daughter of James and Mary 
(Hultz) Kress, natives of New York, and of French 
and German extraction. James Kress has been a 
farmer, and, with his wife, now lives in Alma. Their 
daughter, Rachel, was born in Liberty Township, 
Jackson Co., Mich., Nov. 30, 1842. When 13 years 






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old, her parents came to Gratiot County and settled 
at Alma, where nothing but log huts were then to be 
seen. There she was reared and educated, and, 
after teaching two terms of school, was married, at 
the ageof 16. She has been a faithful wife, an affec- 
tionate mother, and a good neighbor. She has been 
the mother of four children: Jay, Lulah (deceased), 
Eulah and Eddie. 

The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Gee are presented 
herewith. Some years ago Mr. Gee suffered from 
a sunstroke, which, coupled with his energetic, am- 
bitious spirit, has brought upon him the most terrible 
affliction to which humanity is heir. Disease and 
overwork destroyed the texture of an unusually fine 
mental organism, and in 1880 he was placed under 
the care of skilled and efficient physicians at the 
asylum at Kalamazoo, where he receives all possible 
aid and tender consideration. In his living death, 
he is sincerely lamented and lovingly remembered 
by kindred and friends. 

o^«!i«-5is!-o — 3>~H« — • 

oseph Sidel, farmer on section 15, Fulton 
Township, is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth 
(Murray) Sidel, natives of Pennsylvania. 
They first settled in Perry Co., Pa., afterwards 
removing to Lawrence County, same State, and 
thence to Wood Co., Ohio, where they died. 
The subject of this biography was born in Perry 
Co., Pa., Sept. 8, 1833, and was educated in the 
common schools. At the age of 18, he was appren- 
ticed for three years to learn the blacksmith trade. 
After serving his time, he started in business for him- 
self in Lawrence County. Five years later he re- 
moved to Wood Co., Ohio, where he followed his 
trade, and also bought a small farm. His home was 
there for six years, including three years spent in the 
service of the Stars and Stripes. 

Aug. 10, 1862, he enlisted in the 123d Uiiio Vol. 
Inf., and during his term he fought at Winchester, 
Martinsburg, and numerous other engagements. At 
the siege of Petersburg, he was taken prisoner, only 
three days before the surrender of Lee. After his 
brief incarceration, he was honorably discharged, at 
Columbus, Ohio. In the spring of 1866, he came to 
Gratiot County, and purchased 40 acres on section 
It, Fulton Township, where he lived, improving the 




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same, for three years. Selling out, he purchased 40 
acres on section 14, where he lived a year and a 
half. He then traded for 40 acres on section 15, 
where he now resides. He now owns 120 acres, 96 
of which are under cultivation. In the summer of 
1882, lie built a fine residence. He has also sub- 
stantial barns, and other necessary buildings. 

Jan. 5, 1854, he married Nancy J., daughter of 
William and Mary .\. (.Summerville) .Allen, natives 
of Pennsylvania. She was born in Lawrence Co., 
Pa., Feb. 18, 1834. Having no children of their 
own, Mr. and Mrs. Sidel have reared from infancy 
three children of his sisters: Joseph Delano, Nettie 
C. Delano and Ella .\. .Sidel. 

Mr. S. was elected Township Clerk in 1883. Po- 
litically, he is a Democrat. His wife is a member of 
the Lutheran Church. 



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thniel C. Brooks, farmer, section 24, Pine 
^|& River Township, was born Oct. 22, 1822, 



in Trumbull Co., Ohio. His parents, John 
and Hannah (Russell) Brooks, were natives of 
Massachusetts, and settled in Trumbull County 
in 181 2, where they passed tlie remainder of 
their lives. The father died in 1S22, and the mother's 
death occurred in 1824. 

The son was in infancy when his parents died, and 
he was cared for by his grandfather until he was 13 
years of age. He obtained some schooling previous 
to that age, and on finding himself thrown ujxan his 
own resources he was variously engaged in lumber- 
ing and other occupations until he was 25 years old. 
In 1847 he bought a farm in his native county, which 
contained 72 acres. This he sold and bought another, 
and these transactions were several times repeated 
until 1874, when he came to Gratiot County and 
bought tlie farm whereon he now resides, comprising 
77 acres. He has now 63 acres all under advanced 
improvement. He is a Democrat in political faith. 
Mr. Brooks was married tiie first time in Brace- 
ville, Trumbull Co., Oliio, to Lois Wilmot. She was 
a native of Pennsylvania, and of the five children 
born of the union but one survives, Jessie L. Mary, 
Franklin and two others, unnamed, died in infancy. 
The mother dying, Mr. Brooks was married a second 
time in November, 1869, in Warren, Trumbull Co., 



Ohio, to Mrs. Marcia A. .daughter of Charles Tucker, 
and widow of Robert Russell, M. I). The latter 
was born in Ohio, and died in 1864. Three children 
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brooks: Nellie G., 
Freddie C. and Gale O. Nellie G. died when she 
was two years old. 



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illiam Brice, Supervisor North Shade Town- 
ship, residing on section 17, was the son 
^,^ of Thomas and Charlotte (Gore) Brice, 
^■>> natives of England, where they both died, the 
date thereof being unknown. He was born 
in the native land of his parents, March 10, 
1830, and resided under the parental roof-tree until 
he attained the age of 13 years, when he engaged 
to a farmer in the neighborhood by the month. 

In 1854, Mr. Brice left his native land and sailed 
for tlie United States and landed in New York City. 
He came directly from tliere to this county, and lo- 
cated on section 17, North Shade Township, where 
he is at present residing. 

The experience of Mr. Brice in establishing a home 
in the then wilderness of Michigan, was similar to 
many others of the early pioneers. Obstacles seem- 
ingly insurmountable constantly presented them- 
selves; yet, being endowed with those gifts, energy 
and perseverance, he triumphed over all, and, as a 
monument to his labors, has 70 acres, of the '20- 
acre tract he purchased from the Government, well 
improved, and within his household content sits in 
the lap of plenty and smiles at the trials of the jjast. 

Mr. Brice was one of the pioneer settlers of the 
county, and as such, erected the customary log cabin, 
and in time replaced it with a more substantial struc- 
ture. He has now in course of erection a still more 
commodious and far more handsome dwelling, con- 
sisting of three ujirights, two 16 .\ 26 and the other 
16 X 30, which will cost, when completed, in the 
neighborhood of $2,500. 

Mr. Brice was married Feb. 5, 1854, to Rebecca 
M., daughter of Richard and Sarah Harlow. She 
was born Nov. 25, 1834, and died Sept. 27, 1865, in 
this county. To their union were born three chil- 
dren : Richard W., Maria H. and Sarah E. He 
subsequently married Mrs. Caroline Burt, widow of 
Nathaniel S. Burt, Jr. She was born Nov. 12, 1842, 






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in Ross Township, Kalamazoo County, this State, and 
came to this county with her parents in 1850.- Her 
parents, Norman and Catharine Sturgis, were the first 
settlers of the county. 

Mr. Brice is truly one of the representative men of 
the county, and that he is appreciated by the citizens 
is clearly shown by the recognition of his ability as 
a proper person to hold the offices of trust in the 
township. He has held the position of Supervisor 
for 13 terms, from 1871 to 1884, was Treasurer 
for nine successive years, and has held some Town- 
ship office for the past 22 years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Brice are both memliers of tlie 
Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, Mr. B. is 
a staunch Republican. 




Tohn W. Wolfe, farmer on section 22, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of Jaaies and Mary 
E. (Shonkwiler) Wolfe, and was born in 
Seneca Co., Ohio, May i, 1833 He received a 
good common-school education, and also at- 
tended the Heidelberg College at Tiffin, Ohio. 
He remained at home until he had nearly attained 
his majority and then rented a farm in Seneca Co., 
Ohio, on which he lived for i 2 years. He ne.xt lived 
two years in Clyde, Ohio, and then moved on a farm 
in Seneca County, given Mrs. Wolfe by her father. 
Two years later he sold that place and came to 
Gratiot County. This was in the spring of 1872. 
He bought 140 acres of partly improved land on sec- 
tion 22, Fulton Township, where he now resides. 
He has since added 80 acres to his farm, and now 
has under cultivation 188 acres. In the summer of 
18S1 he built a fine modern dwelling, and his home 
and farm are models of their kind. 

April 6, 1854, in Seneca Co., Ohio, he married Miss 
Harriet, daughter of Michael and Christina (Smith) 
Neikirk, natives of Mar)dand and Pennsylvania, re- 
spectively. Mrs. Wolfe was born in Seneca Co., 
Ohio, Dec. 29, 1834, and is the mother of ten chil- 
dren, nine living : Albert B., Willis K., Doctor Mc, 
James M., Ollie D., John E., David N., Berty W. 
and Clinton L. Myrtie G. died when six months 
old. Mr. Wolfe has held the office of School Di- 
rector. Politically he is a National. He and wife 
are members of the Seventh- Day Advent Society. 



Mrs. Wolfe also finished her education at Heidel- 
berg College. Mr. W. has taught three terms of 
school, and takes a deep interest in school matters. 
He and wife and four of the children — James M., 
Ollie D., John E. and David N. — belong to the order 
of Sons of Temperance. 



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piiiCames L. Foote, farmer, section t,2>^ Lafay- 
■Mt ette Township, is a son of Henry K. and 
S?^^ Minerva (Henderson) Foote, the former a 
native of New York, and the latter of Connecti- 
cut. They settled in Oakland Co., Mich., in 
an early day, where he practiced his profession 
— medicine. In response to his country's call, he 
enlisted in the Fifth Cavalry, and was given the rank 
of a Second Lieutenant. He died in the service at 
Poolesville, Md., in February, 1864. His wife passed 
the remainder of her days with her children, and 
died at the home of her son, James, in January, 1881. 
James L. Foote was born in Oakland Co., Mich., 
Jan. 9, 1837. He was educated in the common 
schools of that county, and lived there till 24 years of 
age, following the business of farming. In .August, 
1862, he enlisted in the 5th Mich. Vol. ("av., with 
the rank of (Quartermaster Sergeant, and he was with 
his father when the latter died. His regiment served 
under Kilpatrick and Custer. After 19 months' serv- 
ice, he was honorably discharged at Washington. He 
then returned to Oakland County, and after a short 
time removed to Gratiot County, where he began to 
improve the farm which he had bought, consisting of 
160 acres, on the northwest quarter of section t,t,, 
where he now resides. He has 60 acres under cul- 
tivation, with good farm buildings. His stock com- 
prises 15 cattle, 3 horses, 60 sheep and 10 hogs. 

Mr. Foote was first married, in Oakland County, to 
Caroline R., daughter of Enoch and Isabella Shepard, 
and a native of Michigan. This marriage was 
blessed with six children, five of whom are living: 
Henry K , Belle, Minerva, Rolla E. and Caroline R. 
Ernest died in infancy. The mother died May 8, 
1874. Mr. Foote was again married .\pril 27, 1876, 
to Elizabeth, daughter of William and Susanna 
(Bates) Barnes, natives of England, where Mrs. 
Foote was born .\pril 2, 1847. By this second mar- 
riage, there are four children: Sarah I,., May J., 
Gertrude M. and Jessie L, 












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Mr. Foote has been Township Treasurer one year, 
Clerk four years, Justice of the Peace four years, and 
has held various school offices. He is a member of 
the I. O. O. F., and is iwlitically a Republican. 

p eorge W. Price, farmer, section 23, Fulton 
%. Township, is a son of William R. and 
Mary G. (Page) Price. They were born and 
married in the old town of Gilmanton, Bel- 
knap Co., N. H., where they resided until 1855. 
Mr. Price then came to Gratiot County, and the fol- 
lowing year he returned and brought his family. 
They settled on section 22, Fulton Township, where 
he owned 140 acres, mostly wild land. They par- 
tially improved this land and resided on it until 
1872. Mr. Price then sold and removed to'Maple 
Rapids, where he died, April 15, 1879, and she, April 
19, same year. Their family comprised three sons 
and three daughters: George W., Charles A., Mary 
.\., John W., Sarah and Clara. 

The subject of this biographical narrative, the 
eldest of the family, was born in Gilmanton, Belknap 
Co., N. H., Dec. 2, 1834. He attended the common 
schools, the Belknap County Academy, and for three 
months the Gilmanton .\cademy. He taught school 
two terms. With the exception of one summer he 
lived at home until 21 years old. He then went to 
Lynn, Mass., and for four years was employed as 
foreman on the "Town Farm." He was then em- 
ployed in the grocery business at the same place 
until June, 1861, when with his wife he came to 
Gratiot County. He purchased 40 acres on section 
22, Fulton Township, and there lived until 1866, 
when lie sold out and then bought So acres on sec- 
tion 23, his present residence. He has now 55 acres 
improved and under cultivation. He has for a num- 
ber of years also dealt in stock. 

June 4, r 86 1, at Lynn, Mass., he was married to 
H. Ann, daughter of David and Caroline (Rhodes) 
Oliver, natives of Lynn, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver 
resided in Lynn until her death, Dec. 12, 1849. He 
then came to Ohio, and for 11 years lived with his 
daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Huntington. He then 
came to Gratiot County and passed the last 19 years 
of his life with his daughter, Mrs. Price. He died 
April 28, 1883, aged 95 years and six months. 



Mr. and Mrs. Price, having no children of their 
own, reared and educated an orphan, Samantha J. 
Hatfield, who lived with them until her marriage. 
Mr. Price has held the office of Justice of the Peace 
one term, and has been also School Inspector. He 
was apix)intcd Notary Public in 1872, which office 
he now holds. He ib a Royal Arch Mason, and, with 
his wife, belongs to Essex Grange, at Maple Rapids. 
They are prominent members of the East Fulton 
Congregational Church. At the organization of that 
society there were but four members, of whom Mr. 
and Mrs. P. were two. He was the only male mem- 
ber. He has lieen Clerk of the Church from the 
beginning to the present time. Politically, Mr. Price 
leans to Democracy. He is, however, a strong Pro- 
hibitionist, and takes a deep interest in all temper- 
ance movements. 



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ames McGregor, farmer on the west half 
II^IL "f the S. E. i^ of sec. 18, Bethany Tp., is a 



McGregor, of Scotch ancestry, and was born 
in Donegal, Ireland, May 4, 1825. When he 
was ten years of age his parents moved to On- 
tario Co., N. Y., and followed farming there a num- 
ber of years. Mrs. McG. died there, and the re- 
mainder of the family removed, in 1847, to this State, 
settling in Somerset Township, Hillsdale C'ounty, 
and residing there about a year. Not liking the 
country, all except two brothers returned to New 
York. 

One of the latter, the subject of this sketch, re- 
mained there four years, and next was a year and a 
half in the employ of Dr. Patterson at Tecumseh, 
Lenawee Co., Mich. He then returned to New York, 
and was married in Canandaigua, Ontario Co., N. Y., 
Jan. I, 1849, to Miss (Catherine Hanavan, a native 
of Ireland. Of their seven children, since born, six 
are living, namely: Fanny, born Oct. 26, 1849, and 
died May 24, 1864; William, born Aug. 5, 1851, now 
living in Canandaigua, N. Y.; Robert, born Dec. 27, 
1853; Mary E., Sept. 14, 1857; Emma, Sept. 14, 
i860; James A., Sept. 21, 1862 ; and George B., Dec. 
I, 1864. 

In 1857 Mr. McGregor again returned to Hillsdale 



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Co., Midi., farmed on shares for several years, then 
bought r 20 acres in Somerset Township, on which 
he lived two years ; then he sold and came to Beth- 
any Township in 186S, and purchased 80 acres 
where he now lives. He has cleared 80 acres, has 
an orchard, has built a nice residence, barns, etc. 



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1 VT^jl iiHlliam J. Gargett, farmer and stock-raiser 
" iiSsyiif on section 16, Sumner Township, was born 
JrSo " '^ Ms'i"''^ Co., Ohio, Dec. 26, 1841, and 
"^> is a son of John and Mary (Woodward) Gar- 
gett, natives of Yorkshire, England. John 
Gargett was a farmer, and came to the United 
States in 1828, locating in Ohio, where he still lives, 
aged 81. His wife is 69 years old, and they are truly 
/-; ■) a venerable pair. 

The subject of this biography passed his youth on 
^ his father'? farm, and received his education in the 
common schools and at Berea University, wliich he 
attended for two years. In September, 1861, at the 
age of 19, he enlisted in Battery A., ist Ohio Vol. 
Light Artillery, under the command of W. F. Good- 
speed. He was in all the principal engagements of 
the Army of the Cumberland, and at Stone River he 
^ was captured by the rebels. He remained under their 
inhospitable protection but one hour, for in that short 
space of time he was recaptured. He was slightly 
wounded in the left leg at the battle of Chickamauga. 
He was sick in the winter of 1861-2, with typhoid 
fever, but during the most of the war was actively 
engaged in marching or fighting. He was promoted 
to Corporal Sept. 13, 1864, and discharged at Cleve- 
land, Ohio, July 31, 1865. 

Returning to his home in Medina County, Mr. Gar- 
gett shortly came to this State and county, and loca- 
ted 120 acres on section :6, SumnerTownship, wiiere 
he has since resided. In September, 1866, at Nortli 
Plains, Ionia County, he joined his fortunes for life 
n\ with Miss Catharine A., daughter of Thomas and 
I Eleanor (Seaton) Barnborough, natives of Ireland and 
.''. New York, respectively. Tliey were of English and 
;■, Scotch descent, and died, the former at North Plains, 
■<,( Ionia County, in November, 1881, and the latter in 
, Sumner Township, this county, in February, 1883. 
-.^ Mrs. Gargett, their daughter, was born in Lyons, 






Wayne Co., N. Y., Aug. 14, 1842, and when nine 
years old came with her parents to Ionia Co., Mich. 
In that county she was educated, and she taught 
school for several terms. 

Immediately after marriage, Mr. and Mrs. G. set- 
tled on their then new farm, which contained little 
but standing wood and log heaps. He lias since 
demonstrated his capacity as a farmer by bringing 100 
acre's of his place to a high state of cultivation, and 
has built a comfortable residence and substantial 
barns. Mrs. G. owns 80 acres, 60 of which are im- 
proved, on section 21. Mr. Gargett is highly respect- 
ed and popular,and has been Highway Commissioner 
for six years and has held all the school district offi- 
ces. Politically, he is a Republican. 



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J^gbertson Goodrich, deceased, formerly 
resident on section 35, Pine River Town- 
ship, was born Oct. 31, 1825, in Oakland 
iS. Co., Mich. He was a son of Alanson and 
k- Sarah (Stout) Goodrich, both of whom were 
J born in the State of New York. His parents 
came to De Witt, Clinton County, in 1836. They 
were pioneers of Oakland ('ounty and at the time of 
their removal there that section of Michigan was in 
an entirely natural state. Their children were born 
and reared under all the circumstances inciden'. to 
first settlers. The conditions in Clinton County 
were precisely the same, and there Mr. Goodrich 
continued his experiences as the son of a pioneer 
and shared with the family the privations and pleas- 
ures of that variety of existence. He went to Ne- 
waygo County when he was 25 years of age and 
again encountered the experiences, which were no 
longer novel. He lived in the township of Big 
Prairie ten years and was engaged during that time 
in lumbering on the Muskegon River. In i860 he 
returned to De Witt, where he resided until 1865. In 
the spring of that year he again voluntarily renewed 
his pioneer life in Gratiot County, settling in Pine 
River Township, where he bought 144 acres of land. 
He spent the remaining year.s of liis life in improv- 
ing his property ; and the handsome estate, with its 
attractive brick residence, fine large barn and other 















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creditable farm buildings, present substantial testi- 
mony of his good taste, judgment and the energy 
and perseverance which wrought such results. He 
died Aug. 2, 1882, and left the record of a well-spent 
life. He is held in honored and loving remembrance 
by his family and neighbors. His portrait is pre- 
sented on another page. 

Mr. Goodrich was first married to Elizabeth A. 
Lott, who was born in Michigan. Of this marriage 
two children were born : George and Viola. The elder 
of these died Dec. 14, 1881, when he was 23 years 
of age. The mother died Dec. 16, 1855. Mr. Good- 
rich was a second time mariied, Oct. 23, 1864, to 
Louisa (Tinkhani) Lounsbury, daughter of Levi and 
Lydia (Chase) Tinkham and widow of Herman H. 
Lounsbury. The latter was born in Oakland County 
and died in the service of his country, Jan. 2, 1863. 
Alanson M., Francis M. and Bertie are the names of 
the children of Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich. 

I'Sharles M. Brown, dealer in saddlers and 
pij^ harness-makers' goods at Ithaca, was born 




Sept. 10, 1857, in Niagara Co., N. Y., and is 
the son of Merritt J. and Fannie E. (Swan) 
Brown. His father was born in 1826 in Ni- 
agara County, is a miller by trade, and resides at 
present in Kent County, this State. His mother was 
born in Niagara County, and is descended from 
English and Scotch ancestry. In 186 1 the family 
went to Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., where tlie father en- 
listed in the service of the United States. He fought 
to the close of the war. 

They settled at Pompei, Gratiot County, in 1865, 
and the senior Brown came to Ithaca and was em- 
ployed in the saw and grist mill of William M. Corn- 
stock, in which he bought an interest a year later, 
and the family moved to Ithaca. 

Mr. Brown attended the common schools until he 

^~^ was 15 yeais old, when lie secured a situation as 

clerk at Ithaca He operated in that capacity until 

• '■■■ May, 1876, when he went to learn the trade of har- 

§ness-niakerwith Theodore Ryckman. He remained 
until the fall of 1879, acquiring the details necessary 
,(i) to a perfect knowledge of the business. He then 
V^ engaged in journey-work until March, 1882, when lie 



purchased the interests and business relations of his 
former employer. He is doing a good business and 
carries a fine stock of all varieties of goods common 
to similar establishments; he employs two or three 
assistants. Besides his business he owns two build- 
ing lots in Ithaca. In the spring of 1882 he was 
elected Clerk of Ithaca Township. 



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j^eely D. Hicks, farmer, section 32, Bethany 
Township, was born July 24, 1831. in 
a Orange Township, in wiiat is now Schuyler 
County. He is a son of David and Mary 
Hicks. His father was born in March, 1801, 
and was a descendant of English and German 
ancestors. He passed the early years of his life in 
the business of builder, and at 35 years of age bought 
72 acres of land in the extreme southeastern corner 
of the township of Orange, where he passed the re- 
maining years of his life, and died in April, 1862. 
His wife and nine children survived him. Three 
daughters passed to the land of the hereafter before 
him. Mary (Buck) Hicks, the mother, was born in 
Connecticut, and was a daughter of Ebenezer and 
Jane Buck. She died on the homestead in Novem- 
ber, 1866. 

The first important event in the life of Mr. Hicks, 
of this sketch, was his marriage to Clarissa, daughter 
of Moses H. and Betsy Benham. She was born Jan. 
6, 1834, in Reading, Steuben Co., N. Y., and was 
married Nov. 23, 1852. In the spring of 1853, Mr. 
Hicks bought 43 acres of land in the township of 
Dix, Chemung Co., N. Y., and continued its manage- 
ment two years. In the fall of 1855 he sold the 
farm, left his wife with lier mother, and turned his 
face Westward, designing to go to Minnesota to pur- 
chase land. He met an uncle in McHenry Co., 111., 
who induced him to go to Missouri, where, in the 
spring of 1856, he bought 160 acres of land in Da- 
viess County. 'i"he land office was situated in Platte 
County, whither he proceeded twice to arrange the 
necessary preliminaries to secure his title. Tlie 
period was one that stands most prominent in the 
political record of this country, and that [lart of Mis- 
souri swarmed with liorder ruffians. The state of 
luniioil and violence seemed terrific to people o 



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peaceable proclivities and quiet aspirations, and on 
the 23d day of May Mr. Hicks left Missouri for his 
native State, where he remained until April, 1869, 
when he came to Kent Co., Mich. In company with 
Archibald Robbins and J. W. Griswold, he built a 
saw, planing, shingle and lath mill in Spencer Town- 
ship, and managed its affairs with satisfactory results 
three years. At the e.xpiration of that time, he sold 
his interest and went to Maple Valley, Montcalm 
County, and managed a saw-mill for a Grand Rapids 
firm. This completed the si.xth year in which he 
had been constantly engaged in building and running 
saw-mills. He next went to Bay City, where he was 
offered $5 per day to run a circular saw, but declined 
the position. In July, 1874, he bought the farm 
where he has since resided, and has 58 acres in a 
state of advanced cultivation, with a fine orchard 
large barns, and a most attractive residence. He is 
considered the representative farmer of Bethany 
Township. 

Mr. Hicks has always been a warm advocate of the 
principles upon which the Repuldican party was 
founded. He cast his first Presidential vote for John 
C. Fremont, and acted in a direct line with his first 
convictions until '877, when he became an adherent 
of the tenets of the National Greenback element, and 
assisted in the organization of the party in his town- 
ship. He served as Supervisor of his town in 1876- 
7-8, and in the fall of 1880 was nominated by the 
Labor party for Sheriff. The Republican candidate, 
A. A. Wood, was elected. 



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pomer L. Townsend, deceased, late farmer 

and stock-raiser on section 11, Sumner 

xfw Township, was a son of (Chester and Delight 

y^ (Wilber) Townsend, natives of Genesee Co., N. 

I Y., and of English and Irish extraction ; he 

was born also in Genesee County, Feb. 14, 

1817. Receiving his education in the common and 

high schools of his native county, he came to this 

State when 18 years old, and engaged in teaching in 

the common schools of Livingston County. 

After a time he went to Detroit, where, in 1842, 
he was united in marriage to Miss Jeannette Wilco.x, 
a native of New York. She died at her home in 



Detroit in the winter of 1850, having been the 
mother of two cliildren, both of whom died in in- 
fancy. At the time of her .death, her husband was 
running a hotel. Atiandoning tiiis soon after, he 
went to Livingston County, and after a time to Lan- 
sing. He soon located a tract of land near Maple 
Rapids. 

Oct. 5, 1854, at Eaton Rapids, he was again mar- 
ried, to Miss Ruby, daughter of Josiah and Lorilla 
(Clark) Piersons, natives of New York, and of French 
and English descent. Josiah Piersons was a farmer 
and died in February, 1861. His widow is still liv- 
ing, on the old homestead near Eaton Rapids, and 
is now 79 years old. Ruby was born in Orangeville, 
Genesee Co., N. Y., Aug. 3, 1833, and when four 
years old her parents came to Eaton County, this 
State, where she lived until her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Townsend spent two months at Ma- 
ple Rapids, and then located on 160 acres of wild land 
on section 11, Sumner Township, this county. For 
several winters afterwards, he was employed as a 
cook in lumlier cairips, a trade which he learned 
when a boy, and followed several times in after life 
He built a comfortable residence, and made many 
improvements, before he died, which event occurred 
Feb. 19, 1879. He left a sorrowful wife and two 
daughters to mourn his death, — Ruby and Nettie. 
He was the father of two other daughters, Ella ard 
EiTiily, who died in infancy. 

Mr. Townsend was a prominent man in his town- 
ship and in the county. He was the principal means 
of securing the organization of Sumner Township, 
wading around in the deep snow for two weeks to 
secure sufficient names on the petition. He was the 
first Sheriff in Gratiot County, serving two terms. 
He was a staunch and influential Republican, and 
something of a politician, and he held nearly all the 
township offices, at different times. He had a high 
respect for the great Senator Charles Sumner, in 
whose honor the township was named, through his 
instrumentality. 

The social position of the family is of the best 
character, and in the portrait of Mr. Townsend, 
which may be found elsewhere, his friends will re- 
ceive a genuine pleasure. His life was identified 
with the general interests of his township, and he 
si)ared no care or effort to secure the general welfare. 
Mrs. Townsend resides on the homestead. 



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GRATIOT COUN2Y. 



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_li Woodmansee, farmer, section 12, Pine 
[• S;% ' River Township, was born Aug. 29, 1837. 
^1^ His parents, George and Anna (Cole) 

pJ^ Woodmansee, were born respectively in Massa- 
chusetts and New York. They were in some- 
what straitened circumstances, and early in 
life the son became the main support, a duty he dis- 
charged 15 years in a manner highly creditable to 
himself. 

He came to Isabella County in 1856, where he re- 
sided four years, and in i860 he bought 120 acres of 
land in Pine River, Gratiot County. It was wholly 
unimproved, and he afterwards sold 40 acres. He 
has placed 50 acres of the remaining 80 under good 
improvements and cultivation. In politics, Mr. 
Woodmansee is identified with the National Green- 
back party. 

He was married Sept. 1 1, 1861, to Amy A., daugh- 
ter of Solomon Sias, of Isabella County. She was 
born in New York, and her parents in Vermont and 
Connecticut. Four children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Woodmansee: Lucy M., HoUis E., Dennis 
E. and Nettie E. 



K /jjffli) illiam E. Wight, Assistant Postmaster at 
Ithaca and Clerk of Ithaca Township, was 
ftp born July 2, 1854, in Grafton, Lorain Co., 
If^ Ohio, and is a son of Leonard and Parthena 
(Sheldon) Wight. His father was born June 
19, 1815, in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and in 
1858 removed his family and interests to Eaton Co., 
Mich., where he bought 80 acres of land near Char- 
lotte, and resided there until 1875. The mother 
was born June 26, 1822, in Pennsylvania and died 
in Eaton County, this State, Sept. 2, 1874. The fol- 
lowing year the father returned to Lorain Co., Ohio, 
where he again married and remained two years. 
In 1877 he came to Paw Paw, Mich., where he is 
now resident. The children of his first marriage 
were si.x in number, of whom one is deceased, Lydia, 
eldest cliiid. Francis, Sheldon, Mason, William and 
Abraham are living. 

Mr. Wight was brought up after the method com- 




mon to fanners' sons, attending school winters and 
working on the farm summers, until the fall of 1874, 
when he left home and was married, Oct. 23, of that 
year, to Frances M., daughter of Silas and Laura 
(Briggs) Dean. She was born Nov. 22, 1855, in 
Kalamo, Eaton County. Mr. Wight remained in the 
latter place one year after his marriage, when he re- 
moved to Edgewood, Gratiot County, where a son, 
Ira D., was born. May 25, 1880. Mr. Wight bought 
a farm of 80 acres in Hamilton Township, and Nov. 
'S> '§75, was appointed Postmaster of Edgewood. 
He held the situation until March 3, 1881, when he 
sold his farm, and in August of -he same year came 
to Ithaca, and was appointed to his present position. 
He has been in active public life for a number of 
years ; he was Supervisor of Hamilton Township one 
year ; officiated as Clerk two years ; as Justice of the 
Peace four years, and Township Superintendent of 
Schools two years. In 1880 he was Census Enume- 
rator of the townships of Hamilton and Elba. He 
was elected Clerk of Ithaca Township in the spring 
of 1882 ; is a member of the Odd Fellows' fraternity. 



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[;a;t angdon B. Longwell, farmer and carpen- 
'' LteliJ '^f' section 24, Pine River Township, was 
i'Y'ijTT' born Dec. 30, 1S45, in Upper Sandusky, 
t'lS^ Ohio, and is the son of James and Margaret 
A (Winslow) IxingAvell. His parents were natives 
[ of the State of New York, and after their mar- 
riage became residents of Crawford County, where the 
mother died Nov. 17, 1849. The father remained in 
Crawford County until the spring of 1870, when he 
came to Gratiot County, where he resides with his 
son. 

At the age of 1 6, Mr. Longwell became a soldier. 
He enlisted in the first year of the war in Battery I, 
I St Illinois Light Artillery, and was in that service 
six months. A year after lie again enlisted, enrolling 
in the 12th Ohio Cavalry, and served in the cause of 
National unity 26 months more. He received hon- 
orable discharge, and on his return to the Buckeye 
State he went to Crestline, where he obtained employ 
in the machine shops of the railroad company. A 
few months later he engaged in carpentry, and has 
followed that as a vocation 1 6 years. He came to 
Gratiot County in November, 1869, and is the owner 






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of a small farm, which he has placed under first-class 
cultivation, and makes a specialty of raising fruit. 
Mr. Longwell is a member of the Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, and also of the G. A. R., Post Wni. D. Wilkins, 
No. 91, at St. Louis. He is a member of the Repub- 
lican party. 

He was married Jan. 29, 1867, in Bucyrus, Ohio, 
to Lorinda M., daughter of Charles and Lillis (Wea- 
ver) Barber. They were natives of Ohio and New 
York, and the daughter was born Oct. 2, 1849, in 
Morrow Co., Ohio. The household includes five 
children: Jennie B., Bertha L., Henry W., Lizzie J. 
and Lula B. Lillis, eldest daughter and first-born 
child, died when she was six months old. 




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r. John R. Cheesman, one of the oldest 
settlers now resident at St. Louis, and old- 
est physician by priority of location, was 
born at Cazenovia, N. Y., March 10, 1820. 
^ His father, Joseph B. Cheesman, was born Feb- 
4, 1788, in the city of New York, and was the 
eldest son of Joseph Cheesman, a native of Queen's 
County, Long Island, who was by trade a mason, and 
served during the entire course of the war of the Rev- 
olution as Captain of Artificers, and ivas engaged in 
building the fortifications at West Point. EHzabeth 
(Crawford) Cheesman, wife of Joseph Cheesman, 
was the eldest daughter of John Crawford, descend- 
ant of a Scottish Earl, who emigrated to the Ameri- 
can Continent previous to the Revolutionary war. 
H^was a man of wealth and unblemished character 
and belonged to the Society of Friends. The father 
of Dr. Cheesman was a book-binder by profession, and 
married Sarah Rowling, who was born in Yorkshire, 
England, July 20, 1797. The son was about a year 
old when his parents removed to the city of New 
York. On reaching a suitable age he ivas sent to the 
Mechanics' School in Chambers Street, until he was 
19 years old, when his parents removed to Auburn, 
N. Y. He attended the academy in that city one 
year, and when he attained to man's estate, he went 
to Chicago where, associated with his brother, Will- 
iam H. Cheesman, he established a drug store under 
the Commercial Hotel on Randolph Street. This en- 
^ terprise lasted two years, during which time he stud- 



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ied medicine with Dr. Hunt, and took a course of 
lectures at Rush Medical College, in that city. He 
sold his interest in the drug store to his brother, and, 
being in impaired health, he went to Brooklyn in the 
southern part of Michigan. 

In 1854, he came to Gratiot County and located 
on what is now sections 5 and 6, Hamilton Township, 
where he entered a claim of 320 acres of Govern- 
ment land, all in a wild state. He cleared and im- 
proved his farm and maintained the practice of a 
pioneer physician. He was married in Chittenango, 
Madison Co., N. Y., Oct. 13, 1847, to Mary Ann, 
daughter of Capt. Chapman, of that place. Of this 
marriage three children were born, as follows : Laura 
A., wife of Rev. Theodore Nelson, of St. Louis, Mich., 
born Nov. r i, 1848, in Manlius, Onondaga Co., N. Y. ; 
Jessie C, born in Chittenango, N. Y., Aug. 21, 1850, 
now wife of Samuel A. Flint, of St. Louis; Frank, 
born in Hamilton, Gratiot County, July 2, 1857, and 
died Oct. 6, of the same year in Brooklyn, Jackson 
Co., Mich. The wife and mother died Aug. i, 1857, 
in Hamilton, Gratiot County. 

On the occurrence of this event he went to Brook- 
lyn with his little children, where he left them in the 
care of his sister, and attended the Medical Depart- 
ment of the University of Michigan one winter, when 
he returned to Brooklyn and formed a business part- 
nership with Dr. J. R. Crowell, which continued two 
years. He was married Sept. 26, 1858, in Napoleon, 
Jackson -County, to Mrs. Ellen E. Moulton. One 
child has been born to them, Minnie M.,at St. Louis, 
May 20, 1862. 

In January, i860. Dr. Cheesman came to St. Louis, 
and was for many years the only resident physician, 
and had a large and thriving practice. His brother, 
Edward T. Cheesman, owned a portion of the site of 
St. Louis, then in a wild condition, and Dr. Chees- 
man bought of him 80 acres, all of which was then 
platted. His brother had erected a building on his 
tract for the sale of general mercliandise, where Dr. 
Cheesman established himself, and his stock com- 
prised drugs, dry goods, hardware, etc., and lie car- 
ried on an extensive trade, a large proportion of which 
was with the Indians, who were then numerous. 
This was the first store in St. Louis, and it was under 
the management of Dr. Cheesman ten years. The 
county was then in an unsettled condition, and of the 
few white settlers comprising the village at that time, 

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Mr. Cheesman is one of the survivors, resident at 
St. Louis. The Doctor inhabited a primitive log 
house, situated in front of his present residence, and 
his wife and daughter (Mrs. Nelson) attended to the 
customers of the store. Dr. Cheesman maintained 
his practice until iSSo, when on account of infirm 
health he retired. 

He has been active in all the duties of citizenship 
and devoted much attention to the substantial prog- 
ress and prosperity of St. I.ouis. On the organiza- 
tion of tlie coLUity he was elected Judge of Probate, 
and held the position one year. He has served on the 
Board of Village Trustees, and is now one of the 
oldest members of the Masonic Order in the county. 
The first Masonic meeting was held at St. Louis 
over his store when the lodge was organized. He is 
a member of the Presbyterian Church, and his 
wife belongs to the Baptist denomination. He was 
elected President of the County Pioneer Society on 
its organization, and has occupied the position con- 
tinuously since. 

Dr. Cheesman owns 40 acres of land on section 
26, Pine River Township, and has a brickyard in the 
village of St. Louis, where he owns a fine bed of fire 
clay. He was a member of the School Board of St. 
Louis for several years; and was first President of 
the Michigan Central Union Fair Association of Isa- 
bella, Midland, Gratiot and Montcalm Counties, the 
first meeting of which was held Oct. 5, 6 and 7, 
1875, midway between the villages of St. Louis and 
Alma. 

The portraits of Dr. and Mrs. Cheeseman appear 
on other pages. In presenting them in the Biograph- 
ical and Portrait Album of Gratiot County, the value 
of the work is increased in many respects. As the 
likeness of pioneers, no estimate can be made of 
their wortli and fitness, but it is insignificant com- 
pared with their value to those of St. Louis and 
Gratiot County, to whom the patronymic became a 
household word under circumstances which have 
left indelible impressions upon all concerned. The 
wortli of Dr. Cheeseman to his generation can only 
be understood and appreciated by the beneficiaries 
of his skill and timely aid on occasions of sore need. 
A pioneer physician who spends his life and devotes 
his strength and abilities to the amelioration of the 
suffering incident to most newly settled localities, 
consecrates himself to one of the iioblcit works pos- 
sible to humanity. 




esse Trapp, farmer and stock-raiser on sec- 
•" tion 6, Sumner Township, was born in Lu- 
cas Co., Ohio, Aug. 27, 1836, and is the 
son of John and Barbara (Mathews) Trapj), na- 
tives of Pennsylvania and of German descent. 
The father was early in life a carpenter and 
joiner, and later a farmer. Jesse lived with his father, 
working on the faini and attending the common 
and graded schools of his native county, until nearly 
25 years of age. 

Aug. 5, i86i,he enlisted in Co. I, 14th Ohio Vol. 
Inf , and was assigned to the Army of the Cumber- 
land, under Gen. Buell. He fought at Nashville, 
Chickaniauga, Missionary Ridge, Goldsboro, Resaca, 
Mill Springs and Shiloh, as well as in minor engage- 
ments. He was shot through the am at Jonesville, 
Tenn., and received two other flesh wounds. Enter- 
ing the service as a private, he was successfully pro- 
moted Corporal, Sergeant, Orderly Sergeant, Sergeant- 
Major, and finally, in September, 1864, First Lieuten- 
ant, which last rank he held when discharged, July 
5, 1865, after serving faithfully nearly four years. 

Returning home to Lucas County, one year later 
he came to Michigan and took charge of the 320 
acres on sections 5 and 6, Sumner Township, which 
had been left him by his father at the hitter's death. 
He has retained 200 acres, of which 100 are well im- 
proved and under cultivation. He has erected a 
suitable dwelling and necessary farm buildings, at a 
cost of $2,000. 

June 23, 1867, at Grand Rapids, Wood Co., Ohio, 
he was married to Miss Anna E. Sterling, daughter 
of Seneca and Mary (Blaker) Sterling, natives of 
Pennsylvania, and of English and Scotch descent. 
She was born in Wood Co., Ohio, Jan. 21, 1841, 
and was reared and educated in the common and 
graded schools in that county. At theageof 17, she 
began teaching, which occupation she followed for 
nine years, previous to her marriage. She is the 
mother of one daughter, Winifred G., born July 17, 

■875- 

Mr. and Mrs. T. are active members of the United 
Brethren Church, and he is Chairman of the Board 
t)f Trustees in the Church. He has also been for 17 
years Superintendent of the Union Sunday-school, 






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of Elm Hall. He lias held the office of Township 
Clerk for two years, Superintendent of Schools for 
three years and other minor offices. Politically, he 
is an active and influential Republican. 



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laron C. Brown, farmer and lumberman, 
section 32, is a son of Abner and Anna 
(French) Brown, and was born in Niagara 
Co , N. Y., in HartlandTownshii>, Feb. 4, 1833. 
When ten years of age his parents moved with 
him into Newfane Township, near by, where 
he was married, Feb. 24, 1853, to Miss Jane E. Lake, 
daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth (Sowle) Lake, who 
was born in Montgomery Co., N. Y., July 23, 1834. 

In 1859, he came to Bethany Township, this 
county, and bought 80 acres where he now resides. 
Feb. 24, 1861, he arrived with his family at the house 
of Judge Nelson, Arcada Township, on their way to 
their Western home. Here he has now 55 acres un- 
der cultivation, with 20 acres more cleared ; has also 
a nice residence, barns, etc. 

Thus has Mr. Brown arisen from primitive begin- 
nings in a pioneer country. When he first came 
here there were only 19 families in St. Louis, and 
only three frame houses. There was no road to his 
place. He and his family are the oldest residents 
in their neighborhood, and ever since his location 
here he has followed farming, and for fourteen win- 
ters he has also followed lumbering. He at present 
keeps a boarding-house where the Toledo, Ann Ar- 
bor & Northern railroad is being built. Mr. B. is .-i. 
member of the Good Templar lodge at St. Louis. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Brown are : Elmer, 
born March 23, 1854, and died Sept. 8, 1861 ; Charles 
H., born Nov. 21, i8t;7, died Aug. 18, 1876; Laura 
E., born April 8, i86r, is the wife of Ellis Colburn, 
a farmer of Emerson Township. 



1 ^(^4' I ^, illiam H. Coventry, farmer, section 22, 
11^^^ Pine River Township, is the sen of Robert 
J^^j^ and Rachel (Clark) Coventry, and was 
"^> born Nov. 7, 1833, in the State of New York. 
His parents were also natives of the Empire 
State, settled there in married life, and there 
completed tlie round of their earthly existences. 



(fTlJi illiam J. Carr, farmer on section 14, Ful- 
^^^4 '°" Township, is a son of Tiiomas and 
'JKV-J^ Lucinda (Atwater) Carr, natives respect- 
!^ ively of Ireland and Connecticut. They first 
settled in Madison Co., N. Y., where Thomas 
Carr followed farming until his deatli. The 
mother also died in that county. Their family con- 
sisted of two sons and three daughters, William J- 
being the youngest. 

He was born in Madison Co., N. Y., June 28,1821, 
and received a very limited amount of schooling. 
He lived with his parents until 34 years of age, that 
is, until their death. He has never worked for others 
except his father, in his life. In the fall of i860 he 
came to Gratiot County and contracted for 160 acres 
of land in Washington Townshi|), He soon gave this 
up, however, sacrificing $100, which he had paid on 
the same. He then purchased, for ^700, 80 acres on 



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Mr. Coventry entered ujxjn his single-handed con- 
test with the world when he was 16 years old. He 
spent one season as a farm laborer, and obtained 
employ in a machine shop, where he operated seven 
years. He then resumed farming as a vocation. In 
1865 he came to Ingham Co., Mich , and bought 80 
acres of land, which he managed four years. In 
1S69, he exchanged the property for a house in 
Litchfield, Hillsdale County, removed to that place, 
and spent 18 months in the employ of the Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern railroad. He again 
traded his property for a farm in the same county. 
He afterwards went to Branch County, and spent 
two years in farming. In February, 1877, he came 
to Gratiot County, and bought the farm on which he 
has since lived and labored. It comprised 75 acres 
of land under partial improvement, and he has 
brought the place to a profitable and creditable con- 
dition. In political affinity, Mr. Coventry is a Re- 
publican. 

He was married April 4, 186 r, to Hannah, daugh- «; ' 
ter of Jacob and Sarah (Stringham) Iden. She was 
born Dec. 14, 1838, in Orleans Co., N. Y. Her par- 
ents were natives respectively of Pennsylvania and 
New York. Following are the names of six children 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Coventry: Sarah J., Anna M., 
William, Francis, Minnie M. and Harriet A. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






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section 14, Fulton Township, which, after he had 
erected a house, cleared 60 acres, and made other 
small improvements, he sold for $4,000, a handsome 
T profit. This was in 1875. The same season he 
I bought 40 acres on section 14, where he now resides. 
He has erected suitable buildings and has all his 
land in a good state of cultivation. 

Oct. 13, 1840, at De Ruyter, Madison Co., N. Y., 
he married Miss Sarah A , daughter of Andrew and 
Clarissa (Hotchkins) Sornberger, of (ierman and 
American descent. She was born in the State of 
New York, April 23, 1823, and bore to her husband 
12 children, of whom the following six survive: 
Clarissa L., Harriet A., Stephen S., Esther L., Mary 
A. and George W. Six are deceased: Thomas A., 
Harvey W., Arthur E., Ernest F., Henry S. and 
one who died in infancy. Mrs. Carr died May 13, 
1863. Mr. C. was again married, July 3, 1864, to 
Rebecca R., daughter of Erastus and Orpha (Fisk) 
) Tinklepaugh, born in Greenbush, Clinton Co., Mich., 
^ Dec. 5, 1843. This marriage has been blessed with 
^ five children, of whom one, Archie I., is deceased. 
The living are: Cora A., Eda M., Maggie B. and 
Edward L. Mr. Carr's second wife died Oct. 7, 
1880. He is a member of the Congregaiional 
Church, and a Republican. 



"^ 




G> 



illiam A. McOmber, of the firm of M. 
B. Smith & Co., real-estate, loan and in- 
surance agents, St. Louis, was born in 
Saratoga Co., N. Y., in the town of the same 
name, July 15, r8i2. He is a son of Pardon 
and Eunice McOmber, and is the youngest of 
six children born to his parents, four of whom yet 
survive. His father was born July 6, 1777, and was 
a native of the Empire State ; was a carriage-maker 
by trade, and died Dec. 25, i860, in Gaines, Orleans 
Co., N. Y., where he settled in 181 9. The mother 
was born Feb. 27, 1783, and died in August, 1869. 

Mr. McOmber was educated with considerable 
care and attended the academy at Gaines until he 
was 16 years old. In 1829 he went to Lockport, 
Niagara Co., N. Y., where he conducted a stage 
route about three years. He came to Michigan in 
its 'I'erritorial days, reaching here Oct. 10, 1832. He 
came at once to ( Iratiol ( 'ounly and Imnul the countr)' 




covered with the primeval forest and populated by 
Indians. He remained but a short time and returned 
to his native State, passing the succeeding several 
years in or near Lockport. 

In 1 840 he came to Adrian, Mich., and there he 
began tlie fur trade with the Indians in the interests 
of the American Fur Company, which he carried on 
extensively for_some years, gradually extending his 
field and operating from various points. He estab- 
lished trading posts at Adrian, Jackson and DeWitt. 
In 185 I he rented the old Lansing House, which he 
conducted two years, and then became clerk with 
Jolin Swegles, Auditor General of Michigan. He was 
employed in the capacity of clerk in that office about 
two years, and, in 1854, he came to St. John's, reach- 
ing there during the progress of its survey. He was 
still in the employ of General Swegles, who had a 
store there, and he remained in that capacity about 
a year. He then engaged in the Indian trade sev- 
eral years at St. John's, in company with David Stur- 
gis, with whom, in 1861, he went to the oil regions 
of Pennsylvania. They spent some time sinking for 
oil and Mr. Sturgis came back to Michigan and died. 
Meanwhile the celebrated United States oil well was 
sunk by Thomas Brown and others, and proved one 
of the best and most profitable. Mr. McOmber 
bought an interest therein and eventually became in- 
terested in several oil wells in that region, all of 
which were of celebrity and value. He was at Oil 
City, Titusville and other places which have become 
famous, when oil was first struck, and his oiierations 
in that commodity were very successful. In i868 
he returned to Orleans Co., N. Y., and tlie following 
year to St. John's, Mich. 

In 1870 he came to St. Louis, and the firm of Fer- 
ry & McOmber, real-estate agents, was formed. This 
relation continued until 1S72, when the style became 
McOmber & Paddock, and the new organization con- 
tinued in operation until 1877, when it became Mc- 
Omber, Smith & Brook. In 1881, Mr. McOmber 
commenced operations in the several branches of his 
business singly, continuing until July, 1883, when the 
present firm known as M. V. Smith & Co. was es- 
tablished. The concern is doing an extensive busi- 
ness, in their own interests and in behalf of others. 

Mr. McOmber has been Tow-nship Clerk of Pine 
River one year and has been Notary Public all the 
time since he came to St. Louis. He was one of the 






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original projectors of the Saginaw Valley & St. Louis 
railroad, and did niucli by way of obtaining sub- 
scriptions, right of way, and in other avenues. He 
was one of the originators, in i<S75, of the agricul- 
tural society known as the Michigan Central Union 
Fair Association, and was its Secretary one year. He 
is a member of the Order of Masonry and also of 
the fraternity known as the Knights of Labor. 

Mr. McOinber was married near St. John's, Clin- 
ton County, to Ann E. Gardner. Lena E., only 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. McOmber, is the wife of 
Thomas P. Potts, cigar manufacturer at Mononga- 
hela. Pa. Charles H., only son, is traveling salesman 
for Henry F. Rohlbock & Co., machinists and man- 
ufacturers at Pittsburg, Pa. 




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1 



'ohn r. Schwartz, a member of the manu- 
facturing firm of J. M. Montigel & Co., 
'■^"''^ at Alma, was born Feb. i, 1852, at Erie, 
Pa., and is the son of Stevan and Barbara 
(Segrist) Schwartz. His parents were born 
respectively in Germany and Swit^erland. 
His father died when he was but i J^ years old, and 
at the age of eleven years, Oct. 14, 1863, he moved 
to Ashtabula, Ohio, wliere he acquired a good com- 
mon-school education and afterwards attended the 
academy at Kingsville, Ohio. At the age of 16 he 
began to learn the business of a molder. In 1S71 
he came to Alma, where he formed an association 
with T- M. Montigel, his step-father, and established 
what is to-day the best equipped foundry and ma- 
chine shop in the county. 

In 1879, Mr. Schwartz saw the need of a good 
carriage and wagon shop, and accordingly the same 
year they branched out into tliis lousiness, to which 
he has since given his whole attention, the works hav- 
ing grown into one of the leading industries of the 
place. 

Mr. Schwartz is a inember of the Masonic Order, 
and in political action and sentiment affiliates with the 
Republican party. He has been Village Clerk for 
thiee years. Assessor for one year, and has been a 
member of the Village Board for a number of years, 
and at present fills that position. 

He was married Oct. 16, 1876, at Alma, to Au- 



gusta, daughter of George and Lena Bahlke, natives 
of Germany. Mrs. Schwartz was born in Trenton, 
Mich., May 25, 1856. The two children born to this 
marriage are Lena and Edna. 

The portrait of Mr. Schwartz is presented on tlie 
opposite page. 






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homas Franklin, farmer, section 19, North 
^^1, Shade Township, was born Feb. 15, 1838 
in Bedfordshire, England. His parents, 
Samuel and Sarah (Muns) Franklin, were na- 
tives of England. The former was a gardener 
by occupation, and served more than 20 years 
as a soldier in the British army. He died in Eng- 
land in 1840, and Mrs. Franklin died Jan. 18, 1881. 
Thoinas remained under the parental roof until 
1857, when he came to America, coming immediately 
from New York, where he landed, to Wayne Co., 
Mich. Here he was employed at various kinds of 
labor until i860, when he caine to Giatiot County, 
located 40 acres of land on section 5, North Shade 
Township, and embarked in life as a farmer. Only 
a few months had rolled by, however, ere the Gov- 
ernment called for volunteers to suppress the rebell- 
ion that had broken out in the South. Of the thou- 
sands of true and loyal men that responded to the 
call, none were more devoted to the old flag than 
Thomas Franklin, the subject of this sketch. He 
enlisted in October, 1861, in Co. D, 13th Mich. Inf., 
and served three years and ten months, having veter- 
anized at the close of his first term. He was a par- 
ticipant in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Stevenson, 
Ala., Perryville, Ky., Savannah, and at the battle of 
Bentonville received a wound, a minie ball passing 
through his right leg and striking the left. He also 
fell in the hands of the rebels at this place. He was 
with Sherman in his famotis march to the sea. He 
was discharged, after making a brilliant record as a 
soldier, July 26, 1865, at Louisville, Ky. Here- 
turned to Gratiot County, and again resumed the 
quiet and peaceful role of a farmer, and since has 
been quite successful. He owns a farm of 120 acres 
on section 19 of North Shade Township, of which 90 
acres are under a good state of cultivation, with ex- 
cellenit dwelling and farm buildings. He also-owtrs 
79 acres of timber on section 22. 

In 1865 (Oct. 4), Mr. Franklin was united in mar- 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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i* riage with Miss Julia A., daughter of Abijah and 
ly Freelove (Gale) Reynolds, both of whom were natives 
^ of West Chester Co., N. Y. They removed to Illi- 
T nois, where they remained for two years ; then they 
(^ returned to Cayuga Co., N. Y., where the former died 
in 1880, and the latter in 1878. Mrs. Franklin was 
the eldest daughter, and was born Aug. 19, 1825, in 
Orange Co., N. Y. 

Mr. Franklin is a member of the Masonic Order 
and of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in poli- 
tics is a Republican. 




Charles W. Giddings. attorney-at-law, St. 
p^u^- Louis, was born in Sherman, Fairfield Co., 
Conn., Feb. 9, 1847, in the same house where 
^ his father, Jonathan C. Giddings, was born 
Oct. 5, 1822. His mother, Mary E. Giddings, 
was born in the town of New Milford, Litchfield Co., 
^ Conn., Aug. 31, 1822. The subject of this sketch 
= was about one and a half years of age when his par- 
'^■^ ents moved to Palmyra, Portage Co., Ohio, where the 



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father engaged in farmingfora time, but again turned 
his attention to the mercantile business, in which he 
had been educated in his boyhood days, until shortly 
after the war broke out, when he became a soldier in 
the Union army and there remained until nearly the 
close of the war. In 1866, tlie family came to St. 
Louis, where the senior Giddings purchased 60 acres 
of land witliin the present limits of the village. This 
land has since been platted and recorded as " Gid- 
dings' Addition." The father was elected Supervisor 
of Bethany Township the year following his removal 
hither, and he was elected seven years successively. 
He was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors sever- 
al times and held the position of member of the Vil- 
lage Council two terms. He served eight years as a 
Justice of the Peace. He was a member of the Ma- 
sonic fraternity ; and after he located at St. Louis, he 
devoted considerable time to transactions in real es- 
tate, in which he was interested to the time of his 
death, Jan. 14, 1883. He was a man of ability and 
influence, and his death was deeply lamented by a 
large number of friends. 

Mr. Charles W. Giddings ac<|uired his education 




while his parents resided at Palmyra, attending the 
common schools until he arrived at the age of 13 
years, when he was placed in a private school, which 
for most of the terms he attended until, in company 
with his parents he came to St. Louis, where he has 
since resided. Shortly after his arrival here he learn- 
ed the carpenter's trade. He was 22 years of age 
when he commenced business independently as a 
builder, and combined with that the furniture and 
undertaking business. In 1873, he was appointed 
Under Sheriff of the county by Sheriff Pratt, and held 
this position for four years, during which time he also 
held an appointment as Deputy United States Mar- 
shal of the Eastern District of Michigan. After his 
appointment as Under Sheriff he closed his other bus- 
iness interests and devoted his entire attention to the 
duties of his office and the study of the law, enter- 
ing the office of James K. Wright of St. Louis, who 
during his period of study formed a law-partnership 
with Freman W. Whitney, under the firm name of 
Wright & Whitney. In March, 1877, he was admit- 
ted to the Bar after passing a very satisfactory e.xam- 
ination, and at once entered upon the practice of his 
])rofession as the junior partner of the firm of Whit- 
ney & Giddings, which existed one year. He then 
opened an office on his own account, but was for a 
time associated with Judge Paddock in the real-estate 
business in connection with his interests as an at- 
torney. 

In January, 1883, he associated with him in the 
law business, B. H. Scoville, under the firm name of 
Giddings & Scoville, which continued until October, 
1883, when the firm dissolved, and Mr. Giddings took 
into his office as a partner, Joseph A. Crandall, a 
young man of fine education and marked ability. 
The firm of Giddings & Crandall are doing a pros- 
perous business, and combines therewith transactions 
as loan agents. 

Mr. Giddings, since his admission to the Bar, has 
been a member of the Village Council and Corpora- 
tion Attorney. 

In 187S he was elected Circuit Court Commission- 
er on the Republican ticket, and in 1880 received 
the nomination for Prosecuting Attorney, but was de- 
feated by the Fusion candidate, who was endorsed by 
the Democrats. 

He is a member of the Masonic Order, Knights of 
Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workman, and is 




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Past Master of the latter organization at St. Louis. 
He was married at St. Louis, Nov. 26, 1871, to Lo- 
vila, daughter of Horace Higby. She was born in 
Niagara Co.,N. Y. Her parents were natives of that 
county, and removed to Michigan at an early day. 
Mr. Giddings' earliest traceable ancestor was George 
Giddings, who came from St. Albans, England, to Ips- 
wich, Mass., in 1635. 




ames K. Wright, Prosecuting Attorney of 
Gratiot County, resident at St. Louis, was 
born in Parma, Jackson Co., Mich., March 

3, 1844, and is the son of Deodatus and Serena 
^r (Fox) Wright. His father was born in William- 

ston, Mass., .\pril 27, 1812, and in early life 
accompanied his parents to Wayne Co., N. Y., where 
he grew to man's estate on his father's farm, and was 
brought up to that profession. 

In 1837 the parents of Mr. Wright came to Michi- 
gan. They left the State of New York in what is 
now known as a prairie schooner — a covered wagon 
— and in this case drawn by horses. The journey 
was long and wearisome, and they settled on 160 
acres of land in Parma, then a wilderness of timber. 
But they had health, hope and courage, and bent the 
best energies of their young lives to securing a home 
for themselves and the little ones who came to bless 
and brighten the pioneer home and refresh their am- 
bitious desires to do and dare. Clearings were made 
and improvements pushed with great rapidity. The 
nearest wheat market was Detroit, nearly 100 miles 
away, and sometimes wheat brougiit Init 60 cents per 
bushel after the wearisome toil of planting, waiting, 
harvesting and drawing lo market; but it kept aff;iirs 
moving, and gradually the ingress of civilization, 
with its facilities, relieved their burdens, which in the 
light of to-day, and the memory of sad experiences 
and loss by death in the family circle, fade into notli- 
ingness. The marriage of tlie senior Wright with 
Serena Fox occurred in Huron, Wayne Co., N. Y., 
Oct. 26, 1836. Of their marriage, ten children were 
born, seven sons and three daughters. Five sons 
and two daughters yet survive. The father has been 
one of the leading citizens of Parma, and has served 
as Justice of the Peace 30 years. He was elected 





Supervisor \i times and has always been actively 
connected with the public interests of tiie township, 'j 
Mr. Wright grew up in the manner common to the ' , 
sons of pioneer farmers of Michigan, attending school 
winters and working on the farm summers. He was vj^ 
a youth of keen perceptions. Whether the school 
methods of those days were better incentives to intel- 
lectual capacity than those of modern date, is an oiien 
question ; but the local history of the entire country 
manifests what sort of men they developed. At 17 
Mr. Wright came to Pine River Township, where his 
uncle, Frederick Wright, was then resident, and 
taught a winter term of school in the " Wright" dis- 
trict. He relumed home and passed the next sum- 
mer on his father's farm. The succeeding winter he 
taught school in the same place, where he opened 
his career as a pedagogue, returning, as before, to the 
home-roof at Parma. The following winter he was 
a student at Albion Seminary, where he studied six 
terms, and aided in the management of the farm. 
He thus employed his time three years. His father's 
large family and increasing expenses rendered it 
necessary for him to depend on himself for his edu- 
cational privileges, and he managed his own do- 
mestic affairs during the time he was a student at 
Albion. He had a room and did his own cooking 
and maintained his frugal way of life until lie had 
finished his studies and was admitted to the Bar at 
Jackson. In the spring of 1865 he entered the law 
office of Thoms G. Pray, of Albion, where he read 
for the profession of attorney, and was admitted to 
practice in the State Courts Sept. 26, 1867. He 
opened his office at St. Louis, Dec. 2, 1867, and has 
since continued the prosecution of a large and pros- 
perous practice. He is of the Democratic faith, but 
wins and holds the confidence of men of all political 
beliefs, as is evidenced by the results of his various 
elections. In 1869 he was elected Supervisor of Pine 
River Township, and in the fall of 1870 was elected 
Prosecuting Attorney and Circuit Court Commissioner 
on the Democratic ticket, of which he ran ahead 
about 600 votes, the county being strongly Republi- 
can. He was re-elected Prosecuting Attorney in the 
fall of 1874, and held the position two years. He 
was again elected in 1882 and is discharging the 
obligations of the position with the same conscien- 
tious faithfulness and rectitude which has secured 
and peri)etuated his popularity. He is a member of 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 









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the Masonic fraternity and belongs to the blue lodge. 
He is likewise connected with the Royal Arcanum 
Insurance Society, of which he was a charter mem- 
ber. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. 
Mr. Wright was married Feb. 20, 1870, at Parma, 
Jackson Co., Mich., to Lorinda, daughter of Henry 
Housman. She was born Feb. 21, 1842. Soon after 
they were married they came to St. Louis to makfc 
their future liome, at which place they continued to 
live and keep house until the time of her death. May 
10, 1883. For years she had been a partial invalid, 
and her sufferings were intense ; but through all her 
pains she was patient, uncomplaining, and cheerful, 
and by her gentle ways and noble example she en- 
deared herself to all who knew her; in truth, it may 
be said : 

None knew hrr, but to love her, 
None named her. but to bless her. 

Few persons could have been more sadly missed 
or sincerely mourned than Mrs. Wright, and few, in- 
deed, who can lay claim to a greater number of 
devoted friends. 

The portrait of Mr. Wright, which appears on an- 
other page, in a two-fold sense is a valuable addition 
to the historical records of Gratiot County. He is a 
son of the Peninsular State by birth and heritage, 
arid of Gratiot County in experience and position. 
The statement of what he has achieved through 
honest desert is all the eulogy he needs. 




JUexander McCuaig, farmer, section 18, 
Wa North Shade Township, is a son of Donald 
J^S* and Mary (Morrison) McCuaig, the former 
,3}^ a native of Scotland, and the latter of Canada. 

'I4 They both died in the Dominion — Mrs. McC. 

I Feb. 9, 185 I, and Mr. McC. in 1882. 
He was born March 20, 1831, in Newton Town- 
ship, Canada. He remained at home with liis par- 
ents until he was 21 years of age. He then worked 
in the lumber regions one year in Upper Canada, 
and next, in 1853, he located in the town of Livonia, 
Wayne Co., Mich., and ten years subsecpiently came 
to Gratiot County, settling on 80 acres of wild land, 
where he still resides, having 40 acres cleared, and 
substantial improvements made. 



Mr. McCuaig was married to Deborah, daughter 
of Benjamin and Lucy (Lewis) Luther, natives of 
Massachusetts and occupants of a farm, who emi- 
grated first to New York State and then to Michigan, 
settling in Wayne County. Mr. L. died July 30, 
1882, in Gratiot Co., Mich., at the advanced age of 
74 years. Mrs. L., aged 79, is still living with her 
daughter, Mrs, McC. 

In 1864, Mr. McCuaig enlisted in Co. A, 23d 
Mich. Inf, and was assigned to the Army of the 
Cumberland, 2d Brigade, 2d Division, 23d Army 
Corps. He participated in the battles of Franklin 
and Nasliville, Tenn,, and in all the other engage- 
ments of the regiment. On the mustering out of his 
regiment, he was transferred to the 28th Mich. Inf, 
and was finally discharged at Raleigli, N. C. Since 
the war he has been a faithful and exemplary citi- 
zen, pursuing his prosperous vocation of farming. 
He is a Republican ; has been Highway Commis- 
sioner three terms, and held other local offices. He 
and his wife have been members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church for 20 years. 



? illiam H. Iiaycock, farmer on section 23, 
^^ Fulton Township, is a son of John and 




I 



^(j^O Polly (Hatt) Laycock, of English and Ger- 
man ancestry. They first settled in New- 
York State, and afterwards removed to Wayne 
Co., Mich., where they lived one year. They 
then moved to Genoa, Jackson County, where she 
died. He died at the residence of his son William, 
Jan. 21, 1880. 

The subject of this biographical sketch was the 
second son of his father's family, and was born in 
Tompkins Co., N. Y., Nov. 17, 182S. He was about 
seven years old when his parents came to Michigan, 
and he lived at home until 21 years old, when he 
went to Lenawee County. Here he worked by the 
month, and worked a farm on shares, for almost 
three years. Coming to CJratiot County in the spring 
of 1853, he pre-empted 80 acres of wild land on sec- 
tion 27, Fulton Townshii). This he sold for $iooi 
the ensuing fall, and tlien he purchased 80 acres on 
section 23, where he now resides. He has since 
added 40 acres to his farm, and has about 80 acres 
under cultivation. He has erected a fine modern- 






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appearing residence, which will compare favorably 
with any in the county. 

Dec. 19, 1852, in Essex, Clinton Co., Mich., he 
married Huldah M., daughter of Newman and Eliza 
(Booth) Terr)', natives of New York. They came 
to Michigan in 1831, and settled first in Lenawee 
County. They afterwards removed to Clinton County, 
where the mother died, March 26, 1880. Mr. Terry 
is now spending his last days with his children. 
Mrs. Laycock was born in Fairfield, Lenawee Co., 
Mich., Mays. 1835. 

Mr. and Mrs. L. have Iiad eight children: Almon, 
Charlie N., Loelda, Ellis, William G., Erva R. and 
Ora D. and one which died in infancy. William 
G. died when 16 months old. Politically, Mr. L. is 
identified with the Republican party. He has been 
one of the few permitted to see Fulton Township in 
all stages of its development. When he settled 
there, there were but tliree families east of Pine 
Creek, in the township. 

In .September, 1864, he was drafted into the army, 
and was assigned to the 23d Mich. Vol. Inf He 
served ten months with honor to himself, and fought 
at Nashville and Franklin, Tenn., and in minor en- 
gagements. 



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illiam D. Scott, M. D, of Ithaca, was born 



Nov. 15, 1 84 1, in Essex, Clinton Co., Mich. 
jW^-rC S^i^i^^l ^- Scott, his father, was a native 
JJV::^) of New Hampshire. He was essentially a 
New England man, and spent the first years 
ot his life within the influences which pervaded 
the East at that period. He was Democratic in pol- 
itics, and deeply interested in all issues which the 
times developed and the march of civilization made 
exigent. He removed to the counties of Clinton and 
Ionia in 1838, and, in company with a man named 
Osgood, bought 160 acres of land in Essex, Clinton 
County. He returned East, and in 1840 was mar- 
ried, in the State of New York, to Sarah S. (iilmore, 
a native of Maine. She died in Essex, Mich., in 
September, 1863. Soon after his marriage, the elder 
Scott came to Essex, purchased the interest of his 
associate, and proceeded to the work of improving 
his property, a laborious and tedious process, for lack 






of conveniences and facilities. He was a Democrat in 
politics, alive to all the interests of the community, 
and his abilities and experience made him a valuable 
accession to the new and unorganized county. He 
was the first Sheriff of Clinton County and subse- 
quently held the combined office of Clerk and Regis- 
ter of Deeds. He was also actively interested in the 
promotion of school interests. Later in life he was 
elected to represent his District in the Legislature of 
Michigan, and at the time of his death, April 26, 
1850, was in his third term as Representative. 

Dr. Scott obtained his elementary education at the 
common schools and was a pupil a few terms at a 
select school. At the age of 18 he commenced prep- 
aration for his jirofession and entered the office of 
Dr. C. W. Brown, of Maple Rapids, with whom he 
was connected till that gentleman's death, in May, 
1863. Prior to this time, however, in October, 1862, 
he entered the Michigan University at Ann Arbor, 
taking one course of lectures. He then returned to 
Maple Rapids, where he remained till October, 1863. 
when he removed to Bridgeville, Gratiot County, and 
pursued his profession till January, 1865, when he 
took up his residence at Ithaca. In the fall of that 
year, 1865, he went to Chicago to avail himself of 
the advantages of Rush Medical College, and was 
graduated there as a physician and surgeon, in the 
class of 1866. He at once returned to Ithaca and 
has built up a good practice in the village and adja- 
cent country. 

Soon after establishing himself at Ithaca, he was 
appointed United States Examining Surgeon for Gra- 
tiot County, which position he held until the spring 
of 1 88 1, when he resigned and went .South for a few 
months owing to poor health. Dr. Scott was married 
at Ithaca, April 25, 1868. 

His family includes three daughters : Ella M., 
Sarah J. and Blanche. One son, William M., died 
when five months old. 

The Doctor is a member of the State Medical 
.Society and belongs to the Order of Masonry and 
Odd Fellows. Politically, he is a Democrat, and has 
always figured laigely in the counsels and delibera- 
tions of that party in the county, and wields no little 
influence in directing its destiny. His jMrtrait, which 
appears on the ojjposite page, is a valuable addition 
to the galaxy of prominent citizens found within the 
pages of this volume. It will be highly prized by the 



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GRA TIO T CO UNT Y. 



patrons of this work, a very large proportion of whom 
are personally known to him, and by whom he is es- 
pecially admired, not only for his ability and skill as 
a physician and surgeon, but for his personal worth 
as a citizen, his genial quality of head and heart. 




ewis B. Loomis, f;irmer, section 30, North 
Shade Township, is a son of Gideon and 
Lydia (Barnes) Loomis, natives of Con- 
necticut and Vermont respectively. The par- 
ents lived in the State of New York, and the 
father followed the occupation of a farmer until 
his death, which occurred in Yates County, in that 
State, in 1854, the death of the mother jiaving taken 
place in the same county in 1849, si.\ years prior. 

Lewis was born Sept. 8, 1828, in Yates Co., N. Y., 
and lived with his jiarents until he arrived at the age 
of majority. Prior to attaining this age, he had 
passed a season in this State, and returning to his 
native State he engaged himself by the month, and 
worked in that way until he was 23 years of age. He 
then began to make for himself a home in the forests 
of Gratiot County. 

Mr. Loomis was united in marriage to Miss Olivia 
W., daughter of Abraham and Jane (Wilson) Barthol- 
omew. She was born April 9, 1832, in Yates Co., 
N. Y. At the age of five years her parents both 
died leaving her to the care of an aunt of her father, 
where she remained until she had attained the age 
of 14 years, when she went to a neighbor's family, 
and there lived until she was 18 years old. At the 
age of 25 she was married to Mr. L., and in 1S52 
they came to this State and located in Ionia County, 
where they remained a year. From Ionia they emi- 
grated to this county, and settled on a fractional lot 
on section 30, North Shade Township, conlaming 
62 >^ acres, which he had [trocured from the Govern- 
ment. 

They were among the early settlers in tlic town- 
ship, and the many trials they encountered and suc- 
cessfully overcame are forcible reminders of what 
energy and perseverance, backed by strong deter- 
mination, can accomplish. The location selected for 
their home was a wilderness. He had kept "' bache- 
lor's hall " for four years previous to his marriage, 
and at that time not a single house could be found 




between the point where his is now located and 
Matherton, Ionia County, a distance of four and one 
half miles. C'ivilized Indians were his visitors, and 
here we divert from narration of events to state, 
" two fair maidens of the forest created quite an im- 
pression upon our subject." All kinds of game were 
plentiful, and deer and bear abounded ; and look- 
ing back to those days of trials, our subject, with 
so many other early pioneers, rejoices over the aliove 
mentioned fact. 

Mr. and Mrs. Loomis are the parents of two chil- 
dren: Alfred B., born Jan. 27, 1858, and Willie J., 
born May 12, 1868. 

Mr. Loomis assisted in the organization of the 
county, and, together with Henry Lane, were Dele- 
gates to the Convention. He officiated as Coroner 
of the county when the same was first organized ; 
has been School Inspector of the Township for a 
number of terms; Director of his scliool district, and 
also Moderator. 

Mr. and Mrs. Loomis are both active members of 
the United Bretliren Church. He has been Super- 
intendent of the Sabbath-school for 15 years, and 
Class-leader 15 years. She was Steward of the class 
to which she belongs, and fulfilled the position with 
ability. Mr. L. has also filled the position of SteA-- 
ard, and their home goes by the name of the United 
Brethren Hotel and Rest for the Weary. 

In political connection, Mr. L. is a slauncli Re- 
publican. 



\ eubeu D. Perrine, Justice of the Peace, 
.^^, ^^iJ resident at St. Louis, was iH)rn March 13, 
^'"'^1829, in Livingston Co., N. Y. He is son of 
'■^ Daniel and Phebe (Howell) Perrine, and was 
reared to manhood on a farm. He oi)tained a 
substantial elementary education, which was 
su|)plemented by study at the academy in Aurora, 
N. Y., and at a similar institution at Seneca Falls. 
He Ijccame a teacher and has devoted considerable 
time to the pursuit of that vocation, both in his native 
State and in Michigan. 

In 1853 became to Jackson County and settled 
in kives 'I'ownship, where his father bought 203 acres 
of land lying on the (Jrand River and well known as 
tlie " Old Freeman Farm." His i)arents are still re- 













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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



6291 



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siding in that estate. Mr. Perrine bought 60 acres 
of land near his father's home, wliich hitcr on he 
sold and bought anotlier, lying o[)posite the home- 
stead of his parents. On this he lived and labored, 
and cleared about 50 acres. He went to Rives Junc- 
tion, where he conducted a line of grocery business 
and also acted as station agent for the Jackson, 
Lansing & Northern Railroad Co. about i<S months. 
In October, 1869, he came to St. Louis, and after 
some time passed in various occupations he bought 
a third interest in a cabinet-shop. Tiiis enterprise 
and its relations continued ten months, and after its 
termination he began to interest himself in insurance, 
and prosecuted that brancli of lousiness tliree years. 
He has been in active, useful public life much of the 
time since he became a resident of the county; has 
held the positions of Townshi[i Clerk, and in 1.S82 
was elected to the office of Magistrate, and is still 
discharging the obligations of the position ; also held 
the same office one term in Rives. 

Mr. Perrine was married Feb. 5, 1857, to Mariette, 
daughter of Francis and Amy Beverly. She was 
born Feb. 17, 1S36, in Steuben Co., N. Y. (.'assius 
D. is the only child living. He was b(nn in Rives, 
Sept. 17, i860. 

Mr. Perrine owns and manages a farm, which in- 
cludes 61 acres of choice land located in Pine River 
Township, section 2, four miles northwest of St. 
Louis. He and his wife are members of the Con- 
gregational Church. 



— J- 



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|;u^harles C. Foote, farmer, section'32, Lafay- 
p?a^ ette Township, is a son of Henry K. and 



Minerva (Henderson) Foote, natives of New- 
York and Connecticut, respectively. (See 
sketch of James L. Foote.) He was born in 
Oakland Co., Mich., April 13, 1835. At the age of 
r8 he left hotne and went to New Albany, Ind., and 
passed two years as apprentice to the carpenter's 
trade. Returning to Milford, Oakland County, he 
followed his trade most of the time for seven years. 
During this period, he [Kissed three months at Oil 
City, Pa. In .August, 1861, he came to Gratiot Comi- 
ty, and bought 160 acres of wild land, in Lafayette 
Tp., section 32. Going back to Oakland County, he 
returned with his family to their new home, erect- 




ed a log house, and began to clear and improve his 
land. He now has 80 acres under cultivation. In 
1871 he built llie line house which is now his dwell- 
ing. 

He was married in Oakland County, May 9, i860, 
to Sarah, second daughter of Jacob and Catharine 
(Wurtz) Peters, born in Brighton Township, Living- 
ston Co., Mich , Sept. 10, 1838. Mr. and Mrs. Foote 
have 10 children: Mary E., William K., .Anna M., 
John H., Margaret J., Charles P., Jacob C, Edith A., 
Frank and Sarah. 

Mr. Foote was Supervisor of his township two 
years. Clerk three years, and has held the various 
school offices in his district. In politics, he is a Re- 
publican. Mr. and Mrs. Foote are members of the 
Presbyterian Church. 



# 



|,^ylve8ter C. Smith, furniture dealer at St. 
^pi Louis, was born in Columbia Townsliip, 
p' ' Jackson ('o., Mich., Aug. 23, 1840, and is 
' i \V^ a son of Edward and Eliza (Day) Smith. His 
father was a native of the State of New York, 
and removed in 1834, with his family, to Jack- 
son County. He was one of ihe earliest of the 
pioneer settlers of Columbia, where he died in 1862. 
The mother was also a native of the Empire State, 
and died in 1858 in Columbia. 

Mr. Smith was brought up as a farmer's son and 
attended the winter terms of school while acquiring 
an education. On arriving at the period of his legal 
freedom and independence, he went to Illinois, where 
he was engaged as salesman for a manufacturing 
company of Massachusetts, in the sale of sewing 
machines. He operated in their interests about 18 
months, when he returned to Jackson County and 
bought 70 acres of land in his native township. 
Two years later he sold his farm and went to the 
adjoining town of Liberty, where he ojiened a store 
for the sale of general merchandise, and continued 
four years. He then made a transfer of his business 
interests to Hanover, in the same county, where he 
transacted mercantile affairs neady four years. In 
1875 he came to St. Louis and engaged in the sale 
of sewing-machines for the Remington Company. 
A year later, in the spring of 1876, he entered into si 



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630 



GRATIOT COUNTY. 



partnership with L. W. Kent, in the sale of furniture. 
This connection was in existence a .year and was 
terminated by Mr. Smith selling his interest to his 
partner. Subsequently, Mr. Smith and Samuel Love- 
land entered into a partnership and bought the 
furniture stock of S. H. Holmes. In March, 1877, 
Mr. Smith became sole owner and has since con- 
ducted the business alone. He removed to his 
present stand in June, 1883. His stock represents 
several thousand dollars, and he is engaged in a 
prosperous business, including the sale of furniture 
and undertaker's goods, in which latter he has the 
largest trade in the county, with commensurate 
facilities, including caskets, hearse, and the Bojd 
grave vault. He is also managing an extensive re- 
pair trade. He has been a member of the School 
Board at St. Louis two years, and belongs to the 
Board of Village Trustees. He owns 70 shares in 
the silver mines of the Mineral Mountain Company 
in the Santa Rita Mountains of Arizona. 

Mr Smith was married Dec. 24, 1863, in Wood- 
stock, Lenawee Co., Mich., to Frances M. Allen, 
born Aug. 22, 1845, in the Stale of New York. The 
children of Mr. and Mrs. Smith are : Carrie E., born 
Aug. 23, 1864, in Columbia: Hattie, born in Liberty, 
r87o; Edward A., born Jan. 18, 1S76, in St. Louis. 




Atjiec/©-^^ 



5^4— «'^<a/trazr?>» 



ohn M. Glover, farmer on section 14, Ar- 
cada Township, was born in Brutus Town- 
ship, Cayuga Co., N. Y., July 26, 1821, 
and is a son of William and Adelphia (Hay- 
ward) Glover. He is the fifth child and fourth 
son of a family of 10, the oldest of whom is 
7 I, and the youngest 50. All are residents of Mich- 
igan except one, who lives in Missouri. William 
Glover was a native of New Jersey, and descended 
from the old Puritan stock of New England. He 
was by occupation a weaver, learning his trade in 
New Jersey, and came to Michigan in 1 844. He died 
in 1854, in Washtenaw County. Adelphia (Hay- 
ward) Glover was a native of Salem, Mass., and died 
in Washtenaw County in 1858. 

The subject of this biographical narrative lived at 
home with his parents until 21 years old, and received 
a common-school education. Leaving the parental 

5(s^fi- ^^^^^ — ^^tK^h n ^ 




by looking heavenward. Their first house was of the 
rudest pattern, being of logs, with no floor, and cov- 
ered with " shakes." The door was made also of 
home-made lumber, but it was afterwards replaced by 
a door made from the first lumber sawed in the 
county, produced by Francis Nelson and William 
Prouty, with an old-fashioned "whip saw." On set- 
tling here, Mr. Glover's household effects would in- 
ventory about $100, and he had but $5 in cash. 
The first straw in their beds was hauled 21 mi'es. 
He cut the first road in his school district. The 
town meetings and elections were held in his house 
for seven consecutive years. 

Mr. G. now has r4o acres of good farming land, of 
which 80 are in an excellent state of cultivation, and 
a fine residence that cost over $2,000. He is 62 
years old, but is a progressive farmer; and being of 
an active temperament he works hard every day. 
July 4, 1875, he was kicked by a young horse in the 
side of the face and head, and the bones of his uj)- 
per and lower jaws were broken. From this injury 
he duly recovered, and he has otherwise always liad 
remarkably good health. For 29 years his doctor 
bill was less tlian |ljo. Mrs. (ilover is a woman of 
remarkable endurance, and has been a fit companion 
to her husband in his pioneer work. For some time, 
in the early days, they ground their corn in a coffee 
mill, and went 30 miles to post-office and mill. 

Mr. and Mrs. Glover have had four children 



i 



roof in the fall of 1842, he came to Washtenaw 
County, this State, and worked on farms in Sylvan 
Township for three years. 

Dec. 31, 1846, in Waterloo Township, Jackson 
County, he formed a life partnership with Miss Lydia 
h. Earl, daughter of John and Rhoda (Castle) Earl, 
natives of New Hampshire and Vermont, and of 
English and Scotch descent. She was born in Es- 
sex Township, Essex Co., N. Y., and at the age of 
five was taken to Erie County. The family after- 
wards moved to Jackson Co., Mich., where she lived 
until her marriage. 

Three years after that event, Mr. Glover purchased 
a farm of 40 acres in Jackson County ; and three 
years later they went to Washtenaw County and 
lived a year. They then came to Gratiot, where, in 
the fall of 1854, he located 160 acres on section 14, 
Arcada Township. They were then in the midst of 
a forest so dense thai they could only see daylight ( ^ 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



Rhoda A., Mary E., Frankiel^. and Rebecca J- (died 
April 15, 1862). Miss Rhoda has been a teacher in 
the common schools for some time. Mr. G. and wife 
are active members of the Seventh-Day .Adventist 
denomination. He has held the otifices of Overseer 
and School Director for a number of years. Politi- 
cally, he is entirely nentral. He is a man of most 
excellent personal habits, having never tasted tobac- 
co or spirituous licpior. 



^<S)^€»>-!«><^ 




'ames Gargett, capitalist, resident at Alma, 
jfe^ was born July 15, 1825, at Godmanches- 
ter, Canada. His father, Robert Gargett, 
was born July 10, 1800, in Yorkshire, England. 
He cameto the United States when he was 16 
years old and settled in the State of New York, 
where he was married to Elizabeth Perkins. She 
was born April 13, 1805, in Connecticut. They re- 
mained in the Empire State only a brief time after 
their marriage, going thence to Canada. After a 
residence there of 12 years, they removed to Summil 
Co., Ohio, and made a [lermanent settlement. There 
they resided 37 years, leading lives of frugality, use- 
fulness and success. They died in 187 i by the hand 
of violence, and their tragic fate and the condign pun- 
ishment of its author is matter of record and terrible 
memory in Summit County. The murderer, whose 
name, John Hunter, is handed down in its infamous 
notoriety, was apprehended, tried, convicted and 
hung in October, T87 i, at Akron, Ohio. The entire 
family of Robert arid Elizabeth Gargett, consisting 
of three sons and six daughters, lived to mature age. 
They were born in the order named ; John, James, 
Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary, Martha, Orpha, ('hloe and 
Rodney. 

Mr. Gargett was ten years old when his parents 
went to Ohio, and he remained with them until he 
was 24 years of age. He acquired a good common- 
school education, and at rg engaged in teaching 
winter terms of school, a business he pursued four 
years. In 1849 he was married, and soon after that 
event he engaged in farming in Summit County, and, 
in addition to his agricultural pursuits, engaged in 
the construction of Artesian wells. He managed his 
two-fold business interests at that point four years, 
and in 1853 sold his farm and engaged in commis- 
sion business in the city of Cleveland. He continued 




his operations in that avenue four years and mean- 
while became proprietor by purchase of a half interest 
in a hardware store in Frederickstown, Ohio. 

In the latter enterprise he was associated with Alex- 
ander Love. His business was unusually prosperous 
and he became the possessor of $20,000, the result 
of honest enterprise, but his partner trifled with the 
firm name and interests, and by endorsing for outside 
parties overwhelmed its affairs, causing a total loss. 
Mr. Gargett continued the commission business singly 
and operated with the success due to his efforts and 
energies. In the summer of 1857 he again found 
his affairs in an inextricable, condition owing to his 
own indorsement to aid others in keeping their busi- 
ness afloat. As a result, he found himself involved 
to the extent of $21,000. He discharged every dol- 
lar of his obligations and proceeded with his business 
as he best could until the fall of the same year, 
when the universal upheaval of all the trade and the 
business relations of the country, coupled with his 
impaired health, forced him to succumb to the press- 
ure, and his business in Cleveland was brought to a 
termination. He still owned an investment of $4,000 
he had previously made in Sumner Township, Gratiot 
County, ina general store;and in the winter of 1858-9 
he rernoved to Michigan, where his property was in- 
vested, and found that nearly all the goods had been 
trusted to the new settlers ; and in consequence of 
the failure of crops, that brought on the memorable 
starvation times of Gratiot, they were unable to pay, 
and the whole thing was a failure. 

Jan. I, 1859, he came to Alma, and on that day 
purchased a stock of merchandise belonging to Gen. 
Ralph Ely, on credit. On the following morning, 
before breakfast, he opened trade, and continued in 
the mercantile business and in settling up until June 
9, 1861, when disaster overtook him in the form of 
robbery, arson and fire, and he lost all he possessed 
except his real estate, purchased by Mrs. Gargett in 
her own right from the avails of her father's estate. 

The next fall, associated with H. B. Hulbert, he 
bought a stock of goods from James Shearer, on 
three, six, nine and twelve months' credit, and once 
more established himself in business. The war 
having broke out, by possessing the pluck to keep 
well stocked with goods, the rapid advance sent him 
on the high road of prosperity, and thus he continued 
until the fall of 1867. In June of that year Messrs. 



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GRA TIO T CO UNT V. 



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Gargett & Hulbert built a flouring mill. This enter- 
prise was put in operation owing to its need by the 
community, flour being $14 per barrel, and many men 
desiring employment. In the fall of 1867 the joint 
proprietors made a division of property, Mr. Gargett 
taking charge of the flouring-mill and Mr. Hulbert 
assuming sole proprietorship of the mercantile con- 
nections and the management of its unsettled affairs. 
It had been previously conducted in the name of H. 
B. Hulbert, owing to embarrassed conditions. Mr. 
Gargett zealously prosecuted his milling interests, 
and in 1869 erected a woolen-mill, which he leased 
for a period of five years to parties from Ohio, who 
filled it with first-class modern machinery. The 
lessees made a failure of their venture, and the con- 
cern changed hands three times. Disastrous results 
were the consequences every time, and in order to 
retain the enterprise at Alma, Mr. Gargett was com- 
pelled in the spring of 1873 to purchase the machin- 
ery and fixtures, and he gave his attention to the 
manufacture of woolens until 1880, when the mill 
was destroyed bv fire. He had also conducted his 
milling interests to the same date and the same fire 
swept away both branches of his business, and in 
both he met with a total loss of his interests. Dis- 
aster in one form or another had marked his business 
career, and only his indomitable will and courage 
and determination to wrest success from circumstan- 
ces kept him afloat. In the fall of 1870 he com- 
menced the construction of an elegant dwelling, 
which was completed a year later at a cost of $18,000. 
In the summer of 1876 the fire-fiend destroyed the 
beautiful residence. In the spring of 1872 he was 
induced to lend assistance to Josiah F. Lathroj) in 
getUng a drive of logs down Pine River, and fenable 
hini to pay $1,490 he owed for su|)plies from the 
mill, — a piece of good nature and desire to aid him 
in every possible manner and the business prosperity 
of the locality, which resulted in the loss of $28,000. 
In 1873 he found himself with his mills and real 
estate in his possession, but without a dollar for 
the transaction of business. His reliability, integrity 
and perserverance stood him in good stead, and 
he obtained means to operate his woolen-mill, and 
cevoted to it his entire jiersonal attention until its 
destruction in November, 1880. Four years previous 
to that event his prosperity was most satisfactory. 
Since that date he has prosecuted the busiriess of a 




V^ 



real-estate broker and -attended to the management 
of his general interests. 

Mr. Gargett is a Republican in political ])rinciple, 
and in the fall of 1862 was elected to the Legisla- 
ture of Michigan, and served during the biennial 
term of 1862-3. During this session he was Chair- 
man of the Committee on Towns and Counties. He 
has also Ijeen Supervisor of Pine River Township 
one year. 

He was married May 24, 1849, in Lyons, Wayne 
Co., N. Y., to Louisa, daughter of Joseph and Ele-a- 
nor (Seaton) Gee. She was born in Lyons, May 24, 
1831. Her parents were natives of the Empire State, 
where the father died in the year 1840, leaving a 
valuable estate. The mother removed to Ionia Co., 
Mich., and died Feb. 9, 1883, while on a visit to Mrs. 
(iargett, her daughter. Of the marriage of Mr. and 
Mrs. Gargett, two children have been born, one of 
whom survives, Minnie L , L)orn April 5, 1850. 
George, born Dec. 5, 1858, was accidentally s-calded 
Dec. 5, 1 860, death resulting in a few hours. The 
parents are both members of the Seventh-Day Ad- 
vent Church. 

The personal record of Mr. Gargett presents a fine 
e.xhibit of what a man may accomplish, despite a 
long series of business disaster and personal afflic- 
tion. The tragic termination of the lives of his par 

/T 'I 
ents, his losses by fire and the mismanagement of v , 

others to whom he extended a helping hand, the sud- 
den and irreparable loss of his only son by a painful 
accident, and the long illness of his wife, who in 1873 
was stricken bv paralysis, from the effects of which 
she suffered three years, constitute an appalling array 
of adverse circumstances, and would have utterly 
crushed common men. But no misfortune has over- 
whelmed him. Each new disaster developed in him 
the essential traits of his character which have ren- 
dered liim one of the most valuable citizens of .Alma, 
where he resided before it held even a promise of the 
importance to which it has attained, and in which he 
has been a prominent factor. The village was plat- 
ted by him in 1859, and he has since been continu- 
ally interested in its progress. 

The [xirtraits of Mr. and Mrs. Gargett are present- 
ed on other pages of this work. They are an acces- 
sion to the list of prominent persons whose like- 
nesses appear in the Album of Gratiot County, from 
the business relations of Mr. Gargett in his town- 









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G RA TIO T CO UNT Y. 






639 



ship and county, and the high social position which 
his family holds. Mrs. Gargett, though still suffering 
from impaired health, retains all her vigor of intellect 
and exercises nil the interest and solicitude for the 
happiness and comfort of her friends and associates 
which have characterized her through life. In 187 i 
Mr. Gargett determined to give his wife the benefit of 
a long out-of-door excursion, believing it would tend 
to the restoration of her health. He had a " palace 
coach " constructed, at a cost of $1,100, fitted in ev- 
ery way for comfort, and on the 27th of September, 
1881, they set out for an overland trip from Michi- 
gan through the Southern States. Mrs. Gargett's 
facile pen sup|)lied a graphi<: and entertaining account 
of the trip for publication in the Gratiot County Rec- 
ord, published at Alma. Her letters gave interesting 
kerns of incidents of travel, meeting with old friends, 
data of agricultural probabilities and possibilities in 
the sections traversed. 

He returned to Alma Oct. 21, 1882, to witness the 
prosperity of the village of which he had had so much 
anxiety in years past. And now, as he lays aside in a 
measure the cares of life, he desires to leave on record 
that he owes much of his success in overcoming se- 
vere trials and obstacles to the faithfulness and good 
counsels of his wife, and of the fact that he had al- 
ways allowed her to retain her own property in her 
name, whereby she could aid him as no one else 
would when disasters come thick and fast, and those 
who are friends in prosperity turn a cold shoulder in 
adversity. 




I^erome Vernon Johnson was born in the 
t^ township of Emmett, Calhoun Co., Mic h., 
~^' Sept. 20, 1844, in a log cabin, which was 
built at the first settlement of the county, on the 
north bank of the Kalamazoo River, six miles 
west of Marshall, and witliin a half mile of the 
station now known as VVheatfield, on the Michigan 
Central railroad. His early youth was passed as that 
of other pioneer l)oys in those days. At the age of 
eight years his parents moved to Marshall Township, 
in the same county, where they still reside. The 
only education he obtained was that furnished by the 
common district school of tlie times. 



At 17, becoming tired of the monotony of farm life, 
with the consent of his parents, he selected for an 
occupation the printing trade, mastered the intricacies 
of the art, and entered the broad arena of life with 
brilliant anticipations and an ambition to be some- 
thing more than a follower among his fellow men. 

March 4, 1868, at Galesburg, 111., he was married 
to Miss Sadie H. Bell, by Rev. George Norcross. Six 
children have blessed the union, four of them — three 
girls and one boy — now living: Jessie Gay, born 
May 8, 1870; Larnont Kinyon, March 28, 1877 ; 
Sadie Alta, May 27, 1879; Bessie Bell, Sept. 14, 
i88i. 

The same year of his marriage he purchased at 
Charlotte, Mich., the Charlotte Argus (afterward 
changed to Leac/er), which paper he published and 
edited until the close of '74, when an almost fatal 
illness compelled him to give up the business. In 
June, 1876, he established the Ingham County Dem- 
ocrat, at Mason, Mich., but in the fall of '77 disposed 
of it, returned to Charlotte and re-purchased his old 
office. In 1882 he sold the office and established in 
September of the same year the Gratiot County Dem- 
ocrat, at St. Louis, Mich., which liad been suspended 
a year previous. This he has published since with 
very satisfactory success, notwithstanding the office 
was burned out on the night of January 4, 1884. 

Mr. Johnson's parents may well be called pioneers 
in Michigan. His father, Kinyon Johnson, was born 
near Smyrna, N. Y., and came to Michigan in 1836. 
Kinyon'5 father, Nathaniel Vernon Johnson, was a 
Rhode Islander, and served faithfully through the 
Revolution, returning to his farm and family at the 
close of the war. His mother, nee Miss Mary Potter, 
was born near Oswego, N. Y., and came to Michigan 
in 1 83 1, living in the State six months without seeing 
another white woman's face, and undergoing all the 
privations and hardships consequent upon the settle- 
n)ent of a new country. Her father also served dur- 
ing the Revolution with fidelity and honor. Both 
parents are still living upon the old homestead in 
Marsiiall Township, enjoying the days of their de- 
clining years with a contentment which is the out- 
growth of a busy, industrious life, being now upward 
of 73 years old. 

Duiing a busy and eventful life, Mr. Johnson has 
found time to work more or less in local and State 
politics, having served two terms as Recorder of the 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



city of Charlotte, four years and a half as Chief En- 
gineer of the Fire Department of that city, and was 
elected Alderman there in 1882 for a two years' term, 
resigning to move to St. Louis. At present he is 
/§ Chief Engineer of the St. Louis Fire Department, and 
a member of the Board of Trustees of the village, to 
which latter place he was elected for a two years' 
term March 5, 1884. During 12 years, he has been 
a member of a volunteer fire department, ten years 
ago aiding in the organization of the Michigan State 
Firemen's Association at Battle Creek. 

The portrait of Mr. Johnson maybe found on page 
638, and is presented with much satisfaction as a 
citizen and journalist of Gratiot County, as well as in 
his pioneer relations to the State of Michigan. 






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(.amilton Pritchard, farmer and stock-raiser, 
section i, Sumner Township, was born in 
Gorham Townshi}), Yates Co., N. Y., June 
16, 1 8 18, and is a son of Levi and Lydia (Pratt) 
Pritchard, natives of Connecticut, of New Eng- 
] land ancestry. The father was by occupation 
an iron smelter and charcoal maker, and came to 
Clinton County, this State, where he died in 1863. 
The mother died in Yates Co., N. Y., when Hamilton 
was two and a half years old. 

When he was eight years old, the family removed 
to Seneca Co., N. Y., and two years later he began, 
while yet a j'oung lad, the battle of life, working out 
by the uiontli for farmers. In 1841, in Hornellsville, 
Steuben Co., N. Y., he was united in the bonds of 
matrimony to Miss Lucy Brown, who was born in 
that county in 1824. She died Jan. 16, 1863, in 
Isabella County, this State, liaving been the mother 
of seven children. There were four daughters and 
three sons, and three of the former and one of the 
latter are dead. The living are: Francis S., born 
Nov. 9, 1844; Charles H., May 24, 1848; Henry C, 
June 8, 1853. The deceased are: Mary H., born 
March 30, 1842 ; Martha and Martin (twins), born 
Aug. 26, 1857; Lucy, April 10, i860. She was a 
good woman, and a fit companion to Mr. Pritchard 
in his strife with the sturdy forests of Michigan. 

Aug. 1, 1864, he took for a second wife Mrs. Mi- 
nerva Hahn [tiee Newville), daughter of Charles and 
Lucy (Corkins) Newville, natives of New England. 



She was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., Aug. 21, 1836, 
and came with her parents to Wood Co., Ohio, when 
it was very sparsely settled. There she was edu- 
cated, and lived until her first marriage. By her first 
husband she lias a son, Lewis, who is living with her 
still; and by her second, five children : George (mar- 
ried), Levi, Nora, William and Melita. 

Mr. Pritchard is one of the pioneers of Gratiot 
County, having come here September, 1854. He 
located on 160 acres on section i, Sumner Township, 
and Oct. 19, 1854, he brought his family here. He 
was the first person to make a permanent settlement, 
and his was the first family to come into the township 
of Sumner. There was but one family between him 
and Alma, and it was on the site of Mr. D. Sulli- 
van's present residence. From that point he cut his 
own road, at a cost to him and Timothy Bordwell of 
a day and a half's labor. Mr. Bordwell was the sec- 
ond settler in the township, and is now a resident of 
Edmore, Montcalm County. 

The- third year after coming, Mr. P. raised his first 
crop of wheat, which he flailed out on the ground. 
After getting it (jut of the straw, he hauled it in the 
chaff a distance of t^t, miles to get it cleaned and 
threshed for the bread necessary to live on. He has 
known a neighbor to start out with a hand-sled for 
100 pounds of flour, and before returning be obliged 
to make a new sled, the first being worn out. 

He has now a fine farm of 280 acres of land, of 
which 200 are nicely improved. He has a productive 
orchard, three acres in extent; and a comfortable 
residence has succeeded the log house which he suc- 
ceeded in raising after he and wife and four children 
had slept ten nights on the ground, covered with 
shakes laid on a pole resting on forks driven in the 
ground. Mr. P. is politically a National. He has 
held all the various school offices. Mrs. P. is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

ames Fi-y, farmer, section 24, Pine River 
Township, was born Nov. 13, 1806, in 
' ''* Pennsylvania, and is the son of Peter and 
Sarah (('ha|)man) Fry. He resided at home 
until he was 20 years old, when he engaged as 
a farm laborer, and spent five years in that 
capacity working by the month. In 1836 he rented 
a farm, and continued to pursue agriculture after 



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that method for several years, when he bought a 
farm in his native State. He remained there until 
the spring of 1865, when he came to Gratiot County. 
He bought 280 acres of land in Pine River Town- 
ship. On this he resided, and carried on farming 
with success until 187 1, when he exchanged the 
farm for the place where he now resides. In politi- 
cal views, Mr. Fry is a Republican. 

He was married Sept. 9, 1829, in Pennsylvania, to 
Hannah, daughter of Benjamin and Rhoda (Pruden) 
Wilson. Mrs. Fry was born Jan. 8, 181 1, in Wash- 
ington Co., Pa. Her parents were natives of New 
Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Fry have had 12 children: 
Sarah, Rhoda, Mary, Benjamin, Peter, David, John 
C, William, Eliza A., Woodruff, George W. and 
Elizabeth A. John died when he was six years old. 
The family are attendants at the Disciples' Church, 
of which the parents are members. 






Vrs' 



iJiiLS W. Lyon, photographer, at Ithaca, was 
t^§y born May 29, 1847, in Clinton Township, 
^!^^ F^ssex Co., N. J. He is a son of Hervey 
i& and Elizabeth J. (Whaley) Lyon, both of whom 
were natives of New Jersey. His father was 
born July 20, 18:0, in Clinton. He was a 
shoemaker by trade, and in 1851 removed his family 
to Essex Township, Clinton Co., Mich., where he 
bought a farm and resided until his death, which oc- 
curred Dec. 13, 1880. The mother resides on the 
homestead, which is a fine farm of 102 acres, with 
first-class improvements. 

Mr. Lyon left home when he was 22 years of age 
for the purpose of fitting for the business whicli he 
has pursued thus far in life. He went to St. John's, 
and after a course of thorougli preparation he went 
to several places in Michigan to prospect. In Octo- 
ber, 1870, he came to Ithaca and established his 
present business, which has been popular and pros- 
perous. Mr. Lyon owns his place of business and 
residence in Ithaca, and 80 acres of land on section 
4, Wasiiington Township, with 20 acres under culti- 
vation. 

He was married Aug. 19, 187 i, to Viola R., daugh- 
ter of Thomas L. and Anna R. (Good) Wasson. 
She was born Feb. 15, 1852, inCharlotteville, Niagara 



Co., N. Y. Floyd R., born Sept. 15, 1880, at Ith- 
aca, is the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Lyon. 

Tlie maternal grandfather of Mr. Lyon was a Major 
in the war of 1812, and his epaulets and cap were 
preserved some time in the family. 

As one of the representative business men and 
prominent citizens of Gratiot County, we take pleasure 
in presenting the portrait of Mr. Lyon in this Album. 



JilMTf^roseph Wiles, Jr., farmer, section 21, New 
'^"'l'5'^'j^ Haven Townshii), was born in Wayne Co., 
^^^ Ohio, Dec. 29, 1829. His father, Joseph 
Wiles, Sr., was a native of Pennsylvania, of 
German descent, or "'Pennsylvania Dutch," 
and was formerly a minister in the Dunkard 
Church, but now a retired farmer, on section 21, 
New Haven Township. He came from Ohio to this 
State in the spring of 1855, as one of the first set- 
tlers in the above named township He has ever 
been closely identified witii the religious interest of 
this community. He has reared 12 children, one of 
whom is a minister. 

The subject of this sketcli is the second son, sec- 
ond child and the eldest now living, of the above 
mentioned family. He lived in his native county 
until about 12 years of age, when the family moved 
to Seneca Co., Ohio. When 20 years of age he set 
about taking care of himself and obtaining the rudi- 
ments of an education. At 21 he set out as a com- 
mon laborer, working as such for four years. In the 
meantine he purchased 80 acres of land in Seneca 
Co., Ohio, making some improvements thereon pre- 
paratory to marriage. March i, 1855, in Seneca Co., 
Ohio, Mr. Wiles was married to Lucinda ?^., daughter 
of Philip S. and Elizabeth (Countryman) Jones, na- 
tives of New York, the former of New P",ngland par- 
entage and the latter a descendant of the Mohawk 
Dutch. Mrs. W. was born in Danube Township, 
Herkimer Co., N. Y., Oct. 29, 1835. Her parents 
came to Ohio when she was a small girl, and she re- 
mained with them until her marriage. Shortly after 
that event they sold their property in Ohio and came 
to Michigan, purchasing 160 acres of wild land where 
they now reside. They moved here in May, 1855, 
and commenced the laborious and monotonous work 
of a pioneer, surrounded by the wild forests and an- 



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imals, whose music only lends fear and silence to the 
inmates of the human home. The advance Mr. 
Wiles has since made has left the mark of progress 
and prosperity upon the premises, demonstrating 
their possessor to be a practical and shrewd- farmer. 
He has also held nearly all the offices of his township. 
He is a strong Republican. Mrs. W. is a member of 
the Baptist Church. Their children are: William 
L., Angenette, Loretta A., Adelbert F. and Minnie R. 



amuel McCutchean, farmer, section 5, 
Washington Township, is a son of James 
and Jane (Springer) McCutchean, natives 
of Pennsylvania. They followed farming, moved 
to Fulton Co., Ohio, and afterward to Seneca 
County. James McCutchean died in 1870, 
while visiting in Fulton County. Mrs. McCutchean 
died in Texas, in 1878 Samuel was born Sept. 11, 
1836, in the State of Pennsylvania. At the age of 25, 
he left liome and married Mary Anspaugh, daughter 
of Jonas and Catharine (Hiple) Anspaugh, natives of 
Stark Co., Ohio. They moved to Williams Co., Ohio, 
where they resided 24 years. Both are dead. Mrs. 
Anspaugh died March 26, 1861, leaving 12 children, 
of whom Mary was the eldest. 

In 1864, Mr. and Mrs. McCutcliean came to this 
State and county, and located on r6o acres of wild 
land on section 5, Washington Township. He has 
now about 80 acres improved and in 1883 he built 
one of the best barns in the township, at a cost of 
$1,000. Mr. and Mrs. McCutchean have had nine 
children, five of whom are living. Their names are 
as follows : Ella, Charles F., Amelia, Rutherford B. 
and Catliarine. In politics Mr. McCutchean is a Re- 
publican. 



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linley Dodge, farmer on section 23, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of Thomas and 
Jane (Wilson) Dodge. They were natives 
of New York, and removed to Indiana, where 
Mr. Dodge died. His wife afterward came to 
Monroe, Mich. 
The subject of this biographical sketch was born 
in the State of New York, Sept. 5, 1833. He lived 






with his grandparents in Genesee Co., N. Y., until he 
was 16 years old, at which time he went to live with 
an uncle in Buffalo, N. Y. A year and a half later 
he returned to Genesee County, where he lived till 
the fall of 1858. He then came to Gratiot County, 
and bought 80 acres of wild land on section 23, Ful- 
ton. He has 65 acres under cultivation, and has 
good farm buildings. 

Nov. 29, 1857, in Orleans Co., N. Y., he was mar- 
ried to Miss Caroline McDonald, a native of Scot- 
land. This marriage was blessed with seven chil- 
dren, of whom five survive : Mary J., Charles R., 
Fred. J., Cora M. and Roy J. The deceased are 
Mabel L. and Maggie L. Losing his first wife by 
death, Mr. Dodge was again married, at Maple Rap- 
ids, Mich., May i, 1881, to Miss Minerva L., daugh- 
ter of William H. and Polly (Stafford) Kellogg. She 
was born in Livingston Co., Mich., Aug. 3, 1854. By 
this marriage, Mr. D. has one daughter, Gertrude. 
He and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, and politically he is a Republican. 

aWl'I'-.aniel Wiles, minister and farmer, section 
?■ liaMil il. 21, New Haven Township, was born in 

}M-^'^ Wayne Co., Ohio, Jan. I, 1839. Hi 
'j]ft ents left Pennsylvania, and moved to Wayne 
^ Co., Oiiio, before Daniel was born. From that 
i .State they moved to Indiana and thence to 
Wood Co., Ohio. The parents emigrated from the 
latter State to this county and located on section 21, 
New Haven Township, where our subject remained 
and assisted in the care and support of the family 
until he attained the age of manhood. 

On attaining this period in life, Mr. Wiles returned 
to Ohio and was united in marriage to Miss Mary, 
daughter of John and Catharine (Heller) Ronk, na- 
tives of Pennsylvania and of German descent. 

She was a resident of Wood Co., Ohio, and was 
liorn in Dauphin Co., Pa., March 15, 1838, going to 
Ohio when quite young. 

The newly married couiile, immediately after 
marriage, returned to this State and located on sec- 
tion 17, this township, procuring 40 acres of land. 
Six years later he sold his 40 acres and purchased 
80 acres on section 21, same township, where he has 
since constantly resided and of which land he has 
placed one half under good improvement. 



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Mr. and Mrs. Wiles have three children, namely : 
Florentine F., Calvin D. and Benjamin E. They are 
both connected with the Church of God, and Mr. 
W. has held the Eldership of the Church for three 
years. He is an active worker and one whose efforts 
have been rewarded. 

Mr. Wiles has held an official position in the School 
District, and is an able worker in the educational 
interests of his township. 

Politically, Mr. W. is a believer in and sup[)orts the 
principles of the Republican party. 



Ig E. Wheeler, M. D., homeopathic physician 
and surgeon at St. Louis, was born in York 
Washtenaw Co., Mich., Dec. 20, 1S5S. He is 
son of Charles and Eliza J. (Miller) Wheeler, 
who remained residents ol York Township un- 
til 1872, when they removed to Ypsilanti. 
Dr. Wheeler was then 14 years of age, and lie l)e- 
came a pupil at the State Normal Scliool, where he 
graduated in 1876. In the fall of the same year he 
began his professional studies at the University^of 
Michigan, and was graduated in the department of 
Homeopathy with the class of 1879. He officiated 
one year, during his connection with the University, 
as Assistant to the Chair of Surgery, and was the first 
resident physician and surgeon who held the position 
at the State Homeopathic Hospital connected with 
the University, from its opening until Oct. i, 1882. 
He was Instructor in Minor Surgery and Botany in 
the Homeopatliic College during the years 1881-2. 

The predominating characteristic of Dr. Wheeler 
is a love for the natural sciences, and he has devoted 
a large amount of time to botany. He made import- 
ant additions to an exhaustive list of the flora of his 
native county, published in 1881, among whicii were 
two species of Dicentra, one of which had been some 
time extinct. The fine herbarium at the Homeo- 
pathic College of the University was collected and 
arranged by Dr. Wheeler, and includes nearly every 
indigenous medicinal plant, together with a respect- 
able showing of foreign plants of tike character, col- 
lected by e.xchange. In this he contributed materi- 
ally to the benefit of the classes, as the advantage of 
the specimens for practical instruction during lectures 
can be readily estimated. The private herbarium in 



the possession of Dr. Wheeler is one of the most 
valuable individual collections in the State, and com- 
prises thousands of mounted specimens, indigenous 
and foreign. The latter were obtained by exchange 
from Europe, and have been collected by corre- 
spondence. Tlie flora of the Pacific coast is largely 
represented, and the collection of Lake Superior 
plants is very complete. In 1882, Dr. Wheeler pre- 
sented to the Homeopathic State Medical .Society a 
full list of medical [)lants indigenous to Michigan, a 
very material service. 

In .April, 1883, he located his practice at St. Louis, 
succeeding to the business of Dr. C. H. Lutes, a phy- 
sician of the same school, who had been a practi- 
tioner of poiHilar standing and repute tor some years. 
Dr. Wheeler has been resident but a short time, but 
has secured the confidence of a large circle of pat- 
rons. He gives special attention to surgery and sur- 
gical diseases, in which branch of his profession he 
has had unusual facilities. While in charge of the 
LTniversity Homeopathic Hospital at Ann Arbor, he 
had the benefit of the rare and difficult cases treated 
by the faculty under his observation, and left to his 
care after operation, a responsibility which tended to 
qualify him for the practice of rliat branch of his 
profession, and render him careful and reliable in the 
discharge of its duties. 



'ohn O. Clark, farmer, section 12, North 
|j- Shade 'i'ownshi|), is a son of John and 
Mary (Orr) Clark, the former a native of 
the Isle of Skye, Scotland, and the latter of 
Kilharchan, Scotland. Father was a soldier of 
the British navy in the Revolutionary war, 
after which he returned tu his native heath, where 
he ultimately died, in the town of Paisley. His wife 
died nearly the same time. 

The subject of this sketch was born Jan. i, 1829, 
in the town of Paisley, Scotland. At 1 1 he ventured 
out as a sailor upon the briny deep, serving his ap- 
prenticeslii[i on the vessel " Maggie Mitchell," Capt. 
Clark commanding. They were engaged in the East 
India trade. Mr. C. served on this ship five years, 
and on other vessels six years — that is, until Oct. 27, 
185 I, when he landed in New York city from the 
bark " Riley," Capt. Volume commanding. He then 




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settled in Niagara Co., N. Y., and was then engaged 
on the Erie Canal until 1852 ; he next engaged in 
railroading on tlie branch from Lockporl to Buffalo; 
in lune, 1854, ho went to Ohio, and was employed 
on ilie railroad from Cleveland to Columbus until 
1865 ; from May 1, 1864, to Aug. 24, 1864, he was in 
the army as a member of Co. H, i4.Sth Ohio Vol. 
Inf., with the Army of the Potomac. His regiment 
did not participate in any battles. He was discharged 
at Camp Chase, Ohio, and immediately returned to 
the Cleveland & Columbus railroad. In the spring 
of 1865, he came to Gratiot County and located on 
section 12, North Shade Townshiii, on a farm of 115 
acres, to which he has since added 200 acres in one 
body. 

In public affairs Mr. Clark is a Republican; he has 
been Assessor of his school district ; is a member of 
Maple Rapids Lodge, No. 145, F. & A. M., and also 
of Bill Begole Post, G. A. R., at Maple Rapids. 

Dec. 12, 1 85 I, Mr. Clark married Miss Dorotha, 
daughter of Frederick and Christina Mugkelberg, 
natives of Prussia. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are the par- 
ents of eight children, namely: John H., Albert \V., 
.\ugusta M. (who died Feb. 13, 1859), William J., 
George D., Frank L., Mary C. and Anna M. 



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eorge J. Coleman, farmer on section 20. 
Emerson Township, was born in Morenci, 
Lenawee Co., Mich., Sept. 22, 1854, and is the 
son of Isaac N. and Lovisa J. (Moon) Cole- 
fiian, natives of Medina Co., Ohio, and Niagara 
Co., N. Y. They have followed farming during 
most of their lives, and now live on a farm and pass 
their time in social and religious pleasures, in Emer- 
son Township, section 30. George J. came with his 
parents, at the age of one, to this county and lived 
with them near Ithaca until 17 years old. He at- 
tended the graded schools of the village a portion of 
the time. He worked for a season in the lumber 
woods near Saginaw, and then was employed for two 
and a half years in Nathan Church's mill at Ithaca, 
losing scarcely a day from his work the while. 
Going to Mecosta County in the fall of 1875, he 
worked in the woods until the spring of 1879, when 
L'd to his father's home. 
25, 1880, at Ithaca, he was united in mar- 




riage to Celia, daughter of William and Lydia Putnam, 
natives of New York and of New England descent. 
They followed farming in their native State until 
1869, since when, except one year in Saginaw County, 
they have lived in Emerson Township, this county. 
Celia was born in Steuben Co., N. Y., Jan. 5, 1862, 
and coming, when eight years old, with her parents' 
to this county, she grew up and was educated in 
Emerson Township. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. 
Coleman settled on a farm jjurchased seven years 
previously, on section 20, Emerson Township. At 
this time the land was covered with the virgin forest; 
but they have cleared 35 acres and made other im- 
provements. They have one child, Roscoe L., born 
Oct. 19, 1881. Mr. Coleman is an active Republi- 
can, and now holds the office of Highway Commis- 
sioner, which he has filled for two terms. 

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ames A. Nelson, farmer, section 14, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of James and Satah 
'''' ™ (Eddings) Nelson, natives of Pennsylvania. 
.\fter marriage they settled in Ohio, tour yijars 
later returning to Pennsylvania. Their next 
move was to Mahoning Co.-. Ohio, and later 
they removed to Hancock County, wheie they died. 
Their family comprised four sons and six daughters. 
The subject of this biography, the third son, was 
born in Mahoning Co., Ohio, Sept. 3, 1822. He re- 
ceived a connnon-school education, and assisted his 
father on the farm until 22 years old. He then en- 
gaged in farming on his own account. He came 
from Hancock Co , Ohio, to Gratiot County in the 
fall of 1858, and bought 160 acres of wild land in 
North Star Township, on which he built first a log, 
and afterwards a frame house. After five years, he 
sold and bought 80 acres on section 1 3, Fulton Town- 
ship, where he lived one year. He bought and sold 
several farms, and in the fall of 1879 he moved to 
Arcada Township and bought 80 acres. Four years 
later, he returned to Fulton Townshii)and bought 80 
acres on section 14, where he now resides. .^11 his 
land is now under cultivation. 

Feb. 8, 1849, ''1 Beaver Co., Pa., he was married 
to Miss Lucinda Newton, a native of Pennsylvania. 
She bore him one child. He was again married at 
Detroit, Mich., Feb. 8, 1859, to Mrs. Mary, daughter 
of John and Margaret (Gibson) Chiffin, and widow 



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of George Fairchild, who died in Ohio July 9, 1856. 
Mrs. Nelson's parents were natives of Virginia and 
Pennsylvania, and she was born in Wayne Co., Ohio. 
She had by her first marriage four children: Mar- 
garet M., John A., Lillie A. and Mary (died in in- 
fancy); and by her second three children: Eugene 
A., Charles C. and Ella M. Eugene A. died Oct. 
26, 1881, when 20 years and 21 days old. Mrs. N. 
is an attendant of the Seventh-Day Adventist so- 
ciety. Mr. N. votes the Republican ticket. 

Mr. Nelson enlisted Feb. 18, 1864, in a company 
of sharpshooters attached to the 27th Mich. Vol. 
Inf., and served till the close of the war. He was in 
the battles of Spottsylvania, Wilderness, Mine Run, 
Cold Harbor and Petersburg. He was slightly 
wounded in the hand by a spent ball at Mine Run. 
He was honorably discharged at Detroit, Mich. 



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K'oseph H. Seaver, a prominent capitalist of 
Ithaca, and one of the leading men of 

ESPi^*^ Gratiot County, was born Feb. 6, 1846, in 

Stockholm, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. He 

'W is a son of Joseph and Diantha (Ober) Seaver, 

■* and in the paternal lines of descent comes of 
English and Scotch ancestry. The father was 
born in 1825, at Crown Point, Esse.x Co., N. Y., atid 
died in 1869, in Clark Co., Wis. The mother was a 
native of Essex County, where she. was born in 1826, 
of mixed Scotch and German lineage. She died in 
Stockholm, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., June 30, 1859. 

Mr. Seaver was brought up on his father's farm 
until the death of his mother, when he was placed 
in charge of a farmer named Ralph Osgood, in whose 
care he remained until 1863, when he went to the 
little villag.e of Keene, in the townshii) of Rossee in 
his native county, and obtained a situation as sales- 
man in the establishment of A. C. Ellis, grocery and 
provision dealer. He remained in that employ until 
the spring of 1865, when he came to Michigan and 
remained one year on the farm of Mr. Ellis, in Coop- 
ersville, Ottawa County. In May, 1866, he went to 
Wisconsin for the purpose of assisting in the survey 
of the ship canal route from Sturgeon Bay to Lake 
Michigan. Two months later he returned to Coop-, 
ersville and operated about three months in a tan- 
nery. His next employ was as a clerk in the mer- 



cantile establishment of Miner & Miller, located at 
Berlin in Ottawa County. He came in the winter 
of 1868 to Hamilton, Gratiot County, where he 
arrived February 28th, and at once entered upon the 
duties of chief manager of the mercantile and lum- 
bering interests of Robert M. Steel, his brother-in- 
law, where he officiated until July, 1870, when he 
went to St. John's, Clinton Co., Mich. He discharged 
the duties of book-keeper for the St. John's Manu- 
facturing Company one year, and in July, 187 i, went 
to McLeansboro, 111. Mr. Steel was building the 
Southeastern & St. Louis railroad and Mr. Seaver 
was placed in charge of the construction corps en- 
gaged in building bridges and putting in culverts. 
He remained four months and again returned to Ham- 
ilton, in the same capacity in which he had formerly 
operated. He remained in charge of " Steel's mill " 
until Jan. 15, 1877. In the fall of 1876 he was 
elected Register of Deeds of Gratiot County, and in 
the winter ensuing fixed his residence at Ithaca, in 
order to facilitate the discharge of his duties as in- 
cumbent of a county office. He officiated as Register 
four years. 

In November, 1879, Mr. Seaver purchased a stock 
of dry goods of John W. Howd, of Ithaca, and 
became associated with Daniel C. Johnson in the 
transaction of mercantile affairs under the firm style 
of D. C. Johnson & Co. Their business was conduct- 
ed satisfactorily and with success until the spring 
of 1881, when Mr. Seaver purchased the interest of 
his partner. He at once proceeded to the erection 
of the Bank Block, for the Jeffrey estate, a building 
71 feet square and three stories in height, and, in 
company with John W. Lewis, established an exten- 
sive mercantile business. Their stock includes dry 
goods, ready-made clothing, hats, caps, boots, shoes, 
groceries, crockery and other lines of goods suited to 
the demands of the patrons of the establishment. 
In May, 1880, the banking house of Steel, Turck & 
Co. was organized, with quarters in the store of D. C. 
Johnson & Co. On the completion of the new 
building the banking firm took possession of elegant 
and commodious ([uarters arranged for their accom- 
modation. 

In 1879, Mr. Seaver bought the old Ithaca flouring 
mill, the building which is now occupied by W. F. 
Thompson as a tub factory. He carried on the busi- 
ness of the mill at that stand upwards of three 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



years, and in August, 1882, put into practical opera- 
tion a project for the building of a new mill, which 
was in complete running order in April, 1883. The 
structure is 36x56 feet in dimensions and is fitted 
with steam power and four run of stones. The mill 
is devoted chiefly to custom work and grinds 125 
bushels of wheat and 400 bushels of feed daily 
(10 hours). 

Ithaca is indebted to the energy, perseverance and 
capital of Mr. Seaver and Gen. Nathan Church for 
the extension of the Saginaw Valley & St. Louis 
railroad. The track was graded, the ties supplied 
and the culverts built through the combined instru- 
mentality of these gentlemen. 

Mr. Seaver owns 320 acres of land on section 13, 
in Newark Township, which is finely improved and 
supplied with all necessary farm appurtenances of 
the best class. He is the proprietor also of 40 acres 
on section 26, in Arcada Township, and owns a half 
interest in 200 acres on section 4, in the township of 
Bethany. His town property includes the tub factory 
and three lots. Mr. Seaver was one of the original 
organizers of the banking house of Steel, Turck & 
Co., at Ithaca, and of Turck, Winton & Co , at Alma, 
and is still connected witli the former in the capacity 
of stockholder. 

His portrait is an appropriate addition to the col- 
lection of the business men of Gratiot County ap- 
pearing in this volume. Comment upon the enterprise 
and unremitting solicitude and activity of Mr. Seaver 
for the benefit of his generation is unnecessary. 
The statement of what he is achieving in his daily 
efforts is all the case requires. 

Mr. Seaver was married Nov. 2, 1869, to Augusta 
M. Steel, of Craftsbur)', Orleans Co., Vt. She died 
Aug. 28, 1877, at Ithaca. Mr. Seaver was again 
married June 18, 1879,10 Mrs. Louisa Jeffrey, widow 
of John Jeffrey. 

This book is honored in presenting the portrait of 
Mrs. Seaver. She is, so to speak, a part of the his- 
tory and wonderful [jiogress of Gratiot County, of 
which she has been many years a resident. In her 
character of wife and mother, she is a typical woman, 
and in her interest and exertions for the advance- 
ment of the society which she adorns, has incontro- 
vertible claims as a leader. Her experiences and 
natural traits of character fit her for any station in 



life, and she is enjoying the advantages of the posi- 
tion to which she is justly entitled as one of the 
leading ladies of Ithaca. 



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l)®J5arney Swope, farmer section 21, Wheeler 
LM^i- Township, is a son of Barnhart and Eliza- 
W^ '^ betli (Neff) Swope, natives of Maryland. 
i^ Mr. Swope, Sr., was part of his life a far- 
' nier, and a number of years was also en- 
gaged in mercantile life, in Hagerstown, Md. 
From 1847 to 1852, he resided in Ohio, and in the 
latter year he came to Jackson Co., Mich., where 
he died three years later. Mrs. Swope was a second 
time married, to John Yager, and they' now live with 
their son-in-law in Bethany Township. 

The sul)ject of this sketch was born in Washing- 



V^ 



fjjfcPJii yman T. Cassada (deceased), late farmer 
•J U^JF °'^ section 31, Fulton Township, was a son 
T of James and Abigail (Kinyon) Cassada 
(see sketch of J. A. Cassada), and was born in 
the State of New York July 27, 18 19. He was 
one of the pioneers of Gratiot County, coming 
to this county in the spring of 1856, when he bought 
20 acres of land in Fulton Township, on section 31. 
He resided upon this place, to which he added five 
acres, until his death, which occurred April 30, 1870. 
April 27, 184 [, in Chemung Co., N. Y., he married 
Miss Thirza Minton, daughter of John and Phebe 
(Jones) Minton, natives of New Jersey and Connect- 
icut. Mrs. Cassada was born in Chemung Co , N. 
Y., March 12, 1820. Mr. and Mrs. C. had two chil- 
dren: Amanda, born Jan. 18, 1842, and died Sept. 
29, 1866; Laura, born July 29, 1843, and died May 
21, 1867. 

Mr. C. held the office of Supervisor of Fulton for 
six successive terms, and was also Justice of the 
Peace for a number of years. He took an active in- 
terest in the welfare of his township. He supported 
the Democratic party, and was at the time of his 
death a member of the Masonic Order. Mrs. C. is 
a member of the Christian Church. She has" added 
15 acres to the farm since her husband's death, all of 
which is improved. 









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ton Co., Md., June 12, 1S40. He left home at the 
age of 15, and began to work by the month for a 
time on a farm and then in a dry-goods store, and 
then at various other things until he was 2 1 years 
old. Aug. 20, 1861, he enlisted in Co. I, 6th Mich. 
Vol. Inf , which was transferred to the heavy artillery. 
He was on garrison duty at Baltimore until Match, 
1862, when he was sent to Ship Island, in the Gulf 
of Mexico. He fought at Pass Mauchac, Baton 
Rouge, at Vi-ksburg, Miss., and in other engage- 
ments, six in all, besides skirmishes. He was 
wounded by a gunshot in the shoulder, at Port 
Hudson, May 27, 1863, and was finally discharged 
at New Orleans, Sept. 7, 1863. He had four and a 
half inches of bone taken out of his arm, and now 
draws a pension, which he riclily deserves, it being 
but an inadequate return for the loss he has sus- 
tained in the defense of his country. 

In 1865 he was united in marriage to Margaret, 
daughter of William and Harriet (Thoinpkins) Par- 
rish, natives of the State of New York. They emi- 
grated to Jackson Co., Mich., in 1835, where Mrs. 
Parrish died, and Mr. Parrish and second wife after- 
ward came to Gratiot. Margaret was born Oct. 3, 
1845, in Jackson Co., Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Swope 
are the parents of seven children : William J., John 
H., A.gnes E., Edgar U., Walter E., Bessie M. and 
Frances R. Mr. and Mrs. Swope came to this 
county in 1864 and located on section 6, Wheeler 
Township, and after one year removed to section 21, 
on a tract of 80 acres. He has since added 80 acres 
more and has a fine residence, completed in 1883. 
He has been Deputy Township ('lerkone year, Clerk 
one year. Justice of the Peace a number of years, 
and has been Supervisor for nine terms. Politically, 
he is a Republican. He and wife are members of 
the Methodist Episcopal Cliurch at Wheeler Village. 



g||.idney Sessions, farmer and owner of 80 
acres of land on section 21, Fulton Town- 
11^' ship, is the son of Nathaniel and Chloe 
(Thompson) Sessions, natives of Connecticut. 
They first settled in Chautaucpia Co., N. Y., 
and in 1837 they removed to Ionia Co., Mich., 
where she died Nov. 14, 1879, and lie died shortly 
after, March 15, 1880. 




Sidney, the sixth of a family of 14 (nine boys and 
five girls), was born in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., July 
19, 1828, and was nine years old when his parents 
removed to Michigan. He was educated in the com- 
mon schools, and assisted his father on the farm un- 
til 18 years old, when for five years he worked by the 
month at farming in Wisconsin and Iowa. Returning 
to Ionia County, he shortly after bought a farm, which 
he worked for two years. He then bought village 
property in Pewamo, Ionia County, where he lived a 
year and a half In tire winter of 1869, he came to 
Gratiot County and bought So acres on section 21, 
Fulton, where he now resides. He has 60 acres 
under good cultivation. 

Jan. I, 1 86 1, at Charlotte, Eaton Co., Mich., he 
married Miss Elizabeth A. Wallace, a native of Ionia 
County. She died in October, 1862. Feb. 11, 1864, 
in Ionia County, he married Miss Sarah A., daughter 
of John and Lurany (Whitford) Stoddard, natives of 
Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard first lived in New 
York State, and afterwards came to Michigan, finally 
locating in Clinton County, where Mr. S. died Aug. 
14, 1862, and Mrs. S. Aug. i6, 1864. Mrs. Sessions 
was born in Washtenaw County, this State, July 16, 
1837. Mr, and Mrs. S. have one son, Harry P., born 
Jan. 31, 1865. Mr. S. is politically an earnest Pro- 
hibitionist, and on general issues has usually support- 
ed the Republican party. 

— II , ^ ^ (»^Esa F 

^c|^^penry Smith, farmer, section 29, Bethany 
^.jl^^li Township, is a son of Ira and Zada (Hitch- 
^'1^ cock) Smith, and was born in Skaneateles, On- 
W ondaga Co., N. Y., Sept. 10, 1825, and was 
I reared and educated on the farm. In Septem- 
ber, 1 85 I, he went to Butte Co., Cal., and was 
engaged in gold mining about two years, having sev- 
eral claims on' the South Fork of Feather River. 
He returned to New York a short time, and in the 
spring of 1854 came to the site of what is now St. 
Louis, this county, when but two families were living 
in the place. He "located " a number of tracts of 
land in the vicinity of St. Louis and also near Alma. 
He was also Clerk of the Township there two years. 
In the fall of 1856 he was elected County Clerk, 
over Orville Wood as an opponent. He was elected 
as a Republican by a good majority. 



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After his term of service expired he settled on sec- 
tion 35, Pine River Township for two years, "keep- 
ing bach," and then moved to section 26, same town- 
ship, where he had a quarter-section of land, 100 
acres of which he cleared. 

Oct. 22, 1856, Mr. Smith married Miss Julia A., 
daughter of Elijah and Julia (Bullock) Porter, wlio 
was born in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., June 28, 1833. 
Mr. and Mrs. S. had the three following children : 
Julius H , now mining in Colorado; Cornelia A , now 
attending college at Kalamazoo, Mich., and E. Louise. 
Mrs. S. died in Pine River Township, May 19, 1862, 
and he again married in the same township. May 4, 
1864, Miss Sarah E. Porter, a sister of his former 
wife, who was born in Coshocton, Ohio, Sept. 12, 
1839. By this marriage there have been six children, 
three of whom are deceased. Miles R. is clerk in a 
drug store in St. Louis; Mortimer and Arthur E. are 
the other two living. The deceased are Laura A., 
Mary B. and Virgil. 

In February, 1882, Mr. Smith came to his present 
location, where he owns 80 acres, and has 30 acres 
in cultivation. He has a good home, all made by 
himself in spite of many adverse fortunes, and his 
energy and judicious management insure permanent 
prosperity. He is a member of the pioneer society, 
and also a charter member of the Masonic lodge at 
.St. Louis, No. 188. He was the first Clerk of Pine 
River Township, holding the jjosition two years. 



—5- 



#^ 




tephen M. Boyle, farmer on section 29, 

Fulton Township, is a son of Andrew and 

Joanna (Barry) Boyle, natives of Ireland. 

>^ They emigrated to Canada about 1825, and 




settled in Northumbedand County, where Mr. 

Boyle died. His wife afterwards came to 
Gratiot County, where she lived until her death. 

Their son, Stephen M., was born in Northumber- 
land Co., Ontario, Sept. 12, 1838., and received a good 
common-school education, remaining at home until 
20 years old. In April, 1859, he came to Gratiot 
County, and for one year he lived in Newark Town- 
ship. He has owned at different times several tracts 
of land, and in 1872 he bought 160 acres on section 
29, Fulton, wliere he now resides. He owns at pres- 




ent 180 acres, of which 80 are in an advanced state 
of cultivation. 

He was first married in Northumberland Co., On- 
tario, Oct. 19, 1865, to Mary Lang, a native of Can- 
ada. She died July 15, 1868. He was again mar- 
ried at St. John's, Mich., Sept. 25, 187^, to Sarah J., 
daughter of William R. and Mary (Page) Price. She 
was born in Belknap Co., N. H., July 25, 185 i. Mr. 
and Mrs. Boyle have become the parents of two 
children, Winfield R. and Mary G. Mr. B. has held 
the office of School Inspector. He is politically a 
Prohibitionist. He belongs to the Masonic Order, 
to the G. A. R, and, with his wife, to Essex Grange, 
Patrons of Husbandry. He and wife are also mem- 
bers of the Christian Church. 

Dec. 10, 1863. Mr. Boyle enlisted in the 4th Mich. 
Vol. Cav., and served till January, 1865. He was 
with Sherman in his famous march to the sea, as far 
as 30 miles south of Atlanta, when, in a hand-to- 
hand encounter, he was wounded in three different 
parts of his body. He carries two bullets to tliis 
day. 







V 



i srael Cole, Postmaster at Edgewood, this 
County, is a son of Leonard Cole, a native ^ 

( 



of Ulster Co., N. Y., now deceased, and 
was born in Orange County, same State, Nov. 
27, 1808. He received all the advantages 
which the common schools of his native county 
afforded, and lived and developed into manhood 
while a resident of the State, remaining there until 
1833, except from the fall of '28 to the fall of '29, 
which time he spent in the South. In the spring of 
that year, having united himself in marriage a year 
previous, 1832, to Miss Mary J. Hopkins, he and his 
young bride moved to Orleans County, their native 
State, and entered on life's battles. 

Mr. Cole then traveled as a Methodist Protestant 
preacher for 23 years, until 1856, when he and his 
partner in life settled in Erie ("ounty. New York. 
Here he followed the occupation of a farmer for six 
years, then engaged in working at masonry during | 
the summers and working in a mill until November, 'li 
1878, when, having lost his wife, with two of his U^ 
children he came to this State. He settled in Edge 
wood and opened a general mercantile store, in w 
which business, together with that of l\)Stinaster, he 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 




is now engaged and obtaining his portion of the trade 
of the community. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cole had born to them the following 
children : Margaret (Chapman, of Boston, Mass.), 
Agnes (Knapp), Leonard (of Las Vegas, N. M.), 
Isabella (Stetson, of Lee Co., 111.), Theresa and Sen- 
eca M. (live at home), Alexander (La Junta, Col.), 
Louisa (Lawler, of St. Thomas, Can.), and Mary A. 
(Shuman, of this township). 



"JiiSMM^r 



^4^4— «^3l5)<^wzr*v. 




p?on. William S. Turck, of the banking house 
fti of W. S. Turck & Co., at Alma, and Steel, 
Turck & Co., at Ithaca, is a resident at Alma. 
He is one of the pioneer settlers of Gratiot 
County and ranks among its prominent citizens. 
He is the son of Zachariah and Rebecca (Decker) 
Turck. His father was born in the State of New 
York and was by vocation a tanner and currier. His 
mother was a native of Schoharie Co., N. Y. 

Mr. Turck was born in Port Hope, Canada, Aug. 
7, 1839. He received a fair elementary education 
at the common schools, and at the age of 16 he 
began an apprenticeship with his brother Henry, 
who was engaged in the tannery business in Clark 
Township, Durham Co., Canada. He served about 
four years and then went to Shelby, Orleans County, 
where he remained until i860, when he came to Isa- 
bella Co., Mich., and obtained employ at Indian 
Mills, on the Chippewa River, near the site of Mount 
Pleasant. The establishment was owned by the 
United States Government and included a grist-mill. 
Mr. Turck remained there a year in charge of the 
flouring department. In the fall of 1861 he rented 
a saw and grist mill at Alma. The now promising 
village was then in its earliest incipiency, and con- 
sisted of three log houses in the midst of a dense 
forest. He continued the management of the mill 
until August, 1862, when the spirit whith enrolled 
the name of Michigan on the highest battlements of 
fame proved too strong to vvitlistaiid, and he yielded 
to its overpowering influence. He arranged his pri- 
vate affairs and enlisted at Alma in Co. D, 26th Regt. 
Mich. Vol. Inf., Capt. Lafayette Church, and was 
mustered into service as 2d Lieutenant of the com- 
pany. The honorable record of the " 26th Michi- 



gan," which outranked every other regiment in the 
war as skirmishers, included every name on its roll. 



pames lor s"^-* 
ganizations T 
s, and rep- \fo) 




It was constructed of the surplus companies for ^» 
whom there was no assignment in the orga 
of the 24th and 25th Michigan regiments, 
resented the best blood and position in the Peninsu- 
lar State. From the time it went into rendezvous at 
Jackson until the close of the war it was the object 
of a deep interest, and its course through the re- 
mainder of the war was observed with justifiable 
pride at home and won unstinted commendations in 
military and official circles. Its members were 
noticed for special appointments for personal bravery 
by the brigade and corps commanders, and its effi- 
ciency, patriotism and order in the suppression of 
the rebellion conferred upon it a prominence second 
to none. On going to the front, in December, it was 
assigned to Provost duty at Alexandria, Va., and in 
the spring following proceeded to Suffolk, which ^ 
place was endangered by the threatened assault of ') 
the insurgents under the rebel Loiigstreet. It was "jL 
sent to New York to protect the city during the ^ 
famous riot of 1863 consequent upon the draft. Its =J 
arrival upon the scene of action was hailed with de- '^ 
light, and the New York journals glowed with en- = 
comiums on the bravery, intelligence and military v* 
discipline of the regiment, for wich they bespoke the ^ 
appreciation and welcome of the citizens of the ( 
great metropolis. Its duty in New York and the 
harbor being done, it rejoined the Army of the Potomac 
and was assigned to the tst Brigade, commanded by 
Gen. Miles, in the ist Division, 2d Army Corps, in 
which it remained until the termination of the war. 
Mr. Turck was promoted to rst Lieutenant, April 15, 
1863, and was made Cai)tain, Aug. 12, 1864. He 
was in 28 engagements, including all the [irominent 
actions of the war after the assignment of the regi- 
ment. At the battle of Spottsylvania, May 12, 1S64, 
he was wounded in the head by a minie ball and was 
off duty in consequence ten days. On the occasion 
of Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court-House, 
Capt. Turck was in charge of the brigade skirmish- 1 
ers. The regiment was mustered out June 4, 1S65. 
Mr. Turck returned to Alma and engaged in lum- 
bering during the winter of 1865-6. In the fall of 
1866 he was elected County Treasurer, and was 
twice re-elected to the same position, holding the 
office an aggregate of six years. In consequence of' 



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658 



GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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impaired health he determined to devote his energies 
to agriculture, and bought a farm one mile north of 
Ithaca. He passed the succeeding eight years in its 
improvement, and then returned to Alma, where, 
associated with A. W. Wright and others, he founded 
the banking liouse with whicli he is at present con- 
nected. He was one of its stockholders and held 
the positions of cashier and manager. In August, 
1883, the bank was re-organized under its present 
style, and since that date has been engaged in pros- 
perous financial transactions common to institutions 
of similar scope and character. Upon the formation 
and organization of the banking establishment of 
Steel, Turck & Co., he became a stockholder therein. 

Mr. Turck is interested in the milling business at 
Alma, and in i88i built a flouring-mill. It is con- 
structed of brick, 45 x 80 feet, with three stories 
above the basement. Its producing capacity is 100 
barrels daily, and it is fitted with 1 1 sets of rollers 
and three " run " of stones. Four men are employed 
and the mill is operated chiefly on custom work. 

Mr. Turck has been a Republican since he attained 
to the privileges of citizenship, and has always been 
fearless and outspoken in the interests of the party. 
In the fall of 1876 he was nominated in the Repub- 
lican Convention, held at Ithaca, as member of the 
House of Representatives in the Legislature of Mich- 
igan. He was elected by a large majority, running 
150 votes in advance of his ticket. During the ses- 
sion he performed much effective service in the in- 
terests of his constituency, introduced several import- 
ant bills and served on the Committees on Local 
Taxation and Drainage. He was re-elected in 1878 
and was again in advance of his ticket. He was 
appointed Chairman of the Railroad Committee and 
on the State School at Coldwater. 

Mr. Turck has been a member of the Masonic 
Order 22 years, in which he has taken 12 degrees. 
He has been the incumbent of all the important posi- 
tions in the lower body and was Grand High Priest 
of the Grand Chapter of Michigan, and acted eight 
years as High Priest of Chapter No. 70, of Ithaca. 
He owns a fine residence at Alma, besides a consid- 
erable amount of village property. He is managing 
extensive stock interests on his farm of 400 acres 
located in the township of Arcada, three miles from 
Alma. The war, business, and political record of 
Mr. Turck afford tlie best possible manifest of his 




merits as an American citizen. He needs no fulsome 
flattery to per|)etrate the undefiled name transmitted 
to the generations to come on the pages of the Bio- 
graphical Album of Gratiot County. His portrait, 
which appears on a preceding page, is one that en- 
hances the value of tlie work and will be received 
with the greatest satisfaction by its patrons. 

Mr. Turck's marriage to Louisa A. Ely occurred 
Sept. 15, 1864. She was born July 18, 1845, in New 
York, and is the daughter of Gen. Ralph and Mary 
E. Ely (see sketch of Gen. R. Ely). Four children 
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Turck, as follows : 
Ralph, June 26, 1865 (died in 1866); Ruby, June 
28, 1869 (died in 1872); Lena M., Sept. 9, 1872; 
Raymond C.,Oct. 12, 1874. 



homas J. Hoxie, farmer, section 22, Fulton 
Township, is a son of Thomas J. and Eliza- 
betli (Hathaway) Hoxie, natives of New 
York and Massachusetts respectively. They 
first settled in Genesee Co., N. Y., whence, in 
1845, they removed to Fulton Co., Ohio. 
There tiiey lived until their death. Mr. Ho.xie fell 
dead in the Island House, Toledo, in 1876, while 
returning home from Washington, D. C. Mrs. Hoxie 
died in January, 1874. Their family comprised six 
sons and one daughter : Eliza, Joseph, William E., 
John B., Thomas J., Calvin H. and Lyman P. 

The fourth son, Thomas J. Hoxie, was born in 
Livingston C"o., N. Y., Aug. 26, 1843, and was one 
year old when his parents removed to Ohio. He 
remained at home until 17 years old, and then began 
the battle of life for himself. He attended the com- 
mon schools while a boy, and for two winters taught 
school himself. At the age mentioned, he bought a 
farm of 40 acres of wild land in Fulton Co., Ohio, 
where he lived two years. He then sold, and in the 
summer of 1863 came with his wife and one child to 
Gratiot County, where he purchased 40 acres of tim- 
bered land on section 26, Fulton Township. Here 
he lived nearly two years. He has bought and sold 
several farms in Washington and Fulton Townships, 
making his last change in the spring of 1877, when 
he traded 160 acres on section 22, Fulton, for 80 
acres on sections 22 and 27. He now lives on sec- 
tion 22, and owns r6o acres, of which roo acres are 



nicely improved. 






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May ig, 1861, at Morenci, Lenawee Co., Mich., he 
married Miss Martha A., daughter of Walter S. and 
Elizabeth (Smith) Coleman, natives of Ohio and 
Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Coleman were among 
the first settlers of Williams Co., Ohio. They finally 
settled in Fulton Co., Ohio, where she died, March 
3, 1 88 1. He went to Arkansas, and died at Eureka 
Springs in February, 1883. Mrs. Hoxie was born in 
Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, Dec. 10, 1844, and is the mother 
of si.\ children: William E., Cecilia A., Lyman W. 
L., Thomas J., Joe M. and Herbert W. 

Mr. Hoxie has taught school in this county 11 
terms. He has been School Superintendent two 
terms, and has held the various school offices. His 
wife and daughter are members of the Advent 
Church. Politically, he is a Democrat. Mr. H. is a 
relative of the wife of Hon. Jefferson Davis, the fa- 
mous ex-President of the Southern Confederacy. An 
uncle, Joseph Hoxie, was for many years a Senator 
from New York, and he raised and eciuipped a regi- 
ment for the Government during the rebellion. Mr. 
Hoxie 's father was also in the late war, and the 
ancestors of both Mr. and Mrs. H. were in the Revo- 
lution. 



afayette Church, farmer on section 2, Ar- 
cada Township, and whose portrait is given 
on the opposite page, was born in Wayne 
Co., N. Y., July 16, 18 16, and is a son of Will- 
ard and Sally (Davis) Church, natives of Con- 
necticut. Willard Cluirch was descended from 
the old Puritan stock, and was a soldier all through 
the Revolution. His cousin, Capt. Church, was one 
of the leaders on the side of the Colonists in King 
Philip's war. The Churcli family was one of the first 
of New England, and its members were prominently 
identified with its Colonial history. Sally Davis was 
of English parentage, and her family came from the 
other side of the waters much later than the Churches. 
Lafayette was the youngest of nine children, all of 
whom grew to be adults, be married, and have fami- 
lies about them, before death began to thin their 
numbers. His father died in Livingston County, 
this State, at the advanced age of 88. The educa- 
tional advantages afforded the subject of this sketch 
in his boyhood were very limited, and most of his 




time was spent at work on the farm. When 16 years 
old, he left thq parental roof to seek his own liveli- 
hood. He was first employed in a drug-store at Pro- 
vidence, R. I., for about three years, during which 
time he improved his leisure hours in study, and at- 
tended school to some extent. Returning home, he 
lived there one year, and in the fall of 1836 came to 
this State, spending the following winter in Oakland 
County. The next spring he went to Ionia, then a 
mere village of a liundred or so inhabitants. He was 
afterwards employed in Clinton County and again in 
Ionia. 

Jan. 29, 1840, at Lyons, Ionia County, he was 
united in marriage to Sophronia, daughter of Nathan 
and Chloe (Tyler) Benjamin, natives of New York 
State, and of English and Irish extraction. She was 
born in Wayne Co., Ohio, Oct. 26, 1823, and when a 
year and a half old, she came with her parents to 
Oakland Co., Mich.' Thence they removed to Ionia 
County, where she lived until her marriage. Her 
father drove the first wagon over East Plains, of that 
county, and also the first wagon into Maple Rapids. 
Mr. and Mrs. Church lived at Lyons seven years, 
and then went to Wheatland Township, Hillsdale 
County, where they lived until 1854. In the winter 
of that year they came to Gratiot County, and pur- 
chased from the Government 80 acres of land in 
what is now Arcada Township. They were among 
the very first settlers, and were familiarized with all 
the hardships of pioneer life. Mr. Church has since 
added 120 acres to his farm, but the farm has been 
mostly divided up among the family, and he now has 
60 acres, well cultivated. He helped to start the 
town of Ithaca, building a house, and starting a saw 
and grist mill at that place in connection with Francis 
Nelson and John Jefferson. 

Mr. and Mrs. Church have been blessed with ten 
children, of whom two have gone to "that bourne 
whence no traveler returns." The living are as fol- 
lows : Nathan, born Nov. 22, 1840; Susan, Aug. 22, 
1849; Marie E., Oct. 9, 1851; Avolin, Dec. 22, 
1853; Julia, Sept. 7, 1856; Flora, March 25, i860; 
Willard, May 19, 1861 ; Fred, June 2, 1863. S. 
Cornelia was born Aug. 3, 1S42, and died March 23, 
1878; Frances A., born Aug. 5, 1844, and died Sept. 
17, 1865. 

At the first general election held in Gratiot Coun- 
ty, Mr. Church was chosen County Treasurer, which 



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office he held four years, and he was also the first 
Treasurer of Arcada Township. In May, 1855, he 
organized the first Sunday-school started in Gratiot 
County, meeting at the house of F. Way, midway 
between Alma and St. Louis. July 19, 1862, he re- 
ceived from the Governor of the State a commission 
as Second Lieutenant, and authority to raise a com- 
pany of volunteers. When a sufficient number had 
been raised, they were mustered in as Co. D, 26th 
Mich. Vol. Inf , and Lieutenant Church was imme- 
diately made Captain of that company, which con- 
tained many of the best citizens of Gratiot County. 
He held that rank for 18 months, and was then, on 
recommendation of the principal officers of the regi- 
ment, commissioned as Regimental Chaplain. This 
position he held until the rebellion closed with the 
surrender of Gen. Lee, of which histoiical event he 
was an eye-witness. He was at the head of his com- 
pany at the battle of Mine Rurr, and distinguished 
himself on other occasions. His son, Nathan, held 
the rank of First Lieutenant in the same company, 
and the two fought and marched together until the 
close of the war. They were honorably discharged 
in June, 1865. Since the war, Capt. Church has led 
a quiet and retired life at his home in Arcada Town- 
ship. He is highly respected by all his numerous 
^ friends, and his long residence and gallant services 
V^ ) have won him a front place among Gratiot County's 
leading citizens. Politically, he is an ardent and in- 
fluential Republican. 






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Fimothy Pressley, farmer, section 24, New- 
ark Township, was born Feb. 14, 1822, in 
Hannstoi'te Parish, 12 miles east of Shef- 
''(^J^ field, Yorkshire, England, where his parents, 
William and Anna (Holmes) Pressley, were 
born and passed their lives. They belonged 
to the agricultural class and the son was reared to the 
(9* same calling. 
I He came to the United States in 1844 and landed 
at the city of New York. His first experience in the 
Great Republic was novel, and almost startling. 
During his first night in New York, while occupying 
a room with several other young men, they were ser- 
enaded by a myriad of katydids, an insect entirely 

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strange to them. During a great part of the night 
they were kept awake, conjecturing who the disputing 
parties might be, who seemed to be trying to decide 
by verbal contest whether Katy did or didn't. To 
add to the weird effect, a number of the common in- 
sects usually called " lightning-l)ugs" were flying 
around in the darkness. These seemed to be peace- 
makers, trying to pacify the disputants. Mr. Press- 
ley made his first location in OstegoCo., N. Y. After 
a residence there of three years he removed to 
Columbus, O., and passed three years, acting as Stew- 
ard in the American Hotel. He went next to Rich- 
land Co., Ohio, where he operated as a farm assist- 
ant for about seven years. In November, 1857, he 
came with his family, then comprising his wife and 
three children, to Michigan. He fixed uiX)n Gratiot 
County as promising to afford a suitable field for the 
development of his labors and aspirations, and bought 
80 acres of land in an unimproved condition on sec- 
tion 34, in Newark Township. He experienced many 
severe privations during his early years in Gratiot. 
On one occasion, having to go to St. John's on busi- 
ness, he had but 75 cents in money. Paying 50 cents 
for a night's shelter for his steers, and 25 cents for 
himself, consumed the entire supply of specie in his 
possession, and his entire subsistence during the two 
days' journey was a little bread made of bran and wa- 
ter brought from home. In spite of hardships almost 
incredible, Mr. Pressley persevered in his resolve to 
make a home in the woods of Michigan, and he 
retained the farm on which he first located for 22 
years. In 1879, he sold it to J. M. ^\'alker. He had 
made previous purchase of 40 acres on section 33, on 
which he built a house and continued the pursuit of 
agriculture a few months, when lie again sold out. 
In April, 1881, he bought no acres on section 24. 
This is his homestead and he is engaged in success- 
ful farming on 90 acres of well-improved, valuable 
land. He also owns a lot in the village of Alma, on 
the corner of Fourth and Superior Streets. It is on 
section 3. Arcada Township. Mr. Pressley is a Re- 
publican in political connection and served 18 years 
as School Director in District No. 4, Newark Town- 
ship. In the spring of 1883 he was elected Highway 
Commissioner. 

He was married Feb. i, 1850, in Columbus, Ohio, 
to Sarah E.. eldest daughter of Harmon Earl, a na- 
tive of the Dominion of Canada. The daughter was 






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born Nov. 5, 1829, in Columbiana Co., Ohio. Mr. 
and Mrs. Pressley are the parents of eight children. 
Six of these are living, named as follows: Emma J., 
Clarissa A., Eva E., Rosa J., Frank L. and Hannah 
E. Charles Nelson died when nearly 14 years of 
age. Walter H. was about the same age when he 
died. 



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aniel O. Cuff, Under-Sheriff of Gratiot 
q ia^jl ij County, resident at St. Louis, was born in 



ll'Sf '^" Brandon, Rutland Co., Vt., May 12, 1834. 
'rjRt His. father, Thomas_Cuff, was born in County 
Tyrone, Ireland, and is now living in Sandstone 
Township, Jackson Co., Mich., 74 years old. 
His mother, Clarissa (Frost) Cuff, was born in Bran- 
don, and is 75 years of age. The parents removed 
from the Green Mountain State to Michigan in 
1838. They located at Jackson, which was then a 
hamlet in its most rural condition and consisted of a 
few log huts and a log hotel. The State Prison was 
located there about that time, and Thomas and Pat- 
rick Cuff took the contract to build the wall, which 
was constructed of tamarack poles 22 feet long, set 
in trenches, from which the institution was called 
" The Tamaracks." Thomas Cuff bought three acres 
of land, a part of which is now included in the Jack- 
son County Fair Grounds, and built two log houses 
thereon, one for himself and the other for his father. 
He was one of the first to be appointed a prison 
guard, and officiated in that capacity three years. 
On the building of the Michigan Central railroad, he 
was one of the contractors, and constructed seven 
miles of the track west of the city. The venture 
proved successful, and he went to Sandstone, then 
larger in fact and promise than Jackson, and bought 
320 acres of land in the township, where he has 
since lived. The place was located in heavy " oak 
openings," and very valuable for agricultural pur- 
poses. The homestead now includes 160 acres, and 
is in admirable condition, vvi'h two fine residences 
and suitable and substantial farm buildings. One of 
the dwellings is occupied by tlie family of a son, and 
two younger, Norman and 'I'homas, reside with their 
father. 

The early years of the life of Mr. Cuff, of this 
sketch, were spent in active labor. He first worked 



as a lumberman, and, when his father took a contract 
to furnisli stone for paving the streets of Detroit, he 
assisted in the work of delivering the material at the 
side track in Sandstone. He was tiuis occupied two 
years. k\. 20, he became his "own man " and went 
to Ionia, where he engaged in rafting scjuare timber 
from Lyons to Ionia and Grand Rapids. He worked 
as a laborer on the extension of the Detroit i^'; Mil- 
waukee railroad from St. John's to Cirand Rapids 
until the track was completed to Ionia, when he took 
a contract to build two and a half miles west of that 
city. When the road was in running order, Mr. Cuff 
became Section Master between Lyons and Ionia, 
and served a year in that position. He acted the 
next year as Division Master between St. John's and 
Saranac. He resigned the latter post, and took a 
contract to fence both sides of the railroad track from 
Ionia to Lyons. The Job occupied a year, and on its 
completion Mr. Cuff" went to Hubbardston, in Ionia 
County, and entered the employ of a heavy lumber 
firm as foreman in their mill and lumber yards. He 
remained with them four years, and then obtained a 
situation as clerk in a drug store in Hubbardston. 

In 1862, the public interest in the fact that armed 
rebellion had grown to such proportions as to engage 
the attention of the whole civilized world superseded 
every private ambition. The impulses of the einer- 
gency swayed every class of men, and the resjionse 
of Michigan to the sentiment which ruled the sum- 
mer and autumn of 1862 gave the grand Peninsular 
State a prestige whose record will glorify the pages 
of history while time endures. Mr. Cuff enlisted at 
Hubbardston in Co. K, 21st Mich. Vol. Inf, Capt. 
Herman Baroth, and was in the service of the United 
States nearly three years. On the organization of 
the company, Mr. Cuff was appointed Sergeant, and 
Nov. 12, 1863, was promoted to the position of Sec- 
ond Lieutenant. The regiment was mustered out 
June 8, 1865. Mr. Cuff participated in the following 
engagements: Perry ville, Stone River, Chickamauga, 
Mission Ridge, \tlanta, Jonesboro, Savannah, Averys- 
boro and Bentonville. After receiving his discharge, 
he came to St. Louis and opened an establishment 
for the sale of boots, shoes and groceries, in coinpany 
with James S. Eager. He sold out at the end of two 
years, and engaged with H. L. Holcomb as foreman 
in his mills and lumber yard. He officiated in that 
position seven years. In 1876, he bought a farm of 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



40 acres in Pine River Township, on section 36, 
which he still owns. The place is all cleared and 
vjv, finely improved. In tVie years 1 880-1-2, Mr. Cuff 
7 was engaged in buying grain for Nelson & Barber, of 
j^j Ithaca. 

Mr. Cuff has been the incumbent of responsible 
public positions ever since he became a citizen of 
Gratiot County. In 1872 he was elected Trustee of 
the village of St. Louis and retained the position two 
years. The following year he officiated as Village 
Assessor, and in 1874 filled the same office. In 1875 
he was elected President of the Board of Trustees 
of St. Louis and again in 1876. In 1877 he was 
elected Supervisor of Pine River Township and was 
successively re-elected five times. In 1 880-1 he 
served as President of the Village Board. In the 
fall of 1882 he was the Fusion candidate for Repre- 
sentative of Gratiot County, and ran against A. B. 
\ Darragh. Probably two more popular candidates 
were never in the field in a local election. Mr. Cuff 
made a vigorous and well-nigh successful campaign, 
virtually securing a triumph, as Mr. Darragh won by 
only 34 votes. In January, 1883, Mr. Cuff was ap- 
ix)inted Under-Sheriff of Gratiot County by K. P. 
Peet, and is at present discharging the obligations of 
the position. His record affords a fine illustration of 
the inherent value of republican institutions to men 
'^ J of energy, perseverance and self-respect. He was 
born heir to the grand American privilege of unob- 
structed effort, and he applied himself manfully and 
creditably to his struggle with opportunity. The 
victory he carries on his banners is the just reward of 
his integrity and endeavors. 

Mr. Cuff was married at Hubbardston, Dec. 10, 
1859, to Harriet E., daughter of Elijah and .S.nrah 
(Goodwin) Marlett. Her father was born Nov. 30, 
1802, in Scipio, Cayuga Co., N. ¥., and was the son 
of Peter and Mercy Marlett, natives of New Jersey. 
He grew tc, manhood in tlie town of Penfield, Mon- 
roe Co., N. v., and was married Sept. 17, 1826, to 
the daughter of Chauncey and Sarah (Hubbard) 
Goodwin. After their marriage they went to Roch- 
ester, N. v., where Mr. Marlett worked about one 
year as a carpenter and builder, removing at the ex- 
.i.. piration of that time to Steuben, Oneida Co., N. Y. 
^ He lost his health and came to Michigan in 1836 
r'® and settled at Ionia. His wife came in 1837. Their 
^ family included six children, born as follows : Rich- 



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ard Ely, March 18, 1829; Clinton Erastus, Feb. 12, 
1832; Sarah Maria, Oct. 20, 1834; Celia Sophia, 
April 17, 1837; W. H. H. July 21, 1841 ; Harriet E. 
(Mrs. Cuff), April 13, 1843. Mr. Marlett died at 
Ionia, Mich., Feb. 24, 1845, of lingering consump- 
tion, from which he was a sufferer 21 years. He left 
a wife and four children. He was a man of integ- 
rity and exalted Christian character and left a record 
of honesty and uprightness which is still fresh and 
green in the memory of many, though nearly 40 years 
have gone since he passed to the shelter of a 
home " whose curtain never outward swings." Chaun- 
cey Goodwin, the grandfather of Mrs. Cuff, died 
Feb. 17, 1788. Her grandmother was born in Mid- 
dletown. Conn., Nov. 2, 1790. Mrs. Marlett was 
born Oct. 13, 1809, in Steuben, Oneida Co., N. ¥., 
and is the oldest of !4 children, seven of whom are 
living. After her husband's death she maintained 
and brought up her four children, residing at Ionia 
until 1862, when she came with her youngest daugh- 
ter tc St.* Louis, where she is still a resident and is 
nearly 75 years old. Her oldest son, Richard E., 
became a soldier and enlisted in 1863, in the 21st 
Midi. Vol. Inf. He was attacked with camp diarrhea 
and sent, March 13, 1865, to Danel's Island Hos- 
pital, N. Y., where erysipleas set in, and he died 
March 29, 1865. 

The record of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Cuff are as follows: Florence E., born Sept. 5, i860, 
died Oct. 17, 1865; Horace E., born Feb. i, 1863, 
died Oct. 12, 1870; Norman E. was born Oct. 15, 
1867; William H., Sept. 7, 1869; Hattie E., June 
24, 1877; D. ()., born Oct. 24, 1880, died May 6, 
.883. 

'I'luis llf .-flit an aii^wiT tc my cann-.-t prayiiif;: 
T\n\^ IIo keeps my dai-linj; IVi-c from cartlily stain: 

Thus He fdlilsthe pet lamb safe IVoui earthly straying: 
But we miss him sadly anil cannot still tiie pain. 

The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Cuff are given in 
this volume in connection with this sketch. 



% icholas Joslin, farmer on section 3, Seville 

Township, is a son of Henry and Karie 

^ (Edee) Joslin, natives of Rhode Island 

and New York State, respectively. The father 

was by occupation a carpenter, and lived in 

New York unril his children came to Michigan, 





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his wife dying in the meantime, in 1830. 



He lived 









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with his children in this State for many years, and a 
little previous to his death, in i860, went to live with 
a daughter, in Joliet, 111. 

The subject of this biography was born June 3, 
18 16, in Monroe Co., N. Y., and lived at home with 
his parents until he was 14 years of age. His 
mother dying, he then left home, and served tluee 
years as an apprenticed chair-maker, and also as an 
ap[jrentice to the house-painter"s trade, which he fol- 
lowed until he came to Michigan, in 1837. He lived 
in Wayne County 20 years, during which period he 
served in the Mexican war. in the capacity of Arsenal 
Sergeant. In 1S57, he came to Gratiot County and 
bought 240 acres of land on section 3, Seville. 
At that time almost all the vast territory north of him 
was a dense wilderness. He has nicely improved 80 
acres, and no.v smiles contentedly at the recollection 
of past trials. 

Oct. 10, 1841, he was married to Nancy M. Free- 
man, who was born March 2, 1824, in the State of 
New York. Her parents, Arial and Polly (Moore) 
Freeman, were natives of the State of New Hamp- 
shire. She died March 8, 1854, leaving three chil- 
dren, Edward, William and Ida. Mr. J. married for 
his second wife Minerva C. Freeman, a daughter of 
Adan and Elmira (Mason) Freeman, natives of New 
Hampshire and Vermont. To this marriage have 
been born seven children, — Adan W., George W., 
Ella A., Uzal, Charles L., Irena L., Eda J. D. Mr. 
Josliu has been complimented with the offices of 
Justice of the Peace and Highway Commissioner, 
and he has held some school office ever since coming 
to the county. He is politically a Democrat. He 
and wife are consistent members of the FreejMeth- 
odist Church. 



-4— ^'v^^^i-C^S-v/v^-H 







'^ilMi^harles H. Axtell, builder and contractor, 
te^JaS located at Alma, was born Nov. 9, 1833, 



Sji^ 111 New Jersey. He is a son of Jonathan R. 
*j|^ and Mary E. (Smith). Axtell, both of whom 
< were also natives of New Jersey. They came 
later in life to Livingston Co., Mich. 

Mr. Axtell is the eldest of 1 1 children born to his 
parents, and at the age of 17 years he was appren- 
ticed to acquire the details of the profession of 



builder and served three years. He embarked in 
business for himself on attaining his majority, and 
has since given his attention and energies exclusively 
to his interests in the avenues pertaining to his voca- 
tion, with the exception of the period of time he 
spent in the service of his country as a soldier for 
the Union. He enlisted in April, 1861, in the 3d 
Mich. Vol. Inf, and after one year of service he was 
discharged for disability. In the spring of 1863 he 
again enlisted and was mustered into the service as 
Brigade Band Master. At the end of the war he 
received honorable discharge at Fort Leavenworth, 
Kan., when he returned to Michigan and resumed 
the duties of his occupation. He is a Republican in 
political affiliation, and a member of the Order of 
Odd Fellows, of Masonry and of the fraternity of the 
A. O. U. W. 

Mr. Axtell was married in Ionia, Dec. 5, 1858, to 
Mary E., daughter of Thomas and Orpha (Beck- 
with) Cornell. They were natives of Long Island, 
N. Y., and were among the pioneer settlers of Ionia 
County. Mrs. Axtell was born in Ionia County, Feb. 
21, 1831. The household includes the following 
children: Hattie O., William B. and Fred R. 



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^oseph I. Lovell, farmer and stock-raiser on 
J^^ltf section 16, Sumner Township, was born in 
%p'''' Lordstown Township, Trumbull Co., Ohio, 
April 28, 1824, and is the son of Ira and Lydia 
(Lewis) Lovell. Ira Lovell was born in Ver- 
mont, March 17, 1791, was a mason and farmer, 
and died in Trumbull Co., Ohio, in January, 1852, 
aged 61. Lydia (Lewis) Lovell was born in Rhode 
Island in 1789 and died in Clay Co., Ind., in Septem- 
ber, 185 I, aged 62. 

The subject of this biographical narrative remained 
at home until 24 years of age, the last four years, 
owing to his father's disability, having the active 
management of the farm. His father giving him 
$300, he then went to Indiana and purchased 80 
acres near La Grange, La Grange County. Two 
years later he returned home to care for his father, 
who was becoming very feeble, and he remained at 
home until the death of both his parents, who died 




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'V&' three months apart. All his little property was con- 
'^ sumed in the expenses of sickness and death. " Mis- 
fortunes never come singly," but in groups, and Mr. 
Lovell was prostrated with fever and remained ill for 
about two years ; during which time he was helped 
by his father-in-law. Recovering sufficiently to per- 
form manual labor, he began to farm on shares in his 
native county, and four years later in the fall of 1856 
he came to Michigan and located 40 acres in Seville 
Township, this county. The following year he pur- 
chased 40 acres on section 16, Sumner Township. 
He has since added 40 acres, and of his 80 he has 
by his own efforts redeemed 63 acres from the dense 
forest and placed them under cultivation. He has 
recently erected a large and commodious barn, at a 
cost of $600, and made other convenient improve- 
ments. He makes the breeding of Norman horses 
and Yorkshire hogs a specialty, and his stock shows 
his ability and success as a breeder. 
VT Oct. 7, 1847, in Newton Township, Trumbull Co., 
"^ Ohio, he was united in niarjriage to Miss Lydia O. 
Gillmer, daughter of William and Catharine (Miller) 
Gillmer, natives of Ohio and of Scotch and Dutch 
descent. William Gillmer was successively a teacher, 
printer and farmer, and died in Trumbull Co., Ohio, 
May 4, 1850, aged 56. His wife died at the same 
place, Feb. 7, 1883, aged 84. Their daughter, Lydia 
O., was born Dec. 4, 1828, and lived with her parents 
until her marriage at the age of 19. She is the 
mother of three children: Rachel A. (died when ten 
months old), William I. and Ella A. 

Aug. 12, 1862, Mr. L. enlisted in Co. D, 26th 
Mich. Vol. Inf , and he was assigned to the Army of 
the Potomac. He served generally on garrison duty 
in the reserve, etc., and was discharged for disability, 
May 5, 1864, his foot, early in his service, having 
been severely mashed by cars. He was under fire 
of the rebels every day, near Yorktown, Va., from 
April 20 to May 23, 1863. March 17, 1865, he was 
drafted into the service again and assigned to Co. K, 
1 6th Mich. Vol. Inf. The close of the war was, how- 
V ever, at hand and he was discharged May 20, 1865. 
i He is a member of Col. Ely Post, No. 158,0. A. R., 

^ at Elm Hall. He has been elected to the office of 
^M Township Clerk, and otlier positions, but being no 
j'g) office seeker he has always refused to qualify. Polit- 
^^ ically, he is a zealous National Greenbacker. 



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000 







ohn Kipp, farmer, section 35, Pine River 
i'ownship, was born July 26, 1807, in Cay- 
uga Co., N. Y. His parents were Barnabas 
and Mary (McKillip) Kipp, the father a native 
of the State of New York, the mother of Penn- 
sylvania. They first settled in Adams County, 
near Gettysburg, Pa., and went afterwards to Cayuga 
Co., when it was in its pioneer days. Later in life 
they went to Erie Co., N. Y., where the father died. 
The mother died in Michigan. 

Mr. Kipp grew to man's estate after the manner 
common to the sons of farmers of the period and 
place where he was brought up. He lived at home 
until he was 22 years old and was reared 10 the vo- 
cation of agriculture. In 1831 he went to Maryland, 
where he engaged in teaching three years, and after- 
ward became interested in mercantile pursuits, which 
he followed about 12 years, meeting with modepte 
success. In 1853 he sold his interests and came to 
Wyandot Co., Ohio, where he engaged in the hard- 
ware business and also in farming. He thus (jper- 
ated seven years and in i860 came to Genesee Co., 
Mich. He purchased 50 acres of land, which he 
continued to cultivate until 187 i, when he sold out 
and came to Gratiot County. He bought 60 acres 
of partly improved land, which has since been his 
residence and field of agticultural operations: has 
35 acres of his farm under improvements. Hebe- 
longs to the National Greenback party in political 
connection. 

He was married May 4, 1834, in Marj'land, to 
Elizabeth A. Learning. She was born in that State^ 
May 12, 1812. Of her marriage to Mr. Kipp, sev- 
eral children have been born, three of whom sur- 
vive — William J., Mary E. and Charles A. The 
l)arents are members of the Presbyterian Chinch. 



Il^dward ]j. Walbridge, attorney and meni- 
rfi5 her of the law farm of H. and E. L. Wal- 
ridge at Ithaca, was born Nov. 1, 1S56, at 
^£ St. John's, Clinton Co., Mich., and is a son of 
T Henry and Zilpah (Allen) Walbridge. His 
J father was born in 181 9 in the State of Ver- 
mont, and has been for a long period of years a 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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prominent attorney at Clinton and Gratiot Counties 
as well as a conspicuous member of the political ele- 
ment. In early life he was a Whig and was a dele- 
gate to the National Convention at Jackson, where 
the Republican party in this State came into being, 
since which time he has been one of its staunchest 
adherents, as are his three sons. He lias practiced 
his profession in Clinton County 25 years and has 
held tlie office of Prosecuting Attorney two terms ; 
was also Circuit Court Commissioner several terms. 
He ranks high in his profession and is a leading cit- 
izen of the county. The mother of Mr. VValbridge 
was born Nov. 2, 1820, in Vermont. Her parents 
were Ethan and Hannah Allen, ar:d lier father was 
second cousin to the hero of Ticonderoga for whom 
he was named. 

Mr. Walbridge was a studen'. at the High Scliool 
at St. John's until he was 19 years old, when he re- 
ceived the appointment of Deputy Postmaster of that 
place. He discharged the duties of the position 
about 18 months, when he entered the Law Depart- 
ment of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, 
v/here he studied a year. Mr. Walbridge was in a sense 
to the "manner born," as his association with his father 
and interest in the details of the law, together with 
varied experiences and reading in his father's office, 
had familiarized him with the minutice of legal mat- 
ters to a valuable extent. On leaving the University 
he devoted himself to the full completion of his stud- 
ies for the legal profession, and took advantage of the 
opportunities afforded in his father's business. He 
left Ann Arbor in the spring of 1878 and in Febru- 
ary, 1879, he was admitted to practice in the State 
courts of Michigan. Soon after that event he was 
elected ("ircuit Court Commissioner of Clinton County 
and held the position one term. His election was 
most flattering, as he received a majority of 460 votes, 
the highest on the ticket. He was appointed Census 
Enumerator of St. John's the same year. He be- 
came a resident of Ithaca, Feb. 20, 1883, and opened 
an office under the firm name of H. & E. L. Wal- 
bridge, his father being senior partner, and well-known 
in the courts of Gratiot County. Tiieir practice has 
already assumed substantial proportions and presents 
most flattering prospects of future success. 

Mr. Walbridge was married Feb. 1 i, 1880, in De 
Witt, Clinton Co., Mich., to Mary, daughter of Dr. 
George W. and Lucinda (Hurd) Topping. She was 



born in De Witt, Aug. 9, 1861. Dr. Topping is a 
physician of prominence in his profession and a mem- 
ber of the National Medical Society. In 1882 he 
was the President of the State Medical Society of 
Michigan. 



^ 



^iflljilliam Andei-son, farmer on section 10 

■ y^, Sumner Township, was born in Kent Co., 

JI^P '^iit'irio. May 19, 1832, and is the son of 

!> Samuel H. and Chloe (Merritt) Anderson, 

natives of New York and Nova Scotia, and 

V of Scotch extraction. Samuel H. Anderson was 
earlier in life a ship carpenter. He was a Captain 
in the army during the " McKenzie rebellion." He 
is now living in Carson City, Montcalm Co., Mich., 
aged 77. His wife died March 3, 1850. 

When William was nine years old, his parents 
moved from Kent County to Charlotteville Township, 
Norfolk County, and four years later they moved to 
another part of that county. After six years there, 
they lived eight years in Elgin County. The subject 
of this notice then came to this State and county, and 
purchasing 61 acres of timbered land, he built upon 
it a log house and began to pioneer it. Slowly but 
surely has he supplanted a densly timbered tract with 
a fertile and rich farm, and he has now 50 acres of 
productive land, with large barns, and a beautiful 
brick cottage, octagonal in shape, built a few years 
since at a cost of $4,000. This is among the best 
residences in the township. 

His first marriage occurred March 12, 1854, to 
Miss Catharine Emery, who was born in Canada 
April 29, 1836. She died at her home in Sumner 
Township Dec. 13, 1865, leaving a family of four: 
Sophronia, born Jan. 19, 1855; Ambrose C, July 24, 
1S56; Loren A., Feb. 3, 1858; Alonzo L., Oct. 8, 
i860. Mr. A. was again married, in this county, 
Oct. 2, 1867, to Cclista, daughter of Albert and Ace- 
neth (Brown) Gavit, natives of Connecticut, and of 
New England ancestry. Mr. Gavit is a resident of 
Canada, aged 75, and has been a farmer all his life. 
His wife died July 18, 1867. Celista was born in 
Townsend Township, Norfolk Co., Canada, March 
22, 1838, and came in i860 to this State, living first 
in Kent County, and coming later to Gratiot County. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. are members of the Christian 
Churcli. He is a member of Pioneer Grange, No. 431, 






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Patrons of Husbandry, and at different times in the 
last few years has been elected to the various school 
offices. Politically, he is an ardent Republican. By 
his second marriage, he has one daughter, Eula L., 
born Aug. 8, 1872. 

Mr. Anderson has served his country in a military 
capacity as well as in that of a civil officer. In Oc- 
tober, 1864, he enlisted in Co. D, 4th Mich. Vol. Inf, 
and he fought under Gen. Thomas in the Army of 
the Cumberland. He fought at Decatur and Mur- 
freesboro, and many lesser engagements, and was 
discharged in June, 1865. 

The portrait of Mr. Anderson appears on a pre- 
ceding page. 



i y.','rV^ .f 

r|, [j7,)j erbert N. Hayes, farmer, section 22, Pine 
^■IJ^fd:! River Township, was born Feb. 16, i860, 
xfe; in North Plains, Ionia County, Mich. He is 

^ the youngest son of William and Tirzah J. 

] (Kent) Hayes. (See sketcli of William Hayes.) 
Mr. Hayes obtained liis education at the com- 
mon schools of his native county, and, for a time, 
was a student at the High School at St. Louis. He 
was bred under the care and guidance of his father 
to the vocation of farmer, and now is the owner and 
proprietor of 40 acres of land which is partly im- 
proved. He is a Republican in political principle. 
He was married Dec. 6, 1883, to Adella F., 
daughter of Jacob and Mary (Grill) Bauer. She was 
born Aug. 6, i860, in Summit Co., Ohio, and her par- 
ents were natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hayes are members of the Disciples' Church. 



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t ;1 (i; y^^ixi G. Hall, at Ithaca, was born Feb. 22 
WmL 1853, in Homer, Calhoun Co., Mich. His 
\5iy father. Dr. Oscar S. Hall, is now residing 
at Rumney, (irafton Co., N. H., and is de- 
q^ scended from English and Welsh ancestors. 
\ His mother, Kate M. (Merchant) Hall, was 

born in the State of New .York. Dr. Hall practiced 
his profession at Bellevue, Eaton Co., Mich., some 
years and went thence to Marshalltown, Iowa. He 
returned to Charloite, Eaton County, where he re- 



sided until 1867, when he located at Ithaca and es- 
tablished himself as a druggist and physician ; there 
he operated until 1875, when he returned to New 
Hampshire. 

Mr. Hall was six years old when his parents went 
to Iowa and there attended school, as at Charlotte, 
whither they removed at a later date. At the age of 
16, he entered the drug-store of his father at Ithaca 
as assistant, and remained thus occupied until the 
establishment was sold, in 1875. He bought 60 
acres of land on section 28, in the township of North 
Star, on which he resided three years. At the expi- 
ration of that time he entered Church's abstract of- 
fice, where he was employed until 1881, when he 
purchased a stock of drugs and groceries of George 
Richardson at the stand the latter now occupies. In 
the following fall he bought the jewelry stock of A. 
B. Scattergood and prosecuted the sale of both lines 
of goods. In June, 1883, he was appointed agent of 
the American Express Company at Ithaca, and is 
still attending to the business of the position. He 
sold his farm in the spring of 1883, and Jan. 11, 
1884, he sold his drug "business to its former proprie- 
tor, George Richardson 

Mr. Hall was married at Ithaca, Feb. 10, 1873, to 
Sue v., daughter of Lafayette and Sophronia (Benja- 
min) Church. She is a native of Ithaca. The three 
children of Mr. and Mrs. Hall are, Lafayette C, 
Harlan and Ruth. 



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ikharles E. Barnhart, farmer on section 31^ 
- Fullon Township, is a son of Jacob and 
Lydia (Arnold) Barnhart, natives of the 
State of New York. They first settled, after 
marriage, at Plymouth, Wayne Co., Mich., 
where he followed farming, and where they 
lived until the completion of their lives. She died 
Dec. 30, 1878, and he followed her in March, 1881. 

Their family comprised five sons and three daugh- 
ters. Charles E.,the oldest son, was born in Seneca 
Co., N. Y., Aug. 13, 1830, and obtained his educa- 
tion in the district schools of Michigan, whither his 
[jarents removed when he was one year old. He 
remained at home in his father's employ until 23 
years old, and then for four years worked out by the 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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month. Next, he rented a farm in Washtenaw 
County for one year. He then worked out a year, 
and afterwards rented in succession several farms. 
In June, 1868, he came to Gratiot County and bought 
300 acres of wild land on section 32, Fulton. There 
he lived until February, 1882. He built good barns 
and residence, and improved 130 acres of land. In 
December, 1881, he bought 340 acres of improved 
land on sections 31 and 30, being the farm formerly 
owned by Roswell Jones. 

Mr. Barnharl has the nucleus of a very fine stock 
farm, having dealt in blooded stock for four years. 
The first year he invested $450, which doubled itself 
in a twelvemonth. Among his present stock are five 
blooded cattle and eight graded, and 150 sheep. He 
has also four Poland-China hogs. 

March 14, i860, in Avon, Oakland Co., Mich., he 
married Miss Helen Graham, daughter of Benjamin 
and Mary (Postle) Graham, natives respectively of 
Pennsylvania and New York State. Mr. and Mrs. 
Graham lived during their married life in Oakland 
County, she dying Jan. 18, 1844, and he Oct. 13, 
1864. Their family comprised five children. Helen, 
the second daughter, was born in Oakland County 
July 25, 1836. 

Mr. and Mrs. Barnhart are the parents of three 
children : William G., born Sept. g, 1862 ; Nettie G., 
April 5, 1864; and Newton I., June 29, 1S80. Will- 
iam G. died June 29, 1866. Mr. B. has held the 
offices of School Director and Pathmaster, and sup- 
ports the Democratic party. He is a member of the 
A. O. U. W., and, with his wife, are members of the 
Christian Church. 



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I'ohn Kline 
sj™;,:'- Township, 





farmer, section 26, Pine River 
was born Aug. 13, 1834, in 
Ohio. His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth 
(Briner) Kline, were respectively of German 
and English descent. Mr. Kline passed the 
earlier years of his life at school and afterwards 
worked with his father on the farm. At 20 he be- 
came his own man and learned the trade of a car- 
penter, which occupation he followed for four years. 
In 1858 he engaged in farming and after a little in 
the sale of agricultural implements; has pursued his 
twofold calling ever since. In April, 1879, he came 



to Gratiot County and bo ught 80 acres of land,on 
which he has since resided and labored until lie has 
placed 65 acres under cultivation. Mr. Kline ad- 
heres to the Republican party in political belief, i;e ' 
belongs 10 the A. O. U. W. 

He was married April 12, 1853, in Sene:a Co., 
Ohio, to Jane, daughter of Jolin and Margaret Cul- 
bertson. Mrs. Kline was born in Pennsylvania, May 
8, 1 828, and her parents are natives of the same 
State. Jacob A., Winfield S., Joseph A., Robert E. 
and John are the names of tlie five children born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Kline. The parents are members of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. 



7s;||^|:;.'oseph Greer, farmer, section 23, Newark 
ji^Mtr Township, was born May 30, 1826, in Co- 
I W lumbiana Co., Ohio. He is a son of Thomas 
rM W. and Catherine (Rhodes) Greer, the former 
^C a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of Vir- 

I ginia. Their family included nine cliildren, 
four sons and five daughters, of whom Mr. Greer is 
the third son. 

He was engaged in farming with his father after 
he had passed the period of his early boyhood, until 
he was 25 years old. In November, 1854, he came 
to Michigan and bought 160 acres of wild land on 
the section of the township where he now resides. 
He is a " dyed-in-the-wool " Republican, and in the 
civil war indicated his claims as a friend of his 
country by responding to the summons of her rulers 
in her time of need. He enlisted in July, 1862, in 
the 26th Regt. Mich. Vol. Inf , and continued in the 
service until Feb. 16, 1864. He lost his right arm 
in the first battle in which he engaged, receiving the 
injury Nov. 23, 1863, in the fight at Mine Run, Va., 
and was discharged from service when sufficiently 
recovered to return home. As one worthy to be re- 
membered by a mighty and grateful nation, whose 
integrity he gave so much lo preserve, he is now 
receiving a pension. 

He has held the various school offices of his dis- 
trict and has been Township Treasurer four years. 

Mr. Greer was married Oct. 23, 1851, in Wyandot 
Co., Ohio, to Lydia, daughter of John and Eliza 
Hawkins. The father was born in Rhode Island, the 
mother in New York. Mrs. Greer is the only daugh- 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



ter, and was bom July 7, 1832, in Knox Co., Ohio 

Of her marriage with Mr. Greer, nine children have 
been born, of whom one, Thomas W., is deceased. 
He died Jan. 7, 1876. The living are: Eliza C, 
James W., Maria A., Mary J., Cariie S., Clara S., 
George W. and Bertha E. 

As one of the pioneers of the county and a man 
in every sense worthy to be remembered along with 
scores of others of Gratiot's honored citizens, we 
place the portrait of Mr. Greer in this volume. 




foseph W. O'Hara, M. D., eclectic physician 
and surgeon, resident at Summerton, was 
born Feb. i, 1S44, in the city of Pliiladel- 
phia. He belongs to the sturdy rice born in the 
North of Ireland, his parents, Joseph and Eliza- 
beth (McHenry) O'Hara, having had their 
origin respectively in the counties of Tyrone and 
Antrim. His father was born in 181 2 and became a 
resident of the United States in 1828. Tlie mother 
was born in 1816 and came to America in 1837. 
Their marriage took place in Philadelphia in 1840. 

Dr. O'Hara was a pupil in the excellent public 
schools of his native city until he was 13 years of 
age, when he was sent to a (Quaker school, located 
on a street situated off 12th and Market Streets, 
where he was a student during the years 1857-8. 
At the end of that time he entered the employ of 
Messrs. Bremer, Reichart & Co., dry-goods mer- 
chants. The house had a heavy Southern trade and 
failed on the breaking out of the rebellion in i86r. 
In 1862, Dr. O'Hara entered Crittenden's Commer- 
cial College, where he was graduated within the 
year, and immediately thereafter he began his pre- 
paratory medical course in the office of Dr. H. T. 
Hutchins, of Philadelphia. A few months later he 
attended lectures in the School of Anatomy in that 
city. He continued his course of study in the Eclec- 
tic Medical College of Philadelphia, and was grad- 
uated there April 27, 1865. He commenced his 
career as a practitioner in the city of his birth, where 
he operated ten years. In 1867 he took a course of 
allopathic study at Jefferson College, and during the 
succeeding years he availed himself of the facilities 
afforded bv the. medical schools of all varieties in 



Philadelphia and obtained the benefits of the hos- 
pitals and clinics. 

In the spring of 1877, Dr. O'Hara came to Michi- 
gan and established his practice at St. Louis, Gratiot 
County, where he became physician in charge of the 
Magnetic Springs, then owned by H. L. Holcomb. 
In the fall of 1879 hf went to Summerton, where he 
has since resided. His dwelling is situated in Coe 
Township, Isabella County, as the hamlet of Sum- 
merton is so located that it includes the adjacent 
corners of Pine River and Seville Townships of 
Gratiot County, and Coe and Lincoln Townships of 
Isabella County. Dr. O'Hara has built up a lucra- 
tive country practice, and manages in connection 
therewith a drug and general store. He is also 
present Postmaster, having received his appointment 
in (Jctober, 1882, from Timothy O. Howe, late Post- 
master General. He is a member of the Orders of 
Masonry and Odd Fellows. 

His first marriage occurred July 8, 1866, in Jones 
Co., Iowa. His wife was Esther L., daughter of Silas 
Fay. She was born Feb. 5, 1843, in North Java, 
Wyoming Co., N. Y., and died Dec. 24, 1879, at St- 
Louis, leaving one child, Warren, who was born in 
Philadelphia, Sept. 13, 1867. She is buried in Se- 
ville Township. Dr. O'Hara was married a seco'd 
time Dec. 25, 1881, to Jennie F., daughter of Marcus 
and Zilpha Ring, of Pine River Township (see 
sketch of Marcus Ring). The ceremony was per- 
formed by Rev. Mr. Gates, of the Disciples' Church. 
She was born March 20, i860, and is a lady of ex- 
ceptional educational attainments. She graduated 
from the High School at Alma and taught 1 2 terms 
of school, with much success. 



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IJ^liphalet Leckenby, of the firm of Leck- 
1^^^' enby & Reed, wagon manufacturers at St. 



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Louis, was born Dec. 8, 1840, at Baker's 
j>^ Corners, Lenawee Co., Mich. He is the son of 
I William and Charity (Shaw) Leckenby. His 
j father was a native of England, a blacksmith 
by trade, and died in Virginia City, Texas. His 
mother is a native of New York, and is still living at 
Lansing. The parents came to Du Plain, Clinton 
Co., Mich., in 1845, where the father carried on the 
business of a blacksmith until 1858, when he went 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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West, and, on the breaking out of the war, enlisted 
and followed his trade while in the army. 

Mr. Leckenby received a common-school educa- 
tion, and until he was i8 years old was trained by 
his father in tlie business of a blacksmith. On the 
removal of his father to the West, he went to Sagi- 
naw City, and was there three years as assistant witii 
his brother-in-law, George Spangler, when they form- 
ed a partnership, which existed a year. At its termi- 
nation, he returned to Du Plain and bought 65 acres 
of land. He made agriculture his business for 16 
years and had a blacksmith shop on his farm. In 
i88i,he came to St. Louis and formed a partnership 
with C. W. Smith, firm styled Smith & Leckenby, 
which relation continued two and a half years, when 
Mr. Leckenby purchased his partner's interest and 
sold one half the business to R. R. Reed. (See 
sketch.) Their works are situated on Saginaw Street 
and include three buildings, with shops and store 
rooms. Their business comprises the branches of 
manufacture of carriages, platform wagons, sleighs, 
cutters, blacksmithing and repairing. 

Mr. Leckenby owns 20 acres in the east part of 
St. Louis, and a farm of 80 acres in Jasper Town- 
ship, Midland County, which is partly improved. His 
marriage occurred April 5, 1 865, at St. John's, Clinton 
Co., Mich., to Emmeline, daughter of Oliver and Rho- 
da Hammond. She was born ]\Lay 22, 1843, in town- 
ship of Bradford, Allegheny Co., Pa., and her par- 
ents live at St. Louis. Her father is a retired farmer. 



j|i onald Alexander Gillis, architect, contrac- 
tor and builder, at St. Louis, was born 
Aug. 3, 1848, in Marguerite, Inverness 
County, in the Island of Cape Breton, Nova 
Scotia. He is the youngest son of Alexander 
and Nancy Margaret (McDonald) Gillis, and 
both parents were natives of the Highlands of Scot- 
land, born in the county of Inverness, respectively 
in 1797 and in 1807. Their marriage took place in 
1825, and in 1837 they emigrated to the Island of 
Cape Breton, where the father bought 800 acres of 
land from the Government. The family were among 
the earliest settlers at that point, and the homestead 
is still all retained in the possession of the original 
owners. The children born to them were 13 in num- 






ber. An infant died unnamed. Eight sons and four 
daughters grew to maturity, and are still living, with 
one e.xception. Si.\ of the sons are of magnificent 
physical proi)ortions, stalwart in figure and develop- 
ment, in vigorous health, and doing credit to the 
hardy stock in which they had their origin, and the 
wholesome location in which most of them had their 
birth and growth, and of which it is very near the 
truth to say that in these days there are giants there. 
The sons and daughters of the Gillis household were 
named John, Mary, Allen, Donald, Andrew, Cathe- 
rine, Simon, Margaret, Angus, Alexander, Ronald A. 
and Nancy. Simon is deceased, and Mr. Gillis, of 
this sketch, is the only member of the family not 
resident on his native soil. 

Mr. Gillis passed the years of his boyhood attend- 
ing the district schools, and at 16 went to Sidney, 
the capital of Cape Breton, to learn the trade of a 
builder. He spent three years there, and went thence 
to St. John's, New Brunswick, where he worked at 
his trade upwards of three years. In 1873 he went 
to Monckton, New Brunswick, where he was similarly 
employed several years. He there entered upon the 
most important and satisfactory event of his life. He 
was married May 10, 1875, to Mary Margaret Gas- 
kin, who was born, in 1858, in Coverdale, Albert Co., 
New Brunswick. She is the only daughter and sole 
surviving child of Alfred and Amanda (Gunning) 
Gaskin, both of whom were of English birth, and 
died in early life, the father at the age of 27, the 
mother when she was 26 years old. Mrs. Gillis was 
reared by her maternal grandmother. One other 
child was born to her parents, a boy, who died when 
he was three years old. After his marriage Mr. 
Gillis went to Boston, where he was employed as a 
builder nearly two years. In December, 1877, he 
came to St. Louis, where he has since held the lead- 
ing position as a contractor and builder, the most 
important of the buildings in the enterprising embryo 
city standing as testimonials to his skill. Among 
them are the Holcomb Opera-house Block, the Park 
House, Hart's Block, Wessells' Block, Fauth & 
Schlichtig's Block, the Episcopal Church, Martin & 
Goff's Block, and a number of dwellings. In De- 
cember, 1882, he became the proprietor by purchase 
of the sash and blind factory and planing mill of C. 
H. Hill at St. Louis, which he operated satisfactorily 
until it was destroyed by fire in June, 1883. Th? 



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GRA'lIOT COUNTY. 



loss was heavy, as it was but partly covered by in- 
surance. Mr. Gillis is Chief Marshal of the Fire 
Department of St, Louis. 

The portrait of Mr. Gillis is presented on page 680 
in connection with this sketch. He is a superb speci- 
men of manly vigor and physical development, si.x 
feet six inches in height, and is, without Idoubt, the 
largest man in Gratiot County. 



^^P;|J4 eorge S. Bell, lumberman and farmer, Es- 
il^^l tella, Sumner Township, is a son of John 
" '' C. and Anna (Stewart) Bell, natives of 
Massachusetts, and of Irish and Scotch de- 
scent. John C. Bell was by calling a farmer, 
and moved to Ohio in 182 1, settling in Russell 
Township, Geauga County. He was the second set- 
tler in the township. 

The subject of this biography was born in Chester 
Mass., July 30, 1812, and when nine years old his 
parents moved to Ohio. They drove oxen, and the 
trip of 700 miles took 28 days. Young George found 
himself in a new and sparsely settled country, and 
the educational facilities were very limited. He was 
persevering and ambitious enough to conquer diffi- 
culties, however, and walked to and from school three 
miles away. He was fortunate in his home surround- 
ings and parental influences, and the principles early 
inculcated into his youthful mind had their effect, on 
his after life. His father died April iS, 1842, aged 59. 
His mother died in her g3d year; and before leaving 
recalled with circumstance and particularity a moral 
example she had set for her son when he was but 
four years old. 

George left the parental roof at the age of 22, and 
for five years worked on his own account in Geauga 
County. He then farmed for a time in Cuyahoga 
County, abandoning that occupation on account of 
poor health. For the next 1 2 years he followed sell- 
ing stone and wood ware and cast work (principally 
stoves). In the fall of 1854, he came to this county and 
located 400 acres of wild land in Sumner Township. 
He was one of the three first settlers in the township, 
and not a stick of timber was cut for 10 miles around. 
He had to go 18 miles, to Matherton, to mill, and to 
Ionia City for his household supplies. Indians and 
wild animals were very numerous. The roads, when 





made, were so soft, owing to the swampy condition of 
country, that they would often mire. They would 
then be obliged to unload and carry their goods on 
their back. Mr. Bell has improved 160 acres since 
coming to Gratiot County. 

He was first married in 1833 to Miss Triphena 
Barker. She was born in 181 8, and died in Sumner 
Township, April 18, 1859, aged 41. She was the 
mother of six children, five of whom were living at 
her death. Nov. 10, 1859, he was again married, 
choosing for his life companion Mrs. Louisa Peters, 
nee Worthing, born in Waitsfield, Vt., Aug. 31, 1818. 
She is the mother of four children, one of whom died 
in the service of his country. Mr. Bell has one son 
living, — I'hares. The deceased children are Aaron, 
Irene, Mary, Medora and John. The latter died in 
infancy. Mr. Bell is an intelligent man, and though 
advanced in years, of retentive memor}'. In politics 
he has always been a Republican. He has uniformly 
refused all offices tendered him. 



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|(Jenjamin W. Ellison, merchant at Alma, 
|j£ was born in Jackson Co., Mich., Oct. 18, 
r84i. He is the fourth son of Owen W. 
and Mary A. (Bloomingdale) Ellison. His 
parents were natives of the State of New York, 
where they were married and settled. They 
subsequently removed to Ohio and after a residence 
there of three years, they came to Michigan and lo- 
cated in Jackson County, where they are still resi- 
dent. Six children were born to them : Jacob B., 
George W., Owen W., Benjamin W., Charles and 
Francis M. 

Mr. Ellison obtained a good elementary education 
before he was 19 years old, and at that age he enter- 
ed the Wesleyan College at Leoni, Jackson County, 
where he studied four years. He was engaged in 
farming from the time he left school until 1S68, oper- 
ating as a farm assistant. In that year he bought 
135 acres of land in his native county, which he con- 
tinued to manage four years. In 1872 he came to 
Gratiot County and settled at .•\lma. He at once 
embarked in the business in which he is at present 
engaged. 

He was first married in Summit, Jackson County, 
in March 1868, to Josephine, daughter of James E. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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and Lydia (Vandercook) Ferguson. The parents 
were born in the State of New York. Mr. Ellison 
is a native of the same State and was born in Steu- 
ben County. One child, Myrtie, was born of this 
(hj marriage, who died at the age of eight months. Mrs. 
Ellison dying, Mr. Ellison was married the second 
time, at St. Louis, May 22, 1873, to Ella F., daughter 
of James and Deborah (Cornell) Wood. She was 
born at Ithaca, N. Y., May 22, 1850. Of the three 
children born of this marriage, one survives : Loyd 
O., born Dec. 20, 1874. Myrtie died in infancy, and 
Mabel died when nearly a year old. 

Mr. Ellison is a member of the Masonic Order and 
n politics is a Republican. 




V 



evi Lincoln Smith, farmer on section 28, 
Fulton Township, is a son of Ashley and 
Miriam (Russell) Smith. They were mar- 
ried in their native State, Massachusetts, and 
afterward removed to Monroe Co., N. Y., where 
they died. The husband breathed his last 
Feb. 14, 1854, and the wife died Nov. 21, 1852. 
^ Their family comprised eight sons and one daughter, 
Levi being the third son. 

He was born in Whately, Franklin Co., Mass., Jan. 
12, 1826, and was only two years old when his par- 
ents removed to New York. He received an element- 
ary education in the common schools, and at the age 
of 14 went to live with an uncle, Abel Perry, in Cort- 
land Co., N. Y. He lived with him three years, then 
at home one year. Next, he was for two years ap- 
prenticed to the tanner and currier's trade, after which 
he went to Rochester, N. Y., and followed that trade 
for eight years, seven of which he was foreman in 
his shop. He was then similarly engaged for four 
years in Spencerport, N. Y. Purchasing next a farm 
in Hamlin, Monroe Co., N. Y., he operated the same 
for three years; and then, selling out, he liought a 
larger farm in the same county, on which he lived 
three years more. Selling out again, in the summer 
of 1866, he came to Gratiot County and bought 80 
acres, 60 of which was wild land, on section 28, Ful- 
ton Township, where he now resides. He first occu- 
pied a small log house whicli had Ijeen built on the 
place. In the spring of 1S75, he built a good barn, 



and in the fall of 1880 he completed a neat dwelling 
house. He is a progressive farmer, as the condition 
of his farm testifies. He has about 63 acres in an 
advanced state of cultivation 

Mr. S. was first married in Ogden, Monroe Co., N. 
Y., Oct 9, 185C, to Miss Mary J., daughter of George 
P. and Mary A. (Day) Hodges, natives of Vermont. 
She was born in the State of New York. Mr. Smith 
had by this marriage one child, Albert L., born Sept. 
II, 1857. Losing his wife by death, Oct. 6, 1864, he 
was again married, in Gaines, Orleans Co., N. Y., 
Oct. II, 1866, to Miss Emma L., daughter of Isaac 
and Phebe (Rail) Odell, natives of the Empire State. 
They were born in Rockland County, and lived after- 
ward in Monroe and Orleans Counties. In 1863, 
they came to Clinton Co., Mich., where he died, in 
July, 187 1. The mother then came to live with her 
daughter, Mrs. Smith. She is now 82 years old. 
Mrs. Smith was born in the State of New Jersey, 
March 14, 1837, and has borne to Mr. Smith two 
children: J. D., April 18, 1868, and Gracie M., 
March 15, 1870. 

Mr. S. was the first Drain Commissioner of Fulton 
Township, being elected under the State law, for one 
year. He has also been Highway Commissioner one 
year. He is a member of the Knights Militant, of 
the P. of H., the I. O. O. F. and the A. O. U. W. 
In the A. O. U. W., he has passed all the chairs, and 
has been Representative to the Grand Lodge. Po- 
litically, he is a supporter of the Democratic party. 
Mrs. Smith is a member of the Christian Church. 





lias Shaw, farmer, section 19, Bethany 
g Township, is a son of Alanson and Mary 
(Stafford) Shaw, and was born in Troy 
-^^ Geauga Co., Ohio, Sept. 14, 1834. His father, 
a farmer and dairyman, was born in Cayuga Co., 
N. Y., and now resides in Troy. His mother, 
also a native of New York, is still living in Troy. He 
was brought up on the farm, attending the winter 
terms of school, and also seven months at Hiram Col- 
lege, with which President Garfield was at one time 
connected. 

On attaining the age of 21, Mr. Shaw went to Law- 
rence Co., Pa., where he was employed in a nail fac- 
tory about 18 months; was at various places until 



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1856, when he arrived in Grand Rapids, Mich., and 
six months later, namely, in the spring of 1857, he 
bought the 60 acres where he now lives. He resided 
in Grand Rapids a year longer, and then, in 1858, he 
built a log cabin on his place and made a small clear- 
ing. He next worked three months in Saginaw, and 
finally returned to his homestead. To this place he 
had to cut out the first road, one and a half 
miles. In 1862 he went on the Indian Mission farm 
in Bethany Township, and worked i 20 acres of the 
farm three years. He now has about 50 acres of his 
farm under cultivation, and the place furnished with 
good buildings, etc. He and five of his neighbors 
contemplate building a cheese factory near the In- 
diantown bridge. He has bought cattle for several 
parties, and is now buying for James Jenne, of Fulton 
Township. 

Mr. Shaw has held the office of Constable, High- 
way Commissioner seven years. Township Drain Com- 
missioner seven years, etc. 

He Was married in Fulton Township, this county, 
Aug. 14, 1859, to Miss Mary Smith, daughter of Levi 
and Annie Smith, who was born in Fairfield, Lenawee 
Co., Mich., Aug. I, 1842. Their four children are: 
Levi L., Annie, Addie B. and James E. Mrs. Shaw's 
parents were also very early settlers in this county, 
being the seventh family in the county. They came 
from Seneca Township, Lenawee Co., Mich., when 
she was but eight years old ; and there were but six 
residences in St. Louis when Mr. S. located here. 




'nX,i,i illiam B. Scattergood, cashier in the bank- 
^^ ing house of Church, Bills & Co., at Ithaca, 
'^J^^p was born Aug. 20, 1844, in Plymouth, Wayne 
ItW Co., Mich. He is a son of Joshua and 
Caroline E. (Barker) Scattergood (see sketch of 
Joshua Scattergocd). He became a clerk in his 
father's store at the age of 18 years. He had been 
a diligent and faithful student at school and was well 
prepared to enter upon the duties of the position. 
In 1862 he went to Detroit, where he was emjiloyed 
successively in the United States Pension Office, in 
the Postoffice and in the statistical office of the Michi- 
gan Central Railroad Company. He remained in 
that city 18 months and returned to Plymouth. 




Shortly after he went to Fort Wayne, Ind., and en- 
gaged as a book-keeper with the hardware firm of 
Coombs & Co., where he remained eight months, and 
again returned to Plymouth to take charge of his 
father's affairs, while the latter went South on busi- 
ness. In June, 1866, he went to St. John's, Clinton 
County, where his father had established a grocery 
and provision trade, in which he took an interest. 
The partnership continued until the fall of 1870 and 
proved a profitable venture. In the sfiring of 1871 
he removed to Minnesota, he and liis brother-in-law, 
Robert Smith, engaging soon after this in the hard- 
ware business at Taylor's Falls, in that State. Both 
continued in that business there for about 15 months, 
when they sold out, Mr. Scattergood going to Man- 
kato, Minn. In the fall of 1872 he returned to 
Ithaca and became Deputy County Clerk with Nathan 
Church, serving in that position until Jan. r, 1875. 
At the fall election of 1874 he was elected County 
Clerk and held the position through three successive 
terms. He entered the duties of the situation he is 
at present holding in April, 1880, leaving James W. 
Howd as Deputy in the Clerk's office. He is also 
doing a considerable business in insurance, and rep- 
resents several leading companies. He is prominent 
in the Masonic fraternity and is a member of tlie 
blue lodge. Royal Arch Chapter and Council, of Ith- 
aca, and Comma«dery No. 24, at St. John's. He is 
a member of the Village Council. 

Mr. Scattergood was married May 37, 1876, to 
Julia E., daughter of Lafayette and Sophronia Church. 
She was born Sept. 7, 1856, in Arcada Township. 
The three children born of this union are: William 
B., born May i, 1878; Bessie, Jan. 4, 1880; Walter 
N., May 6, 1882. 

^« 

ilbert E. Hall, farmer, Bethany Township, 
|is]sS| occupies 40 acres of section 29, being the 
fi'^ northwest quarter of the northwest quarter, 
''.'T and is an early settler of this county. He was 
born in Litchfield Township, Medina Co., Oiiio, 
Oct. 7, 1834. His father, Frederick Hall, was a far- 
mer of Genesee Co., N. Y., and his mother was 
Eliza, nee Beedle. 

When 20 years of age, Mr. Hall left his home in 




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Ohio, came to Fulton Township, this county, and en- 
gaged in hard and steady work for two years at lum- 
bering and clearing land. Thus he accumulated 
sufficient means to buy 80 acres of land at 50 cents 
an acre, on section 26, Fulton Township, then cov- 
ered with timber. He cleared a little space in the 
woods, erected a log cabin and proceeded to clear up 
a farm. After reducing about 14 acres he exchanged 
for 80 acres on the same section, all timber, and 
when he had cleared about 30 acres here and made 
some other improven.ents, the war aroused his pat- 
riotic spirit and carried him away to the field of car- 
nage. Jan. 3, 1864, he enlisted in Co. I, 27th Mich. 
Vol. Inf., under Capt. Wood, and served until the 
close of the war, participating in the engagements of 
the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania and Cold Harbor, 
at which latter place, June 5, 1864, a finger was shot 
off from his right hand. The wound was severe, as 
he came near losing his hand, and he was laid up 
until the following November, when he volunteered 
for guard duty, and returned to his regiment in June, 
1S65. He was discharged at Detroit, Mich., Aug. 
26, 1865. 

He then returned to Fulton Township. In March, 
1868, he exchanged his land tliere for his present 
farm of 40 acres, on which he has cleared about 32 
acres and erected a nice house, barns, etc., and 
planted an orchard. He is now Highway C'ommis- 
sioner. 

Mr. Hall was married in Fulton Township, Sept. 
13, 1857, to Miss Lucy A., daughter of Palmer and 
Betsey Smith. She was born in Erie Co., N. Y., 
Aug. 29, 1832. They have one daughter, Ella A., 
who is now the wife of John J. Miller, of Bethany 
Township, and they also have one child, Maud A. 




t saae Gee, farmer and stock-raiser, section 
15, Sumner Township, was born in Lyons 
Township, Wayne Co., N. Y., April 23, 
1837, and is the son of Joseph and Eleanor 
m (Seaton) Gee, natives of New England, and of 
' Dutch descent. Joseph Gee was a farmer, 
and died in Wayne Co., N. Y., in 1839, when the 
subject of this biography was two years old. His 
wife died at the home of her daughter, Catherine 
Gargett, in Sumner Township, in February, 1883. 




After the death of his father, Isaac lived with his 
mother until 12^^ years old, she having married 
again. He then went to Ohio, and for seven years 
lived with his brother-in-law, James Gargett. He 
worked on farms and in saw-mills, and afterwards in 
a commission store at Cleveland. Here his fidelity 
and good behavior won for him a good salary, and 
after thus getting some start in the world, he came 
West to look for a suitable place to establish a home 
in company with his brother, George, who had been 
a farmer in New York. They first went to Ionia 
County, and at North Plains secured the services of 
an old and experienced land-looker at $5 per day. 
This was in the fall of 1854. They came by compass 
through the unbroken forest, not so much as a bush 
being cut for 20 miles. They located 960 acres of 
land, all in a body, to be divided as follows between 
the three brothers: George, 400 acres; Isaac, 320 
acres ; and Joseph, 240 acres. Returning to Ionia, 
they purchased the land, under the " Graduation 
Act." Spending the ensuing winter in Cleveland, 
Isaac and George then came out to make a perma- 
nent settlement ; and being single men they secured 
Michael McNamara and wife as assistants — the lat- 
ter to do the housework, and the former to work in 
the woods. They arrived in the woods April i, 
1855, at a time when the snow was two and a half 
feet deep, with a crust thick enough to sustain a 
man. On the seventh of the same month, they pur- 
chased a yoke of cattle of Mr. Ransom, on Pine 
River, the ice being strong enough on that stream to 
enable them to cross. Their first house consisted of 
one big log, and a small one on lop, for one side, and 
several logs for the other side, with a covering of 
" shakes," poled down to keep out bears, and with a 
puncheon floor. It was in this shanty that James 
McNamara, the first white child in the township of 
Sumner, was born. To-day is seen, in vivid contrast, 
a mansion fit for a governor, and barns and other 
farm buildings to correspond. It is when we see 
such changes made under our own observation that 
we realize the rapid advancement of Michigan's 
pioneers from poverty to affluence. " The cabin and 
the palace, standing side by side, tell their own story 
of this ijeople's progress. They are a history and 
prophecy in one." 

Mr. Gee was married to Orpha R. Gargett, of 
Richfield, Summit Co., Ohio, in 1858, and has two- 









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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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children: Burton, born Sept. ii, 1S63; and Zua.born 
April 10, 1869. He was chosen Supervisor in 1859, 
and has held the offices of Justice of the Peace and 
Highway Commissioner. Politically, he is a firm 
Republican. The portrait of Mr. Gee, which is pre- 
sented on the opposite page, is in all senses that of 
a representative citizen of Gratiot County. 



<C ;;, i^fl'V onathan W. Salisbury, salesman with E. 
\ yli^t A. Sheffield, hardware merchant at St. 
?l!5?'^^ Louis, was born in Orleans Co., N. Y., 
April I, 1833, and is a son of Stejahen and 
Nancy (Stockwell) Salisbury. His father was 
born in Vermont in 1790, passed his life in the 
pursuit of agriculture, and died in January, 1861, in 
Orleans Co., N. Y. His father was engaged in the 
war of 181 2, at Sackett's Harbor. His mother was 

<f?S born in 1798, in Vermont, and died a month later than 
her husband, in the same county. 

Mr. Salisbury grew to man's estate on his father's 
farm, attending school winters, until he was 21 years 
of age. He continued farming as a business until 
1863, when he yielded to the pressure of convictions 

^(\ oi duty and, Aug. 28th of that year, enlisted at Roch- 

*^ ester, N. Y., in Co. B, 14th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. 
He was in the service two years and was under fire 
at Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg, where 
he remained until the surrender. He was in a num- 
ber of other engagements of greater or less impor- 
tance, and received his discharge at Rochester. He 
returned to the farm, and in the fall of the same year 
— 1865 — came to Lenawee Co., Mich., and was em- 
ployed as a clerk in a store at Rome Center, near 
the city of Adrian, where he operated about two 
years. In the winter of 1867, he came to St. 
Louis and spent the first two years in the nursery bus- 
iness ; he next engaged in the interests of Henry 
Smith & Co., of Grand Rapids, as traveling agent, 
selling agricultural tools, and remained with them 
three years, continuously through every season. He 
acted for them during the winters of three years fol- 
lowing, and in the summer of 1881 he engaged with 
A. H. Hart, grocer, at St. Louis, as salesman, with 
whom he continued two years. He next entered the 
store in which he is at present engaged. He is a 



V 




member of the Royal Arcanum and owns a small 
farm in Bethany Township. 

Mr. Salisbury was married May 17, 1854, to Sarah 
Ann, daughter of Asa Himes, of Orleans Co., N. Y. 
She was born in Shelby, that county, Feb. 3, 1832. 
Following are the children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Salisbury: Frank, born Junes, 1857, in Odeans 
Co., N. Y. ; Nettie L., born July 30, 1866, in Lena- 
wee Co., Mich.; Nellie J., born July 28, 1868, at St. 
Louis. Hattie, eldest child, was born in Orleans 
County, in November, 1855, and died in the summer 
of 1S67, at Battle Creek, Calhoun County. Frank 
Salisbury is accountant in the banking house of A. 
B. Darragh, at St. Louis. 



"ames Kress, retired agriculturist, resident 
"^■- at Alma was born Feb. 25, 1804, in Yates 
Co., N. Y. He is a son of Samuel and 
Catherine (Slaughter) Kress, who were natives 
of New Jersey. They located on a farm in 
Yates Co., N. Y., where they resided until they 
died. 

Mr. Kress was the fourth son of eight children 
born to his parents. He acquired a common-school 
education and assisted on the farm of his father un- 
til he was 24 years old. In 1834 he bought So acres 
of land in Jackson Co., Mich., on which he settled 
and resided until 1855. In that year he sold his 
property and bought 320 acres of land in Pine River 
Township. After managing his estate nine years he 
sold 160 acres and fixed his residence at Alma. He 
has since disposed of nearly all his farm and lives in 
comfortable retirement after a long and active period 
of years. 

Mr. Kress was married Nov. 4, 1829, in Yates Co., 
N. Y., to Mary, third daughter of Hugh and Rachel 
(Smith) Hulse. The parents were natives of the 
Empire State and subsequent to their marriage set- 
tled in Orange County, in that State. They after- 
wards went to Ovid, N. Y., and after a residence of 
nearly 20 years went to Yates County. Later on 
they again changed their residence to Poultney and 
still later went to Illinois, where the mother died. 
The father died in Yates County. They had nine 
children. Mrs. Kress was born Oct. 9, 1S09, in 
Ovid. Of her marriage to Mr. Kress, eight children 






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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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have been born, six of whom are living. Samuel 
and James died in infancy. Those yet living are, — 
Thompson H., Mary J., Garword E., Theron T., 
Richard A. and Rachel A. Mr. Kress is a Demo- 
crat in political faith. 

At the date of the location of Mr. Kress in Gra- 
tiot County this section of the Peninsular State was 
a vast wilderness. He cut his way 20 miles into 
the heart of the forest and wrought out success from 
the original, natural condition of tilings. His expe- 
riences differ in no wise from those whose combined 
energies and well-directed efforts have made this 
county bud and bloom in beauty and prosperity. 




i||eiiry M. Martin, resident at St. Louis, was 
M^ born Oct 24, 1843, in La Grange, Lorain 
Co., Ohio, and is the eldest child of Philo B- 
and Orilla (Smith) Martin. His father was born 
March 27, 1S21, in Jefferson Co., N. Y., and 
went in early life to Lorain Co., Ohio, where he 
was married Oct. 14, 1842. His wife was born Feb. 
27, 1823. Three children were born to them: Hen- 
ry M., as stated, Mary Jane, Nov. 2, 1846, and An- 
drew N., Sept. 30, 1854. The family came toBatavia, 
Branch Co., Mich., in 1846, where the father bought 
a farm and resided eight years. The younger son, 
now resident at St. Louis, was born there, hi 1856, 
the senior Martin transferred his family and interests 
to Sigourney, Keokuk Co., Iowa, removing thither with 
two two-horse teams, driving the entire route. He 
established a grocery and provision store and a large 
livery at Sigourney, and also ran a line of mail coach- 
es, one year, between that place and Iowa City. In 
1859, he went to Wise Co , Texas, for the purpose of 
starting a stock ranch, and his family returned to Lo-i 
rain Co., Ohio. The husband announced his safe 
arrival and was heard from with regularity until the 
outbreak of the Rebellion, when all traces of him 
were lost and his fate is wholly unknown. 

Two years after leaving Iowa, the family went to 
Freeport, Wood Co., Oliio, where Mr. Martin, of this 
sketch, interested himself in agriculture, in which he 
was occupied until 1864, when he entered the mili- 
tary service of the United States. He enlisted March 
181 under Capt. A. J. Snyder, in Co. C, 7 2d Ohio Vol. 



Inf., Col. Eaton. His regiment was attached to the 
command of Gen. Sturgis and was in the Western 
Army. He was under fire in the engagement at Pa- »^% 
ducah, Ky., and went thence to Memphis, whence 
the regiment was ordered in pursuit of Gen. Forrest. .:Vi 
After the battle of Guuntown, Miss., his command 
made a retreat of 150 miles, and wlien within 22 
miles of the Union Hnes was captured by tlie rebels. 
The hasty, disorderly fiiglit was one of the severest 
experiences of army life Mr. Martin had at that time 
encountered, and was a period of intense hardships 
and privation. All the food he was able to obtain 
for four days was a handful of plums. But worse was 
to follow in the horrors of Andersonville, whose atroc- 
ities outstripped the infamous record of the destruc- 
tion of the Sepoys in India, and rival those of the 
Black Hole of Calcutta. The food at the outset 
seemed intolerable, and some attempt at cookery was 
made previous to its distribution, but the latter was ^^ 
soon abandoned, and toward the finale the rations ^ '! 
consisted of a half a pint of cob-meal for each 24 "^ 
hours. The captives were obliged to cook it them- a^ 
selves, which feat was accomplished by moistening, ta 
placing in a half canteen and holding it over a flame §»v 
until slightly warmed. They burrowed in the earth a 
for shelter and built over them sloping roofs of sticks 'V^ 
and mud, which were most effective when least need- ^ 
ed. In fair weather, they could be preserved in good ( y 
order, but wind and rain soon demolished the inse- 
cure protections. Thousands of pens have tried to 
fairly delineate and adequately anathematize the 
stockade prison at Andersonville, but all the combined 
efforts and concentrated opinions and expressions in 
the range of human thought and feeling utterly fail. 
Some went insane; large proportions died from dis- 
ease and privation ; some sought death at the hands 
of the monsters, who stood at every point, at all hours 
wailing for the chance to glut their savage appetites 
for blood, by shooting without mercy all who crossed 
the " dead line;" some nerved themselves to endure 
to tlie end all that Southern ingenuity could inflict, 
and a portion of them surmounted their hardships 
solely by force of will, determining, as they expressed 
it, to outlive the whole Southern Confederacy. Mr. 
Martin was one of the latter, but the privations and 
indignities to which he was subjected, broke the vig-iry 
or of his manhood and undermined his hardy con-^ 
stitution. He was ca|)tured June 13, 1864, and, in(^ 
September following, was sent with a large number o£^ 




^4D!IgDDy>^^ ^^^ 





GRATIOT COUNTY. 



-«*t?^^fvi) 



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comrades to Rough and Ready, near Atlanta, Ga., 
for special exchange, which had been stipulated be- 
tween Hood and Sherman ; but the detachment was 
rejected and sent to Savannah. A few weeks later they 
were transferred to Milan, where they remained until 
December. Sherman was then on his historic " march 
to the sea " and designed their release, but the rebels 
sent their captives to Blackshire, literally into the 
woods, in order to secure greater secrecy and security. 
They remained there some weeks, enduring all man- 
ner of suffering, which was greatly increased by the 
ex[X)sure to which they were subjected in addition to 
other privations. 

When Sherman and his army were well on the way 
to Savannah, and no chance of relief probable or 
possible, the Union prisoners were marched 60 miles 
to Albany, " carred " like cattle, and once more sent 
to Andersonville, where they again encountered a 
series of horrors second to none in the historical an- 
nals of the world. As Mr. Martin does not wish to 
do the rebels any injustice, he feels constrained to 
mention that a few times the luxury of fresh meat 
was furnished the prisoners. Slaughtered cattle were 
sent for the benefit of the guards, who generously 
contributed the hides and heads for the special treat 
of the captives, and the famished men seized with 
eagerness the abominable refuse. The hides were 
boiled and the hair pulled out, and among other 
pieces which fell to Mr. Marrin's share at various 
times were chunks of the heads, with the eyes of the 
creatures still in the sockets. It was no time to be 
squeamish, and nothing in the shape of food was 
rejected. On the 9th of April, 1865, came the utter 
collapse of the whole scheme of the infuriated and 
misguided South, and, on the 29th of the month, the 
prison authorities played their last card in human 
diabolism. The Unionists who had survived their 
sufferings and preserved sufficient strength to main- 
tain an upright posture were hurried to a point 20 
miles from Jacksonville, Fla., the remotest Southern 
lX)int available, and turned loose to make their way 
homeward as best they could. Mr. Martin walked 
to Jacksonville, and was sent thence to Columbus, 
Ohio, where he was discharged June 19, 1865. His 
feelings can be imagined when he saw the sleek, 
well-dressed rebels furnished with transportation 
home, and a crisp, new two-dollar greenback, and 
compared them with himself in the garb a beggar 



^^ 



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would scorn, his pantaloons tattered and frayed and 
worn away nearly to his knees, and the sleeves of his 
coat in the same disintegrated condition, his entire 
outfit being in rags, which were held together with 
wooden pins. He had been hatless for months, but 
had the good fortune to discover a hat lying over the 
dead line just previous to his release, and, by the aid 
of a stick, succeeded in securing it, together with the 
head which it afterward protected. It was a bitter 
trial to contemplate the difference, but he was thank- 
ful to belong to a race which, though it was the ag- 
grieved party, had in it no elements of cruelty or 
malicious revenge. 

He returned to Freeport, Ohio, after receiving his 
discharge, and within the same year, 1S65, came to 
Michigan. He bought 40 acres of land in the town- 
ship of Newark, Gratiot County, and by hard labor 
succeeded in clearing six acres during the following 
fall and winter. In the spring of 1866 he came to 
St. Louis, where, in company with Levi Alguyre, his 
brother-in-law, he established a livery stable. Their 
business was prosperous, and included the heavy 
freighting from St. John's to St. Louis, incident to the 
condition of the country, then without railroads, and 
with a large population with pressing needs. The 
relation of Messrs. Martin & Alguyre continued a 
year, when the former became sole proprietor by pur- 
chase. He was variously connected with different 
persons until Sept. 5, 1883, when he disposed of his 
stable and fixtures to George Deveraux. In company 
with John Goff, he is now engaged in building a 
double brick block of three stories at St. Louis. He 
also owns three stores south of the site of the new 
building. They are erected on a plat of ground 82 
feet and 10 inches on Mill Street, and 165 feet on 
Washington Avenue. The remainder of his property 
includes his residence on Center Street, and a half 
interest in Block t,^,., less three lots wliich have been 
sold. Mr. Martin was Marshal of the village of St. 
Louis during the years 1879-80. 

He was married Oct. 21, 1869, at St. Louis, to 
Lizzie A., daughter of Sylvenus and Mary A. (Loomis) 
Kwell. She was born Oct. 27, 1850, in Shiawassee 
Co., Mich. Mrs. Martin is a member of the Ewell 
family, whose genealogy has been traced to 1734, 
when John Ewell, the earliest known ancestor, was 
born in Scotland, from whom she is fifth in line of 
direct descent. John Ewell became the father of 






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nine children, and his eldest son, James, was the 
grandfather of Sylvenus Ewell, father of Mrs. Mar- 
tin. The neat, well-arranged volume, is the work of 
her uncle, Ervin H. Ewell, and is of incalculable 
value to the later generations of the family. Four 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin as 
follows: George E., Dec. 2, 187 i ; Helen May, June 10, 
1875 ; Fred. H., Sept. 15, 1877 ; Mabel A., July 16, 
1880. The mother of Mr. Martin died at St. Louis 
May 28, 1876. His sister, Mrs. Alguyre, died Jan. 
18, 1877, and Ifift three children: Nora, Carrie and 
Minnie. Cora and Philo, eldest and youngest, died 
before her. The brother of Mr. Martin, Andrew N., 
is the present Marshal of St. Louis. 

The portrait of Mr. Martin is presented on another 
page of the Gratiot County Album. He is essentially 
a self-made man. The traits of character which 
enabled liim to surmount the hardships of Anderson- 
ville have characterized his career since the loss of 
his father entailed upon him the responsibilities of 
the family, so painfully deprived of its head and sup- 
port. He began with only his remarkable physical 
hardihood and his indomitable perseverance and en- 
ergy, incited by his strong regard for ties of home 
and kindred. Men do nobly to carve out fortunes in 
their single strength when burdened only with their 
own maintenance. Mr. ALirtin has accomplished 
much more than ordinary self-made men, as he has 
discharged meanwhile every known filial and frater- 
nal duty, and won a position for his family which 
does him credit, and will be the best heritage he will 
leave to his children, for whose sakes he puts on per- 
manent record the unembellished account of his 
course of life and the imprint of his features. 






< g^jftic; 



i^|L rancis Nelson was born in Otsego Co., N. 
PMIl Y., July 15, 1808. He was the fifth of a 



I 






family of eleven children. His father, 
^^ Josiah Nelson, was of Scotch-Irish descent, 
•^^ and was born in Massachusetts, Sept. 9, 1773, 
i and died in Lockport, N. Y., Dec. 4, 1847. 
His mother, Lucy Rice, was born in Connecticut, 
Sept. 22, 1778, and died in Mexico, N. Y., June 13, 
1857. In 1S12, his parents moved from Otsego 
County to Seneca Co., N. Y., a comparatively new 




region at that period. Again, in 1826, they moved 
to Lockport, N. Y., and settled in an almost unbroken 
wilderness on the verge of civilization. In 1833, he 
married Deborah Cotton, daughter of Lake Cotton, 
by whom he has had six children, four of whom are 
living. Deborah Cotton Nelson was born in Bata- 
via, N. Y., Feb. 18, 1815, and died in Arcada, Mich., 
Aug. 15, 1874. She was a woman of very superior 
qualities of mind and heart — delicately organized, 
sensitive and spiritual. Her life was expended in 
good offices to the suffering, in tenderness to the af- 
flicted, and in patient self-sacrifice for those she 
loved. 

The subject of this sketch, with his family, emi- 
grated to Michigan in the fall of 1835, taking a 
steamer up Lake Erie from Buffalo to Monroe. For 
a time he resided in the village of Palmyra, where 
was buried their first-born child, a little boy of 18 
months. Afterward he settled on a farm in the 
township of Madison, Lenawee County. At an early 
day, he took an active part in local politics, and was 
elected a Justice of the Peace. Touching the politics 
of that period, he was a pronounced Whig. He was 
also a prominent member of the Methodist Protestant 
Church, and his house was the home of ministers of 
that and ail other religious communions. In 1848, 
he removed to another farm in the township of Me- 
dina, where he resided until 1854. To relieve him- 
self from a burden of debt, and to provide for the 
necessities of a growing family of boys, he determined 
to sell his farm in Lenawee County, and to take Gov- 
ernment lands recently brought into market in Gra- 
tiot County, then a wild and uninhabited part of the 
State. He accordingly located i6o acres in what is 
now the township of Arcada, removing his family in 
October, 1854. He was literally a pioneer, having 
to cut several miles of trail over which to convey his 
household goods. He was prominent in nearly all 
public affairs connected with the organization and 
early history of Gratiot County. He was chosen Su- 
pervisor at the first election in the township of Ar- 
cada. He was very active in the county-seal con- 
troversy, and it was chiefly through his exertions, 
whilst a member of the Board of Sujjervisors, that 
the county seat was finally located at Ithaca, Feb. 
28, 1856. He was three times elected Judge of Pro- 
bate, holding the ofiSce twelve consecutive years, and 
might have had a fourth term had he not voluntarily 
retired. In 1S78, he was married the second time, to 






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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



Mrs. Ann Burgess, widow of the late Russell Bur- 
gess, of Arcada, since which time he has resided 
near his son, William, at Cedar Lake, Montcalm 
County. 

In 1864, Mr. Nelson embraced the doctrines of 
that body of Christians called Adventists, amongst 
whom he holds a leading position. He has written 
and published several pamphlets in defense of their 
peculiar tenets. He has been a hard-working man 
all his life — has wrought, for the most part, on the 
frontiers of civilization, building well for those who 
should come after him. He is a man of much nat- 
ural vigor of intellect and force of character. Had 
he enjoyed the advantages of an education, he might 
have succeeded eminently in some professional ca- 
reer. His mind was cast in the judicial mold. Few 
men who have read law, and have made it the occu- 
pation of their life, have a better understanding of 
its most essential principles. His superior judgment, 
his universally recognized integrity, and his blame- 
less character in every way, have always given him a 
commanding influence with his neighbors. However 
they might differ with him as to his opinions, or his 
courses of conduct, none would believe that they 
were other than those of an honest man. He has 
been pre-eminently a good citizen — self-sacrificing, 
public-spirited and patriotic — the friend of good 
order, religion and common schools. 

As one of the leading pioneers of Gratiot County 
and a man eminently worthy any honor that can be 
bestowed upon him, we give his portrait in connec- 
tion with this sketch. 



-^Sf' 




en. Ralph Ely, the fcunder of Alma, now 
^^fc deceased, was born July 10, 1820, in Mar- 
g^ shall, Oneida Co., N. Y. He was the son of 
Armenius and Electa (Munger) Ely, natives 
of New York. On the event of their marriage 
they settled in Oneida County, where they re- 
mained but a few years, going thence to Chautauqua 
County, where the father pursued the vocation of 
farmer and dairyman until his death in 1863. The 
mother died in 1836. Three sons and one daughter 
lived to mature age. They were born in the follow- 
ing order: Lucy, Ralph, Denvin and Flavins. 
Until he was 19 years old Gen. Ely passed his life 



as a pupil at the common schools, and as his father's 
assistant on the farm. In 1839 he left his native 
State, and after a somewhat extended tour of obser- 
vation through the Western States in search of a sat- 
isfactory location, he settled in Wabash, Ind. He 
" squatted " on land that was the property of the 
United States Government, which he intended to pur- 
chase when it came into market. He made import- 
ant improvements thereon and after two years sold 
his claim. He returned to Chautauqua County and 
spent two years on his father's estate. In 1846, he 
came to Michigan and bou g 320 acres of land in 
Ionia County. He engaged zealously in its improve- 
ment and resided thereon seven and a half years. 
He sold the place in 1854, and settled in Arcada 
Township, Gratiot County. That section was then 
in the depths of the wilderness and the General push- 
ed his way 20 miles from the outskirts of civilization, 
cutting his road as he proceeded. He bought a large 
tract of land for himself and other parties in Pine 
River and Arcada Townships, retaining as his own 
property 160 acres, which is the present site of the 
village of Alma. With the energy, zeal and persist- 
ency which characterized his whole life, he built a log 
house and at once entered into the merits of farming, 
lumbering and trade. He built the first saw and 
grist mills at Alma, and continued to operate in vari- 
ous avenues, calculated to enhance the prosperity 
and advancement of the place, until the advent of 
the Southern Rebellion, when, like a true son of the 
Peninsular State and heir to the inheritance of fealty 
to the Federal Government, he withdrew for the time 
being his interest from personal affairs, and threw him- 
self, heart and soul, into the work of aiding in the 
emergency which threatened the dismemberment of 
the Union. He was instrumental in raising a com- 
pany of soldiers under the second call for troops, and 
was elecled its Captain upon its organization. It was 
third in order and was assigned to the " Eighth Mich- 
igan " as Company C. In passing, it may be stated 
that the first and second lieutenants were also from 
Alma, a significant fact in the annals of the plucky 
little village, then about two years old. 

The military career of Gen. Ely was one continu- 
ous record of bravery on the field. The history of 
his regiment is one that blazes with lustre from first 
to last, and the prominent annalists of the cause of 
the terrible internecine struggle yield their pages to 







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697 



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mmortalize the deeds of the " Eighth Michigan." 
Its bravery and efficiency were early acknowledged, 
»v^» and its inscribed trophies include the most important 
J and hardest-fought engagements of the war. But one 
fact need be mentioned : after action the dead of 
the Eighth Michigan always lay in close proximity to 
the battlements of the enemy. Gen. Ely was elect- 
ed Captain Aug. 12, 1861, and on the 21st of the 
same month the regiment rendezvoused at Grand 
Rapids, and on the 23d of September was mustered 
into the service of the United States. On the loth 
of November it went into camp with the other regi- 
ments of Sherman's brigade, to which it had been 
assigned. Its registered engagements comprise about 
40 immortal names, and its latest record is, that on 
April 3, 1865, it was among the first to enter the city 
of Petersburg. General (then Captain) Ely, was 
wounded June 16, 1862, at Secession ville, N. C. 
The action of that day is better known to history as 
James Island, and the part performed by the Eighth 
Michigan is on record and will go down to the gen- 
erations of the future as "signally distinguished." 
The assault with bayonets upon the rebel works 
can be adequately characterized only in the full sig- 
nificance of the terms "most daring and gallant." 
Major Watson resigned his commission Sept. to, 
1862, and on the same day Captain Ely was pro- 
moted to the position. Fourteen days later he was 
in command of the regiment, Col. Fenton having 
charge of the brigade. Lieut. Col. Graves resigned 
his ix)st that day. Feb. i, 1863, Major Ely was 
commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel, and May r, of the 
same year, the former incumbent of the jxjsition be- 
came Colonel of the regiment. Col. Graves was 
killed May 6, 1864, at the battle of the Wilderness, 
and Lieut. -Col. Ely was made Brevet Colonel United 
States Volunteers, July 6, 1864, for "gallant and 
meritorious services at the battle of the Wilderness, 
Va." He was afterward commissioned Colonel to 
rank from May 7, 1864, the day following the action 
for which he was brevetted. On the second of April, 
1865, he was made Brigadier General United States 
Volunteers by brevet for " conspicuous gallantry in 
the assault before Petersburg, Va." He remained in 
^ the service of the United States until after the 
^ close of the war and was mustered out May 19, 
("(S) 1866. It became a notorious fact that the Eighth 
^ Michigan was morally certain to be detailed for spe- 



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cially severe duty, and early in the war acquired the 
cognomon of the "Wandering Regiment." 

An incident is related of Gen. Ely which displays 
his distinguishing traits in a most marked manner. 
While stationed at Wilmington Island, S. C, he 
was sent with four men on a reconnoissance to the 
main land. He landed in a marsh and after cross- 
ing a small bridge, pushed ahead to the discharge of 
his duty. After making some progress he decided 
that a detail of rebel cavalry had discovered his party 
and he therefore made a precipitate retreat toward 
the bridge — the sole means of escape. He had the 
" short cut " and he made it about ten rods in ad- 
vance of the leading rebel officer at the head of 40 
cavalry. Capt. Ely and his three men made a stand 
at the entrance to the bridge, guns in hand, and the 
enemy hesitated. Capt. Ely ordered his men to 
stand firm and ran a short distance, rapidly issuing 
orders in a loud voice, as if to a force lying in am- 
bush in close proximity to the bridge. He returned 
to his former place and confronted nearly an entire 
cavalry company. He doffed his cap, stepped for- 
ward and in a short speech, full of bravado, dared 
them to advance. But they took the retrograde and 
the four conquerers of the situation speedily placed 
themselves in safety. They had the satisfaction of 
seeing the rebels ride down to the river bank, cha- 
grined and self-disgusted on discovering that they 
had been out-generaled by Yankee shrewdness, and 
their mortification was in no degree lessened by the 
echo of "Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are march- 
ing," and " John Brown," sung lustily by the five Un- 
ion soldiers beyond the reach of their vengeance. 

On leaving the service General Ely received an ap- 
pointment as Superintendent of the Freedmen's Bu- 
reau in South Carolina. He was also engaged for a 
time in settling freedmen on Government lands in 
Florida. The alluring attractions of the "land of 
flowers" tempted General Ely to purchase a planta- 
tion in Jacksonville and he devoted nearly two years 
to the work of setting out an orange grove. The invest- 
ment proved unprofitable, and in 1S69 he returned 
to Gratiot County, where he engaged in farming and 
lumbering. But he was not allowed to relegate him- 
self to the retirement of private life. His public 
spirit and philanthropic character made him valuable 
as a citizen and his co-operation in general affairs 
was felt as a necessity. In 1873 he was elected 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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w>' Senator from the Twenty-sixth District and served 

fR the biennial term. In the fall of 1874 he was elected 
Auditor General of Michigan and was re-elected in 
1876, serving four years. In the fall of 1879 he 
went to Emmett County, where he interested him- 
self in lumbering quite extensively, and remained 
there actively operating in that line of business un- 
til his death, which occurred April 4, 1883. He was 
buried at Cross Village, but in February, 1884, his re- 
mains were exhumed and re-interred at Alma. 

General Ely was married Sept. 22, 1842, in Brook- 
ville, Franklin Co., Ind., to Mary E., fifth daughter 
of Elisha O. and Phebe M. (Woodworth) Halstead. 
She was born in Waterloo, Seneca Co., N. Y., Feb. 
16, 1823. Mr. Halstead was born in New Jersey; 
his wife was a native of Vermont. They were mar- 
ried in Seneca County and settled in Waterloo, after- 
wards removing to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he died 
Dec. 24, 1876. Mrs. Halstead died July 16, 1875, 
while on a visit to her children in Gratiot County. 
<• General and Mrs. Ely became the parents of one 
son and five daughters — Townsend A., Louise A., 

D Phebe E., Mary J., Lucy L. and Kate F. Of these, 

^i five are now residents of Alma. 



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llIK?; hilip W. Creaser, farmer, section 16, Fulton 
f l^^fc Township, is a son of William and Emily 
!!& (Leerett) Creaser, natives respectively of 
fi England and Canada. They settled after 
'1^ marriage in the latter country, and in the 
spring of 1868 came to Michigan. The following 
year they came to Gratiot County and settled in Ful- 
ton Township, where the father died, Sept. 17, 1873. 
The mother died March 11, i88i. 

Their family included 13 children, of whom Philip 
was the fourth. He was born in Canada, March 31, 
1832, and his time was spent mostly in farming until 
he was 21 years of age. After attaining his majority 
his time was largely employed in carpenter work 
until 1872. He came in 1862 to Saginaw, and for 
seven years made that city his home. He then lived 
y, for one year at St. John's, after which he came to 
^^ Fulton Township, this county, and purchased 120 
acres of wild land on section 16. He now owns 80 
acres of good land, of which 60 are in a creditable 







state of cultivation. In the summer of 1883 he 
built a fine residence, of modern design, which will 
compare favorably with any in the county. 

Nov. 25, 1874, in Clinton Co., N. Y., he united 
his earthly lot with Miss Caroline A., daughter of 
Joseph and Nancy Hutchins, natives of New Hamp- 
shire. Mrs. Creaser was born March 4, 1838, in the 
county in which she was reared and married. Mr. 
Creaser is a popular man in his township, and was 
chosen Justice of the Peace in the spring of 1883. 
Politically, he is an earnest supporter of the Demo- 
cratic party. 






Ifred Holmes, a former resident on section 
\ 4, Pine River Township, now deceased, was 
a native of Pennsylvania. His parents were 
)orn in Virginia. Mr. Holmes was a pioneer 
of Gratiot County and settled in Pine River 
Township in 1855. He bought 320 acres of 
land, on which he resided and continued to improve 
until his death, which occurred Jan. 9, 1876. He 
was married in Ohio, to Catherine Beery. Mrs. 
Holmes is a native of the Buckeye State. Of six 
children born of her marriage to Mr. Holmes, four 
are living, Jacob, — Nancy Naomi and Ellen. 





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eorge E. Walker, farmer, section 31, North 

Shade Township, is a son of Edward and 

f^i"^ Charity (Rathbone) Walker. The father was 



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a native of Massachusetts and followed the 
f occupation of a clothier in Livingston Co., 
State of New York. The mother was born in that 
State, and they both died there, the former in 1828 
and the latter in 1848. 

George E. was born in Livingston Co., State of 
New York, July 16, 1822. He remained at home 
with his parents until his father's death, which took 
place when he was six years of age, whereupon he 
was cared for by relatives for two years, when he 
came to Macomb County, this State, with a gentle- 









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701 






man named Perkins. He remained with this gentle- 
man until he attained the age of 18 years, when he 
returned to his native State and made his home with 
a sister for a few years. He then went to the South- 
ern States and there remained until the year 1845, 
when he enlisted in the 7 th U. S. Inf. and accom- 
panied his regiment to Mexico. He was engaged in 
four general battles, namely: Fort Brown and cap- 
ture of Monterey, under Gen. Taylor ; siege of Vera 
Cruz, under Gen. Scott; and also at the battle of 
Cerro Gordo, where Santa Anna opposed the U. S. 
forces. After the battle, Mr. Walker was sent to 
Vera Cruz with a detachment of wounded soldiers, 
and then was ordered to the city of Mexico, but 
failed to arrive in time to participate in the capture 
of that city. He was discharged in Florida in 1849, 
and thereupon came to Jackson, this State, where his 
sister resided and w-here he made his liome until 

/-Is 1850, when he came to this county. 

Vj Mr. Walker arrived in this county in 1850, and is 

conse<iuently one of the oldest residents here, if not 

the oldest. He is without doubt the oldest living 

^ resident. He located on section 31, North Shade 

1^ Township, securing 160 acres of land. 

?= To relate the many trials and difficulties throut;h 

Y which he passed, the indomitable pluck, push and 

/ energy he must have [XDSsessed, to locate his home 

'^P in a wilderness, aiid look for the wonderful de- 
velopment which his good judgment told him would 
surely come, would require a volume. 

He built his customary " log cabin " and supplied 
the " inner man " with the wild food so abundant in 
those pioneer days, and threw all his energy into the 
.f improvement of his land. He has lived to seethe 

^■3 fulfillment of his prediction, the prosperity of the 
^ county, and his own success has been marked. 

Mr. Walker was married to Miss Eliza, daughter 
of Alexander and Delilah (Andrews) Charles, natives 
of the State of New York. Mr. diaries was a sol- 
dier in the Mexican war. The mother came to this 
county in t853, and died here in 1875. 

Mr. and Mrs. Walker were among the first couples 
I. married in the county, and are the parents of two 

',' children, namely : Eva H., born March 12, 1856, and 

J. Edward C, born May 30, 1866. 

^ Eva H., the eldest daughter, has been attending 
school and teaching for the past nine years. She 
attended the Normal School at Ypsilanti, and having 



completed her course of studies at that institution in 
1880, has for the past three years been teaching at 
Mount Pleasant, Isabella County. She commenced 
in the primary and closed her term in the high de- 
partment. She is a lady of rare ability and the 
prospects of her future as a teacher are bright and 
flattering. 

Mr. Walker is one of the representative men of 
the county and his ability and worth have been 
recognized by the citizens of the county and his 
township. He was elected the first Sheriff of the 
county; has held tlie position of Supervisor of his 
town from 1864 to 1869, and was first Treasurer and 
also Clerk of the Town. 

Mr. and Mrs. W.ilker are identified with the Con- 
gregational Church. 

In the days when the Whig party existed, he was 
a member of that party, but is now a staunch Re- 
publican. 



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^IjlPi'^harles H. Howd, Postmaster at Brecken- 
^]teT-d# ridge, Wheeler Township, was born April 
f^'}SI 29, 1839, and is a son of Joiin W. and Betsey 
p\^ (Sutherland) Howd. His parents were natives 
'j\ of the State of New York, and in 1848 came 
to Michigan, locating in Branch County. His 
father combined the two occupations of farmer and 
builder, and pursued the former calling on a farm of 
120 acres, which he bought si.\ miles west of Cold- 
water. At a later date they went to Rome Center in 
Lenawee County, where the father bought 80 acres 
of land and continued its management aboutoneyear. 
He tiicn bought a grist-mill on the Raisin River, six 
miles northwest of Adrian, and spent one year in 
the manufacture of flour, after which he engaged 
some time in buying and shipi)ing cattle. In the fall 
of 1854 he came to Gratiot County and bought about 
225 acres of wild land on section 18 of North Star 
Townshiji, then unnamed and unorganized. He was 
one of the earliest settlers in that portion of Gratiot 
County and was active in the day of "first things" 
in the townshij) of North Star. After some years' 
residence on his farm he bought a hotel in Iliiaca, 
which he managed some time. He and his wife are 
still residing in that village. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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When he reached his majority Mr. Howd, Sept. 
26, i860, went to Wheeler Township and located 
320 acres of land on sections 29 and 30, of which 
240 acres on section 30 are yet in his possession. 

In the spring of 1861, he went to Ithaca and em- 
barked in the grocery trade. He continued to oper- 
ate in that village until the spring of 1870, when he 
removed to the township of Wheeler. Not long after 
his return, he opened a general store, where he has 
since been occupied in mercantile affairs until the 
fall of 1882, when he relinquished his business to 
give his attention to real-estate business and the du- 
ties of the office of Postmaster to which he had been 
appointed, and the office established, on May ig, 
1873. Mr. Howd has been a prominent, leading fac- 
tor in the growth and prosperity of Breckenridge and 
has lavished time and money on its advancement. 
It was through his efforts that the postoffice was es- 
tablished. Mr. Howd is a member of the Masonic 
Order, and belongs to the Royal Arch Chapter. He 
has held the office of Township Treasurer, Clerk and 
Road Commissioner, and also Notary Public for 
Gratiot County. He is a Republican. His portrait, 
which appears on another page, will be warmly re- 
ceived by his numerous friends as a representative 
and public-spirited citizen. 

Mr. Howd's marriage to Cynthia R. Putnam oc- 
curred in May, 1868. She was born June 6, 1847, 
and was a daughter of Seth R. and Jane M. (Barber) 
Putnam, natives respectively of New York and Ver- 
mont. The father died while en route to California. 
The mother, now Mrs. Smith, resides with Mr. Howd. 
The wife and daughter died July 25, 1883, leaving 
one child — Darwin P., born Feb. i, 1871. Mrs. 
Howd was a Christian woman and possessed a char- 
acter of womanly worth which endeared her to a 
large circle of friends, and by wliom her memory is 
faithfully cherished. 

• ^»>-5— 4- — o«)S.<6BHe-<! — Si— f<- — ■ 

eorge S. Franks, farmer on section 19, 

SI; Fulton Township, is a son of Conrad and 

Mary (Smith) Franks, natives of Pennsylvania 

-'.'T and Virginia. They first settled in Pennsyl- 

^ vania, and afterwards removed to Wayne Co., 

Ohio, where they lived until their death. 

Their family comprised five sons and si.x daughters. 





George S., the eldest son, was born in Fayette Co., 
Pa., April 21, 1813, and was six years old when his 
parents removed to Ohio. He was educated in the 
common schools, and remained at home until 22 
years of age. With the exception of 18 months in 
Iowa liis home was in Wayne Co., Ohio, until June, 
1866. At that date he came to Gratiot County and 
bought 160 acres of partly wild land on section 19, 
Fulton, on which he has erected comfortable farm 
buildings. He has now under cultivation about 100 
acres. 

Dec. 8, 1833, in Wayne Co., Ohio., he married 
Miss Barbara A., daughter of Andrew and Catherine 
(Kibler) Miller, natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania. 
She was born in Wayne Co., Ohio, May 6, 1817. 
Mr. and Mrs. Franks are the parents of three chil- 
dren : Cornelius A., Sylvanus and Mary B. Sylvanus 
died when three years old. Mr. Franks has held the 
different school offices in his district, and is politically 
a Democrat. Mrs. F. is a member of the Presby- 
terian Church. 



.^^1 



^^ Township, was born June 26, 1852, in the 

State of New York. He is the son of John J. 

"Sil^ and Henrietta A. (Bell) Decker, both of whom 

n^ were natives of the Empire State. The father 



#l!,^ 



was a farmer and wagon-maker and in 1852, 
removed his family and interests to Lake Co., Oliio. 
In 18C6 they came to Michigan and located in Ionia 
County, where the father died in 1873, aged 45 years. 
The mother is still living, in Portland, Ionia County. 

Mr. Decker was in his infancy when his parents 
went to Ohio, and he accompanied them to Ionia 
County, where he remained until 1882. He received 
a good education and attended school in Portland 
nearly two years. In 1SS2 he came to Gratiot 
County and located on section 10, Seville Township, 
where he owns 120 acres of land. Later on he re- 
moved to his present location, where he resides on a 
farm comprising 160 acres of land. He also owns 
80 acres in Lincoln Township, Isabella County. He 
is a member of the National Greenback party. 

Mr. Decker was married in 1873, to Irena, daughter 
of Joseph and Rachel (Mann) Lyon. Her parents 



v|) 



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^'ecil E. Decker, farmer, section 4, Seville ^ 



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were born in Genesee Co., N. Y. They removed to 
Ingham Co., Mich., where the mother died in 1851, 
and the father in March, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. 
Decker are the parents of four children, — Arthur Jay, 
John Edwin, Ada May and Alva Newton. 



^>«-^*^ 



tl S affllij ilbur Nelson, senior member of the mer- 
.^^-^,rjjj3 cantile firm of Nelson & Barber, at Ithaca, 
'V^P was born Jan. 15, 1839, in Madison, Lena- 
wee Co., Mich. His father, Francis Nelson, 
was a native of the State of New \'ork, Ijorn in 
1808. He became a citizen of the Peninsular 
State (then Territory of Michigan) in 1835, when he 
stayed briefly at Palmyra, Lenawee County, going 
thence to Madison, in the same county. He settled 
u{X)n a tract of Government land, where he resided 
until 1848. He removed in that year to Medina, in 
Lenawee County, purchased a farm and there resided 
until his removal to Gratiot County in 1854. He 
bought 160 acres of land in the township of Arcada, 
and entered vigorously into the work of rendering 
his property creditable to its proi)rietor, and an addi- 
tion to the general condition of progress in the 
vicinity. He was a man of ability, clear judgment 
and upright character, and his value as a citizen was 
soon understood and appreciated by his fellow-towns- 
men. He became Supervisor of the township, and 
in 1856 was elected Judge of Probate; in i860 
he was again elected to the same position. He re- 
moved to Ithaca, where he at once became identified 
with the element of progress and lent countenance 
and aid to all enterprises that seemed to forward the 
substantial and permanent prosperity of the commu- 
nity. He formed an association witli John Jeffrey 
and Lafayette Church, and built the third saw and 
grist mill established in Gratiot County. Ithaca had 
then about 100 inhabitants, and boasted one store 
and a log court-house. The mill was situated in the 
northeast part of the village and was managed nearly 
three years by its joint proprietors, when Messrs. 
Nelson & Church sold their interests to Mr. Jeffrey, 
and the former returned to his agricultural pursuits. 
In 1877 he went to Cedar Lake, Montcalm County, 
where he is now engaged in farming. The mother 
of Mr. Nelson, of this sketch, was, before marriage. 



Deborah Cotton. She was born in New York, of 
New England parentage, and died in August, 1S74, 
in Arcada Township. 

Mr. Nelson supplemented his elementary educa- 
tion with a courseof study at Gregory's Business Col- 
lege at Kalamazoo. He returned to Ithaca in 
August, 1861, and enlisted under the second call for 
trooi)s after the disaster at Bull Run. The j)art of 
Michigan in tlie war is one that is seldom ecjualed 
in the annals of the world. The decade previous to 
the advent of civil war had been one of pros|)erity. 
The financial crisis of 1857 probably affected the 
real stability of the State as little as that of any 
other commonwealth under the Federal flag; her 
educational interests had within that time been se- 
curely established, and through them the noble Pe- 
ninsula State had stepped forward to a dignity and 
position not inferior to Massachusetts. 

On the firing on Fort Sumter, no words are ade- 
quate to describe the spirit aroused by the emer- 
gency. Michigan men had too much at stake and 
loved too dearly their heritage of Federal Union, to 
rega'd with indifierence a blow aimed by a misguided 
people at the Nation's life. Mr. Nelson enlisted 
in Co. C, Sth Mich. Vol. Inf, under Capt. Ely. He 
was in the United States service more than four 
years, and participated in the brilliant actions in 
which that regiment attained distinction. He was 
promoted Sergeant of his company before he left the 
State. He was in the engagement at Coosaw Ferr)', 
S. C, and in the action at James Island received a 
wound in the left side froni a musket-ball. He was 
disabled two months, and on rejoining his command 
was i)romotcd to First Sergeant. He was under fire 
at the second battle of Bull Run, Ciiaiuilly and 
Fredericksburg, after which he was promoted 2d 
Lieut. The regiment after the last battle moved to 
Kentucky and went thence to Vicksburg, and on to 
Jackson, Miss. It was attached to Burnside's com- 
mand, and in the engagement at Cam[)beirs Station, 
Tenn., Mr. Nelson was again wounded in the right 
knee by a minie ball. He resigned his commission 
and came home Jan. t, 1864. He re-entered the 
military seiviceof the United Slates, March 20, 1864, 
with a Captain's commission, in command of Co. I, 
io2d U. S. Colored Inf. (ist Mich. Colored Inf), or- 
ganized at Detroit. The regiment was in the service 
in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and was en- 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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gaged in many important raids and skirmishes, in 
which the fighting qualities of colored troops were 
fully tested and proved most reliable and efficient. 
Mr. Nelson returned to Ithaca in November, 1865, 
where, soon after, he entered into a partnership with 
Gen. Nathan Cluirch in mercantile business, and 
they opened a general store at that place, which they 
continued to conduct with satisfactory results until 
July, 1872, when Gen. Church sold his interest in the 
business to G. C. Smith. Two years later, Mr. Nel- 
son became sole proprietor by purchase, and for one 
year continued the management of the house singly. 
In August, 1875, he formed an association with his 
present partner, A. S. Barber, under the firm style of 
Nelson & Barber. The building in which they are 
managing their business was erected by Messrs. Nel- 
son & Church in 1879. It is constructed of brick, 
is 34 X 100 feet in dimensions, and contains an opera 
hall in the upper story. The surplus apartments are 
devoted to office purposes. The business interests 
of Messrs. Nelson & Barber are extensive, and their 
yearly transactions in all branches cover an amount 
estimated at $200,000. In addition to tiicir traffic in 
general merchandise, they buy and ship all kinds of 
produce, including grain, wool and pork. They have 
a fine elevator on Pine River Street by the Saginaw 
Valley railroad, having a storage capacity of 15,000 
bushels. 

Mr. Nelson has been extensively engaged in lum- 
bering interests in Cedar Lake, Montcalm County, 
where he manufactured about 80,000,000 shingles 
annually and several million feet of lumber. He 
owned four mills in the county in company with 
William S. Nelson, his brother, to whom he sold in 
1882. He is also interested in the private banking 
house of Cluirch, Bills & Co., at Ithaca, and owns 
considerable real estate in that village in connection 
with Mr. Barber, and also with CJen. Churcli. 

Mr. Nelson has been an important factor in all tlic 
general interests of Gratiot County and Ithaca since 
he has been resident. Besides his heavy busine.ss 
transactions, which have been of inestimable advan- 
tage to the community, he has successfully discharged 
the duties of public positions. He was appointed 
Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue in 1867, and 
served four years in his district, which included Gra- 
tiot and Isabella Counties. His office was terminated 
by the re-districling of the State in 1871. He has 
served one year as President of the village of Ithaca, 



and in the fall of 1880 was elected on the Republi- 
can ticket to represent his district in the Legislature 
of Michigan. He made a successful run against 
James K. Wright, of St. Louis, on the Democratic 
ticket, and Horace S. Taylor, of Arcada, candidate of 1^ 
the National Greenback party. In the Legislature, 
.Mr. Nelson was made a member of the Committees 
on the State Public School at Coldwater and on 
Drainage; was Chairman of the Committee on Man- 
ufactures. He served his constituency in a most 
acceptable manner. He introduced and secured the 
passage of a bill to organize the township of Ithaca, 
which comprises four square miles, and is the small- 
est township in the State. It is located in the geo- 
graphical center of Gratiot County, absorbing a cor- 
ner section of the townships of Arcada, Emerson, 
Newark and North Star. Mr. Nelson was also in- 
strumental in the passage of several local bills. He 
was tendered a renomination for the same position, 
but peremptorily declined to jiermit the presentation 
of his name. 

The marriage of Mr. Nelson to Cornelia, daughter 
of Rev. Lafayette and Soplironia Church, was solem- 
nized Nov. 22, 1865, in .\rcada Township. She was 
born .\ug. 3, 1S42, in Ionia County, and died March 
23, 1878, at Ithaca, leaving two little daughters: 
Mary, born May 8, 1876, and Nellie, born June 29, n 
1873. Mr. Nelson was a second time married in 
Ithaca June 13, 1882, to Mary, daughter of Rev. D. 
D. Hamilton. .\ son, Arthur, was born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Nelson Aug. 11, 1883. 

The ])ortrait of Mr. Nelson appears on page 704 
of this volume. It will be ai)preciated as the like- 
ness of a man whose influence has largely molded 
the affairs of the county in which he lives; whose 
well directed abilities have secured for him a compe- 
tence ; whose personal qualities have gained him 
many devoted friends, and whose unsuspected in- 
tegrity and U|)rightness, in all the relations of life, 
command for him universal confidence and esteem. 



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^•'iimeou A. Howe, farmer on section 15, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of James and 




Cyntiiia (Jackson) Howe, natives of the ^ 

came from Maine to .y 

nee removed to Fulton, '^ 

Co., Ohio, where he died, Aug. 11, 1852. His ^ 
wife died in Montcalm Co., Mich., in August, 1867 



' iJiV, State of Maine. Tliey 
( '{ Lake Co., Ohio, and ther 





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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Their family com prised two sons and ten daughters. 
Simeon A., the younger son, was born in Maine, 
March 8, 1830, and was but five years of age when 
his parents removed to Ohio. 

He received a common-school education and lived 
at home until the death of his father, when he was 
employed in a saw-mill for six months. He then 
came to Gratiot County and purchased 40 acres of 
Government land 'on section 15, Fulton Township. 
He now owns 225 acres on sections 15 and r6, nearly 
all of which is in a state of scientific cultivation. 

Oct. 2, 1852, in Lenawee Co., Mich., he married 
Miss Cindonia E., daughter of Daniel and Sarah 
Pratt, natives of Vermont and New York. She was 
born in Eaton, Seneca Co., Ohio, June 13, iSjr. 
Mr. and Mrs. Howe have had si.x children, three of 
whom survive: Arden N., Iva t". and John U. 
Simeon A., Owen C. and Flva E. are deceased. Mr. 
H. has been Township Clerk three years. He is a 
member of the A. O. U. W. In politics he and wife 
are Nationals, but his family are loyal to the Rei)ub- 
lican party. 



-«= 



■ CVJr.^lias W. Smith, deceased, was one of the 
K^Sii earliest settlers of Gratiot County. He 
was born Aug. 23, 1831, in Sandystone, 
Sussex Co., N. J. He acquired the rudiments 
of an English education in his native place and 
in 1851 accompanied his parents, John and 
Catherine (Seaman) Smith, to Fremont, Sandusky 
Co., Ohio, where they arrived in the month of Sep- 
tember. That [wrtion of the Buckeye State was al- 
ready in a comparatively well settled condition, and 
presented small capabilities in the way of advance- 
ment to the young and ambitious men of that gener- 
ation. The lumber districts of Northern Michigan 
were beginning to attract notice, and in July, 1853, 
Joseph Clapp and Sylvanus Groom, two young men 
of that section of Ohio, came to Gratiot County. 
Mr. Clapp located between 600 and 700 acres of 
land contiguous to Pine River and including the 
present site of St. Louis. He returned to Ohio and 
married ^Lltilda Smith, sister of E. W. Smith. He 
at once returned to his chosen location with his wife 
and her elder brother, Seaman Smith. Mr. Clapp 




! 



and Mr. Groom built two log houses, the first erected 5^ 
within the village of St. Louis. ^ 

Mr. Smith made his first entrance into Gratiot '' 
County on the r4th day of Ajiril, 1854, and entered 
the employ of Mr. Clapp. He continued to work for V^ 
him fourteen months and received, in lieu of wages, 
115 acres of unimproved land situated on the north 
bank of Pine River. He located his home on one of 
the finest sites in th'e neighborhood of St. Louis, and 
resided there until his death. 

The marriage of Mr. Smith with Martha Ann 
Woodin occurred in August, 1857. He worked for 
years at his trade of carpenter and labored at inter- 
vals in the iini)rovement of his farm until it became 
one of the most valuable in the vicinity. Later he 
platted 40 acres included within the corporation of 
St. Louis, and it was recorded as Smith's Addition. 
During his whole life at St. Louis he was identified 
with its interests, growth and prosperity. The build- ( i^j 
ing which he used as a shoj) has been removed from «; 



y 







'^^^^ — ^7^?Dii^:nDi> 



its original position opposite the bath house to a lo- <frS 
cation near the old bath-house buildings. In 1858, ° 
he raised his first crop of wheat, about eight bushels, (!^* 
which he thrashed and cleaned with the assistance = 
of G. W. McHenry, of St. Louis. The same year he 
received the appointment of Postmaster and he 
discharged the duties of the situation seven years. , 
His entire course of life was marked by untiring in- 
dustry, economy and good judgment. His energy 
and perseverance were the natural outgrowth of his 
robust and hardy constitution ; and, although he was 
honored and esteemed to an unusual degree, he could 
seldom be induced to lend his name as a candidate 
for a public office. He received an injury in r87 i, 
from a falling limb, which incapacitated him for out- 
door labor for some time. He resided continuously 
upon his farm from 1856 to his death, which occurred 
on Friday, Dec. 29, 1882. He was in the woods at 
work in the forenoon of that day and, not returning 
to dinner, a search was instituted, which resulted in 
the finding of his dead body. Appearances indica- 
ted that he had made a sudden spring to escape in- '^ 
jury from a falling tree, which caused the rupture of \ 
a blood-vessel at the base of the brain. Respiration Ki' 
must have ceased instantly and his death have been \.-. 
painless and without struggle, as his face was in per- ^ 
feet reiwse, and the jwsition of his hands indicated ®j 
that they had grasped his axe but the instant previ- '^ 
2^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^>j^(®y^^ 




<>M 



GRATIOT 



COUNTY. 



ous to dissolution. Tiie funeral ceremonies, con- 
ducted by the Rev. Theodore Nelson, were attended 
•^by one of the largest assemblages ever convened 
ufwn a similar occasion at St. Louis. The county 
(hj press honored his memory with spontaneous expres- 
sions of regret and appreciation, fitly appropriate to 
his useful life and blameless record. 

The pioneer history of Mr. Smith would fill a vol- 
ume. He was among the first in the place to set out 
fruit trees, which are now standing in their maturity 
near the homestead on the hill. The place contains 
125 acres in the finest possible agricultural condition. 
Among other business interests which he managed 
was an establishment for the sale of agricultural 
implements, which he instituted in 1880, and was 
conducting at the time of his death. He owned 
nine blooded horses of Kentucky stock, chief among 
which was the celebrated stallion, Probaljility, noted 
) for speed. 

^ Mrs. Smith is the daughter of Abraham and .'\nna 
^ M. (Bassett) Woodin, born in Harmony, Chautau- 
= qua Co., N. Y., June 23, 1834. (See sketch of E. 
*<ft W. Burgess.) Her parents were both natives of On- 
= tario Co., N. Y., and after their marriage resided in 
^TjJ Harmony, Chautauqua Co., N. Y. In 1847, they re- 
^ moved to Spring Creek, Warren Co., Pa., where Mr. 
Woodin was extensively interested in lumbering and 
in mercantile pursuits. His business was prosperous 
and he bad placed his family in a lu.xurious home, 
with the surroundings of wealth and position, and liis 
children were entering upon life with glowing pros- 
pects, when the whole bright outlook vanislied in an 
hour through the practice of assuming other men's 
liabilities, then so common, and the foundation of 
more financial disaster than any other traceable cause. 
The energy and courage of Mr. Woodin were un- 
daunted, and, as he saw the accumulations of years 
of honest and praiseworthy endeavor vanish like a 
dream, he resolved on further effort to place his chil- 
dren where his aspirations dictated. The resources 
of this section of Michigan were well-known lo him, 

t? and in 1854 he came alone to Gratiot County and lo- 
i cated a homestead of 40 acres of land, lying now on 
the Alma and St. Louis thoroughfare, one mile east 
of the former place, and owned by Jay Woodin, the 
';> brother of Mrs. Smith. In the spring of 1855, the 
(S) family of Mr. Woodin came to Michigan. He met 







s. 



his wife and seven children at Maple Rapids, with an 




ox team and wagon and carrying an axe to chop 
away obstructions from the the road. The family, 
hiiherto accustomed to all the comforts of wealth 
and advanced civilization, made their way to their 
new home by the rude means named, and the emo- 
tions of those old enough to contrast the one situa- 
tion with the other can be imagined. The party made 
but slow progress, staying nights in shanties in the 
woods, excepting the last one out, when they remain- 
ed with the Nelsons, and in tbe morning they pro- 
ceeded to their home. It was a log house and Mr. 
Woodin had utilized the place for a store as well as 
a residence, and the domestic and mercantile appur- 
tenances were arranged somewhat indiscriminately, 
groceries and dry goods alternating with household 
utensils, and all in the most accessible situation without 
regard to assortment. Mrs. Smith thinks this the first 
mercantile institution in the county. She was a 
young lady of 21, and had reached that period of her 
life with all the hopes and dreams common to girls 
of that age under the circumstances under which she 
liad been reared. The new home and its surround- 
ings were tolerable only because ihey were shared by 
father, mother, brothers and sisters, and she interest- 
ed herself in the efforts for a better state of things, 
whicii were being put forth l)y all about her. .K log 
school-house had just been finished, of which she was 
installed mistress, and in June, 1855, she opened the 
first school taught in Gratiot County. The furniture 
of the school-room consistedof desks extending along 
the whole length of the sides, with benches in front, 
Serving for seats and recitations, the pupils turning 
around to write on the desks. The situation was too 
primitive for the manipulationsof publishers of school 
books, and susceptible School Boards, and the range 
of text books was varied. No two were alike and the 
ciirrii'ulum of study was arranged accordingly. Class- 
es were countless or arranged only by the mumberof 
pupils in a geometrical ratio; but, notwithstanding all 
the perplexities, the progress was satisfactory, and 
foundations for solid educations were laid in more 
than one instance. The teacher received 12 shillings 
per week and boarded around. The daily bill of fare 
included bread, butter, onions and lettuce, and the 
successive meals were the changes rung on the four 
articles named. One enterprising woman made an 
extra effort on the schoolma'am's behalf and treated 
her to sorrel pie. The term continued three months, 









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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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and Mrs. Smith laught two subsequent terms of school 
in that vicinity. During that summer the first Fourlli 
of July celebration in Gratiot County was held. It 
consisted of a picnic and a flag-raising. The " extras" 
for the former included a roast pig, and the other re- 
freshments were such as the settlers used in every-day 
life, neither abundant nor varied. Mrs. Smith and 
Mrs. Gen. Ralph Ely, of Alma, made the flag which 
is still in (xissession of the last named lady, who fur- 
nished the red and white. Mrs. Smith cut the blue 
lining from the skirt of a brocade silk dress to supply 
the rest of the needed material, and the chief cere- 
monial of the day was the raising of the pole which 
lifted heavenward the standard of the United States 
Government, floating for the first time over her loyal 
children in Gratiot County. Mr. Woodin owned a 
hand-mill in which he ground corn for the bread, on 
which his family subsisted, and other settlers accom- 
plished the necessary crushing of the grain by shav- 
ing it from the cob with a jack plane, — a common 
method at that period ; and the first breadstuff pre- 
pared in the town was manufactured after that proc- 
ess. Mr. Woodin died in 1869, on the homestead. 
The widow resides there with her son, and is 73 years 
old. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith were married Aug. 29, 1857. 
Their children, seven in number, were born as fol- 
lows, at St. Louis: lola E. B., July 19, 1858; John, 
Dec. 4, i860 (died March 20, 1861); Idella M., May 
31, 1862 (died Oct. 9 following); Kate M., Dec. 5, 
1863; Holcomb, .\pril 25, iS66(died Jan. 11,1868); 
Willard E., July 21, 1868 (died July 13, 1870); Sea- 
man W., Aug. 28, 1870. 

No more fitting jwrtraits than those of Mr. and 
Mrs. Smith, which appear on other pages, could be 
added to the pioneer list to be found in the Album 
of Gratiot County. At the time of his deatii, Mr. 
Smith was the oldest resident at St. Louis, and he 
and his wife bore a part of all the vicissitudes ex- 
perienced by the early settlers of the county, which 
eclipse all known records in severity and privation, 
and are related in detail elsewhere. (See sketch of 
S. S, Hastings.) But Gratiot County has risen liter.il- 
ly from her ashes to a rank which far outstrips that of 
many localities where foundations were laid in com- 
parative ease and comfort, and all her conditions 
exhibit her perjjctuity and future progress in an un- 
mistakable manner. 



<?<y> 



"005- 



7134^ 

t 




iii'.'ohn P. Wilbur, farmer on section 30, Ful- 
ton Township, is a son of German and 
Eliza (Blair) Wilbur, natives of New York '^ 
State. They first settled in Plymouth, Che- 
nango Co., N. Y., and came to Livingston Co. 
Mich., in 1845. There Mrs. Wilbur died, Jan. 
1 85 I. Soon after that event, Mr. Wilbur came 
to this county to live with his son John. 

Their family comprised three sons and five daugh- v 
lers, John P. being the eldest. He was born in c^ ; 
Chenango Co., N. Y., April 5, 1828, and received a i 
common-school education. At the age of 17, he 
came with his parents to Michigan; and five years 
later commenced to make his own way in life. For 
six years he followed various occupations. In 1852, 
he came to Gratiot County and located 80 acres of 
wild land on section 30, Fulton. Here he settled in 
1856; and he has lived there ever since, with the . 
exception of two years when he was at Maple Rajj- /S 
ids. He has added 60 acres, and has 115 acres = 
under cultivation. He has erected a residence and V 
necessary farm buildings, that are a credit to the = 
owner and an ornament to the neighborhood. •' • 

Aug. 17, 1856, in North Shade, he marned Nancy ^ 
M., daughter of William and Saliiida (Reed) Stead- 
man, and widow of William A. Smith, a native of 
Pennsylvania. She was born in Palmyra, N. Y., 
Dec. 26, 1830. She has by her first marriage a son, 
William A., and by her second has had seven chil- 
dren, three of whom survive. The living are, Silvia 
J., Nora J. and Ally B. ; and the dead, Sylvanus G., , 
J. T., George C. and Cora. Mr. Wilbur is a member , 
of the F. & A. M. and the L O. O. F., and is jwliti-": 
cally a Democrat. He and wife are adherents of the ' 
doctrines of the Christian Church. 




lenjamin F. Myers, resident at Ithaca, was 

a son of John W. and Philena (Baker) 

Myers, natives of New York, and who both 

died in this county 



r 



The subject of this^- 
biography, Benjamin F. Myers, was born in '-y 
the State of New York, Nov. 20, 1830. He was^^ 
reared to the vocation of a farmer, which occupation * ; 



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he has followed thus far along life's journey. He 
commenced the struggle of life with little means, yet, 
possessing indomitable energy and determination, 
backed by good judgment, he toiled along the weary 
road and succeeded. 

Mr. Myers was first united in marriage, May 15, 
i86i,inthe State of Pennsylvania, to Miss Fanny 
P. Coss. She was born in that State, May 14, 1839. 
For 19 years she shared the toils and trials, the pleas- 
ures and joys of life with her luisband, and then 
passed to " the home not made with hands." Her 
demise occurred Dec. 11, 1880. By their union they 
had two children : Fred A., born April 13, 1862, and 
died Oct. 20, 1863; John W., born May 26, 1877. 

The second marriage of Mr. Myers took place at 
Saginaw, this State, at which place he was united to 
Mrs. Elizabeth A. Miller, widow of Samuel Miller, 
of that place. She was the mother, by her first mar- 
riage, of two children, namely : Frank B., born Sept. 
24, 1861, and Fred F., born Oct. 12, 1865. The 
mother is a daughter of Bernard and Dorinda (Ken- 
nedy) Fo.x, residents of this county since 1858, and 
among the first settlers in the county. She was born 
in the Empire State, June 1, 1837. 

Politically, Mr. Myers is a Republican. He is 
living a retired life, satisfied witli his prosperity, and 
IS characterized for the interests he manifests in the 
welfare of the county. 




^1 (ii i:j -harles Griffith, farmer on section 20, Ful- 
,£: -j^ ton Township, is a son of Lewis and Han- 



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nah (Boyer) Griffith, natives of New York. 
W They settled after marriage in Chemung Co., 
I N. Y., where she died. Mr. G. afterwards 
came to Lenawee Co., Mich., where he still resides. 
Charles, the eldest of the family, was born in Che- 
mung Co., N. Y., Jan. 18, 1835. 

Receiving a common-school education, he re- 
mained at home till about 20 years old, and was 
then employed by the month for si.x years. In the 
,„ fall of i860, he came to Gratiot County and built a 
fK log house on section 20, Fulton, where he had bought 
^ 120 acres of wild land two years previous. He had 
^ bought 160 acres in Pylba Township as early as 1855, 
but he disposed of this two or three years later. 




After building his pioneer "castle," he went back to 
Lenawee County, and in January, 186 1, returned 
with his wife to their new home in the forest. He 
now has 120 acres, 80 of which are under the plow, 
and modern farm buildings. 

He was first married in Lenawee Co., Mich., Dec. 
25, i860, to Miss Marietta Bryant, a native of Lena- 
wee County. This marriage was blessed with four 
children: Wallace M., ('ora D., Viola D. and Han- 
nah J. Losing his wife Oct. 13, 1872, he was again 
married, March 5, 1874, in Maple Rapids, Clinton 
County, to Mrs. Harriet Randall, daughter of John 
and Tamer (Boner) Lyon, and widow of James Ran- 
dall, who died in the Federal army in 1862. She 
was born in Morrow Co., Ohio, Feb. 3, 1838, and had 
by her first marriage three children : John F., Roy L. 
and James (died when one yearold). Mr. and Mrs. 
G. have one child of their own, Tamer E. Mr. G. 
is in political views a Democrat. Mrs. Griffith i? a 
member of the Baptist Church. 



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ll^harles R. Holliday, resident at St. Louis, 

Hll l^^ lF 's a son of Hiram and Laura (Hendee) 

S)!!^" Holliday. Tiie father was a native of the 

4)p State of New York, the mother of Vermont, 

W and both were of genuine English extraction. 

I The father was a pliysician by profession, and 

was, until he graduated at his profession, occupied 

in mercantile trade. He and wife both died in York 

State. 

Charles R. Holliday, the subject of this biographi- 
cal notice, was born in the State of New York June 
6, 1833. He remained in his native State, assisting 
his father in the maintenance of the family, and at- 
tending the common schools and \lfred School until 
he attained the age of 36 years. 

On arriving at the age stated, he came, in 1869, to 
this county, and the following year made a permanent 
location on 80 acres of land he had previously pur- 
chased. He has, since that date, varied his occupa- 
tion between farming and the real-estate and mer- 
cantile business. Politically, Mr. H. is a believer in 
and supporter of the principles of the Democratic 
party. He has been honored with numerous offices 
of responsibility and trust in the gift of the people. 
In 1882, he was elected Supervisor of Pine River 



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717 



Township, and is at present a member of the Village 

Council, which latter office he has held since 1870. 

^_ Prior to moving here, he held the office of Justice of 

J the Peace four years, and Township Treasurer two 
years, in the Empire State. Socially, Mr. H. is a 
member of the Masonic Order and of the Knights 
Templar, and is characterized for the interest he con- 
stantly manifests for the welfare and prosjierity of the 
county. 

Mr. HoUiday was united in marriage in the State 

of New York, in 1852, to Miss Angeline M., daughter 

' of Alexander and Sarah (Moser) Kelly. She was 

I born in the Empire State Dec. 18, 1834, and has 

I borne to her husband one child, Isabel L. 



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ev. Theodore Nelson, .\cting President of 

fAl^^: Kalamazoo College, is the youngest of three 
/'}-(^'" ^°"* y^* living, of Francis and Deborah 
/S W^ Cotton Nelson, and was born in Madison, 
Lenawee Co., Mich., Feb. 11, 1841. His 
father is still living, at the ripe old age of 75 
^ and was Judge of Probate for Gratiot County from 
= 1856 to 1868. 

Y On his mother's side, he descended from a long 
- line of eminent clergymen, the first of whom, Rev. 
^ ) John Cotton, was rector of St. Botolph's, Boston, Eng- 
land, at the time of Archbishop Laud's persecution 
in the reign of Chades L Having embraced Puritan 
sentiments, this celebrated scholar and divine was 
compelled to leave England or hazard his life. He 
emigrated to America, and took charge of a congre- 
gation of his fellow exiles in the colony of Massa- 
chusetts Bay. This new settlement took the name 
Boston, Mass., out of comjjliment to their pastor, who 
had come to them from Boston, Lincolnshire, Eng- 
land. Rev. John Cotton had an eminent share in giv- 
ing a civil as well as religious polity to the new State. 
He was a Puritan of the strictest sect, and through 
his influence the laws of Moses were ado|)ted as the 
'qN civil code of the theocracy in America. The cele- 
I brated Cotton Mather was his grandson. He was 
. '-, also the friend of Oliver Cromwell, and letters wiiich 
'i passed between tiiem are still e.xtant. He died in 
'^ 1652. From his mother the subject of this sketch 
\ inherited many of his mental characteristics, yet a 
V^ physical constitution far fron) robust. 




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When he was in his 14th year, his father moved 
into Gratiot County, then a dense wilderness. Nec- 
essarily very inadequate were his early advantages 
for obtaining an education, but these slender oppor- 
tunities were well improved. In his 17th year, he 
taught one term in a district school at $2.50 per week. 
From this time until the breaking out of the Rebel- 
lion, he either taught or attended school, almost con- 
tinuously. Twice he walked from Ithaca to Hills- 
dale and back again, whilst a student at the college 
in the last named place. 

He was at Hillsdale College when Sumter fell, 
and joined a company of college students who offered 
their services to the Governor ; but, through the in- 
fluence of President Fairfield, were rejected. Shortly 
after, he returned home, proposing to enlist with his 
brother Willnirin Capt. Ely's company, which enter- 
ed the service in August, 1861; but was dissuaded 
by the importunities of his mother and other rela- 
tives. However, in July, 1862, he enlisted in the 
company that was raised in Gratiot County by Capt. 
Lafayette Church, that is, Co. D, 26th Mich. Inf. At 
the organization of the command, he was appointed 
Orderly Sergeant. April 15, 1863, he was commis- 
sioned as Second Lieutenant of said company. In 
May, 1864, he was promoted to the First-Lieutenan- 
cy, and transferred to Co. E, same regiment. Shortly 
afterward he was madeCaptain. For several months he 
was Acting Adjutant of the 26th Mich. Inf Asamili- 
tary officer, he always had the confidence of his supe- 
riors, and, in^a remarkable degree, the affections of the 
men who served under him. He acquitted himself 
honorably in several hard-fought battles, notably at 
Mine Run, North Anna, Petersburg, Deep Bottom, 
Charles City Road, Reams' Station, and in all the 
battles of the campaign which resulted in the uirren- 
der of Gen. Lee. 

Returning home at the close of the war, Mr. Nel- 
son had purposed to study law, having strong natural 
leanings toward that profession. But a great domes- 
tic affliction brought him to reconsider his plans, and 
to devote himself to the Christian ministry. At an 
early age, he had acquired a considerable reputation 
as a public speaker. Before he was a voter, he made 
several speeches in the Presidential canvass of i860. 
He had made a great number of war speeches, also, 
and had occasionally addressed congregations on 
religious topics. 



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718 



GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Jan. I, 1S66, he entered the Freshman class of Kal- 
amazoo College, where he remained till the close of 
the college year. In the fall of 1866, he was elected 
Register of Deeds for Gratiot County, an office he 
held for two terms, declining a re-election to a third 
term. Meanwhile he pursued his studies under the 
private instruction of J. Wilson Caldwell, a most able 
and finished scholar, who had been his teacher at 
Kalamazoo. At the close of his official life, he spent 
two years in Michigan University. The Corporation 
of Kalamazoo College tendered him the bachelor's 
degree, and at the commencement in June, 1872,116 
made his graduating oration. 

In the spring of that same year he was regularly 
settled as pastor of the Baptist Churches in Ithaca, 
St. Louis and Alma, having his residence at the 
former place. Literally his parish embraced nearly 
the whole of Gratiot County, and the demand upon 
liim for funerals and other special occasions was very 
great. In October, 1873, he was called to the pas- 
torate of the First Baptist Church in East Saginaw, 
where he remained until March i, 1882. The history 
of this pastorate is in many respects remarkable. 
The Church to which he was called was a weak, 
struggling society, heavily encumbered with debt. 
Under his ministry the congregation grew to be one 
of the largest and most influential in the city or State. 
Leading men of all religious opinions were deeply 
interested in sustaining it. Scholars and professional 
and business men, before indifferent to Church-going, 
became regular attendants. The feeling became 
very general in the city, and was more and more 
cherished to the end that liis ministry belonged to 
the whole community .rather than to any other one 
denomination or church. 

By the generosity of wealthy friends in East Sagi- 
naw he was sent to Europe in 1878, making the tour 
of Scotland, England, France and Italy. Discour- 
aged by continued ill health, he presented his resig- 
nation in the spring of 1882. Efforts were made to 
have him recall it, and, instead, take a year's leave 
of absence, and then return to his old field. Feel- 
ing that recovery was uncertain, he declined to do 
this. Again he was given the means for making the 
second tour of Europe, one man in East Saginaw, 
not a member of his congregation, contributing $500. 
In the summer and autumn of 1882, he visited 



^ 



Ireland, Scotland, England, Belgium, Germany and 
France. 

Returning from abroad, he resided in St. Louis one^^^ 
year, but in November, 1883, President Brooks, of T 
Kalamazoo College, having been granted a year's 
leave of absence, the trustees of the institution 
made unanimous choice of Mr. Nelson as Acting 
President for the college year. As to how he has 
acquitted himself in tliis most responsible office, 
there is but one opinion, and that most favorable. 
The College Index, published by the students, bears 
the following testimony: "A pleasing and logical ^.-S 
speaker, his power is by no means confined to the^ 
pulpit, but is manifested in every word and deed of 
his life. In taking charge of the college, he has 
shown great executive ability. By his liberal and 
trustful management, he has not only won the respect, 
but the hearty obedience and co-operation of every 
student. His scholarship has benefited all who 
have come in contact with him, and his Christian 
character as manifested to us is worthy of emula-*^ 
tion." ^ 

The subject of this sketch has been twice married. z=c 
His first wife was Frances A. Church, daughter of A 
Rev. L. Church, of Arcada, who died Sept. 15, 1865.3=3 
His second was Laura A. Cheesman, daughter ofs^/ 
Dr. John R. Clieesman, of St. Louis, to whom he was^ 
married May 25, 1867. Of the seven children born 
of this union, five daughters have died, and two sons 
are yet living. 

As a man eminently worthy a place with the best 
citizens of (jratiot County, we place Mr. Nelson's 
jwrtrait in this Album. 









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3)^^feenry H. Bailey, farmer on section 19, Ful- 

tii^^^s ton Township, is a son of John and Helen 

(Wilson) Bailey, natives of Vermont. They 

(M were married in tlie Green Mountain State, and 

i tliere lived until the father's death. Mrs. B. 

I afterwards married again, and went to Ohio, ^ 

and later to Iowa, wiiere she died. | 

Their eldest son was Henry H. He was born in ,>ft. 
Vermont, Aug. 28, 1824, and was about eight years (® 
old when his grandmother (with whom he was living) ''^ 
came to Ohio. He remained with her until 21 years ,, 
old, and then bouglit 40 acres of wild land in Cuya- ^ 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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^hoga Co., Ohio. On this place he settled and lived 

4) about ten years, wfhen he sold out. He was for the 

''sr»ensuing six years employed in a machine shop at 

* Chagrin Falls, in the same county. He came to 

■jy Michigan in the fall of 1869, and was engaged in 

farming in Ionia and Saginaw Counties until January, 

1879. In this month he came to Gratiot and settled 

on 80 acres of land on section 19, Fulton Township. 

He has now 60 acres under cultivation. 

Oct. 14, 1850, in the State of Ohio, he married 
.^Miss Charlotte A. Fish, a native of New York State. 
She bore him one child, Sarah R., who died wiien 
s^ three years old. She herself died Sept. 12, 1S70. 
Oct. 25, 187 I, at Lansing, he married for his secon^ 
wife Sarah J., daughter of Simon and Lydia (Kirliy) 
Jones, and widow of Hugli Naklrett. Mr. Naldrett 
settled in Newark Township in an early day, and 
after a time sold his farm and moved to Alma, where 
-., he lived seven years. In 1861, he went to Waslite- 
naw County, and three years later ho removed to 
Ionia County. There he died, April 13,1871. He 



A 



had been the father of three sons, Thomas H. (died 
™ when 19 months old), William T. and Job. Mrs. 
%X Bailey was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., Oct. 16, 1840. 
!==; Mr. B. is an energetic man, and has made many 
"^ friends during his few years' residence in the county. 

Politically, he supports the Democratic party. 



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mmi Willard Wright, capitalist at Alma, 
UTtr^^i Gratiot Co., Mich., was born July 5, 1822, 
^Jjl^ in Grafton, Windham Co., Vt. His parents, 
\ jjftT Nathan and Mary (Lamson) Wright, were also 
I natives of the Green Mountain State, where 
the son passed the years of iiis life previous to 1850. 
He obtained a good education in the common schools 
of his native State, and was engaged in farming some 
years before he left the Eastern section of the Unit- 
ed States to establish his fortune in the great West. 
; He spent a year at Detroit, meanwhile examining the 
..' respective merits of different localities in the Penin- 
.vj sular State, He was prevented from carrying out his 
^ original intention in regard to business by the death 
(^ of his brother, with whom he e.xpected to associate 
^ himself. He came to Saginaw in 185 i, where he en- 



^ 



gaged in the lumber business and has continued its 
prosecution until the firm, of which he is the jjrime 
factor, is known as one of the heaviest in Northern 
Michigan. For the last 30 years the relations and 
business of Mr. Wright have been increasingin mag- 
nitude and popularity. His partnership connections 
commenced with Miller and Paine, under the firm 
style of Miller, Paine & Wright, which relation ex- 
tended about six years. Soon after its dissolution, he 
formed a partnership with J. H. Pearson, of Chicago, 
and they began business operations in the name of 
A. W. Wright & Co This association existed almost 
continuously until Jan. i, 1883, when the style be- 
came the A. W. Wright Lumber Company. Their 
yearly aggregate of lumber products amounts to an 
average of from 25,000,000 to 30,000,000 feet, and 
they are the proprietors of about 300,000,000 feet of 
pine timber at various points. The associate busi- 
ness connections of Mr. Wright are n.uhifarious, and 
jiresent one feature of his business principles, which 
render him a most valuable accession to any busi- 
ness community. He has ever held himself in read- 
iness to recognize and foster genuine, unmistakable 
claims to honest industry and tact, and stands pre- 
eminent in his character as representative of the ele- 
ments necessary to the foundation and perpetuity of 
the business world. The firm of Wright & Davis 
own and operate a lumber-mill on the Mackinaw Di- 
vision of the Michigan Central railroad, and cut 
about 8,000,000 feet of lumber annually. Wright & 
Ketchum own a railroad, which is utilized in getting 
out logs for themselves and others, and is known as the 
Tiitabawassee & Hope road. It is 20 miles in extent 
and is three-feet gauge. Mr. Wright is a partner of 
Wells, Stone & Co, dealers in lumbermen's supplies, 
at Saginaw City, and he is also interested in the Sag- 
inaw Manufacturing Company; which is engaged in 
almost unlimited extent in its various avenues of bus- 
iness. It is an incorporated company, with a paid up 
capital of $150,000, and Mr. Wright is its chief offi- 
cer. He is also President of the First National Bank 
at Saginaw. 

Mr. Wright has been identified with the growth 
and progress of Alma. In January, 18S2, he began 
the erection of the now famous Wright House, justly 
ranking as the finest in Northern Michigan, and of a 
grade second to none in the State. The hotel is de- 
scribed in detail in another part of this work. He is 
senior partner in the mercantile house of Wright, 



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Schneider & Sluttz, a firm engaged in the transaction 
of a yearly business represented, approximately, at 
an aggregate of $roo,ooo. The niiUing firm of Tuck- 
er & Wright are producing 100 barrels of flour daily, 
on an average. Their mill is supplied with the most 
approved modern fixtures, among which are 1 1 sets 
of Stevens' Rollers. Mr. Wright is a member of the 
lumber firm of George D. Barton & Co.. at Alma, and 
is largely interested in the banking house of W. S. 
Turck & Co , of that place. He owns extensive tracts 
of real estate in other parts of Gratiot County, among 
which are 300 acres of land in ArcadaTownshi]), 100 
acres of which is under cultivation. He is also the 
owner of a brickyard located a short distance from 
Alma, where brick of excellent quality are manufac- 
tured. A fine piece of land containing ten acres lies 
contiguous to the Wright House, which the proprie- 
tor projects converting into a park of a style and 
character calculated to increase materially the value 
and attractions of the place. 

Mr. Wright was married March 6, 1848, in Rock- 
ingham, Vi., to Miss Harriet Barton. She is a native 
of Vermont and was born Sept. 24, 1824. Her par- 
ents, Jeremiah and Sarah (Willoughby) Barton, were 
also natives of Vermont. Of five children born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Wrignt, two survive: Sarah H. 
and George N. ; Annie B., Caroline S. and Arthur P. 
are deceased. 

The ]Mrtrait' of Mr. Wright appears on another 
page. It will be received with unusual satisfaction, 
for reasons which are apparent. His well-known 
character has made him a most valuable acquisition 
to Alma and to Gratiot County. He will be remem- 
bered by future generations as the patron of the vil- 
lage for which he has done so much, and in his efforts 
to advance the welfare of the place he has stimula- 
ted emulation in many directions and in many ave- 
nues of business in the county. He is literally a 
large-hearted man, gifted with a genius for accumula- 
ting money ; he is devoid of a talent for hoarding, and 
realizes his greatest satisfaction in its possession in the 
uses and purposes which his generosity and public 
spirit prompt. His nature is affable and he possesses 
a power of assimilation with other men which devel- 
ops the warmest social ties among those who know 
him. He is a Republican in |)olitical sentiment and 
action. 





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amuel Story, farmer on section ig, Sumner 
"^ Township, is a son of Henry and Sarah 
(Scuffham) Story, natives of England, where 
they followed farming. He was born in Cam- 
bridgeshire, England, Feb. 23, 1S29, and was 
engaged at home until nearly 21 years of age. 
In the fall of f849, he left his native country and 
came to the United States, first locating in Russell 
Township, Geauga Co., Ohio. Six years later, in 
1855, he came to Michigan and located 120 acres of 
wfld land on sections 19 and 20, Sumner Township, 
moving in over the Indian trails and cutting his own 
road from Carson, a distance of 11 miles. After he 
got within a short distance of his cabin's location, he 
had to carry all his household goods, including 
his cooking stove, on his back the rest of the distance, 
it being so swampy that his horses could not pull the 
load further. All their provisions had to be brought 
from Matherton, a distance of 21 miles, and princi- 
pally on his back. By energy and perseverance, he 
has converted the primitive forest into a fertile and 
productive farm. -He has 60 acres in a good state of 
cultivation, and substantial farm buildings in place 
of his first log hut and slab stable. Feb. 21, 1883, 
he had the great financial misfortune to lose his fine 
residence by fite, including all its contents. Mr. 
Story is not a man to yield to misfortune, and he is 
fast recovering from this loss. 

March 13, 1849. in England, he was united in mar- 
riage to Joan Giddings, a native of England. She 
died at her home in this county, May 20, 1867, hav- 
ing been the mother of eight children, seven of whom 
survive : Henrietta A., Henry I., Ruby M. (died 
Oct. 6, 1883), Edna O. and Ellen I. Sept. 6, 1867, 
he married for his second wife Mrs. Maiy Bradish 
{//rr McCumber), born in Eaton Co., N. Y., May 29, 
1 836. When three months old, she was taken by her 
parents to Ohio, where she was educated. She taught 
school two terms in that State, and then came to 
Michigan, where also she taught two terms. 

Mr. and Mrs. Story are active members of the Chris- 
tian Church at Estella, and Mr. Story has held the 
office of Elder in his Church for 20 years, besides be- 
ing Superintendent of the Sunday-scliool for six 
years. He is a charter member of Elm Hall Lodge 






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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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No. 257, F. & A. M., and has held nearly all the 
offices of the lodge. He is also a meniber of the A. 
O. U. W. He has held the position of Highway 
Commissioner for nine years, and other offices. He 
is now a Trustee of his school district. Politically, he 
is a stauncli Republican. He and wife are earnest 
supporters of temperance and other good causes. 



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iles T. Brown, attorney at Ithaca, was 
born Jan. 28, 1837, in Green Oak, Livings- 
ton Co., Mich., and is the oldest son of 
James M. and Betsey (Borden) Brown, who in 
1836 were among the first settlers of Livings- 
ton County. The parents were both natives 
of Steuben C'o., N. Y. The father was the son of 
lames and Mary (Daily) Brown, wlio in tlie early 
part of the present century were residents of the 
(^ ) townshi]) of Poultney in Steuben County. 
^ The Browns were from and of Puritanic descent, 
and the Dailys were Scoth-Irisli, emiiiraiing from the 
north of Ireland shortly after the close of the Revo- 
lutionary war. James Daily, a great-grandfather of 
Mr. Brown, was a pioneer in Western New York, and 
in 1787 erected and operated the first saw-mill west 
!^ of Crooked Lake in Steuben County. 

Mr. Brown's ancestors on his mother's side are all 
of Puritanic descent. She (the mother, vvho is now 
living with lier sons in Ithaca) is a davighter of Ez- 
eriah and Sarah (Tyler) Borden. Ezeriah Borden 
was born at Whitestown, N. Y., about 1786, and was 
the son of Ezeriah and Hannah (Calkins) Borden, 
both of whom were born in Connecticut in Colonial 
times, and whose families are traced back in Connect- 
cut history to its earliest settlement. Sarah (Tyler) 
Borden (maternal grandmother) was a daughter of 
Peter and Sarah (Palmer) I'yler, both of whom were 
born in Connecticut. Peter Tyler served his coun- 
try faithfully during the entire war for American in- 
dependence, soon after its close locating in Steuben 
Coimty, where he spent the remainder of his life. 

Mr. Brown's early educational advantages were 
similar to those of most children in the pioneer days 
of Michigan. In 1841, u|X)n the formation of a 
scho<il district in that part of tlie township where 
they lived, his father took the contract for building 
((*) the first school- house. It was a rude log structure, 
>- with furniture and fixtures of a primitive character to 





correspond with the surroundings incident to a new 
country. In this house the boy received some slight 
rudiments of an education, attending the schools 
(such as they were) regularly for several years. 

On the death of his father, which occurred in 
1851, before the boy was 15 years of age, he, being 
the eldest son, assumed charge of the homestead, a 
farm of 80 acres, on which the family resided and 
continued to conduct its affairs for about three years. 
About this time he set out to improve his education, 
attending school the greater portion of the next four 
years, most of the time at the seminary at Ypsilanti, 
and the State Normal School at the same place. 
After leaching two terms in this State, he taught 
during the year 1859 in Franklin Co., Mo. He then 
returned to Michigan and spent his time alternately 
studying, teaching and working on a farm. 

Mr. Brown was married March 17, 1861, to Miss 
E. Jennie Hewitt, of Highland, Oakland Co., Mich. 
She was born in Windham, Conn., and was a daugh- 
ter of Benjamin and Annie (Perry) Hewitt. 

Mr. Brown enlisted Aug. i, 1862, at Green Oak, as 
a private in Co. G, 22d Mich. Vol. Inf,Capt. Henry 
S. Dean. His health failing, he was discharged for 
disability, at Lexington, Ky., the following winter, 
and on his return home, after partially recovering 
health, he resumed his work as a teacher. 

Previous to his enlistment he had read law, at in- 
tervals, with R. G. Depuy, Esq., of Anr. Arbor, and 
in 1863 he entered the Law Department of the Uni- 
versity of Michigan, at that place, where he was 
graduated in the spring of 1865. During that year 
he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court, 
in session at Detroit. Mr. Brown entered u|)on his 
career as a practitioner at Ithaca, in the spring of 
1866, and almost simultaneously conimenced his 
public life. In the fall ensuing he was elected Super- 
intendent of the Poor, and was the incumbent of the 
office several years. In November of the same year, 
he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner, and dis- 
charged the obligations of the position two years. 
He has since been re-elected twice to the same office. 
In the spring of 1867 he was elected County Super- 
intendent of Schools, and officiated four years. Two 
years later he was again elected to -that position and 
served two years. He was the second President of 
the village of Ithaca, which post he has held three 
terms, and has been Justice of the Peace several 






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GJ?A TIO T COUNT V. 



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years. In the fall of 1876 he was elected Probate 
Judge and officiated four years. 

At the Republican convention held at Mount 
Pleasant in the fall of 1880 for the nomination of 
Senator from this district, the name of Mr. Brown 
was placed upon the ticket. The honor was unsought, 
and the action of the convention only became known 
to him on the return of the delegates. He made a 
triumphant run against T. A. Johnson, candidate of 
the National element, and M. H. Stanford, Demo- 
cratic nominee. He received a flattering support in 
Gratiot County, running considerably ahead of his 
ticket. Mr. Brown is now serving as Justice of the 
Peace and Secretary of the County Board of School 
Examiners. In addition to the business of his law 
office, which is considerable, he is operating to some 
extent as a collection and insurance agent. His resi- 
dence is situated a short distance from the village of 
Ithaca, where he owns a fine farm of 160 acres. 

The first wife of Mr. Brown died in November, 
187 1, leaving four children, all of whom are yet 
living: Bayard T., Annie M., Theodore N. and Bessie 
J. The second marriage of Mr. Brown occurred 
Aug. 17, 1873, to Sara L. Watson, daughter of John 
T. and Harriet L. (Wilcox) Watson, of Ithaca. She 
was born in Marion, Livingston Co., Mich. Of this 
marriage four children have been born: James B., 
Laura V., Alanson W. and Beatrice B. 

Mr. Brown is a prominent Mason and belongs to 
blue lodge and Ithaca Chapter, No. 70. He is a 



member of the fraternity of Odd Fellows, and is the 
Commander of Moses Wisner Post, No. loi, G. A. R. 
On the organization of that body at Ithaca he was 
chosen first Commander. Mr. and Mrs. Brown and 
daughter Annie are members of the Baptist Church. 

Mr. Brown has been a diligent student and has 
quite a taste for literature, which has, however, only 
been indulged and cultivated to that limited extent 
which the opportunities of a busy life permit. He 
has on different occasions written a few poems. 

Our space only permits the insertion, as a speci- 
men, of the following brief selection, which was 
written in 1882, on the death of his favorite poet: 

LONGFELLO (V. 

J'hc poet lived, and wrought, iind .«ini^, :iiid died; 

And tlioiigli }iis day liad rp;ifhed its afternoon, 
And had witli fruitful toil been occuiiied. 

Yet men weie grieved that he had died so soon: 
'I'lien turn<'d tliey and i)eruseil Ids tuneful song. 

And all rejoieed that he had lived so long. 

No sweeter nuise than his hath ever graced 
Our young ( 'olunibia's fail', far-reaeliing shore: 

And none, so free from fault, and pure in taste. 
Hath eVr essayed sueh lofly tliglUs to soar: 

Ajid ages yet unborn shall bless the pen 

Of him \vhf>se songs have olieered the hearts of mipii. 

Among the many valuable portraits of prominent 
citizens of Gratiot County included in this volume, 
that of Mr. Brown will give general satisfaction as 
that of a man whose merits and abilities have 
secured the respect and recognition of his fellow- 
townsmen. It may be found on the page opposite 
this sketch. 










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INTRODUCTORY 





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NLY a score and a half of 
years have passed since the 
unbroken forests of Northern 
iMicliigcm were thought of as 
a possible home for civilized 
man. The Government sur- 
veyors reijorted that it was an irreclaim- 
able waste and not fit for cultivation in 
any ipiarter, the soil being of that char- 
acter which precluded the propagation 
of cereals. The rapidity of settlement 
and enormous crops of everything in 
the line of cereals demonstrated con- 
clusively their mistake, for no acreage 
surpasses Northern Michii^an in pro- 
Notwithstanding tiic oft rcj)catcd tales 
of want and hardships told by their sires, men of 
energy, with their families and all their earthly pos- 
sessions loaded u])on a wagon drawn by oxen, pushed 
their way step by step, through the unbroken forests 
of Gratiot, until they found suitable locations. With a 
spirit of heroism have they toiled until the forests 
were laid low, and their herculean labor is manifest 
in the broad acres of highly cultivated land, ujwn 
which stand palatial residences and outbuildings of 
the most expensive character. Over the grounds 
where the red man chased the bounding deer, and 
the wildcat and wolves held their nightly vigils, may 
be seen the husbandman gathering the golden har- 
vests ; where the Indian's wild war-whoop was heard. 



stands the stately house of worship. Transportation 
of goods by ox-tearns has given way to the i)ower of 
steam, and a commerce has been opened up with all 
parts of the civilized world. Prosperity in a high 
degree has smiled upon her people, who are fortunate 
in living in the most heathful, beautiful and produc- 
tive State in the Union, taking age into consideration. 
The history of this county is possessed of no small 
degree of interest. While other counties were con- 
nected with the frontier by large bodies of excellent 
lands, this seemed shut off from the gaze of shrewd 
speculators by reason of its heavy growth of timber. 
They were destined to become the heritage of an 
honest, industrious people, and the income derived 
from tlie timber and products of the soil has given 
many of the first comers a handsome competency. 

This was flic il,ii-k fiircst piiiiifv:il : 

Hut the |iioiiccr caino in lii< uii<;lil, 
.And (low II llii(iii;;li ilic vast Icat'v liMii|i!e 

Sprcai! glcainiii;; llic |iioii('ci"s li;;lit. 
AVitli his ax i>ii his <hnii|(|cr. hi- fame 

Kroiii the hills anil valleys away: 
Whcic Ihi'siiii ill lii> spli'iidor iiprisinir 

Mfjhts HiiiikiM- Ilill's (•(ijiiiiiiis t(i-(lay. 

\<i niarI)l(>-paviMl cilios licrc sliono. 

\i) costly Imilt palace licrc stood; 
l?iil aliovc and around, ilic dark lon-st rosp, 

Willi iiiajcslic. hii;;c pillars of wood. 
Xo hi<;li\\ay that li'il tliioiigh llic ^jrove 

Had biijrhl lilllc llowcis scattered there, 
Hut iiari-ow paths, skirted with thuriis, 

Their naked fi'ct i-eadv to tear.- 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Value of Local History. 



ipUT few of the present generation realize 
the great value of local history, living as 
they do in an age of industry and thrift. 
The opportunities for speculation, and the 
haste to become wealthy takes precedence of 
everything else, and the fact is not taken into 
consideration that the pioneers are rapidly passing 
from the scene of their labors, leaving but little time 
for the compilation of biographical sketches which 
constitute the heretofore unwritten history of Gratiot 
County. Their children have heard from the lips of 
their aged sires, the story of privation and toil of 
those who were first at the front in the settlement of 
the county, but their children will lose sight of the 
facts unless they be recorded in such manner as to 
become intelligible and kept fresh in the minds of 
succeeding generations. 

Surrounded, as we are, with everything which 
wealth and taste can suggest, the fact is almost lost 
sight of that here were the best years of the lives of our 
ancestry devoted to the development of one of the 
best agricultural counties in the State. As the expo- 



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sures, privations, toil and hardships, the pioneers have 
undergone, are well worthy of a more fitting memorial 
than can be secured by a granite monument, the 
design of the i)ublishers is to record a history of in- 
estimable value to every citizen of the county. 

The facts mentioned have been carefully culled 
from every source; neither pains nor expense has 
been spared in the compilation of this work, which, 
although not without error, is as correct as can be 
made, taking into consideration that much of it was 
gathered from the pioneers themselves, and men are 
very apt to be mistaken in data. 

Upon local history depends the perpetuation of 
facts heretofore unwritten, as well as the biographical 
sketches of every worthy pioneer in the county that 
could be procured. Each sketch speaks volumes ; 
and a history of one man's life, perhaps of an entire 
family, is now recorded where naught can efface or 
destroy it. From this will all future volumes of like 
import take their data. Those who have volunteered 
the information from which this work is compiled, 
will live in the history of this county as long as time 
lasts. No manlier hand e'er drew a sword than those 
wlio faced privation and danger while engaged in the 
subjugation of the dense wilderness which once cov- 
ered this now Ijeautiful land, and to them is this vol- 
ume dedicated. 




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ROM the most reliable infor- 
inatioii to be obtained, the 
following items are substan- 
tially correct regarding the 
first settlements and other 
events in Gratiot County: 

William McOmber, now a res- 
ident of St. I.ouis, came to this 
county in 1832, and was en- 
gaged in buying furs from the 
Indians until their removal to 
the reservation in Isabella Coun- 
ty. Excepting the German mis- 
sionary at the lyutheran mission, 
he is probably the first white 
man that settled permanently in the county. His 
cabin was built near Pine River, about one and a 
half miles from the site of St. Ix)uis. 

The first locations of land were made in 1836, but 
no permanent settlements were made until 1846, 
when .\rnold Payne settled on section 31, in Fulton 
Township; N. Sturgis, William Avery and George 
E. Walker settled on sections 31 and 32, in North 
Shade Townshi[), in 1850. 

The first road through the county was known as 
the " Old Indian Trail," which extended from Maple 
Rapids to the Lutheran mission above St. Louis. 

The first wedding known to have occurred in the 
county was that of Martin Cramer and Dorinda 
Sias, both of Pine River Township. This event oc- 



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A'Jf^j'H^'*- 



curred in 1855, — Sylvanus Groom, J. P., officiating^ 
The first funeral sermon was preached by Rev 
Lafayette Church, ii[)on the demise of the four- 
year-old daughter of Sylvanus and Mrs. Groom. This 
event also belongs to the history of Pine River. 

The above was the first death among the white 
settlers in the county. 

The first [XJstoffice was established at St. Ix)uis, in 

1855- 

The first convention was held at the residence of 
L. C. Knapp, on the farm now owned by Mr. Bur- 
ton, Esq., one and a half miles north of Ithaca, in 
1855, and the following named gentlemen were nom- 
inated and afterward elected as first officials of Gra- 
tiot County : 

Sheriff— George E. Walker; 

County Clerk — Orville M. Wood ; 

Treasurer — Ralph Ely; 

Judge of Probate — Dr. John R. Cheesman ; 

Prosecuting Attorney — Frank Miller; 

Register of Deeds — Henry S. Lane; 

Circuit Court Commissioner — Stevens E. Ix)ngyear ; 

County Surveyor — Sidney S. Hastings. 

They <iualified and entered uix)n the discbarge of 
their official duties the first Monday in January, 1856. 

Seven townships were organized in 1855, by ac- 
tion of the State Legislature, and the following 
named Supervisors were elected in the spring of that 
year. They enjoyed the distinction of being the 
first township officers elected in Gratiot County 









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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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North Shade, Henty S. Lane; 
Fulton, William Norton; 
North Star, Benjamin Crawford ; 
New Haven, Joseph H. Bennett ; 
Arcada, Francis Nelson ; 
Emerson, iSlelancthon Pettit ; 
Pine River, George Spicer. 

Mr. Spicer moved away soon after his election, and 
Hiram Burgess was appointed by the authorities of 
Saginaw County to fill the vacancy. 

The first special session of the Board of Supervi- 
sors was held at the residence of Ralph Ely, Jan. 7, 
i8i56, at which meeting Gratiot County wasorganized. 
Henry S. Lane was Chairman of the Board. 

The county seat was located as near the center of 
the county as practicable by this Board, Feb. 11, 
1856; but the particular site was not designated, on 
account of the absence of several land-owners at or 
near the center. After considerable discussion, it 
was located March 5, 1856, on lands belonging to 
John Jeffry, who named it Ithaca, that being the 
name of the village in which he was reared, in New 
York. 

The village plat of Ithaca was surveyed by Sidney 
S. Hastings, Feb. 11, 12, 13 and 14, 1856. The Su- 
pervisors met March 5, of that year and selected 
grounds for public buildings. 

The permanent location of the county seat had 
caused considerable hard feeling between the resi- 
dents of Pine River and Arcada Townships, each in 
turn protesting that their respective towns — viz., St. 
Louis and Alma — were preferable, and by reason of 
numerous natural resources the proper place for es- 
tablishing the county seat. This dissatisfaction has 
ceased to exist, and the reason is obvious to every 
unprejudiced mind. The driving of the stake 
which officially effected the location was made the 
occasion of much hilarity. The Supervisors took 
turns in driving it down, and the enthusiastic shouts 
of those who witnessed the performance woke the 
echoes far and wide. 

The first court-house was a two-story log cabin, 
built by John Jeffry in 1856. This was done at his 
expense, being a part of the consideration for having 
the county seat located on his land. The county of- 
ficials took possession of it in the fall of that year. 

The first frame school-house built in the county 

was erected at St. Louis in 1858, Richard G. Hillier, 

. contractor. This was considered a rapid advance in 



-^ 



civilization, and scholars attending the same consid- 
ered themselves the " aristocracy " of the county. 

The first Fourth-of-July celebration was held at 
Ithaca in 1856. This was a gala day for Gratiot, and 
fully 400 were in attendance. What was lacking in 
numbers was amply compensated for by the enthu- 
siasm evinced, as the grand military parade headed 
by an amateur band filed adown the principal streets. 
Thirty rough and ready volunteers who had done 
duty with " corn-stalk " weapons on training days, in 
the Eastern States, went through the " manual of 
arms," to the great delight of the persons witnessing 
the performance. E. C. Farrington, one of the first 
settlers in Emerson, was unite conspicuous upon this 
occasion, being arrayed in what had formerly been a 
swallow-tailed coat, which was minus one tail ; but 
his erect carriage and precise drill made amends for 
all shortage in costume. Most of the men were clad 
in raiment much the worse for wear, which resemliled 
" Joseph's coat of many colors," from the nuiltii>licit) 
of patches of varied hue that adorned them. The 
drum was made by stretching a green deer's hide 
over a nail keg, but it furnished music enough to in- 
spire those honest -hearted i)eople as much as would 
the latest productions from our most celebrated orches- 
tras to-day. William Preston and Sam Graham 
kindly donated the drum which now becomes of his- 
toric interest, being the first one known to have been 
manufactured in the county. Hiram Burgess went 
on foot to De Witt, i'l'a Maple Rapids, to have hand- 
bills printed. This necessitated a journey of 80 
miles, but the committee were bound to have a big 
time, and well did they succeed. 

The officers of the day were : President, Francis 
Nelson ; Vice-Presidents, all the Supervisors of Gratiot 
ounty ; Rev. Lafayette Church, Chaplain ; R eader 
of Declaration of Independence, Orville M. Wood; 
Orator of the Day, Frank Miller ; Marshall, Abram 
M. Crawford. 

The ladies made a fine flag, material for which 
was donated by Messrs. Wood & Miller. John 
Knight gave a grand ball in tlie evening, at his house 
one mile north of Ithaca, which concluded the exer- 
cises of the first and one of the most enthusiastic 
celebrations ever held in the county. L. C. Knapp 
furnished the dinner for most of the people, at 25 
cents each. A whole beef was roasted, and the bill 
of fare included potatoes, rice, hominy and pudding. 



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with squash pie and lemonade as dessert. W. W. 
Conistock was a regular boarder at Knapp's, paying 
for his johnnyc.ikes and bacon the ordinary compen- 
sation of one shilling per day. Seeing the over- 
worked waiters straining every nerve in their 
endeavors to supply the hungry guests, Mr. Comstock 
rolled uj) his sleeves and went to work with a will, 
helping to wait upon the table and carving nearly all 
the meats. When all wishing dinner had been 
served, there was nothing but minute scraps left for 
the waiters, of whom Mr. Comstock was one. 

He made a meager meal of the remnants, and 
when settling his bill the following Saturday he was 
somewhat surprised to learn that for the dinner on 
the Fourth he was charged /7ao shillings, Mr. Knapp 
telling him that as an extra dinner was given he 
could not afford to feed his boarders on such an ex- 
pensive hill of fare at the regular price. Knapp 
made no allowance for the arduous day's work put 
in by Mr. Comstock, for which he was charged noth- 
ing, as he said ; if Conistock wanted to do it, all right, 
but he was not asked to assist. 

No political, theological or personal differences 
then existed to mar the tViendshipof the participants, 
but all strove to enhance the pleasure and welfare of 
their neighbor. 

The organization of the Republican and Demo- 
cratic parlies were effected in 1856. The first vote 
gave a relative strength of nearly two-thirds in favor 
of the Republican party, which has maintained a 
majority to this date. 

The first saw-mill was built by Joseph Clapp in 
1855. The first sawing was done in April, 1856. 
Men, women and children, together with a number 
of Indians, kindly lent their aid in raising the heavy 
timbers ; neither could the work at that early day 
have been accomplished without their assistance. 
From that date began the erection of frame houses 
and substantial buildings of every character, thus 
showing the great good resulting from even one saw- 
mill in a new country. 

The first regular term of the Cratiot County Cir- 
cuit Court, according to the official record, was held 
at Alma Jan. 18, 1859, Judge Wilbur F. Woodworth 
presiding. The " grand jury " were : Messrs. Henry 
and Samuel Boyer, Briggs J. Bently, Lorenzo Badge- 
ly, George W. Brooks, James B. Curtis, Wilbur Coon, 
Elijah Curtis, Sether Dean, John Franklin, Rwiian 



Fyler, Orange Hopkins, Thomas J. Huntington, 
Erastus Kidder, Michael Nichols, Samuel T. Roe, 
Jose|)h B. Stafford, William Wooley and Abraham 
Wooden. 

The first white girl born in Gratiot County is sup- 
posed to be Rhoda Smith, the daughter of \Villiam 
H. Smith. She is the wife of Jacob Martin, of New- 
ark 'I'ownshi p. Dates are difficult to obtain regard- 
ing such matters. 

The first white male child born in the county was 
James H. Fulton, son of Nicholas B.. and Abigail 
(Payne) Fulton. He was born July 24, 1847. 

Arnold Payne built the first frame barn in Gratiot 
County. There were not men enough then residents 
to raise the heavy timbers. The women came to the 
rescue, and when the massive timbers were placed 
in ix)sition many cheers long and loud echoed through 
the wild wood. 

Mr. Payne claims that the first Fourlh-ol"-July cele- 
bration north of Maple River was in 1845. The per- 
sons present were: Mr. and Mrs. James Gordon, 
Nicholas and Mrs Abigail Fulton, Mr. and Mrs. Nel- 
son Johnson, and a few from the south side of the 
river. They hoisted a Union flag, and had a grand 
time, numbers being taken into consideration. Only 
three persons who attended tliat celebration were 
alive to enjoy the pleasures of the celebration of our 
natal day in 18S3. 

.\ triple murder occurred in the village of Ithaca 
in March, 1 861, which was as cowardly as it was 
brutal, and deserves a place in this history, it being 
the first murder committed in the county. 

Thaddeus Green, a cooper, who left the county 
during the hard times of 1859, returned in thesjiring 
of i860, bringing with him his daughter, Josephine, 
a comely miss of 16. He rented a small house near 
the present residence of William C. Beckwith, where 
he worked at his trade during the winter. Among 
those of their neighbors who fre(iuently visited them 
was Miss Sally Taylor, a daughter of Benson Taylor, 
of Newark Township. Sally was about the same age 
as Josephine, and they were school-mates and friends 
from early childhood. On Friday, March 9, 1861, 
Thaddeus and his daughter went to Mr. Taylor's, 
where Green was doing some repairing on barrels, 
and they remained until Sunday, when Sally Taylor 
accompanied them home, intending to remain a 
few days. Ori Monday morning, the blinds were 



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down at Green's house, creating the impression that 
they were away from home. Nothing was thought 
of the matter until Friday, when Mr. Stephen Cun- 
ningham, a neighbor of Mr. Taylor, called at the 
house, as her father wished Sally to return home. 
Receiving no answer to his knock at the door, Mr. 
Cunningham inquired of Mr. L. C. Smith concerning 
their whereabouts. Suspicion that all was not right 
led them to pry open a window, when the dead bodies 
of Green, his daughter and Miss Taylor were discov- 
ered lying on the bed in a pool of congealed blood, a 
stream of which had run down upon and across the 
floor! The fiend had killed the girls with a hatchet, 
which lay on the floor covered with their life's blood, 
his daughter receiving six and Sally two blows from 
the murderous instrument. Green had then lain 
down upon a bed opposite the one upon which the 
hfeless bodies of the girls were stretched, and ended 
his life by stabbing himself in the neck with a knife, 
which was found sticking in the floor. The murder 
was a most diabolical one, but nothing was left for 
the avenger to do. 

Papers found, upon searching the house, proved 
conclusively that Green had been for some time com- 
mitting incest with his daughter, and it is supposed 
that the matter so preyed upon her mind that the 
secret was imparted to her friend Sally Taylor, which 
was overheard by Green, who, to prevent the fact 
coming to the earsof the public, committed the crime 




of murder and suicide. This terrible crime has 
scarcely been equaled, and the sickening scene can 
never be effaced from the memory of those who wit- 
nessed the sight. 

Benjamin Crawford drove the first team from Ma- 
ple Rapids to Pine River. He also helped build the 
" Indian Mission," and broke the first sod done with 
a plow north of Pine River, having been employed 
by the Indian Agent to plow the lands on the reser- 
vation on Pine and Chippewa Rivers. 

The first house built in Ithaca, that was lathed and 
plastered, was erected by Mr. Crawford. It occupied 
Lot 2, Block 10. Moving to this county in 1854, he 
was among the first settlers, but had been through 
Gratiot many times before, having driven stock fre- 
quently through the county from the southern part of 
the State to winter them upon the reeds which grew 
plentifully along the Chippewa and Pine Rivers. 
His last venture in that line %yas not successful, as 
he had taken several hundred head to winter, giving 
a guarantee for the lot at $5 per head. A violent 
snow-storm came on, and nearly all the cattle per- 
ished, which almost made Mr. C. a bankrupt. He 
was quite an able lawyer, although he was not ad- 
mitted to the bar. His widow still resides in Ithaca. 
Mrs. Crawford helped make the first flag ever hoisted 
in Gratiot County, and has lent her aid scores of 
times in caring for those who were less fortunately 
situated during tlie early settlement of the land. 



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HE liistory of the aborigines 
in this county is very Umited. 
Although these were their 
hinds, and amongst tlie best 
iiunting grounds, they were all 
removed to a reservation in 
Isabella County, which had been 
ceded them liy the Governmentin 
1856, which lands are yet pos- 
sessed by the remnants of the 



\ tribes, now nearly extinct. Near- 
ly all the Indians living in this 
^ [lortionof the Slate belonged to the 
Chippewa tribe, although the I'atta- 
watomies and Ottawas were so mix- 
*) ed with them by intermarriage tliat 
^ comparatively few full-blooded spec- 
imens could be found of either tribe. 
They were for the most part in Ful- 
ton Township, south of the Maple 
River, which stream was one of their 
favorites, its waters abounding with 
fish, and the bottoms on either side 
furnishing abundant pasturage for 
their ponies, and also being a splendid hunting ground. 
William McOmber, a representative of the North- 
western Fur Company, traded with the Indians at 
this place, and at the old Indian mission near St. 
Louis, from 1832 until their departure in 1858. He 
' acquired their language, and speaks it yet quite flu- 




ently. There was always a kindly feeling existing 
between the Indians and the whites of this county, 
and no disturbance of importance was noted during 
the early history of this section. Their time was 
spent in hunting, fishing and trading, having only a 
few acres of cleared land, which was cultivated very 
poorly. These lands are now owned by Messrs. Par- 
mer Phillips and Alanson Matthews. Mr. Phillips 
came in 1849 and selected the lands which were then 
occupied by the Indians, and moved his family in 
1 85 I. The acknowledged leader of the Chippewas 
at that time was Acean Lemeronger, a half-breed 
Frenchman wiio had been educated at the Mackinaw 
Island misj^ion. He was a man of good morals and 
exerted a great influence over the Indians. Mache- 
toipiet, the chief, died in 1849, leaving his son Wau- 
ga-ba lack, to succeed him ; but his propensity for 
drunkenness disgraced him even in the eyes of the 
tribe, and they refused to recognize him as chief. 

Part of the tribe went to Washington Township, 
and were under the control of Patrick Bey, until their 
final removal in 1858. 

Parmer Phillips relates a story which illustrates 
well the Indian's love for whisky. It was the early 
springtime and preparations were being made for their 
"sugar dance." One Indian had been sent to Maple 
Rapids for a jug of whisky, wiih orders not to tarry 
on the way. Mr. Phillips having gone to a neighbor- 
ing shop to get ^me repairs done upon agricultural 
implements, was returning, and passed an Indian ly- 






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ing by the road-side in a drunken stupor, while near 
him stood a jug of whisky. Caring nothing for a 
drunken Indian, Mr. Phillips passed on ; but had pro- 
ceeded only a short distance when he met an Indian 

(S; who inquired if he had passed " Injun squibby " 
(drunk). Receiving an affirmative answer, the fellow 
loped off seemingly in a hurry, to meet the " com- 
mittee " who had gone for a jug of rum. Hardly was 
this one out of sight before there came another and 
another, and Mr. Phillips states that twenty or more 
Indians met him before he left the trail from whom 
came the same question, "seen Injun squibby.'" 
There was enough whisky left to make them all howl- 
ing drunk, and they had a wild night of it. 

Their dances were the occasion of niucli hilarity, 
and every one that desired was made welcome as 
lookers on. The " sugar dance," the " green-corn 
dance," " harvest dance," and " war dance " were the 

f. \ only recreations indulged in, unless it were an occa- 

^ sional " horse race," and these were tame affairs, the 
ponies following each other along a trail in single file. 
Before this county was organized, there was a large 
tribe, with headquarters on Maple River in Fulton 
Township; but the small-pox made its appearance 
and the ravages of this terrible scourge nearly depop- 
ulated the land. The " medicine men " tried to exorcise 
the evil spirit by " incantations " and beating " tom- 
toms," while dances were held around the sick patient ; 
but the plague was not stayed. They resorted to the 
"steam bath," " plunge bath," etc., but death invari- 
ably followed all efforts. 

They would dig a small hole in the ground, heat a 
large stone in the fire, place it in the hole and pour 
water upon it, thus creating a steam, or vapor bath, 
over which the sick man was placed until bathed in 
pers])iration, when he was carried to the river and 
chucked into the water. Of course this treatment 
was wondrously fatal. 

Believing that the " Great Spirit " had sent a 
plague upon them, the remnant of the once powerful 
tribe abandoned all those who were sick, leaving them 
lying on the ground near the river to starve or die, 
surrounded by wild beasts, with no helping hand near 
to offer aid or defend them in their helpless condition. 
None that were left recovered, and their bleaching 
bones for many years strewed the grounds. 

(>-^ Their manner of burial was peculiar. The corpse 

C^ was wrapped with hark and deposited in a shallow 



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grave, which when filled with earth was covered with 
bark. A pipe, tobacco, and hatchet were put at the 
head of the grave ; and ipiarterly, during the first 
year, a squirrel or other small animal was buried, 
that the warrior might have sustenance for support 
until he reached the happy hunting grounds. 

The Indians could marry for " a moon " or for 
life, just as they liked. The marriage ceremony con- 
sisted only in presenting the bride a necklace, blanket, 
or any trinket, which if accepted constituted mar- 
riage. They were not limited in numlier, some 
having three or more wives. Acean Lemeronger had 
three wives, and children by all of them. The first 
son of his first wife was called " Dixie," and Acean 
sent him to school one year at Grand Rapids. Dixie 
could not stand the confinement, and returned home. 
Taking a rifle, he started into the forest and returned 
at the close of the first week laden with the hides of 
17 deer. This seemed to please his father, who re- 
marked, "Dixie too much Injun: must buy him 
blanket." 

The tribe, after leaving their sick on Maple River, 
went to the Lutheran mission near .St. Louis. Here 
they remained until their final departure for the res- 
ervation in Isabella County. 

Pay-mas-ega, the aged Chippewa chief, died at 
Indiantown, and his body was kept " lying in state " 
or several days; plenty of whisky was furnished the 
Indians from some quarter, and riot and revelry pre- 
vailed. During the carnival of drunkenness three 
squaws were murdered and burned. 

Me-gon-ge-wan, a daughter of the chisf mentioned, 
afterward married Henry Ashman, who represented 
the people in the State Legistature at a later date. 
Two of his sons live in Isabella County and are both 
intelligent and worthy men. Mrs. Mary Gruett, wife 
of James Gruett, who acted as interpreter at the 
Indian mission, still lives near St. Louis and is pos- 
sessed of quite a fund of information regarding In- 
dian life. 

The inter-martiage of the race has so reduced 
them physically that a few more years wilt find but a 
mere handful of the " noble " red men who were 
formerly owners of this beautiful land. When they 
are gone who will mourn? Who will drop a tear in 
memory of their former greatness? They have been 
dispossessed slowly but surely until a mere spot of 
land includes their possessions. Their end is near; 
their race is nearly run. Like Napoleon, shorn of 



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his ix)\ver, the noble warriors were forced to retire be- 
fore the onward march of civilization. No more is 
seen the smoke curling from their wigwams ; no more 
is heard the "tom-tom," as its monotonous sound 
marshaled the braves for the " war dance," at which 
the young men were initiated and afterward allowed 



to participate as warriors in the chase, or to give bat- 
tle to their foe. Their camp fires have gone out; 
their hunting grounds are transformed into luxuriant 
meadows and highly cultivated fields. Nothing is 
left save this humble memorial to indica'.e that the 
aborigines ever inhabited this country. 










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N interesting feature of this 
work is an historical review of 
the several townships. They 
were settled by men most of 
whom have representatives 
now living in the county, and 
many of them yet reside in the 
townships, in which they were 
born. The southern tier of town- 
ships was first settled, being near- 
est to and adjoining Chnton County, 
which was settled somewhat be- 
fore its organization in 1839. The 
townships of North .Shade, Fulton, 
Washington, Elba, Hamilton, North 
I Star, Newark and New Haven, were 
previous to the organization of Gratiot County at- 
tached to that of Clinton for judicial purposes, and 
the two northern tiers of townships to Saginaw 
County, for similar reasons. 

A careful perusal of the incidents relating to the 
early settlement of the several townships will repay 
the reader, as each one contains the names of the 
first settlers, and many other items which are required 
to make the history complete. Almost every town- 
ship claims the honor of having the first settler in the 
county located in her borders ; but with the most 



careful reference to dates, Fulton is awarded the 
palm. Be that as it may, each has furnished many 
men who for integrity and worth cannot be excelled 
in any country, and they reflect great credit upon the 
county they represent, politically or socially. 




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Fulton Township.. 

I HE best agricultural body of land in Gra- 
tiot County is Fulton Townshij). Being 
the first settled portion of the county and 
near Maple Rapids, where suiiplies were easily 
procured during the hard times of 1857-8-9, 
her people were more fortunate than many of 
their neighbors, who lived at a remote distance from 
a trading point. 

The first settlement in Fulton was made by Robert 
Fulton, Arnold Payne and James Fulton, who came 
in 1846. Nick Fulton and Nelson Johnson came in 
1847, and took claims, but aftenvard deserted them. 
They returned in 1849 '"^"^ were then among the 
earliest settlers in the county. 

Parmer Phillips located his lands in 1S49, and f^ 
came with his wife in 1851. He lived on the south jy 
side of Maple Piver and was in easy circumstances, _!^>_ 




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being provided with teams, etc. Benjamin Cole and 
wife came in August, 1853, and located where Gil- 
lette now lives. At that time they were the second 
family north of Maple River. Lehman Johnson and 
his brother, Nelson, were then living in the township. 
Nelson was known as " everybody's Johnson," being 
always ready to leave his own work to assist a neigh- 
bor in raising a cabin, rolling logs, or doing anything 
which was asked of him. 

Ben Cole and his wife selected a place for their 
cabin, and he went to work felling trees. Their bed 
was made under a huge oak whose foliage was their 
only shelter for some time. Mrs. Cole relates that 
she kept the mosquitoes from molesting her husband 
until two o'clock in the morning, when he performed 
a similar service for her. Their first visitors were 15 
Indian women, who brought presents of venison and 
other meats. In fact, during the first year, Mr. and 
Mrs. Cole depended upon the Indians for their meat 
supply. 

The first wedding known to have occurred in the 
county, was that of James Carpenter, who married a 
daughter of Arnold Payne in the winter of 1852. 
James Martin soon afterward married another one of 
Mr. Payne's daughters. Leroy Sutherland came in 
1854 and soon afterward wedded Angelina Moss. 

Nearly every early resident of (iratiot County first 
came to Fulton Township, the only road in the county 
being the one leading from Maple Rapids to St. 
Louis. Arnold Payne's place was known for many 
years as affording the best hotel accommodations in 
the county, and no man was more widely known. 

The first " log-rolling bee " was on the land owned 
by Nick Fulton. Twenty-two of the hardy pioneers 
lent a helping hand, of whom a half dozen at least 
are yet living. These affairs always terminated with 
a grand supper and dance, to which everybody in the 
neighborhood were invited. The first township meet- 
ing and the first election held were at the cabin of 
Ben Cole, one of the best known and most eccentric 
men of Gratiot. Ben is now 84 years of age, and to 
date has never missed a town meeting or an election 
in tlie county. He is one of the best story tellers 
extant, and his presence was always considered nec- 
essary to complete any social gathering. His gold- 
en wedding was the first one celebrated in Fulton 
Township. That pleasant event occurred July 4, 
1881. His wife Louisa is also quite sprightly, and 




enjoys the reminiscences of early days in Gratiot as ^ 

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'■ Boiioatli tlieso cold sods lies old Pole. 
Oil (iddl liiivt' iiu'ivy on liis soul, 
As I would on yours. 
If you was old Cole 
And 1 was God." 



well as anybody living. Their shanty was only 1 2 x ^ 
16 when completed, yet Mr. Cole says 21 grown per- '*' 
sons have stayed all night with them, and all had | 
room enough. 

To make mention of half the pleasant stories Ben 
was possessor of, would make a large, interesting vol- 
ume. Perhaps no one in Gratiot County is possessed 
of a larger fund of general knowledge than he. In 
mentioning the hard times, Ben says they lived prin- 
cipally upon '' knick-knacks;" if they had anything 
to eat, it was a " knick," had they nothing, it was a 
" knack." At all events they were happy, and Ben 
Cole and his aged wife are among the happiest peo- 
ple on earth to-day. His epitaph was composed 
by himself years ago, and we give it a place here, to 
commemorate the characteristics of a man who is 
respected by every one as being a kind neighbor and 
full of virtuous deeds. Any one who has ever heard 
Ben Cole talk will recognize his sentiment in the fol- 
lowing, which will be engraved upon his tomb-stone ^ 
after his demise : ^£^ 






The best farm buildings in the county are located 
in Fulton Township, and the wealth of her farmers 
exceeds that of any township in the county. The 
taxation is almost as great as Pine River, which in- 
cludes a part of the prosperous villages of St. Louis 
and Alma. 

Fulton is well watered by Maple River and its 
tributaries. It is bounded on the north by Newark 
Township, on the east by Washington Township, on 
the south by Clinton County and on the west by 
North Shade Township. 

Most of the Indians who lived in Gratiot at the 
time of its organization, were residents of Fulton, and 
their farming grounds are now the property of Par- 
mer Phillips. 

Mr. Charles E. Webster has been Supervisor of /^ 
the township long enough to familiarize him with f 
every detail of the county's business. We give the I 
list of Supervisors to date: 

SUI'KRVISORS. 

William Norton 1855 

Whipple Martin. 1856 

Henry P. Howd 1 857 



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I.. T. Cassnda 1858-62 

Roswold Danley 1863 

L. T. Cassada 1 864-5 

Charles E. Webster 1866-9 

KoswoUl Danley 1870 

Charles E. Webster 187 1-7 

Nathaniel Walker 1878 

Charles E. Webster 1879-82 

Henry Stilt 1883. 

Fulton deserves a front rank in an agricultural 
way. Every thing in the line of cereals which are 
adapted to this climate grows luxuriantly in her soil. 
Thrift prevails everywhere, and many of the most 
wealthy citizens of Gratiot County are now, or have 
been, residents of Fulton Township. 



North Star. 

HIS townshi[) is numbered 10 nortli and 2 
west, and is bounded on the north by Emer- 
son, on the east by Hamilton, on the south 
by Washington, and tlie west by Newark. North 
Star was organized in April, 1855, and the first 
officers elect were : 

Supervisor — Benjamin Crawford 

Clerk— H.r. Barnaby; 

Treasurer — William W. Palmer; 

Justices — William Hurd, John Franklin, Luther 
C. Smith, T. H. Rodgers. 

Commissioners of Highways — Peter Hoffman, J. 
W. Chaffin, George Criner. 

The first township meeting was held at the resi- 
dence of Peter Hoffman in April, 1855. Addison 
Hayden and Mr. Hoffman are accredited the honor 
of naming this township. Mr. H. was an energetic 
and excellent man, and exerted a great deal of in(lu- 
ence in the community. 

The first settler in the townshij) was Rowland 
Smith, who built a shanty upon section 30 in April, 
1854. Rev. H.T. Barnaby and Peter Hoffman, with 
their families, arrived in May of the same year. Rev. 
Barnaby was the first preacher in this neighborhood, 
and the time selected for delivering the first sermon, 
which was unavoidably postponed, serves as the basis 
for a brief anecdote. Services were to be held at the 
house of John Franklin, in .Vugust, 1854, and the 
minister had taken his position, as well as those who 
had assembled to hear a rendition of the divine law. 





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when word came that an old lady, a Nfrs. Hawkins, 
was lost in the woods of Newark Township. Know- 
ing the dangers which might ensue from wild beasts, 
hunger and fright, the congregation was hurriedly 
dismissed, and the male jwrtion, headed by Rev. 
Barnaby (who, to prevent being lost from the party, 
had a cow-bell susjsended from his neck), started for 
Newark. Search was continued during that and the 
next day, when word came that she had found the 
" Old Indian Trail," and safely arrived at a settle- 
ment in the neigliborhood. 

Game was very plentiful that year, and the best 
hunting record of the season was made by Rev. Bar- 
naby, who amply demonstrated that he could fire a 
rifle as well as clear a farm or preach a sermon. Dur- 
ing the hunting season of that year he killed 45 deer, 
one bear and a wolf. 

The first birth in the township was a daughter to 
Joel T. and Mrs. Smith, and the first death was that 
of an infant daughter of H. T. and Mrs. Barnaby. 

North Star is an excellent agricultural township, 
and the numerous farms whicii arc so highly im- 
proved, with the large list of taxable property, affords 
indisputable evidence of its rapid development. 

This township is well watered by Bad River and 
its tributaries, and represents some of the finest agri- 
cultural lands in the county. The improvements 
also are up, and perhaps superior, to those of some 
of her sister townships. Among the earliest minis- 
ters, and perhaps the first minister, who settled in the 
county, was Rev. Elias Sower, who settled in this 
township in 1854. He was an active and indefati- 
gable worker, and is beloved by every one who knows 
him. 

Having previously related the " sixjrting record " 
of Rev. H. T. Harnaby, the historian feels like giving 
another incident in the same line, although accom- 
plished by a woman, with a "woman's weajwn." 

Mrs. Hiram Brady went toward the barn, and was 
surprised to see a large buck feeding complacently at 
the corn-crib. She seized a stick of stove-wood, and 
struck the deer over the head, stunning it completely, 
after which a few more well-directed blows dispatched 
it. This is well authenticated, and occurred Dec. 2, 
1875. It might be proper to add that a number of 
bears have recently been killed in this township; but 
as this story would apply to every twonship in the 
county, the space may be better used in sjjeaking of 
matters more important. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Below will be found the names of those who have 
represented this township as Supervisors from its 
organization until the present time: 

SUPERVISORS. 

Benjamin Crawford 1 855 

Addison Hayden 1856-8 

H. T. Barnaby 1859-60 

Wm. M. Barstow 1 86 1 

Franklin Squire 1862-3 

H. T. Barnaby 1864 

Elias Sower 1 865-6 

Wm. M. Barstow 1867-8 

H. T. Barnaby 1869 

W. J. Marshall 1 870 

H. T. Barnaby 187 1-2 

Lorenzo Squire 1873 

W. J. Marshall 1874-5 

Sidney Thompson 1876-7 

W. J. Marshall 1878-80 

Sidney Thompson 1 88 1 -2 

W. J. Marshall 1883 



Hamilton Township. 

HIS township derived its name from Frank 
Hamilton, a relative of Elijah Curtis. He 
has for many years been a condnctor on the 
Detroit & Milwaukee railway. Elijah Curtis, 
William Barton, Dr. John R. Cheesman, 
Charles Brant, Timotliy Eckels, and a number 
of others came in 1854. Dr. Elias Sower, who was 
also a minister, medicated the people and preached 
when desired, as well as assisting in erecting their 
cabins, although being located in North Star. He 
officiated at the first wedding celebrated in Hamilton, 
which was that of Daniel Huston to Elmira Curtis. 
The first child born in the township was Henry, a son 
of Elijah and Mrs. Curtis. Willianr Barton was 
elected a Justice of the Peace, and relates how one 
of his first cases was disposed of by the jury without 
giving him an opportunity to render a decision. 

Hamilton Township was noted for legal squabblts. 
Once a couple of neighbors were dissatisfied about 
some minor affair. They concluded to have a jury, 
who, after hearing the evidence, decided that there 
was " no cause of action " and that " each party " 
pay his own costs. 

During the war, there were left in the township 




but six men, and they were aged and infirm. This 
speaks in highest terms of their patriotism, of which 
no higher testimonial could be given. The 57th 
marriage anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. William Bar- 
ton, was celebrated at the home of his son-in-law 
Dei. Barstow, at Ithaca, Jan. 17, 1884. Together 
they have braved the battle of life with its hardships 
and trials for more than a half century, and when 
their journey is finished will leave an honorable rec- 
ord l)ehind. Mr. Barton was a soldier under the 
Duke of Wellington, and participated at the disas- 
trous battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon's forces 
were defeated, and he made prisoner. 

Dr. Cheesman hauled the first load of pine lum- 
ber from St. Chades that was brought into the town- 
ship. Hailing from the city of Chicago, of course he 
felt somewhat aristocratic, and wished to convert his 
cabin into a modern-looking structure, to do which, 
clap-boards could not be utilized. 

He relates an experience of the first " famine " in 
1857, in which the demand for bread was imperative. 
Being fortunately situated himself, a stock of provis- 
ions were laid in sufficient to maintain his family for 
a year, but the necessities of the people were such 
that they were divided until the larder was bare as 
mother Hubbard's cupboard, and his family were also 
in need of food. Some friend in Chicago had sent 
$50, to help him along, and a man was dispatched to 
Maple Rapids to purchase flour, with the entire 
amount. It was in the early spring-time, and the ice 
was not frozen hard enough to bear the team. After 
trying vainly to make their way through the woods, 
and water a foot in depth, the team was taken home 
and Dr. C. started on foot with a bag to see neighbor 
Newell, who lived si.K miles distant and had fortun- 
ately secured a sack of flour. Arriving at his destin- 
ation. Dr. Cheesman made known his errand, and 
stated that he could get along with r2 pounds and of- 
fered to pay any price asked. Mr. Newell I'efused 
to sell but stated that he would lend the amount, to 
be returned when the doctor's load could be pro- 
cured. This was cheerfully accept 
pounds of the coveted rr.ercha 
his shoulder. Dr. C. started homeward, breaking 
through the ice at almost every step the entire dis- 
tance. To obtain only this small amount of flour, 
necessitated a journey of 12 miles through the forest, 
which was almost completely submerged with water 



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nearly ;i foot in depth, covered with a thin ice which 
allowed the traveler to break through at every step. 
The wonder is, that such hardships were survived by 
so many, yet sickness was coniparalively rare. 

John Muffly, and his son Jacob, were early set- 
tlers in Hamilton ; and a winter's hunt for Jacob, al- 
though a mere lad, is not without significance, as it 
shows what kind of game a boy could hunt with 
\)rofit. His trophies, togetiier wiili the amounts re- 
ceived for them, are here given : 

1 28 coon skins $160 00 

4<S mink " 240 00 

8 wildcat " 4 00 

4 fox " I 60 

3 bear " 1 7 00 

3 bear cubs, alive 30 00 



Total 452 60 

All the flour used they carried upon their backs for 

several years, from a mill in Clinton C'ounty, 28 miles 

distant. 

Tiie first school in Hamilton was taught in 1S60 

by Carrie Barton, at what is yet known as Barton's 

School-house. 

SICKEI.S. 

The village of Sickels was platted by the proprie- 
tors, William Sickels and Sheldon L. \\'iglil, Feb. 20, 
1882, consisting of seven blocks and eight streets. It 
was surveyed by Thomas H. Harrod, and is situated 
on section 8 of the townshij) of llamilion, al)out eight 
miles east and a little south of Ithaca, the county 
seat. It has a jjostoffice, which is situated on the 
tri-weekly mail stage route from Ithaca to Edgewood. 
There are a general store, a fiouring-mill, a saw-mill, 
a planingmill, a wagon sho|), a blacksmith shop, a 
hotel, two church edifices coimnenced, one by the 
Methodist Episcopal and one by the Free Methodist 
societies. It also has a tri-weekly mail from Elsie, 
Clinton County, and has a (wpulation of over one 
hundred. 

For Hamilton Towntihip, since its organization, the 
following is a list of 

SUPERVISORS. 

Elijah Curtis 1856 

Orville M. Wood 1857 

William Barton 1858-60 

John Deeter 1861 

Thomas B. Lamb 1862-3 

William Barton 1864-5 




H. A. Joiner 1 866-7 

J. H. Seaver 1868-70 

j. B. Curtis 1871 

J. H. Seaver 'S73-4 

|osei>h llaight ? 1S75 

I. H. Seaver 1S76 

^ilas Hill 1877-9 

fosei ih Wright 1 880 

W. k. Wright iSSi 

William Sickels 18S2 

C. A.Tann 1883 



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Bethany Township. 

!|^;ROMINENT among the first settlers in 
: yMl ■, Bethany Township, was the Gniett family, 
.Mi^Vj.^'^ several of whom are yet residents. James 



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Gruett was for ten years the interpreter at the 
|>V. Indian mission. He was married in 1833, at 
Saginaw, and came to the mission in 1846. The 
family consisted of several children, the eldest of 
which was a daughter named Soi)hia, of whom Mrs. 
Mary Gruett relates quite a laughable story. 

After Joseph Clapp built the first house in St. 
Louis, lie cleared a few rods arid planted a garden. 
This was the first garden in the iilace, and the veg- 
etables grew luxuriantly. Among the latter was a fine 
sqiiash which assumed majestic proportions, being 
larger than a flour barrel and weigiied over So pounds. 
Mr. Clapp frequently called attention to his treasure 
and felt very proud of his first venture in gardening. 
One day Sophia Gruett, then 16 years of age, was 
passing, and stopped to see the wonderful squash. It 
was fairly ripe anil looked good enough lu eat. Mr. 
Clapi) came out, and in a bantering tone told Sophia 
that " she might have the squash if slie would carry it 
home," not tliinking it possible, as she lived three miles 
away. She went into the woods and cut a stick about 
four feet in length, sharpened the end and pushed it 
through the mammoth squash. Having procured ^4v 
some long strips of bark, she made a sort of harness 
by tyini; the ends to the stick, and having one band 
crossing her forehead and the other across her breast, 
she started with the heavy load upon her back and 
actually carried it the entire distance! Mrs. Gruett 
coming in next day, Mr. ('l.q)p asked how Sophia wa-; 
feeling. She replied, "Good 'nuff; heap sick back. 



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The parents were both half-breed Indians, and were 
born in the upper Lake Superior country. 

Mrs. Gruett is now 76 years of age, and quite a 
good talker, although one needs an interpreter unless 
well acquainted. Her son, William, who carried the 
mail fir a long time from St. Louis to Maple Rapids, 
lives with her. He was quite unfortunate in May, 
1883, having both legs fractured in five plates while 
logging. However, he hobbles about (|uite well, and 
is cheerful and full of " olden-time " anecdotes. Mrs. 
Gruett was for a number of years, in the early his- 
tory of the county, quite a "doctor," and kept her 
pony within reach that she might attend all calls. 
She prepared her own medicine from the roots and 
barks, the medicinal virtues of which were well- 
known to the Indians. Added to all this, was the 
gift of "prophecy," or fortune-telling, and her advice 
was much sought for. 

When the Indians left Gratiot County for their res- 
ervation in Isabella, James Gruett and family went 
with them, as his knowledge of both the Indian and 
the American languages was indispensable. After his 
death, which occurred a few years later, the family 
returned to their old home in Bethany Township, 
where those who are yet living reside. 

Mrs. Harriet Lake has furnished some very inter- 
esting reminiscences of olden times, for which our 
thanks are tendered. She was one of the early pio- 
neers, and no lady is better known or more higlily 
respected in Bethany Township. 

Bethany Township derived its name from the In- 
dian mission which bore that name. 

W. J. Partello, was the pioneer of Bethany and by 
reason of many sterling (pialities endeared iiimselfto 
the people of this town, who have known him long 
and well. 

Bethany has been ably represented by the following 
named 

SUPERVISORS : 

W. J. Partello 1858 

F. D. Weller 1859-60 

Bernard Fo.\. : 1861 

William B. Harris 1862 

A. Clark 1863-4 

E. S. Drake 1865 

A. Clark 1866 

J. C. Giddings 1867-74 

Floyd E. Martin 1 875 




S. D. Hicks 1876-8 

]. G. Thompson 1879 

"Willard D.Tucker 1880-2 

Mortimer Sharpsteen 1883 



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Seville Township. 

^EVILLE is the northwestern townsjiip of 
Gratiot County, and is bounded on the 
north by Isabella County, on the east by 
the township of I'ine River, on the south by 
Sumner Township, and on the west by Mont- 
calm County. Seville is quite fortunate in the 
way of railroad facilities, the Detroit, LansingiS: North- 
ern passing through the southern part of the town- 
ship. The Marshall & Coldwater railroad is already 
surveyed across the western part of the town, and all 
the grading is done through Sumner Township. 

In Seville Township are three railroad stations, on 
the line of the Detroit, Lansing & Northern railway, 
the most prominent one being Riverdale. A second, 
bearing the name of the township, is a small hanilet 
where trains stop only on signal. The third, Elwell, 
is a more important station. 

In agricultural products this township ranks fourth 
in the county, and has a large lumber trade. 

John D. Mallory settled on section 24, in 1855. 
Henry Boyer came the same year and settled in his 
neighborhood. 

The latter tells a story on one of his neighbors, to 
illustrate how thin a man can get on a" mi.\ed"diet. 
The family, consisting of six persons, subsisted on a 
pint of milk with maple sugar and leeks, and a soup 
made from basswood buds. The husband and father 
was working as hard as he was able, to clear up a 
little fann, but often complained to Mr. Boyer that 
his " liver " knocked against his ribs so hard that he 
could scarcely split rails! 

The impassable roads of an early day impeded the 
immigration which came later. It is related that some 
parties, while out hunting, came to a very deep mud- 
hole which extended across the road. A man with a 
longox-gad was threshing around in the miie as they 
came in sight. Ujwn being questioned, he declared 
that he had driven into the marsh his team of oxen, 
and they were then buried in the mud. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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That pre-historic race, the " Mound- Builders," 
have h'ved in this township, and Messrs. R. F. Ked- 
zie, C. B. F. Bangs and F. \V. Hastings, of the Slate 
Agricultural College, have made excavations in sev- 
eral of the mounds. One was explored on section 
13, in which a number of relics were found. On sec- 
tion 14, they found two skeletons, in a had state of 
preservation. Tlie last mound examined was on 
section 3r. This was situated on a level plain. It 
was a perfect cone, lo feet high and 40 feet in di- 
ameter at the base. This wis thoroughly examined, 
and some excellent specimens found, consisting of 
stone vessels and implements, besides pieces of 
skeletons, etc. We gaze with reverential awe upon 
the evidence presented of those peculiar people, who, 
hundreds of years ago, inhabited our country, and of 
whom no trace remains save these historic mounds, 
which alone mark their last resting-place. Tlieir 
history died with them : let llieni rest. 

The people of Seville Townsiiip have been served 
by the following nine 

supervisors: 

Carlisle Weeks 1 856 

Henry Boyer 1857-9 

Henry Shults 1860-1 

Henry Boyer 1862 

Ira Amsbury 1 863 

Henry Boyer 1864-5 

Henry Shults 1 866 

Ira -Amsbury 1867 

James L. Shults 1868-7 i 

Ira Amsbury 1872 

Wm. J. Moffatt 1 873 

James L. Si\iilts 1 874 

James R. Errett i 875-6 

P. D. Egan 1877-8 

James R. Errett 1 879-80 

James L. Shults 1881 

William Pitt 1882-3 

Seville is numbered 12 north and 4 west. It has 
an intelligent population, good schools and churches, 
with an enterprising people to maintain liieni. 

This township was named by Mr. S. S. Hastings, 
in honor of the town in which he resided in Medina 
Co., Ohio. 



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Arcada Township. 

nMONG the first settlers, we mention Rev. 
jJL Lafayette Church, Rev. Francis Nelson. 
Edward Lake and Ralph Ely, with their 
families. The entire country was in a !-tatc of 
nature, but these energetic men went to work 
with a will, and the accessions to tiieir ranks 
by new-comers soon formed ipiite a settlement in that 
township. The timlier was of excellent (juality, and 
Pine River furnished a means of transportation for 
groceries and i)rovisions, as well as other commodi- 
ties, from Saginaw, which, with the exception of 
Maple Rapids, was the chief trading; point for Gratiot 
County. 

Ralph Ely and Abraham Woodin built the first 
boat that carried supplies on Pine River. Mr. 
Woodin erected a small log cabin near Alma in 1856. 
Francis Way put in a small stock of dry goods, which 
was kept in i)oxes under the bed. A few articles of 
general merchandise was added later, which, for 
economy's sake, was also disiwsed of in like manner. 
When a customer came in, the goods were dragged 
out and selections made. In addition to Mr. Wood- 
in's family, consisting of themselves and seven chil- 
dren, Francis Way, wife and child, lived with them, 
and persons traveling through the county in search 
of lands also made the cabin headi|uarters. When 
taken into consideration that the only room was 16 
feet scpiare, but little was left for the entertainment 
of com[)any. 

John Jeffrey was really the pioneer of Arcada, and 
located on section i. Mr. Jeffrey came for the pur- 
ixjse of heailing off a railroad which he had learned 
was to be built through his land. If such a thing 
had been done, it would have been of immense ad- 
vantage to this new country, l.'Ut Jeffrey was seemingly 
unconcerned about its future. He was a very close 
man in his dealings, but strictly honest; and during 
the early settlement of Gratiot, he befriended many 
a [xxjr fellow who otherwise would have suffered. 
Jeffrey had some peculiar ideas, and once a resolu- 
tion formed, no argument could convince him that he 
was in error. The second Fourth of July that was 
celebrated at Ithaca d^•mon^trated his perverseress, 
and gave rise to quite a war of words at last. Ar- 




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rangements had been made by committees previously 
appointed to secure speakers, but Mr. Jeffrey dis- 
liked one of them, and declared that another man 
should speak instead. A disagreement was thus 
brought about, by which two celebrations were held 
the same day a quarter of a mile apart, Jeffrey's 
party holding theirs in the grove near town, the other 
being held on the square donated by Jeffrey for 
county purposes. There was a good attendance at 
both places, and the greatest harmony prevailed, 
there being several good speakers in attendance. 

The ne.xt afternoon, John Jeffrey swore out war- 
rants before a justice for several of the men who 
were foremost in getting up the celebration in the 
court-house yard, among whom was Frank Miller, 
the Postmaster. The officer went to arrest him, but 
the mail being e.xpected to arrive every moment, he 
refused to come out of the office until it had been 
distributed. Jeffrey and a number of others were 
loud in their denunciations of the men who were his 
opponents on the previous day, and declared he 
would have revenge for their trespass upon his 
grounds, the deed not yet being made to Gratiot 
Coupty. Several men offered to go upon Miller's 
bond for appearance the next day, but were refused. 
The Jeffrey squad becoming more noisy, and seeming- 
ly intent upon obtaining Miller's body at all hazards, 
threatened to break down the door. W. \V. Comstock 
appeared upon the scene, and planting himself 
against the door, declared that they should first pass 
over his dead body. This step put a quietus upon 
the movement, and the officer, in company with Jef- 
frey, left the building. The suit was dismissed. 
Jeffrey, finding the sentiment of the people strongly 
against him, was glad to pay costs in the case and 
let the matter drop. 

Judge P. H. Estec, now of Isabella County, had 
quite an experience when coming into the county 
with his family in 1855. He had engaged Capt. 
Ralph Ely to bring his family and their trunks from 
Saginaw to Alma, on his boat. It required several 
days for the trip, and the last day, as the boat was 
passing " Bovee's Riffle," below St. Louis, it was over- 
turjied and the entire contents dumped into the 
river. None of the party were in the boat except 
the crew, as it had to be towed against the rapid cur- 
rent at this point, in which all took a hand. Three 
of their trunks were thrown into the water, one of 




them remaining six weeks before being recovered. 
The party made their way to Mr. Woodin's, near 
Alma, and were made quite comfortable, although 
the room contained not only the stock of goods, but 
household and kitchen furniture besides. 

Supper was prepared and sleeping acconmioda- 
tions furnished for 17 persons. This was not an ex- 
ceptional case at Mr. Woodin's, but frequently by 
many of the pioneers in Gratiot County. Judge 
Estee and family are now residents of Isabella 
County, and his introduction to the inhabitants of 
this neighborhood has furnished the basis for many 
a hearty laugh. 

Two railroads now pass through Arcada, and be- 
fore the close of the present year one more will be 
completed. A part of the thriving village of Alma 
and a part of Ithaca are in this township, which is a 
splendid tract of agricultural land. It is bounded 
on the north by Pine River, the east by Emerson, ^^ 
south by Newark, and the west by Sumner Town- ^ ) 
ships. The number is 1 1 north, and 3 west. ^ 

Edward Lake and Paul Averill came to Arcada in 
March, 1855. Mrs. Lake arrived in June of the 
same year. Mr. Lake had built a little shanty on 
the southeast quarter of section 25. This cabin 
was a novelty in the way, bring built entirely of hick- 
ory bark. They remained in this until September, 
when a log house was completed, one and ahalf stories 
in height. The nearest neighbor, Simon Knott, a 
bachelor, settled the same year in the corner of Ar- 
cada, which is now a iK)rtion of Ithaca. As none of 
the neighbors had a wagon he made a wooden cart, 
the only bit of iron about it being one wrought nail. 
Knott and Mr. Lake used this cart to carry potatoes 
and groceries from Maple Rapids, pushing it the en- 
lire distance. 

Reuben Finch soon afterward became one of Mr. 
Lake's neighbors. They were great friends, and 
spent much time in hunting. One day Mr. Lake 
killed three deer at two shots with a rifle, and Finch 
killed a bear. The latter's experience was rather 
unpleasant, as he only wounded the bear in one fore 
leg, when it showed fight. Finch climbed a small 
sapling, which stood conveniently near, but in his 
hurry dropped the gun. The bear tried to climb the 
same sapling and was prevented only by the 
wounded leg. It finally left, and Finch came down, 
loaded the gun, and soon dispatched it. 



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Bounties were paid in different townships for wolf 
scalps, and it is related that Mr. Fiix h trapped one 
in Arcada, and drove it over to Newark Township 
before it was killed, in order to obtain a larger bounty. 
The older settlers also had an eye for business, it 
seems, by this maneuver. 

Mr. Hastings relates an incident which occurred 
while he was surveying in this townshi[). Mr. I'incli 
had emptied the contents of a bed-tick in the road, 
which was being surveyed. Judge Nelson and Will- 
iam Todd were carrying the chain tvhose track lay 
directly across this pile of material. Judge Nelson 
pushed it aside with his foot and exixised a large 
rattlesnake (dead), which had been pressed as Hat as 
a board. Calling the attention of Mr. Finch to it, 
he e.xplained t1iat, having no straw to fill the bed, he 
had cut some rushes in the marsh, and, leaving them 
during the day to dry, had carried them home in the 
evening and filled the tick at night. Using the bed 
afterward, the reptile had been crushed and none 
were the wiser until it was found in the straw. 

The lumber interests will continue to be the prin- 
cipal industry in Arcada for a few years; but the 
splendid farms, taking the place of the majestic 
woods, will bring back larger returns. 

Arcada Townshi|) has been served by the follow- 
ing 

supervisors: 

Francis Nelson 1 855-6 

Anson R. .Arnold 1857 

Ralpii VAy 1X58-9 

L. C. Smith i860 

George W. Jennings 1861 

Alonzo E. Kingsley 1862 

Wm. Moyer 1 863 

T. A. Johnson 1 864-5 

Wm. S. Turck 1866 

Wm. Moyer 1 867 

George C'handler 1 868 

Ralph Ely 1869-70 

James T. Hall 187 1-2 

Wm. S. Turck '873 

James T. Hall 1874 

Wm. S. Turck 1875-6 

James T. Hall 1877 

F:. R. Spink 1878 

Wm. S. Turck 1879-So 

Darius Reed 1881 

George G. Holliday 1 882 

Darius Reed 1 883 




New Haven Township. 

;OHN A. and Richard Crispel are presuma- 
^■(.- bly the first settlers in New Haven. Their 




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location was made on section 4, in the year 
1854. Uncle Joseph Wiles, Henry Clark and 
Moses White came in 1855 and settled" on sec- 
tion 33. Rev. Charles Chick, a Methodist 
minister, was the first i)reacher to hold divine services 
in the township. Rev. W. S. Everest was the first 
Baptist minister presiding, and he yet has freipient 
appointments. 

Richard Houck, 'I'om Haynes, Alex. Chapman, 
Jacob Snyder, Jos. H. Bennett, Proctor Campbell, 
Peter Pendell and Franz Manache, all came in 1855 
and '56, with their families, and the township rapidly 
a'ssumed a prosperous outlook. 

The first school-house was built on section t,!,, and 
Arad Lindsay taught the first school in the fall of 
1855. All the religious denominations who desired, 
used the school-house for services. The early set- 
tlers were essentially a church-going people, and are 
yet noted for their strictly orthodox principles. 

The first election in the township was held at the 
residence of Henry Clark. 

The march of imi)rovement has been rapid in New 
Haven, and the township ranks sixth in agricultural 
products. Not one of the original log cabins is now 
standing; their places are occupied by commodious 
residences and naught remains to remind us of its 
early history, save a few pioneers whose heads are 
thickly sprinkled with gray hairs. They are taking 
their ease and enjoying a handsome competency, 
after many years of arduous toil. 'l"he pioneers 
fared badly, as every one knows. There were not a 
half dozen teams in the county in 1854. and all the 
|)rovisi()ns had to be carried on the shoulders of men. 
Alex. Chapman, one of the first settlers of New Ha- 
ven, freipiently carried a hundred |)0unds of flour '^ 
upon his back, from Matherton to the neighborhooil 
in which he resided, a distance of 14 miles. 

New Haven Township had a Fourth-of-July cele- 
bration of her own in 1862. Iweryboily who was 
left in the town after the husbands, fathers and sons 
had gone to the war, came out to have a good time. 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Emery Crosby was the Orator of the Day and gave 
the people a very good address. Tom Haines made 
all tlie music necessary, with one violin, there being 
no brass bands in the county. Guns were fired, and 
the woods resounded with the shouts of old and 
young. A table was spread under the trees, and an 
elegant dinner was served to the entire party. 

New Haven was for many years without roads, and 
the highway commissioners issued bonds to the 
amount of $5,000, which were negotiated with St. 
John's and other parties. The amount allowed by 
law being only $1,000, the bonds were afterwards 
repudiated, and John Hicks and others lost quite a 
large sum of money. This is a stain upon New Ha- 
ven, from which she will never recover. 

New Haven is bounded on the north by Sumner, 
on the east by Newark, and on the south by North 
Shade Townships. The western boundary is Mont- 
calm County. The number is 10 north and 4 west. 
Most of her best lands were purchased by specula- 
tors, which retarded for a long time the settlement of 
the township. The parts now under cultivation are 
very fertile. 

Mr. Charles H. Morse has served the township 
longer as Supervisor than any other representative 
elected in that capacity, and is one of her most en- 
terprising and wealthy men. Read the list of the 



supervisors: 



Joseph N. Bennett, 
Henry P. Clark, 
Joseph N. Bennett, 
Henry P. Clark, 
J. A. Crispel, 
A. H. Mack, 
Addison Helliack, 
M. H. White, 
P. Burlingame, 
Charles H. Morse, 
VV. S. Everest, 
Charles H. Morse, 
I). W. Gardner, 
S. C. Robinson, 
Charles H. Morse, 
A. J. Chambers, 



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1855 
1856 

1857 

1858 

1859-60 

1861 

1862 

1863-7 

1868-9 

1870-2 

1873 

1874-6 

1877 

1878-80 

1881 

1882-3 

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Pine River Township. 

This township was organized during the win- V^ 
i ter of 1855, and originally embraced the 
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townsliip of Bethany. It is numbered 12 
north, and 3 west of the 3d principal meridiani 
and is bounded on the north by Isabella County, 
on the east by Bethany Township, on the south 
by Arcada Township and by Seville on the west. 
Pine River Township is a most excellent body of 
land and was from the first one of the most enter- 
prising in the county. 

George L. Spicer was elected first Supervisor. He 
settled on what was afterward known as the "Smith 
Farm," half way between Alma and St. Louis. 

Joseph Clapp and Sylvanus Groom came in the 
spring of 1853, and soon after moved the family of (^ 
Mr. Groom into a shanty built by William McOmber, ^ 
which was used by him as headquarters in making /s 
purchases of furs from the Indians. The coming of 
Mr. McOmber at a much eadier date is mentioned 
elsewhere. 

To Joseph Clapp belongs the credit for the early 
settlement of this townsiiip, who, being a very enter- 
prising man, brought help and at once commenced 
getting out timbers tor a saw-mill, which was [mt into 
successful operation at a later date. At his own ex- 
pense he employed men and opened a road along 
the " Old Indian Trail " from Maple Rapids to the 
point where St. Louis is now located, thus paving the 
way for ingress to the locality ; to him belongs the 
credit of the first great " pioneer work " done for 
Gratiot County. 

The timber in this township was of the best quality. 
Towering pines, majestic oaks, maples and hickories 
grew closely together, presenting an unbroken front 
to the woodman's ax. A dam was constructed across 
Pine River at a point opposite the mill site, in 1854, 
but Ralph Ely, the pro|)rietor of Alma, came with a 
force of men and tore it out on the 22d of Septem- '^^ 
ber. This act on the part of Mr. Ely caused great 
indignation among the settlers who were quite anx- 
ious that the mill be put in running order, that lum- 
ber might be procured with wliich to i)uild themselves 
homes. Mr. Ely had previously succeeded in navi- 
gating Pine River witli a tlat-boat as far as Saginaw, 



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^ and claimed in justification of his act that Mr. Clapp 
;■ had no right to place such an obstruction across the 
,',*■» river, thereby impedinL; navigation. 
T The first sawing was done at tlic new mill in April, 
^ 1856. 

Kour or five log houses were liuilt on the bank of 
Pine River before the present village of St. Louis waS 
platted. 

Dr. Abrani Crawford came from Lansing in 1X54^ 
having already some landed interests near I'ine 
J River. He conceived the idea of a village, to be 
\ called " Pine River," and the plan was subseuuenlly 
carried out. The doctor was noted for his eccentric- 
ities and skill in manipulating those who could bes' 
serve him in business. The strife for the location of 
the county-seat was at its height — Gratiot Center, 
Alma and Pine River, all chiming their eligibility ; 
but while the people wrangled with the project the 
doctor went to Lansing, and through the intervention 
of jwlitical friends succeeded in having an act passed 
by the Legislature locating the county seat at " Pine 
River." He brought a surveyor, Mr. L. D. Preston, 
^ from Lansing, who surveyed 150 acres into village 
•^ lots, which were lithographed and placed on sale. 
f=i The doctor and his friends in the vicinity of " Pine 
River" thought he had done a nice piece of strategy 
in thus securing, as they thought, the county seat ; 
but subsec|uent developments showed their mistake. 
However, it was understood that the action of the 
Board of Supervisors in " staking down " the county 
seat was both illegal and void, and ipiite a sectional 
feeling was exhibited. The first session of Circuit 
Court was held at Alma, bat in the township of 
" Pine River," Alma being situated partly in Arcada 
and partly in " Pine River." The FJoard of Super- 
visors finally located the county seat permanently at 
Ithaca, in January, i860, and^the township of I'ine 
River submitted with becoming grace. 

A jxjstoffice was established here in ICS55, witli Dr. 
Crawford as Postmaster. He carried the first mail 
from Maple Rapids to Pine River in his pockets. 

Frank Clapp, son of Joseph and Mrs. Clapp, was 
the first white child born in this township. 

Mr. Sidney S. Hastings and family came in June, 
1855. His earthly goods, family, etc., were brought 
from Saginaw on a "dug-out," with an Indian as 
pilot, there being no roads, and this the only means 
of reaching Pme River except via Maple Ra[)ids. 



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Dr. Crawford erected a hotel in St. Louis, in 1856, 
upon land given for that purix)se by Mr. (■|a[)p. 
This hotel was not only well patronised, but was 
used as a |)ostoffice, and the first session of circuit 
court was held in it. Jacob Wilden, a German, put 
in the first stock of groceries. They were all shipped 
to Saginaw e.xcepting one wagon-load, which he 
brought direct from Williams Co., Ohio, his former 
location. There l)cing no road to Saginaw, Wilden 
constructed a l)oat which was used in carrying his 
stock from that place to St. Louis. This boat was 
made from a [line tree which grew in front of Col. 
P^lwell's house, and was seven feet in diameter. It 
was known as the largest pine tree in Ihe county. 
Tlie boat, when completed, was painted a dark red 
color, and was christened " Red Susan," in honor of 
Mr. Wilden 's daughter. 

Dr. John K. Cheesman came in 1857 from Ham- 
ilton Townsliip, and Ed. Cheesman and tJilbert 
Pratt purchased a tract of land adjoining Pine River. 
.\ part of this, to which was given the name of St. 
Louis, was surveyed and platted, into which Pine 
River was subsequently merged, and the name of the 
[XDstoffice changed in accordance therewith. The 
doctor put in a stock of groceries, hardware, etc., and 
also dispensed pills and potions to the afflicted dur- 
ing the first few years of the county's history, but 
afterward sold his stock of goods and attenoed 
wholly to medical practice. 

Pine River is perhaps the wealthiest and one of the 
best townships in Gratiot, having within its lx)undary 
the beautiful and thrifty city of St. Ixjuis, as well as 
some of the wealthiest farmers in the county. It 
also embraces llie northern h.ilf of the village of 
.•\lnia, another liighly prosperous town. Pine River 
Townshi|) is, by reason of many natural resources, 
adapted for both agricultural and mechanical pur- 
suits, having a splendid water power, the beautiful 
stream, Pine River, passing through the southeastern 
iwrtion of the township. 

The Saginaw Valley & St. Louis railroad, and the 
Detroit, Lansing & Northern, pass through the south- 
ern jMartion of the township, giving every town in the 
county direct communication with all points north, 
south, east and west. The inhabitants have ever 
been noted for enterprise, and the evidences of 
wealth and refinement on every hand demonstrate 
the fact. 

The following gcTitiemen have served as Super- 



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746 



GRATIOT COUNTY. 



-^^^5C(®v^ 









visors of this townsliip. George Spicer was the first 
Supervisor elect, but he either resigned or failed to 
ipialify, and Hiram Burgess was aiipointed in his 
stead. I'ine River, for several years, swayed the 
county in a political way, it being well settled with 
men who took a deep interest in such matters. Her 
rank in this respect is still first, but the former war- 
cry of the inhabitants of, "As goes Pine River, so 
goes the election," is numbered among the things 
that were. Among these representatives will be seen 
the names of men who would do honor to any to»vn- 
ship. 

SUPERVISORS. 

Hiram Burgess 1855 

Sylvanus Groom 1856 

Sidney S. Hastings 1857 

Amasa Packard 1858 

Cornelius Holliday . 1859-63 

L. Smith 1864 

lames Gargett 1 865 

L. Smith 1866-8 

fames K. Wright 1869 

"lohn Vanderbeck 1870-2 

Edson Packard 1873-4 

H. P. Clark 1875 

n. R. Sullivan 1S76 

I), t). Cuff 1877-S2 

Chades R. Holliday 1883 




North Shade. 

Ills township is numbered 9 north and 4 
west. The northern boundary is New 
'^ Haven 'I'ownship; the eastern, Fulton; the 
southern, Clinton; and the western, Montcalm 
t^ounty. It is well watered by Otter and Pine 
Creeks, with their tributaries, all of which flow 
in an easterly direction. 

North Shade was organized in 1854, with Henry 
Lane as Supervisor. It also furnished the first sher- 
iff for Gratiot County, Mr. George E. Walker. It 
was the first township organized in the county. 

Tiie first permanent settler was William Avery, 
who, with his wife, located on section 31 in 1S47. 
The following spring, his father-in-law, John Sturgiss, 
came and occupied, with his family, a part of the 
house built by Avery. Roman I'yler and wife came 
in March, 1852. Mr. Fyler had previously erected a 




cabin on the southeast quarter of section 24. He 
was the first settler on the east two-thirds of the 
townsliip, and still owns his original purchase. 

He tells an amusing incident of the "starvation 
period " which illustrates well how those pioneers 
fared who were too proud to accept provisions sent 
in for the destitute and needy. They had taken a 
little girl four years of age to raise, and the first even- 
ing, for supper, they were making a meal upon [X)ta- 
toes which had been carefully saved for seed. The 
little maiden, evidently used to a more generous 
diet, surveyed her potato with its "jacket" burst 
partly open, and the glass of water by her side, with 
anything but satisfaction. Nerving herself for the 
effort, she asked, " Please, Mama, can I have some 
gravy?" " My dear," replied Mrs. Fyler, " we have 
no gravy this evening." " Will you please give me 
some butter, then? " asked the little innocent. But- 
ter also being one of the things not procurable, this 
reipiest was not complied with. Thinking that any- 
thing was preferable to nothing for " |)Otato season- 
ing," baby again asked, "Have you got any salt?" 
The supplicating tone of the child as the last ipies- 
tion was asked and answered in the negative, brought 
both smiles and tears to the face of kind Mrs. Fyler, 
who pacified her protigcc by saying that soon they 
would have gravy, butter and milk in abundance. 
The larder of these good people was as well supplied 
as many of their neighbors. 

George E. Walker came to the township in 1S47 or 
8, and his was the first wedding celebrated, which 
event occurred Jan. i, 1S50. Truman Wilson and 
family came in 185 1; L. B. Loomis and Joseph 
Roberts, in 1S53. There were scores of bears and 
deer in the woods, and Mr. Fyler relates the story 
that a hunter shot three bears from trees near his 
premises without moving his position. 

The first school-house was built on the southeast 
ipiarter of section 31, and Miss Mary Webstertaught 
the first school. There was a postoffice established 
in 1854 on section 6, but the postmaster, Joseph 
Comstock, moved to Montcalm County a year later 
and " took the office with him." Another was estab- 
lished in 1882, named for the present Su[)ervisor, 
William Brice. 

The farmers receive a weekly mail at this office 
and discuss the weather, cro|)s, and the gener.1l out- 
look, political and otherwise. Mrs. Lane, mother of 




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Henry S. Lane, the first Supervisor, proix)sed the 
name " North Shade," which was afterward adopted 
as the name for that township. The dear old lady 
passed from earth long ago, lier death being the first 
occurring in the township. This is not considered 
one of the best towns in the county for agricultural 
purjxjses, being rather flat and low. It is well adapted 
to the rearing of stock and also has some excellent 
farming lands within its boundaries. 

Among those who were pioneers in the townsliip, 
and yet reside upon and own the lands entered by 
them, are Messrs. John Dobson, John H. Salisbury, 
Charles Chick, Peter Shong, Charles Proctor, Peter 
Duffalo, L. B. Loomis, Roman Fyler, James Harlow, 
William Towner, Mrs. John Wright, George E. 
Walker, William Brice and John Kipp. All these gen- 
tlemen are substantial citizens and well-to-do in a 
financial way, thus showing conclusively that pluck 
and enterprise will always succeed. 

The first vote given in this township numbered 21, 
of which 1 9 were Whig and 2 Democratic. 

William Brice, the present Supervisor, came with 
his wife in 1854. They settled on section 21, and 
for a long while a (juilt did duty in lieu of a door. 
The nearest mill was at Matherton, nine miles away, 
and the settlers had neither teams nor wagons, the 
only wagon in the neighborhood being a rickety old 
thing owned by William Hall, a Baptist minister. 
This was used generally by all who had any teaming 
to do. The virgin forests were so dense that a few 
rods traveled shut off all trace of a settlement. Mr. 
and Mrs. Brice, accompanied by their neighbors, John 
and Mrs. Carr, started out one afternoon to look over 
their lands. After walking for a time tlie truth 
flashed upon them that they were lost. 'I'hey were 
sure that home could be only a short distance away, 
but in what direction could only be guessed. Dark- 
ness came on and the dismal howl of many wolves 
broke the stillness of the summer night. After de- 
liberating, it was concluded best to remain where 
they were until morning, as the ladies had already 
suffered severely by reason of the long tramp and 
having their dresses nearly torn off by briers. The 
tinkle of a cow-bell was heard in the distance, which 
was delightful music to our weary pilgrims, as it de- 
noted at least the presence of some living animal 
besides bears and wolves. They determined to fol- 
low the sound of the bell at any rate, but had not 




proceeded far when it ceased entirely, the animal 
wearing it having lain down. 

The party concluded to try what effect a yell would 
have, not having thought of this before. A chorus of 
voices woke the echoes as they shouted lustily the 
oft heard " Hello ! " This effort was a success, and 
the shrill notes of a dinner horn were heard in an- 
swer, but at some distance away. After considerable 
trouble they reached a cabin which Stei)hen CoUett 
and wife had nearly completed, they being new com- 
ers in the neighborhood and as yet unknown to the 
parties that were lost. They were welcomed with 
hospitality for which the pioneers were so famed, and 
a supper was hastily prepared for the party. Only 
a short distance intervened between the lands of Mr. 
Brice and Collett, yet this was their first meeting. 
Many a hearty laugh has since been taken while dis- 
cussing events of pioneer life by these neighbors, 
who lived for years on the most intimate terms of 
acquaintanceship. After the death of Mr. Collett, 
his widow became the wife of Theodore Everest, and 
yet resides in the township of New Haven. 

During the earlier years Lyons was the nearest 
trading point, and goods were almost entirely carried 
on the backs of the settlers, owing to the impassable 
swamps and lack of teams. It was not accounted a 
great feat to carry a hundred ix)unds of flour 20 miles. 

In the subjoined list of Supervisors, the name of 
William Brice appears for 13 consecutive years, and 
this fact shows the appreciation of his services by the 
voters of his township. Mr. Brice is recognized as 
being one of the ablest and best Supervisors this 
county has ever had ; during his long term of service 
no measure has failed that he has advocated. North 
Shade is most fortunate in having such a representa- 
tive, as he has few equals and no superiors. 




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SUPERVISORS. 




Herny Lane 


'855-6 


Erastus Perry 


'857 


Emery Crosby ■ 


1858-62 


Erastus Perry 


1863 


Cieorge E. Walker 


1864-7 


A. P. Smith 


1868 


George E. Walker 


1869 


J. 15. Luther 


1870-1 


\Vm. Brice 


1872-84 


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Washington Township. 



•HIS township is bounded on the north by 
North Star, on the east by Elba Township, 
on the south by Clinton County, and the 
west by Fulton Township. It was organized 
in 1856, and is numbered 9 north and 2 west. 
The first election was held at the house of 
Edwin Tripp, with J. B. Smith, Alonzo A. Squire and 
Edwin Tripp, as Judges. W. W. Comstock was the 
first Supervisor. He figured quite largely as a local 
lX)litician for many years, and was one of the movers 
in establishing the first newspaper in Gratiot County. 

Washington Township is well adapted for agricul- 
tural purposes. The southern part of it being trav- 
ersed by Maple River, makes it an available region 
for rearing stock, a never-failing supply of water be- 
ing obtained at all seasons of the year. 

Philetus Whitford was one of the earliest settlers, 
and located on section 10. Cornelius Campbell came 
soon afterward and purchased a tract on section 8. 
His son, O. J. Campbell, was the first child born in 
the township and still resides there. 

The lumbering interest for many years took prece- 
dence of any other branch of industry, but a part of 
Washington is now under a high state of cultivation. 

Every locality is favored with incidents peculiar to 
itself, and two or three are appended here which were 
of actual occurrence and quite amusing illustrations 
of frontier style. 

A local justice was called upon to marry a couple 
in the neighborhood, but being somewhat poverty- 
stricken and almost barefoot withal, consented only 
on condition of his being fortunate enough to " bor- 
row" a pair of boots. This he succeeded in doing, al- 
though they were a " couple of sizes" too large for him. 
The ceremony was just as binding, however, and the 
parties as well pleased, as if he had worn a " French 
calf." 

At another time a message was left for him to go 
to Newark Township to perform a marriage service. 
Upon arrival he found four or five men sitting on the 
wood-pile in front of the house, among whom was a 
burly fellow six and a half feet tall, with an avoirdu- 
ix)is of more than 200. Not recognizing the bride- 



A 

neighbor's .vJ'. 



groom, arrayed as he was in shirt-sleeves and panta- 
loons, considerably dilapidated by long associations 
with pioneer life, our worthy 'Squire went in the house 
to see the parties desiring to wed. Meeting a woman, 
who with the aid of a little girl 14 years of age was 
engaged in preparing a very frugal meal, he asked 
who the parties were that expected to be married. 
The mother of the girl said that it was her daughter 
and that big fellow out on the wood-pile. Com- 
pletely astonished, the Justice said, " Sissy, do you 
want to get married .' " The reply came " that she 
didn't know." " Do you want to marry that follow 
out there ?" asked the Justice. " I don't know," 
said the girl. "Then I am sure that I shall perform 
no ceremony here," said our worthy functionary, and 
he bowed himself out of the door. Going to the 
would-be bridegroom, he read him a lecture as he 
deserved and demanded his fee, of $2, which he re- 
ceived although he wouldn't perform the marriage 
ceremony. This couple were married two years 
later. 

At another time he returned from a 
where he had been engaged in drawing up a will, cat 
The hour was 2 A. M., but a couple were waiting to W 
be married even at that early hour. The groom was d 
60, and the bride 20 years of age, but they were >t/ 
determined not to put off until to-morrow what "^ 
should be done to-day. After telling them to get 
ready, the woman took ofT her shoes, opened a little 
box which she had brought along, took out a pair of 
slipiJers and put them on. She also donned a wig 
of majestic proportions which, after being tied with 
a bright ribbon, made her look like a " daisy " by the 
side of the groom, who was dressed in a very rusty 
suit. Style in this case was everything, although 
there was but one room in which to make the prepa- 
ration for spreading it on. 

Many instances might be related of similar hap- 
penings, but this will suffice. Perhaps no harder 
times were experienced in the county during its early 
settlement than were those by the inhabitants of 
Washington and Elba Townships. Yet her people ^ 
have done well latterly, and many splendid farms 
grace the lands which are a credit to their owners as 
well as the county. 

Her people are mostly comiwsed of enterprising 
men, and a few years more will make a great change 
in the toiwgraphical outlook of Washington. Their 



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GRATJOT COUNTY. 



749 



schools are well attended, and the rising generation 
will excel their ancestry in an educational way. 

The gentlemen who have served with fidelity and 
honor as Supervisors are mentioned helow, and some 
(S; of tiiem have no superiors as financiers in tlie county: 



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SUPERVISORS. 



c-«. 



CA3 



W. W. Comstock, 
James M. Foote, 
Joseph B. Smith, 
Napoleon B. Fraker, 
Edwin Clark, 
Alex. Pulfrey, 
Najwleon B. Fraker, 
Wni. Long, 
Edwin Clark, 
Solomon Wyman, 
Napoleon B. Fraker, 
Wm. Long, 
Napoleon B. Fraker, 
J. C. Heslin, 
Wm. Long, 
J. C. Heslin, 
B. A. Hicks, 
O. J. Sprague, 
Wm. Ix)ng, 



— «»■ 



1856 

1857 

1858-61 

1862 

1863-4 

1865 

1866 

1867-8 

1869 

1870 

187 I 

1872-3 

1874 

1875-7 

1878 

1879-80 

1881 

1882 

1883 



V 



Wheeler Township. 

HE last, with the exception of Ithaca, to be 
organized, was Wheeler Township. It is 

r'"* the northeastern town of Gratiot County, 
and the boundaries arc as follows : On the 




•u 



north by Midland County, the east by Saginaw 
County, the south by Hamilton, and west by 
Bethany Township. It is numbered 12 north and 
4 west, and rates fourth in quality and productive- 
ness of lands, The town is sparsely settled, but 
here, as elsewhere, are found some spler.did farms 
and enterprising men. 

The first comers in the frontier township were 
John Yager, Thomas Burgess, James B. Wheeler, 
George Cady, Hamilton and John Allen, all of whom 
came in 1859. They selected lands and returned to 
Jackson County. In the spring of i860, accompan- 
ied by others, they came back and built several 
cabins, from which date Wheeler Township has a 
history. 

The first house erected was built in December, 
1859, on section 18, which was located by John 



Yager. James Burgess, Barney Swope, George Arm- 
strong, Samuel Cooper, with their families, arrived the 
next spring. Daniel Milligan, Edson Packard and 
J. Stevens were also among the first settlers in the 
township and have aided largely in its develoi)ment. 

Wheeler Township derived its name from James 
Wheeler, the first Supervisor. Breckenridge, (juitc 
an imix)rtant village, is located on sections 19 and 
30, in the western part of the township, ujwn the 
line of the Saginaw Valley & St. Ix)uis railroad, 
wliich traverses the entire township from east to 
west. Beaver Creek makes a detour through sec- 
tions 35 and 36. There are several sections belong- 
ing to non-residents, in the northeastern part of the 
town, which are unsettled. 

The lumber interest has been the chief source of 
revenue until lately. The unsettled lands belong to 
the railroad companies and are reckoned of good 
quality. 

Wheeler Township has been represented upon the 
County Board by the following 



SUPERVISORS : 



James B. Wheeler, 
Stephen Wood, 
Barney Swope, 
Milo A. Pomeroy, 
James B. Wheeler, 
Newell Smith, 
Milo A. Pomeroy, 
Newell Smith, 
Barney Swope, 
Newell Smith, 



1862-3 
1864 

'865-73 
1874 

1875 

1876-7 

1878-9 

1880 

1881 

1882-3 



Newark Township. 

EvVARK Township was organized in 1855, 
„ and Jacob L. Beechler was the first Supcr- 
^ visor. Newark ranks second in grade as 
regards agriculture, altliough most of her 
lands are fertile and well adapted to the same. 
There were ([uite extensive growths of pine, as 
well as the usual complement of hard woods, in this 
township, but the valuable pine has entirely disajv 
peared. 

Newark is bounded on the north by Arcada, on 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



the east by North Star, on the south by Fulton, and 
the west by New Haven Township. 

Pine Creek and its tributaries afford plenty of water 
during all seasons, and the farmers are prosperous in 
a high degree. 

Nelson D. Johnson and family came in January, 
1854, and settled on a part of section 36, which 
farm was afterward purchased by Leman A. John- 
son, who served many years as Supervisor. It is 
related that Nelson Johnson said that he had moved 
during his married life no times! The habit of 
pushing away from civilization was a mania with 
him, although he claimed that one more move would 
satisfy. The poor fellow died very suddenly with 
heart disease, while hunting, and his life's dream 
was never fully realized. 

Ebenezer W. Kellogg and wife came to Newark in 
1854, and settled on section 17. He was and ever has 
been an enterprising gentleman, and has done much to 
develop this township. From the date of his coming 
the town was rapidly settled, and farms were opened 
up on every hand. 

Most of the lands were purchased under the 
" Graduation Act," the settlers experiencing the same 
hardships during the " starvation period " as was felt 
by the inhabitants of other townships, though in a 
more limited degree. 

James Wood and family located on section 30, in 
January, 1854, and the first wedding in this town- 
ship was that of his daughter, Sarah, and Mr. John 
H. Shaffer. Hiram Burgess, a pioneer Justice of the 
Peace, performed the ceremony. 

Large quantities of maple sugar are manufactured 
in Newark, for which a ready sale is found at Detroit 
and elsewhere. Ebenezer W. Kellogg is the princi- 
pal manufacturer of this article. 

For Newark Township, the following is a list of the 



supervisors: 



Jacob L. Beechler, 
Ebenezer VV. Kellogg, 
A. J. Allen, 
Benj. Crawford, 
Leman A. Johnson, 
Ebenezer W. Kellogg, 
Chester Howland, 
Ebenezer VV. Kellogg, 
\. N. Covvdry, 
Ebenezer VV. Kellogg, 



60 



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1856 
1857 

1858 

I86I 

1862-9 

I870-I 

1872 

1873-81 

1882 

1883 



S-<s^-<iSi)>'^'^ 





Sumner Township. 



HIS township was named in honor of Chas. 
-^^ "^uniner. Its first vote, in 1856, was a 
'^ straight Republican ticket without a scratch. 
It is numbered 1 1 north and 4 west, and is 
bounded on the north by Seville Township, on 
the east by Arcada, on the south by New Ha- 
ven, and on the west by Montcalm County. The east, 
south and west parts of the township are well wa- 
tered by Pine River, which passes through the entire 
townshi[) in a semi-circle, making this one of the 
most desirable parts of the county for rearing stock. 
In 1S63, a village plat was surveyed at the intersec- 
tion of the lines of section 6 and 7 , to which was given 
the name of Elm Hall. The first settler in this town- 
ship was Rev. Daniel Strayer. He settled near where 
that village is now located. Soon after the platting 
of Elm Hall, another village was laid out four miles 
south, on sections 29 and 32, which was finally named 
" Estella," but had been called "Stovertown" and 
" Belltown.' Neither of them has acco.nplished 
much in a business way. Mr. George S. Bell was 
the first settler in that neighborhood, and from him 
the name "Belltown " was derived. 

Barlow Worthing settled on section 10. Hamilton 
Pritchard and Samuel Story came in 1854, and made 
settlements near each other. Michael McNamara 
and George and Isaac Gee settled on section 10, 
George S. Bell on section 31, 1. B. Ward on section 
2o, Samuel Siory on section 19, and Homer Town- 
send on section 11. Timothy Bardwell was also an 
early settler in this township. 

A postoffice was established in 1857, upon the pe- 
tition of 25 citizens, although to get that number all 
the men, women and children in the township had 
to sign it. It is related that it was held for a week 
or two with only 24 names attached, awaiting the 
arrival of a new-comer to complete the list. Finally 
another heir made an appearance in one of tlie fami- 
lies, and a "christening" was hurriedly had that the 
"citizen " might sign the petition. 

William Strayer took the contract for carrying the 
mails for 40 per cent, of the proceeds. His commis- 
sion amounted to 10}^ cents per diem, and it re- 
quired two days to make one trip. B. Blanchard 









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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



75' 



was Postmaster, hut had very little mail to handle. 

The first building erected at Kim Hall was a pine 
log store, •built by Charles Merrill. The first school- 
house was built of logs, and was used for church pur- 
poses as well for many years. Miss Lydia Walker 
taught the first school. The first frame building was 
the E.vchangc Hotel, built in 1862 by George J 
Butcher. 

The lumber trade of Sumner Township averages 
l^erhaps 80,000,000 feet per year, besides the amount 
of cereals produced. 

In 1854, there were only two acres of cleared land 
in the township; now there are thousands of fertile 
acres, from which immense harvests are annually 
reaped. 

Instead of the 17 votes of 1855, there are now 400 
enthusiastic men, most of whom have grown wealthy 
in consequence of their enter[)rise and zeal in the 
development of their broad acres, which rank second 
to none in No.thern Michigan. Later, there is no 
doubt that this townshij) will have a railroad, as the 
Marshall, Coldwater & Mackinaw road-bed is graded 
through the entire town. 

Many things might l)e said about the pioneers in 
this township, but the biographical sketches of most 
of them appear elsewhere, to which the reader is re- 
ferred. 

The following gentlemen have represented Sum- 
ner as 



supervisors: 




Barlow Worthing, 


1856-7 


David Ward, 


1858 


Isaac Gee, 


"859 


Joseph Rockafellow, 


i860 


Barlow Worthing, 


1861 


George Stratton, 


.862-3 


Barlow Worthing, 


1864 


George Stratton, 


1865 


Jabez Hawkins, 


1866-7 


Barlow Worthing, 


1 868 


Wni. H. I'ralt, 


1869-70 


C. Cleverden, 


187 1-4 


Ralph Quick, 


1875-6 


H. R. Bentley, 


■ 877 


J. N. Wilson, 


1878 


I. B. Ward, 


.879 


Henry Weiss, 


1880-3 




Charles E. Gilmore, of Elm Hall, is the proprietor 
of the Corner Local, a neat and newsy journal that 
enjoys a splendid circulation. For a paper published 



in so small a village as Elm Hall, we know of none 
more ably edited, or meriting the patronage of the 
public in a higher degree, than the Corner Local. 




ca: 






]jafayette Township. 

AFAYETTE is bounded on the north by 
Wheeler Township, on the east by Saginaw 
;.'y; J 'K County, the south by Hamilton, and the 
tj>y" west by Emerson Township. It is well watered 
by Beaver and Whortleberry Creeks and the 
north branch of Bad River. It is numbered 1 1 
north and i west, and is considered a fair agricultu- 
ral township. Among the earliest settlers — men 
whose toil has developed the land — are Messrs. Wm. 

D. H. Hammil, who located on section 36 in 1855 ; 

E. W. Mead on section 35, " Elder" Fay on sec- ^ ') 
tion 27, Samuel Wheeler on section 18, Theodore ^ 
Deveraux on section 19, and E. H. Burgin, David 
Thomas, Jeff England and L. H. Randall on lands 
in adjacent sections. 

Its organization was effected in 1S56, with K. W. 
Mead representing it as Supervisor. 

There is room in Lafayette for hundreds more of 
good, industrious men, and lands can be purchased c 
at a fair valuation. 

Game abounds in the woods, and good authority 
states that in 1882 Dr. Gulick killed 1 1 bears, besides 
other game, within its boundaries. When taken into 
consideration that this is within nine miles of the 
county seat, and in a country settled nearly 30 years, 
the story is surprising. 

Some of the pioneers were single men, and the 
story is related that one of them had built a cabin, 
but, finding it rather lonesome without the society of 
woman to help while away the long evenings, came 
to the conclusion that he would marry. One of his 
neighbors had a rosy-cheeked daughter that our 
Adonis had worshiped in secret for some time, but a^ 
never had the courage to speak to her upon the sub- 
ject. In f;ict, he was not even on speaking acipiaint- 
ance, although a near neigliLtor. Matters at last 
resolved themselves into such shape that he felt as 
if he must have her or die in the attempt. Going to 
a neighboring justice of the peace, he told him that 
he had " taken a notion to get married " and that he 



-mm^J^ 



752 









GRATIOT COUNTY. 



-#^(^V^i 



might hold himself in readiiiese to perform the cere- 
mony at an early date. 

Happening to mention before leaving that he had 
said nothing to the girl about this affair in which he 
was so deeply interested, the justice suggested that 
he had better first speak to the girl to ascertain her 
feelings upon the subject. William had never thought 
of a refusal, and that idea just entered his mind. 

" How would you get around her, 'Squire ?" asked 
Will. 

" Oh, that is the easiest thing in the world," quoth 
the justice. ''Just buy her a few presents, and step 
in some nice afternoon and have a pleasant chat ; 
everything will come around all right. In the mean- 
time, I will be getting ready and will perform thj 
ceremony at any desired time." 

The suggestion struck William with great force, and 
he lost no time in going to town and purchasing a 
cheap calico dress, and some other inexpensive trink- 
ets. Having purchased what seemed to him enough 
to delight the eyes of any female on earth, he started for 
her father's cabin, feeling very much like the milkmaid 
who carried the pail on her head. He imagined him- 
self the head of a family and the father of five or 
more children, together with all other luxuries that a 
married life is expected to produce ; nor was his rev- 
erie interrupted until he stopped at her door. Every- 
thing seemed propitious. The old man had gone 
hunting, and the mother and young children were 
visiting a neighbor. On a rustic bench near the door 
sat the object of his affections, engaged so busily in 
sewing that she failed to notice his approach. Stealth- 
ily creeping up on tip-toe, he tossed the bundle into 
her lap, and stepped back to await developments. 

The girl looked up in great astonishment, but recog- 
nizing her neighbor, asked him what he meant by such 
actions. Poor William was so confused that he could 
scarcely speak, but finally managed to ejaculate," Bus- 
iness! " The girl, not yet catching his meaning, be- 
gan questioning him and soon learned thatihe dress 
was intended as her wedding garment, and that the 
'Squire was " ready and a-waitin' to jine 'em." Not 
feeling in the mood just then for getting married, she 
declined his offer and handed back the calico, but 
the mortified youth would not accept it. He told her 
to " keep it as a reminder that William Jones had 
wasted his youthful affections uix)n her unworthy 
self." William afterward became a benedict, and 



ii^vs^^^^- 



reared a family of children, thus realizing his early 
dream of domestic bliss. 

Lafayette has had a greater number of Supervisors 
than any township in the county, the voters being de- 
termined to give every man a chance to fill an official 
position. This is right, and shows a true democratic 
spirit. Read the names and be convinced of its 
truth. 



SUPERVISOR? 




L. W. Mead, 


1856 


E. M. Munroe, 


1857 


Wm. Schadd, 


1858 


Wm. D. H. Hammil, 


1859 


Samuel T. Roe, 


i860 


A. Horwood, 


1861 


Jesse Willis, 


1862 


E. Avery, 
Samuel Wheeler, 


1863 
1864-9 


Charles C. Foote, 


1870 


J. N. Federspiel, 
H. R. Wilcox, 


187 I 

1872-4 


T. M. Becker, 
W. A. Nodding, ? 


1S75 
1876 


J. M. Federspief, 
Charles C. Foote, 


1877 
1878 


J. N. Federspiel, 
Wm. A. Moore, 


1879 
1880 


K. P. Peet, 


1881-2 


Jas. H. McNall, 


1883 

A, 1 m. . 




<m 



Elba Township. 

l^fi^I^BA is the southeastern township of this 

eciaiL county, and is yet rather sparsely settled. 

Some heavily timbered lands lie within its 

limits, and the woodman's ax is yet ringing 

merrily out as the monarchs of the forest come 

crashing down like grass before the sharpened 

sickle. 

Two of the first settlers were William and Daniel 
Call, who still reside in the township. 

The township of Elba was surveyed by R. Thomas 
in April, T831. He left nine sections in the north- 
west corner of the town where the village of Ashley 
is now located that he did not survey. The follow- 
ing is copied from liis field notes : 

" The remainder of this town it was im(X)ssibIe to 
survey on account of the depth of the water on Ma- 
ple River bottoms, whicli are one and a half or per- 



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G/iA TIO T CO UNT Y. 



753 



haps two miles wide in running to the north between 
sections 29 and 30. We set the corner of 19, 20, 29 
and 30 in three feet of water. We then attempted 
to run to the west. After proceeding 50 chains, we 
were obhged to return, and gave up all hopes of sur- 
veying the remainder, which is nothing more than a 
chain of alder and tamarack swanii). The marsh, 
which has been noted several times, runs in a north- 
east and southwest course, and about one and three- 
quarters of a mile from the west boundary, and runs 
up to the river; consequently the whole of the west 
and northwest part of the town is under water. On 
the morning of the 27th inst., myself and one of the 
men shipped in a canoe, and proceeded in a north- 
west direction one and a half miles, and could see 
no dry land, and then took an east course, and in an 
hour or two we arrived at the meridian in safety, in 
the northeast corner of the town." 

There is now many fine farms and some good 
school-houses in this section that he reported under 
water. 

These Government surveyors endured many hard- 
ships in surveying this county. The township lines 
were run by R. Clark in 1831. May 13, that year, 
camping at the northwest corner of Pine River Town- 
ship, he made the following note: "This night but 
two men out of six able to do anything. One man, 
left back six miles, is unable even to ride. All have 
sore feet. To-morrow we lie still. \Ve are only able 
to work three days in four, and then in extreme 
pain." 

This township ranks fourth in improvements and 
less than that in wealth. 

We mention here the several Supervisors of this 
township, most of whom are old residents and all 
now living, and are men of enterprise. The present 
Supervisor is one of the most influential young men 
in the township, and is well posted in the needs of 
his community. 



SUPERVISORS. 



Hanson Sinclair, 
R. G. Finch, 
C. Dodge, 
Wm. Call, 
Daniel Call, 
Ira J. Andrews, 
Wm. H. Morrison, 
Hanson Sinclair, 
J. B. Kneel and, 






1856 

1857-8 

1859-60 

I86I 

1862-5 

1866-8 

1869 

1870 

1871-6 



A. F. Rice, 

Edwin Meacham, 
A. F. Rice, 
Edwin Meacham, 



1877-80 
1881 
1882 
1883 

The southern and western portions of Elba is wa- 
tered by Maple River; the bottom lands are low, and 
cpiiie a large jwrtion of this township is not under 
good cultivation. There are some excellent farms, 
however, in this section, and the people are as thrifty 
and energetic as in other portions of the State. The 
Toledo, Ann .\rbor iS; North Michigan railroad passes 
through Elba from southeast to northwest, which aids 
much in the development of the country, giving them 
a belter market for productions of all kinds. 'l"he 
name of " Ashley " is given to the new station lo- 
cated on section 6, and this will undoubtedly become 
a good trading ix)int. 

A good story is told of a cojple wjio wished to be 
married in this township at an early day. They were 
lx)orin purse, but rich in their affection for each other, 
as proved by the woman's perseverance. A justice 
was called uiwnto perform the marriage ceremony for 
the couple, who had walked a distance of ten miles 
that morning. The would-be bridegroom carried a 
bag upon his shoulder, which was left at the gate. 
He inquired the amount of ready cash necessary to 
licpiidate the 'Squire's fee, and stated that they had 
no money, but if a trade could be made and the Jus- 
tice take his pay in '' beeswax " it would afford them 
great pleasure. The i)rice per pound was agreed 
upon, and the fellow brought in the bag, while the 
Justice hunted up his steelyards. UiX)n weighing, 
the wax was found a couple pounds short, and the 
'Squire hesitated about proceeding with the ceremony. 
The man turned toward his intended bride and 'said, 
"Well, Hanner, we kin wait awhile, and III hunt up 
another bee-tree." 

" Hanner' was not made of that kind of material, 
and she had walked ten miles to be married and was in 
no mood for fooling. Stepi)ing up to the "Scpiire and 
laying her hand on his shoulder, she said, " Now, 
'Sciuire, jist go on with the performance, and marry 
us as fur as the beeswax will go. We kin comeback 
next week and have the balance done when we bring 
the rest of the wax." 

The 'Squire couldn't stand that kind of logic, and, 
having "felt the tender passion " himself, tied the 
knot and the newly married pair started through the 
woods full of hope and joy. It is not recorded wheth- 



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GHA TIO T COUNT Y. 



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er they were successful in finding another " bee-tree," 
but the bill was paid in full at a later date. 

Elba was organized in 1856. Hanson Sinclair was 
the first Supervisor, and to him is accredited the nam- 
ing of the township. It is numbered 9 north, and i 
west, and is bounded on the north by Hamilton Town- 
ship, on the east by Saginaw County, on the south by 
Clinton County and the west by Washington Town- 
ship. 



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Emerson Township. 







I I ) particular history is attached to Emerson, 
its settlement being made about the same 
time as those in North Star, Arcada and 
Pine River. The first child born was a Eonof 
Mr. and Mrs. Levi Haight, the event occurring 
in the spring of 1855. The first death was that 
of Mrs. Mary Reed, a daughter of David Thorpe. 

The settlements were rapidly made in Emerson 
after 1855, Messrs. Isaiah Allen and five sons, John 
Knight, Alanson Bailey, Erastus Hunt and Melanc- 
thon Pettit, all coming in that year. 

Mr. Phillip R. Allen thus relates the manner in 
which he ground his corn during the hard times of 
1857. The nearest mill being on Fish Creek, 30 
miles distant, and the roads almost impassable, it 
required nearly a week to make the trip, and then 
only a few bushels of grain could be carried. His 
plan was an original one, and served his purjxjse, al- 
though somewhat tedious. Taking'a maple log, two feet 
in diameter, he bored a number of holes in the end, 
then built a fire upon it, burning a concave hole ten 
inches deep, after which the burned part was nicely 
scraped off. The pestle was made of a long, smooth 
stone, to which was attached a lever four feet long, 
the stone fitting in a mortise in the center. Pouring 
in the corn, in small (piantities, with two men at the 
lever, enough meal could be ground in a few hours 
to last them for two weeks. The "johnnycakes " 
made from the meal thus prepared were considered 
finer than can now be baked from our best meal ; but 
perhaps the exercise necessary to its manufacture 
contributed no little to the appetitesof those who" by 
the sweat of their face earned their bread." 







fi«^ 



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SUPERVISORS. 




Melancthon Pettit, 


1855-6 


Oscar A. Everden, 


1857 


Reuben Coffin, 


1858 


M. Pettit, 


1859-60 


Oscar A. Everden, 


1861 


Louis Hetzman, 


1862-5 


Lewis S. Brooke, 


1866 


Daniel F. Muscott, 


1867-8 


Lewis S. Brooke, 


1869 


Louis Hetzman, 


1870-1 


I. N. Coleman, 


1872-6 


John M. Everden, 


1877-8 


Jeremiah Shaver, 


1879 


Jesse Pepple, 


I 880- I 


John ^^ Everden, 


1882 


Jesse Pepple, 


1883 


x-^ n >.n>g: 


._«4ig^SsA- 



1 



A part of the village plat of Ithaca embraces the 
southwestern corner of Emerson, and the Toledo 
Ann Arbor & North Michigan railroad passes through 
its limits. 

Emerson also furnishes its share of " bear stories," 
five large bears being killed there during 1883, and, 
many others in previous years. The waters of Beaver 
Creek and its tributaries make it an excellent location 
for farmers who are engaged in stock-raising. Most 
of the lands in this township are cleared of the for- 
mer wealth of heavy timber, but the soil is found 
very productive, and the inhabitants are rapidly grow- 
ing wealthy. 

Emerson is bounded on the north by Bethany, the 
east by Lafayette, the south by North Star, and the 
west by Arcada Townships. Its number is 1 1 north, 
9 west. 

Good schools abound, and her people are intelli- 
gent, moral and industrious. 

The location of Emerson, so near the center of 
the county, together with other natural advantages, *^ 
are sufficient to ensure it at no distant day a rank 
second to none in the county. 

Emerson Township derived its name, by an acci- 
dental corruption, from William Imisson, an English- 
man who first settled within its limits. 

The Supervisors from this town have always labored 
to promote its best interests, and their names are at- 
tached with much pleasure as an addendum to the 
history of this township. Melancthon Pettit, the first 
one, has long since been " gathered to his fathers," 
but his record will ever remain, according him a place 
in the front rank of Gratiot's pioneers. 



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HOSE who arc reared in the 
midst of luxury and rocked 
in the cradle of affluence, 
know comparatively nothing of 
the hardshi\>s and pleasures 
attendant ui)on pioneer life. 
l-:^^^rlj/ The attractiveness of our beauti- 
ful farms and picturesque land- 
scapes, dotted here and there 
with neat and substantial resi- 
dences, present a pleasing picture 
in strong contrast wi'.h the hum- 
ble log cabin of 1854, whose walls 
sheltered a few articles of rude fur- 
jvjjyj, niiure, and the stumps in the door- 
vSMl yafd were repositories for cross-cut 
saws, the beetle and the ax. Many 
of the children who were born be- 
|Ki neath these humble roofs, whose 
y infantile cries were Inished by a 
tender mother's soft lullaby as she 
carefully rocked them to sleej) in a 
cradle inijjrovised from a basswood 
I sugar- trough, are the men who now 
fill official positions, and conduct the business affairs 
of this county. 

The log cabin yet remains ; silent and iinpieten- 
tious it stands, reminding us of former days and 
associations. Who can look at one of these relics of 



l)ioncer life and not call to mind the toil and priva- 
tions of early days ? She whose willing hands and 
warm heart helped you figlit life's battles, plied the 
busy needle, or prepared the frugal meal around the 
huge fireplace, whose crumbling remains are yet visi- 
ble, is perhaps slee])ing the sleep of death, while 
another enjoys the fruits of her toil and care. Si- 
lently you gazed on the features of that wan little 
one in that old cabin as its spirit winged its flight, 
and now the bodies of them both are resting side by 
side in the City of the Dead. Such memories cluster 
about the old log cabin that you can hardly lay rude 
hands upon the decayed material, even to remove 
it. Every log and chink has a history, and could 
they speak, would relate a story worth listening to. 
But these relics must give place to the more substan- 
tial and modern improvements, and ere another 
decade has passed, scarcely a trace will remain of 
Ijioneer life. 

Previous to the year 1.S50 there was only one road, 
or trail, in the county. It led from Maple Rapids to 
the Lutheran mission on I'ine River, and was made 
by the Indians. The woods were full of game, and 
large quantities of furs were purchased by William 
McOmber, even at that early date, for the North- 
western Fur Company. He is yet a h.ile and cordial 
gentleman, and is engaged in active business at St. 
Ix>uis. Mu< 1) difliculty w.is experienced by the early 
settlers in getting their goods through the almost im- 









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GRA TIOT CO UNTY. 



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penetrable forests and across the marshy lowlands to 
the site selected for their homes. One mile was con- 

/j- sidered a fair day's journey through the dense forests, 
f as the road had to be cut every foot of the way. 

($1 Arnold Payne, with his family, came to what is now 
Fulton Township, in 1846, and his house was the 
most ample of all in the neighborhood. For several 
years it was headquarters for all new comers, and 
the cheerful old fireplace, with blazing logs piled 
high, and a well-spread table, made it a most desira- 
ble place for all to rest and refresh themselves, 
whether going or coming, in search of lands. 

Arnold Payne's house was not the only one where 
strangers could be accommodated. In fact, every 
cabin was a hostelry where the tired stranger was 
made welcome and treated to the best the larder con- 
tained, which was very often nothing but wild meats 
and corn bread; game furnished tlie basis of the 
meat supply, and "jerked venison, " bear," and other 
savory meats graced the table of every early settler. 
A brief narration of the difficulties e.xiierienced in 
moving a family into such a wilderness as Gratiot, 
will be of interest to every one, and a brief article 
from the pen of Rev. H. T. Barnaby, who came with 
his family, in company with that of Peter Hoffman, 
in May, 1854, presents an experience similar to that 
of every new comer. These gentlemen had pre- 

1 ) viously selected lands on section 28, in what is now 
North Star Township, and had cut a road from what 
was then known as the " New Pine River Trail," to 
their new home. 

Their families were left at the house of Levi 
Smith, who was living on section 1 1, in Fulton Town- 
ship. Their goods were brougiit thus far with hired 
teams, which were dismissed at that place and the 
goods unloaded. Messrs. Barnaby & Hoffman pro- 
ceeded on foot to their claim and cleared away the 
brush and logs from the place where they proposed 
to erect their cabin. To (juote his exact language: 
" .After cutting the necessary number of logs, and 
splittnig some 'shakes' for covering, we procured seven 
men, some of whom came over a distance of nine 
miles, by whose aid our house was raised, which was 
32 feet long and 16 wide, with a partition of logs in 

% the middle, thus making two rooms 16 feet s<iuare, — 

^ one for each family. 

($) "The next day, while Mr. Hoffman cliopped a hole 

>^ for convenient egress and ingress into each room, 



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I undertook 10 move two loads of the goods with our 
families. We made a success with one load, but 
when within two miles of home with the second, — 
our families being on this load, — the ' leeks ' uiwn 
which oui cattle had been living for a few days 
' played out,' and the oxen refused to go further. I 
sent the women and children forward on foot, and 
the oxen were turned loose to make another supi)er 
on 'leeks.' When it became dark the oxen were 
again hitched \\\i, but after going a few rods refused 
to proceed further on such short rations. They were 
unyoked and turned loose, and I proceeded to the 
cabin, wliere a Luge fire was made in front of the 
house and beds were spread on the ground, inside. 
After a boun'.iful supper, spread upon the top of an 
inverted diy-goods box, we retired to rest for the first 
time in our new home. Such was the experience of 
the early pioneers of this country. Yet severe as 
was the toil, and great the inconveniences, most, if 
not all, look back to those days as the hap[iiest of 
their lives. ' 

What was known as the " Graduation Act," look 
effect in in August, 1854, and hundreds of men with 
families came flocking into the county,— many of 
them with barely money enough to purchase 40 acres 
of land at 50 cents i)er acre, after which purchase 
nothing was left for subsistence, and the whole 
country being a dense wilderness, without any pros- 
pects for raising a crop, the outlook was most 
discouraging. These poor people never took into 
consideration that food and shelter was necessary to 
afford subsistence ; but on they came, many of them 
settling at a remote distance from where provisions of 
any kind could be obtained, and the conse(|uences 
were that many cases of real destitution occurred 
and much suffering ensued. 

This "Graduation Act " would have been a god- 
send to this county ; but three months after its pass- 
age a proclamation was issued that all who iiad 
purchased land under tiiis act, should settle uiion it 
within one year from date of tlicir purchase or forfeit 
it. Could they iiave been allowed more time to 
make preparations, or had the county been settled 
more gradually, the surrounding country could have 
yielded supplies and much suffering would have 
been prevented; neither would the name of " .'Starving 
(Iratiot," as unjust as it is offensive to tiie hardy 
pioneers, have been applied to this, one t)f the most 




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fertile and healthful counties in the M.ite. I he en- 
terprise and integrity of her people elicited the 
admiration of the inhabitants of neighboring coun- 
ties who cheerfully furnished aid. By this means 
were many of the rew comers enabled to hold their 
lands, and some of them are yet living who owe their 
all to the aid which came so providentially. 

During the summer and fall of 1855, the po|)ula- 
tion rapidly increased, and the woodman's ax had 
cleared large fields, and many improvements were 
seen on every hand. School-houses were erected, — 
rude ones, it is true, — yet many substantial educa- 
tions were gained in the log school-houses of that 
day, as attested by some of the foremost business 
men of the county. 

Religious meetings were held in the school-iiouses 
and at private residences in different parts of the 
county, which were attended by an earnest and intel- 
ligent class of people. Rev. Elias Sower, Elder 
Israel Fay, Rev. Daniel Strayer, Rev. Elijah Beard 
and Rev, H. T. Barnaby were the first ministers to 
settle in the county, all of whom came in 1854. 

The fall and winter of 1856 was a very eventful 
one in the history of this county. Many of the set- 
tlers had no teams, and knew but little of agriculture, 
thinking that all the labor necessary to raise a crop 
was to deix)sit seed in the ground. With a spade or 
hoe they planted corn among the logs and brush, and 
were surprised that their crops amounted to compar- 
atively nothing. Squirrels and mice being very de- 
structive, and the season cold, the harvest that fall 
was light. Provisions of all kinds became very 
scarce and high. The nearest mill where settlers 
could get their corn ground was at Matherton, in 
Ionia County, making a journey of from 30 to 40 
miles for many of the inhabitants. Many a bag of 
corn was carried on foot from 10 to 15 miles in con- 
seipience of impassable roads. In fact, there were 
but four horses in the county, oxen furnishing about 
the only means of locomotion. Much of the corn- 
meal was ground in a cofTee-niill, or grated ujwn a 
sheet-iron grater. 

The forests abounded with bear, and many limbs 
were broken from the oak trees that they ascended in 
search of acorns. Scores of them were killed during 
the season, and Bruin contributed his share toward 
feeding and otherwise keeping comfortable the needy 
settler. Mr. Sidney S. Hastings' di:iry furnishes the 



inturmalion that Dr. (. rawford's ox team was two 
weeks on the road from Lansing with 500 [wunds ol 
tlour, and that two-thirds of the inhabitants of the 
county had neither tlour nor meat. The same entry 
states that the hoofs came off the oxen which made 
the trip, being frozen while on the way. The roads 
were so bad that a new trail had 10 be cut most of 
the way. 

Dr. John R. Cheesman relates with great gusto an 
adventure which befel him in 1856. We dislike to 
tell " bear stories," but the reliability of the Doctor 
i^ un(iueslioned, and the story carries with it (juite a 
history, inasmuch as from the circumstance originated 
the figure which adorns-the seal of Judge of Probate. 

The good Doctor was returning from the woods 
where he had some men working, and while walking 
along discovered a huge bear ambling listlessly about. 
Knowing them to be comparatively harmless unless 
wounded, the Doctor concluded to give Bruin a " bit 
of a scare;" but the secpiel proved somewhat embar- 
rassing to him, to say the least. The bear was search- 
ing for stray acorns, and Dr. Cheesman concluded to 
slip quietly up, shy his hat at him, and see the beast 
put in his best licks in getting away. The first act 
in the farce was a success ; but the second took an 
unexpected turn ; for the bear, instead of running 
away, took after the Doctor, who made good time 
until he espied a sapling, which had evidently grown 
conveniently near for his especial protection. Into 
this he climbed, but was scarcely out of Bruin's 
reach, who further vented his ill-pleasure at being 
disturbed in his search for a meal, by growling and 
gnawing at the sapling. The Doctor had faced with 
cheerful heart the malarious breezes of Michigan 
upon a liiet of leeks and surface water, but this was 
his first experience in climbing a tree that bore no 
fruit, just for the fun of it. He yelled lustily for 
help, which soon came, and the bear was driven 
away. 

Dr. Cheesman had ample time to [Kinder uixm the 
frailties of life while taking in the scene fron> his ele- 
vated ixjsition, and mentally vowed to be nioderate 
in his charges to those who were unfortunate enough 
to be " very |K>or," where there was no hope of mak- 
ing collections. From this circumstance, and to com- 
memorate the miraculous escape of the Doctor, who 
was regarded by all as a (lersonage th.it could ill 
afford to be spared, the figure of a bear was adopted 



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as the seal of Judge of Probate, an office which Dr. 
Cheesinan filled with credit to Iiiiiiself and his con- 
stituents. 
I The fall of 1856 was a noted season in the histor)^ 

^ of this county. The summer-had been very dry and 
^^ hot, and the woods, which were clothed with luxuri- 
ant foliage, became filled with a smoke so dense that 
objects could scarcely be seen two rods away. Fires 
raged throughout this portion of the State, and much 
property was destroyed, as well as thousands of acres 
of the finest timber. We have it from indisputable 
authority that in October of that year business of any 
kind indoors had to be transacted by the light of a 
tallow dip, even at noonday. There were numerous 
instances of men running against deer and other 
wild animals while walking in the woods, and many 
persons suffered greatly. Cattle would not leave the 
houses to feed, and numbers of them died, as well as 
many wild animals. The ashes covered the ground 
in low places a depth of four or five inches, and the 
extremities of animals that were obliged to walk 
through it in search of food were blistered and burned 
C3 almost to their knees. Much of the fire continued 
^ long after winter set in, and the hunter found many 
^ opportunities to warm his hands by a blazing stump 
^ when the snow lay on the ground. 



Children cried for something, they knew not what. 
Women looked sad and discouraged ; even the men 
conversed in subdued tones ; a general quiet reigned 
among all living things. When a rain came and 
the breeze lifted the clouds of smoke away, the deso- 
lation which prevailed was enough to make even the 
stoutest heart feel desjxjndent. Wagon loads of dead 
fish floated in Pine River, and the entire country was 
a blackened, cheerless waste. 

To all things, however, an end comes, and the 
spring of 1857 opened up splendidly. Large quanti- 
ties of maple sugar were manufactured, but it brought 
a small price, and provisions were very high. There 
was no regular market price for flour, and dealers put 
up jirices to suit themselves. Flour was sold for $10 
per barrel when the highest market quotations for 
wheat in this State was $1 per bushel. l!y the first 
of May, every bushel of wheat and corn in the whole 
country was disposed of, except what the farmers re- 
(juired for their own use, and nothing could be found 
in the way of breadstuffs this side of Lansingor Ionia. 

The roads were almost impassable, and the few 



teams in the county were oxen; and it took a week 
or more to make a tri]) for provisions. They had no 
money, and it seemed as if destitution, and not pros- 
perity, would be their lot in life; yet they struggled 
bravely on. 

The news of want in this and adjoining counties 
reached the ears of kind-hearted people in other por- 
tions of the State, and donationb of food and provis- 
ions were cheeifully made which gave them renewed 
courage. Many of the less courageous left as soon 
as they could get away, but those who remained have 
the satisfaction of seeing their labors crowned with 
success ; and, although " tried by fire," want and 
suffering, tlieir reward is great. Gratiot County 
surely experienced more disaster and hardships than 
any other county in the State during its early settle- 
ment, and not until i860 did anything like a satisfac- 
tory degree of prosperity greet those who had toiled 
early and late to provide for tlieir families. The 
only thing in common which prevailed except ex- 
treme poverty was good health, without which they 
would have been miserable indeed. In May, 1859, 
the Board of Supervisors appropriated $8,000 to be 
used, if necessary, in purchasing supplies for the peo- 
ple, which supiilies were to be sold them on credit, 
if necessary, in order that their immediate wants be 
relieved. Mr. Ralph Ely, Supervisor from Arcada, 
was appointed an agent to negotiate these orders in 
Detroit and other places, and succeeded in doing so 
to the amount of §4,000. 

Corn meal, rice, beans, pork, fish, etc., were sent 
from Detroit to various distributing points, and the 
supervisors of the different townships appointed as 
sub-agents in their distribution. Even tliis relief 
hardly kept them until harvest time, and many fami- 
lies lived for weeks on what they could find in the 
woods. Those days gave rise to the expression we 
have often heard, " Sawdust pudding and slippery- 
elm gravy." The crops of that year were very fine, 
with the exception of corn, which was badly injured 
by an early frost. 

The repoit of Mr. Ely at the (Dctober meeting of 
the Board of Supervisors regarding the purchase, 
shij^ment, etc., of supplies, was satisfactory, and his 
vouchers, according to custom were burned, and he 
was discharged from further responsibility. 

Mr. Lafayette ("hurch was not so fortunate; and 
from the unreliability of persons who had access to 



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the j;txKis .iikI the iiersons to whom ihcy were lun- 
sij^ned, he w.isshurl $i 30 in fooling up accomUs, wiiith 
amount he [laid out of his own pocket. The action 
of the Hoard in thus compelling Mr. Church to pay 
that amount was severely censured by some, others 
claiming that he should have been more careful in 
the distribution and ought to pay it. The Board of 
Supervisors afterward refunded the money, as they 
were convinced that Mr. Church accounted with ex- 
actness for everything passing through his hands. 

The oath administered before provisions could be 
obtained which were sent for distribution, was " iron- 
clad " in its meaning, but some even then took ad- 
vantage of the opportunity to procure that to which 
they were not justly entitled. Printed blanks were 
furnished which were filled out with the names of 
different articles needed, the number in family, and 
amount of provision then on hand and of what kind. 
The applicant then subscribed the following oath : 

" I, John Doe, do solemnly swear that I am ilic 
head of the family above mentioned, and have only 

provisions enough to last days, neither have I 

the means of procuring any except in this manner: 
so help me God." 

In 1857, a flouring mill was Imilt at Alma, whicli 
was a great convenience to the settlers in this county, 
as the wheat crop was an excellent one, and those 
who had known only corn bread and potatoes for so 
long could indulge in tiie luxury of wheat bread at 
every meal. 

In the winter of 1857, Robert Sutton, a printer, 
came to Ithaca; a meeting was held at theold court- 
house by a number of the citizens, and it was deter- 
mined to have a paper, Messrs. W. W. Comstock, 
Franklin Miller and others taking quite an active 
part in making arrangements for establishing the 
same at an early date. In the spring of 1858, Messrs. 
Sutton & S. M. Miller |)urchased a printing press 
and office at Owosso, and moved it to Ithaca in May. 
The |)aper was called the Graiiot Nnvs, and was 
edited by Franklin Miller, the first Prosecuting Attor- 
ney of this county, for six months, when the material 
was purchased by W. W. Comstock, and changed 
from a neutral to a Repuljlican paiier. 

The .Supervisors must have been a rather noisy set of 
men during the year 1856, for the official record shows 
that L. C. Knapp presented a bill to that august body 
in which he demanded compensation " for broken 



beilsteads and unnecessary 1 onlusmn. I'he bill was 
referred to the I'ommiltee on Claims and was i>aid, 
perhaps out of their own pockets. 

The question th.il demanded first consideration 
was the opening of the tlioroughfares through the 
dense forests. Hardly a ray of sunshine could reach 
the ground, and the clay soil was never dry. There 
was a bridge across Maple River at the place called 
Maple Rapids, from which an Indian trail extended to 
the Lutherati mission, on Pine River, and this afforded 
the only route for transit between the two places. 
This was afterward widened by Joseph Clapp, of Pine 
River, until teams could pass over it. This was 
knovvn as the " Old Trail," over which most of the 
|)ioneer fan. ilies came. Ralph F^ly, soon after his ar- 
rival in the county, opened up a road from Alma to 
Maple Rapids. The third was a branch of the " Old 
Trail," diverging from it on section 32 in Fulton 
Township, pas'sing through that, North Star and Ham- /- -n 
ikon Townships. For many years these were the 
only roads leading out of the county, and they were 
in many places almost impassable. 

The Legislature by special act in 1866 and r867, 
provided aid for the construction of State roads to 
Saginaw- and St. John's, and roads in other localities 
were nicely graded and well bridged. Gratiot Coun- 






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ty has within jier boundaries as many miles of e.xcel- \ 
lent roads as can be found in the same area any 
where in which gravel cannot be obtained. 

While most of tlie pioneers were men of brawn and 
muscle, among them was occasionally found one who 
was an inveterate coward. Rev. Barnaby relates an 
incident where a fellow by the name of .Shively fig- 
ured, which is ludicrous, to say the least. Shively 
was afraid, not only of getting lost, but of being at- 
tacked by bears while working in the woods. The 
ground was covered with a light snow, and Shively 
had gone to the woods to chop, taking, as was his 
custom, his gun for protection in case a bear should 
be unwary enough to come within sight. Mr. Har- 
naby lived near where Shively was working, and the 
family were, on the day in ipiestion, somewhat alarm- 
ed to see Shively coming across the clearing at the 
top of his speed, without hat or gun and his longhair 
streaming in the wind. Bursting into the house, he 
told in spasmodic utterances that he had shot at a 
very large bear, which had then attacked him, when 
he threw down his gun and climbed a tree, that the 



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bear passed, and he had come for help to dispatch 
him. 

Starting for the scene of encounter, they found the 
bear (a small cub) lying dead near the tree that 
Shively had tried to climb, but which in reality was 
only a small sapling, around which he liad thrown 
his arms and legs and taken a seat in the snow ir.- 
stead of climbing at all. Fear in this instance made 
him feel as if he had climbed a tree, although his 
would have been an unpleasant position had a bear 
actually attacked him. 

William McOmber relates the story of killing the 
largest wildcat ever seen in the county, and gives 
it as his first remembrance of fear at sightof any wild 
beast. Himself and Nau-ge-sic, a son of the cliief, 
were going from the Indian mission to Maple Rapids 
in 1849, and had stopped for the night at a bark shan- 
ty half way between the two places, the trip being a 
two-days" journey. This shanty had been built for 
occujiancy during these journeys, and frying-pans, 
etc., were left there to save transiwrtation. A large 
tree had blown over, lodging in the fork of anotlier 
one standing in front of the shanty, which tree forms 
an important part of the story. 

After eating supper, Nau-ge-sic crawled (as was the 
custom of Indians) to the further corner of the shanty, 
and, rolling himself up in a blanket, went to sleep. 
Mr. McOmber hung up a piece of a blanket at the 
door, or end of the shanty, although it lacked consid- 
erable of covering the aperture. He had to sleep 
near the opening, and awakened during the night, 
but was horrified to see a huge wild-cat perched upon 
the tree which leaned across the space in front of the 
wigwam. Its eyes looked like two stars as they 
twinkled in evident satisfaction at the prospect of a 
savory meal, and its tail moved nervously from side 
to side as it surveyed the sleeping men. The moon 
shone brightly and its body, outlined against the 
leafy background, made it an excellent mark for the 
sportsman's rifle. Stealthily reaching for his gun, 
Mr. McOmber took deliberate aim and fired. With 
a wild yell, the beast fell from the tree pierced through 
the heart. It was a thrilling e-\perience, to say the 
least; for the wild-cat lay within ten feet of Mr. Mc- 
Omber and was evidently prei)aring to spring upon 
him. These animals were ([uite savage, and would 
attack cither man or beast when liungry. 

".Suri)rise parties " were very frequent at an early 





day. It was no uncommon thing for a number of 
young folks (and older people, loo) to walk five or six 
miles on a winter night to attend a dance, or enjoy 
an evening at a "candy pulling." The invariable 
rule was to take an ox team along to carry those who 
were too tired to walk home. More happiness was 
enjoyed in those days than can be imagined in this 
age of Kstheticism. Refreshments were always pro- 
vided by the ladies when attending a dancing party 
or otlier social affair, consisting mainly of hulled corn, 
johnnycakes and dried apples, or pumpkin and warm 
sugar. Mrs. Ben. Crawford related her experience 
at a dance which she, with many others, attended 
near this village at an early day, in which the above 
mentioned articles constituted the bill of fare. The 
party was given at Simeon Taylor's, and Henry 
Feaster was the musician. Dressed in their calico, 
the ladies felt as aristocratic as do the belles of the 
ball-room to-day, decked in their most expensive 
toilets. 

The pioneers were minus the luxurious sandals 
now considered indispensable in " pirouetting " on 
a waxed floor, but their heavy brogans kept good 
time to the " Arkansaw Traveler" and "Fisher's 
Hornpipe," as the rough puncheon floors vibrated 
with the rhythmic motion of their supple limbs, 
while the manly voice of the prompter rang out 
"Balance all," "Swing your partner," "Pound 
sand," etc. 

Mrs. Elijah Curtis, one of the pioneers of Hamil- 
ton Township, gives a graphic account how she and 
her family came into Gratiot County. The picture will 
call iip many familiar scenes to those who erected the 
first log cabins in the forest : 

" We arrived on a Saturday night at Allen Curtis' 
place, and enjoyed a night's rest among friends and 
relatives. We were using a hired team, and were 
anxious to get to our claim ; so we ventured to break 
the Sabbath, and started bright and early for our 
place, seven miles distant. For the whole distance, 
the men had to go ahead of the team and break a 
road through the ice and snow. Darkness came on 
as we came in sight of our destination. Taking some 
joints of stove-pipe on our backs, my daughter and I 
picked our way to the log cabin, which had appar- 
ently been used for shelter by cattle and other ani- 
mals for several years. But we made the best dis- 
position of ourselves we could for the night. During 



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>f ihe evening it commenced to rain, and ni) husband 
^|,j asked, ' What will we do with the horses?" 'Oh, 
/5» bring them right into the house,' I said ; ' we can 
f keep them here.' So they were brought in, and the 
f^. first night in our new home was thus spent, with 
seven or eight people scattered around on one side 
of the fire-place and two horses on the other." 

One of the first couples married by Benjamin 

Crawford, after his election as Justice of the Peace. 

paid their fee in dried corn, dried pumpkin and tur- 

^ nips. Money was '" the substance of things hoped for, 

V4 and the evidence of things not seen." Coon, deer 

■^ and bear skins, as well as shaved shingles, were legal 

tender for everythiiig except taxes. 

Mrs. Henry Simmon and husband were among the 
first settlers in Hamilton Township, and she relates a 
number of incidents, among which might be mentioned 
what beds were filled with, in the absence of straw. 
Fine shavings were prepared of birch and hickory, 
which made not only a nice, healthful cot, but a very 
pleasant one. For weeks they lived in a tent made 
of blankets, and when their cabin was erected, they 
had no floor except " mother earth " for some time, 
yet they prospered and are now ipiite wealthy. 

The first school-house erected in the county was 
built on section 14, in Arcada Township. This was 
an individual enterprise, in which Francis Nelson, 
-^ Rev. Lafayette Church, John Nevins, John Glover, 
John Keefer and Jacob Rush were pro|)rietors. The 
lumber for the same was sawed with a whip-saw. 
Gen. Nathan Church, Rev. Theodore Nelson and his 
brothers, William and Wilbur, were the only boys in 
attendance. C. C. Cole, a pompous individual, was 
I' the pedagogue who first instilled Websterian ideas 
into the minds of the above named gentlemen, all of 
whom now fill places of imix)rtance, and are num- 
bered among the foremost business men of the county. 
Of Mr. Cole, more is said in this work elsewhere. 

During the agitation regarding the permanent loca- 
tion of the county seat, the officers elect were on the 
lookout for voters favorable to keeping the same at 
Ithaca, and scoured the county ipiite thoroughly in 
1 the canvass. There being but few residents in Ith- 
•;,? aca at the time, and they mostly officials who were 
{j'-j largely interested in the matter of securing votes, 
X^ they were all away for several days, as but little 
((§) county business was to be tran.sacted. A man came 
^ from Uolroii to attend to some legal matters and 



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found the court-house locked. Going to the jxjst- 
office he inquired of Nathan Church (who was 
officiating as Postmaster, //v /<•///) their wherealxjuts. 
Nathan explained the matter, but added, that [ler- 
haps /id could attend to the business. Locking the 
postoffice, they went to the court-house and trans- 
acted all necessary details in the different offices, 
which greatly pleased the gentleman, who was anx- 
ious to return home. He wrote upon his arrival at 
Detroit, a lengthy article, which a|)pe.ired in the 
/^/cc J'ress, of the manner in which all the offices 
were filled in Gratiot by a boy only 16 years old, in- 
cluding the office of Postmaster. 

At this time there was not a horse in the county, 
and only a few Indian jHsnies. Israel Coats was the 
fortunate possessor of one of the latter, which was 
utilized in carrying the records to and from the court- 
house in Ithaca to .Alma, where court was in session. 
Mr. Church states that he purchased for his father 
the first span of horses ever owned in Gratiot. 

As an illustration of wnat can be done \x\x3n small 
capital, the instance is cited of Mr. William Frank- 
lin, who came with his family to North Shade Town- 
ship in 1856, without any means whatever. His 
outfit consisted of a few articles of household furni- 
ture and a dozen new grain bags. Of the latter, 
clothes were made, ard during the first 18 months of 
his residence in Gratiot he received only 50 cents in 
money, although working every day; the remainder 
being taken in '' trade." To-day he is one of the 
most prosperous farmers in his township, owning 220 
acres of valuable land, u[X)n which is a handsome 
and costly residence. All this has been accumulated 
by honest toil and industry in a few years, and his 
example is worthy of emulation by the young men of 
to-day. 

There was an avowed infidel by the name of Kibby, 
living near St. I>ouis, at an early day in her history, 
who was a noted hunter and trapper. His cabin 
was a small two-story log building, which inside pre- 
sented the appearance of an arsenal. Guns, 
revolvers, traps, axes, tomahawks and other parapher- 
nalia peculiar to the hunter's vocation hung from 
the ceiling, and the walls were covered with skins of 
deer, mink, otter, muskrat, wolf and bearT Kibby 
had a family consisting of wife and several children. 

One morning, a child about four years old was 
found dead in bed. There had been no previuui> 



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illness and the occurrence was a severe shock, to the 
mother, especially. The few neighbors living near 
were sent for, and Mr. Elias Smith made a rough 
coffin out of a cupboard in his house, in which the 
body of the child was laid, and placed ujwn a rough 
table close to the wall. Everything which could 
conveniently be carried up stairs had been so dis- 
posed of, to make room for the friends coming to 
attend the burial. A grave was dug near the house, 
and everything was in readiness to consign the body 
to its last resting place, when the mother from the 
upper room asked that a song might be sung and a 
prayer offered, as it seemed heathenish to bury her 
child without some kind of services. None of the 
friends being professing Christians, they felt unequal 
to the emergency, and the father also objected, saying 
that " he wanted no praying around his house." 

Another man also objected and said prayer was a 
mere form and could not jjossibly do any good ; so 
the sooner the child was buried the better off all par- 
ties would be. He had hardly ceased speaking) 
when the upper floor, to which hung loaded guns, 
knives, etc., parted in the middle and down came the 
occupants of the room above, with beds, bedsteads, 
corn, old boots, flour and bacon, which had been 
carried there to put them out of sight on this occa- 
sion. Strange to relate, no one was seriously injured, 
although the room below was full of people, and the 
mother up stairs came tumbling hcidlong with her 
babe clasped in her arms. The children were en- 
tirely uninjured and the escape seemed almost mirac- 
ulous. The corpse, which lay near the wall, was 
left undisturbed, not even being knocked from the 
table. After the excitement was over and the liebris 
cleared away, Mr. Elias Smith asked Kibby, who was 
very much e.xcited at the turn affairs had laken,what 
he now thought of an overruling power, the whole 
jiarty having escaped so providentially. Mr. Kibby 
acknowledged that it seemed almost miraculous, and 
there must be something which averted danger to 
life and limb. This circumstance completely changed 
the life of the man, and he was thereafter one of the 
foremost in good works and deeds. 

lames Kress was the second man settling north of 
Pine River. lie came in liie spring of 1S54, and 
made his location of lands three miles west of .Mma. 
Three years later he moved to that village, and has 
ever since been identified with its growth and busi- 






ness interests. His daughter, Rachel, was married 
to George Gee, April 17, 1855, by Rev. Slai)()ce. 
Hettie Hart and Louis Baker were wedded the same 
day ; but the marriage of Rachel and Mr. Gee occur- 
ring at an earlier hour makes them the first wedded 
couple in .Arcada Township, if not in the county. A 
grand "charivari " occurred in the evening, all the 
people for miles around being armed with horns, or 
something with which more noise thau me!ody could 
be produced. Refreshments were served, and the 
entire party and the joyous event is well remembered 
by a number of the older folks yet living in Alma. 

Lorton Holliday, known in the early history of the 
county as " lilack Hawk," was another of the early 
comers. He was a great hunter, and opened a kind 
of arsenal, in which was stored guns, ammunition, 
shoes, pork and wliisky, which he sold to the Indians 
for furs. It is said that people generally feared him, 
although no violence was ever committed to their 
knowledge. A few years later, he bought a wife from 
a man by the name of Slocum, paying for her with a 
brass watch. Slocum afterward came back and 
wanted his wife, but Holliday took him by the collar 
and kicked the unwary husband as long as he had 
strength to lift his foot. When Slocum was let loose, 
he made great haste to get out of Holliday 's sight, 
who warned him never to come back ; which advice 
was well heeded. 

Cornelius Scott came to Arcada at an early day, 
and settled three miles west of Alma, on Pine River. 
He was a widower, and had several children, Lavina 
being the eldest daughter. One peculiarity of Scott 
was his dislike for work and failure to provide for his 
family ; yet he lived in a country where plenty could 
be obtained had he chosen to e.xert himself. One 
evening, a lank fellow drove up to his cabin, and 
asked for accommodations for himself and wife, stat- 
ing that on account of the cold weather they could 
not cam[) out and be comfortable. At every house 
strangers were made welcome, and received an equal 
shnre of the scanty provisions, and the Scott family 
proved no excei)tion. The susceptible widower 
gazed on the wife of his guest with covetous eyes, 
and proposed a trade, in which he would exch.inge 
his daughter, Lavina, for Mr. Gillette's wife. Strange- 
ly enough, when approached, Gillette n>et the projiosal 
with favor, and a bargain was at once consummated, 
in which the stranger was to receive a "cross-cut 



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saw and a set of beetle-rings " to l)Oot, as his wife 
was well-broken to matrimonial harness. As after 
events proved, Scott seemed to fear that some of tiie 
parties might " back out," and insisted that a " bill 
of separation " or transfer of title be made before a 
justice, which was agreed to the next morning ; and 
they walked over to tlie house of L. C. Cole, who 
has been previously mentioned as the first teacher of 
Nathan Church and the Nelson boys. We give the 
full purport of the bill as nearly as possible, procured 
from those familiar with the document, which is of 
itself a curiosity. 

Justice Cole was a very pompous individual, and 
often remarked that '" he resembled Gen. Cass very 
much," and that "' at one time he was the reader of 
the Declaration of Independence in Massachusetts 
when Horace Greeley was present ; and that gentle- 
man had made the remark to friends that he (Gree- 
ley) would give $500 if he could read the Declaration 
as fluently." 

Mr. Cole heard the story regarding the trade in 
women, and gave it very profound consideration for 
a few moments. Walking up and down the cabin 
floor, he asked that it he repeated very carefully, as 
he thought the case wasone in which he could satisfy 
all parties, although it appeared to be a very grave 
matter. Taking down a copy of the statute laws of 
the State, he opened the book and glanced iuirriedly 
through it, remarking as it was carefully closed, " that 
there was no question of his jurisdiction in the mat- 
ter," and that the law plainly provided in all cases of 
"a Vi?iculo Matrimonii " X\\aX each party should have 
a bill of divorce, and swear that no collusion had 
existed regarding the transfer ; and that he should 
grant a "bill of separation " upon the ground of ex- 
treme cruelty, as the wife had refused to have any- 
thing to GO with the trade ! The article read as 
follows : 

Arc.\u.-v Ti'., Gratioi' C(j., Mich. 

I, L. C. Cole, Justice of the Peace in and for said 
county, do hereby give, grant, and decree a bill of 

absolute divorcement between Gillette and his 

wife, and do record a transfer of the personal proper- 
ty, to wit: One cross-cut saw and one |>air of beetle 
rings, the aforesaid property being in lawful posses- 
sion of Cornelius Scott, of Arcada Township, party 

of the first |)art, who transfers the same to (Jil- 

lette, party of the second part, as the balance due 

upon a trade in which Mrs. Gillette, party of 

the third part, becomes the wife of Cornelius Scott, 




party of the first part, and I-avina Scott, party of the 

fourth part, becomes the lawful wife of Gillette, 

party of the second part. 

The al)Ove constitutes all the necessary legal in- 
struments requisite in making transfers of this char- 
acter, and 1 pronounce all the parties duly married as 
they do so sincerely desire the consummation of the 
exchange. 

Given under ray hand and seal, this day . 

L. C. COLK, 

J. P. in and for this township and county. 

After Gillette harnessed his oxen and was ready to 

start, Lavina refused to go and no amount of persua- 
sion could induce her to change her mind. Gillette 
then wanted his wife back, but Scott refused to give 
her up, stating that he had traded fair, and if Lavina 
wouldn't go that he (Gillette) had his " saw and beetle 
rings anyway." 

To illustrate how such things end, Lavina after- 
ward married the brother of her " quasi stei^-mother," 
who was shiftless and improvident. Becoming ill, 
and having no one to care for her, she was taken to 
the county iwor-house, where she afterward died. 
Scott's wife left him after putting up with his abuse 
for two years, and is now living near Alma. She en- 
joys the distinction of having four living husbands in 
Gratiot County, as well as being the heroine of this 
story. 

}5ears are yet quite plentiful in parts of Gratiot 
County, although a large number of them have been 
killed. In November, 1877, Dan Kostenbader killed 
one in Emerson Township, which weighed, when 
dressed, 494 [wunds, the hide, 525^ jwunds, besides 
yielding sixteen gallons of oil. 

The migratory habits of these animals make them 
quite easy game to capture during the autumn, as 
they are in search of nuts and winter quarters. 

During the destitution which prevailed. Dr. Chees- 
man, accompanied by Daniel Curtis and Charles 
Holliday, left Saginaw with a canoe loaded with pro- 
visions for people living in Hamilton Township, St. 
Charles being their destination. The afternoon was 
very cold, and ice was so rapidly forming that it be- 
came almost impossible to propel the boat. Dark- 
ness came on and the coldness increased until the 
boit was frozen fast in the middle of the river. 
Daniel Curtis became benumbed with cold, and only 
by great exertions was he kept from freezing. In this 
case, it seemed as if providence had specially inter- 
fered, for within reach was a pine raft u|X)n which a 



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fire was kindled. Only by this means were the lives 
of the entire party saved, the river being too deep 
and wide to permit them to gain the shore in safety. 

Accommodations have been previously mentioned 
as limited, but for genuine hospitality none could 
exceed Mr. and Mrs. David Courter, a well known 
couple yet living in the county. Mr. Hastings is 
authority for the item that he, with his surveying 
party, came to Mr. Courier's late one evening, and 
were kindly cared for and given a place to sleep, al- 
though the cabin wa? only 10 x 12 feet. Five of 
them were comfortably housed for the night, although 
the stove had to be carried outside. Beds were made 
on the bark floor and the men retired, Mrs. C. waiting 
outside until the light was extinguished. True hos- 
pitality consists in entertaining a guest with the best 
you have, without making excuse for inability to pro- 
vide more liberally, and this instance proves it. Not- 
withstanding the hard times, the young folks enjoyed 
themselves and were as merry as if there was plenty 
to eat and satins to wear. 

Mrs. Elias Smith relates a story of a number of 
young folks, she being one of the party, who started 
on New Year's afternoon in 1858, in a sled drawn by 
oxen for "Cable " Smith's, where a dance was to be 
held in the evening. About one mile east of Alma 
lived a fellow by the name of Moon, who had rather 
a comfortable log cabin, near which was displayed a 
board sign upon which the words "Moon In " were 
roughly drawn. By accident the oxen ran against a 
stump and broke the sled so badly that they could 
proceed no further without repairing it. The party 
were unloaded and supper was ordered at this famous 
hostelry. The young folks had appetites unexcelled 
by any, and were somewhat chagrined to learn that 
the bill of fare would be " rather light," there being 
but " one partridge " in the larder and only meal 
enough to make " a few johnycakes." The bird was 
stewed in salt water, and they all took soup, which 
with the palatable corn bread, mixed up with water 
previous to being baked, made a very good supper. 
It would seem by this story as if the needs of man 
could be supplied very easily by " quality " and not 
"quantity," as the eight persons were regaled with 
one partridge and a few corncakes. 

Dr. Cheesman relates some amusing experiences 
which are well worth i)reserving, as they show what 
ills an amateur in " pioneering " is likely to undergo. 




In 1854, the Doctor came with his family to Ham- 
ilton Township, bringing a few household goods and 
some furniture. Of course there was no house ready 
for occupancy, and they had to " camp out " for a few 
weeks. Tiie goods were piled under a large tree, 
near which was the site selected for the proposed 
cabin. An election was held at Greenbush soon 
after their arrival, and the neighbors who were en- 
gaged to help in the erection of the cabin had gone 
to that place to vote. Dr. Cheesman concluded that 
he would fell the "first tree " during their absence, 
and selected the one above mentioned upon which 
to try his skill. Without paying any attention to the 
direction in which it would fall, he went at the work 
in earnest, and hacked away until it came crashing 
through the dense underbrush; but his knowledge of 
"cause and effect " had been forgotten, as the chop- 
ping was done in such manner that the tree neces- 
sarily fell across the pile of furniture, making it a 
total wreck. While at that time it was an expensive 
experience the knowledge of " woodcraft " was largely 
enhanced. 

At another time he was unfortunate enough to lose 
one of his oxen. Hearing of one near Maple Rap- 
ids that was for sale, he went down to make a pur- 
chase, but the owner could not deliver it. The ox was 
very wild and had never been yoked, and all efforts 
to capture him were fruitless. The man was then 
hired to drive his cows (among which the ox was 
reared) over to the Doctor's place, where there was a 
small lot enclosed by a strong brush fence. Into 
this lot the herd was driven and a lariat thrown around 
the horns of his recent purchase. Tying the ox to a 
tree, he was yoked alongside the well-broken one, 
and the pair were turned loose in the enclosure. To 
familiarize them with each other and get the newone 
used to the yoke, the I.loctor concluded to let them 
wear it until next morning, as he feared the unruly 
quadrujied would he hard to manage without more 
help than was at his command. 

His surprise at finding the yoke turned the next 
morning can hardly be expressed in words, and he 
hastened over to his neighbor, Lafayette Sweatland, 
for assistance, telling him that some one had either 
played a trick upon him or " the wild ox had jumped 
over the old one ! " 

Many a hearty laugh has been since enjoyed at the 
Doctor's expense when this story was related. His 



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experiences were limited as a hunter, yet the Doctor 
has bagged "game " wiih a fuwling-piece as efTectu- 
ally as ever malaria was subjugated by the use of 
his pills. He had a fine patch of turnips near his 
house, and a large buck came every day to browse on 
the tender leaves. One afternoon his daughter es- 
pied the deer coming , and told her father to get his 
gun. Dr. Cheesman knew as little about shooting as 
he did about felling trees; but, sticking the muzzle 
of the gun through the window, he [xjinted it in the 
direction of the deer, shut his eyes and pulled the 
trigger, trusting that one of the eighteen bullets with 
which it was loaded would hit the mark. An acci- 
dental ball broke the animal's back, and the over- 
joyed sportsman ran out intending to dispatcji it with 
a knife; bxit the deer showed fight and kei)t the Doc- 
tor at bay until an ax was procured, with which it was 
easily killed. 

His next and last e.xploit in this line gave him what 
is known among hunters as the " buck ague." A 
number of deer came every afternoon to browse ujx)n 
the tree-tops where a clearing was being made, and 
the doctor concluded to have some more venison. 
Taking a position at the root of a large tree which 
had been felled, he waited a short lime until five or 
six fat deer came walking up to the tree-top and be- 
gan their repast upon the succulent buds. Their 
heads were all together, but our Nimrod was so nerv- 
ous that he couldn't tell whether his gun was pointed 
in the right direction and was afraid to fire. Waiting 



until one of them turned a broadside toward him, he 
blazed away, and, strange to relate, brought down a 
fine one. The success recently met with induced 
him to take several hunts, but this was his last game. 

Judge Winton relates the story of a wedding in 
Fulton Townshii) which illustrates the generosity of 
a newly wedded husband toward the author of his 
happiness. The justice had completed the ceremony 
excepting the salutation of the bride in regular ortho- 
dox style, when the bridegroom asked how much cash 
would pay the bill. " The law allows one $2.50," 
said the justice. " All right, 'S(iuire," said the fellow ; 
" if the law allows you to collect $2.50, here is an 
extra half dollar for your trouble, which will make it 
even :you ought to have something for doing the job." 

Mr. S. S Hastings relates a remarkable escape 
from injury of a family who were moving through 
Gratiot to their home in Isabella County. They were 
driving through the woods with a team of oxen hitch- 
ed to the wagon, which contained all their earthly 
possessions, as well as a fainily of children. A ix)rk 
barrel stood in the back part of the wagon, and the 
family were ranged along both sides of the bed, fac- 
ing each other. A long pine snag, which had be- 
come rotten at the base, toppled over and fell ujxjn 
the ix)rk barrel, crushing it completely, and lodged 
lengthwise with the wagon, with the top resting \\\K)n 
the yoke between the heads of the cattle. It had to 
be cut twice in two before a removal could be effected. 
The escape was indeed miraculous, not one of the 
persons in the wagon being injured. 




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ROM the organization of the 
county, Gratiot has been 
strictly Republican. The 
two last elections have de- 
veloped quite a large follow- 
ing among the Liberal people 
of all parties, and several can- 
didates were elected on the 
Liberal ticket. The elections 
until 1856 were non-partisan 
in character, men being select- 
ed for quality, not political 
faith. In 1856, however, both the 
Democratic and Republican par- 
ties were organized, the Republican 
being largely in the majority, and 
most of the offices were filled with nominees of their 
conventions. But little electioneering was done and 
elections usually passed off very quietly. The county 
offices were mostly held at Ithaca, except that of 
Sheriff, who stayed at Alma. The first session of 
Circuit Court was held at that place. The whole 
expenses for the county for the year 1856 were 
$1,953.53, — quite a contrast to that of 1883. 

Following we give a complete list of all the men 
running for the different county offices, for Governor 
and President, since the first election in 1855, together 
with the number of votes each received and the 
party to which he belonged : 



ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 13, 1855. 
Sheriff — George E. Walker, 159; Isaac H. Jones, 



maj. 153; 
58; 



123. 

County Clerk— Orville M. Wood, 284. 

County Treasurer — Ralph Ely, 148; Abram M. 
Crawford, 120; Joseph B. Smith, 7. 

Register of Deeds — Henry Lane, 183. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Frank Miller, 108, niaj. 12; 
Benjamin Crawford, 96; Marcus Service, 65. 

Judge of Probate — John R. Cheesman, 284. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — Henry Lane, 155, 
maj. 26; Stevens E. Longyear, 129. 

County Surveyor — Sidney S. Hastings, 284. 

Coroner — Lewis B. Loomis, 279; Levi Smith, 150. 

ELECTION, NOVEMBER 4, 1856. 

Governor — Kinsley S. Bingham, Rep., 387, maj. 
249; Alpheus Felch, Dem., 138. 

State Senator — Stephen H. Warren, 380, maj. 276; 
Wilbur Fisher, 104. 

State Representative — James Kipp, Rep., 387, maj. 
247 ; James W. Ransom, Dem., 140. 

Sheriff — Homer L. Townsend, 317 
Hiram Burgess, 164. 

County Clerk — Henry H. Smith, 256, maj 
Orville M. Wood, 198. 

County Treasurer — Lafayette Church, 374, maj. 
225; Joseph 15. Smith, 149. 



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Register of Deeds — Elijah Peck, Rep., .•556, maj. 
200; Henry Lane, Dem., 156. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Sylvanus Groom, Rep., 
353, maj. 185: Frank Nliller, Dcm.. 168. 

Judge of Probate — Francis Nelson, Rep., 362, 
198; William L. Sutherland, Dem., 164. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — -Moses Tompkins, 5 1 9. 

County Surveyor — Addison Hayden, Dem., 263, 
maj. 10; Sidney S. Hastings, Rep., 253. 

Coroners — Horace T. Barnaby, Rep., 364, maj. 
201 ; Joseph A. Gutbrie, Rep., 363, maj. 200 ; Bar- 
low Worthing, Dem., 163; Jolm Knight, Dem., 163. 

ELECTION, APRIL 5, 1858. 

Circuit Judge — Wilbur F. Woodworth, Rep., 468, 
maj. 206 ; John W. Longyear, Dem., 262. 

ELECTION, NOVEMBER 2, 1858. 

Governor — Moses Wisner, Rep., 360, maj. 16S; 
Charles E. Stuart, Dem., 192. 

State Senator — Osmand Jones, Rep., 357, maj. 
150; Alexander F. Bell, Dem., 207. 

Representative — David J. Daniels, Rep., 319, maj. 
loi ; Sylvester Hoyt, Dem., 218. 

Sheriff — Homer L. Townsend, Rep., 280, maj. 9. ; 
Jose{)h B. Smith, Dem., 271. 

County Clerk — Emery Crosby, Rep., 361, maj. 
146; Benjamin E. Sawtelle, Dem., 215. 

County Treasurer — Lafayette Church, Rep., 394, 
maj. 290; John W. Howd, Dem., 104. 

Register of Deeds — Elijah Peck, Rep., 389, maj. 
205; Heniy P. Clark, Dem., 184. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Israel B. Coats, Rep., 372, 
maj. 198; Isaac Powers, Dem., 176. 

County Surveyor — Sidney S. Hastings, Rep., 347, 
maj. 131; Addison Hayden, Dem., 216. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — Israel B. Coats, Rep., 
355, n>aj. 182; Isrrac Powers, Dem., 173. 

Coroners — Horace T. Barnaby, Rep., 450, maj. 86; 
Thomas T. Tann, Dem., 364. 

ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 6, i860. 



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President — Abraham Lincoln, Rep., 496, maj. 182; 
Stephen A. Douglas, Dem., 314. 

Governor — Austin Blair, Rep., 496, maj. 179; John 
Barry, Dem., 317. 

State Senator — Osmond Tower, Rep., 492, maj. 
179: Frederick Hall, Dem., 313. 

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Representative — Gilbert E. Pratt, Rep., 439, maj. 
81 ; Iliram C. Hodge, Dem., 358. 

Sheriff — Frederick D. Weller, Rep., 436, maj. 65 ; 

Josepii B. Smith, 37 i. 

County Treasurer — Ralph Ely, Rep., 472, maj. 
101 ; Lyman T. Cassada, Dem., 37 i. 

County Clerk — Horace T. Barnaby, Rep., 513, 
maj. 229; Anson R. Arnold, Dem., 284. 

Register of Deeds — Elijah Peck, Rep., 426, maj. 
179; Luther J. Dean, Re|)., 247 ; George W. Mc- 
Henry, Dem., 144. 

Judge of Probate — Francis Nelson, Rep., 407, maj. 
28; John R. Cheesman, Dem., 379. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Israel B. Coats, Rep., 318, 
elected; Charles B. HoUiday, Dem , 318. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — William E. Winton 
Rep., 605 ; no opp. ' 

Surveyor — Sidney S. Hastings, Rep., 524, maj. 

290 ; Anson R. Arnold, Dem., 274. 

Coroner— Thomas J. Tann, Rep., 433 ; Hiram 
Burgess, Rep., 412; Robert G. Hutchin.son, Dem., 
293, George B. Gifford, Dem., 294. 

ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 4, 1862. 






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Governor — Austin Blair, Rep., 524, maj. 204 
Byron G. Stout, Dem., 320. 

State Senator — Westbrook Divine, Rej)., 381, maj 
142 ; John Tann, Dem., 239. 

Representative — John R. Cheesman, Dem,, 
maj. 75 ; James Gargett, Rep., 365. 

Sheriff — Francis D. Weller, Rep., 450, maj 
Cornelius Holliday, Dem., 377. 

County Treasurer — Elijah Peck, Rep., 462, ni.aj 
104 ; Lyman T. Cassada, Dem., 358. 

County Clerk — William C. Ikckwith, Rep., 437, '^ 
maj. 70; Horace T. Barnaby, Dem., 367. / 

Register of Deeds — Henry P. Howd, Rep., 417, 
m.aj. 4; William Long, Dem., 413. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Moses Tompkins, Rep., 
415, maj. 26; William E. Winton, Dem., 389. 

Surveyor — Sidney S. Hastings, Rep., 431, maj. (^ 
29. James B. Wheeler, Dem., 402. 



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Coroners — William C. Newcomb, Rep., 424, maj. 
12; Thomas Blumb, Dem., 412, maj. 3; .\ddison 
H. Mack, Rep., 409, maj. 17; Erastus Perry, •/ 
Dem., 382. ^v 

Circuit Court Commissioner — Elijah McCall, Dem., 
417; no opp. 



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ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 8, 1864. 

President — Abraham Lincoln, Rep., 57 i, maj. 203 ; 
George B. McClellan, Deni., 368. 

Governor — Henry H. Crapo, Rep., 572, maj. 208; 
William M. Fenton, Dem., 364. 

Senator — Westbrook Divine, 'ivep.,57i, maj. 198; 
John B. Hutchins, Dem., 373. 

State Representative — Luther Smith, Rep., 547, 
maj. 158; John R. Cheesman, Dem., 389. 

Sheriff — David Bailey, Rep., 74, maj. 64; John 
Baker, Dem., 10. 

Judge of Probate — Francis Nelson, Rep., 70, maj. 
54; Benjamin Crawford, Dem., 16. 

County Clerk — William C. Beckwith, Rep., 7 1, maj. 
5S; Edson Packard, Dem., 16. 

Register of Deeds — Henry P. Howd, Rep., 67, 
maj. 48 ; William Long, Dem., 19. 

County Treasurer— Elijah Peck, Rep., 68, maj. 50 ; 
Russell Danley, Dem., 18. 

Prosecuting Attorney — William E. Winton, Rep., 
68, maj. 49; Elisha McCall, Dem., 19. 

County Surveyor — Sidney S. Hastings, Rep., 67, 
maj. 50; Anson R. Arnold, Dem., 17. 

Circuit Court Commissioner— William E. Winton, 
Rep., 68, maj. 50; Elisha McCall, Dem., 18. 

Coroners — Hiram Burgess, Rep., 63 maj. 44; 
Elbridge Franklin, Rep., 63, maj. 44 ; Cornelius 
Campbell, Dem., 19; William Stebbins, Dem., 19. 



ELECTION, NOVEMBER 13, r866. 



Hen- 



Sis; 
Will- 
460; 



Governor — Alpheus S. Williams, Dem., 482 
ry H. Crapo, Rep., 888, maj. 406. 

County Clerk — Samuel N. Miller, Dem. 
William C. Beckwith, Rep., 858, maj. 346. 

Treasurer — Leman A. Johnson, Dem., 465 
iam S. Trask, Rep., 898, maj. 433. 

Register of Deeds — Hubbard Biggs, Dem 
Theodore Nelson, Rep., 906, maj. 446. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Elisha McCall, Dem., 479; 
William E. Winton, 890, maj. 411. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — Giles T. Brown, Rep., 
893, maj. 405; Elisha McCall, Dem., 478. 

Surveyor — Charles B. Fraker, Rep., 894, maj. 416; 
Anson R. Arnold, Dem., 478. 

State Senator — David H. Jerome, Rep., 868, maj. 
373; John R. Cheesman, Dem., 495. 

Sheriff — David Bailey, Rep., 88 1, maj. 492; Charles 
E. Webster, Dem., 4S9. 



Coroners — Barnard Cressenger, Rep., 890, maj. 
411 ; William C. B. Sherwood, Rep., 885, maj. 406; 
Joseph B. Smith, Dem., 479; Lyman T. Burrada, 
Dem., 479. 

ELECTION, 1867. 

County Superintendent of Schools — Giles T. Brown, 
Re[)., 905, maj. 548; Andrew J. McKee, Dem., 357. 

ELECTION, NOVEMBER 3, 1868. 

President — Ulysses S. Grant, Rep., 1 240, maj. 
491 ; Horatio Seymour, Dem., 749. 

Governor — Henry P. Baldwin, Rep., 1236, maj. 
473; John Moore, Dem., 763. 

State Senator — Alfred B. Wood, Rep., 1232, maj. 
470; James L. Ketchum, Dem., 762. 

Representative to State Legislature — Horace T. 
Barn.iby, Rep., 1147, maj. 315; Leman A. Johnson, 
Dem., 832. 

Sheriff — Elisha C. Clark, Rep., 12 15, maj. 432; 
Cliarles E. Webster, Dem., 783. 

County Clerk — William C. Beckwith, Rep., ii2r, 
maj. 276; John R. Cheesman, Dem., 845. 

Register of Deeds — Theodore Nelson, Rep., r268, 
maj. 541 ; Thomas Barnborough, Dem., 727. 

County Treasurer — William S. Turck, Rep., 1272, 
maj. 554; William Long, Dem., 718. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Andrew J. Utley, Rep., 
1 112, maj. 245 ; James K. Wright, Dem., 867. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — William E. Winton, 
Rep., 1 199, maj. 429; James K. Wright, Dem., 770. 

Judge of Probate — Elijah Peck, Rep.-, 1031, maj. 
93 ; Benjamin Crawford, Dem., 938. 

County Surveyor — Sidney S. Hastings, 1217, maj. 
470; Anson R. Arnold, Dem., 747. 

Coroners — Napoleon B. Fraker, Rep., 1232; Will- 
iam Yorrington, Rep., 1232 ; John Jeffery, Dem., 763; 
George W. Clark, Dem., 763. 

ELECTION, NOVEMBER, 1869. 

County Superintendent of Schools — GilesT. Brown, 
1408, no opp. 

Circuit Judge — Jabez G. Sutherland, 14S8, noopp. 

ELECTION, NOVEMBER 8, 1870. 

Governor — Henry P. Baldwin, Rep., 1080, maj. 
216: Charles C. Comstock, Dem., 764. 

State Senator — Alfred B. Wood, Rep., 1040, maj. 
233; John Jeffrey, Dem., 807. 






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Representative — Horace T. Barnaby, Rep., 1054, 
niaj. 261 ; John R. Cheesman, Deni., 793. 

SlierifT — Elisha Cook, Rep., 1051, luaj. 259; 
Charles E. Webster, Dein., 792. 

County Clerk — Nathan Church, Re[)., 1005, inaj. 
245 ; Charles W. Tann, Deni., 760. 

County Treasurer — William S. Turck, Rep., 1065, 
maj. 329; Hiram Harrington, Dem , 736. 

Register of Deeds — DewittC. Ciiapin, Rej)., 93S, 
maj. 129; Dwiglu Stilt, Dem., 809. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Charles E. Williams, Rep., 
868; James K. Wright, Dem., 870, maj. 2. 

Circuit Court Coainiissioner — William ?J. Winton, 
Rep., 770; James K. Wright, Dem,, goo, maj 130. 

Surveyor — Daniel W. .Mtenburg, Rep., 1002, maj. 
255 ; Anson R. Arnold, Dem., 747. 

Coroners — George W. Jennings, Rep., 107 1 ; David 
Bailey, Rep., 906; James L. Shults, Dem., 904; Cal- 
vin R. Race, l)em., 768. 

ELECTION NOVEMBER 5, 1872. 

President — U. S. Grant, Rep., 1482, maj. 905; 
Horace Greeley, Lib. Rep., 577. 

Governor — John J. Bagley, Rep., 1479, maj. 829; 
Austin Blair, Lib. Rep , 650. 

State Senator — Ralph Ely, Rep., 1395 ; John L. 
Evans, Lib. Dem., 747. 

Representative — Charles H. Morse, Rep., 1497; 
William Long, Lib. Dem., 749. 

Sheriff— William H. Pratt, Rep., 131 1; ("has. W. 
Tann, Lib. Dem., 804. 

County Clerk — Nathan ("luirch, Rep., 1383; James 
Howd, Lib. Dem., 784. 

Treasurer — A. B. Darragh, Rep., 1 192 ; C. E. Web- 
ster, Lib. Dem., 925. 

Judge of Probate — William E. Winton, Rep., 1265 ; 
Samuel J. Scott, Lib. Dem., 839. 

Register of Deeds — Dcwitt C. Chapin, Rep., 
141 9; Daniel Taylor, Lib. Dem., 7t8. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Chas. E. Williams, Rep., 
1467; Elisha McCall, Lib. Dem., 675. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — Giles T. Brown, Re|i., 
1418; James K. Wright, IJb. Dem., 781. 

Surveyor— Daniel Altenburg, Rei)., i486; Addison 
Hayden, Lib. Dem., 67 i. 

Coroners — Edwin '/.. Kelley, Rep., 1468; J. A. 
Guthrie, Rep., 1457; John Jeffry, Lib. Dem., 692; 
Lawrence A. Ferris, Lib. Dem., 691. 



ELECTION NOVEMBER, 1874. 

Governor — Jolin J. Bagley, Rep., 11 40; Henry 
Chamberlain, Dem., 969. 

State Senator— Isaac A. Fanclier, Rep, 1156; Ed- V> 
son Packard, Dem , 936. 

Representative -diaries H. Morse, Re))., 11S7; 
Dwiglu Stitt, Dem., 910. 



I 125 ; George W. 



' Sheriff— William II. IVall, Rei 
NewcomI), Dem., 972. 

County Clerk — William B. Scattergood, Rep., 1 128; 
Daniel C. Johnson, Dem., 972. 

Treasurer — Schuyler W. .\mbler. Rep., 1 180; Geo. 
W. Clark, Dem., 916. 

Register of Deeds — Joseph H. Seaver, Rep.. 995 ; 
James T. Hall, Dem., 1 104. 

Prosecuting Attorney — J. Wilson Caldwell, Rej)., 
973; James K. Wright, Dem., 1122. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — T'rancis Palmer, Rep., 
1 167; Elisha McCall, Dem., 923. 

Surveyor — Daniel W. .Mtenburg, 1170. No opi). 

Coroners — Edwin ('lark, Rep., 1182; Jose|)h A. 
Guthrie, Rep., 1150; Edward Wilson, Dem., 938; 
Jau)es Cassada, Dem., 923. 



ELECTION APRIL 4. 1875. 

Circuit Judge — Henry Hart, Rep., 1222; 
Utley, Dem., 1044. 



A. J. 



i 









ELECTION NOVEMBER 6, 1876. 

President — R. B. Hayes, Rep., 2144, maj. 835; S. 
J. Tildcn, Dem., 1309. 

Governor — C. M. Croswell, Rep., 2143, '"'^j- 769; 
Wm. L. Webber, Dem., 1374. 

State Senator — C. H. Morse, Rep , 2143, "^•'j- 652; 
C!ornelius Bennett, Dem., 1491. 

State Repiesentative — W. S. Turck, Re|i., 2224, 
maj. 978; William Long, Dem., 1426. 

Judge of Probate — Giles T. Mrown, Rep., 2072, 
maj. 519; James K. Wright, Dem., 1553. 

Sheriff— Geo. L. Patch, Rep., 2686, maj. 1147; 
Daniel R. Sullivan, Dem., 1533. 

County Clerk — W. B. Scattergood, Rep., 2173, maj. 
728; James A. Cassada, Dem., 1444. 

County Treasurer — S. W. Ambler, Rep., 2156, maj. iR 
692; Dwiglu Siitt, Dem., 1464. ^ 

Register of Deeds — Joseph H. Seaver, Rej)., 1961, 
maj. 296; James T. Hall, Dem., 1665. ^ 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Prosecuting Attorney — ^T. W. Whitney, Rep., 2070, 
maj. 633; Samuel J. Scott, Dem., 1437. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — Francis W. Palmer, 
Rep., 2I2I, maj. 611 ; E. C. Cummins, Dem., 1510. 

Surveyor — Ranson J. Fraker,Rep., 2078, maj. 538; 
Oscar Hayden, Dem., 1540. 

Coroners^Joseph A. Guthrie, Rep., 2 143, maj. 645; 
W. D.Scott, Dem., 1498; John IVanderbeck, Rep., 
2145, '"^J- ^5° ; Wilson, M. D., Dem., i495- 

ELECTION, NOVEMI^ER, 1878. 

Governor — Charles M. Croswell, Rep., 1650; O. 
M. Barnes, Dem., 787 ; H. S. Smith, Greenback, 1 162. 

State Senator — John W. Cochrane, Rep., 1578; J. 

K. Wright, Dem., 921; Smalley, Greenbacker, 

1 1 28. 

State Representative — William S. Turck, Rep., 
1758; Graves, Dem., 748; E. P. Spink, Green- 
backer, 1080. 

Sheriff— George L. Patch, Rep., 1537 ; Charles E. 
Webster, Dem., 954 ; George W. Newcomb, Green- 
back, 1085. 

County Clerk — William B. Scattergood. Rep , 1667; 
Stiles Kennedy, Dem., 796; A. P. Beam, Greenback, 
II 08. 

County Treasurer — William M. Barstow, Rep., 
1,626; F. C. Seymour, Dem., 713; Geo. W.Clark, 
Greenback, 1,184. 

Register of Deeds — Joseph H. Seaver, Pep., 1,457 ; 
John L. Sinclair, Dem., 1,060; Chas. H. Crandall, 
Greenback, 1,094. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Tiiurman W. Whiting, Rep. 
1,551; EUsha McCall, Dem., 861; C. J. Willett, 
Greenback, 1,199. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — Charles W. Giddings, 
Rep., 1,717 ; M. L. Anderson, Greenback, 1,199. 

County Surveyor — Sidney S. Hastings, Rep., 1,716; 
Geo. W. Belding, Greenback, 1,241. 

Coroners — Charles W. Howland, Rep., 1,649; T. 
J. Gulick, Dem., 760; A. Sabring, Rep., 1,648; Dr. 
W. D. Scott, Dem., 776; Benj. Cole, Greenback, 
1,163; Heron, Greenback, 1,162. 

ELECTION, NOVEMBER, 1880. 

President — James A. Garfield, Rep., 2,498 ; Win- 
field S. Hancock, Dem., 1,435; James B. Weaver, 
Greenback, 868. 

Governor — David H. Jerome, Rep., 2,380; Fred- 
erick M. Holloway, Dem., 1,445; Uavid Woodman, 
Greenback, 878. 



State Senator — Giles T. Brown, Rep., 2,601 ; M. 
H. Stanford, Dem., 1,422; T. A. Johnson, Greenback, 

965- 

State Representative — Wilbur Nelson, Rep., 2,634; 
James K. Wright, Dem., 1,552; Horace S. Taylor, 
Greenback, 874. 

Judge of Probate — James Paddock, Rej)., 2,608 ; 
Willard D. Tucker, Greenback, 2,331. 

Sheriff— Alfred A. Wood, Rep., 2,346 ; C. E. Web- 
ster, Dem., 1,548; S. D. Hicks, Greenback, 1,095. 

Clerk— John M. Trask, Rep., 2,286; O. F. Jack- 
son, Dem., 1,510; K. P. Peet, Greenback, 1,201. 

Treasurer — Wm. M. Barstow, Rep., 2,562; D. R. 
Sullivan, Dem., 1,486; Gaylord Helms, Greenback, 
936- 

Register of Deeds — G. S. Van Buskirk, Rep., 2,744 ; 
James T. Hall, Dem., 2,206. 

Prosecuting Attorney — C. J. Willett, Greenback, 
2,644 ; Charles W. Giddings, Rep., 2,388. 

Circuit Court Commissioner — James L. Clark, Rep., 
2.547; B. H. Sawyer, Rep., 2,528; L. T. Wright, 
Dem., 1,645 ; S. J. Scott, Greenback, 665. 

Surveyor — Daniel W. Altenburg, Rep., 2,465 ; T. 
H. Harrod, Greenback, 957. 

Coroners — N. B. Fraker, Rep., 2,629; J- A. Guthrie, 
Rep, 2,468; VV. D. Scott, M. D., Dem., 1,429; Elisha 
McCall, Dem., 1,425 ; A. H. Mack, Greenback, 960; 
C. L. Downie, M. D., Greenback, 685. 

ELECTION, NOVEMBER, 1882. 

Governor — Josiah W. Begole, Fusion, 2,615 I David 
H. Jerome, Rep., 2,260 ; Daniel P. Sagendorph, Pro- 
hibition, 1 10. 

State Senator — John W. Hance, Rep., 2,415 ; F. S. 
Burton, Fusion, 2,460. 

State Representative — Archibald B. Darragh, Rep., 
2,464; D. O. Cuff, Fusion, 2,402. 

Sheriff— Alfred A. Wood, Rep., 2,371; K. P. Peet, 
Fusion, 2,665. 

County Clerk — J. M. Trask, Rep., 2,410; John 
Swigart, Fusion, 2,448. 

County Treasurer — -T. A. Ely, Rep., 2,304; H. B. 
Heverloe, Fusion, 2,566. 

Register of Deeds — George S. Van Buskirk, Rep. 
2,259; John L. Sinclair, Fusion,' 2,623. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Truman W. Whiting, Rep., 
2,293; James K. Wright, Fusion, 2,552. 



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Circuit Court Commissioners — Byron H. Sawyer, 
Rep., 2,432 ; James L. Clark, Rep., 2,471; E. H. 
Ashley, Fusion, 2,401 ; Newell Leonard, Fusion, 

(%j Surveyor — Daniel W. .Mtcnburg, Rep., 2,505 ; I". 
H. Harrod, Fusion, 2,324. 

Coroners — N. L. Highby, M. D., Rep., 2,414; I.. 
H. Dayton, M. D., Rep., 2,412; M. D. Scott, M. D., 
Fusion, 2,461 ; C. L. Downie, M. D., Fusion, 2,465. 

County OflBcers. 



Following is a systematic and chronological list of 
the county officers from organization to date : 

Sheriff. 



Geo. K.Walker 1855 

H. L. Townsend 1856-8 

F. D. WcUer 1860-2 

David Bayley 1864-6 

Elisha C. Clark 1868 



Elisha Cook 1S70 

Wm. H. Pratt 1872-4 

Geo. L Patch 1876-8 

Alfred A. Wood 1880 

H P. Pcet 1882 



County Clerk. 



O. M. Wood 1855 

Henry H. Smith 1856 
Emery Crosby 1858 
H. T. Karnaby i860 
Wm. C. Beckwith 1862-8 



Natlian Ciuircli 1870-2 
W. B. Scaltergood 1874-8 
John \S. Trask 1880 
John Swigart 1S82 



County Treasurer. 



Ralph Ely 
L. Church 
Lalph Ely 
Elijah i'e.k 



'855 
1856-8 

i86d 

1862-4 



Wm.S. Trask 1866-70 



A. B. Darragh 1872 
S. W. Ambler 1874-6 
Wm. M. Barstow 1878-80 
H. B. Heverloe 1882 



Register of Deeds. 



Henry Lane 1855 

Elijah Peck 1856-60 

Henry P. Howd 1862-4 
Theodore Nelson 1866-8 
D. C. Chapin 1870-2 



James T. Hall 1874 
Joseph W. Seaver 1876-8 
G. S. Vanbuskirk 18S0 
J. L. Sinclair 1882 



Prosecuting Attorney. 



Franklin Miller 1855 
Sylvanus Groom 1S56 
Israel B. Coats 1S48-60 
Moses Tompkins 1862 
Wm. K. Winton 1864-6 
A. J. Utley 186S 



C. E. Williams 1870-2 
James K. Wright 1874 
T. W. Whitney 
C. J. Willett 
James K. Wright 




1876-8 

SSo 
882 



Judge ok Proh.ate. 



J. R. Cheesman 1855 
Francis Nelson 1856-64 
Elijah Peck 1868 



Wm. E. Winton 
Giles T. Brown 
James Paddock 



Circuit Court Com.missioner. 



Henry Lane 
Moses Tompkins 
Israel B. Coats 
Wm. E. Winton 
Elisha McCall 
Wm. E. Winton 



1855 
1856 
1858 
i860 
1862 
1864 



Giles T. Brown 
Wm E. Winton 
Francis Palmer 
C. W. Giddings 
[ames L. Clark 



1872 
1876 
1880 



1866 
1868-70 
1874-6 
1878 
18S0 



Byron W. Sawyer 1882 
County Surveyor. 



S. S. Hastings 1855 
Addison Hapden 1856 
S. S. Hastings 1858-64 
C. B. Fraker 1866 

S. S. Hastings 1868 



D. W. Altenburg 1S70-4 
R. J. Fraker 1876 

S. S. Hastings 1878 
D. W. Altenburg 1880-2 



Coroners. 



Lewis B. Loomis 
Levi B. Smith 
H. T. Barnaby 
J. A. Guthrie 
H. T. Barnaby 
T. L Tann i 

Hiram Burgess 
Wm. C. Newcomb 
Thomas Blumb 
Hiram Burgess 
EUtridge Franklin 
B. Cressenger 
W. C.B.Sherwood 



■855 

•855 

1856 

1856 

1858 

858-60 

i860 

1862 

1S62 

1864 

1864 

1866 

1866 



N. B. Fraker 
Wm. Verington 
('■. W. Jennings 
David liaile/ 
Edwin Clark 
J. .v. Guthrie 
C. W. Howland 
A. Sabiing 
N. B. Fraker 
J. A. Guthrie 
W. D. Scott 
C. L. Downie 



Supfrintendent of Schools. 

G. T. Brown 187: 



G. T. Brown 1869 

1). D. Hamilton 1870 



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GRA'iIOT COUNTY. 






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H^^'?'^ N order to perpetuate old- 
^ jjfe;;; time remembrances, and 
•^- '^^''"'*'- keep alive the kindly feel- 
ings which characterized the 
early settlers, a society was 
permanently organized in 
September, 1878, and the 
first meeting was held in the grove near 
Ithaca, Oct. 18, 1879. The exercises 



' V^'^c ^^'S'"^ appropriate, consisting of speeches 
and narrations relatina to the trials and 




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hardships of the early settlers by those 
^|l^^^ present. This was one of the most 
^**^" notable gatherings ever held in the 

county, and was largely attended. Many 
of the older ones, living at a remote 
distance from the county-seat, who had 
not seen each other for years, liad an opixjrtunity of 
taking each other by the hand and comparing notes. 
It was a grand " gala-day " for these old people 
whose heads are now thickly sprinkled with gray 
hairs; and as the old-time memories were revived 
with each recital of personal experience, many eyes 
filled with tears as the picture of hardship and care 
were vividly portrayed. 

Col. O. F. Wisner, of Ithaca, read an original 
poem, which was received with great applause, and a 
vote of thanks was tendered the author. 

All the persons residing in the county prior to 1870 
were admitted to membership, and we take great I 



pleasure in affixin 
date of their location 

Nathan Church, 
Mrs. M. A. Church, 
N. B. Fraker, 
Mrs. R. Fraker, 
W. W. Comstock, 
Mrs. M. Comstock, 
Robert Carothers, 
Mrs. H. Carothers, 
Henry Swift, 
Mrs. L. E. Swift, 
Frederick Strouse, 
Mrs. Sarah Strouse, 
James Vance, 
Mrs. Louisa Vance, 
Erastus Hunt, 
Samuel Lepley, 
Lafayette Swetland, 
Lydia Sw-etland, 
Jerry Shaver, 
IMrs. H. Shaver, 
David F. Hawkins, 
Mrs. C. Hawkins, 
Wm. S. Hall, 
Wm. Culy, 
Mrs. Eliza Culy, 
Frederick S. Kelly, 
James B. Curtis, 
James ^Vood, 
David Mellinger, 
Inman Cowdry, 
E. A. Chase, 
Mr. Susan Chase, 
C. E. McBride, 
Mrs. H.M. McBride, 



their names, together with the 
in the county. 

854 Mrs. Rebecca Carr, 

866 \\'m. J. Carr, 

861 A. T. Rice, 

861 Mrs. C. J. Rice, 

854 Frank Miller, 

854 Mrs. Juliet Miller, 
853 Dr. J. R. Cheesman, 

853 E. W. Kellogg, 

855 Mrs. A. L. Kellogg, 
855 Francis Kellogg, 

854 Isaac B. ^Vard, 

854 John G. Thompson, 

855 A. W. Russell, 

855 Willis A. Russell, 

853 John M. Everden, 
Perry L. Beechler, 
Wilbur Nelson, 
G. W. Cutter, 
Mrs. Mary Cutter, 
H. B. Fox, 

854 W. D. Scott, 
854 John W. Howd, 

856 James W. Howd, 
854 Wm. J. Marshal, 
S54 Miss E. F'ulton, 
854 Mrs. .\. Dubois, 
854 Samuel Saunders, 

853 Mrs. A. Saunders, 

85 4 Nelson P. Roe, 

85s ^^'m- Lo"g- 

857 Mrs. Mary E. Long, 
857 Thos. Cunningham, 
856 Mrs. H.Cunningham, 
856 William Preston, 



°55 
854 
854 

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SS9 

860 

866 

866 

85s 

855 ^. 

854 '</ 

855 

857 

855 
856 

865 
865 
865 
855 
8.15 
854 
854 
854 
866 

863 
854 
854 
856 
865 
856 
869 
869 
860 
860 
860 
854 
854 



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David Bell, 
Dan'l n. H. Curtis, 
J. C. Kinney, 
E. VV. Smith, 
Geo. Richardson, 
Mrs. J.A.Richardson, 
Chas. M. Chaffin, 
Elijah Reard, 
A. J. Hatfield, 
Jolm H. Jessup, 
Edward Dubois, 
P. R. Phillips, 
Ransom Allen, 
Wni. Marlow, 
L. L. B. Hunt, 
W. H. Pratt, 
J. H. Lewis, 
W. S. Turck, 
Milton Lewis, 
E. E. Farrington, 
L N. Coleman, 
Wallace Comstock, 
Mrs.D.W.C.Chapin, 



854 Mrs. Harriet Preston, 1 856 



S54 George Dubois, 
856 Mrs. ALig. Dubois, 



D 
865 
861 



85 4 Roman Fyler, 

86:; Mrs. E. M. l-'ylcr, 
Wm. Barton, 
Mrs. Cath. I'arton, 

854 Myron Wood, 

862 Sylvester Wheeler 

850 Parks Allen, 

S56 Geo. Wonnacott, 

85 I N. G. Sutliff, 

854 Geo. W. Rice, 

860 Robert Reed, 
856 Mrs. Jennette Reed, 1854 

859 John L. Sinclair, 1865 

855 Mrs. L. Merrifield, [854 

861 Wm. C. Beckwith, 1861 
855 Chas. E. Webster, 1862 
854 Daniel O. Cuff, 1863 
S55 \\'m. Brice, '854 

860 John C. Heslin, 1856 
865 Silas Hill, 1863 



J856 
1856 
'S53 
«S53 
1854 
■854 
■853 
1854 
1854 

•855 
1856 

1861 
1854 



773 "S 

f 



1865 

1859 
1863 
1864 
1856 
1867 

■ 854 
1852 



Mrs. A. P. Van Dine, 1861 Mile Pomeroy, 
Mrs. Rhoda Dodge, 1861 S. J. Thoenen, 
Mrs. Benj. Craw ford, 1853 John Zass, 
Mrs. E. M. Russell, 1865 Wm. Strouse, 
Mrs. E. Beckwith, 1859 Emery Crosby, 
Mrs. Hattie J. Helt, 1859 G. W. Maynard, 
Chas. Beckwith, 1869 Benj. H. Parker, 

Miss G. Beckwith, Daniel Helms, 

Mrs. E. Miller, 1856 

The officers first selected on permanent organiza- 
tioi were : 

President, Dr. John R. Cheesman. 

Secretary, E. W. Kellogg. 

Corresponding Secretary, Frank Miller. 

Treasurer, P. R. Phillips. 

The meetings have not been held annually, owing 
to different causes ; but the organization yet remains 
complete, and more interest should be taken in this 
pioneer " love-feast," which is calculated to acquaint 
the rising generation fully with the doings of their 
sires. 



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USTLY be it said that no 
?;b ( ounty in Michigan has been 
more noted for patriotism, 
than Gratiot County, and dur- 
ing the war it was of that 
character to which every citi- 
/,en may point with pride. When 
the news of the bombardment of 
Fort' Sumter reached the county 
«» seat, the excitement became in- 
^ tense. A meeting was held in the 
evening at the old log court-house, 
which was crowded with enthusias- 
tic men, and stirring speeches were 
made by a number. 

A document was drafted and is 
now on file at the office of the county clerk, which 




is given entire, together with the names of the patri- 
otic men signing it. Here it is : 

The undersigned, citizens of Gratiot County, act- 
uated by a itatriotic desire to aid in vindicating the 
honor of our country and maintaining inviolate the 
supremacy of the Constitution and the laws, do most 
solemnly promise that we will, when called ujion by 
the Governor, or by any other proper authority, go 
and assist the general Government in sustaining the 
Constitution and laws of our country, and earnestly 
ask that our services may be accepted. 

Ch.\ri.es B. Holi.idav, Ai.onzo Cheney, 



Henrv H. Tripp, 
George Coi.iiv, 
N.vTHAN Church, 
Wm. E. McCune, 
Orson E. Perry, 



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JON'ATH.^N George, 
If. F. MoREimusE, 
James W. Howk, 
George Randaui,, 
JiiHN Barnes, M. D., 
Ei.i!RH>GE E. Franklin, M. Morehouse. 

These intrepid men had faced suffering, privation 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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and danger during the hard times of 1857-8-9, and 
they were first to offer themselves as volunteers to 
uphold their country's honor. Too great honor can- 
not be ascribed to those noble patriots, who, full of 
that enthusiasm which carried victory wherever they 
went, battled with every advantage against them; 
on a strange soil ; against the flower of the enemy ; 
fighting all day and marching at night; never de- 
pressed by defeat, hunger or thirst; on to certain 
death; up the Maryland Heights on those terrible 
days at Fredericksburg; falling like grass before the 
sickle at Chancellorsville and at Gettysburg, where 
for three long days they fought ; and won at last the 
victor)- which turned the tide of war and saved the 
North from desolation. 

Mr. Ralph Ely received a commission from Gov. 
Blair, in July, 1861, and a company was organized in 
the coimty in less than three weeks. They were 
styled "The Gratiot Rangers." Most of them were 
pioneers, inured to hardships and privations; and, 
averaging nearly six feet in height, they were a noble- 
looking company and were as brave as they were 
manly. The numerous battles in which they after- 
ward engaged, gave ample proof of this. The citi- 
zens of Ithaca gave them a public dinner before they 
were mustered into the service, which was done Aug. 
23, 1861. 

It was hard, indeed, to part with loved ones, father, 
brother, and husband ; yet our patriotic Vomen bade 
them God-speed and through their tears cheered them 
on. So lonely did it appear after the two first com- 
panies left the county, that it seemed as if one vast 
pestilence had swept away the youth and vigor of our 
land. Hardly any were left except women, decrepit 
men, and lads and misses fourteen years of age and 
under. 

The officers of Company C, which was composed 
of our gallant boys, were : 

Captain — Ralph Ely; 
ist Lieutenant — George S. Gordon ; 
2d " Charles B. Holliday; 

I St Sergeant — F. M. Badger; 
2d " Henry Waymire; 

3d " Nathan Church ; 

4th " Wilbur Nelson ; 

Sth " Jacob D. Ellison. 

Of these, the brave F. M. Badger was mortally 
wounded at the engagement of Wilmington Island, 



April 16, 1862, and died three days later in the hos- 
pital at Beaufort. 

As time wore on, improvements of every character 
were in a great measure suspended. The news from 
the army was the chief topic of conversation. Labor, 
which before had been so plentiful, was now very 
scarce and wages rapidly advanced. This scarcity 
of labor, with the advance in the price of lumber and 
other material, prevented the erection of buildings 
which otherwise would have been erected in all parts 
of the county. In many instances owners of large 
farms enlisted, leaving their wives and daughters 
sole managers, and sometimes sole laborers as well. 
They accepted the situation with remarkable zeal 
and bent to the task before them with astonishing 
cheerfulness, thus winning for themselves at home 
what their husbands did on the battle-field, — imper- 
ishable laurels. Ladies whose accomplishments em- 
inently fitted them for the drawing-room might 
have been seen wielding the spade, ax or hoe, or driv- 
ing a team of oxen as the rich loam was prepared 
for the reception of seed. An abundance of crops 
was raised for consumption, and those left at home 
fared quite well. 

Enlistments continued during the summer of 1862, 
and scarcely any men remained to manage the busi • 
ness interests of tiie county. In the township of .Sum- 
ner, only two able-bodied men were left. This de- 
serves especial mention, on account of the fact that 
it was an unheard-of occurrence, and demonstrated 
the loyalty of her citizens in a remarkable manner. 

In the summer of 1862, Rev. Lafayette Church or- 
ganized Company D, of the 26th Mich. Inf , and was 
elected Captain. His company was filled in a few 
weeks and were ready for marching orders. His son 
Nathan was elected ist Lieutenant and William S. 
Turck, Esq., 2d Lieutenant. Company D was pre- 
sented with a handsome silk flag by the ladies while 
in camp at Jackson, Mich. ; it was carried through 
many sanguinary battle-fields, and the remnants are 
still preserved in the archives of the State. Rev. 
Theodore Nelson, F. Kelly, J. Greer, whose empty 
sleeve testifies of actual service, William Barstow, C. 
E. McBride, L. Sweatland, Rev. William Towner 
and two sons of Sether Dean were members of this 
company, the three last being numbered with the 
honored dead. 

The first draft was made in Gratiot County Oct. 






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27, 1863. Many of those subject to military duty 
had enlisted in regiments organized in other counties, 

and the (luota, although nwre than filled by her gal- 
lant son;, was not accredited to (iratiot. 

The second draft was made during the fall of 
1864, calling for 60 more, to complete the number. 
There were not that number of able-bodied men sub- 
ject to military duty in the county; but those who 
were drawn put in an appearance at Flint, for exam- 
ination. Among them were cripples, dyspeptics 
and gray-haired men, not one in ten of whom was 
accepted after reporting and undergoing an examina- 
tion. Some few who were drafted managed to have 
" urgent business in Canada " and escaped a brief 
term of service in that way. 

Gratiot County has every reason to be proud of 
her soldiers who were acknowledged in the records of 
the war as being among the best in the service To 
mention the numerous engagements and hard-fought 
battles in which they participated would occupy too 
much space. Suffice it to say, that they were a band 
of heroes, and their names will live forever in the 
history of the nation. 

The 26th regiment from 1S64 attracted much en- 
viable notice by its gallant fighting at Deep Bottom, 
when it drove in great confusion double its own 
number into their earth-works, after pressing them 
for a full half mile. For this gallant and dashing 
affair they were specially complimented by Gen. Han- 
cock in general orders. 

The regiment in command of Maj. N. Church, 
occupied a [wsition in the entrenchments in front of 
Petersburg, and were daily engaged from Oct. 31 
until March 25 following. From the ist to the 6th 
of April, while in command of Maj. Ives, who had 
been promoted Major, to rank from March 7 preced- 
ing, 7'icc Church, the latter being commissioned Lieu- 
tenant Colonel and then serving as Assistant In- 
spector General on Gen. Miles' staff, the regiment 
was engaged in pursuing the retreating army, fight- 
ing every day. On the 6th the regiment took a very 
active part in the capture of a train of 260 wagons, 
containing baggage, provisions and ammunition, and 
was the first regiment to attack the train. 

From March 28 until April 9, the regiment partici- 
pated in ten engagements, and are .accredited with 
the capture of over 400 prisoners. It was often 
complimented as the best " skirmish regiment " in 



, I 

the Ninth Corps. After Lee's surrender the regiment ^\ 
was detailed with its brigade, to guard the trains em- ^5 
ployed in bringing off the captured arms and ammu- *>?' 
nition. Gen. Badow, in letters to Col. Church, says: T 

■' I have the strongest regard and admiration for yS^ 
the 26th Michigan. It is a difficult thing to pick out 
one regiment from all those I served with as the 
very best ; but I can say this : that I never saw one 
superior in the whole army. * * * j believe 
that an army of such regiments as that would be 
superior to any army in the world.'' 

Gen. Hancock writes : 

" I have great respect and esteem for the officers 
and men of a regiment so distinguished in the field 
as the 26th Michigan Infantry, being lx)und to them 
in ties of friendship derived from a common service." 

If then these distinguished generals give the 26th, 
to which many of our Gratiot volunteers belonged, 
sucli praise, no higher mark of intrinsic merit need 
be mentioned. No greater glory attaches to these 
men than is due the gallant privates who made up 
the rank and file of the regiments and so manfully 
bore I he burden and heat of the day. Honor is due 
to every soldier from Gratiot County and "The His- 
tory of Michigan in the War" does them great credit. 

With the surrender of Lee, the Commander-in- 
Chief of the rebel forces, and the planting of the 
National banner uix)n the walls of Fort Sumter, from 
which it was ruthlessly torn by the hands of rebels 
four years before, our people breathed a universal 
prayer of gladness, for their husbands, fathers, sons 
and brothers would soon return, and life would be 
the happier for the sacrifices endured in the preser- 
vation of the country and the Union they devotedly 
loved. Shouts of rejoicing were heard when the 
tears were hardly gone from the eyes of those whose 
loved ones had breathed their last u|X)n the Southern 
battle-fields. 

Willi the return of the soldiers, came an imi>etus 
to the growth and prosperity of the whole coimtry ; 
new enterprises were set on foot; the clatter of tools 
and hum of machinery were heard oiV every hand, 
and the opening of stores and other places of busi- 
ness showed that the boys had lost none of their 
enterprise by long absence. The pulpits, whose 
former occupants had been long clad in the livery 
furnished by "Uncle Sam," were again made to 
resound with the glad tidings, " Peace on earth, g<xxl 
will to man." 



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HE subject of transportation 
has been and is now one of 
the vital questions in the 
growth and development of 
a country, be it new or old. 
Gratiot County was for years 
almost shut off from civilization for 
lack of wagon roads, and until re- 
cently had no markets for grain or 
other productions, except for home 
consumption, solely because the 
same could not be carried out of 
the county. 

There were several lines of rail- 
roads projected through this coun- 
ty, but until the Saginaw Valley & 
St. Louis road was built from Sagi- 
naw to St. Louis, there was no nearer point to be 
reached by rail than St. John's, in Clinton County. 
The Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw railroad was orig- 
inally intended to pass tlirough Cratiot, but the direc- 
tors were so adroitly manipulated by Saginaw and 
Owosso parties that tlie route was changed. 

The Lansing, St. John's & Mackinaw Railroad 
Company. 

'■•[>/pl; Ills road was the first line proposed to pass 

I '"j); j| through Gratiot County. The company 

\^,.,^- - "• was organized, and five per cent, of stock 

4^^ paid in, April 26, 1869. All the representative 

men of St. Louis, Itliaca and St. John's met 

oil that day, and committees were appointed 

who were to canvass along the proposed line for local 



subscriptions. Judge William E. Winton, of Ithaca, 
and Judge Bourland spent two months in stumping 
Gratiot ("ounty. Aid was secured from every town- 
ship on both sides of the line, and bonds were all 
ready for negotiation, when the Supreme Court of 
Michigan decided the law to be unconstitutional 
which allows aid to be voted in the manner thereto- 
■fore done. Although the line was surveyed to Ithaca, 
they were obliged to abandon the project. 



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The Chicago, Saginaw & Canada Railroad. 

HERE Jis no limit to the inventive faculties 

of man, nor the schemes rtiiich can he em- 

^ ployed to accomplish certain ends. Capt. 

E. L. Craw was an impecunious individual, but 

io his zeal and desire to attain notoriety resulted 

I in the building of the road mentioned, which 
he not only undertook but virtually accomplished 
without having a dollar of money invested. He was 
of the " Col. Sellers " order and his wealth was all 
prospective or on paper, which consisted of blank 
railroad bonds. His first venture in this State was 
to organize a joint-stock company in Chicago, who 
purchased several thousand acres of pine lands near • 
Lake Michigan, where a fine hotel was built, costing 
$100,000, in a village |)latted by the company, bear- 
ing the name of " Fruitport." 

This was intended to be a fashionable summer re- 
sort, but the burning of the jiotel put aquietus upon 
the scheme from wiiicli it never recovered. 

This venture gave rise to the plan afterward carried 



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into execution by Capt. Craw, for building a railroad 
to cor.nect with Detroit on the east and touching 
"Fruitix)rt " on the west. He had a lot of bonds 
printed, came to St. Lx)uis, and by representations 
made, an agreement was entered into with the man- 
agers of the Saginaw Valley & St. Louis railroad to 
merge their line into the Chicago, Saginaw & Canada 
railroad, he to commence at St. Louis and build west- 
ward. He tried first to obtain local aid at St. Ixjuis, 
but failed to get a dollar. His efforts at Alma were 
successful, §21,000 being subscribed by ilie citizens. 
Grading was commenced in 1874, the engineers hav- 
ing located the line through to Lake View. He issued 
bonds of $20,000 per mile and sent Prof. McChesney 
to Europe to negotiate the same. This he failed to 
do, but succeeded in pawning them for $10,000. In 
the meantime Capt. Craw was not idle. He issued 
still more bonds, went to Philadelphia, and, get- 
ting together a number of capitalists, represented 
that he had secured aid along the line, showed u[) 
the advantages of his road, it being by 60 miles the 
shortest route to Chicago, the immense resources to 
be obtained by the transiwrtation of pine lumber 
from the lands of the aforementioned company, esti- 
mated to furnish shipments for several years. From 
the cleverness of his argument he [irocured $150,000, 
putting up bonds of $20,000 to the mile and agree- 
ing to pay 10 per cent, and refund the money after 
the first 20 miles was graded. As Prof McChesney 
was then in Europe trying to negotiate the bonds, 
this pari of the scheme was the more easily accom- 
plished. 

He then borrowed $100,000 of Gen. Sickles, with 
the same securities, and expended what was left after 
his famous champaigne suppers were paid for, in 
grading and putting down ties. 

This money was soon exhausted and the Captain 
made a journey to New Yo k, with another lot of 
bonds, where, forming the acquaintance of Capt. Benj. 
Richardson, he succeeded in borrowing $100,000 for 
90 days, agreeing to pay a bonus of $15,000 for the 
favor. He put up $200,000 in bonds to secure this 
loan, expecting to have returns from Europe before 
|)ayment was due. 

The money procured from Richardson purchased 
the iron for laying 20 miles of track, but it was all 
exhausted before the same reached St. Ijouis. Rich- 
ardson had to advance more money to pay the freight 



from Saginaw to St. Louis, and pay for laying the 
iron. Later, he bought the rolling stock, consisting 
of 20 flat cars, two engines, a second-class passenger 
coach and one box car. These were branded, 
"Property oi Henj. Richardson," as he felt like hav- 
ing some representation. He was then made mana- 
ging director, and operations commenced between St. 
Louis and Cedar Lake in the fall of 1875. 

Previous to all this. Craw iiad induced his son-in- 
law to invest $60,000 in the scheme, all of which 
was lost, the young man never realizing a dollar. It 
was operated under Richardson's management until 
November, 1876, ivhen it was declared bankrupt and 
passed into the hands of D. D. Irwin, of Muskegon, 
as receiver. He leased it to Col. J. A. Elwell, who 
operated it until June i, 1883, when the line was 
sold to the Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad 
Company. The chief engineer, B. H. Bryant, was 
assistant superintendent under the lessee until his 
resignation in July, 1879, when James T. Hall was 
promoted from a conductorship to the position of 
superintendent, which he retained until the road was 
sold. Col. Elwell made this line a successful one, 
extending it, at his own expense, from Cedar Lake 
to Edniore, there making connections with, the De- 
troit, Lansing & Northern. In September, 1878, he 
extended it to Lake View, the present terminus. 
When he leased the road the total earnings amounted 
to less than $10,000 per year. He increased this 
1,200 i)er cent, the first year, which was largely due 
to his enterprise in establishing a (wstal and tele- 
graph service, express and other facilities, as well as 
the erection of suitable deix)ts along the line. 

All these were supi)lied by Mr. Elwell at his own 
expense, but he was subsequently reimlnirsed by 
order of the court. 

This is, in brief, the history ol one (it the most 
remarkable schemes in railroad building ever re- 
corded. 

.•\s operated now, by the Detroit, Lansing & North- 
ern, the line is a paying investment, and some time 
will surely be extended, making Detroit a terminus. 
Lowell Hall originated a scheme in the line of 
railroad enterprises which came to an untimely end 
in 1873. His plan was to build a line from Grand ^j 
Rapids to Saginaw, and the route was surveyed and ^'. 
some grading done in the townshijis of Fulton and 
Washington. This line was known and is yet s[X)ken 



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of as the " Lowell Hall " route, but aD hope of its 
being completed has been long since abandoned, the 
project never having been a feasible one. 

A line known as the Marshall, Coldwater & Mack- 
inaw railroad was surveyed, and considerable grading 
done in 1S73. The entire line is graded through 
SuToner Township, except across section 6, in which 
the hamlets of Elm Hall and Estella are very much 
interested. The former name of Coldwater and 
Mackinaw was changed to the present title in 1874. 
Strong probabilities exist that this road wiU be com- 
pleted in the near future. 



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OWO680 and Northwestern Bailroad. 

f ^^9f railroad by the above name was pio- 

>2^5'- i^*^^ ^'^ surveyed through this county. 

< l^iV "" The line was graded and ties furnished 

"^^b at many points along the route, but the " pan- 

'i^ ic"of 1 87 3 stopped the work until the fall 

! of 1883. The name has been changed to the 

Toledo. Ann Arbor & North Michigan railroad. It 

passes through a fertile section of country, and wiQ 

be of great advantage in developing not only this but 

also the other counties through which it fkasses. J. M 

Ashley, Sen., is President, and his son, J- M. .\shley. 

If., Secretary. 



The Saginaw Valley & St. Louis Bailroad. 



k 1 ; ERHAPS it would not be saying too much 
=-33ii did we mention that out of the wild scheme 
•- .:> projected by Lowell Hall grew the Saginaw 
^ i Valley & St. Louis railroad ; consequently this 
'iv proves that indirect means may accomplish 
important ends. The tiist line of railroad, and the 
first train of cars coming into the county, was over 
the abov^ named road. For a long while the people 
of St. Louis were forced to obtain supplies from Sag- 
inaw and St- John's by teams, and not until 1870 
was any direct effort made to establish a route, there 
being but few men of sufficient means and energy to 
indertake it We are glad to place on record the 
names of the parties most interested and who aided 






and pushed forward the project untU it was finally 
completed. To these men St. Louis owe all, or 
much, of the pn>si)erity which so enlivens her to-day. 
Thomas Holcomb, John L. Evans, Luther Smith, 
.\aron Wessells, James F. Newton and S. S. Hastings, 
together with A. B. Darragh, deserve more credit for 
their labors in this enterprise than they will ever 
receive. 

In the spring of 1870, a few men, among whom 
were Luther Smith, John L, Evans and .\. B. Dar- 
ragh, were discussing the inatter of railroads, and it 
was suggested that a meeting of the citizens be 
called at St. Louis to have some expression in the 
matter, as they were sadly in need of a toad. There 
bdng no printing press in the village, Mr. E>arragh 
wrote oat several notices, stating that a meeting 
would be held on a certain date to discuss the matter 
of having a rsulroad, and everybody was invited to 
attend. These were posted, and when the day for 
meeting came the town was full of enthusiastic peo- 
ple, all of whom wanted a railroad. The meeting 
was held in a hall over Schiffer's hardware store, and 
a committee appointed to visit points along the pro- 
posed route, which was, as conceived by Lowell Hall , 
to have Grand Rapids for the western, and the Sagi- 
naws the eastern terminus, the same to be called the 
"Grand Rapids & Sa^naw Raiboad Company." 
This committee were to appoint local committees 
along the proposed route, to attend a meeting soon 
to be held in Sa^naw to effect a permanent organi- 
zation. 

A close canvass was made between this pbce and 
Grand Rapids prior to the meeting at Saginaw, and 
outside of Grand Rapids very little was done. .\n 
a^iathy prevailing throughout the country, St. Louis 
was anxious to have the road terminate at this point, 
and came to the front with a handsome donation. 

At the meeting for permanent organization at Sag- 
inaw, L. H. Elastman was chosen President, David 
H. Jerome, Secretarj-, and .•V. W. Wright, Treasiircr. 
Luther Smith offered a resolution, which was ado^Jtcd 
by vote, that a committee be appointed to report all 
subscriptions along the line, including Grand Rapids, 
and report result, together with a recommendaiion 
as to the western terminus of the road. As chairman 
of said meeting, Mr. Smith reported $30,000 from 
each cf the Saginaws and the same amount from both 
St. Loub & Grand Rapids, together with a few small 



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subscriptions along the line. After a conference, the 
present name was given, the eastern terminus being 
Saginaw ; the western, St. Louis. At this meeting, 
five per cent of the stock was paid in, and everything 
went well. Contracts were let, and work commenced 
at both ends, being rapidly pushed with all the force 
requisite. More money was needed and another as- 
sessment levied, which the East Saginaw stock-hold 
ers refused to pay, claiming they had been unjustly 
dealt with, by virtue of a contract made between the 
executive committee and the Jackson, Lansing & 
Saginaw, which practically made Saginaw City the 
terminus. They insisted that the original contract 
be complied witli, making their city the terminus. 

Sufficient means were realized in St. Louis and 
Saginaw to carry on the work, and the road was 
completed in the winter of 1S71. .\inasa .Stone, 01 
the Cleveland Iron Works, furnished the iron, 
taking pay in bonds of tiie road drawing 8 per cent 
semi-annually, these bonds being considered worth 
only 80 cents on the dollar. In addition to this, the 
Cleveland Rolling Mill Company were given as a 
bonus §100,000 stock in the road, which was after- 
ward paid in full. There were tliirteen directors, of 
whom John L. Evans, John F. Newton, Charles H. 
Kress, Luther Smith and James McHenry were res- 
idents of .St. Louis. 

The directors gave their personal obligation for roll- 
ing stock, which cost $150,000, and was afterward 
paid by the earnings of the road. There was at 
times some disagreement among the officials, but all 
these were smoothed over and the best of feeling 
prevailed when the first train m.ade its appearance at 
St. Louis, in December, 1S71. .\ large number of 
people came from Saginaw and other [wints to attend 
the grand dinner given liy the people in honor of the 
occasion, and five long tables, loaded with everything 
palatable, were spread in Kress' Hall. Speeches 
were made by many distinguished guests from 
abroad, toasts drank and responded to in a hapj)y 
manner by many of our present citizens. S. W. Am- 
bler, the President of the village, made some appro- 
priate remarks. It was a grand gala-day. John 
Evans killed his old bear " Jo," whose savory steaks 
graced the banciuet board. .Artillery was fired, and 
glad huzzas were heard on every side. 

The construction of this road opened up a country 
which had been comparatively worthless, being cov- 



ered with hard woods which had no market value, 
but were now eagerly sought after. Much of the fine 

square timbers were sent to Europe, while staves 
made from the same were largely exixjrted to the 
West India Islands. 

The population of St. Ix)uis, which was only 800 
in 1870, has increased until it now numbers 2,700, 
the result of enterprise brought about by the opening 
of this road. It is now under the contract of the 
Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw Railroad Company, al- 
though the name is unchanged. 

The extension of the line from St. Louis to Ithaca, 
was mainly due to that energetic gentleman, Gen. 
Nathan Church, who spent .not only a greai deal of 
time, but also many dollars, to accomplish the work. 
For several years efforts had been made to induce 
the company to extend the line to Ithaca, but no 
plan proposed met with favor. The benefits Ithaca 
would derive from having railroad communication 
with the outside world was apparent to her business 
men, and a local company was organized, their money 
paid in and work has commenced in earnest between 
Alma and Ithaca. The officers of this company 
were conijwsed of the following gentlemen : 

President — Nathan Church. 

Secretar)' — -Robert Smith. 

Treasurer — W. S. Turck. 

Directors— A. W. Wright, of Saginaw; D. R. Sul- 
livan and W. S. Turck, of Alma; and Nathan Church, 
Wilbur Nelson, J. H. Seaver and Robert Smith, of 
Ithaca. 

TcJese gentlemen organized the company April i, 
1882, and work was commenced at once. The right 
of way was secured, the road graded, tied and iron 
laid by December 15th of that year. .After mature 
deliberation, the officers of the company decided to 
transfer all their right, title and interest in the road 
to the Detroit, Lansing & Northern, which road hah 
agreed toeipiip and run the new line in connection 
with their time schedule. The first freight received 
over the new road, was two cars of machinery for Mr. 
Thompson's Butter-Tub factory. Dec. 28, 1882. Nel- 
son & Barber shipped the first freight from Ithaca 
(one car of wheat), on Jan. 2, 1883. 

Regular passenger trains were put on June 25 of 
the same year, and the trade in both the passenger 
and the freight deixirtmenls has been entirely satis- 
factory to the company managing the line. 

To Gen. Nathan Church, Robert Smith, Wilbur 









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Nelson and Joseph H. Seaver, are the people of 
Ithaca indebted for the prosperity which came with 
the completion of this line of road. 

(§• The Lansing, Alma, Mt. Pleasant & Northern 
Railroad. 



HIS road is being rapidly pushed to com- 
pletion. It passes through a fertile section 
of country, and has for its present termini, 
Lansing on the south and Mt. Pleasant on the 
north. Engineers were put upon the proposed 
route in January, and the work isnow well under 
way, grading is being pushed rapidly, and before 




the close of 1884 cars will be running between the 
points named. The shops of the company will prob- 
ably be located at Alma, which will add largely to 
the business industries of that village. 

The officers of this company are composed of the 
following well-known gentlemen, whose names guar- 
antee a successful completion of the line, all being 
quite wealthy and determined that their scheme shall 
not fail. 

President — A. W. Wright, of Alma. 

Directors — A. W. Wright, Wm. S. Turck, James 
Gargett and Geo. D. Barton, of Alma; J. N. Shep- 
herd, of Salt River; John A. Harris and Wm. M. 
Brown, of Mt. Pleasant. 




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know nothing that bespeaks 
the wealth of a country in 
more unmistakable lan- 
guage than the growth 
and prosperity of her vil- 
;es and cities. The grad- 
*> ^ ual development of Gratiot 
County has caused a growth and business 
enterprise of her three most important 
towns that are indeed surprising. Of these 
we mention first the county seat, which is 
beatifully located at the geographical cen- 
ter of the county, and in the midst of an 
agricultural district equaled by few in the 
Peninsular State. " Gratiot Center " was 
thus named, being the center of the coun- 
ty ; but the name was changed to Ithaca, that being 
the name of the postoffice whidi was located here in 
February, 1856. The town was surveyed by Sidney 
S. Hastings, Feb. 11, 12 and 13 of that year, and 





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the first residents were Frank Miller, Postmaster, and 
Orville M. Wood. John Jeffrey was owner of the 
land, and had it ])latted and offered lots for sale in 
the spring of 1856. 

Only two buildings were erected until March, one 
lieing a small frame structure of two rooms, the front 
one l)cing used as a store by Mr. Jeffrey, the other for 
a dwelling and hotel, which was occupied by Lucius 
Knapp and family. The other was a rude log build- 
ing, in which the postoffice was kept, also a stock of 
groceries by John Knight & Frank Miller. Knight 
afterward removed part of the stock into another log 
Iiuilding, where John Howd's house now stands, that 
had been erected for the purpose by Ben., Dan. and 
William Crawford. The firm was known as Knight 
& Van Riper. 

W.W. Comstock purchased two lots of John Jeffrey 
in June of this year and erected a log hotel, the first 
public house in the village. The " Retan House " 
occupies the site, and the cook-room of that hostelry 



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is a part of Comstock's hotel. Many are the stories 
told of the days when everybody was " hard-iip,"and 
lodging could scarcely be obtained anywhere; in fact, 
there were no houses except little cabins that were 
already filled to overflowing. The entire floor of 
Comstock's hotel was frequently covered with tired 
men. who for lack of better acconunodations were 
forced to lie upon the bare floor with only a coverlet. 
The man who was unfortunate enough to snore and 
awaken his fellow lodgers was obliged by the law of 
custom to sit up and keep a fire burning until an- 
other unfortunate was in like manner compelled to 
take his place. 

There are many men now living in the vicinity of 
Ithaca who have assisted largely in building up the 
village, none of whom perhaps deserves greater credit 
than W. \V. Comstock. .Vlways ready to aid any en- 
terprise, he disbursed his means with a liberal hand, 
and nearly all the early business ventures were under- 
taken and carried to completion by his financial aid. 
He resides u[X)n a farm near the village, happy in the 
thought that his efforts were the means of accomplish- 
ing great good for the town of his choice. 




Village Incorporated. 

HE village of Ithaca was incorporated and 
its first officers elected Nov. 16, 1869. The 
territory is enclosed by the following boundary : 
"All the territory in the county of Gratiot, and 
State of Michigan, commencing at the ([uarter- 
post on the south side of section thirty-one (31), in 
Emerson Township, thence running north one-half 
mile, thence west one mile, thence south one-half 
mile, thence east one mile, to the place of beginning, 
coaii)rising ])ortions of the townships of Emerson, 
Arcada, Newark and North Star, in said county and 
State. 

William E. Winton was elected first I'resident of 
tht Board of Trustees. 

Trustees — Nathan ('hurch, William W. Comstock, 
A. W. Russell, D. Taylor, Andrew J. Utley, C. E. 
sVilliams. 
Clerk — James W. Howd. 
Treasurer— W. D. Scott. 
Assessor — E. C. Cummings. 



Marshall— E. N. Du Bois. 

Street Commissioners — C. N. Ilowd, Henry Kink- 
erter, B. F. Shepard. 




ff 




Business Interests. 

';'nly for a few years past has the village 
assumed a healthy growth. The more for- 
tunate towns on either side had railroads, 
which gave them facilities not possessed by 
Ithaca for the purchase and shipment of grain 
and lumber. As the result, what rightfully be- 
longed to her was given for years to her neighbors, 
thus building up in a substantial manner the mer- 
cantile and other business of the towns of the county. 
The growth of Ithaca was retarded in the same pro- 
[wrtion as her trade was taken away, and for many 
years few improvements were made. The growth 
was healthy, however; but with the new railroad 
caiiie a boom and the town received an impetus 
which places her on an equal plane with St. Louis, 
Alma and St. John's. A market for all the produc- 
tions of the country is found here, and prices rate the 
same as elsewhere. New life is apparent, and the 
business industries of the place are springing up on 
every hand. During the next ten years, Ithaca will 
surprise even the most sanguine in the extent of her 
improvements and substantial growth. Where the 
massive oak stood in its grandeur a few years ago, 
are now beautiful lawns upon which stand tasteful cot- 
tages, surrounded by all that wealth can procure or 
the comfort of man require. In place of the primi- 
tive log huts in which a few groceries were packed, 
are magnificent brick blocks, which would do credit 
to cities of great pretentions, and the attractively 
arranged display of merchandise indicate the cul- 
tured tastes of her people. 

IVilliam C. Bechvilh has been continuously en- 
gaged in the furniture business since 1861, which 
makes him the pioneer dealer in the county. His 
factor)' is well eiiui[>ped with machinery for the manu- 
facture of sash, doors and blinds. Irving Wright 
owns an interest in the furniture manufactory. 

The extensive saw-mill anil butter-tub factory 
owned and operated by Mr. W. F. Thompson, is a 
source of much revenue to the farmers in the vicinity 
of Ithaca. This enterprise was put into operation in 



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the fall of 1883, and has a capacity of 20,000 feet per 
day in the lumber, and 600 tubs per diem in the 
manufacturing department. Mr. Thompson gives 
employment to 30 men, and has orders for more 
(Oj goods than he can manufacture. Thousands of dol- 
lars' worth of logs fill his ample yards, and he esti- 
mates that Gratiot County can supply the material 
to keep his mill in active operation for the next five 
years. 

The Stave Factory of Messrs. Richards & Althouse 
is also quite an addition to the manufacturing inter- 
ests of Itliaca, and a large amount of timber is used 
by the firm. They employ a large number of men, 
and expend thousands of dollars annually for 
material in this village, aside from their extensive 
mill at St. Louis, which has a larger capacity than 
this. 

The Postoffice is not yet a " salaried " one, but the 
commissions have lately been overrunning the 
amount required to constitute one. Robert Smith, 
the editor and proprietor of the Gratiot Jouriial^\% 
Postmaster, and has recently removed the office to a 
neat and commodious building at the corner of Cen- 
ter and Pine Streets. 

William Pullen is largely engaged in the manu- 
facture and sale of furniture, and carries a splendid 
line of goods. In addition to the saw-mills and 
planing factories there are several wagon and buggy 
manufactories, a nunilier of blacksmith and harness 
shops, a foundry, a splendid grist-mill, and three ex- 
cellent livery barns. 

Livery. — Messrs. Peet & Johnson, J. P. Whitman 
& Sons, and L. M. Lyons represent this business. 

Wilbur Nelson, of the firm of Nelson & Barber, 
is the oldest merchant in the city. Their stock is the 
largest carried by any firm in the county; it consists 
of general merchandise suited to the trade in this 
neighborhood. Their business in the line of mer- 
chandise alone amounted to more than $r 00,000 in 
1882. 

Messrs. Seaver &= Lewis also have an extensive 
line of merchandise, and occupy elegant quarters. 

George Richardson is proprietor of the finest drug- 
store in the village, making his purchase of Dixi 
Hall, Jan. i, 1884. There are three other places 
where drugs may be obtained, but all handle some 
1'® other line of goods. 
^ Elevator. — The large elevator belongs to Nelson 




Barber, the senior member of which gave not only 
Ithaca but also St. Louis its trade in wheat. 

Hotels — Are two in number, the " Retan House " 
and " Commercial Hotel." The former hotel is under 
the management of Messrs. Retan & Covert, the 
other under the supervision of Mr. Charles Vaughn. 
Both liostelries are crowded to their utmost capacity 
and the guests are well pleased with the accommo- 
dations. 

Banks. — Two banks are necessar)' to transact the 
business of the village and country adjacent. The 
first to commence a legitimate business in this line 
were Church, Bills & Co., on July i, 1877. They 
are pioneers in the banking and collection business, 
and have a good building, centrally located, a bur- 
glar and fire proof safe, and all the capital necessary 
to carry on the enterprise in a successful manner. 
W. B. Scattergood is cashier. The firm is com- 
posed of N. Church, W. B. Scattergood, M. H. 
Church, O. P. Bills, Wilbur Nelson and Mrs. C. Bills. 

Steel, Turck & Co. opened their doors in 1879 
and do a general banking business. They have ex- 
cellent (quarters in tlie Jeffrey building, and the firm 
is composed of wealthy gentlemen who report the 
business in a prosperous condition. Mr. John W. 
Lewis is Cashier, with R. M. Steel, J. Hicks, J. W. 
Lewis, J. M. Thurber, J. H. Seaver, W. E. Winton, 
J. Scriven, Mrs. Louisa Seaver and Josiah Upton as 
stockholders. 

Milliner} — Is well represented by three prosperous 
stores. The ladies of Gratiot are well dressed, and 
present to the best advantage everything which can 
be gained from the dressinaker's and milliner's art. 

Real Estate. — Mr. S. W. Ambler does an exclusive 
real-estate business, and is one of the most reliable 
and best known men in the county. Mr. Nathan 
Church carries. on a real-estate and abstract office in 
the rear of the bank. His loans have been so se- 
curely placed that, in making the same to the extent 
of one and one-fourth millions of dollars, not one 
was ever lost, nor was the land mortagaged taken 
to pay the loan. 

The Legal Profession — Is represented by a num- 
ber of able lawyers. Judge William E. Winton, and 
Mr. Elisha McCall are the two oldest members of the 
Bar in the county. These two men have been pitted 
against each other for more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury and many a hotly contested case has been gained 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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yf by their eloquence and knowledge of law. Hon. 
;£) Giles '1'. Brown, 15. H. Sawyer, John Winton and E. 
'vj:^ H. Ashley conipletc the niemi)ersor the Uar residing 
T in this village. All are talented men and enjoy ex- 
(Oj cellent reputations as expounders of Blackstone. 

Michigan Slalf Mutual Relit-/ Association is lo- 
cated here and is doing a nice and rapidly increas- 
ing business. T. S. Barnes is the Secretary of the 
society. 

Medical Profession — Is well represented by sev- 
eral physicians, of whom Dr. Charles W. Marvin 
and Dr. W. D. Scott are the oldest; Dr. Marvin 
came in i860. Dr. Scott four years later. 

Dr. J- H. DeMay is a very popular physician, and, 
although a young man, enjoys a large and -lucrative 
practice. Although the village of Ithaca and the 
surrounding country is considered remarkably healthy, 
the large i)Oi)ulation and the diseases peculiar to the 
) northern climate make the services of good physi- 
cians necessary. 

Ithaca Brass Band. — The Ithaca Brass Band was 
^ organized in May, 1883, and numbers 21 pieces. As 
^^ an amateur band they have few e(|uals, and havere- 
= ceived universal praise in every town in which they 
have appeared. 

It is under the efficient leadership of Mr. William 
Pullen, who is without a ))eer as an instructor. The 
names of the members are, Ellis Fuller, Charles 
Brown, George Fink, RoUa Peet, Ed. Crawford, Dr. 
J. H. DeMay, George Lewis, Dewilt Johnson, .Arch- 
ibald McCali, Fred Fox, Frank Sutliff, John Bellcr, 
Will Moye, Charles Baker, Frank Keys, Arthur Stur- 
gis, Charles Wilson, .\mbrose Brooks, M. J. Criss and 
Wm. J. Paine. 

Ithaca has reason to feel ])roud of her band, and 
should encourage the boys with financial aid in pro- 
curing such uniforms as they deserve. The reputation 
of any village or city is enhanced by culture, and 
music forms one of the chief factors. 

Fire Department. — This is well e<iuipped. having 

a splendid force punn), worked by horse [Mwer, of the 

V celebrated Howe's patent, which has a capacity of 

\ throwing 18 barrels of water (cr minute. With this 

effective apparatus is 700 feet of three-inch hose. 

There is also a hook and ladder outfit, supplied with 

four Babcock extinguisher.^. Mr. J. W. Lewis is 

' Fire Marshall, O. F. Jackson, Fire Warden, and the 

"i company number 45 active men. The force pump 



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cost $1,200, and works to perfection. Water is pro- 
cured from the city water works, which empties into 
several large underground reservoirs at convenient 
places in the village. There are few villages the 
size of Ithaca that are better prepared to protect 
property from loss by fire, and none have a more 
complete outfit. 

Opera-Hoiise Block— With all the conveniences 
of churches, schools etc., the need of a substantial 
opera house was anticipated by Messrs. Wilber Nel- 
son and Nathai Church, who erected a neat and im- 
])0sing building for this puri)ose. The lower story is 
occupied by Nelson & Barber, with a large stock of 
merchandise. The opera house is well arranged and 
seats comfortably 400 persons. The stage is a model 
of convenience, and the appurtenances were furnished 
by artists of merit. The citizens of Ithaca have rea- 
son to be proud of this building which is so neces- 
sary to their enjoyment, and Messrs. Nelson & Church 
have erected not only a monument which will always 
be a reminder of their business enterprise, but their 
investment has enhanced the beauty and worth of 
the business center fully 100 percent. The Opera- 
House Block was completed in 1878, at a cost of 
$12,000. 

Bank Block. — The best evidence of prosperity of 
the business men in any village is the erection of 
substantial business buildings. Of these the hand- 
some brick block erected by the heirs of John Jef- 
frey is one of the finest and most imposing structures 
in the county. It is luiilt of livick, artistically 
trimmed with stone, and is three stories in height, 
with a large, airy basement. The building was com- 
pleted in 1880, at a cost of 320,000. It is an orna- 
ment to the business portion of the village. 




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Educational. 

i N educational matters the public schools of 
the county form an im|X)rtant part. Ithaca 
eads with the finest school building, it hav- 
ing cost when com|>leted in 18S4, together with 
the site, $23,500. The two former school 
buildings were located at the corner of Centre 
.Maple streets, but were both destroyed by fire, 
corner stone of the new building was laid with 

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GRATIOT COUNTY. 









appropriate ceremonies, on Friday, June 15, 1883, 
and the same was ready for occupancy Jan. i, 1884. 
It is a handsome brick structure, trimmed with stone, 
two stories high, with a large, airy basement, built 
uix)n the latest improved plans as regards ventilation 
and utility. The entire structure is heated by two 
large furnaces and the rooms are furnished with all 
the recent improvements in furniture and equipments. 

Tliere are 300 pupils enrolled, although the last 
school census gave a total of 410. The seating ca- 
pacity of the school building accommodates 600 pu- 
pils. The gymnasium, in the third story, and the 
nice play rooms in the basement form important 
features in the athletic training of the youth of both 
sexes. There is also a nice library btilonging to the 
school district which comprises over 400 volumes, and 
fifty dollars is annually expended in the purchase of 
new books. 

The schools of Ithaca are a credit not only to the 
village, but the county as well, and this will induce 
many substantial men to locate here for the purpose 
of educating their children. The school site is sit- 
uated on a beautiful elevation containing three acres, 
at the head of main street. 



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County Buildings. 

jLlRST, it may be observed, that the county 
buildings are ample and well constructed. 
The court-house is a neat two-stor)' frame 



1 



'^^ building, with rooms for county officers in the 
•Jj'^ lower story. It was erected in 1870, on the 
site donated by John Jeffrey. The entire cost 
of building, furniture, etc., was $10,000. 

The Sheriff's residence and jail was completed in 
1878, which together with the site cost the county 
$12, 000. This building is a handsome and substan- 
tial brick structure, built in modern style, and is not 
only an elegant but a very secure building. Sheriff 
K. P. Peet keeps the premises in fine condition, and 
the jail, in a sanitary point of view, cannot be much 
improved. 

Ithaca is destined to become an important city. 
Situated as it is, in the midst of an excellent agricult- 
ural district, with railroads tap|)ing all the important 
commercial centers, her future is assured. 



Cemetery. 

"g^^IHE cemetery IS beatifuUy located, and ad- 
J^i joins the corporation on the northwestern 
• '** boundary. It comprises five acres of land, 
which gently slopes away from the village, and 
the neatness in which it is kept under the man- 
agement of the Cemetery Association is credit- 
able to the officials in charge. 

The original association was composed of 13 mem- 
bers, and was organized in 1863, with \V. W. Com- 
stock as President, Emery Crosby, Clerk, and Judge 
Elijah Peck, Treasurer. 

The grounds are nicely underdrained and are at all 
times accessible. The first body interred was that 
of Mary Nelson, a daughter of Rev. Francis Nelson 
in September, 1864. 



Ithaca Township. 

fe THACA Township was organized by a spe- 
cial act of the Legislature in 18S1, which 
was rendered necessary from the inconven- 
ience in voting, the village plat comprising a 
section of each of the townships of Atcada, 
Newark, Emerson and North Star. This also 
caused a reorganization of the school district, which 
has resulted beneficially to the village in many re- 
spects. Abraham Russell has represented tlie town- 
ship since its organization as Supervisor. The terri- 
tory, although small, demands considerable attention 
on his part, and he has given general satisfaction on 
the Board. 




^^ 



Church History. 
nJEgS^MONG the numerous evidences of the in 






^^ tellectuality and morals of any community, 
^^ the churches stand pre-eminent as the basis in 
measuring the standard. Gratiot ('ounty, in 
this respect, equals and even excels some of 
her sister counties whose advantages have been meas- 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 






^ 11 rably greater. The advent of several ministers dur- 
'$) ing its early settlement tended larcely to promote the 
•■'P» cause of religion, and through their efforts was the 
T interest in theological matters maintained. The names 
'hj of these reverend gentlemen are mentioned else- 
where, and their zeal and untiring devotion to the 
cause has met with a fitting reward. 

Baptist Church. — This is the pioneer organization 
of the religious denominations in this village, a soci- 
ety being formed bv a number of persons July iS, 

J «8S7. 

."^ The meeting was lield in Ithaca, Rev. Israel Fay 
being Chairman, and J. A. Gutlirie, Secretary. The 
following persons were present and became members 
of the society, which is known as the First Baplist 
Church of Itiiaca. At this meeting Lafayette Church 
received sanction from the society to preach, and for 
a number of years he ministered to their spiritual 
wants. Elder Fay was an ardent worker, and did 
much in an early day to promote the cause of religion 
in the neighborhooo. 

The Deacons chosen at this meeting were: La- 
fayette Church, N. Thomas, Sether Dean, S. S. Hast- 
ings. J. A. Guthrie, Secretary. 

The organization being thus com|)leted, the names 
of those present were enrolled, consisting of : Na- 
than Thomas, E. W. Mead, William Allen, George 
Luce, Lafayette Church, Jacob E. Bullock, Sether 
Dean, Sidney S. Hastings. J. A. (juthrie, Christopher 
Dingman, Hiram Burgess, John Jeffrey, Rexonia Fay, 
Lydia Thomas, Rachel Mead, Mary Allen, Nancy 
Luce, Amanda Church, Hannah M. Bullock, Miran- 
da Dean, Julia D. Hastings, ?ymma M. Guthrie, 
Mother Ray and Mary Bradshaw. 

Meetings were held in the school-house until the 
completion of their church in 1867. The member- 
ship has always been a large one, the records now 
having eighty names enrolled on its pages. Rev. D. 
M. Christie, an able divine, is pastor, whose efforts 
are meeting witli a fitting reward. 

The society suffered a great loss on March 1 3, 1 884, 
by the burning of the church edifice. As there was 
no insurance, and the cluircii being already burdened 
with a debt of over $400, the i)uilding having been 
sold under mortgage in 1883, the loss will be keenly 
felt. A larger and finer church will, iiowever, take 
the place of the former, as the enterprising people of 
Ithaca have gladly contributed to the building fund. 



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Congregational Church. — In the pleasant month 
of June, 1866, a few persons met at the residence of 
Judge William E. Winton, to discuss the <piestion of 
organizing a Congregational society in this village. 
After a conference they decided to meet at the same 
(ilace ne.xt day and complete the organization. Sat- 
isfactory preparations were made and the meeting 
adjourned until the evening of June 7, when the fol- 
lowing named persons met at the school-house and 
formally organized the society : Judge William E. 
Winton and wife Marietta, Dr. Charles W. Marvin 
and wife Martha, l^lijah and Sally Peck, Zachariah 
Hoag, Mrs. Mary A. and Miss Helen C. Hoag. 

Rev. Samuel Sessions was engaged as pastor, and 
commenced his labors Dec. 7, 1866. 

The first communion service was held riie first Sab- 
bath in May, r867, at the Advent Church, and their 
Sabbath-school was organized in the same month. 

Rev. Edwin Shaw was called to this [lastorate in 
February, 1869, in consequence of the resignation of 
Rev. Sessions, and took charge of the congregation 
until August, 187 1, when Rev. Edward Cleveland 
was called, and preached one year. The member- 
ship had grown until there was a real necessity for 
building a church, which was completed in 1868, and 
dedicated July 29 of that year. The Chapel was 
clear of debt and the members active workers, thus 
making it a thriving organization from the beginning. 

Dr. Charles W. Marvin was elected Deacon at the 
annual meeting in July, 1872. He still retains the 
office of Clerk, which position he has held for many 
years. The membership has maintained a healthy, 
although moderate, growth, and the congregation is 
composed of the best class of people in the village 
and vicinity. 

An addition was built tu the cliapel several years 
ago, but need of more room will necessitate the erec- 
tion of a new building in the near future. 

The Trustees first elected were: Chas. \V. Mar- 
vin, Zachariah Hoag and Wm. E. Winton. Deacon, 
Elijah Peck. 

The attendanc e at their Sabliath-school equals if 
not excels that of any other denomination in the vil- 
lage. In this branch of theological education the 
Congregational people take great pride, anil the de- 
meanor of the youth of Ithaca is in a great manner 
due to their excellent training at the Sunday-schools 
in the village. 

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Rev. F. L. Bristol, t1ie present pastor, is a learned 
and gifted gentleman, whose sermons are the means 
of attracting large and intelligent audiences. His 
salary is adequate to his needs, and is promptly paid 
by his parishioners. 

Seventh-Day Adventisls. — The following brief 
sketch of the origin and progress of the Seventh- 
Day Adventists was furnished us by Rev. Frank- 
lin Squire : 

Our field of inquiry leads us back only to the 
great Advent movement of 1840-4. Respecting that 
movement it is presumed that the public are more or 
less informed; but they may not be so well aware of 
the causes which have led since that time to the rise 
of a class of people calling themselves Seventh-Day 
Adventists. 

Adventists looked for the end of the world in 1844, 
because it is said in Dan. 8 : 14, that at tlie end of 
the prophetic period of 2300 days the sanctuary 
should be cleansed. They believed those days would 
end in that year. They held tliat the earth was tlie 
sanctuar) then to be cleansed, and that its cleansing 
was to be accomplished with fire, which would ac- 
company the manifestation of the Lord from heaven. 
Hence they supposed the Lord would theii come. 
There were, of course, many other facts and argu- 
ments in support of the view that the second coming 
of Christ was near; but what we have stated was the 
principal argument for fixing upon thai particular 
time for the occurrence of this great and important 
event. 

The time passed, and the coming of Christ did not 
take place as was expected. It tlien became apixir- 
ent that a mistake had been made in one or both of 
the following jx)ints: either the period of 2300 days 
did not end at that time, or the cleansing of the 
sanctuary was not to be the burning of the earth by 
fire at the second coming of Christ. While there 
was a possibiHty of their being mistaken on both 
these points, a mistake on either one would l)e suffi- 
cient to account for the fact that the Lord did not then 
appear. 

A movement which had enlisted the whole inter- 
est of thousands upon thousands, would not, of 
course, be abandoned without reflection. The ground 
was looked over, and two methods adopted for ex- 
plaining the disappointment. One class jumped to 
the conclusion at once that they were wrong on time, 
and the prophetic periods had not ended. Anotlier 
class, on a careful survey of tlie whole field, im- 
pressed with the strength and harmony of tlie argu- 
ment on chronology, saw no ground to change their 
views upon that [wiut, but became satisfied that the 
mistake lay in the subject of the sanctuary and its 
cleansing. This class are the ones now known as 




Seventh-Day Adventists. This brings us to note 

THE DIFFERENCE 

Between Seventh-Day Adventists and First-Day or 
No-day Adventists, as respects chronology. The 
latter, believing that the projjhetic periods were given 
to make known the time of Christ's coming, and that 
they have not yet ended, are held to one of two con- 
clusions : either that all that is said in the Bil)ie about 
these periods is so much of revelation unrevealed, or 
else that the time of Christ's coming is to be known. 
The first conclusion, as consistent believers in the 
Bible, they cannot adopt, and hence their continual 
efforts to readjust the prophetic periods andfixuixjn 
the time for Christ to come. From this has arisen, 
in these latter years, all the fantastic time-setting 
which has very properly disgusted the world, and 
worse than this, has brought reproach on prophetical 
study. On the other hand, 

SEVENTH-UAV .\DVENTISTS SET NO TIME. 

They do not believe that any prophetic period given 
in the Bible reaches to the coming of Christ, or was 
designed to mark the day or year of that event. As 
already noticed, they believe that the chronological 
argument of the great Advent movement of 1844 
was all right, locating the terminatiori of the longest 
prophetic i^eriod, the 2300 days, in the autumn of 
that year. The prophecy said that then the sanctu- 
ary should be cleansed. That sanctuary they found 
to be, not the earth, which is never so called, but the 
sanctuary of which Paul so fully and definitely treats 
in his epistle to the Hebrews, "the sanctuary " and 
" true tabernale " in heaven, " which the Lord 
[litched and not man," of which Christ, our great 
High Priest, is minister while " on the throne of 
the Majesty of the heavens," — Heb. 8 : 1, 2. The 
tabernacle erected by Moses in the wilderness of 
Sinai about 1500 years before Chtist (Ex. 25 
and onward), which was the sanctuary of the 
first covenant (Heb. 9: i), from that time till 
the first advent, was a type, figure, or pattern 
of this heavenly sanctuary of the new covenant. 
Heb. 9: 9, 23, 24. The mini.stration of the sanctu- 
ary consisted of two grand divisions, which were ac- 
complished every year: the daily ministration, and 
a brief service in the most holy place, or second 
apartment of the sanctuary, which completed the 
yearly round of service. This latter work was called 
the cleansing of the sanctuary, and was performed 
l)y the priest. So, likewise, the cleansing of the heav- 
enly sanctuary (Heb. 9 : 23) must be [lerformed by 
Christ while yet a priest, before he takes his kingdom 
and appears in his glory. 

The view we take of the prophecy, consequently, 
is that the termination of the 2300 days in 1844 
brought us to the commencement of this last portion 
of Christ's work as priest in the true tabernacle above, 









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called the cleansing of the sanctuary; not a cleans- 
ing from physical impurities, but from the presence 
of our sins, imparted to it through tiie blood of 
Christ there ministered in our behalf. This explains 
at once the mistake in 1844, and shows our present 
[losition. We are now in tlie time of the cleansing 
of the sanctuary, — a period of brief but indefinite 
duration, reaching to Christ's coming. 

While, therefore, we do not throw away the pro- 
l)iietic [leriods, but believe ihey are to be understood, 
we believe also that they have been correctly inter- 
preted, and have all terminated ; so that now we have 
no data from which to reason respecting a definite time 
for the I-ord to come. 

THE SliVENTII UAV. 

Two causes have operated to introduce the observ- 
ance of the seventh-day Sabbath among Adveniists, 
and thus todeveloi) that class known as Seventh- Day 
.-Vdventists. 

Firbt, a Seventh-Day Baptist sister, Mrs. Rachel D. 
I'reston, from the State of New Voik, moved to Wash- 
ington, N. H., where there was a C'hur<:li of .Advent- 
ist!». From them she received tlie do( trine of the 
soon-coming of Christ, and in return instructed them 
in reference 10 the claims of the fourth command- 
ment of the decalogue. This was in 1844. Nearly 
that whole Church immediately commenced the ob- 
servance of the seventh day, and thus have the 
honor of being the first Seventh-Day Adventisls 
Church in America. The ravages of death, and re- 
movals from tlie place, have consideralily diminished 
their numbers; but the Church there siill lives to 
bear witness to the truth thus introduced among 
them. 

The Sabbath iiuestion began immediately to be 
agitated among .Adventists, and within a few months 
many from their ranks commenced its observance. 
.Among the earliest permanent converts to this doc- 
trine, three deserve especial mention : T. Eld. Joseph 
Hales, who with great zeal, devojion, and self-sacrifice 
gave himself to its advocacy, and brougiil many to 
its observance, lie fell asleep March 19, 187.:, in 
the 80th year of his age. 2. Eld. James White, the 
founder, and manager to his decease, of the S. D. 
.Adventist j)ublishing work. He was for many years 
President of their five ieadmg organizations ; namely, 
The Cieneral Cont'erence, The Publishing Associa- 
tion, The Health Reform Institute, The General 
Tract and Missionary Society, and the Educational 
Society. He died in Battle Creek. Mich., .Aug. 6, 
1 88 1, aged 60 years. 3. Eld. J. N. Andrews, author 
of the " History of the Sabbath," the " Sanctuary," 
the "Three Messages," and other important works, 
and for many years a missionary to Switzerland in 
Europe. He died Oct. 21, 1883, in his 55th year. 

Secondly, another cause which has tended to 
strength? n then) in the observance of the seventh- 




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day Sabbath, is the subject of the sanctuary, to 

which we have already alluded. It was seen at once 
that the central object in the sanctuary, in whichever 
dispensation we view it, is the ark of God, which is 
enshrined in the most holy place of that heavenly 
building. 'I'his ark was prepared expressly as a re- 
cei)tacle for the tables of stone on which were 
written the great moral precepts of God's govern- 
ment, the tCii commandments. Thus, attention was 
called to the law of God. It was also seen that if 
the law in the ark of the heavenly sanctuary (Rev. 
11:19) '^ '''C great original, and that deposited in the 
typical sanctuary was only a copy, or transcript, that 
law must read the same now as it read then, and the 
idea of any ciuinge is placed beyond the range of 
possibilities ; that heaven and earth, as Christ in his 
first sermon tleclared, would sooner pass than one 
jot or tittle would i)ass from the law; and that the 
fourth commandment retptires of the second house of 
Israel (spiritual Israel, or Christians) what it required 
of the first house (the literal descendants of Abra- 
ham), and has reipiired from Eden down, the ob- 
servance (»f the seventh day of the week as the 
grand and glorious memorial of our creation at the 
hands of God. 

■nii;iR I'UinisHiNG work. 

This, as already stated, originated through the in- 
strumentality of Eld. James White. Eld. W. was 
born in Palmyra, Me., in 1821. Commencing at the 
age of 20, he labored with much success as a public 
speaker in the great -Advent movement of 1840-44; 
and wlien the claims of the Sabbath were brought to 
his notice, he entered as heartily into the work of its 
defense and promulgation. He began the work of 
publishing in 1849. In November, 1850, he com- 
menced the publication of the Ailvenl Rerinc aiiJ 
Sahhalh Hita/i/. the organ of the .S. D. Adventists. 

To accommodate his publishing work to the field 
of his operations as a traveling evangelist, the paper 
was issued first at Paris; Me., till June, 1S5 i, then 
at Saratoga Springs, N. V., till March, 1852. It was 
then removed to Roihesier, N. Y., w here it continued 
nearly four years. Then, the cause of Sabbath re- 
form rapidly advancing westward, its present location. 
Battle Creek, Mich., was selected as a more central 
|x>sition, and the pai)er was moved to this place in 
November, 1855. Ui) to this time. Eld. White was 
publisher and sole editor. Some of the time after 
this, others were associated with him on the editorial 
board. 

The wants of the cause demanding an enlarge- 
ment of operations, and the emi)loyment of more 
capital in the i)ublisliing business, an Act of the Leg- 
islature of Michigan for the IiKor|ioration of .Asso- 
ciations ff>t Piiblishing Purposes, was secured and 
approved March 7, 186c. Ur.der this act, a legally 
incorporated assoiation, under the name of The 
Seventh-Day Adventi^t Publishing Association, was 

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organized in Battle Creek, May 3, 1861. They im- 
mediately erected a two-story brick building in the 
form of a Greek cross, the main portion 26 x 66, the 
transverse section 26x44, for the publishing work. 
In 187 I a second building of the same size and form 
was erected to meet the necessities of the increasing 
business. And in 1873 a third building of the same 
kind was built for the same jnirixjse. In 1878 the 
first and third l)uildings were united by a four-story 
central structure, filling the whole space between 
them, making a large four-story building, with two 
three-story wings. In 1881 a large press-room, 
46 x66, was added to the right and rear. In these 
buildings we have an aggregate of thirty thousand 
square feet of floor space, which is occujned in the 
various branches of editing, printing, folding, book- 
binding, electrotyping, stereotyping, mailing, ship- 
ping, etc., furnished with the most modern machinery 
in all branches. Including all departments, it is the 
best equipped printing oflfi-je in the State of Michi- 

The difterent periodicals issued by the Association, 
'.he titles of which follow, have an aggregate monthly 
circulation of about 160,000 copies. 

7 /ic Ac/vent Revinu and Sabbalh Herald, 1 6 pages, 
weekly. 

Signs of the Times, i 6 pages, weekly. 

Youth's Instructor, an illustrated weekly. 

Sabbath Sentinel, monthly. 

Bible Reading Gazette, monthly. 

Sandhedens Tidende, Danish-Norwegian, semi- 
monthly. 

Sanningens Harold, Swedish, monthly. 

Stitnme der Wahrheii, (ierman. monthly. 

Books on the prophecies and other Bible subjects 
liave been issued largely from the beginning, and 
have now reached an aggregate of two hundred and 
fifty millions of pages. 

Neaily one hundred hands are regularly employed 
in the work, and the capital invested is over one 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

These results, wrought out in so short a time, are 
the only compliment that need be paid to him under 
whose management this degree of prosperity has 
been attained. Those acqviainted with the business 
career of the late Eld. White, observed in him two 
strongly develo|)ed traits of character, — zeal to push 
forward in the formation and execution of plans for 
the advancement of the work, and caution to avoid 
injudicious and reckless ventures. The union of 
these two qualities made him master of the situation 
in the publishing line, and gave to the enterprise, 
though moving forward rapidly, a healthy and perma- 
nent growth. 

THKIR ORG.-\NIZATION. 

This is exceedingly simple. A body of believers 
\^ associate together, taking the name of Seventh-Day 
^Tf~. Adventists, and attaching their names to a covenant 



simply to keep the commandments of God and the 
faith of Jesus. The Bible is their only creed. A 
clerk is chosen to keep the records of the Church, 
and an elder, elected by vole of the Church, is or- 
dained to look after its spiritual interests. If the 
Church is large, its temporal affairs are assigned to 
one or more deacons, chosen by vote of the Church 
for this purpose. They hold that the terms, elder, 
bishop and pastor (Greek, //•t'.f(^///tV(V, episcopos and 
poinien), signifying the same officer, which is a local 
officer, confined to a particular Church. Tliese need 
not be ordained ministers. Evangelists {euangelistai) 
are ordained ministers, wlio travel from pla;e to 
place to preach the gospel, and are the only ones 
competent to ordain local elders and deacons. 



NUMBERS. 

They now number 6S0 Churches, with an 



enroll 



ment of 17,436 members, according to the returns 
made to the General Conference of Nov. 8, 1883. 
But, owing to the scattered condition of this people, a 
large proportion of them are not situated as to belong 
to any of the Church organizations, single families be- 
ing scattered all the way from Maine to California 
and Oregon, in all the Northern States, and in many 
ot the Southern. The whole number is estimated at 
from twenty to twenty-five thousand. The number 
of ordained ministers is 165; licentiates, 135. None 
of the churches have pastors stationed with them. 
They maintain their worship without the aid of a 
preacher, only as one may occasionally visit them, 
leaving tlie ministers free to devote almost their whole 
time to carrying these views to those who have never 
before heard them. During the summer months, they 
carry forward their work by means of large tents 40 
to 60 feet in diameter. About eighty of these were in 
use during the summer of 1883. 

CONFERENCES. 

The next advance in organization from single 
Churches, is the .State Conference. The Churches in 
a State combine to form a State Conference, adopt- 
ing a constitution to regulate their action. All the 
ministers in the State are, by virtue of their office, 
members of the State Conference, and each Church is 
entitled to delegates according to its membership. At 
each annual meeting an executive committee of three 
is elected by vote of the delegates, of whom the 
president of the Conference is chairman. Tlie com- 
mittee have supervision of all the niinisteiial and re- 
ligious work of the Conference between the yearly 
meetings, and appoint the delegates to the General 
Conference. 

S. D. Adventists now have 28 State Conferences, as 
follows: Maine, New England (including in this di- 
vision only New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island and Connecticut), Vermont, New York, Penn- 
sylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wiscon- 
sin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota, Missouri, 






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Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Cal- 
ifornia, Oregon, Virginia, Upper Columbia, Province 
of Quebec, Denmark, Suisse and Sweden. 

The next outward sweep from the State Conference 
is the General Conference. Tiiis is comjjosed of del- 
egates, ministers or laymen, from all the State Con- 
ferences. This Conference also annually elects its 
executive committee of five, to have cliarge of the 
doings of the denomination in all parts of the field. 
The president of the Cieneral Conference is the iiigh- 
est officer in the body. 'I'he object of the General 
Conference is to unify the work in all localities, equal- 
ize lal)or, and sup[)ly destitute fields with help. The 
meeting of the General Conlerence held in Battle 
Creek, Mich., Nov. S-20, 18S3, was its 22d annual 
session. 

FUNDS. 

Means to sustain the work is raised by a jilan de- 
nominated the tithing system, founded on the instruc- 
tions of Paul in 1 Cor. 16: 2. By this system it is 
designed that every one shall, ujion each first day of 
the week, lay by a sum equal, as near as may be, to 
one-tenth of his income from whatever source. There 
is nothing com|)ulsory in this matter, yet all this peo- 
ple, with few exceptiotis, have adopted, and are act- 
ing uiX)n, this plan. According to this system, con- 
tributions being proportioned to the amount of prop- 
erty one possesses, or the strength and ability with 
which lie is blessed for acquiring, none are liurdened. 
It treats the rich and i)00r alike, in proportion to their 
ability, while a steady stream is thus poured into the 
treasury. For the year 1 88 5, the amount raised in this 
manner in all the Conferences was over'^96,ooo. 

Each church, appoints its collector and treasurer, 
who once a month, or in rural districts once a <piar- 
ter, gather up these contributions. With tb.e exce|)- 
tion of a small pen entage retained by some of the 
Churches for their own use, these funds are sent by 
the Church treasurers to the State Conference Treas- 
urer. At each yearly meeting of the Conference, 
an auditing committee is appointed, which examines 
the accounts of the ministers in the employ of the 
Conference, and settles with each one according to 
the amount of labor performed. One-tenth of all the 
funds coming into the State Treasury is voted to the 
General Conference, which is then put into the hands 
of the General Conference Treasurer, to be expended 
under the direction of the General Conference Com- 
mittee. 

It is also the plan that all the different institutions 
connected with this cause pay a tenth of their income 
into the General Conference 'I'reasury. 

IIIK HF.AI.TH AND TEMI't;RANCE KF.KORM. 

The attention of S. D. Advenlists was called to the 
subject of ('hristian temperance chiefly through the 
labors of Eld. and Mrs. White. At the outset of their 
public labors they took a strong stand against the 



common use of tobacco and other narcotics, as well 
as against the use of alcoholic liquors. Eld. Joseph 
Bates, who wasone of the earliest temperance reform- 
ers in the country, having assisted in the organiza- 
tion of the first temperance society in America, was 
associated with them in this work. 

In 1862, chiefly through the writings of Eld. and 
Mrs. White, a more thoroughgoing reform was inaug- 
urated. It was urged that a person's moral nature is 
largely aflected by his physical condition. It was 
therefore that success in appealing to man's higlier 
and spiritual nature is much more certain if he can 
be ttirned from wrong habits of life, which undermine 
the physical and benumb the moral powers. 

At the present time the whole body of S. D. Ad- 
ventists are abstainers from the useof alcoholic drinks 
of all kinds. Tobacco, in all its forms, is also dis- 
carded, none addicted to its use being received into 
the Churches except upon the promise and expecta- 
tion of its immediate abandonment. The result is, 
that, as a denomination, tlie siglit and scent of tobacco 
are not found among this jieoiile. Pork, tea and 
coffee are also discarded. Rich and highly seasoned 
food is little used. Grease and spices are seldom 
employed in cookery. Flesh food is used much less 
freely than by the people generally. Two meals only 
a day are considered preferable for most people, and 
those to be com[)Osed chiefly of grains, fruits and veg- 
etables, served, however, in a great variety of pala- 
table and wholesome forms. 

These reformatory ideas, with the exception of those 
respecting alcohol and tobacco, are not made tests of 
fellowsliii), but a strong effort is made to impress them 
U[X)n the peofjle in such a manner as to secure atten- 
tion to them. For the purpose of keeping them con- 
stantly before the members of the denomination, a 
society was organized Jan. 1, 18S0, known as the 
".American Health and Temperance .Association," 
which requires its members to sign one of the follow- 
ing pledges : 

Tf.kkitai- I'l.KnOK.— i »io )icichy solemnly aftinii lltat with the help 
<if GotI I wiU wholly nitslain from the voluntary use, as a hcverage or in 
any e(|nivalcnt manner, of alcohol, tea and coffee, and from the nse of 
tobacco, opium, and all other narcotics and stiumlanls. 

ANTt-RtrM AND 'tV»nACC»> Pi.Ki>Gl{. — I do hcrcliy solemnly afflrni that 
with the help of (Jod 1 will wholly abstain from the voluntary use of al- 
cohol in any form, as a bcverace or in any equivalent manner, and from 
sinokiiifi, chewini; or snuffing tobacco, or using it in any other form, 
and from in any way encouraging the iisr of these poisons. 

Anti-Whiskv l*LKliGlt. — I do hereby solemnly affirm that with the 
help of t;o<l 1 will totally abstain from the voluntary use, as a beverage 
or in any etliiivalent manner, of all liquids or siil>stances containing; al- 
cohol. 

It is expected that every member of the denomi- 
nation will sign the teetotal pledge. Those who do 
not at first, are soon willing to do so. The Associa- 
tion has subsidiary .State societies and local clubs in 
nearly all parts of the , United States, with a total 
membership of about 20,000. 

This reform ends not with diet alone, but extends 
to all other habiis of life; and as the health of the 



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body is affected, to a great extent, by tlie manner in 
which it is clothed, that subject occupies a prominent 
place in this reform. The fashionable female attire 
of the present day is held to be chargeable with at 
least three leading evils as related to health: First, 
hanging burdens upon the body in an imnatural man- 
ner ; secondly, hindering the full play of the vital 
organs; thirdly, insufficiently [irotecting the extremi- 
ties. It is therefore recommended to shorten the 
skirl till it fully clears the filth and obstructions of the 
street, fit the garments loosely around the waist, sus- 
pend them from the shoulders, and thoroughly pro- 
tect the limbs. Special attention is paid to personal 
cleanliness, the sanitary condition of dwellings, and 
to all matters relating to health. 

CAMP-.MEETINGS. 

The first caiiji)-meeting of S. I). Adventists was 
held, under the management of Elds. White and An- 
drews, in the town of Wright, Mich., Sept. 1-7, 1868. 
The results of this meeting were so encouraging that 
the plan of holding meetings of this kind during the 
summer months was soon generally adopted among 
this people. 

The past season {1883), five camp-meetings were 
held in Michigan, four in Kansas, three in Iowa, two 
in Wisconsin, two in Indiana, one in Alabama, and 
one each in nineteen other conferences, making thirty- 
six in all. 

These meetings, as conducted by S. D. Adventists, 
are designed to be occasions of great spiiitual profit 
to all who attend, promoting a revival spirit, anddeej) 
and vital piety. Complete order is maintained, 
proper hours for rest are secured, and everything pass- 
es off with as much order and decorum as would be 
observed in a house of worship. 

At Ithaca, the iljovc denomination has quite 
a pleasant church edifice ; although the membership 
is not large in the village, yet the organization re- 
mains intact and numbers within its ranks some very 
influential -^"eople, i)rincipally from the surrounding 
country. Rev. Francis Nelson, formerly of Ithaca, 
Franklin. Squire, Mrs. A, M. Stevens, Mrs. Sidney 
Pipheny, Francis H. Howes and wife, VViUett Rey- 
nolds and Mrs. Henry C'rawford, are all active mem- 
bers of this Church, and from its organization, Jan. 
I, 1865, have been foremost in the ranks. Their first 
church was erected in 1865, but was burned in 1867. 
Being well insured, the society suffered but small loss, 
and a better house than the former structure occu|Hes 
the site. The Adventists have no regular minister, 
but continue their meetings witli reasonable regularity, 
being ministered to by itinerant missionaries who are 
earnest workers in the cause they advocate. Frank- 



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lin Si|uire is still acting Elder, and has done more to 
forward the work tlian any other member of the 
Church. 

Tiie tenets of the Adventists are to follow the 
teachings of the Bible exclusively ; consequently they y^ 
require no salaried minister, some one of the mem- 
bers always officiating at divine service. Those who 
were first memliers are mentioned in this connection : 
Rev. Francis Nelson, Franklin Squire, Whitman 
Hall, Willi. un Barnes, Philip P. Allen, Zenas An- 
drews, Wesley (jreenlee, William S. Hall, Knowles 
Gibbs, W. S. Lane, Eliza A. Squire, Deborah Nelson, 
Elizabeth Hall, Susannah Barnes, Finneta Jeffrey, 
Lorinda M. Ogden, Elzina Lake, Nancy Lake, Almi- 
ra M. Potter, Elizabeth L. Mellinger, Mary Harp- 
ham, Rosine M. Phipeny, Julia A. Burgess, Mary A. 
Allen, Esther M. Hall, Sarah Gibbs, Elizabeih C.ibbs, 
Sarah Greenlee, Elizabeth Barnes, Mary Mellinger, 
Charlotte Webster, Sybil .\. Nelson, Mary A. March- 
ouse, .Sarah A. Lake. 

MetliPilist CInirch. — This Church in Ithaca was 
organized in March, 1865, the credit of whicli is 
mainly due to the efforts of Mrs. E. M. Russell, a 
worthy lady, who still lives to bless the day that 
prompted, her early in life to devote a part of her 
time, at least, to the welfare of her friends and ac- 
duaintances in a theological way. There had been 
preaching occasionally in Ithaca and elsewhere in 
the neighborhood, by Methodist ministers, but no 
organized Class. The Rev. Larman Furgeson came 
to Mrs. Russell's one evening in March, 1865, and 
Mrs. Russell prevailed upon him to hold a pro- 
tracted meeting. At first he demurred, but agreed 
afterward to do so, providing Mrs. Russell would 
make announcements for the same. The meetings 
were continued for four weeks, and a number of con- 
verts made, among whom were Dr. Chas. W. Marvin 
and wife, Judge Wm. E. Winton and wife and Judge 
Elijah Peck and wife, all of whom afterward became 
members of the Congregational Church, they prefer- 
ring the Church Government of that denomination. 

At the close of these meetings several united with ^ . 
the Church, and a Class was organized, consisting 
of Abraham and E. M. Russell, David and Amelia '^ • 
Stackhouse, John Kinkerter and his wife, Rachel (§^ 
(grandma) Lane, Rev. Zerostas and Rhoda Moss, ^- 
and their children — Mary and Berdsey, Eli Heffner ^ 
and Richard llum[)hry. ^ 



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Meetings were held in the schcx)l-house until the 
Baptist Church was completed, after which the 
audience room was obtained for preaching, and the 
basement was used for Sunday-school and other pur- 
poses. 

Mrs. Russell proposed a plan for building a church, 
which was adopted, and tiie result is a good, sub- 
stantial iniilding. For sonic time the Church was 
heavily burdened with debt, but this is almost paid, 
and another year will probably find the society on a 
substantial footini.; .uid the Church free from incum- 
brance. 

The building was completed and dedicated in 
1870; Revs. Bangs, the Presiding Elder of the Cir- 
cuit, and President Perrine, of Albion ("oUege, officiat- 
ing. 

Rev. Stei)hen Nelson, the present pastor, is an 
earnest worker and fluent s[)eaker. 

Presbyterian Church. — The success of any enter- 
prise depends upon the earnestness of those who 
move in the work. Ithaca owes much to Judge 
William K. Winton for his liberality, in many respects ; 
but the Presbyterian people are under greater obliga- 
tions to him than any other gentleman in the com- 
munity, for his efforts to erect and complete the 
pleasant building they now occupy. The Church 
cost $3,800, of which the Judge donated fully one- 
half. The society was organized with seven mem- 
bers, consisting of Judge William K. Winton, his 
wife Marietta, and his son John H. Winton, Prof. J. 
W. Caldwell, Mrs. Harriet Watson, Mrs. Mary 
Church and Mrs. Kate Williams. 

Their meeting for organization was held Feb. 16, 
1870, and the Rev. J. T. Willett officiated thereat. 
Rev. I), D. Hamilton occupied the pulpit from March, 
187 I, until February, 1876, after which Rev. \Villelt 
was pastor for two years. Since April, 1880, Rev. 
John E. Ix)ng, the i)resent pastor, has officiated. 

The Church officials are: Deacon, Wm. E. Win- 
ton ; Ruling Elders, A. S. Barber, G. L. Lignian, 
Wm. E. Winton. 

This Church is also in a prosperous condition, 
being out of debt, with a live membership of 50 and 
a large congregation comprising many of the oldest 
and wealthiest citizens. 

The church edifice was dedicated June 4, 1882, 
by Rev. H. H. Northrop, of Flint, Mich. The fur- 
niture is very handsome, being made of white oak 
and black ash, with walnut trimmings. 






The elegant chandelier, in the audiencfe room, was 
donated by Gen. Nathan Church. The handsome 
and costly Bible was presented by Mr. Oscar Bills, 
and the magnificent solid-silver communion service 
by Mrs. Francis McNeil Potter, widow of Gen. Potter. 
The utmost harmony prevails in the Presbyterian 
society, and its future is bright. What greater tribute 
can be offered than tiie familiar (piotalion: "Behold, 
how good aiul how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell 
together in unity !" 



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A. F. >> A. yl/., Ithaca Lodge, No. 123, was or- 
ganized in January, 1866. The charter was obtained 
January 1, of that year, and W. W. Coiustock in- 
stalled W. M.; Nathan Church, S. W.; David Bailey, (J) 
J. W. W. W. Comstock, at his own exitense, fitted 
up a lodge room, and donated the rent for two years, 
thus proving his sincerity and zeal in the cause. For 
nine consecutive years he held the office of W. M., 
the highest mark of esteem possiiile for the brethren 
to bestow. 

The early records of both the " blue lodge " and 
"chapter" were destroyed by fire, and it is imix)ssi- 
ble to give but a meagre account of them. At pres- 
ent, the societ)'. have a neat lodge room over the 
Joiinial office, with a niemberslii|) of fully 100. 
Ithaca Lodge is the first one organized in Gratiot 
County, and all the members organizing the lodges at 
St. Louis and Alma were demitted from this society. 
The i)resent officers are J. M. McKee, W. M. ; l\. II. 
Cadwell, S. W. ; James Gillingham, J. W.; J. F. 
Henry, Treas.; W. A. Russell, Sec'ry. ; K. P. Peet, 
S. I).; I). Ingalsbe, J. D. ; E. C. Farrington, Tyler. 

The names of the charter members so far as can 
be learned are, with the names of the master and 
wardens first mentioned, Messrs. Solomon Lyman, 
Roswell Danley, Parmer R. Phillips, I. J. Johnson 
and Fred Miller. 

This lodge has a regular meeting every Wednes- 
day evening on or before the full moon in each 
month, to which all brethren are cordially invited. 
Several of the oldest members are yet regular attend- 
ants, among whom might be mentioned Parmer Phil- 
lips, Gen. Nathan Church and W. W. Comstock. 






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///laai Chapln, No. 70, Ji. A. J/.— The officers 
named on the charter, which was granted Jan. 10, 
187 I, were Andrew J. Utley, H. P. ; Ehjah Peck, K.; 
J. A. Seaver, S. As mentioned before, the early rec- 
ords were destroyed, but the chapter has alway? been 
prosperous, and numbers at least 70 members at this 
time. 

The officers elect are, J. W. Lewis, H. P. ; J. M. 
McKee, K.; J. F. Henry, S. ; J. M. Trask, Secy. ; A. 
W. Russell, Treas ; E. Lewis, C. H. ; George Cole, 
R. A. C; J. B. Willoughby, M. :st V.; K. P. Peet, 
M. 2d v.; C. E. Fink, M. 3d V. ; D. Ingalsbe, Tyler. 

The chapter meets in Masonic Hall, and numbers 
many of the most prominent and wealthy men of the 
county among its members. 

Royal &■■ Select Mas/ers, Ithaca Council, No. t,t„ 
was organized, Oct. 10, 1S70. There are no records 
showing the first members. The officers elect at this 
lime are : J. F. Henry, T. L ; J. L. Sinclair, D. T. 
L; W. C. Beckwith, P. C. of W. ; J. M. McKee, 
Treas.; J. M. Trask, Sec; A. VV. Russell, C. of G. ; 
George Cole, C. of C; G. B. Whitney, Sentinel. 

/. O. O. F., Rising Star Lodge, No. 151, was insti- 
tuted at Ithaca Jan. 25, 1871, the officer conducting 
the ceremonies being L. Z. Monger, of St. John's 
Lodge, No. 81. 

The charter members were Emery Crosby, George 
W. Mead, N. G. Sutliff, David Stackhouse, L. R. 
Heffner and John Kinkerter. The following officers 
were elected: N. G., L. R. Heffner; V. G., N. G. 
Sutliff; R. S., L. M. Crosby; Treas., George W. 
Mead. Of the original charter members, Mr. N. G. 
Sutliff is the only one now a memlier of the order in 
good standing living in its jurisdiction, he having 
been an active worker for the past 29 years. 

The jiresent officers are, N. G., A. S. Loomis; V. 
G, F. L. Bristol; R S., A. H. Lincoln; Treas., N. 
B. Fraker. The lodge is in good condition financially 
and has a membership of 83, with constant acces- 
sions to the ranks. 

They own a good building, but have arranged it for 
other uses and have removed to the new hall in 
Church's Block, which was especially fitted for their 
occupancy. Regular meetings, Saturday evening of 
each week, to which all brethren in good standing are 
cordially invited to attend. 

A Diiiig/i/ers 0/ Rebecca LoJge of Odd Fellows was 
organized September 26, 1875, known as "Crescent 
Lodge, No. 68." 



The following named persons were elected first 
officers: N. G., George Randall; V. G., Mrs. E. 
M. Russell; Sec, Mrs. Dr. Scott; Treas., Mrs. G. 
M. Churchill; Warden, A. W. Russell; O. G., N. G. 
Sutliff; I. G., W. D. Scott. 

This lodge was discontinued in 1880, and re-or- 
ganized in November, 1883. It is now known as Cres- 
cent Lodge, No. 75, D. of R., with the following 
officers: N. G., Mrs. George Randall; V. G., Mrs. 
E. Pierce; Sec, Miss Lou Lincoln; Treas. Mrs. A. 
H. Lincoln. 

It is now in a flourishing condition, with a meni- 
Ijersliip of 30. This society meet the 2d and 4th 
Wednesdays of each month. 

llliaca Lodge, N^o. II40,K. of H. — This order was 
instituted July 15, 1878, and is in fine working order. 
Only one policy, of $2,000, has been paid since their 
organization, that being their only loss. 

The first officers of tiiis order were Messrs. Robert 
Smith, Past Dictator; (iiles T. Brown, Dictator; 
William B. Scattergood, Vice Dictator; \Vm. C. 
Beckwith, Reporter; A. S. Barber, Financial Reix)rter; 
Wilbur Nelson, Treasurer; George Ackinson, Chap- 
lain; N. G. Sutliff, Guide. 

No special effort has been made to increase the 
membership, but tiie order may be considered as a 
permanent institution, it consisting of a number of 
the most wealthy and influential men of this village 
and vicinity. 

The present officers are Robert Smith, sitting. Past 
Dictator; A. W. Russell, Dictator; W. G. Sutliff, 
Mce Dictator; George Lawrence, Asst. Dictator; 
Wm. C. Beckwith, Reporter; James VV. Howd, 
Financial Reporter; A. S. Barber, Treasurer; D. S. 
Parker, Chaplain; Wm. B. Scattergood, Guide; 
George Randall, Guardian; George M. Dubois, Sen- 
tinel. The Past Dictators are Giles T. Brown, Wm. 
B. Scattergood, H. B. Wells and A. W. Russell. 
Tlie order meet the second and fourth Tuesdays of 
each month at Odd Fellows Hall, in Ithaca. 

Ladies' Jjibrary Association. 

IK Ladies' Library Association of Ithaca 
was incorporated April 14, 1876, with a 
membership of 13, viz: Mrs. N. Church, 
'"^ Mrs. (i. S. Van Buskirk, Mrs. G. G. Smith, 
Mrs. J. T. Hall, Mrs. M. R. Pettit, Mrs. W. E. 
Winton, Mrs. G. T. Brown, Mrs. H. M. Otis, 
Mrs. A. S. Barber, Mrs. D. C. Johnson, Miss F. R. 







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^ Seger, Miss J. K. Church and Miss S. L. Winton. 
'■; ' The Association started with a capital of $75, 
'1'* which was at once expended in llie ))urchase of 
T books. The nienihcrs have kept up their orgaiii/.a- 
^ tion by a strict observance of the articles of incor- 
poration and the code of by-laws first adopted. In 



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i88o the Library contained 200 volumes of choice 
productions. Since that year 100 volumes have been 
added. The amount expended for books and furni- 
ture since the org mi/.ation of the .Association in 1875 
is, $356.63. Money on hand Feb. i 3, 1S.S4, §31.54. 
'I'otal recciiits, $388. 17. 



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HIS is the largest and most 
important town in (iratiot 
coiiiUy. It is situated at a 
point where the river crosses 
the line between Bethany 
and Pine River Townships. 
The location is all that could 
icsired so far as lieallh, beauty 
and convenience are concerned. 
The river makes a detour, leaving 
a peninsula nearlycircular in shape, 
from three-fourths to one mile in 
diameter, which rises from the 
margin to the center, to an alti- 
tude of 35 feet, giving it a natural 
drainage ei^ualed by few. Circum- 
scribing all this, is a chain of bluffs 
■' "^ rising from 40 to 50 feet in height, 

|i*J making this a grand place for suburban residences. 
^ St. Louis is eight miles from the geographical center 

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of the county, and i)erhaps nearer the center of the 
lower peninsula. In October, 1859, Edward Chees- 
nian surveyed and platted a part of his farm adjoin. 
ing the village of " Pine River" (a name previously 
borne by this place), and called it St. Louis. Pine 
River had existed for several years prior to this, but 
it was deemed expedient to cliange the name to St. 
Louis, which was done March 18, 1865, by a special 
act of the Legislature, and both places were made 
one incorixjration. 

The first settler at this place was Joseph Clapp, 
who built a log cabin near the south end o'f Pine 
River bridge, into which Sylvanus Ciroom and family 
moved, with whom Mr. Clapp boarded. Mr. Groom 
was an employe' of Joseph CMajip, and had pieviously 
lived in a shanty, near the Indian mission, which had 
been erected by William McOmber. 

Mr. Clapp cut a road along the " Old Indian Trail" 
from Maple Rapids to St. Louis, in 1853, and em- 
ployed a number of men to get out tin.bers for a 



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GRATIOT COUNTY. 







saw-niill, which was the first one built in the county, 
and did its first sawing in April, 1856. 

Several log houses were erected in 1855, as some 
of Mr. Clapp's men were married, and quite a village 
was formed in the woods near the river. During this 
year quite a large store was started by J. (\. Wilden, 
who shipped all the goods from Saginaw by water, 
e.xcept one load, which he brought on a wagon 
drawn by oxen, from his former home in Ohio. 

Mr. Clapp went to Ohio in the summer of 1854, 
and returned with a wife. Their son, Frank Clapp, 
was born in July, 1855, and was the first child born 
in St. Louis. 

In the spring of this year. Dr. A. M. Crawford 
came to this neighborhood, and in conjunction with 
Mr. Clapp, surveyed 160 acres of land, which was 
given the name of " Pine River," which name was 
subsequently changed, as mentioned previously. 
Numerous additions to the settlement were made 
during this and the next year, prominent among 
whom were Elias Smith and Sidney S. Hastings with 
their families. 

All the houses were built of logs, but cabins arose 
as if by magic. In 1855, a postoffice was estab- 
lished here, taking the name of " Pine River," with 
Dr. Abram Crawford as Postmaster. This was a great 
convenience, and furnished mail facilities for the 
whole of Isabella and the north half of Gratiot Coun- 
ty. William Gruett, a half-breed Indian, carried the 
mail once a week from Maple Rapids upon an In- 
dian pony, and was for a long time paid for the same 
by citizens. Messrs. Clark, Hillyer and Davis pur- 
chased Mr. Clapp's mill in 1856, and thestoreof Mr. 
Wilden the same year. 

Tlie first blacksmith shop was built where the foun- 
dry now stands, and Totten can claim the dis- 
tinction of being the first smith. Edward Cheesman 
was proprietor of the first drug store; Theodore Fol- 
land opened the first harness shop. The first school- 
house .occuiiied the site upon which the present 
commodious building stands ; Betsey Clark taught the 
first term of school. 

As usual with all new villages, a saloon was put into 
operation soon after the village of Pine River was 
platted. A fellow from Saginaw opened a small stock 
of liqufirs, and customers were plenty, considering 
the accommodations and quality of goods. 

Fred. Babcock was then engaged in lumbering near 



the Indian mission and had in his employ about 30 
men, most of whom were in the habit of spending 
their evenings at the saloon. Some of them invaria- 
bly returned in a state of intoxication, which dis- 
pleased Mr. Babcock very much, and he determined 
to put an end to it. One evening, after his plans were 
matured, lie called up his men after sujjper and told 
them that he intended going over to " Pine River," 
and asked them to accompany him. 

This being something new, so far as Mr. B. was 
concerned, they all assented. Arriving at the village, 
all adjourned to the saloon, and Mr. Babcock treated 
a couple of times and then said: "Boys, carry out 
the store." No sooner mentioned than out it went. 
" Now come outside," said Mr. Babcock. " I want 
every one of you to give me a lift." The building 
was a very narrow board shanty, and ranging his men 
along one side he gave the order to ''hoist away." 
The men lifted with a will, and over went the saloon 
with the entire stock of goods. " Now smash the 
whisky kegs," said Mr. B. They were soon demol- 
ished and Mr. Babcock, walking up to the proprietor, 
asked what the "damage amounted to." 

The sum of $50 was named, which Mr. Babcock 
paid on the spot, and gave the lank Saginawian the 
advice " to travel," which he deemed expedient to fol- 
low and left the next morning. 

It was a long while before another saloon was 
started in the village, and Mr. Babcock deserves cred- 
it for the suinmary manner in which the first was dis- 
posed of. 

Dr. Crawford built a hotel, which was opened to 
the public in the fall of 1855. It was also used as 
a postoffice, and might also claim distinction by rea- 
son of the first commissioners'court being held inside 
its walls. Stephen E. Longyear, presiding. 

Game was so plentiful during the early settlement 
of St. Louis that frequently deer, and sometimes 
bears, were seen in the streets. Mr. Hastings relates 
the story of having killed a deer at the corner of 
Washington Avenue and Mill Street, shooting the 
same from his door-step only a few rods away. Hon. 
Luther Smith killed one near the house in which Mr. 
McHenry now resides; a company of hunters came 
along soon after and claimed it, stating that they 
were chasing it for some distance and a part of the 
carcass, at least, belonged to them. It was divided 
satisfactorily, that being customary in cases of like 
character. 






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Pine River was formerly well stocked with fish, and 
this comniodily furnished the chief " meat supply" 
during the liard times of 1857-8-9. The dam across 
the river at this place was headquarters for fishermen 
from all parts of the country, and frequently there 
would be \ hundred men in one day after fish, which 
were mostly caught in nets. 

Mr. G. W. McHenry, one of the best known and 
most reliable men in'the county, is. authority for the 
following statement, which is attested by Mr. S. S. 
Hastings, that a gentleman living at this time near 
St. Louis, by the name of William Reeves, caught in 
one night, "with his hands," a wagon-box full offish, 
the box measuring 23 bushels; besides this, all the 
neighbors who would, carried away as many as de- 
sired. Next to the tale of Jonah and the whale, this 
beats any "fish story " ever told in Gratiot County. 

Dr. Cheesman came to Pine River Township in 
October, 1859. A firm known as Pratt & Cheesman 
started a grocery and hardware store in 1859, in 
front of the residence now occupied by Dr. Chees- 
man. 

K fellow named Punderson came in one morning, 
and, greeting tlie Doctor, informed liim that he liked 
the country quite well and had determined to make 
a home at St. Louis. Taking a half dollar out of his 
lX)cket (all the money he possessed), he called for 
nails, representing the amount. Espying a sack of 
beans with a longing look, he ejaculated : " If I had 
money enough to buy one peck of beaus, they, with 
leeks, would last mc and the old woman until liar- 
vest." 

Think of this, ye who are well housed and fed ! 
A man who had energy enough to commence the 
erection of a house with only 50 cents in his ix)cket 
and nothing but " wild onions " to live upon until har- 
vest! 

Soon after Wm. McHenry came to St. Louis, he 
purchased a small stock of boots and shoes. One 
day a bare-footed, seedy-looking fellow came into the 
shop and asked to see a pair of boots. As most of 
the citizens looked pretty hard, Mr. McHenry was not 
surprised at his garb; but when he asked for credit 
for a pair of boots he was completely astonished, 
having never seen him before. He declined selling 
on time for that reason, but the stranger persevered 
in the endeavor to make the trade. At last he said, 
" I am J. Q. A. Johnson, a Justice of the Peace in 




Isabella County, and haven't but two dollars in the 
world, which I received this morning for marrying a 
couple; and I have walked all the way here to buy a 
pair of boots. I will pay two dollars, and the next 
money I get, will come over and square the account." 
Mr. McHenry concluded, under the circumstances, 
to let him have the boots, which he did, but it was 
several years before the balance was liquidated, and 
it was taken in trade, the crop of marriages either 
being very light in the Esquire's neighborhood, or the 
piy being taken in produce, which never reached our 
accommodating friend. 

The first Indian couple to be married on the 
" European plan " came to St. Louis one morning 
very early, Ijoth riding one pony. Stopi)ing at 
Esquire Mc. Henry's gate, they called to him to 
come out and marry them like "white man." They 
had come all the way from Mount Pleasant to have 
the nuptial ceremony performed, which the Esquire 
did in his usual happy manner, pocketing his fee, 
and went back to digging liis potatoes. The woman 
stated that her other husband had " been killed in 
war," when questioned as to their being persons 
whom the Justice might legally wed. It seems that 
such barriers as husband or wife stood very little in 
the way of an enamored Indian's courtship, "war" 
being easy to declare. 

The village was incoriX)rated Nov. 16, i868^the 
first officers being: 

President — John L. Evans. 

Clerk — James K. Wright. 

Trustees — Charles B. Kress, Ervin H. Ewell, 
James W. Wessels, George L. Patch, Jonathan Salis- 
bury, Randal Farout. 

Marshall— Fred D. Weller. 

Treasurer — Justin Hill. 

Street Commissioners — Hiram Harrington, Ira G. 
Dillon, Willard D. Tucker. 

Assessors — Sidney S. Hastings, James H. Foster. 



Hotels. 







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O village in the State is better supplied 

f with hotels and boarding houses than St. 

Louis. During the summer months they 

are filled with guests from abroad, who come to 

test the virtues of the famous Magnetic Springs, 

and this is quite a fashionable summer resort 

even for many who are not invalids. 



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Harrington. — This hotel is the largest and most 
aristocratic, being a handsome brick, three stories in 
height, fronting on Mill and Saginaw S'reets. This 
was erected in i88i,by H. Harrington, at a cost of 
$20,000. It is handsomely fitted up with all modern 
conveniences and has been from its opening under 
the efficient management of Mr. S. M. Congdon, a 
gentleman of large experience in the hotel business. 

Fark Hotel. — This is another fine brick, three- 
story hotel, near which is located the Magnetic 
Springs. This is headquarters for invalids upon 
arrival in the city in quest of relief from suffering, 
and the cures obtained under the supervision of the 
resident physicians. Combs and Andrews, proprie- 
tors of tiie springs and hotel, are truly marvelous. 
Of the Magnetic Springs, more will be said in another 
place. 

Eastman Housf.— '\'\\\i hotel contains over 100 
rooms, but is unoccupied save by a couple of fami- 
lies. It was formerly t/if hotel of the village, but 
being located far from the business center has lost 
its prestige. 

Commercial. — This is tlie oldest, and a very popu- 
lar, hotel. The building is owned by Messrs. P. Cor- 
nell and Jo. Harden. The former gentleman has 
entire charge of it, and it is well patronized. 

Wessels House. — This hotel does a large business 
and is well kept, being under the management of Mr. 
F. D. Lane. 

Leonard House. — This is another of the "land- 
marks," which still has a nice trade. ^D. H. McLaugh- 
lin is sole proprietor. This hotel was built in 1866. 

.SV. Louis Lo.lge, No. 188, A. F. 0- A. J/.— The 
first regular meeting of this lodge was held Aug. 31, 
1865, in a hall owned by Dr. John Cheesman. The 
society occupied this hall for three years, then moved 
up town to Harrington & Wessels'building where they 
remained until the same was destroyed by fire, Jan., 
1870. The lodge occupied a room in the "Kress" 
building. The first officers under the charter were : 

Oscar A. Everden, VV. M.; Frederick D. Weller, S. 
W. ; John R. Cheesman, J. W. ; Hiram Burgess, Treas.; 
Henry Smith, Sec'y. ; Edson Packard, S. D. ; Samuel 
Stevens, J. D. ; Hubbard Biggs, Tiler. 

With these the other charter members were Amasa 
Packard, Daniel Milligan, James P. Dodge, Stephen 
Dodge, Joel Rowley, A. V. Packer and Elias Sias. 



The first members initiated were Elias Smith and 
John Broadhead. 

Tiie Masonic fraternity have a neat and commo- 
dious hall at this time, with a lease for the same for 
99 years. The membership is the largest in the 
county, and the organization in fine working order. 
The present officers are : 

A. J. Harrington, W. M.; S. R. Dewey, S. W.; W. 
W. Fee, J. W.; M. H. Tuttle, Treas.; H. P. Barbour, 
Sec'y; J. V. Johnson, S. D. ; A. H. Lowry, J. D.; M. 
H. Tuttle, Tiler. 

St. Louis Chapter, No. 87, R. A. Af.— This chap- 
ter was organized Feb. 28, 1873. The first officers 
were: 

A. J. Utley, H. P.; J.H. Foster, K. ; Richard Hoy, 
S. ; W. S. Finch, C. H. ; W. W. Comstock, P. S. ; John 
Tackabery, R. A. C. ; M. A. McHenry, G. M. 3d V. ; 
A. A. Wood, G.'M. 2d V.; I. N. Shepherd, G. M. ist 
v.; Thomas Bamborough, Sec'y; H. A. Harrington, 
Tiler. 

This chapter has an excellent membership, al- 
though many of its members were demilted for tlie 
purpose of instituting chapters at other villages. 

The present officers are : 

A. J. Harrington, H. P. ; S. R. Dewey, R. ; M. Leon- 
ard, S. ; J. V. Johnson, C. of H. ; C. R. HoUiday, P. 
S. ; E. R. Allen, R. A. C. ; A. H. Lowry, G. M. 3d V.; 
A. K. Smith, G. M. 2d V. ; H. P. Baibour, G. M. ist 
V. ; M. H. Tuttle, Treas. ; H. T. LaBar, Sec'y. 

A. O. U. W.,Sf. Louis Lodge, No. 86, was insti- 
tuted at this village Jan. 12, 1881, having 21 charter 
members. From the beginning it has been a flour- 
ishing organization : the number of members now ap- 
prjximates 100. The first officers were: 

Wm. H. Ostrum, M. W.; Wenzo R. Havens, Fore- 
man ; Frank Hastings, Overseer; Byron S.Nelson, 
Recorder; James T. Hall, Receiver; Frank Seymour, 
Financier; Clark Searles, Guide ; E. A. Stebbins, J. 
W.; Squire Fitten, O. W. 

Their hall is over the Postoffice, in Holcomb's 
Block, and their regular meetings are held every Fri- 
day evening. 

Royal Arcanum, No. t,q. — This is quite a flourish- 
ing organization, with a membership of fifty. The 
society was instituted Dec. 7, iS77,with 24 charter 
members. The first officers were : 

Andrew J. Utley, Regent ; Di". G. S. Case, Vice 
Regent; James K. Wright, Past Regent; Dr. Stiles 









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Kennedy, Orator; O. F.Jackson, Sec'y; Aaron Wes- 
sels, Collector; A. B. Darragh, Treasurer; Rev. D. 
R. Shoop, Chaplain. 

The i)resent officers are : 

Allen Warren, Regent; E. Sutphin, Vice Regent; 
E. A. Sheffield, Past Regent; Rev. R. J. L. Matthews, 
Orator; C. W. Hicks, Sec'y ;H. B. Giddings, Collect- 
or; J. A. Weller, Treas.; Rev.N. W. F. Smith, Chap- 
lain. 

Library. — The ladies of St. Louis have a very 
nice library, which association was organized in 1873. 
The same is quite well patronized and has a member- 
ship of 35. The reading room and library is located 
in the 0|)era-House Block and is open every Satur- 
day afternoon. 

Mrs. C. H. Crandall is President ; Mrs. L Saviers, 
Sec'y ; Mrs. Budd, Treas.; Mrs. Clark Searles, Libra- 
rian, and Mrs. C. R. Holliday, Ass't Lib. 

Additions to the library are made from time to time, 
there being now about 500 volumes. 

Allonwys. — The members of the Gratiot County 
Bar who are residents of this city are Messrs. James 
K. Wright, James Paddock, T. W. Whitney, S. J. 
Scott, N. Leonard, C. W. Giddings, J. A. Crandall, 
and R. N. Scoville. All these are talented gentle- 
men, who would do honor to any city or county, and 
their reputation both at home and abroad as lawyers 
is equaled by few. 

Salt Wells. — There is in the village I'mits one of 
the best salt wells in the State. This was sunk by 
H. L. Holcomb to a depth of r,28o feet and a fine 
flow of water obtained. l,arge quantities of bromine 
are manufactured also, and the facilities will soon be 
increased. Tliere is no reason why St. Louis should 
not equal Saginaw in salt production in a few years. 

Flouring Mill. — ^The fine merchant flouring mill is 
the property of James Henry. It is admiraiily loca- 
ted on Pine River, and has live run of stone. This 
mill does custom work also, and is one of the best in 
Gratiot County. 

Druggists. — While St. Louis is noted for a health 
resort, yet there are six splendid drug stores in the 
village, all of which contain a nice line of goods. 
Messrs. W. H. Rennels, Geo. L. Charles, C. K. Samp- 
son, N. White, W. E. Fiero and E. S. Mclntyre do 
business in drugs, paints and oils in this village. 

Millinery. — Mrs. Gillis & Schaff"er, Mrs. C. M. Sco- 
ville, Mrs. H. Darcey, Mrs. L. M. Stinchcomb and 



Mrs. Goodings have vied with each other in display- 
ing their goods. All are having a nice trade and are 
making money. 

Wholesale Grocer. — Mr. A. Hart is the only whole- 
sale grocer and tobacconist in the village, and there- 
fore claims justly the honor of being a "pioneer." 
He carries an §8,000 stock continually, and is well 
satisfied with the growth of his trade. 

Business Blocks. — Opera-House Block is the larg- 
est and costliest building in St. Ix)uis. It has a front- 
age of 180 ft., by 90 in de|)th and three-stories high. 
The Opera House seats comfortably 1,000 persons, 
and is furnished with very nice and attractive scener>'. 
It was erected by H. L. Holcomb in i88i, and is es- 
timated to iiave cost, with recent additions, S40,ooo. 
There are four store rooms, the postoffice and the 
bank of A. B. Darragh & Co., on the ground floor, 
with offices in the second story. 

The A. Wessel's Block is an addition to the busi- 
ness center, and adds much to its beauty. This n'as 
erected in 1881, and cost $20,000. It is a handsome 
two-story brick, fronting on Mill Street. 

Miscellaneous. — Jo. Barden and C. M. Deveraux 
are both owners of fine livery barns and have all the 
business they can attend to. Both are princely fel- 
lows, and their livery would do credit to any city. 
There are several hardware stores, of which E. H. 
Scriver carries the largest stock. All branches of trade 
are well represented in the mercantile line, which 
contrasts favorably with any village in Northern Mich- 
igan. 

.SV. Louis Cornet Banilwa^ permanently organized 
in 1871;. The boys are good musicians and are rap- 
idly improving in execution. The members of the 
Band are Messrs. W. W. Robertson, Leader; M. 
Nichols, ist Cornet; Dr. C. H. Crandall, ist Alto; N. 
Snyder, 2d Alto; David Allen, ist Tenor; Chas. 
S|)enci'r, 2d Tenor; Frank Harrington, Baritone; 
Win. Faulth, Tuba; Albert Earl, Bass Drum; .Vr- 
chie Weller, Snare Drum. 

Only three of the above musicians were members 
of the original organization, Messrs. Nichols, Crandall 
and Snyder. 

Tlie Afagnetie S/>riug. — This wonderful spring has 
justly attracted the attention of thousands of peo[)le 
both here and elsewhere, being not only the first min- 
eral spring discovered in Michigan, but wonderfully 
curative in various diseases to wiiich mankind are 



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subject. Many persons of note have tested its vir- 
tues, among whom might be mentioned Gen. Jo. 
Hooker, Chief Justice Chase, Gen. Dan. Sickles and 
other equally prominent persons. The spring was 
^ accidentaly discovered in 1869 by Messrs. Holcomb 
^^ and Evans, of this village, while engaged in boring 
for salt. The depth of 200 feet had been reached, 
when the life-giving water gushed out, as did the 
crystal fluid at " Providence Spring " on the hillside 
at Andersonville, giving life and strength to the per- 
ishing soldiers of that pestilential prison. 

The boring was suspended and a pipe put in, think- 
ing to utilize the flow for other purposes, but its strung 
mineral taste led the proprietors to have it analyzed 
by one of the most distinguished authorities, who pro- 
nounced it peculiarly adapted to treatment of certain 
diseases. Its " magnetic " properties were discovered 
by immersing a knife blade in the water for a few 
hours, when bits of steel stronglyadhered totheknife. 
No particular efforts were made to advertise the 
spring, only brief paragraphs appearing at times in 
the papers regarding some of the cures resulting from 
the use of its waters. 

St. Louis was then only a small hamlet of a few 
hundred inhabitants, with inadequate hotel facilities, 
without rail or wagon roads ; yet those who suffered 
from bodily ailments rame flocking in, having to make 
the trips from St. John's or Saginaw by stage, wagon 
or other conveyance, a distance of 32 miles. 

The benefit received by invalids was remarkable, 
and every one that went away would send a score to 
take their place. 

Business of every description improved ; additions 
were made to hotels, boarding houses were erected, 
livery barns built, stores and barber shops and restau- 
rants opened up like magic, and before the sjjrings had 
been a year in existence the population had more 
than doubled. 

Messrs. Holcomb & Evans erected a commodious 
bath house, containing 50 rooms, in 1870, and a 
plank road was completed to Saginaw, upon which a 
daily, and part of the time two daily coaches was run. 
Dr. Stiles Kennedy was resident physician, and did a 
large business in diagnosing diseases. 

The rush of people continued during the ne.xt two 
years, until it was evident that other means would 
have to be employed in their conveyance to and from 
Saginaw. The Saginaw Valley & St. Louis rail- 





road was projected and completed, which afforded 
unlimited access to the place. Meanwhile the growth 
and development of the village had wonderfully in- 
creased by the addition of several fine hotels, stores 
and other buildings, and she was putting on many 
city airs, all directly traceable to the finding of this 
valuable spring. With a proper management this 
might be made a wonderfully fine paying investment 
as well as Ijeingthe means of restoring many invalids 
to perfect healtli. 

Churches. 

Bap/is^ Church. — The Baptist Church of this vil- 
lage was organized in 1856, and is without doubt the 
" pioneer " denomination which first met for divine 
worship in Pine River. A meeting was called at the 
home of Mrs. Anna Woodin, who lived a few miles 
west of St. Louis, on section 1 1, in Arcada Township, 
at which place a society was organized consisting of 
S. S. Hastings and wife, George Luce and wife, Rev. 
Lafayette Church and wife, Peter Pruden, Mrs. An- 
nie Woodin, Francis Way and Mrs. Julia Porter. 

Rev. Lafayette Church was the first pastor, and 
meetings were held in the school-house at this village 
until their church edifice was completed and dedi- 
cated, August 18, 1872. 

Elder Mather, of Detroit, delivered a powerful dis- 
course upon this occasion, to an immense audience. 
The first connnunion service in the new church edi- 
fice was held Sept. ist, that year. Mrs. Mary Grif- 
fith was the first person to receive baptism in the 
county, the ceremonies of which were conducted by 
Elder Fay, a pioneer not only in theological experi- 
ence but one of the first ministers coming to Gratiot 
County. 

The Church is a very commodious one and the 
members at present number 90. Rev. L. G. Clark, 
the pastor, is a popular and talented gentleman, and 
their affairs both spirtually and in a temporal way 
are highly developed. 

Presbyterian Church. — -The meeting at which this 
society was organized, was held at Alma, Jan. 17, 
1866. The Revs. Calvin Clark and Jonas Denton 
were in attendance. Rev. Clark acted as " Moderator," 
G. W. McHenry, Clerk. The following persons pre- 
sented letters of dismission and recommendation from 
other Churches : 



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Ira Smith, his wife Zada Smith, John R. Cheesman, 
Samuel Gordon, Mrs. M. J. Gordon, Charles M. 
Fleming, Jesse Fleming, Luther Fleming, Mrs. Elvira 
J. Fleming, Daniel C. Fleming, Robert F. Fleming, 
Mrs. Eliza- Fleming, Alexander Chisholm, Collin 
Chisholm (by examination), Andrew Mitchell (by 
examination), John Mitchell (by examination), G. VV. 
McHenry, Mrs. McHenry. 

The society was then named the First Presbyte- 
rian Church of Pine River. Dr. J. R. Cheesman, Ira 
Smith, C. Fleming and Samuel Gordon were elected 
elders. They were ordained, and first communion 
service administered Jan. 21st of the same month at 
St. Louis. Rev. J. T. Willett was the first minister 
engaged by the society, and the result of his labors 
were numerous accessions to that body. The meet- 
ings were held for some time in the school-house, but 
the growth of the society and prosperity of its mem- 
bers were incentives to have a more commodious place 
of worship. Their present church was completed, 
and dedicated Jan. 27, 1870, by Rev. J. A. Wright, 
of Bay City, assisted by Revs. J. T. Willett, acting 
Pastor, D. D. Hamilton, Henry Belkna]), Francis 
Nelson, of the Baptist, and T. J. Hill, of the Metho- 
dist Church. 

From this society have been dismissed members 
enough to form three other societies of like denomi- 
nation, and yet their numbers are sufficient to main- 
tain with ease a pastor. Rev. R. J. L. Matthews, who 
is considered one of the finest speakers and most 
logical reasoners in the city. 

Methocfist Church. — This Church dates back to the 
early settlement of the county, the first class being 
ministered unto by Rev. Theodore J. Hill, a Method- 
ist missionary, who became the regular pastor after 
the completion of the organization now known as the 
Methodist Church of St. Louis. The society was 
formally organized at Woodin's school-house, near 
Alma, in November, 1857, tlie members composing 
it being, Lewis M. Clark and wife, Isaac and Mrs. 
Clymer, Simeon and Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Dr. Sherwood, 
Mrs. Sybil Groom and Mrs. Susan .\. Weller. The 
society thus formed was transferred from that place 
to St. Louis, and the Methodist Conference sent Rev. 
Calvin Holbrook to this circuit, which embraced sev- 
eral appointments at different places in the neighbor- 
hood. 

Until the completion of the Baptist church, the 



799 ^ 



Methodist society held their meetings in Drury's 
Hall. The growth of St. Louis and the rapid in- 
crease of their membership were inducements strong 
enough to warrant them in building a new church, 
wiiich was completed in 1872. Rev. F. B. Bangs 
and President Perrine of .Albion College officiated 
at the dedicatory services in June of that year. The 
first Presiding Elder for this charge was Rev. Hiram 
Law. 

The membership at this time is about 100, and the 
society is in good condition financially. Rev. M. W. 
F. Smith is I he Pastor in charge. 

First Congri-galional Church. — One of the most 
prosperous Church organizations in St. Louis is 
the Congregational Society. The same was instituted 
in this village \\xg. 9, 1882, under the direction of 
Rev. Leroy Warren, State Superintendent of the 
A. H. M. S. The first members were 34 in number. 
Rev. W. C. Calland, the present pastor, has officiated 
from the date of organization. Services were held 
in Good Templars' Hall until the completion of the 
basement of the new church edifice, Oct. 18, 1883. 
The same was completed and dedicated Dec. 16, of 
that year, Rev. Leroy Warren, of Lansing, preaching 
the dedicatory sermon. The handsome pulpit chairs 
were donated by Mr. Wm. Palmer, of New York; 
the silver communion service, of rare and unique de- 
sign, by Mrs. H. M. Tyler, of New Hampshire; the 
chandeliers in the audience room were presented by 
the members of the Congregational Sabbath-school ; 
the splendid Bible which graces the minister's desk, 
was the gift of the Oberlin, Ohio, Congregational 
Sabbath-school, through Mrs. Georgia Franks. 
Messrs. Cook & Arnold presei ted the society with a 
neat communion table, and the ladies of the society 
donated the handsome carpet in the audience room. 
The church is one of the most convenient and 
attr.active buildings in the village, and is admirably 
arranged for comfort, being heated by furnaces, and 
well supplied with cold-air chambers, which insure 
complete ventilation. The plans and specifications 
were drawn and completed by the pastor. Rev. W. 
C". Calland, who superintended all the work in per- 
son. The furniture is native oak, trimmed with 
cherry. The basement is used for Sunday-school 
and other purposes, and is not only a pleasant, but, 
extremely useful room, having attached a kitchen, 
with ranges and other culinary arrangements, which 



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make it very convenient in case festivals are given. 

The church, site, etc., cost the society $4,575, and 
the same is almost paid, the balance being already 
provided for. The Deacons first elected were : Dr. 
John R. Cheesman, Sainuel Gordon, R. D. Perrine. 

Clerk, W. C. Garbutt. 

Trustees — A. B. Darragh, Don Cameron, J. W. 
Barnard, J. C. Richards, M. H. Tutlle, Alex. John- 
son, G. G. Clark. 

Treasurer — W. C. Garbutt. 

The Sunday-school is the most largely attended of 
all in the village, the average attendance being in. 
It is presided over by Hon. C. J. Willett, one of the 
most popular instructors and experienced Sabbath- 
school superintendents of the county. 

Rev. W. C. Calland is justly esteemed for his 
ardent labors in the work of building such a mag- 
nificent church, and his brilliancy of thought and 
rhetorical ability fill the audience room at each ser- 
vice with an appreciative congregation. 

Episcopal Church. — Emanuel Church was organ- 
ized in this village, April 27, 1872, having as its first 
members : Thomas Holcomb, Bessie H. Holcomb, 
Samuel Garrigues, Adelia Garrigues, R. G. Hillyer 
and W. H. Craw. At the same date the parish was 
admitted to the convention of the Diocese. 

The first church building was commenced in 1872, 
but was not completed until 1877. The edifice cost 
about $2,500, including furniture. Services were held 
in the church, although incomplete, in 1876, the 
consecration of the same being Aug. 13, 1878, by 
Rt. Rev. Geo. D. Gillespie, assisted by Rev. L. S. 
Stevens, Pastor in charge. Rev. H. J. Brown was 
the first pastor. Rev. R. D. Stearns, one of the 
most fluent speakers in the village, is now officiating. 
The church first erected was sold to the Catliolic 
people July 12, 1883, and a splendid brick edifice 
will be completed this year at a cost of $9,000. 
The lot (11, block 29) upon which the church is 
built was donated by Col. John .\. Elwell. The 
corner- stone was laid Sept. 27, 1883, with appropriate 
ceremonies by Rev. R, D. Stearns. 

Catholic Church. — This organization will lie com- 
pleted during 1884. There being no resident priest 
at present, Rev. Father McCaithy, of Mount Pleasant, 
has officiated thus far, and there are now 40 members. 
The First Episcopal Church building was purchased 
by them, May 12, 1883, for $1,500, which will make 



a very commodious place of worship for several 
years. The Trustees are : Theodore Hagers, Nathan- 
iel White, R. A. Gillis, George Hofstetter. 

Advent Church. — The membership of this Church 
is mostly confined to country residents. The Class 
was formed in 1880, the only names obtainable 
being: Samuel Wilson, Harriet L. Flaherty, Mrs. 
Olive Farleman, Mrs. Mary Smith, Mr. and Mrs. 
Cornelius HoUiday, Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Harris, 

Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett, Mrs. Mary Clymer and 

John Turner. There vvere a number of others, but 
having no Church record makes it impossible to give 
names. Their church is a plain frame building, 
situated in the northwestern part of the village, and 
is estimated to have cost $800. It was erected in 
188 1, and the same is clear of all debt. Their 
services are held on the seventh day of the week, 
and their membership is not larger than when first 
organized. 







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Fire Department. 

HE Si. Louis fire department is composed 
of a hand engine and hose, and hook and 
^ ladder company. It is now under tlie ef- 
ficient management of J. V. Johnson, Chief 
of Fire De|)artment; .\. F. Wright, First Assist- 
ant; Eugene King, Second .\ssistant. The 
latter gentleman is also Superintendent of the water 
works. The first company was organized in .\ugust, 
1873; re-org^nized in 1882. The Holly system of 
water works were completed in 1881, and mains are 
laid in the princi^ial streets, as well as being connected 
with several large reservoirs at convenient places in 
the village. 

The water supi)ly is obtained from Pine River, near 
which is a stationary engine owned by the village, 
that puts adequate pressure upon tlie mains in case 
of a protracted fire. A water wheel owned by the 
village kee[)s the mains supplied with water. 

The St. Louis firemen now carry the " State 
Banner,'" which was awarded them at the last State 
tournament. This proves them an efficient organi- 
zation, having competed upon that occasion with 
several companies for the same. J. ^'. Johnson, the 
Fire Marshal, was instrumental in having a "fire 



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ordinance " passed by the village board in which the 
duties of firemen are clearly defined. The officials 
of the Executive Board are, J. O. Hilton, President ; 
Albert Earl, Secretary ; A. K. Smith, Treasurer. 



St. Louis Public Schools. 

^I^SbHE rai)id progress in the arts and sciences 

I - % are met with wherever we go, and Ihe ediica- 

', , , tional facilities afforded the children of St. 

;.tJ. Louis are of the best. The first frame school- 

i house in the county occupied the site, or a 

' part of it, where the Iiandsome brick school 

building is located. This is an imposing structure, 

handsomely trimmed with stone, two stones in height, 

with a large basement. 

Two large furnaces supply heat to the entire build- 
ing, which cost, together with the site, $22,000. It 
was erected in 1879, and the same wfts occupied in 
January of the next year. 

The furniture is of the best and most improved 
kind, and a very good library forms an important 
feature of the advantages to be derived by pupils of 
this school. There are si.x class-rooms with cloak- 
rooms to each, a recitation room and Superintendent's 
office. The seating capacity accommodates 400 pu- 
pils with ease. W. R. Ransom was the first Super- 
intendent having charge of the new building; the 
present Superintendent being N. .\. Richards, a cap- 
able instructor and pleasant gentleman. 



Banks. 

R. A. B. DARRAGH opened the first 
bank or broker's office in the village of 
St. Louis. For some time he occupied 
the office now the head(iuarters of Col. 
Elwell, but his business increased until he was 
obliged to seek more commodious (|uarters. 
"■i- Darrag/i 6" Co. — The Gratiot County Bank was 

J organized in the year 1870, the stockholders at 
^ that time being, Messrs. .\. B. Darragli, Charles 
(^ K.ipi>, Roliert M. Steele, Samuel S. Walker, Josiah 
^ Upton, John Hicks, Henry Mayhew. The style of 




this corporation was changed in 1875 to the firm 
name of Darragh & Co. There had also been a 
change in stockholders, the new firm consisting at 
this time of Messrs. John Hicks, Josiah UjUon, 
Robert M. Steele and A. B. Darragh. 

This firm do a general banking business, and have 
commodious quarters in the Opera-House Block, a 
splendid safety vault with fire and burglar proof safe, 
time lock, etc. Mr. A. B. Darragh is cashier. 

Harrington, Saviers &• Co. are nicely located in 
the Harrington Hotel block, with a well arranged 
vault, fire and burglar |iroof safe, and time lock. 
This was formerly known as the Merchants & Farm- 
.'rs' Bank, but was changed in 1875 to the above 
name. The gentlemen composing this firm are all 
well known and trusted business men of this city, 
Mr. H. Harrington being the owner of the building, 
and Messrs. F. G. Kneeland and L. Saviers men of 
ample capital and large experience. 



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Miscellaneous. 



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HE medical fraternity of St. Louis is repre- 
sented by Dr. Cheesman, who, although not 
engaged in actual practice, is the leading 
physician, having lived here from the birth of 
St. Louis, and, during this time has been closely 
associated with its business interests. Other 
[ihysicians enjoying a live and active practice are, 
Drs. Stiles Kennedy, James R. Baldwin, Heman 
Branch, ('. .\. and G. S. Case, L. .\. Proper, .'\aron 
Wlieeler and Dis. France, Combs & Andrews, besides 
Dr. Kate Harrington and Mother Gartie. 

Richards & Althouse.- The largest manufacturing 
interests in the stave and heading business, is con- 
ducted by Messrs. Richards & Althouse. The junior 
member of the firm purchased an interest Jan. i, 
i88.^, Mr. Richards being an old citi/en of the coimty 
and for several years engaged in tlie same line of 
trade. 

Their mill is located near the depot, and has a 
capacity of 30,000 staves and 3,000 sets of heads 
per diem. The firm employ 50 men and six teams, 
and have in stock over 3,000 cords of bolts. Their 
facilities for manufacturing are first-class, and the 
money expended for material averages §5,000 per 
month, exclusive of wages [laid to employes. 



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Coopers' Supplies. — E. W. Traver & Co. are doing 
an extensive business in the manufacture of the 
above merchandise, and employ when running on 
T full time 80 men. The capacity of their mills is 
(^ 20,000 coiled hoops and 8,000 staves per day. They 
purchased the mill and fixtures in 1883, and are 
largely increasing the business. There is now 800,000 
feet of logs in their yards, which will be sawed and 
manufactured into the above products during the 
summer. 

In addition to the other business industries of the 
village, we note the extensive saw-mill of Mr. Glasby 
and the saw-mill of H. L. Holcomb, both of which 
do quite a large amount of work, and, were they run 
to their full capacity, would turn out several millions 
of feet per annum. 

Both the elevators belong to Hilton & Gordon, 
who do an exclusive grain business, and purchase 
^( ) most of the products raised by farmers in this vicinity. 
' ^ There are numerous blacksmith and wagon shops, 
/S contractors and builders, meat-markets and other 
= business enterprises which are found in every enter- 
V?) prising village. Dr. Crandall is a resident dentist, 
C3 and ajiparently has a monopoly in that department 
of science. To illustrate the transformation from 
lethargy to the briskness which is now so largely seen 
in St. Louis, nothing better can be used than the 
relation of Mr. A. B. Darragh's first visit to the place. 
He started overland from St. John's in the spring of 
1869 for a look at the young villages of Ithaca, Alma 
and St. Louis, having been informed by friends of the 
fine country and excellent prospects in a business 
way, which might be secured by a location at either 
of these villages. 

Ithaca was reached at noon, where dinner was 
taken. He then drove to Alma, whicli presented 
quite a business air, a number of farmers being in 
town, and several good stores all seemingly doing a 
fair trade. Michael Pollasky showed him through 
his store, having at that time the largest one in the 
village. Feeling quite well pleased at the hospitality 
shown him while at Alma, he drove to St. Louis, ex- 
pecting to find it a bustling business town from former 
stories regarding it; but such was not his experience. 
Passing entirely through the village, he drove around 
the principal streets until he came to the hotel now 
known as tlie "Commercial." To use his own ex- 
pression, " The only evidence I had of life in driving 



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through the town, was one hungr)'-looking dog wan- 
dering on the street. Not a team, not a man or 
woman was to be seen. Getting out of the buggy 
and entering the hotel, I looked about but saw no 
one. Finally a boy came sauntering into the bar- 
room, and I asked him if the landlord was in." 
" Don't know," was the answer. " Can I get some 
water here for my horse ? " " Don't know," said the 
urchin. 

Espying a store across the street with the door 
partly ajar, he inquired whose store that was. " Don't 
know," was the reply. Mr. Darragh concluded that 
tliere must have been a funeral somewhere in the 
neighborhood, and every one except the youth was 
in attendance, but thought it best not to question him 
further. Leading his horse across the street, he 
hitched it in front of the store and walked in. The 
clerk was stretched at full length on the counter, 
with liis head on a pile of cottonade, fast asleep. 
Shaking him by the shoulder, the fellow roused up 
and asked what was wanted. Mr. Darragh begged 
the loan of a bucket, which was granted, and the 
tired horse given a draught of fresh water. After 
conversing a few moments about the village and its 
prospects, he inquired the way to Salt River, as he 
was intending to drive over that evening, the outlook 
for business being, as Mr. D. expressed it, " some- 
what discouraging." 

With the finding of the Magnetic Spring, however, 
came thrift and enterprise. Mr. Darragh returned, 
opened up a broker's office, and has succeeded in 
establishing one of the best banks in the county. 
Through the varying fortunes of this village he has 
been one of the foremost in promoting her welfare 
and advancing her business and commercial inter- 
ests ; the outlook to-day, and the first time he viewed 
the scene, forming quite a different picture : thrift 
and energy prevail. Prosperity is the rule and not 
the exception. Everything moves, and residents of 
St. Louis feel a just pride in her rapid advancement. 

A history of St. Louis, without more than a mere 
mention of "Uncle Dick" Hillyer, would scarcely 
be tolerated. He was one of the most generous men 
that ever lived and this trait in his character proved 
his financial ruin. 

During the hard times which prevailed in 1857, 
Mr. Hillyer went to New York, and made purchases 
of goods to the amount of six thousand dollars, Dgree- 










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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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ing to pay for them in flour. He also made a pur- 
chase of material for building a grist-mill, expecting 
to manufacture the flour previously guaranteed to 
New York parties. 

The goods came and were sold on credit to all who 
wished to buy. The mill was built, although there 
was not at the time fifty bushels of wheat in the 
county; neither was any raised for two years. Cred- 
itors came on and " Uncle Dick " mortgaged all his 
property to satisfy the parties, but times were so hard 
that the mortgages were foreclosed and lie lost every- 
thing but his reputation for generosity. Mr. H. L. 
Holcomb assumed most of the liabilities, and deeds 
were made to him for all the real estate, consisting of 
i,6oo acres, formerly owned by Mr. Hillyer. 

To illustrate his generosity, two anecdotes are re- 
lated: Frank Miller, so well remembered as the first 
Prosecuting Attorney of Gratiot County, was noted 
for his bibulous habits, and left no means untried 
whereby his love for the " ardent " might be satisfied. 
Coming to St. Louis in hopes of raising money 
enough in some way to have a little spree, he walked 
into Mr. Hillyer's store and engaged in conversation. 
Some one mentioned the recent purchase of an over- 
coat by Mr. Hillyer, and Miller at once made up his 
mind to borrow the coat, as Mr. Hillyer never refused 
to grant a favor to anyone wlio asked it. 

When he came in, Miller said that he had a law- 
suit in progress at .\lma and would like to borrow the 
garment until evening, when it should be returned. 
Uncle Dick started for his boarding house to get it, 
and upon his return met Mr. Holcomb, who asked 
where he was going. " Nowhere," replied he. 
"Frank Miller wants my coat to wear to Alma." 
" Don't let him have it," said Mr. Holcomb; "for it 
will be [lawned for drink and you will never see it 
again." Uncle Dick thought such a thing impossible, 
and carried the coat to Miller, wlio soon left for 
Alma. That day passed, the next, and the next, yet 
neither overcoat nor Miller was heard from. Two 
weeks later, word was sent Mr. Hillyer that his coat 
had been pawned for whisky at one of the saloons 
in Alma. 

Going down to see about getting jKissession of his 
property, he learned that the coat was pawned for 
every cent it was worth, and declined to redeem it. 
Returning to St. Ix)uis, Mr. Holcomb asked him 
" why he had not replevined the coat, it being his own 



property." "Who then would have paid the liquor 
bill .' " said Uncle Dick. " Rather than to see the sa- 
loon man lose his money, I would prefer letting my 
overcoat go ; ' which he did. 

At another time, while he was in charge of Mr. 
Holcomb's mill, a lank, hungr)- -looking fellow came 
in and wanted a sack of flour on credit. It being 
one of Mr. Holcomb's rules not to sell excei)t for 
cash, Mr. Hillyer so informed the man ; but he plead- 
ed earnestly for the flour, and told such a pitiful story 
of want and destitution that Untie Dick's generous 
heart could not resist his jileadings. " Will you prom- 
ise to pay me during the summer.' " said Uncle Dick. 
"Of course I will, and with good interest, too," quoth 
the rustic. " Take it then, but don't tell any of your 
neighbors that it was purchased on credit," was the 
parting salutation of Mr. Hillyer. Oneday during the 
summer, Mr. Holcomb was in charge of the mill, 
Mr. Hillyer being absent, when a man with a large 
yellow dog by his side walked into the mill and in- 
quired for Uncle Dick. " He has gone out," said 
Mr. Holcomb ; but 1 may perhaps attend to your bus- 
iness," said he; " what is the nature of it.'" 

" I bought a sack of flour a few weeks ago," said 
the stranger, " but find myself unable to pay for it 
as agreed, and have brought Mr. Hillyer my dog for 
security." 

Mr. Holcomb, looking over his books, could find 
no account of the sale, but told him to return in an 
hour, when Mr. Hillyer would i)robably be in. 

When Uncle Dick arrived, Mr. Holcomb told him 
that " a man had just brought him a fine dog, and 
would soon return." 

Mr. Hillyer wondered who intended making him a 
present, as he was not a hunter, neither was he fond 
of pets. The stranger came in soon, and, espying 
Mr. Hillyer conversing with Mr. Holcomb, walked 
up to Mr. Hillyer, made him a profound bow, and 
tendered the dog as payment for the sack of flour, as 
times were so hard that a cash payment was impos- 
sible. 

The smile which came to .Mr. Holcomb's face as 
Hillyer surveyed the trio, was too much for even a 
saint to stand, and Uncle Dick's anger rapidly rose. 
"Get out of here with your d — d dog; clear out ot 
the town with the miserable whelp," shouted he, as 
with rapid strides he made for the stranger and would 
no doubt have given him a chastiscnient had not the 



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^ fellow been fleet of foot. To sell flour on credit and 
'•[j then be asked to take pay in yellow dogs, was more 
•>^* than Mr. Hillyer could stand, especially as he had to 
I foot the bill. His large fortune melted away like 
r$i frost before the autumn sun, being dispensed here 
and there with a lavish hand. Surely the many re- 
cipients of " Uncle Dick " Hillyer's bounty in Gra- 
tiot County should revere his name. 

The finest private residence in Gratiot County was 
completed in 1884, by Col. John A. Elwell, of this 
village. It fronts on Washington Avenue and Dela- 
ware Street, and the beautiful site upon which it 
stand gives from the balcony a splendid view of the 
entire town. It is a frame building, three stories in 
height with a basement, the whole being complete as 



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skill and wealth can make it. The entire finish in- 
side is of native hard woods elegantly carved and 
highly finished. The carving alone is estimated to 
have cost between seven and eight thousand dollars. 
The house, barn and site are considered worth 

$45'°°o- 

St. Louis has an agricultural society and grounds 
of her own, which were enclosed in 1883, with a new 
fence; and a commodious amphitheatre, floral hall, 
and many new stalls for the better accommodation 
of stock, were erected. 

The grounds are conveniently located near the city 
limits on the west, and the society is reported in quite 
a flourishing condition. 






1^ '^EMARKABLE, indeed, is the 
growth and development of 
'.^^ many of Michigan's beautiful 
■y^. villages ; few, however, in this 
respect excel the one of which 
we now write. Even those 
who have lived as residents 
from the time this village was platted 
can scarcely realize that this was a 
part of a wild and unbroken forest 
only a few years ago. The history 
of its growth seems more like a fairy 
tale than absolute reality, yet the 
splendid business blocks, hotels, 
banks and churches, with all other 
indications of civilization, tell us plainly that the ab- 
origines have gone, never to return, and peace and 
prosperity smile upon our land. Ralph Ely came 
to Alma in 1853, and permanently located April 26, 



1854. He was the first man settling north of Pine 
River, and being possessed of much enterprise he de- 
termined to build a town on the banks of the beauti- 
ful river, of which he would be proprietor. Mr. S. S. 
Hastings surveyed the land Feb. 9, 10 and ii, 1856. 

For a long while the place was know as Elyton, or 
Ely's Mills, Mr. Ely having erected a saw-mill the 
same year. James Gargett, Esq., platted and named 
the village of Alma in 1858; this was really an addi- 
tion to Elyton, although that name has been absorbed 
by the growth of Alma. 

Among the first enterprises of Elyton, may be men- 
tioned the stock of general merchandise kept by Rali>h 
Ely. The goods were of such quality as the needs 
of a new country demanded, and they were given in 
exchange for any kind of products the woodman or 
hunter could procure. Furs, pelts, venison, coon, or 
anything which could be disposed of by Mr. Ely, were 
legal tender at their market value for goods. He fur- 



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nished a large amount of provisions and other sup- 
plies to the suffering poor during the starvation period 
at his own expense, and it is a standing aphorism 
among the residents of Alma, that the man who will 
say aught against the liberality of Mr Ely owes him 
yet for goods furnished at that time. 

Jan. X, 1S58, at 4 P. M., James Gargett, Esq., ar- 
rived at Elytoii. He made a purchase of Mr. Ely's 
entire stock, the goods were invoiced that night and 
the ne.xt morning Mr. Gargett was selling goods over 
his own counter. He has, from that until the present 
day, been actively engaged in business and has a 
name which for integrity and honor cannot be ex- 
celled. His losses by fire reach far into the tliousands 
and would have discouraged most men ; yet he strug- 
gled on, never disheiirtened, and now has the pleas- 
ure of looking over the result of his energy. His 
wife opened the first millinery store and had a nice 
trade for a new community. Mr. Gargett also owned 
the first boot and shoe store, of which \Vm. E. Moyer 
was foreman. 

Wm. C Rodgers was the first blacksmith, and lives 
near Alma at this time. The first ball ever given in the 
village was in the hall over his sliop. This Mrs. 
Kress says was a "grand affair," and was patronized 
by all the leading persons in the county. A magnifi- 
cent supper was given and the neighboriiood scoured 
to obtain dishes. Everything was served that the 
country afforded, wild meats and fish being plentiful. 

Rev. Todd, a Universalist minister, did the first 
preaching at this place. Services were held at the 
old school-house west of town. During the stay of 
Mr. Kress and family in the country. Rev. 



Slappee, a United Brethren minister, lield services 
regularly at their house. 

Miss Martha Woodin, now the widow of Elias Smith, 
taught the first school in Alma, and tells of the bill of 
fare that she enjoyed for weeks as she "boarded 'round" 
with the scholars. It was corn bread, venison, gar- 
nished with leeks, "sorrel" or "vinegar" pie, and 
corn coffee. 

Miss Martha Cole taught the first school in the 
township west of Alma. She was the daughter of L. 
C. Cole, who drew up tlie famous bill of separation, 
mentioned elsewhere. 

The first hotel in .Mma was known as the " I'inc 
River House." It was quite a popular hostelrj', and 
was kept by a man named Mosier. The build- 






ing is still standing, and is the property of James Gar- 
gett, Esq. 

In 1855 a literary society known as the "Little 
Pine" was commenced, and the exercises furnished 
the chief entertainment during the year. Recita- 
tions, com[)ositions, etc., of merit drew large audien- 
ces. When its first anniversary was reached, a dinner 
was given, and the public were invited. Baked fish 
and maple sugar in every style were the chief articles 
of oiet upon that occasion. This was the first 
literar}' society in the county. 

The honors of having the first Fourth of-July cele- 
bration are divided between Ithaca and Alma, Mr. 
and Mrs. Kress, Mrs. Elias Smith and others insist- 
ing that Alma celebrated in 1856, and that Rev. 

Todd delivered the oration. 15oth Mrs. Smith 

and Mrs. Kress say that they made a flag for the 
occasion, for which part of the material was taken 
from the lining of Mrs. Smith's dress. A number of 
guns were used in firing a salute. 

While the county-seat question was being agitated 
the inhabitants of each village were clamoring for it. 
The first court being held at Alma made her citizens 
hopeful, but some miscreant entered Mr. Ely's house 
and purloined the books at or near the close of the 
session. Every one was speculating as to who the 
party could be that would do such a thing. Groups 
of men discussed it in the woods, at the stores and 
elsewhere, until the women caught the infection. 
One lady, well-known in ."Vlma, was so anxious to 
hear the particulars that she donned male attire and 
went into the store one evening to hear the gossip. 
It was not long until some of the party noticed the 
disguise, and she fled, pursued by a number of tlie 
younger men, all intent upon ascertaining who she 
was ; but her fleetness proved more than a match for 
them. Crossing the route she had taken was quite a 
wide and rapid brook, which she cleared at a bound, 
none of the boys daring to make the attempt. UiK)n 
measuring the place next day it was found to l)e 15 
feet across. 

James Kress drove an express from Alma to St. 
John's twice each week for three years after he came 
to the village. This was the only means of commu- 
nication with the outside world, and the condition of 
the roads part of the time is graphically |)ortrayed 
by Mr. James Gargett, who told the writer that him- 
self and wife started with Mr. Kress for St. John's, 



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and was three days in reaching it. The first night 
was spent at Ithaca, the second at McMasters', and 
St. John's was made the evening of the third day. 
Mr. Gargett, then being eti route to attend a meeting 
of the State Legislature, decided that Gratiot County 
needed roads more than anything else. He drafted 
and presented a bill or petition to open up public 
highways, which provided that commissioners be ap- 
pointed to buy and distribute provisions (it being in 
1859, a part of the starvation period), and let the 
work be done by the inhabitants, who were to take 
their pay as earned, in provisions. Althoughithe bill 
was not passed, an appropriation was made of $50,- 
000 to relieve their wants. Out of this petition grew 
the "Swamp Land Act," which was the first effort 
made toward opening up the country by means of 
public highways. Mr. Gargett has been to Alma 
what Gen. Church has been to the village of Ithaca. 
Too much cannot be said in their praise. 

The ponies driven by Mr. Kress in 186 1-2-3 are 
still in his possession and are as sleek, and drive as 
well, as ever, although they are 32 years old. This 
is a remarkable circumstance, when their yearly drive 
was estimated at 8,880 miles. 

The first physician in the town was Dr. J. W. 
Barnes. Judge Isaac Marston, of Detroit, was the 
first attorney, and boarded with Mr. and Mrs. Gar- 
gett. They charged him only %\ per week, thus 
helping start in life a man who has made a mark in 
the world. His meager library was destroyed when 
the new store erected by Mr. Gargett was burned. 

Alma was incorporated under the general law Jan. 
6, 1872, by a committee of the Board of Supervisors, 
consisting of James T. Hall, Barney Swope and E. 
W. Kellogg. The arrangement was only temporar}', 
the officers first elected holding their positions until 
March 5, 1872, when the village was re-incorporated 
by a special act of the Legislature. The temporary 
officials were : 

President— Ralph Ely. 

Trustees — Derwin Ely, Wm. Hannah, O. Ellison, 
John Montigel, George Bahlke and Wm. Carpenter. 

Clerk — George G. Holliday. 

Assessors — James T. Hall, Samuel Brewbaker. 

The regular election was held March 5, 1872, and 
resulted in a change of some of the officers : 

President — Ralph Ely. 

Trustees — Isaac Pierce, M, PoUasky, G. W. Tann, 



George W. Helt, Dr. Frank Webb, Ralph Ely. 

Clerk — George G. Holliday. 

Treasurer — Daniel Leach. 

Assessors — James T. Hall, Charles Narcong. 

Marshall — Townsend A. Ely. 

The Board of 1883 were composed of the follow- 
ing gentlemen : 

President — W. S. Turck. 

Trustees — M. Pollasky, Charles L. Delevan, John 
F. Schwartz, A. C. Barrow, K. M. Ely, J. F. Sarter. 
Clerk, A. Yerington. Treasurer — G. S. Ward. As- 
sessor — James Gargett. Marshal — Chas. H. Coates. 
Street Commissioner — M. C. Dallas. Pound Mas- 
ter — A. C. Rodgers. Board of Special Assessors — 
Messrs. George W. Jennings, B. W. Ellison, George 
Pumphry. 

There are many pretty residences in Alma, some 
of which were quite expensive for a village of its age 
and population. Among those we mention, that of 
Mr. W. S. Turck, on Woodworth Avenue, cost $4,000; 
H. A. Delevan, a handsome brick on State Street, 
cost $3,500; M. Pollasky, frame cottage, cost $3,500; 
H. F. P. Schneider, frame cottage, $3,500; J. F. 
Schwartz, $3,500. A large number of destructive 
fires have visited Alma, which have destroyed some 
fine residences and mills. Among them might be 
mentioned the costly residence of Mr. James Gar- 
gett, which was the finest villain the place. 

The Holly system of water-works is well operated 
in this village, there being a number of mains laid in 
the place, affording at all times an ample supply of 
water. 

Some fine flowing wells are located in Alma The 
flow is governed very much by location here, as else- 
where. One of the best is that of Mr. M. Pollasky, 
which flows 15 feet from the surface. One of the 
grandest things to boast of is a never-failing water 
supjjly. 

Pine River also runs through the corporation and 
furnishes all the power necessary for the manufactur- 
ers who wisli to locate. The streets are wide and 
nicely graded, and large numbers of beautiful shade 
trees have been planted. 

Wright House. — This elegant and extensive hotel, 
erected in 1883, was formally opened to the public 
October 17 th of the same year. As the Wright House 
is the best eipiipped hotel in the State of Michigan, 
it is but just to give it more than a mere mention. In 



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point of convenience and elegance in finish, it has no 
peer in the West. An addition of 40 rooms will he 
made this year, and magnetic, Russian and Turkish 
batlis added to its already large list of attractions. 
The mineral springs of Alma are fully equal to those 
of Mt. Clemens or Eaton Rapids, and there is no 
question of its becoming a popular summer resort. 
The furnishings are elaborate in every particular, and 
of the best material. 

The hotel proper is located at the corner of State 
and Superior Streets, the two principal thoroughfares 
in the village, having a frontage of 63 feet and a depth 
of 85 feet, with awing on the west side 24 by 40 feet. 
The building is three-stories high, built of brick from 
Mr. Wriglu's own yard, and the foundation is Kelly 
Island limestone. The brick work has been painted 
a dark red, which with tlie stone trimmings makes a 
very attractive exterior. .\t the front entrance there 
is a vestibule of five feet, from whicii plate glass doors 
0[)en into the office. 

The basement is thoroughly finished throughout, 
great care having been taken to avoid dampness. In 
the basement there are located the barber shop and 
bath room, two sample rooms, a wine and a l)illiard 
room. Adjoining the billiard room is a small and well 
apfwinted bar and fixtures, gents' closets, etc. The 
basement is finished in black ash, with maple floors, 
oiled. In rear of the ai)artments referred to are the 
store-rooms, refrigerator, bakery, gas pump, which fur- 
nishes gas for lighting the entire building, and a low- 
pressure water pump, capable, witli six pounds of 
steam, of elevating water 60 feet, into the reservoirs in 
the attic. The basement is reached by an entrance 
from the street on the east side, and by stairs from 
the office. Under the wing pDrtion there is located 
the boiler room, containing two boilers, each \.\ feet 
long and 4-feet siiell, and of 80 horse indicated pow- 
er. These boilers are worked either singly or in bat- 
tery, and not only furnish the heat for the hotel but 
for the barn, a furniture store in rear, and the large 
Wright's Opera-House Block across the street. 

The first floor is finished throughout in black ash, 
with oiled maple floors and Italian marble mantels 
and grates in each of the principal rooms, in addition 
to the steam-heating and gas apixitntments. The 
windows are plate glass, with uniipie cathedral top- 
lights. In the southeast corner is the reading room, 
a handsome apartment, neatly furnished, with mantel, 



grate, gas, etc., and connecting with the office through 
an open arch. The office is furnished with mantel 
and grate fixtures, a fine safe, an elegant black ash 
counter and desk, and coat room in connection. 

The ladies' hall opens from the east side, and di- 
vides the office and reading room from the dining 
hall. It also furnishes a passage to the stairs leading 
to the upper floors, to the gents' wash room and into 
the basement. The gents' wash room is elegantly 
fitted up with marble fixtures, and finished as are the 
apartments, in black ash. 

The dining hall is a gem in its way, — spacious, well 
lighted and cheerful. It is finished in black ash, 
maple floors, sideboards and furjiiiure to match the 
finish, gas and steam heat, marble mantel and grate. 

West of the dining hall, entrances lead into the 
carving room, fitted up with steam, carving table, tea 
and cofTee urns, etc., and a cliina closet complete in 
its appointments and arrangement. 

The kitchen is supplied wiili Hramhall, Dean & 
Go's ranges. In the wing jiortion on this floor are 
located the dish room, pastry, help hall, laundry, dry 
room and kitchen help room. All of the apixsint- 
ments in these apartments are admirable and the best 
that money and a discriminating taste could supply. 

The second floor is also finished in black ash. with 
mai)le floors. It is reached by elaborately carved 
black ash stairs, newel posts and landings, the work 
having been done by hand, by experienced artists in 
Eastlake design, and alone representing an outlay of 
over $1,000. 

In the southeast corner is the ladies' parlor, sup- 
plied with maroon plush furniture, Brussels carpet, 
Italian marble mantel and grate, and an elegant piano. 
There are also spacious and airy corridors, from which 
entrances lead into fifteen sleeping apartments, all 
supplied with gas and steam heat, marble mantels and 
grate, marble-top dressers and commodes and black- 
walnut furniture, with Brussels carpets. On this floor 
are also ladies' toilet and bath rooms. In the wini: 
there are eight cliambers and linen room, furnished 
in the same style, the furniture being of ash. 

There is a neat balcony on the second-floor front. 
All of the rooms are supplied with transoms, and the 
apartments omit nothing that the most fastidious 
taste could suggest. 

Ui)on the third floor there are 19 sleei)ing apart- 
ments, furnished in the same style as those described. 



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Above the third floor is the attic, eight feet in the 
clear, in which are the reservoirs, which furnish city 
water and soft water for the hotel and bath purposes, 
and water from two flowing wells on the premises. 
The finishing of the third floor is white pine, and the 
furniture is of ash. 

Two other hotels besides the Wright House furnish 
ample accommodations for the traveling and board- 
ing fraternity. 







Business Interests. 

HE largest mercantile establishment in the 
village, and, in fact, in the county, is that 
of Wright, Schneider & Stuttz, wholesale 
and retail dealers in general merchandise, oc- 
cupying four brick stores in Wright's Opera- 
House Block, a building 1 13 feet front and 86 
feet deep, and three stories, the opera house being 
located over the two corner stores, and over the bal- 
ance the stores of the firm and offices. The firm 
also handle large (juantities of wheat, and the past 
season 40,000 pounds of wool. 

The village is supplied with a fine grist-mill three 
stories high, with roller process, and having a capac- 
ity for manufacturing 100 barrels of flour daily. It 
is owned and operated by Wright & Turck. 

In the grist-mill, which is operated by water power, 
there is a Holly pumj), with [)ipes extending through 
the village, furnishing an ample supply of water for 
fire and village puriwses. South of the village Mr. 
Wright owns an So-acre farm, on which is located a 
brick-yard, having a capacity of 1,000,000 during the 
season, and from which the brick used in the village 
is procured. 

One of the finest improvements is the park, the 
property of Mr. A. W. Wright. It is located just 
north of the business portion of the village, contains 
eleven acres, with native trees, and was laid out into 
walks and drives by an artist from Saratoga. It con- 
tains a neat fish pond, and will prove a source of 
pleasure and pride to the generous proprietor as well 
as to the people of the village. 

G. D. Barton & Co. operate a saw-mill and lumlier 
yard. The mill contains a circular saw, and has a 
capacity for 40,000 feet of pine daily. It also cuts a 



large quantity of ash and other hard woods annually; 
a planer and molder being attached, the lumber is 
dressed and is ready for market. There is a ready 
sale for all the lumber this mill can manufacture. 

Mr. W. B. Hulbert is also operating a woolen mill 
having 360 spindles, a fine industry, and manufac- 
turing the product raised in Gratiot County. There 
is also a stock company operating a knitting-works 
establishment, employing aljout 20 hands and turning 
out about 100 dozen hosiery per week. 

H. A. Delevan & Co. are also general dealers in 
merchandise and grain, and Pollasky Bros., clothing 
and dry goods. 

W. H. Hill & Co. are large dealers in furniture 
and manufacture any kind of goods to order. Theirs 
is a complete store. 

G. B. Porter is a representative man in the jewelry 
business. Everything which delights the eye or 
pleases the aesthetic tastes of woman or mankind can 
be purchased there. 

Of the medical profession we may mention Drs. 
L. C. Downey, Frank Suydam, Mrs. Wesley Nelson 
and Stephen Yeiington, all talented and highly re- 
spected practitioners. 

The foundry of J. M. Montigel & Co. gives em- 
ployment to twenty skilled workmen The Alma 
Knitting Works has a capacity for making 350 dozen 
pairs of socks per week. This factory is owned b) a 
stock company, in which $25,000, is represented. 
The president of the company is James Gargett, W. 
S. Turck, Treasurer, and C. H. Coates, Secretary. 

John Y. ChapiTian operates a hoop factory, in which 
sixteen men are given employment. This has a ca- 
pacity of 300,000 patent hoops per year. 

A handsome new brick block is now (March, 1884) 
in process of erection, fronting on Superior Street, 
which will be three stories in height, 60 x no feet, 
the lower story to be fitted for store rooms, the upper 
for a grand opera house. This building is being 
erected by a stock company consisting of six capital- 
ists of Gratiot County, who see in Alma a bright 
future. 

The new planing-mill of Messrs. Bradley & Ste- 
vens, now completed, will employ fifteen men ; the 
hoop factory of F. H. Hamlin & Co. employ twenty 
more. This factory has a capacity of 20,000 hoops 
per diem. 



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G. C. Beebe leads in the drug line, carrying a very 
large stock, as well as notions, etc. 

The Salisbury Co. also have a tine trade in the same 
goods. Both of these are rei)resentative firms and 
splendid gentlemen. 

In millinery, Mrs. J. L Miller and Mrs. H. B. 
Hiilbert keei) a fine line of goods. It is a real pleas- 
ure to note the taste displayed in these model stores. 

Mr. E. Linis deals e.xchisively in clothing and 
gents' furnishing goods, and has recently added a 
merchant tailoring department to his business inter- 
ests, and has an immense trade. 

J. L. Miller deals exclusively in dry goods and 
fancy articles. 

J. D. Mandeville and Kelso Bros, represent the 
hardware interests of Alma. 

There are two good livery barns, of which the one 
belonging to the Wright House is one of the best ar- 
ranged barns in the State. It is finished with maple, 
lighted by gas and heated by steam. 

In addition to the business above mentioned there 
are numerous blacksmith and wagon shops, harness 
and shoe making establisliments, restaurants and 
news depots sufficient to sujiply the demand. 

W. S. Turck & Co. — The room in the southwest 
corner of the Wright House was fitted u[) especially 
for banking purposes. Like all else connected with 
Wright's enterprise, it is complete in every detail. The 
handsome and impenetrable steel safe is encased in 
a fire and burglar proof vault, upon which are two time 
locks. The bank is largely patronized and is reckoned 
a secure institution. The style of the firm is W. S. 
Turck & Co., of whom W. S. Turck, (1. S. Ward, of 
Alma; C. E. Webster, Pompei; J. H. Seaver, Ithaca; 
A. W. Wright, of Saratoga, N. Y., are stockholders. 
Mr. G. S. Ward is Cashier. 



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Fire Department. 

WO volunteer fire companies have been 
organized in this village. The Hose Com- 
pany consists of 26 men, with Alex. Neil, 
Foreman; Ferd. Montigel, ist Asst. ; Albert 
Bahlke, 2d Asst. ; Ferd. Montigel, Treas., and 
Chas. L. Delevan, Sec'y. They have 500 feet 
of hose, and were organized (\ug. ii,r882. 







The Hook and Ladder Company was organized a 
year later, and have a membership of 18. They have 
a full complement of ladders, buckets, etc., and for 
the higli buildings this company is a very avail- 
able safeguard. Marcus Pollasky is Foreman, M. I). 
Fuller, ist Asst., M. Montigel, 2d.\sst , Ben. C. But- 
ler, Treas., Ed. R. Schneider, Sec'y. 

Churches. 

Coiij^if Rationalists. — August 11, 1872, thirteen per- 
sons organized themselves into a society to be known 
as the First Congregational Ciuirch of Alma. This 
number was compo.sed of the following named per- 
sons: Geo. W. Jennings, Mrs. Utensia Howe, Mrs. 
Mary Clark, Mrs. Anna M. Pierce, Mrs. Louisa Hall, 

Mrs. Truesdel, Mrs. Mary E. Scott, Miss Anna 

Crane,' Deacon J. I. Robinson and wife, Rev. H. M. 
Holliday and wife. 

This society lias about 40 active members, and ( ' 
services have been regularly conducted, together with 
Sunday-school meetings, since theirorganization. The ^ 
first Deacons were J. I. Robinson and C. M. Scott. 
Rev. H. Holliday, Clerk. 

The Congregationalists will have the finest church 
edifice in Alma. The foundation is already laid, and 
will be completed before the close of 1884. The 
plans are entirely modern, and the building when ,- ^ 
complete will cost $4,000. 

Rev. C. H. Stevens is the [)resent Pastor. 

Alma MethoilisI Church. — Previous to the perma- 
nent organization of the i)resent society, there had 
been a class of Methodists at this place, but by reason 
of parties moving away and otherwise, affairs did not 
assume a degree of permanency until the springof 
187 I. Wm.Bamborough and wife, Jesse Tompkins 
and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Tann were members of 
the first class. In 187 i, a series of revival meetings 
were conducted by Revs. Wells and Theo. J. Hill, 
wliich resulted in a large number of conversions, and 
many persons at the close of the meeting united with 
the Methodist Church. Conference sent Rev. J. K. 
Stark to preach to them, and movements were set on 
foot for the building of a church. 

Rev. Noah Fassett, the Pastor, laid the corner-stone 
in June, 1S73, in which year the church was comple- 
ted and dedicated. Rev. F. B. Bangs presided on 
this occasion. The Methodist church is a very pret- *^, 



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GRATIOT COUNTY 




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debt, and the membership is quite large. Rev. Jonas 
N. Staly has ministerial charge of the society and is 
stationed at Alma. The Methodist Sunday-school is 
a source of pride to the society, the attendance aver- 
aging 107 scholars, although there are three other 
schools in session at the same hour. 

Seventh-Day Advents. — In the fall of 1864, this 
society was organized, Mr. James Gargett and wife, 
John M. Glover and wife, Cornelius HoUiday and 
wife, B. P. Chase and wife, Mrs. Mary Ely, Mrs. C. 
il. Clark and others becoming members of the same. 
Mr. Gargett had built a room for the private educa- 
tion of his children, in which place their meetings 
were held for several years. 

After the Baptist church was built, they occupied 
it until the completion of the Advent church in the 
year 1880. This is a frame edifice, costing $2,200, 
and the society is out of debt and in a flourishing con- 
dition. The members are mostly country people, but 
social meetings and Sunday-school are held every 

P* Sabbath. 

:•.*. The faith of the Advents has been productive of 

= much gond in the community, having rather a mis- 

;•$ sionary than strictly orthodox manner of inculcating 
their views. Some of the leading men of the county 
are members of this Church, and their precepts and 
example prove fully their sincerity and true Chris- 
tianity. 

They believe with the greatest confidence that the 
general Government will, in the near future, enact 
laws which will force the people to revere and keep 
the seventh day in a becoming and devout manner. 
Baptist Church. — .^mong the pioneer Baptist fam- 
ilies in Gratiot County, were Wm. Yerington and his 
wife Amanda, who with their children became mem- 
bers of the First Baptist Church of Alma. A meet- 
ing was called by a number who were interested in 
organizing a society of this denomination, July 7, 1866, 
at which meeting Rev. \V. Everest acted as Modera- 
tor, and S. S. Hastings, Clerk. 

The society was formally organized, the foUow- 

(qN ing persons uniting by letter and otherwise : VVni. 
I Yerington, Amanda Yerington, Stephen D. Yerington, 

Sji Gertrude Yerington, Otis Bartlett, Mrs. Charity Whee- 

((p ler and Thomas H. Fitchel. 

^^ Wm. Yerington was the first Deacon; his son, 
g) Stephen D. Yerington, Clerk. Rev. Lafayette ("liurch 
was tiie first minister to preside at tiieir meetings. 









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Their church was a neat frame building, erected in 
1873, at a cost of $[,800. Rev. C. Beals preached 
the dedicatory sermon July 13, assisted by Rev. 
Theodore Nelson, acting Pastor. 

The church is practically free from debt, and has a 
talented minister. Rev. W. H. Beteys. 

Secret Societies. 

Alma Lodge, No. 244, A. F. is' A. M. — The dis- 
pensation for Alma Lodge was granted Jan. 10, 1868, 
by Grand Master S. C. Coffinbury, who appointed T. 
Bamborough, VV. M. ; H. E. Kingsley, S. W. ; N. P. 
Watts, J. W. 

The ceremony of installing the officers, pro tern., 
took place on the evening of Jan. 10, 1868, Dept. G. 
M, K. J. Utley officiating. The officers were: 
Thomas Bamborough, VV. M.; C.C.Clark, S. W.; 
D. R. Sullivan, J. W.; C. W. Tann, Treas. ; J. C. 
Brown, Sec'y ; G. 8. Ward, S. D. ; L. A. George, J. D.- 
Daniel Boyer, Tiler. 

Following this was the regular installation of the 
officers elect, respectively : 

Thomas Bamborough, W. M.; Henry E. Kingsley, 
S. W.; N. P. Watts, J. W.; D. R. Sullivan, Treas.; J. 
C. Bowen, Sec'y; G. S. Ward, S. D.; C. C. Clark, J. 
D.; L. A. George, Tiler. 

This lodge is in a very flourishing condition, with 
several hundred dollars in the treasury. They will 
erect in the near future a fine hall, as their present 
quarters are too small tor convenience and comfort. 

The officers for 1884 are all well-known gentlemen 
of Alma and vicinity. Their names are as follows ; 
W. S. Turck, W. M.; M. Pollasky, S. W.; Wm. Ad- 
ams, J. W.; F. Montigel, Treas.; C. H. Coates, Sec'y ; 
A. Yerington, S. D.; Geo. D. Barton, J. D.; Fred. 
Price, Tiler. 

There are at present 70 active members, andtheir 
number is made up of the best men in the village and 
surrounding country. 

William Moyer Fast, G. A. R. — This post was 
organized in July, 1883, with a membership of 22. 
The first and present officers are: Wm. H. Hall, 
Commander; Wm. S. Turck, Sen. Vice-Commander ; 
J. N. Clow, Jun. Vice-Commander; A. Yerington, 
Adjutant; E. F. Moyer, Quartermaster; Samuel 
Brewbaker, O. G.; C. H. Axtel, O. D. 

The old soldiers composing this post are well-tried 
veterans of the late war, and their annual re-unions 
are productive of much pleasure. Their banquet at 



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the Wright House, last year, was a grand affair, and 
many distinguished soldiers from abroad attended. 

Miscellaneous. 

Brass Band. — .\lma has a very creditable Brass 
Band, numbering 12 pieces, which was organized in 
1883, under the leadership of .\. Yerington, Esq., 
one of the best musicians in the county. 

Library. — The Ladies' Library is on ipiite a sub- 






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S mentioned elsewhere, the 
Gratiot News was establislied 
in this county in 1858. The 
material was brought from 
Owosso by Cornelius Camp- 
bell, having been purchased 
for S. N. Miller and Robert Sut- 
ton, by Frank Miller, who was 
editor-in-chief until its purchase 
by VV. W. Comstock, in the autumn 
of the same year. Tlie paper was 
neutral in politics under the first 
management, but was clianged to a 
radical Republican sheet by Mr. 
Comstock, who continued its publi- 
cation for a year and then leased it 
to Moses Tompkins, Jr., and his 
brother, deorge. D. P. Cornell afterward became 
the purchaser, and finally the paper, after varying 
fortune and little prosjierity, was discontinued, in 
1865. 

Nathan Church, with that enterprise for wliicli he 
is noted, purchased the material, most of whi< h was 
worn out, and, together with Daniel Taylor, made 
purchases of new type, etc. Mr. Taylor was a prac- 
tical printer, and Mr. Church an accomplished 



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stantial basis, having on its books 37 yearly members 
who each pay $1 for its supjwrt, besides contributions 
of books, etc. They have 250 volumes now, and 
will increase the number during the year. Mrs. Dr. 
C. L. Downey has been an ardent worker in this 
movement. 

Liti-rary Society. — Tlie Literary Society has fur- 
nished a great deal of pleasure and profit as an 
educator, during the year. 



writer, so the partnership was a mutually agreeable, 
if not a profitable one, Mr. Church assuming the 
editorial and business management, while Mr. Tay- 
lor attended to the composition, etc. 

The name of the paper was changed to The 
Gratiot Journal, which name it retains to tlie present 
day. Mr. Taylor afterward purchased Mr. Church's 
interest and continued it under his own management 
until he sold to the present proprietor, Mr. Robert 
Smith, in September, 1872. The Journal is a six- 
column quarto, and at the present time is the recog- 
nized official paper of the county. Mr. Smith has 
an excellent power press and a splendid office, which 
gives evidence of the heallhfulness of the Journal. 
The tone and influence of this paper has contributed 
in no small degree to tlie growth. ini[)roveinent, intel- 
ligence and wealth of the county in which it is 
published, being ably edited and one of the newsiest 
local papers in the Slate. 

Mr. Smith is to be congratulated uiKin his success 
in so firmly establishing this paper upon a perma- 
nent financial basis, and the encouragement given it 
by men of all political opinions prove the power it 
exerts in Gratiot County. 

In tlie early days of journalism in this county, it 
was considered the proper thing for everybody in 



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even moderate circumstances to patronize it. Before 
postoffices were plenty, as they are now, many who 
lived at remote distances called at the printing office 
for their paper. One day a fellow from one of the 
frontier townships, who affected a great deal more 
than he knew, called for his paper and was informed 
that it was not yet printed. 

Not really knowing what that meant, he remarked 
that he "had as lieves have it then as at any time." 

That era of intelligence has passed away, and the 
Journal, as an educator, has done a great work in its 
accomplishment. 




Gratiot County Democrat. 

L. HILBOURNE established this paper 
in Ithaca in 187S and continued its publi- 
cation three years. In the fall of 1881, 
Mr. J. V. Johnson, a man of large experience 
in journalism, assumed the name and took the 
subscription list of the above paper, put in 
new office material, and commenced the publication 
of the Democrat \\\ St. Louis. The first edition was 
issued Sept. 15, i88i,and has continued until this 
time increasing in popularity and circulation. A fire 
on the 4th of January, 1884, destroyed part of the 
material, but Mr. Johnson, with characteristic enter- 
prise, issued the paper and has not missed a number 
since it was established. As a Democratic organ, its 
success is assured in (Iratiot County. 



The Ithaca Times. 

'HE Times is a wide-awake paper, occupying 
an independent position politically. It was 
r^ established in 1883, and the first issue 
dated February 2, with F. M. Vandercook 
editor and |)roprietor. Messrs. VV. L. Hilbourne 
and R. G. Harpham purchased his stock 
good will Jan. 3, 1884, and are making the 
Times a splendid local paper. The large circulation 
it already lias, is proof of their ability and its merit. 
These young men liave enlarged and otherwise inl- 




and 





proved it, and the Times looks as if it had come ^f 

"to stay." The office is located in the Jeffrey build- \*\ 
ing, corner of Center and Main Streets, and Messrs. ^i 
Hilbourne & Harpham have the energy and ability to 
make it a success. .^^^ 



St. Louis Leader. 

[August 13, 1879, the St. Louis Leader was 
t^TSiril established by Myer & Vandercook. At'ter 
^ two months the firm changed to Vandercook 
'"HaT & Pettit. September, i88i,it again changed 
to Hoskins & Vandercook, and in November, 
1882, Hoskins bought Vandercook out, since 
which time Edwin S. Hoskins has been sole editor 
and proprietor. The Leader now has a steady and 
satisfactory growth, and ranks high among tiie enter- 
prising papers of Michigan. It has ever been soundly 
Repulilican and under its present management bids 
fair to become a power in influencing the jwlitical 
opinions of Gratiot County; in developing and en- 
couraging the growth and prosperity of a live town 
and thrifty community; and in building up the best 
interests of Micliigan generally. The Leader is one 
of the necessities in Gratiot County. 



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The St. Louis Herald. 



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i N the winter of 186S-9, the St. Louis Ga- 
If zcttc was founded by Messrs. Holcomb, 
' Evans & Smith. The organization and 
management of the above paper was intrusted 
to W. H. H. Bartrain, of Bay Gty. The first 
men engaged were James Paddock, now Judge 
of the Probate Court, and Dr. J. R. Baldwin, then 
and now a practicing physician of St. Louis. At the 
end of six months Bartram withdrew, and the propri- 
etors engaged A. L. Blood of California to conduct 'Q' 
the paper. Five months later Blood retired from the \ 
noble work in disgust, and his valedictory will long be 
remembered by old settlers, for the pathetic passage, 
" Dear, damned, delightful town, farewell!" A Mr. 
Bowen, from Owosso, next tried his hand at operating 
the paper, but gave it up at the end of three months. 




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GRATIOT COUNTY. 



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Aftenx'ard, J. W. Bailey, foreman in the Lansing Re- 
publican office, was imixjrted to take charge. His 
stewardship covered the siiace of an entire year, 
wlien the paper and its business was sold to Hatlie 
E. Church, whose husband, E. Church, conducted it 
as editor and manager till the autumn of 1870, when 
it was sold to Aaron Wessels, who engaged Leonard 
and Scott as editors and managers. This practically 
ended the Gazette. Before ^Vessels got things in 
working order, the material was taken possession of 
by Holcomb & Evans, on a writ of replevin. In the 
suit that followed they were sustained in their claim, 
and soon after they sold out to W. M. Cook, a practi- 
cal printer from Jackson. On the 17th of March, 
1 87 I, the first number of the St. Louis Herald was 
issued by W. \V. Cook, editor and proprietor, with the 
material and on the ruins of the old Gazette. Tiie 
paper had always been Republican in politics and 
Cook clung to the same faith. In September, 1874, 
he sold the Herald to J. B. Graham, who proclaimed 
it from that date an independent paper, politically. 
Three years later C.raham sold to Henry Smalley, 
who continued it as an independent journal till July, 
1878, when a change of heart made it an advocate 
of Greenbackism. November 26, 1880, James H. 
Shultz purchased it, and at the end of three months 
sold to Willard D. Tucker, the present editor and 
proprietor. The paper, under the able management 
of Mr. Tucker, is in a prosperous condition. The 
circulation t? large and rapidly increasing. It is an 
eight-column folio. Office is located in Wessel's 



Block. 




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Alma Record. 



PRIL I, 1879, M. L. Hart started a six- 
i\mn>^<3^ column folio paper, called The Alma 
^'^ Weekly Inde.x. He sold to A. D. Pettit, who 
'•!i|f enlarged the paper to a seven-column folio, 
r and changed the name to Gratiot County Rcc- 
ord. Mr. Pettit kept the paper a year and 
sold to J. H. Phillips, who edited it for something 
more than twelve months, and turned it over to N. 
G. Davidson, who changed the name to Alma Rec- 
ord, and in November, 1883, sold to K. VV. Ely, tlie 
present proprietor. Since its purchase by Mr. Ely 



the circulation of the paper has steadily increased. 
Mr. Davidson remains in the employment of Mr. 
Ely as foreman, and at no distant day the paper will 
be enlarged and the entire sheet printed in Alma. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 




Lumbering Interests. 

'5.NTIL the last ten years, the lumbering m- 
W't, tcrests have taken precedence of all other 
branches of trade. The whole county was 
«5? densely covered with a magnificent growth of 
maple, beech, oak, ash, basswood and elm, with 
some butternut, hickor)' and hemlock. The 
northern part of the county, and the townships of 
Hamilton and Elba in the southeast part, and the 
townships of Newark and New Haven in the west 
part, abound with valuable pine forests. Most of 
this timber has been removed, as well as a great deal 
of hard wood, which is now eipially valuable as, if 
not more so than, the i)ine. Occasional tamarack 
and cedar swamps are fountl, in wliich these woods 
grow lu.xuriantly. There are several large mills in 
this county, in which 31,300,000 feet were cut in 
1874-5. None of the mills ran at more than half 
their capacity, and two of them sawed only part of 
one season. Computing the cut for fifteen years 
at the low rate of 30,000,000 feet per annum, we 
liave a total of 450,000,000 feet from 1865 to 1880. 
Several mills had been in active oi)eration for years 
before this, and it would be safe to estimate their cut 
from 1857 to 1865 at 18,000,000 feet per annum, 
making a yield of 162,000,000 feet, or a grand total 
of 612,000,000 feet from 1857 to 1880. Immense 
forests yet stand untouched in the county and many 
millions of feet will yet be marketed. 

Stave timber is now (piite profitable, and immense 
quantities have been delivered to the different mills 
this year. When crops are light the farmers have 
an assurance of a fair income from tlieir wood land, 
at the same time getting the soil ready for cultivation. 

The resources of Michigan are unlimited, yet for 
years to come the lumber interest will play an im- 
IKjrtant part. 



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Valuation of Property. 

O prove the phenomenal growth of Gratiot 
County, a glance at the following valuation 
of real estate and personal property for the 
past 27 years is sufficient to convince any one 
that her future is bright. Lands which were 
purchased in 1856 for 50 cents per acre, are 
worth today from $50 to $75 per acre, and only a 
few of these tracts are changing hands, the owners 
realizing the worth of them for agricultural and other 
purposes. 

The county is rapidly settling with men of wealth 
and enterprise, and business of every kind is pushed 
with an energy peculiar to Western people. 

The whole number of acres assessed ui 1856 was 
10,020, and the assessed valuation amounted to $36,- 
274.01. The personal property was listed at $860. 

In 1883, the number of acres assessed was 356,- 
443, with a valuation of $6,586,854, and a personal 
valuation of $852,611, making a difference in 27 
years of $7,403,190.99. Taking into consideration 
that assessments are very low, and that a fair cash 
valuation would double the amount above stated, 
Gratiot may be considered one of the most prosper- 
ous counties in the State. The valuation of the sev- 
eral townships in 1883 was as follows : 



Ithaca $262,250 

Pine River 922,700 

Elba 209,100 

Hamilton 170,665 

Lafayette 181,944 

Wheeler, 248,190 

Washington 364,33° 

North Star 337,365 

Emerson 296,800 

This list includes only real estate. 



Bethany 433,200 

Fulton 477,520 

Newark 582,860 

Arcada 628,800 

North Shade. ... 482,300 
New Haven.... 313,900 

Sumner 393,910 

Seville 306,570 



Educational. 



MS REVIOUS to 1867 'the examination of 
l^^'i teachers and] the supervision of schools 

Ji!®- 'i»d I'een done by township school inspect- 
ji^ ors. The Legislature of that year passed an 
'^V act to provide for county su])erintendents of 

schools. The first official elected under this act was 

$f^i- ^^'^^^ — r^y^^fl n 





Judge Giles T. Brown, Republican, whose opponent 
was J. McKee, Democrat. This election was in 
April, 1867, from which date he served until 1869, 
when he was re-elected by an almost unanimous 
vote. In April, 187 i, Lillis L. Hamilton, Republi- 
can, was elected by a small plurality over Elisha 
McCall, Democrat, and Randall Faurot, Independ- 
ent. Judge Brown was again elected in 1873, and 
in 1875 the Legislature abolished the office and pro- 
vided for the election of township superintendents 
of schools, with duties similar to those of county 
superintendents. In 1881 the Legislature passed an 
act levising the entire school law, and provided for 
a county board of school examiners, who are not 
elected by the popular vote, but by the chairmen of 
the several boards of school mspectors of the town- 
ships in the county. At the first meeting under this 
act, F. L. Bristol, of Ithaca ; N. A. Richard, of St. 
Louis, and I. W. Cowdry, of Pompei, were elected. 
The first served one year. 

The Agricultural Society. 

HOSE who were present at the first fair held 
^^ in Gratiot County remember well the crude 
arrangements made for the display of goods of 
every description. W. W. Comstock furnished 
at his own expense the lumber to build a tem- 
IKirary Floral Hall, which was erected on the west 
side of the public square. A rail fence enclosed the 
grounds, to which no entrance fee was charged. 
Those who visited the Floral Hall had to pay an 
admission fee, and it was well patronized. The stock 
exhibited was tethered to the rail fence, or tied to 
some convenient forest tree. A temporary race- 
track was constructed around the two blocks west of 
and including the square, and some excellent racing 
by Gratiot County horses was done. The fair was 
a decided success, and has continued to this date 
the best patronized and most successful agricultural 
association in Northern Michigan. 

Gen. Nathan Church was President of the society 
the first year, and Emery Crosby, Secretary. It is 
impossible to give the names of the original stockhold- 
ers, the records having been destroyed. 
The society has a splendid location near the viU 




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GRATIOT COUA/TY. 



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lage of Ilhaca, with good and commodious buildings, 
and loo cents has always been paid for every dollar 
offered in premiums. The business men of Ithaca 
have devoted much time and money to this society 
and their successful efforts thus far have done a 
great work in the agricultural, horticultural and 
stock-breeding interests of this county. The display 
of farm products and stock equals that of any county 
in Northern Michigan, and the resident farmers are 
now fully alive to the imixjrtance of producing only 
the best of everything. Their grounds have been 
enlarged by securing a number of acres, by a long 
lease, from the Jeffrey estate, and the buildings, 
track and grounds will be still further improved 
until no interior county can boast of better facilities 
.han will the Agricultural Society of Gratiot. 

The first fair was held inside the village limits in 
1866. 

Among the gentlemen who have contributed most 
largely in making this association a success, we 
might mention : Gen. Nathan Church, Wilbur Nel- 
son, Judge Wm. E. Winton, Hon. Chas. E. Webster, 
Geo. W. Clark, Silas Moody, W. W. Comstock. 
Many others might be named, but these were the 
men who put their time and money into tiie work, 
and they deserve a substantial recognition by the 
public. 

The Gratiot County poor-farm is valued at $7,000. 

The iX)or-house is located in the township of New- 
ark, one and one-fourth miles from Ithaca. It con- 
sists of a main building 22 X50 feet, two stories high, 
containing 16 rooms, — 11 bed-rooms, two sitting- 
rooms, one dining-room, one bath-room and one 
room for the insane. There is also a wing, 28 .x 30 



(5^ 



feet, containing two sitting-rooms, one kitchen, one 
pantry, and six bed-rooms, used for the females. 
The barns and out-houses are all in good condition. 
For bathing purjwses there is one small room, where 
tubs are used. The building is warmed by stoves, 
and ventilated by doors and windows. The paupers 
are well treated. Food consists of bread, butter, 
meat and vegetables, with coffee or tea twice a day. 
Meals are served three times a day except on Sun- 
days. The clothing is very good and warm, mostly 
woolen. The sick have good medical attendance, 
which is furnished by the superintendents. The 
nursing is done by the keeper. Have no accommo- 
dation for the insane and idiotic, except one room 
for the violently insane. All are sent to the asylum 
that they will receive. Have no children to educate. 
All that are old enough are sent to the State Public 
School. They let the keeping of the paupers to the 
lowest resiX)nsible bidder. In 1883, $900 was paid 
for keeping ten paupers, the keeper having the pau- 
pers' labor and the use of the farm, arid furnishing 
all help, food, clothing, and nursing for the sick. 
When the number exceeds ten, the keeper is to 
receive S'-5° pc week for each and every such 
excess, and to deduct from said $900, §1.50 per week 
for all under the stated number. The medical 
attendance is furnished by the superintendents. 

The average number of paupers is 2oJ^ persons, 
although the present number exceeds that amount. 
Gratiot takes good care of her iX)or, and the reiwrts 
of the Superintendents of the Poor for 1883 show 
the expenditure of $5,791.10 for tiieir relief, of which 
$2,166.06 was paid for temix)rary relief of persons 
not inmates of the county poor house. Wm. Marlow, 
Parmer R. Phillips, M. W. Martin, Superintendents. 



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Abbott, Frank 37© 

Abbott, George W 347 

Acklcs, T. D 432 

Ackmoody, Benj, D 372 

Adams, Emery 581 

Adams, Jobn 23 

Adams, John B 355 

Adams, John Quincy 39 

Aldrich, George W 389 

Allen, James B 444 

Allen , Parks 264 

Allen, P. P 198 

Alpaugh, Wm 208 

AUcnburg, n. W 284 

Althoiise, C. W 45* 

Ambler, S. W 303 

Amsbury, Scely 328 

Anderson, Wm 673 

Andrus, George B 260 

Anscll, A. B 235 

Angell, H. B 403 

Argent, Thomas : 382 

Arthur, Chester A 99 

AxtelUC. H 669 

B 

Bagley, John J 157 

Bailey, David 379 

Bailey, Henry H 718 

Baker, Warren W 542 

Baldwin, Henry P 153 

Bancroft Marcus 536 

Bangs, J. H 254 

Barber A. S 498 

Barden, Joseph 416 

Barnaby, Alvin P 243 

Barnhart. Charles K 674 

Barrow, Albert C 378 

Barrus. R. T 388 

Barry, John S 113 

Barstow, A. K 412 

Bar%tow,Wm. M 455 

Barton , (icorgc U .... 400 

Barton, Wm 4M 

Bates, James 518 

Baxter, Mrs. Clarissa .548 

Bay Icy, Charles W 205 

Beard, Klijah 361 

Beckwith, Wm. C 346 

Begolc, Josiah W i6(| 









g)5«§^(|« 



Bcll,G.S 682 

Benson, Benj. F 237 

Bentlcy, Henry J 289 

Blgelow,S 283 

Bingham, Kinsley S 138 

Bittncr, Robert J 436 

Blackman, Lorenzo 390 

Blair, Austin 145 

Bcdfish, Henry 305 

Bosserman, M . J 347 

Bostwick, C. V 563 

Botsford, John F 204 

Botsford, Reuben 484 

Boycr, Frederick 340 

Boyer, Nathan 436 

Boyle, Stephen M 654 

Bradley, Almeron 374 

Bradley, Napoleon 401 

Bradley, Wm. A 345 

Brady, James G 393 

Brauher, John 245 

Brewer, Patrick 195 

Bricc, Wm 598 

Broadhsad, John 324 

Brodebeck, J , 400 

Brooke, A. J 275 

Brooks, O. C 598 

Brower, Wm. H 543 

Brown, A. C 615 

Brown, C. M 604 

Brown, Giles T 723 

Brown, W. F 324 

Brown, W, H 402 

Bryant, C. D 416 

Buchanan, James 75 

Buck, James 522 

Burgess, E. W 475 

Burgess, Geo. B 769 

Burgess, Hiram.... 458 

Burgess, Wm 278 

Burnett. Alfred 443 

Burnham, Jacob 582 

Burns, Homer 350 

Burns, John. . 357 

Burton, Benj 288 

Biisscll, Joseph 370 

Butcher, George J ..212 

Butler, Charles 442 

c 

Call, Andrew 235 

Cameron, Duncau 4>4 

Carlin, Martin 57^ 

Carr, Wm. J 615 



•^^f^ — @7K^ 



Cassada, James A 560 

Cassada, Lyman T 652 

Caslcel, Jesse 4" 

Ceascr, Levi 536 

ChafTin, Charles M 242 

Chambers, Daniel 381 

Chandler, George 289 

Chapln, Dc Witt C S9» 

Chapin, Mrs. Edna F 591 

Chapin, Frank W 591 

Chase, E. A 437 

Cheesman, Dr. J. R 613 

Christman, John 559 

Church, .-Vvolin 188 

Church, Lafayette 661 

Church, Nathan 177 

Clark, G.W 567 

Clark, James L 575 

Clark, John O 646 

Clark, L.C 421 

Clark, Thomas J 337 

Cole, Isreal 654 

Coleman, Geo. J 646 

Coleman, I. N 244 

Comstock, Wm. W 397 

Cook, E. C 221 

Corey, Francis J 207 

Coss, Fred. I 218 

Courier, David F 460 

Courter, Jon.^than 438 

Courier, Wm. J 205 

Coventry, Wm. H 615 

Covert, D. F 348 

Cowdrcy, In man N 320 

Cramer, Harlow 415 

Crsmcr.M.W 452 

Crapo, Henry H 149 

Crcascr, P. W 698 

Creaser.T.W. B 318 

Crcascr, Wm 188 

Creech. Edward 4'o 

Crippin L D 243 

Crispcl, Mrs. M. L 329 

Cronkhite, Corydon 225 

Crooks, tieorgc 298 

Crosby, Emery 391 

Croswell, Charles M 161 

Cuff. Daniel O 667 

Culy, Thomas 4*5 

Culy, Wm 557 

Curtis, .Mien 341 

Curtis, Elijah 47«> 



Curtiss, Albro 266 

Curtiss, Wm. M 286 

D 

Dancer, Jer 268 

Daniels, T. O 568 

Danly, Roswell 300 

Darragh, A. B 191 

Davidson, J. B 204 

Davidson , J M 265 

Davis, Milton H 306 

Dawes,G. W 457 

Day, Salah J 411 

Dean, E. V 280 

Dean, Luther J 222 

Decker, C- E 702 

Densmore, John E 491 

Delavan, Henry A 505 

Deline, C. A 339 

DeMay. Dr. J. H 500 

Derry, 'I'homas. 260 

Dickinson, Wm. I) 506 

Doane,J. W 380 

Dolwon, Adncy H 35a 

Dodge, Finley 644 

DodgeJ. H 473 

Doud, George O 557 

Downs, Edward 304 

Drake, E. 1 544 

Diibois, E. N 318 

Durkee, John H 267 

E 

Earl, Jephthah 328 

Edgar, .Stewart 248 

Elliott, David 474 

Ellison, B. B 329 

Ellison, B. W 6S2 

Ellswortth, I. H 34* 

Ely, K.W 5^2 

Ely, Gen. Ralph 6(>6 

E|y,T. A 3^8 

Evcrden, J. M 197 

Everest, Wm. S 350 

Evitts, H. S 364 

F 

Farrington , E . C yxj 

FcdcrspicI, John A 4 i8 

Felch, Alphcus .117 

Fillmore, Millard ft? 

Finch, Alfred 704 



1 

•i 



i> 



Ar^ 



^^Nf5>^i 




^^^ 



INDEX. 



4^^§^ 



<) 



<^. 






(f> 



•;;• 



Finney, Thcron 213 

Fitzgerald, W. J 247 

Fleming, Charles L 356 

Fleming, Delon 42' 

Fleming, Robert F 34* 

Flcwelling, Rev. F. T 558 

Foote, Charles C 629 

Foote, James L 599 

Foster, Richard 287 

Fox, Bernard 443 

Fraker, Addison G 198 

Fraker, Napoleon B 299 

Fraker, Wm. W 5'8 

Franklin, Elbridge 387 

Franklin, Thomas 6'9 

Franklin, Wm 347 

Franks, C. A 402 

Franks, George S 702 

French, Hiram W 423 

Fritz, Philip 583 

Fry, David 506 

Fry, James 640 

Fuller, L. J 290 

Fullerton, J. W 3*4 

Fyler, Roman 503 



Galehouse, Homer 257 

Gallagher, Thomas 463 

Gardner, C. M 449 

Garfield, James A 95 

Gargett, James 635 

Gargett, Wm J 603 

Gee, George E 597 

Gee, Isaac 687 

Giddings, C. W 620 

Giddings, H B 356 

Gidlcy, Jonathan 236 

Gilken, Frank 3<i8 

Gllktt, A.C 503 

Gillis, R, A 681 

Gilmore. C. C 214 

Gladson, Robert 260 

Glover, John M 630 

Goodhall, F.. A 238 

Goodrich, Egberlson 603 

Gordon, Samiiel 464 

Gower, l>aniel 218 

Graham, E'lward 274 

Graham, Walter 355 

Granger, T. M 310 

Grant, Ulysses S 87 

Gray, Simeon 295 

Greeley, James 351 

Greenly, Wm. L 131 

Greer, Joseph 677 

Griffeth, Daniel 273 

Griffith, Charles 714 

Griffith, James, 216 

Grill, Martin 278 

Gross, Alfred H 278 

Grovcr, Charles 371 

Grovcr, Henry 228 

Grover, Joseph 547 

Grover, Thomas 976 

Gulick, T. J 531 

Guthrie, Joseph A 196 

Gwinner, Adam 391 



H 

Hall, n. G 674 

Hall, Gilbert E 684 

Hall, J. T 181 

Hamilton, Dr. John ... 335 

Hamlin, F. H 491 

Haring, Hiram 488 

Harlock, Joseph 567 

Hariiioi), C. S 196 

Harrison, John 318 

Harrison Steward 500 

Harrison, Wm. H 51 

Harrod, Thomas H 367 

Hasbrook, Edwin 558 

Hastings, S. S 506 

Hatfield, A. J 227 

Hatfield, Isaiah 304 

Hatise, Israel W 208 

Hay lies, Hiram \V 341 

Hayes, Herbert N 674 

Hayes, Rutherford H Qi 

Hayes, William 368 

Hearn, George W 346 

Hendershott, James M 379 

Henry, A. C 504 

Henry, James 253 

Henry, John F 337 

Heverlo, S. R 528 

Hicks, Hyron A.... 316 

Hicks, Charles W 444 

Hicks, S. D 604 

Higbie. N. L., M. D 216 

Hill, Silas 214 

Hodges, Alvin 535 

Hoffman, Peter 317 

Holcomb, H. I, 456 

HoUiday, Charles R 714 

Holmes, Alfred 608 

Holton, Joseph E 306 

Homisler, Frederick 265 

Hood, Lewis .543 

Hopkinson, Edwin 276 

Hoskins, Edwin .S 458 

Howd, Charles H 701 

Howd, James W 532 

Howe, Simeon A 706 

Howell , M ichael S 559 

Hoxie, T. J 658 

Hoyt, Valmore 397 

Hughes, Richard 564 

Hunter, IJriicc 258 

Hyatt, Houglass 532 

I 

Ingalsbc, 1' 464 

Isenliath, Wm 328 

J 

Jackson, Andrew 43 

Jackson, John .315 

Jackson, O. F 568 

Jackson, Wm. J 373 

J ason , I saac 488 

Jefferson, Thomas 27 

Jeffrey, John •• -323 

Jenkins, Wm. C 390 

Jenne, James K 498 

Jcnnitigs, V . V. 342 



Jennings, Geo. W 340 

Jerome, David H ■ ■ .165 

Jessup, Abram M 450 

Jessup, John H 309 

Johnson, Andrew 83 

Johnson, D. C 419 

Johnson, George 339 

Johnson, J. V 639 

Johnson, T. A .293 

Johnson, W. 289 

Johnston, Alex 352 

Jolly, .\ndrew S 315 

Joslin, Nicholas 668 

K 

Ktdley, Edward Y 214 

Kellogg, E. W 449 

Kelly, F. S 306 

Kelso, Henry 492 

Kemp, George L 583 

Kemp, Hon. J. M 412 

Kemp, J. W 470 

Kennedy, Dr. .Stiles 429 

Kidder, Martin 393 

Kimmcl, Enos H 287 

Kingman, Jason 483 

Kinney, A. P 521 

Kinsel, Henry W 298 

Kipp, John 670 

Kipp, Wm 267 

Kirby, A. E , 584 

Kline, John 677 

Knapp, T. L 267 

Knowles, James 348 

Kress, lames 688 

Krom, Wm A 295 

Kryder, C. C 328 

Kyes, L. W 320 



Lake, Edward 187 

Lamb, Nehcmiah 483 

Lance, James S 294 

Lanshaw, John 362 

Lathrop, F. R ... 317 

Lathrop, W. B 572 

Laycock W. H 624 

Leckenby, E. 67S 

Leonard, Levi 437 

I.cplcy, Samuel 341 

Letts, Wm. D 217 

I^w is, Jacob 388 

Lewis, John 181 

Lewis, John W 377 

Lcwi», M . M 400 

Lincoln, Abraham 79 

Lule,Wm. L 476 

Little, George 254 

Longwell, L. R 608 

Loomis, Ebcr 455 

Loomis, Lewis B 628 

Loveland, S. H 369 

Lovell, Joseph 1 669 

Lowry, A. H 363 

Lumsdcn, John O . 528 

I ,yon , E . W 643 

M 

Madison. James 31 

Mallory, John H 461 



Mandeville, John D 499 

Manccke, Frank 206 

Marshall, Geo. W 258 

Marshall, W. J 182 

Martin, H M 691 

Martin, Wm 217 

Marvin, Dr. C. W 571 

Mason, Stevens T 105 

Maurer, A. H 242 

Maxam, R. W 256 

Maxwell, R. D 3:4 

McClelland, James 431 

McClelland, Robert 129 

McCuaig, Alex 624 

McCnaig, John 319 

McCutchean, S 644 

McDaid, Alex 43^ 

McGregor, James . 600 

McHenry.G.W 560 

McKee, J. M 308 

McNall, J. H 542 

McNamara, Michael 576 

McOnrber, Wm. A 616 

Meacham, E 215 

Medlcr, John 384 

Mcy, Julius 374 

Miller, Franklin 308 

Miller, Jacob H 536 

Miller, Lewis B 526 

Miller, Ludwick D 572 

Miller, W. J 319 

Mills, D. C 394 

Moench, Henretch 3»7 

Monroe, James 35 

Montague, I. W 522 

Montigel, Ferd 435 

Montigcl John M 532 

Montigel, Martin, 368 

Moody, Silas 36' 

Moore, Wm. A 437 

Morrison, Wm. H 225 

Morse, Hon. C H 201 

Morse, Oscar 487 

.Moulton, C R 3S' 

Mouser, John W 398 

Muffly, David 215 

Muffly, J. J 259 

Mulholland, J 288 

Mull. John 224 

Murdock, F. E 359 

Muscott, I>. F 248 

Myer, Peter 3**7 

Myers, Benj. F 7*3 

Myers, H. W 227 

N 

Naldrett, Geo. S 422 

Naldrett, W. J 336 

Nelson, Francis 695 

Nelson, James A 646 

Nelson, Rev. Theodore 717 

Nelson, Wilbur 705 

Netzorg, Woolf 470 

Newton, Geo. H 564 

Newton, Samuel 588 

Newton, T- T »86 

Nichols, G. G 313 

Nichols, S L 327 

Noble, J. T 359 

Noll, George agS 




^ 



A 






V 




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i^v^ 



;')€^^-» 



■5Bi€^^c — ^T<^^Illl^:ilD^> 






i 

1 

I 



o 

Oberlin. Allen 2^7 

O'Hjira. Hr. J. W 678 

Older, Rev. George 359 

Oliver, George H 213 

Otto, James 591 

Ottos John W •40-4 

Ovcndcn, Sampson 409 



Paddock, James 535 

Palmer. Wm.W 254 

Parker, John S 195 

Parkinson, Jehu E 349 

Parsons, Andrew , 133 

Parlcllo, \V. P 324 

Pasingcr, John A 247 

Pattcngill.H. R 467 

Payne, David H 297 

Payne. James L 576 

Payne. T. R 1S5 

Pcct. K. P 541 

Pcct. Rolla A 313 

PcndclI.Wm J 404 

Pepple, Jesse 264 

Perrinc. R. D 628 

Pcttii, Perry D 332 

Phillips, P. R 497 

Pierce, Franklin 71 

Picrsnn, Atbcrt 310 

Pitt, Wm. T 432 

Polk, James K . ..^ 5q 

Pollasky. Marcus 547 

Pollasky, Max E 373 

Pollasky, M ichael 283 

Pool, John 335 

Porer, G. B 476 

Porter, T. A 336 

Pressley, Timothy 662 

Price, George W 600 

Price, John 423 

Prichard, S. H 482 

Pritchard, Hamilton 640 

Proctor, Charles C 276 

Pulfrcy, George w 426 

Q 

Quick, George S 367 

Quick, Gustavtis 46S 






m^ 



Randall, L. H a66 

Randolph, C. S 441 

Randolph, Sihift 413 

Ransom, F.paphroditus 152 

Ray, Benjamin 432 

Ray craft. Thomas 404 

Read, Henry 592 

Reed, R.R 462 

Rcichard. David 216 

Reid, Darius 424 

Rcmalcy, pamcs 228 



INDEX. 



S19 



Retan, Henry K 207 

Reynolds, Millet 337 

Rice, A. T 207 

Rice, Freeman H 325 

Richard, John, L 179 

Richard, John, Sr 309 

Richards, Althouse&Co 451 

Richards, J. C 45' 

Richardson, George 315 

Richmond, Truman 383 

Riddle, James 285 

Ring. Marcus 371 

Roberts, Homer 298 

Robinson, H. N 378 

Robinson, S. C 401 

Rockafcllow, George 584 

Rogers, wm, N 197 

Roop, Darius 314 

Rounds, David C 238 

Runyan, Esther A 381 

Ruppert, George M 450 

Ruppert, John P 309 

Russell, A. W 469 



Salisbury. J. W 688 

Samson, C. K 314 

Sawyer, Byron H 319 

Scattergood, A. B 356 

Scattcrgood, Joshua 358 

Scattergood, W. B 684 

Schaub, Jacob 255 

Schmidt. John. J r 391 

Schneider, H. F. P 345 

Schwartz, John F 619 

Scott, S. M 2»2 

Scott, Dr. W. D ..627 

Scudder, Joseph 265 

Scaver, J. H 651 

Segward. F. R 299 

Seifricd. William 325 

Sessions, Sidney 653 

Sexton, Alba 378 

Sexton, Frank A 374 

Shaver, Jerry 270 

Shaw, A. M 392 

Shaw, Elias 6S3 

Shaw, Henry A 245 

Shaw, John C 394 

Shaw, John F 393 

Sheffield, K. A 526 

Shelicr, Samuel 525 

Sheridan, Patrick 425 

Shoup, A 286 

Sias, John A 349 

Sibley, Wm. H 186 

Sickcls, J . C 257 

Sickcis, William 2H 

Sidcl, Joseph 597 

Simmon, Henry 280 

Sinclair, John I, 360 

Skinner, G. W 369 

Slaughter, C. R 225 

Sloan, Aaron 374 

Sly, Seneca 223 

Smith, Albert 294 

Smith, Elias W 711 

Smith, Frank 393 



Smith, George 224 

Smith, G. C 414 

Smith, (iordis 273 

Smith, Henry 653 

Smith, Horton 346 

Smith, John W 238 

Smith, John W 32a 

Smith, I.. ! 683 

Smith, M. V 537 

Smith, Newel 222 

Smith, Robert 185 

Smith. S. C 629 

Smith, Wm 426 

Snyder, Jacob W 336 

Sony No 305 

Sower, Elias, M. D 263 

Speer, Horace 258 

Sprague, Orin J ai8 

Sprague, S. T 389 

Spurgeon, William 384 

Squire, Franklin 461 

Squire, l-orenzo 415 

Srodcs.Jchn >... .41J 

Standish, Milo 456 

Stanton, Aaron 339 

Siebbins. W.L 548 

Steele, George H 388 

Stevens, Moses 330 

Stites. Luther M 274 

Still. Henry 512 

Stoddard, David D 228 

Stone, George E 392 

Sconebrook, William 277 

Story, Samuel 722 

Siutt2. James A 435 

Sullivan, D. R 473 

Siiiphiu, I.. M 340 

Suydam, M . B 504 

Sweailand, L 423 

Sweet, John 247 

Swift, Henry 413 

Swigart, John T 563 

Swope, Barney fi^? 



Tann, Thomas T 398 

Taylor, Horace S 259 

Taylor, Zachary 63 

Teed, Seymour S 352 

Thomas, Jnhn 457 

Thompson. Sidney 357 

Thompson. Wm. F 442 

Town, I.. H 487 

Towner, Wm 275 

Townsend, Almon 180 

'I'ownsend, .Andrew 553 

Townsend, Hiram 305 

Townsend, Homer 1 607 

Townsend, Wm. S 474 

'I'rapp, Jesse 613 

I'rask, John M 410 

Travis, E.H 358 

Travcr, E. G 187 

Treat. L. H 46a 

Tucker, W. D 587 

Turck, Hon. Wm.S 657 

Turner, James 368 



Tyler, John 55 

Tyler, Moses G 371 

u 

Udell, M.H 506 

Utter, F. M 356 

V 

Val lance, James D 517 

Van Buren, Martin 47 

Van Leuven, David 451 

Van I.euvcn, Lucius L 484 

Vincent, N. D 381 

Vlicl. J. B 403 

\V 



VValhridpc, K. 1 670 

Walker, Mrs. C. A 377 

Walker, George E 698 

Walker, John M 326 

Walker, Nathaniel 424 

Ward, A. 1 235 

Ward, I. B ,86 

Washington, Cleorge 19 

Watson, W.O 336 

Webster, Charles E 499 

Webster, Charles H 213 

Wells, Norman H 329 

Wer ninth, U 244 

Westell haver, C 500 

Westfall. Charles 433 

Wheeler, A . M 553 

Wheeler, A. R 645 

Wheeler, J. B 488 

Wheeler, Samuel 341 

Wheeler, Sylvester 390 

Wheeler, W. H 308 

White, E.R 360 

White, I.. i; 543 

White, Moses H 383 

Whitman, (jcorgc 396 

Whitman, J. V 517 

Wiaht, A. L 25s 

Wit;ht, Sheldon 336 

Wijiht, Wm. R 608 

Wilbur, John I* 713 

Wiles, Daniel 644 

Wiles, Joseph, Jr 643 

Wiley, A. M 493 

Wiley, E. E 383 

Witlert, Adolphns 335 

Willett.C.J 468 

Winton, Win. E 331 

Wiseman, Henry 430 

Wisner, Moses 141 

Wolfe,!. H-- 544 

Wolfe, John W 599 

W<>lford,Mrs. Ellen M 531 

Wolf..rd,J.>bC 317 

Wolford, I-ewis B 305 

Wolford,Mrs. L. R 346 

Wood, A. A 48' 

Wood, James 531 

Wood, James M 583 



\k 



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INDEX. 



Wood, Micajah 403 

Woodbridgc, Wm 109 

Woodmansee, Eli 608 

Woodward, Bert 237 

Woolcy, Isaac 223 

Wooley,Wm.C 3o6 

Woolcy, Win. W 270 



Worthing, Harlow 296 

Wright, A.F 551 

Wright, A. W 721 

Wright, Charles R 361 

Wright, UaiiisE 44^ 

Wright, James K 623 

Wright, John S 527 



Wright, Joseph 390 

Wright, Win 372 

Y 

Verington, Alinon 399 




Ycrington, George H 



/^iinnii-Tinan, (I. W 243 



V 




On 



(5 



^ 

v 

$) 



Adams, Emery 578 

Adams. Mrs. Maria 579 

Adams, J. B 354 

Adams, John 22 

Adams, John Quincy 38 

Ambler, S. W 302 

Anderson, William 672 

Arthur, Chester A 98 

Hagley. John J iS** 

Baldwin, Henry P 152 

Barry, John S 112 

Barstow, Wm. M 454 

Bcgole, Josiah w 168 

Bingham, Kinsley S 136 

Blair, Austin 144 

Brown, Giles T 724 

Brown, Mrs. Sara L 723 

Bnchanan, James 74 

Chapin, I>. W. C 59° 

Chccsman,Ur. J. R 6»i 

Cheesman, Mrs. Ellen E 610 

Church , Lafayette 660 

Church, Nathan >76 

Clark, G.W 666 

Clark, James 1 574 

Cook, E. C 220 

Crapo, Henry H 148 

Croswell, Charles M 160 

Cuff, Daniel O 664 

Cuflf, Mrs. Daniel O 665 

Culy , William 554 

Culy, Mrs. Eliza 555 

Darragh, A. B 19c 

Dcnsmorc, JohnE 49° 

Fclch, Alphcus 116 

Fillmore, Millard 66 

Franklin. Elbridgc 386 



Kyler, Roman 502 

Garfield, JamcS A 94 

Gargett, James 632 

Gargftt, Mrs. Louisa 633 

Gee, (ieorgeE 594 

Gee, Mrs. R. A 595 

Gee, Isaac 686 

Gillis, R, A 680 

Goodrich, Egbcrtson 6ca 

Grant, Ulysses S 86 

Greenly, William 1 120 

Greer, Joseph 676 

Griffeth. Daniel 272 

(iross, A. H 276 

Gross, Mrs. A. H 277 

Harrison, Wm. H 50 

Harrod, Thomas H 364 

Harrod, Jane E 365 

H.^slings, Sidney S 508 

Hayes, Rutherford B 90 

Henry, James 250 

Henry, Mrs. James 251 

Hodges, Alvin 534 

Howd, Chas. H 700 

Hoyl,Valmore 396 

Jackson, .A,ndrew 42 

Jefferson, Thomas 26 

Jeffrey, John 322 

Jerome, David H 164 

Johnson, Andrew 82 

Johnson, D. C 4»7 

Johnson, Mrs. Helen M 416 

Johnson, J. V 638 

Johnson, T. A 292 

Kellogg, E. W 446 

Kellogg, Mrs. Adaline L. . ..447 
Kennedy, Dr. Stiles 428 



Kinney, A. P 520 

Lewis, J. W 376 

Lincoln, Abraham 78 

Lyon, E. W. . 642 

Madison James 30 

Marvin, Dr. C. W 570 

Martin, H. M 690 

Mason, Stevens T 104 

McClelland, Robert 128 

Monroe, James 34 

Morse, Chas. H 198 

Morse, Mrs. Chas. H 199 

Naldrctt, Geo. S 422 

Naldrett, Mrs. Gc'o- S 423 

Nelson, Francis 694 

Nelson, Theodore . . .* 716 

Nelson, Wilbur 704 

Ovcnden, Sampson ,406 

Gvenden, Mrs- Jane M 407 

Paddock, James 524 

Parsons, Andrew 132 

Paticni;lll, H. R 466 

Payne, .Arnold 296 

Peet, K.P 538 

Peet. Mrs. Lydia A 539 

Pcct, Rolla A 310 

Peet, Mrs. Mary A 311 

Phillips. P. R 494 

Phillips, Mrs. Louisa M 495 

Pierce, Franklin 70 

Polk, James K 58 

I'oUasky, Michael 282 

Hollasky, Marcus 546 

Pool, John 333 

Pool, Mrs. Lucy 332 

Ransom, Epaphroditus 124 

Schneider, H. F. P 344 



i®K®))«^^— 



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Schwartz, John F 618 

Scott. Dr. W. I) 626 

Seaver, J . H 649 

Seaver, Mrs. Louisa 648 

Sickels, William 210 

Sickets, Isabel B an 

Smith, Elias W 709 

Smith, Mrs. Martha A 708 

Smith, Robert 184 

Sower, Elias 262 

Squire, Franklin 460 

Stuttz, James A 434 

Sullivan, I). R 472 

Swigart, John T 569 

Taylor, Zachary 63 

Town, L. H 486 

Townsend, H. 1 606 

Tucker. Willard D 586 

Turck, Wm. S 656 

Tyler, John 54 

Van Buren, Martin 46 

Washington, George i3 

Wheeler, Samuel 240 

Whitman, J. P 5»-5 

Wliitman, Mrs. Kate A 5H 

Winton,Wm. E ..230 

Winton, Mrs. Wm. E 331 

Wisncr, Moses , 140 

Wood, A. A 279 

Wood, Mrs. Mary J 278 

Wood, James 530 

Woodbridge, William 108 

Wright, A. F 550 

Wright, A. W 720 

Wright, Datus E 4^0 

Wright, James K 63a 



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INTRODUCTORY 

Value of Local History 
FIRST THINGS 
INDIAN HISTORY 
TOWNSHIP HISTORY 

Fulton 

North Star 

Hamilton 
Sickels 

Bethany 

Sevills 

Arcada 

New Haven 

Pine River 

North Shade 

Washington 

VV'heeler 

Newark 

Sumner 

Lafayette 

Elba 

Emerson 
PIONEER LIl-E 
POLITICAL 






727 

729 
733 
735 

735 
737 
738 
739 
739 
740 

741 
743 
744 
746 
748 

749 
749 
75^ 
75' 
752 
754 

755 
766 



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County Officers 77 1 
PIONEER SOCIETY 772 
FOR THE UNION 773 
RAILROADS 776 
L., St. J. & M. 776 
C, S. & C. 776 
O. & N. W. 778 
S. V. & St. L. 778 
L.,A., Ml. P. & N. 780 
ITHACA 780 
Village Incorporated 781 
Business Interests 781 
Educational 783 
County Buildings 784 
Cemetery 784 
Itliaca Township 784 
Church History 7S4 
Doctrine of t!ie Seventh- 
Day Adventists 786 
Societies 791 
Ladies' Library Associa- 
tion 792 
.ST. LOUIS 793 
Hotels 795 





.Societies 796 

Business 797 

Churches 798 

Fire Department 800 

Public Schools 801 

Banks 801 

Miscellaneous 801 

ALMA 804 

Business Interests 808 

Fire Department 809 

Churches 809 

Secret Societies 810 

THE PRESS 811 

Gratiot Journal 811 



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GraliotC"ouniy Democrat 812 ( 

Ithaca Times 812 

St. Louis Leader 81 2 

St. Louis Herald 812 

Alma Record 813 

MKSCELLANEOUS 813 

Lumbering Interests 813 

Valuation of Property 814 

Educational 814 

Agricultural Society 814 



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