if;a i;r Pi Yf "e;~ "i "' k -~" ' —W i D I -~ w:~ i;rR AP::,p--P;,P::i:i "":_g;p3 _.ti ~~~i~~~;- i~ rR 1~ ~L:: ~.~i ~I, j:9 t:i B " r *i ,x ,:-e 'ICni ---";-~n Ire t.* Z1.' 181111s 1 sFpRp~l I NND 81 —..- - _0 CIC ) OF h = i. o-i f, el-e- la z '~" ^ ""- = i =; - - -F —, of Mta;5b ) "I 'A: r,:N, 1G pOI mAIAS AND ' IOGI APHIGAL S{EBTGHES pvonfltftff ^.of te dountl, A~~ ~ ~ " ' 'ilj S L^ OGE)( THER' Il 7'If PORTRAITS ANiDv B 'OGRAP~I?:1E,, jIF ALL T7'IE GO V(ERNORS OF MICHIGA A. AND OF THE PRES/I)EN'TV (9 TH'E UNITED STATES. ALSO CONTAINING A COMPLETE HIST'ORY OFP THE COUNTY, FROM ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME. CHICAGO: C11AP MAN. B ROTH rERS. 1884. 1)/, f tiI~'tj/,C 'tt - *~1A\fntheir 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 historical matter without delay, before the settlers of the wilderness are cut down by time. Not only T A is it of the greatest importance to render history of pioneer times full and accurate, but it is also essential 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 the future. The present, the age of progress, is reviewed, standing out in bold relief over the quiet, unostentatious olden times; it is abrilliant record, which 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 them 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 representative 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 callings 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 all the leading men and pioneers of the county. We are under great obligation to many of the noble and generous people of Osceola County for kindly and material assistance in the preparation of this ALBUM. t CHAPMAN BROTHERS. CHICAGO, February, i885.; *>.~~ WATn CU9LFJ SP 4^^NGTOP IBARTY I1 I f]lI, I=t 3=a I iI *ESA rt I or; r -- I,: f ). I n. des *3*, v t v * s: q *1:!h? _"T$~-a u_,rir~~ J a' r r G Yiiiarurr*rrrerr I aasa ~ I'' d6 44.3 5 - ( 4 -i Y ( I I I, p~ - A^ ' I.: I z::1 -n ~5I FIRST PRESIDENT. I9 HE Father of our Country was Remarkable stories are told of his great physical born in Westmorland Co., Va., strength and development at an early age. He was eb. 22, 1732. His parents an acknowledged leader among his companions, and Augustine and Mar was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair(Ball) Washington The family ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. i; rtwere Augustine and Mary was early noted for that nobleness of character, fairto which he belonged has not When George was 4years oldhehad a desire to go to. 'X been satisfactorily traced in sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, ==.l 7 England. His great-grand- but through the opposition of his mother the idea was - i father, John Washington, em- abandoned. Two years later he was appointed ^ E igrated to Virginia about I657, surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In,7 and became a prosperous this business he spent three years in a rough frontier S:/ planter. He had two sons, life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very ( 1 1l Lawrence and John. The essential to him. In 175T, though only 19 years of (' former married Mildred Warner age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of and had three children, John, major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for Augustine and Mildred. Augus- active service against the French and Indians. Soon | tine, the father of George, first after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother married Jane Butler, who bore Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They him four children, two of whom, soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence _ Lawrence and Augustine, reached died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter v /^ maturity. Of six children by his who did not long survive him. On her demise the second marriage, George was the estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. ( eldest, the others being Betty, Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as LieutenSamuel, John Augustine, Charle- ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was and Mildred. reorganized, and the province divided into four miliAugustine Washington, the father of George, died tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on a very perilous mission was assigned him and acthe Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, cepted, which others had refused. This was to proand to George he left the parental residence. George ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in Northreceived only such education as the neighborhood western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed schools afforded, save for a short time after he left was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, school, when he received private instruction in and the journey was to be made without military mathematics. His spelling was rather defective, escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. The 2j~ajX-"-md.s , o GEORGE WA trip was a perilous one, and several times 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 command 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, I755, known as Braddock'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 ''X5? — +., 1,, k^.4-1l,- L....o.. * T L,' ~., l.ll,11^-, - ku..,,k 4SHING.TON.._._i ---- commission as commander-in-chief of the army to to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He retired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumed his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning all connection with public life. In February,1789, 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 of harmony between the different sections of our own country; trials from the impoverished condition of the country, owing to the war and want of credit; trials from the beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His -,1,-,.e,1;.,-,... -1.n -. 4;.....r t1..- ~ 1-.4.... -.-A. ik i a a OU 1115b UlULIC lli 1 ay. 11a U IuU UUIIn LIIIULbIIt1;isi:t JUUaILUIIlL eULU. UIIUCl LilU i UlUcll 111U tianll; an l my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped while perhaps this alone kept our government from unhurt, though death was leveling my companions sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken very annoying. direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit At the expiration of his first term he was unanihim. mously re-elected. At the end of this term many After having been five years in the military service, were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely ) and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, took advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the 1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presiexpulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there. to resign his commission. Soon after he entered the his few remaining years free from the annoyances of,4 l Legislature, where, although not a leader, he took an public life. Later in the year, however, his repose active and important part. January 17, 1759, he seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France. a. married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to Rs - widow of John Parke Custis. take command of the armies. He chose his sub-. W hen the British Parliament had closed the port ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- tz of Boston, the cry-went up throughout the provinces ters in the field, which he superintended from his that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." home. In accepting the command he made the It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- reservation that he was not to be in the field until gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations delphia,Sept. 5, I774, to secure their common liberties, his life was suddenly cut off. December T 2, he took peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling ington was sent as a delegate. On May IO, I775, the in his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eighi England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- teenth his body was borne with military honors to its cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the final resting place, and interred in the family vault at first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- Mount Vernon. mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and Of the character of Washington it is impossible to responsible office was conferred upon Washington, speak but in terms of the highest respect and adwho was still a member of the Congress. He accepted miration. The more we see of the operations of it on June I9, but upon the express condition that he our government, and the more deeply we feel the receive no salary. He would keep an exact account difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, of expenses and expect Congress to pay them and the more highly we must estimate the force of his talnothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to ent and character, which have been able to challenge trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the the reverence of all parties, and principles, and nafortunes and liberties of the people of this country tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits were so long confided. The war was conducted by of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will him under every possible disadvantage, and while his be as lasting as the existence of man. ': ( forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every The person of Washington was unusally tall, erect 0'i / obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion and well proportioned. His muscular strength was and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. ( nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in Hecommanded respect without any appearance of ' a parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his haughtiness, and ever serious without being dull. ins and —^^-iig)nij^ erse i a.f77 Z 1Q, "40 mA, 649A4vz ^^^))^^C O- e- - z11 AL Hi o h WS-A —,ti ' SECOND PkRSIDENt. 23 s I BeT a --- F*' < y >>>>> r<2K> t t Gi JOH1N ABAMS. @tg ^ R^^S^ ~S l OHNr-v1 ADAMS, the second tions he offered on the subject became very popular ^ pPresident1 and the first Vice- throughout the Province, and were adopted word for ^H 1( 1 2President of the United States, word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos^ ^S^ rwas born in Braintree (now ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous Quincy),Mass., and about ten and prominent advocatesof the popular cause, and mniles from Boston, Oct. 19, was chosen a member of the General Court (the LegII < 735. His great-grandfather, Henry lislature) in 1770. (/ ) Adams, emigrated from England Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates about i640, with a family of eight from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, 7 sons and settle at Braintree. The which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himself 4, ^M^ parents of John were John and by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad-, J Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His vocated the movement for independence against the C ( father was a farmer of limited |majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved V means, to which he added the bus- and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies w miness of shoemaking. He gave his should assume the duties of self-government. He - el)dest son, John, a classical educa- |was a prominent member of the committee of five 4. I 1 tion at Harvard College. John appointed June i, to prepare a declaration of indegraduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a on Adams devolved the task of battling it through "school of affliction," from which he endeavored to Congress in a three days debate. gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the On the day after the Declaration of Independence study of law. For this purpose he placed himself w y ~~was passed, while his soul was yet warm with the under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He glowof excited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife, X ^ had thought seriously of the clerical profession |which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated but seems to have been turned from this by what he prophecy. Yesterday, he says, the temd"the frightful egnsof ecclesiastical coun- by the spirit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the termed the fightfl engines of ecclesiastical u greatest question was decided that ever was debated cils of diabolical malice, and Calvaistic good nature n America; and greater, perhaps, never was or will of the operations of which he had been a witness in be decided among men. A resolution was passed his native town. He was well fitted for the legal without one dissenting colony, ' that these United profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being States are, and of right ought to be, free and indeready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep- pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of tive powers. He gradually gained practice, and in July, I776 will be a memorable epoch in the history powers.I6 Hared Abgrdail ly gaie prachtieo ad minise Juy.76 wil be a meoal pohi hhsoy 1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary 'i marriage, (I765), the attempt of Parliamentary taxa- festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty ( steps toward holding a town meeting, and the resolu- God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows ---— yZL^, pH^ - —, ~s@ --- r n n.;- --- 4-^ ~v 24 JOHN ADAMS. G)I.I *0 l4k I -PI lv i-: /, j (, /-' / k I m C I games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward for ever. You 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, I777, Mr. Adams was appointed a delegate to Frances 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 exposed him to great peril of capture by the British cruisers, who were seeking him. He left France June I7, 1779. In September of the same year he was again chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readiness 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 proposels. 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 excitement, toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed threw him into a fever. After suffering from a continued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he was advised to go to England to drink the waters of Bath. While in England, still drooping anddesponding, he received dispatches from his own government urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam 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, I785, 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 regarded him as a traitor. As England did not condescend to appoint a minister to the United States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accomplishing but little, he sought permission 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. Again at the second election of Washington as President, Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Washington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was elected President,though not without much opposition..Serving in this office four years,he was succeeded by Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. While 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. Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their power of self-government, and he utterly abhored the classof atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence originated the alienation between these distinguished men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organized, 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 strength 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 Independence, 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 " INDEPENDENCE FOREVER." When the day was ushered in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew what day it was? He replied, " yes; it is the glorious fourth of July-God bless it-God bless you all." In the course of the day he said, " It is a great and glorious day." The last words he uttered were, "Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, resigned his spirit into the hands of his God. The personal appearante and manners of Mr. Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, as his portrait manifests,was intellectual ard expressive, 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. "? )' 0;, _l-r I_ SC/ e;* i I iw -- VA Lf~ C W ^>f "I x)t -s — A Q —g" - -I- -~ I i 0 \ 1 iaalsztyn 2h'Z1?D PAESPDANZ. 27 t -=-r A'~ If M - 4 ~ 9A, lWT i r'-m 77 m AUc '" ~ 4 AM 'M; HOMAS JEFFERSON was i born April 2, 1743, at Shadwell, Albermarle county, Va. His parents were Peter and Jane (Randolph) Jefferson,.: 3the former a native of Wales, - and the latter born in Lon- xd( 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 ~ 1 most liberal education, hav1i 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 and splendor. Young 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 irreproachaable in his morals. It is strange, however, under such influences,that he was not ruined. In the second year of his college course, moved by some unexplained inward impulse, he discarded his horses, society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had previously given much time. He often devoted fifteen hours a day to hard study, allowing himself for exercise 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 philosophy 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 distinguished 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 I772 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very beautiful, 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, next 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 important committees, and was chairman of the one appointed for the drawing up of a declaration of independence. This committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 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 Congress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July 4, 1776. What must have been the feelings of that.x. XI)* *Fu K ~I h r ) I --; D~1z - 09 l"" u ", 28 THOMAS JEPFERSON. V —_ - i.. _ _i.,,.__. man-what the emotions that swelled his breast- sary of the Declaration of American Independence, who was charged with the preparation of that Dec- great preparations were made in every part of the r,, laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and America, was also to publish her to the world, free, the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity soverign and independent. It is one of the most re- of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer, ] markable papers ever written; and did no other effort and one of the few surviving signers of the Declaraof the mind of its author exist, that alone would be tion, to participate in their festivities. But an illsufficient to stamp his name with immortality. ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to had been continually increasing, compelled him to Patrick Henry, as Governor of Virginia. At one time decline the invitation. the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to On the second of July, the disease under which Monticello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef- state that his medical attendants, entertained no ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly (S < sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the next A: very good, was much injured by this excitement, and day, which was Monday, he asked of those around P in the summer of 1782 she died. him, the day of the month, and on being told it was Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish that Two years later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- he might be permitted to breathe the air of the fiftieth tentiary to France. Returning to the United States anniversary. His prayer was heard-that day, whose in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed forJan. J, I794. In I797, he was chosen Vice Presi- ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble ( dent, and four years later was elected President over life! To die on that day, —the birthday of a nation, — Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In the day which his own name and his own act had I804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and = and George Clinton, Vice President. festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, - The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, ay tion was disturbed by an event which threatened the was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. = tranquility and peace of the Union; this was the con- A a spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election veeae Adam, if t b to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled company, left the scene of his earthly honors. ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of military expedition into the Spanish territories on our f h i freedom; hand in hand, during the dark and despersouthwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and a new republic. This has been generally supposeded their desponding countrymen; for half a was a mere pretext; and although it has not been cnt they a labored together for e good of generally known what his real plans were, there is no the cun d in han they depart doubt that they were of a fr more dangerous In their lives they had been united in the same great character. cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for divided. which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined In prson Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather r to retire from political life. For a period of nearly ovesix feet in height, but well formed; his eyes above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes forty years, he had been continually before the pub- oginally red, in after life became ' * a s of were light, his hair originally red, in after life became, and all that time had been employed offices of hite and silvery; his complexion was fair, his forethe greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de- head broad and his whole countenance intelligent and voted the best part of his life to the service of his thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his pe alcouge d is o d of ten declining years required, and upon the organization of as sa a a his oldeand ate e *w a Mrc 1, h b fr per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends the new administration in March, he b fare- never recollected to have seen him in a passion. well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello. His manners, though dignified, were simple and unMr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that? families came in their coaches with their horses,- all found at his house a ready welcome. In converfathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic; and (? nurses,-and remained three and even six months. his language was remarkably pure and correct. He X Life at Monticello, for years, resembled that at a was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is ~, fashionable watering-place. discernable the care with which he formed his style —. The fourth of Julv, I826, being the fiftieth anniver- upon the best models of anticuitv. A a ---- -- j -— j 7 - - - -7 7 - C -- - - --- -- -- - --- - ------ - --— I-. A!r~a~r~j";r.j V~ 0 H H- -.*-17~ 1 1 I I,; -,excellent-( 0-1 yi FOURTH PRESIDErNT. 31 SI11rES flhJDISOP - I i\ AA T-t~ a \'/r A TS\T /"~InT H A,,.. _1. 11...:,-.. ~.. 1_ a9'$ * 7 C A lVJ3 JiVlkLj V VI5UliOVN, -_ alcu l'J 1Ta of the Constitution," and fourth President of the United States, was born March i6, I757, and died at his home in Virginia,! June 28, I836. The name of E'/~' James Madison is inseparably con' QSII nected with most of the important lQJ. events in that heroic period of our e -[~\[ country during which the founda5[0 tions of this great republic were J laid. 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, landing upon the shores of the Chesapeake but I5 years after the settlement of Jamestown. The father of James Madison was an opulent planter, residing upon a very fine estate called " Montpelier," Orange Co., Va. The mansion was situated in the midst of scenery highly picturesque and romantic, on the west side of South-west Mountain, at the foot of Blue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and political attachment existed between these illustrious men, from their early youth until death. prucent zeal; allowing nimselI, tor montns, 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 I77, with a feeble body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsequent 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 associated, all combined to inspire him with a strong love of liberty, and to train him for his life-work 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 attention to theological studies. Endowed with a mind singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with almost unequalled 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-loving 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 Council; and their appreciation of his I1 14: A i. 3 3 -, a: ''n 1! I.. The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of i8 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. $ Here he applied himself to study with the most im N %-, I 1 g, -P I., I,0, I- Z a Z *4'u;-) --- 32 JAMES MADISON. intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not British orders in council destroyed our commerce, and a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison I 1780, he was elected a member of the Continental was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring, Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the 'd our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood the most conspicuous positions among them. boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. gress, one of its most active and influential members. A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchalelected a member of the Virginia Legislature. ance he selects any number whom he may please to No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the designate as British subjects; orders them down the utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- ship's side into his boat; and places them on the guntional government, with no power to form treaties deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the which would be binding, or to enforce law. There battles of England. This right of search and imwas not any State more prominent than Virginia in pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce the declaration, that an efficient national government the British cabinet to relinquish. must be formed. In January, I786, Mr. Madison On the i8th of June, I812, President Madison gave carried a resolution through the General Assembly of his approval to an act of Congress declaring war Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country this subject. Five States only were represented. The in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th convention, however, issued another call, drawn up of March, 1813, was re-elected by a large majority, by Mr. Madison, urging all the States to send their and entered upon his second term of office. This is delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft not the place to describe the various adventures of a Constitution for the United States, to take the place this war on the land and on the water. Our infant. of that Confederate League. The delegates met at navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- d = the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island pling with the most formidable power which ever ri = was represented. George Washington was chosen swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest ^' president of the convention; and the present Consti- by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, i)t = tution of the United States was then and there formed. I8I3, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole A There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- coast of the United States under bloclZade. tive in framing this immortal document than the mind The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me and the pen of James Madison. ditator. America accepted; England refused. A BritThe Constitution, adopted by a vote 81 to 79, was ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks to be presented to the several States for acceptance. of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into ChesaBut grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladenswe should be left but a conglomeration of independent burg, upon Washington. States, with but little power at home and little respect The straggling little city of Washington was thrown abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict tion to draw up an address to the people of the United at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the States, expounding the principles of the Constitution, metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. and urging its adoption. There was great opposition The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and House, with her carriage drawn up at the door to went into effect in 1789. await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed, sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the and he could not go back without danger of being avowed leaderof the Republican party. While in captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential New York attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in young widow of remarkable power of fascination, Washington were in flames. whom he married. She was in person and character The war closed after two years of fighting, and on queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied Feb. 13, i815, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. so prominent a position in the very peculiar society On the 4th of March, I817, his second term of which has constituted our republican court as Mrs. office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair Madison. to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beauMr. Madison served as Secretary of State under tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the reJefferson, and at the close of his administration mainderof his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the was chosen President. At this time the encroach- age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madiments of England had brought us to the verge of war. son died July 12, I849. -- if, i.n — ... *;! ' * *; ',,',^.: ''!.'. - *;*;', ^.:*':,;'/ '.' 1, * ", ':*. ''*'l:".<':^ l ' l^ '.'l -!:l';? ^ ^^ 1 ~~~ ~ "~ /ifi- * *'' ''*^-^ ".;c.!' ^ 1':' * *: 1.^''-.1** **. \-' ' 11;-1**1;::^ ' ^ ~~'' i ^ *, ' ' * * 11 - 1 1' ' ': 1'/ ': ^ ^ ^ '. ^ ~ f S f' ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~~ ~~: ' 1 ', * *. ^ **.'; *.^ ^.'* "^ ^ Saf 1 '~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~. ~^ * i * ^ ' ' * / - S ^ N I ' *.,' 1 * - ' / 1;: ^ 1 -'^. i i s a 1 ' 1..., ',.,_,; ^ ^1,..: 1-,.,;,_1,..^-^1* ^,. ^-**i~l^^.s^ * - '!. - * - '. 1; -, - ".*. * * - '. - - * < / 1. ^; *.1*, ** -. * - ' " ^ ** - ' ' ** * ^ *^ * ^ K f t ^ aS A a SI FIFTH PRESIDENT. 35 WC A.. ( t) ^ > o( A.),.... t P 1. 1 = L Xi PI' r ff7& -; AMES MONROE, the fifth 1~ Presidentof The United States, was born in Westmoreland Co., \ ^ Va., April 28, 1758. His early (BY. life was passed at the place of nativity. His ancestors had for:= e.., ^many years resided in the prov-! (! i1 nce in which he was born. When, y l J at 17 years of age, in the process:/ ^ ~of completing his education at; William and Mary College, the Cob f^ lonial Congress assembled at Phila) - delphia to deliberate upon the unjust and manifold oppressions of > Great Britian, declared the separation of the Colonies, and promulgated the Declaration of Independence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly f 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 hopeless and gloomy. The number of deserters increased from day to day. The invading armies came pouring in; and the tories not only favored the cause of the mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of contending with an enemy whom they had been taught to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through f difficulty and danger, the United States owe their political emancipation. The young cadet joined the ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured country, ' with a firm determination to live or die with her strife for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the melancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled before its foes through New Jersey. In four months after 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 charging upon the enemy he received a wound in the left shoulder. As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was promoted a captain of infantry; and, having recovered from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however, receded from the line of promotion, by becoming an officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the campaigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Brandywine, Germantown 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 ed condition of the State. Upon this failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at that period 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 volunteer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. In 1782, he was elected from King George county, a member of the Leglislature of Virginia, 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 employed with unremitting energy for the public good, r I I 4 11 3= 3=;LL I II! I r ) SWI N I;D " a~ 1_ good of the nation. Two more honest men or more peace he resigned the Department of War, but con-, - pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and tinued in the office of Secretary of State until the ex- 5 = James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- r.= building up this majestic nation, which is destined tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had " to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- been chosen President with but little opposition, and e bination of their antagonism was needed to create the upon March 4, 18i7, was inaugurated. Four years j light equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- later he was elected for a second term. i r nounced as almost a demon. Washington was then President. England had espoused the cause of the Bourbons against the principles of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality between 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 opposed the President's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in magnanimity. Washington, who could appreciate such a character, developed. his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, by appointing that very James Monroe, who was denouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention in France with the most enthusiastic de.nonstrations. Among 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 I823. At that time the United States had recognized the independence of the South American states, and did not wish to have European powers longer attempting to sub- i due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine is as follows: "That we should consider any attempt on the part of European powers to extend their system 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 I830, when he went to New York to live with his son-inlaw. In that city he died,on the 4th of July, 1831, JL. <^ ip I2 C v L 't ) i 0n.. I I 10. " 6% < o.- -— ~-r,~ V 0 H k0 M i , t;,,-,,: " ~ :::.:: -.c:.-I. ~-::c:': ~~"' \~ r ";t~;': jia::~I:;1;:;-:I~'i':j "''::::: I::-:~-:: i3'::e,~ -(iT*Y;ihP:P&`'I~\UZ~tBLj-l'~r;r;'-:-'i'..:.. iis ra;;fii ~li ":il" z -~ri,1; p: ~ci-L.1.ii; Brii~ n c"fi — ~l::~ 'I-~:L" -C-l- -i -.."i II $:Fi: I~:: ~~;~-:: r:r-iLj -I.~; uz.i -I__ 1 ~::~. x:, L. cao SIXTH PRESIDENT. 397 ^V! wnmn cTrxzr ^T nx mt' z eSTL-,l' -- 4 OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the X l I sixth President of the United -:.:/ I x States, was born in the rural f?.i^fft home of his honored father, '- * JJohn Adams, in Quincy, Mass., 7tie eon the i th of July, I767. His ~\hk g I mother, a woman of exalted E / worth, watched over his childhood during the almost constant absence of his father. When but l eight years of age, he stood with i his mother on an eminence, listen) ing to the booming of the great bat/y tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on upon the smoke and flames billow-,J ing up from the conflagration of g Charlestown. ( When but eleven years old he took a tearful adieu of his mother, to sail with his father for Europe, through a fleet of hostile British cruisers. The bright, animated boy 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 779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again John Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he applied himself with great diligence, for six months, to study; then accompained 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 minister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. In this school of incessant labor and of enobling culture he spent fourteen months, 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 private tutor, at Hague. Thence, in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father to Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintance with the most distinguished men on the Continent; examining 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 contemplations 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 circumstances, must have been extremely attractive; but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he preferred 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, I794, being then but twenty-seven years of age, he was appointed by Washington, resident minister at the. Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached London in October, where he was immediately admitted 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, I7 97, he left the Hague to go to Portugal as minister plenipotentiary. On his way to Portugal, upon arriving in London, he 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 married to an American lady to whom he had been previously engaged,-Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American consul in London; a lady endownd with that beauty and those accomplishment which eminently fitted her to move in the elevated sphere for which she was destined. iv.',. t-: Us VI's ML %cl. _2 I i 1 Iso S.a.: I Is^ ft S f M /4 1 rC-CI i CR ; f "Idrru'? -JOHN QUINCY A-D-A — MS. 4o 4 Otff QvUiNCYi ADAMS. -< ~ | f t/S 1. y ) 3t S I He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797; where he remained until July, 1799, when, having fulfilled all the purposes of his mission, he solicited his recall. Soon after his return, in I802, 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, I804. 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 Government in its measures of resistance to the encroachments of England, destroying our commerce and insulting 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 Presidential chair, and he immediately nominated John Quincy Adams minister to St. Petersburg. Resigning his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked at Boston, in August, 1809. While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense student. 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 Greek and Latin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. All 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, I8I7, Mr. Monroe took the Presidential chair, and immediately appointed Mr. Adams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his numerous friends in public and private life in Europe, he sailed in June, I8i9, for the United States. On the I8th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Monroe'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 be presented for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams 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 received ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; William H. Crawford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirtyseven. As there was no choice by the people, the question went to the House of Representatives. Mr. Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, 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 more pure in principles, more conscientiously devoted to the best interests of the country, than that of John Quincy Adams; and never, perhaps, was there an administration more unscrupulously and outrageously assailed. Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, abstemious 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 President. The slavery question now began to assume portentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with unabated zeal. But he was not long permitted to remain in retirement. In November, 1830, he was elected representative to Congress. For seventeen years, until his death, he occupied the post as representative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of "the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in the House, he announced that he should hold himself 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 scrutiny. The battle which Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against the proslavery party in the Government, 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 his 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 to repeat every night, before he slept, the prayer which his mother taught him in his infant years. q k '1Q..: (CL X=7 ES? F k i On the 21st of February, 1848, he rose on the floor of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by paralysis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to a the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving consciousness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and said " This is the end of earth;"then after a moment's > pause he added, "I am content." These were the last words of the grand "Old Man Eloquent." tIII1~ —3 - - Q, A I 3 / ~ —r -,G_ - /~~ --- SE VENTH PRESIDENT. 43 ' -~-~- Ezd. 'A-% I a Jll Itl(I ill jPk '5i \ 1 NDREW JACKSON, the seventh President of the!i iUnited States, was born in cow2 Waxhaw settlement, N. C., __ 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 settlement, where they lived in deepest poverty. Andrew, or Andy, as he was universally called, grew up a very 1 rough, rude, turbulent boy. His features were coarse, his form ungainly; and there was but very little in his character, made visible, which was attractive. When only thirteen years old he joined the volunteers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 178I, 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. The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate blo,w at the head of the helpless young prisoner. Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fearful gashes,-one on the hand and the other upon the head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert with the same demand. He also refused, and received a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which quite disabled him, and which probably soon after caused his death. They suffered much other ill-treatment, and were finally stricken with the small-pox. Their mother was successful in obtaining their exchange, and took her sick boys home. After a long illness Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon left him entirely friendless. Andrew supported himself in various ways, such as working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and clerking in a general store, until 1784, when he entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however, gave more attention to the wild amusements of the times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appointed solicitor for the 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 with the Sharp Knife. In I79I, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who supposed herself divorced from her former husband. Great 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 occurrence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. Jackson into disfavor. During these years he worked hard at his profession, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was especially disgraceful. In January, I796, the Territory of Tennessee then containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a constitution. Five 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 Jackson was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he rode to Philedelphia, where Congress then held its W-.1 s *, 1, \^ f D I (9- ( f l9S~ H 4 44 4ANIDREW JACKSONV. 4 sessions,-a distance of about eight hundred miles. of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres of V Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow Tv { cratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breastBonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, Jackson took his seat, Gen. Washington, whose with an ample suply of arms were assembled. I second term of office was then expiring, delivered his The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- ( last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en-A did not approve of the address, and was one of the deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morntwelve who voted against it. He was not willing to ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was say that Gen. Washington's adminstration had been awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the wise, firm and patriotic." river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war-. Senate in 17 97, but soon resigned and returned home. rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam - Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court the river and escaped. This ended the war. The %S of his State, which position he held for six years. power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold When the war of i812 with Great Britian corm- plunge into the wilderness, with its terriffic slaughter, menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was of the bands caine to the camp, begging for peace. an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who This closing of the Creek war enabled us to conwould do credit to a commission if one were con- centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the ferred upon him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson allies of the Indians No man of less resolute will offered his services and those of twenty-five hundred than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troops campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he were assembled at Nashville. was appointed major-general. As the British were hourly expected to make an at- Late in August, with an army of two thousand = tack upon New Orleans, where Gen. Wilkinson was men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson came to in command, he was ordered to descend the river Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed C with fifteen hundred troops to aid Wilkinson. The a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort, = I expedition reached Natchez; and after a delay of sev- and from both ship and shore commenced a furious m eral weeks there, without accomplishing anything, assault. The battle was long and doubtful. At length A; the men were ordered back to their homes. But the one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, golden opinions; and he became the most popular And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, man in the State. It was in this expedition that his was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won toughness gave him the nickname of " Old Hickory." for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. troops, which numbered about four thousand men, Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman won a signal victory over the British army of about made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, loss of the British was two thousand six hundred. he received two severe pistol wounds. While he was The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be menlingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1 824, t Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- successful in the election of i828, and was re-elected tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- for a second term in i832. In i829, just before he cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with assumed the reins of the government, he met w'ith his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama. her death he never recovered. The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on His administration was one of the most memorable; one of the bends of the Tallapoosa River, near the cen- in the annals of our country; applauded by one party, ' ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother. condemned by the other. No man had more bitter (4) With an army of two thousand men, Gen. Jackson enemies or warmer friends. At the expiration of his traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where 9 days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or he died June 8, I845. The last years of Mr. Jack_ Horse-shoe, on the 27th of March. I814. The bend son's life were that of a devoted Christian man. - " f f a " " - 4 _4 I Z" ,/ - I "" EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 47 t WI@ F TIQ UiTO BT 34A (., itti -r ARTIN VAN BUREN, the he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted his ":, ' eighth President of the studies for the seventh year. [" United States, was born at In 803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years of e A Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil[f i1782. He died at the same lage. The great conflict between the Federal and. ' place, July 24, I862. His Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van " body rests in the cemetery Buren was from the beginning a politician. He had, f?: '-i'&-q at Kinderhook. Above it is perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to the '= /- AL a plain granite shaft fifteen feet many discussions which had been carried on in his. ' *" high, bearing a simple inscription father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with = -a. about half way up on one face. Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the The lot is unfenced, unbordered cause of State Rights; though at that time the Fed- '/ or unbounded by shrub or flower. eral party held the supremacy both in his town ) There is but little in the life of Martin Van Buren and State. () of romantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged His success and increasing ruputation led him, in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, the political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years, signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those constantly gaining strength by contending in the incidents which give zest to biography. His an- courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, the bar of his State. and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mr. to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for residing in the old town of Kinderhook. His mother, beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- years she sank into the grave, the victim of consumpligence and exemplary piety. tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep over He was decidedly a precocious boy, developing un- her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. At the an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record ( age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies of those years is barren in items of public interest. in his native village, and commenced the study of In T182, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to, law. As he had not a collegiate education, seven the State Senate, and gave his strenuous support to., years of study in a law-office were required of him Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 1815, he was apbefore he could be eadmitted to the bar. Inspired with pointed Attorney-General, and the next year moved., a lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he pur- to Albany, the capital of the State. (( sued his studies with indefatigable industry. After While he was acknowledged as one of the most ) spending six years in an office in his native village, prominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had gi- ---- 48 i MARTIN VAN BUREN.., _ _ i I ( 1= = Ie ) =3 r 31 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 property interests in the welfare of the State. In 182 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 conspicuous position as an active and useful legislator. In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to the Senate. He had been from the beginning a determined opposer of the Administration, adopting the "State Rights" view in opposition to what was deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his seat in the Senate. Probably 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 regarded throughout the United States as one of the most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. It was supposed 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 outwitted Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which few thought then could be accomplished. When Andrew Jackson was elected President he appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This position he resigned in i831, and was immediately appointed Minister to England, where he went the same autumn. The Senate, however, when it met, refused to ratify the nomination, and he returned 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 favorite; and this, probably more than any other cause, secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Executive. On the 20th of May, i836, Mr. Van Buren received 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, which threatened to involve this country in war with England, the agitation of the slavery question, and finally the great commercial panic which spread over the country, all were trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was attributed to the management of the Denmocratic party, and brought the President into such disfavor that he failed of re-election. With the exception of being nominated for the Presidency by the "Free Soil" Democrats, in 1848, Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon 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, secured to him not only the homage of his party, but the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 4th of March, i841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics of the country. From this time until his death, on the 24th of July, I862, 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 happiness than he had before experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life. v ss2 il0 < ^j ) ( j 3= xOr i\, Ol( ) >.Z N, ( i j I 94 ~ ~-J~7;./&(i 9 ~- i* u I N --- liNiTH PRES-IDENT.- 5 NINTH PRESZIDENT. 51 a) /i ^^ In "" ~^ ^^^"________^ I ct 3 3 I T. I.XiJ --- —-— ILA —Mfe <*i~^i'r-s --- —----— w. I' - — i I\ It 7" — N EVNW W>BCi=: B>E And " -4=zs f { 9acr,, r- no agwSS -v/JJ -:D 3t 0'Ae, t i I )I h I: C ILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, the ninth President of 1i the United States, was born at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. His father, Benjamin Harri-? ' son, was in comparatively op\ ulent circumstances, and was one of the most distinguished d~ X < men of his day. He was an intimate friend of George Washington, M as early elected a member of the Continental Congress, and was conspicuous i among the patriots of Virginia in a resisting the encroachments of the { British crown. In the celebrated I i j Congress of I775, Benjamin HariEq 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, William Henry, of course enjoyed in childhood all the advantages which wealth and intellectual and cultivated society could give. Having received a thorough common-school education, he entered Hampden Sidney College, where he graduated with honor soon after the death of his father. He then repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine under the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of Robert Morris, both of whom were, with his father, signers of the Declaration of Independence. Upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and notwithstanding 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 but I9 years old. From that time he passed gradually upward in rank until he became aid to General Wayne, after whose death he resigned his commission. He was then appointed Secretary of the North-western Territory. This Territory was then entitled to but one member in Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that position. \ r I ( In the spring of 800o the North-western Territory was divided by Congress into two portions. The eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced V in the State of Ohio, was called " The Territory = north-west of the Ohio." The western portion, which included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and. Wisconsin, was called the -"Indiana Territory." William Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, was appointed 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 upon the globe. He was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was invested 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 President Madison. Whenhe began his adminstration there were but three white settlements in 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 Louisville; 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. About t = l' =: 4 k- A -~ D~ ---4Ca aIa H - A -- a.. ja52 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. < (X --.@f I 3If ' ^. t ra. 1= n ~s z==x ( ) the year 1806, two extraordinary men, twin brothers, of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of these was called Tecumseh, or "The Crouching Panther;" the other, Olliwacheca, or "The Prophet." Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomitable perseverance in any enterprise in which he might engage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, and had long regarded with dread and with hatred the encroachment of the whites upon the huntinggrounds of his fathers. His brother, the Prophet, was an orator, 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: he 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 Tippecanoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. October 28, I8I2, his army began its march. When near the Prophet's town three Indlans of rank made their appearance and inquired why Gov. Harrison was approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a short conference, arrangements were made for a meeting 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 protestations. Selecting a favorable spot for his night's encampment, 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 conversation with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. Iii the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possible, and just then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all the desperation which superstition and passion most highly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the little 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 hideous yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubting a 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 before them, and completely routing the foe. Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked to the utmost. The British descending from the Canadas, were of themselves a very formidable force; but with their savage allies, rushing like wolves from the forest, searching out every remote farm-house, burning, plundering, 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 conflagration of the cabins of the settlers. Gen Hull had made the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. Under these despairing circumstances, Gov. Harrison was appointed by President Madison commander-inchief 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 'General Harrison was found equal to the position, and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the responsibilities. He won the love of his soldiers by always 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 officers, his prisoners of war, supped with him after the battle. The only fare he could give them was beef roasted before the fire, without bread or salt. In I8I6, 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 spoke, it was with force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested the attention of all the members. In I8I9, 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 United States Senate. In I836, the friends of Gen. 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 his 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 any President had ever been surrounded. Never were the prospects of an administration 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 sickness, died on the 4th of April; just one month after his inauguration as President of the United States. (:= Js,i A.= 13 __ fx):j. y0 I1,".1 / It ~171 -- i, ~ r-AgI* ii iiaq q ~.iK a q I *0 -.i 1: i ~ ~;-_"~~ _* ri; i:;i i~";ii- I a:-I i:,~ ~_ I;-iT:i;-::j-::::::::~_-:::_ 'I_;:- I — r:,:i~; i:1.;: i -~ -:: " j; d: _t`" $~I'- -~ t;l:~ _i_; ~'::": P:~II: 4 li 3IL I r --;~it. ~i TNITHI PRESIDENV. A5 * =-=om-~- ---- 'IX ^OHN TYLER, the tenth ment, a protective tariff, and advocating a strict' coni) 1 / Presidentofthe United States. struction of the Constitution, and the most careful He was born in Charles-city vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress Co., Va., March 29, I790. He were so arduous that before the close of his second was the favored child of af- term he found it necessary to resign and retire to his ) fluence and high social po- estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, sition. At the early age of however, soon after consented to take his seat in the ]< twelve, John entered William State Legislature, where his influence was powerful 4.- and Mary College and grad- in promoting public works of great utility. With a =: uated with much honor when reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chosen V but seventeen years old. After by a very large majority of votes, Governor of his _' t= graduating, he devoted him- native State. His administration was signally a suc- = self with great assiduity to the cessful one. His popularity secured his re-election. v study of law, partly with his John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed -) iB father and partly with Edmund man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the Randolph, one of the most distin- United States. A portion of the Democratic party guished lawyers of Virginia. was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, 3( At nineteen years of age, ie and brought forward John Tyler as his opponent, commenced the practice of law. considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient His success was rapid and aston- popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of 4 4f 8 ishing. It is said that three Roanoke. Mr. Tyler was the victor. months had not elapsed ere there In accordance with his professions, upon taking his was scarcely a case on the dock- seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposii et of the court in which he was tion. He opposed the tariff; he spoke against and not retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he voted against the bank as unconstitutional; he sjrenwas almost unanimously elected to a seat in the State uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resistLegislature. He connected himself with the Demo- ig a11 projects of internal improvements by the Gencratic party, and warmly advocated the measures of eral Government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. Jefferson and Madison. For five successive years he Calhoun's view of nullification; he declared that Gen. iJackferson and Madis on. For fivte successive years head was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the Jackso, by his opposition to the nullifiers had 41<, abandoned the principles of the Democratic party.,4 unanimous vote or his county.. e < go Such was Mr. Tyler's record in Congress,-a record * X When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected in perfect accordance with the principles which he [ a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and had always avowed. ) ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice of bank, internal improvements by the General Govern- his profession. There was a split in the Democratic x4440 zer,~d I M 10k ZLEA -I ~a c&.~a ~5 kJ\ I X V 4 (4' ) i';. =a ol:3 party. His friends still regarded him as a true Jeffersonian, gave him a dinner, and showered compliments upon him. He had now attained the age of forty-six. His career had been very brilliant. In consequence of his devotion to public business, his private affairs had fallen into some disorder; and it was not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plantation. 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 I839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Harrison, a genuine Whig, much to the disappointment of the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To conciliate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice President. It was well known that he was not in sympathy with the Whig party in the North: but the Vice President has but very little power in the Government, his main and almost only duty being to preside over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it happened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a Democratic Vice President were chosen. In I841, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice President 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 Williamsburg when he received the unexpected tidings of the death of President Harrison. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of April was inaugurated to the high and responsible office. He was placed in a position of exceeding delicacy and difficulty. All his long life he had been opposed to the main principles of the party which had brought him into power. He had ever been a consistent, honest man, with an unblemished record. Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should he retain them, and thus surround himself with counsellors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or, on tje other hand, should he turn against the party which had elected him and select a cabinet in harmony with himself, and which would oppose all those views which the Whigs deemed essential to the public welfare? This was his fearful dilemma. He invited 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. The President, after ten days' delay, returned it with his veto. He suggested, however, that he would 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 measure by a published letter from the Hon. John M. Botts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who severely touched the pride of the President. The opposition now exultingly received the President 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 people of the United States, proclaiming that all political alliance between the Vhigs 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 administration passed sadly away. No one was satisfied. The land was filled with murmurs and vituperation. Whigs and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more, however, he brought himself into sympathy with his old friends, the Democrats, until atthe close of his term, he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr. Polk, the Democratie candidate for his successor. On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from the harassments of office, to the regret of neither party, and probably to his own unspeakable relief. 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 Forest, 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 family circle was the scene of unusual attractions. With sufficient means for the exercise of a generous hospitality, 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 Staterights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C. Calhoun had inaugurated, President Tyler renounced his allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confederates. 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 presided, he was taken sick and soon died. I. t, i11 ( e4 1 =3 n~ 'f~ I? ~ I ft~ftdft_ z i el - i'vA-, claring that he was not at all qualified for such an office. So little interest had he taken in politics that, f for forty years, he had not cast a vote. It was not I without chagrin that several distinguished statesmen who had been long years in the public service found t their claims set aside in behalf of one whose 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 remarked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made." Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine writer. His friends took possession of him, and prepared such few communications as it was needful should be presented to the public. The popularity of the successful warrior swept the land. He was triumphantly elected over two opposipg candidates,Gen. Cass and Ex-President Martin Van Buren. Though he selected an excellent cabinet, the good old man found himself in a very uncongenial position, 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, expeditions 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 9th of July, I850. His last words 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, unpretending man, he had been steadily growing in the affections of the people; and the Nation bitterly lamented 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 enlarged and refreshed by reading, or much converse with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the consequence. The frontiers and small military posts had been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant for his rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His simplicity was child-like, and with innumerable prejudices, 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 outside pocket,-in any such case, this critic held the offender to be a coxcomb (perhaps something worse), whom he would not, to uise his oft repeated phrase, 'touch with a pair of tongs.' "Any allusion to literature beyond good old Dilworth'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, laborsaving contempt for learning of every kind." 1 i A., ^. C^ aIa S > cw --- -, — " 1<3 a 0 I 4: - I ^'s/<^ ^^^ --- -iiiGil'T - i — — an >THIR TEENTH PRESIDENT. 67 ~1 {1MILLARi FILLMIRKE.' 2 X "..n ILLARD FILLMORE, thir- enterprising man had commenced the collection of a t eenth President of the United village library. This proved an inestimable blessing States, was born at Summer to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read' a!. Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y., on ing. Soon every leisure moment was occupied with.,) the 7th of January, I8oo. His books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate; (" father was a farmer, and ow- and the selections which he made were continually ' ee, I- ing to misfortune, in humble cir- more elevating and instructive. He read history,, cumstances. Of his mother, the biography, oratory; and thus gradually there was en7 I'k,"l daughter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, kindled in his heart a desire to be something more ( t air'~?~ of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been than a mere worker with his hands; and he was be&) ' said that she possessed an intellect coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed, ' of very high order, united with much educated man. e ) personal loveliness, sweetness of dis- The young clothier had now attained the age of ( J position, graceful manners and ex- nineteen years, and was of fine personal appearance quisite sensibilities. She died in and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so happened that 1831; having lived to see her son a there was a gentleman in the neighborhood of ample I young man of distinguished prom- pecuniary means and of benevolence,-Judge Walter ise, though she was notpermittedto witness the high Wood,-who was struck with the prepossessing apdignity which he finally attained. pearance of young Fillmore. He made his acquaint- \ In consequence of the secluded home and limited ance, and was so much impressed with his ability and <> means of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender ad- attainments that he advised him to abandon his ' vantages for education in his early years. The com- trade and devote himself to the study of the law. The mon schools, which he occasionally attended were young man replied, that he had no means of his own, very imperfect institutions; and books were scarce no friends to help him and that his previous educaand expensive. There was nothing then in his char- tion had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood had acter to indicate the brilliant career upon which he so much confidence in him that he kindly offered to was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy; take him into his own office, and to loan him such intelligent, good-looking, kind-hearted. The sacred money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous influences of home had taught him to revere the Bible, offer was accepted. and had laid the foundations of an upright character. There is in many minds a strange delusion about When fourteen years of age, his father sent him a collegiate education. A young man is supposed to some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of be liberally educated if he has graduated at some colLivingston County, to learn the trade of a clothier. lege. But many a boy loiters through university halls _ Near the mill there was a small villiage, where some and then enters a law office, who is by no means as > 68 MILLARD FILLMORE. f*1,41 (C) 1 'l-e well prepared to prosecute his legal studies as was Millard Fillmore when he graduated at the clothingmill at the end of four years of manual labor, during which every leisure moment had been devoted to intense mental culture. In I823, when twenty-three years of age, he was admitted to the Court of Common Pleas. He then went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region, his practice of course was limited, and there was no opportunity for a sudden rise in fortune or in fame. Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great moral worth, and one capable of adorning any station she might be called to fill,-Miss Abigail Powers. His elevation of character, his untiring industry, his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate, gradually attracted attention; and he was invited to enter into partnership under highly advantageous circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in Buffalo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the State of New York, as a representative from Erie County. Though he had never taken a very active part in politics, his vote and his sympathies were with the Whig party. The State was then Democratic, and he found himself in a helpless minority in the Mr. Fillmore had attained the age of forty-seven years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in Congress and as Comptroller, had given him very considerable fame. The Whigs were casting about to find suitable candidates for President and Vice-President at the approaching election. Far away, on the waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough old soldier, who had fought one or two successful battles with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be proclaimed in trumpet-tones all over the land. But it was necessary to associate with him on the same ticket some man of reputation as a statesman. Under the influence of these considerations, the names of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became the rallying-cry of the Whigs, as their candidates for President and Vice-Peesident. The Whig ticket was signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated President, and Millard Fillmore Vice-President, of the United States. On the 9th of July, I850, President Taylor, but about one year and four months after his inauguration, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the Constitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus became President. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which the illustrious Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. Mr. Fillmore had very serious difficulties to contend y If k;"f A= =I % )::t Legislature, still the testimony comes from all parties, with, since the opposition had a majority in both - ) that his courtesy, ability and integrity, won, to a very Houses. He did everything in his power to conciliate unusual degree the respect of his associates. the South; but the pro-slavery party in the South felt In the autumn of I832, he was elected to a seat in the inadequacy of all measuresof transient conciliation. the. United States Congress. He entered that troubled The population of the free States was so rapidly inarena in some of the most tumultuous hours of our creasing over that of the slave States that it was innational history. The great conflict respecting the evitable that the power of the Government should national bank and the removal of the deposits, was soon pass into the hands of the free States. The then raging. famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr. 4> His term of two years closed; and he returned to Fillmcre's adminstration, and the Japan Expedition X his profession, which he pursued with increasing rep- was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Mr. Fillutation and success. After a lapse of two years more, having served one term, retired. he again became a candidate for Congress; was re- In i856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the Preselected, and took his seat in I837. -His past expe. idency by the "Know Nothing "party, but was beaten rience as a representative gave him strength and by Mr. Buchanan. After that Mr. Fillmore lived in confidence. The first term of service in Congress to retirement. During the terrible conflict of civil war, - any man can be but little more than an introduction. he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed that He was now prepared for active duty. All his ener- his sympathies were rather with those who were en-; gies were brought to bear upon the public good. Every deavoring to overthrow our institutions. President ~ measure received his impress. Fillmore kept aloof from the conflict, without any Mr. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and cordial words of cheer to the one party or the other. his popularity filled the State, and in the year I847, He was thus forgotten by both. He lived to a ripe ) he was elected Comptroller of the State. old age, and died in Buffalo. N. Y., March 8, 1874, ~.~ he w-~aa s eleted Comtlrf i: _ iT4:I ~~ i 41"Br;:i Ji~ L: 1 ::-:;::;~~~- i:: i-i;-~~i 1-_ \1 \1 It-. "t~-bdjr:;Li'E;'1~::,t ~~:~r:; F:i;: i~.i-i:~ '-::: ;;:';"''''':~i;:~r,:i''-ll:,'.lij:;:::::j: .~~~ c:-I:.~:~Iu-i~e ~~i O -UR TEENT PRESIDET- 71 —; FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT, 71 (6 - - -~~,-~ K,,;, qRANKLIN PIERCE, the fourteenth President of the i7 It)): United States, was born in a- J2l Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 23, I804. His father was a Revolutionary soldier, who, with his own strong arm, hewed out a home in the i wilderness. He was a man of inflexible integrity; of strong, though uncultivated iX )( mind, and an uncompromising Democrat. The mother of r Franklin Pierce was all that a son could desire,-an intelligent, prudent, affectionate, Christian woman. Franklin was the sixth of eight children. Franklin was a very bright and handsome boy, gen genial nature, rendered him a universal favorite. There was something very peculiarly winning in his address, and it was evidently not in the slightest degree studied: it was the simple outgushing of his own magnanimous and loving nature. Upon graduating, in the 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 qualities of the young lawyer, his father's prominence as a public man, and the brilliant political career into which Judge Woodbury was entering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the facinating yet perilous path of political life. With all the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen. Jackson for the Presidency. He commenced the practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected to represent the town in the State Legislature. Here 1( rw-. H,* # s C= I.I,C(,.^, erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the he served for four years. The last two years he was love of old and young. The boys on the play-ground chosen speaker of the house by a very large vote.. loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected looked upon him with pride and affection. He was a member of Congress. Without taking an active by instinct a gentleman; always speaking kind words, part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty, doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom which taught him what was agreeable. Without de- he was associatad. veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural In I837, being then but thirty-three years of age, devotion to books, he was a good scholar; in body, he was elected to the Senate of the United States; in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy. taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced "j When sixteen years of age, in the year I820, he his administration. He was the youngest memberin entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me. He was the Senate. In the year I834, he married Miss Jane one of the most popular young men in the college. Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accomThe purity of his moral character, the unvarying plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every " courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and station with which her husband was honored. Of the r ) —s S —^Ds;H %^ ^w — >^ 7 PRANKLIN PIERC.. < r I') he w.. I I,, *~'& t I, i,6, )U A,,. K t, r~ n Cub ~t j. Ail1 7 1 r l3! 1,Is 0T:1e - -O.Bier i 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, I847. He took an important part in this war, proving himself a brave and true soldier. When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native State, he was received enthusiastically by the advocates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his opponents. He resumed the practice of his profession, veryfrequently taking an active part in political questions, 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 infamous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious sensibilities of the North. He thus became distinguished as a "Northern man with Southern principles.'' The strong partisans of slavery in the South consequently regarded him as a man whom they could safely trust in office to carry out their plans. On the I2th of June, I852, the Democratic convention 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, Massachusetts, 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, I853. His administration proved one of the most stormy our country had ever experienced. The controversy between 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 administration, 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 Southern 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 alienated from him. The anti-slavery 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 administrative acts. The slaveholders of the South, also, unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advocated those measures of Government which they approved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped him, and nominated James Buchananto succeed him. On the 4th of March, I857, President Pierce retired 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 divided 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 had ever been allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Government. He continued to reside in Concord until the time of his death, which occurred in October, I869. 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. Generous to a fault, he contributed liberally for the alleviation of suffering and want, and many of his townspeople were often gladened by his material bounty. S,,7 r.=.41U 1 t 4; 8*. to l ( iI...ti,. IIN fit S 'j'i,;6 I i {C) i S^^*'W ((in 3 New! > -0!; I %:~ /-a,, 9 A - WN w A-id roKS - A i; u 0 o n n s ) dAs c, IfTE!TEN2tH PAESIDENT - V I 'I....> **.. A 9~ i < Q< F e A i I,~ ~ 3c3C3~~ ~~C ~Y~ ~ Y31~3-3~ h I, I ~k J AMES BUCHANAN, the fifH teenth President of the United Statcs, was born in a small frontier town, at the foot of the eastern ridge of the Alleghanies, in Franklin Co., Penn., on s the 23d of April, 1791. The place where the humble cabin of his father stood was called Stony Batter. It was a wild and romantic spot in a gorge of the mountains, with towering summits rising grandly all around. His father was a native of the north of Ireland; abled him to master the most abstruse subjects with facility. In the year I809, he graduated with the highest honors 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 I812, when he was but twenty-one years of age. Very rapidly 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 successfully defended before the State Senate one of the judges of the State, who 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 a more lucrative practice. In I820, he reluctantly consented to run as a.c n d e o C n e. e w e t a n o r_ I a poor man, who had emigrated in 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 wilderness. staked his claim. reared his log-hut. opened a A i/ Z vV) ^,I -candidate for Congress. He was elected, anda tor X clearingwith his axe, and settled down there to per-.. ten years he remained a member of the Lower House. form his obscure part in the drama of life. In this se- D ng he acain of Che occasionally h w. wDuring the vacations of Congress, he occasionally eluded home, where James was born, he remained, he retired f..J -.,~. tried some important case. In 1831, he retired for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectualm r I, I r * t.. altogether from the toils of his profession, having acadvantages. When James was eight years of age, his quired an ample fortune. father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where en. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presidency, hi s, and cGen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presidency, ^;' his son was placed at school, and commenced a appoi.r... '*.. Th... appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. The course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His.. B... mir t Rsia. T r.d duties of his mission he performed with ability,which * progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he. d. o. h msi h p iw wi e D C a. Herel h de~ gave satisfaction to all parties. Upon his return, in i9 entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle. Here he de... *,_TT.r,A I833, he was elected to a seat in the United States, veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among Senate. He there met, as his associates, Webster, ) the first scholars in the institution. His application Clay, Wright and Calhoun. He advocated the meas4 to study was intense, and yet his native powers en- ures proposed by President Jackson, of making repriw \~))Q Pe^ ^S-.- — 1 —Q' I -— I IJ >76 JAMES BJUCHANAN. {69 L '4 I W I I ~= [ 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 from office of those who were not the supporters 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 Gen. Jackson for removing the deposits. Earnestly he opposed the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and urged the prohibition of the circulation of anti-slavery documents by the United States mails. As to petitions on the subject of slavery, he advocated that they should be respectfully received; and that the reply should be returned, that Congress had no power 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 the responsibility in the conduct of the Mexican War. Mr. Polk assumed that crossing the Nueces by the American troops into the disputed. territory was not wrong, but for the Mexicans to cross =c the Rio Grande into that territory was a declaration of war. No candid man can read with pleasure the = account of the course bur Government pursued in that = movement. Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with the party devoted to the perpetuation and extension of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind to bear against the Wilmot Proviso. He gave his cordial approval to the compromise measures of i050, which included the fugitive-slave law. Mr. Pierce, upon his election to the Presidency, honored Mr. Buchanan with the mission to England. In the year i856, a national Democratic convention nominated Mr. Buchanan for the Presidency. The political conflict was one of the most severe in which our country has ever engaged. All the friends of I slavery were on one side; all the advocates of its restriction and final abolition, on the other. Mr. Fremont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, received i 14 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received 174, and was elected. The popular vote stood 1,340,618, for Fremont, 1,224,750 for Buchanan. On March 4th, I857, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated. 8 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 9 allied in political principles and action for years, were. seeking the destruction of the Government, that they might rear upon the ruins of our free institutions a h nation whose corner-stone should be human slavery. In this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hopelessly be-? wildered. He could not, with his long-avowed prin I 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 republic. He therefore did nothing. The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration nominated Abraham Lincoln as their standard bearer in the next Presidential canvass. The pro-slavery party declared, that if he were elected, and the control 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 offerthem far more than they had ventured to claim. All the South had professed to ask of the North was nonintervention upon the subject of slavery. Mr. Buchanan had been ready to offer them the active cooperation of the Government to defend and extend the institution. As the storm increased in violence, the slaveholders claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchanan avowing that Congress had no power to prevent it, one of the most pitiable exhibitions of governmental imbecility 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. This was not the doctrine of Andrew Jackson, when, with his hand upon his sword-hilt, he exclaimed, " The Union must and shall be preserved!" South Carolina seceded in December, I860; nearly three months before the inauguration of President Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in listless despair. The rebel flag was raised in Charleston; Fort Sumrpter was besieged; our forts, navy-yards and arsenals were seized; our depots of military stores were plundered; and our custom-houses and post-offices were appropriated by the rebels. The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of our Executive, were alike marvelous. The Nation looked on in agony, Waiting for the slow weeks to glide away, and close the administration, so terrible in its weakness At length the long-looked-for hour of deliverance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the scepter. The administration of President Buchanan was certainly the most calamitous our country has experienced. His best friends cannot recall it with pleasure. And still more deplorable it is for his fame, that 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, I868. %,O y 10 l kl ( /~ I (1o ~ 2jli Pel~al ~ i SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT.' 79 4 ABRAHAM LINCOLN..:,', fl' BRAHAM LINCOLN, the t/ t~&~ sixteenth President of the '.United States, was born in '~ I w: 'Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. I2, r:. ' 1 809. About the year 1780, a.. _). / 6 man by the name of Abraham ~, Y ~Lincoln left Virginia with his e:. \ ~/}' family and moved into the then Q^ wilds of Kentucky. Only two years after this emigration, still a young X P-' man, while working one day in a field, was stealthily approached by ~ i an Indian and shot dead. His widow was left in extreme poverty with five _ _ little children, three boys and two girls. Thomas, the youngest of the go boys, was four years of age at his father's death. This Thomas was the father of Abraham 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 among the poorest of the poor. 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 friendless, wandering boy, seeking work. He hired himself 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 logcabin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emigrants, who had also come from Virginia. Their second child was Abraham 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 grateful son " I owe to my angel-mother. " When he was eight years of age, his father sold his cabin and small farm, and moved to Indiana. Where two years later his mother died. Abraham soon became the scribe of the uneducated 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. The books he could obtain were few; but 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 married when a child of but fourteen years of age, and soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr. < Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in I830, a and emigrated to Macon Co., Ill. 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 settled, and their small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, when he announced to his father his intention to leave home, and to go out into the world and seek his fortune. Little did he or his friends imagine how brilliant 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 liquor to pass his lips. And he had read in God's word, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;" and 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 worked for a time as a hired laborer among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield, 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- l sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham Iin-. coin undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give great satisfaction to his employers. In this adven-, l I k -W I) I? vIf I 8 ~i~clk ~ ig~- ~ ~ I ll — C- Hq 9-HE). 'X~ll0 k ---0 A-R i LiNCOLN —.* > 80 ABRAHAM LINCOLN~. Vrs. ( s I * QJ fl I 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 assembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In I836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In I839 he removed 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 became one of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's = speechesin opposition to Senator Douglas in the contest in 1858 for a seat in the Senate, form a most notable part of his history. The issue was on the slavery question, and he took the broad ground of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this contest, 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 twentyfive thousand. An immense building called "The i Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Convention. 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 as little 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 a aplace in the affections of his countrymen, second 5 only, if second, to that of Washington. Election dayq 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 poured upon this good I and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was greater than upon any other man ever elected to this high position. In February, i86i, Mr. Lincoln started for Washington, stopping 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 Baltimore had arranged, upon his arrival to" get up a row," and in the confusion to make sure of his death with revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled the plot. A secret and special train was provided to take him from Harrisburg, through Baltimore, at an unexpected hour of the night. The train started at half-past ten; and to prevent any possible communication on the part of the Secessionists with their Confederate 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 he gave important positions. During no other administration have 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, both 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 186i, however, plans had been made for his assassination,and he at last fell a victim to one of them. April 14, i865, he, with Gen. Grant, was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It was announced that they would be present. Gen. Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feeling, with his characteristic kindliness of heart, that it would be 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 the box where the President 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 countrymen being unable to decide which is the greater, ii i, 6 `i~ I ^.. J-) 1=3 )a!~ 1-= (' I~ I~-~ O. a... 6./ A fiXiI C(D e - "S I;, II 7~,1 lP.t-**.1, — pgcq I-, * I I- -,0102.0p/ F 0 - SE VENTEENTH PRESIDENT. 83 ' * ~M PAV imply] X.- i(.] NDREW JOHNSON, seven- pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the book, teenth President of the United but assisted him in learning to combine the letters States. The early life of into words. Under such difficulties he pressed on< 1A A', Andrew Johnson contains but ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours the record of poverty, destitu- at work in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest tion and friendlessness. He I and recreation to devote such time as he could to. H,T was born December 29, 18o8, reading. in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at ' ' belonging to the class of the Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos-,id j[S "poor whites " of the South, were sessed some education. Under her instructions he: i in such circumstances, that they learned to write and cipher. He became prominent could not confer even the slight- in the village debating society, and a favorite with est advantages of education upon the students of Greenville College. In i828, he ortheir child. When Andrew was five ganized a working man's party, which elected him I years of age, his father accidentally alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which lost his life while herorically endeavoring to save a position he held three years. friend from drowning. Until ten years of age, Andrew He now began to take a lively interest in political was a ragged boy about the streets, supported by the affairs; identifying himself with the working-classes, labor of his mother, who obtained her living with to which he belonged. In I835, he was elected a her own hands. member of the House of Representatives of TennesHe then, having never attended a school one day, see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. and being unable either to read or write, was ap- He became a very active member of the legislature, prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- 1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin Van ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opposition to those read from the speeches of distinguished British states- of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much men. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased than ordinary native ability, became much interested his reputation. in these speeches; his ambition was roused, and he In 1841, he was elected State Senator; in I843, he was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. was elected a member of Congress, and by successive He accordingly applied himself to the alphabet, and elections, held that important post for ten years. In with the assistance of some of his fellow-workmen, I853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and learned his letters. He then called upon the gentle- was re-elected in I855. In all these responsible posiman to borrow the book of speeches. The owner, tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished abil-. —, man o Tho -ANRE4JHN -SON^f-i, 84 ANDREW JOHNSON. (i -..... sc I 1== i. O IE iLKr Y.=0 - ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the working classes. In 1857, Mr. Johnson was elected United States Senator. Years before, in 1845, he had warmly advocated the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his reason, that he thought this annexation would probably prove "to be the gateway out of which the sable sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, and become merged in a population congenial to themselves." In I850, he also supported the compromise measures, the two essential features of which were, that the white people of the Territories should be permitted to decide for themselves whether they would enslave the colored people or not, and that the free States of the North should return to the South persons who attempted to escape from slavery. Mr. Johnson was never ashamed of his lowly origin: on the contrary, he often took pride in avowing that he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir,' said he on the floor of the Senate, "I do not forget that I am a mechanic; neither do I forget that Adam was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Savior was the son of a carpenter." In the Charleston-Baltimore convention of I860, he was the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for the Presidency. In I86I, when the purpose of the Southern Democracy became apparent, he took a decided stand in favor of the Union, and held that " slavery must be held subordinate to the Union 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, I862, appointed him Military Governor of the State, and he established the most stringent military rule. His numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In I864, he was elected Vice-President of the United States, and upon 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; that the Government will not always bear with its enemies; that it is strong not only to protect, but to punish. * * The people must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of crimes, and will surely be punished." Yet his whole administration, the history of which is so well known, was in utter inconsistency with, and the most violent opposition to, the principles laid down in that speech. In his loose policy of reconstruction and general amnesty, he was opposed by Congress; and he characterized Congress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly defied it, in everything possible, to the 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 Tenure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were preferred against him, and the trial began March 23. It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three months. A test article of the impeachment was at length submitted to the court for its action. It was certain that as the court voted upon that article so would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was necessary to his condemnation, he was pronounced acquitted, notwithstanding the great majority against him. The change of one vote from the not guilty side would have sustained the impeachment. The President, for the remainder of his term, was but little regarded. He continued, though impotently, his conflict with Congress. His own party did not think it expedient to renominate him for the Presidency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unparalleled since the days of Washington, around the name of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten. The bullet of the assassin introduced him to the President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was there presented to a man a better opportunity to immortalize his name, and to win the gratitude of a nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home in Greenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in politics until I875. On Jan. 26, after an exciting struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Tennessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Congress, 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, I875, the ex-President made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey, he was apparently in his usual vigorous health, but on reaching the residence of his child the following day, was stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 2 A.M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His funeral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August, with every demonstration of respect, I )i C S^I' T T 4 ( 0 <. j ( r:X: 3: 0s~ 10 f I (~ (1). C ~J I # v i ~~k A n nV- ~ - - - I /^tw-n I 1(vi -1al LT a -1411111(~~~ 7< 0 H u \ —, EIGHTZEEINTH PRRESIDEArT. 87 -- St's 9 TOPX~ T LYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth President of the United States, was born on 3 gthe 29th of April, 822, of Christian parents, in a humble home, at Point Pleasant, on the banks of the Ohio. Shortly after r his father moved to Georgetown, Brown Co., O. In this remote frontier hamlet, Ulysses j ) 1 i received a common-school education. At the age of seven^^ teen, in the year I839, he entered v? the Military Academy at West I Point. Here he was regarded as a solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank as a scholar. In June, I843, he graduated, about the middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of infantry to one of the distant military posts in the Missouri Territory. Two years he past in these dreary solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating Indians. The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at Resaca de la Palma, his second battle. At 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 ammunition. A messenger must be sent for more, along a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. Grant, adopting 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. 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 quartermaster of his regiment. At the battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Chapultepec. At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant returned with his regiment to New York, and was again sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The discovery of gold in California 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 immigrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. Grant resigned his commission and returned to the States; and having married, entered upon the cultivation of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not remunerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into the leather business, with a younger brother, at Galena, Ill. This was in the year I860. As the tidings of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter 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 to discharge my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my sword and see Uncle Sam through this war too." He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- I unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, the capital of the State, where their services were offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, impressed by the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. | Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the i volunteer organization that was being formed in the State in behalf of the Government. On the I5th of. V, { I r b s I\, ~~anlc~lk |3@) e -- -- 11 - ~n-tl n o t + -- t' NINETEENTH PRESIDENT. 91......-...-.............. *,9fcy &, "r - -^^ < 1 TN~O~fl VI O) "I, UTHERFORD B. HAYES,, ^ t I\ R T ithe nineteenth President of the United States, was born in Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, almost three months after the 0: death of his father, Rutherford:/ ' e Hayes. His ancestry on both the paternal and maternal sides, l was of the most honorable char~J ' *H, acter. It can be traced, it is said, as far back as 280, when Hayes and l Rutherford were two Scottish chieftains, fighting side by side with Baliol, William Wallace and Robert Bruce. Both families belonged to the T nobility, owned extensive estates, I and had a large following. Misfortune overtaking the family, George Hayes left Scotland in I680, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son George was born in Windsor, and remained there during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, married Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his marriage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was a manufacturer of scythes at Bradford, 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 established a hotel. Here his son Rutherford Hayes, the father of President Hayes, was born. He was married, in September, I813, to Sophia Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emigrated thither from Connecticut, they 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. Both 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 stocking, or do almost anything else that he choose to undertake. He was a member of the Church, active in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and conducted his business on Christian principles. After the close of the war of I 8 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 determined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived in I817. 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 bereavement, found the support she so much needed in her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the household from the day of its departure from Vermont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted some time before as an act of charity. Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the = "I O' A jV', I I < ^ IJ 'wE --- iii 92 RUIZTHERIORD B. HA YES. 2 Aiii f I i k r.= *==x Z=z 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 inquiring from time to time " if Mrs. Hayes' baby died last night." On one occasion a neighbor, who 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." " You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. " You wait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him 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, he became, if possible, still dearer to his 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 disposition, and that delicate consideration for the feelings of others, which are marked traits of his character. His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest in his education; and as the boy's health had improved, and he was making good progress in his studies, he proposed to send him to college. His preparation 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 entered Kenyon College in I83 8, at the age of sixteen, and was graduated at the head of his class in I842. Immediately after his graduation he began the study of law in the office of 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 remained 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 P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he remained three years, acquiring but a limited practice, and apparently unambitious of distinction in his profession. In I849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his ambition found a new stimulus. For several years, however, his progress was slow. Two events, occurring at this period, had a powerful influence upon his subsequent life. One of these was his marrage with Miss Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of Chilicothe; the other was his introduction to the Cincinnati Literary Club, a body embracing among its members such men as Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, I _ _ _ 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. Not 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 to reflect honor upon American womanhood. The Literary Club brought Mr. Hayes into constant association with young men of high character and noble aims, and lured him to display the qualities so long hidden by his bashfulness and modesty. In 1856 he was nominated to the office of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas; but he declined to accept the nomination. Two years later, the office of city solicitor becoming vacant, the City Council elected him for the unexpired term. In I86i, 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 Fort Sumpter found him eager to take up arms for the defense of his country. His military record was bright and illustrious. In October, I86I, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and in August, 1862, promoted Colonel of the 7gth 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 displayed 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 services in the battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, he was promoted Brigadier-General. He was also brevetted Major-General, "forgallant and distinguished services during the campaigns of I864, in West Virginia." In the course of his arduous services, four horses were } shot from under him, and he was wounded four times. In I864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress, from n the Second Ohio District, which had long been Dem- J 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, " I shall never come to Washington until I can come by the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in I866. In 1867, Gen Hayes was elected Governor of Ohio, over Hon. Allen 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 Republican 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, however, with satisfaction to his.party, but his administration was an average one. t I f r%v I iJF'j f ( I!m i f I I I.:,) > > 1 fi 0 9vllna __ -WIoc I ::::::::~: ;;; ~zr:".:~~~:-:s ,\.I;,:_ I:,,,,I;, ::: ii: I ~:I a?: ii ,;-.:~Pssb%r ~:1~-~: a:I53~:: :::li:ti.:, i '::1 - ~::-~-1. 6ii r:~ Q i aal - i_;.~-: i-?Ti.:-:t-,w ~I~;b~: .:1 t:g zi::i;i:l::::I: n -— i- i "~arcijJIFCll:j' :iaersrseaarmas;~bli~rpC,r..~. Ii ..-.a. g- I:;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;' ~-l:i:l~:::": ta-;:~: o:-i;r~i ~i '' ri~~;r-lir i:;I;'" TWENTIETH PRESIDENT. 95 AMES A. GARFIELD, twn- gether. Nor was Gen. Garfield ever ashamed of his tieth President of tle: United origin, and he never forgot the friends of his struggling childhood, youth and manhood, neither did they,States was born No'v z 9, ever forget him. When in the highest seats of honor, in the woods of Otange, the humblest fiend of his boyhood was as kindly were and Eliza sympathy of one who had known all the bitterness ou) Garfield, both of New of want and the sweetness of bread earned by the England ancestry and from fai- sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, plain, earl modest gentleman. Alies well known in the early hisThe highest ambition of young Garfield until he ty of that section of our coutn- gether. Nor was Gixteen yearfeld was to be ashamedptain of his try but had moved to th e estern a vessel origin, and he never for e wafriends of his strug1 Statese, as r Nov 9 eg hihoo, yettsel, which his moth er strongly opposed. She R e 'e r ever forget him. When in the highest seats of honor, 38, finally consented to his going to Cleveland, w ith the understanding, hoCo., His par- greetedever. T hat orhe should try to obtain The house in wereich James and Eliza sympather ki of employment. He who had known all the bitterness born was not unlike bth of News of way to and the sweetness of bread earned by the ity... AT England ancestry and from fami- |sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, plain, o mer After making many applications for work, and trying x rpo oli s well known in the early his- t o g1e= to get aboard a lake high es sel, ambition of you meeting Garfield til h I tory sectlon our coun" was about sixteen years old was to be a captain of, was about x feet, built of logs, with the spaces be- success, he engaged as a driver for hious to goaboard tweserven the logs settille- w h is famother strwas a Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsylvania Canalopposed. e rehard working farmer, and he soon had his fields mained t o his going t o Cleveland, a short time w ith the went cleared, an orchard plant understanding, however, that he should try to obtain. A The householo in which James A. was some other kind of employmentered He walked all the | born was not unlike the houses of |wY to Cleveland. This was his first visit to the city. their four childrenMehetabel, Thomas, Mary and clectic Institute, teaching a few terms of school tryin James. In May, O823, the father, from a cold con- the meantime, and doing other work. This school tracted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At was started by the Disciples of Christ in i850, of this time James was about eighteen months old, and which church he was then a memb er. He became Thomas about feet, buyears old. No one, perhaps, can janitor the spacesnd be- success, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos tween the logs filled waith clay. His farother was a Letcher, on became both teacher Pennsylvand pupiCanal. He soon hard working farmer, and he soon had hacrifice durin the twes suc- exhausted Hiram and eeded mort time when he went.- cleared, an orchard planted, and a log barn built. home, and attended the seminary at Chester for ^ The ousehold comprised the father and mother and about three 85 ears, he n he entered Hiriams College, from which their four children-Mehetabel, Thomas, Mary and Eclectic Institute, teaching a few terms of school in James. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis- her, from a colduated con-, tmeantime, and doing other work. This schoolnters live in Solon, O., near their birthplace. ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram tracted in helping to pnal advantages young Garfire, dield College as its President. As above stated, he earyin 850 of enjoyed were very limited,was about eig made the most of united with he Chriwas then or Diciples Church at them. He labout ten years old. No one, perhaps, did can janitoram, and was ever after in order to help pay hlous mem-way. pentell how much James wood, or dited anyto his brothers Hbee then preaching in its pulpitteacher and placesupil. He soonre toil and self-sacrifice during the twenty years to aid his widowed he hausted Hiramto be. Dr. Noah Pore; hence, President of theedin hr struggles eep th, but undoubted family very al olle, says of h im in reference to Wils reliege,fromwhihon < much. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis- he graduated in I856, taking one of the highest hon- { ) o ters live in Solon, O., near their birthplace, ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram ~|^ The early educational advantages young Garfield College as its President. As above stated, he early f (1 enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the most of united with the Christian or Diciples Church at t ^ them. He labored at farm work for others, did car- Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous mem- } A penter work, chopped wood, or did anything that ber, often preaching in its pulpit and places where j (@) would bring in a few dollars to aid his widowed he happened to be. Dr. Noah Porter, President of @ 2 mother in her struggles to keep the little family to- Yale College, says of him in reference to his religion; < -----— ^ IJ^,^ ^ — ^g --- 96 JAAMEfS A. GARFIELD.... _ _-___, In" ( a ( z x: * 4.1 j: ---- "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 g man and to God, and devotion to Christ and life and r faith and spiritual commission were controlling springs of his being, and to a more than usual degree. In my judgment there is no more interesting feature of his character than his loyal allegiance to the body of Christians in which he was trained, and the fervent sympathy 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 significance 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 unsectarian charity for all 'who love our Lord in sincerity.'" Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with Miss ) Lucretia Rudolph, Nov. I, 1858, who proved herself R 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 I856, in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three 3= 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 I86I 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 received his commission as Lieut.-Colonel of the Fortysecond Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Aug. I4, I861. He was immediately put into active serA vice, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action, was placed in command of four regiments of infantry P 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 speedily accomplished, although against great odds. President Lincoln, on his success commissioned him Brigadier-General, Jan. Io, 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 army." He was with Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh, h in its operations 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 s 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 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 Whittlesey and Joshua R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he resigned his place in the army. At the time he entered Congress he was the youngest member in that body. There he remained by successive reelections until he was elected President in i880. Of his 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 instruction, the argument on one side stated, in almost every instance better than by anybody else, in some speelzh made in the House of Representatives or on the hustings by Mr. Garfield." Upon Jan. I4, I880, 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, I88I, was inaugurated. Probably no administration 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 preliminary work of his administration and was preparing to leave the city to meet his friends at Williams College. While on his way and at the depot, in company with Secretary Blaine, a man stepped behind him, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back. The President tottered and fell, and as he 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 round the world " Never before in the history of the Nation had anything occurred which so nearly froze the blood of the people for the moment, as this awful deed. He was smitten 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 human lessons-how to live grandly in the very clutch of death. Great in life, he was surpassingly great in death. He passed serenely away Sept. 19, I883, 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 executed, in one year after he committed the foul deed. I,9 f pS 2===1 i I~~ (! I.. i~j i~l-LT: \SZ ^tf%)Kx/"\^.. ~aaaa- Xc' ~ J i I *I F e Ace --:saa- '?aanii TWE NTY-FIRST PRESIDENT. 99 \ e' z {' ', H ES E A. AR HESTER A. ARTHUR, Herndon, of the United States Navy, who was lost at twenty-first President of the sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in ^ United States, was born in recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occaFranklin County, Vermont, on sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's the fifthof October, 183o, andis nomination to the Vice Presidency, leaving two the oldest of a family of two children. = ~~ sons and five daughters. His Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity: KI it father was the Rev. Dr. William |in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit, a sr ay^. w brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had 3*??^ Arthur, a Baptist clergyman, who emirated thi r f been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior; jemigrated to this country from ' \ Court of New York City. It was in 1852 that Jon the county Antrim, Ireland, in th c Ar Irl a n, in athan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with ~) v: z 0 @ his I8th year, and died in I875, in r his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when @ Newtonville, near Albany, after a t. they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided long and successful ministry. long and sue ful miistry that they could not be held by the owner under the Young Arthur was educated at oung Arthr was educated ate Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from Union College, Schenectady, where the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the he excelled in all his studies. AfAttorney General of that State to assist in an appeal. ter his graduation he taught school Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed lin Vermont for two years, and at to represent the People, and they won their case, n the expiration of that time came to X the expiraton of that time came to which then went to the Supreme Court of the United New Yrk, with $5 in hispocket, States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause and entered the office of -Jg of the slave-holders, but he too was beaten by Messrs. E.D. Culver as student. After E. D. Cer as stdent. fter Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward I being admitted to the bar he formed emancipation of the black race. the emancipation of the black race. a partnership with his intimate friend and room-mate, Another great service was rendered by General Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings, in the West, and for three months they roamed about a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth in the Western States in search of an eligible site, Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare, but in the end returned to New York, where they General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success- verdict of $500 damages. The next day the compa. ful career almost from the start. General Arthur ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride ) soon afterward married the daughter of Lieutenant on their cars, and the other car companies quickly J<~^^i -^^ ^-^n:ni^A:-r A ~ < " — 0 o00 CHESTER A. ARTHUR. VA ' i S @ t ) ) S followed their example. Before that the Sixth Avenue Company ran a few special cars for colored persons 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 Governor Morgan, of that State, appointed him Engineerin-Chief of his staff. In I86I, he was made Inspector General, and soon afterward became Quartermaster-General. In each of these offices he rendered great service to the Government during the war. At the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney of New York, was added to the firm. The legal practice of this well-known firm was very large and lucrative, 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 Grant, Nov. 2 I, 872, to succeed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July, 20, 187 8, 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 composed of the leading politicians of the Republican party, all able men, and each stood firm and fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their respective candidates that were before the convention for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield received 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 party 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, I88r, 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 I tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the recovery of the noble, the good President. The remarkable patience that he manifested during those hours and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suffering man has often been called upon to endure, was seemingly more than human. It was certainly Godlike. During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr. Arthur'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 auspiciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested in deed or look of this man, even though the most honored position in the world was at any moment likely to fall to him. At last God in his mercy relieved President Garfield 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 responsibilities of the high office, and he took the oath in New York, Sept. 20, i88i. The position was an embarrassing one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all eyes were on him, anxious to know what he would do, what policy he would pursue, and who he would select 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 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 has ever enjoyed. His highest ambition seems to be to do his duty to the whole Nation, even to the sacrifice of his warmest personal friends. With the good of the people at heart, and guided by the wisdom already displayed, he will surprise his opponents, gratify his friends, and bless the American Republic, during the years he occupies the Presidential chair, Ctl t ( I I N.7.: gz,4 H U - n- U rUi~ I (a) 1 \ZI/ 1 4 11-7.. 0 9 14-IRIG!" 0 9 -— M I P r -~I II &A U. Q-A aaB'lO~-~)-~ ---mEi-k I () — /l (r) I~ U&I-Zwo Vll;Wle I so ( "I i I j I, ~c'().? * ) r=t ( I (3 t I_ ti — ~ I —~ "'R, "-_4 0 9 'llrH h4 % AiS/c3 -- - -c rnnsnn GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 10o5 a vE N. T'r1AT smniT Lt D >i)iE4~~n~ea3eau~t/n; k 9 ~~~~sEQ or jbt'iL^ JtX- _7 f Q C A= i.. I~ if i > y" I TEPHEN T. MASON, the Ufirst Governorof Michigan, was a son of Gen. John T. Mason, | of Kentucky, but was born in Virginia, in I812. At the age of I9 he was appointed SecreI e<5.^ tary of Michigan Territory, and X, served in that capacity during the administration of Gov. George B.: ^^ t Porter. Upon the death of Gov. Porter, which occurred on the 6th of Z d July, I834, Mr. Mason became Acting Governor. In October, 1835, he was elected Governor under the State organization, and immediately en) tered upon the performance of the 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. i He died Jan. 4, 1843. The principal event during X Governor Mason's official career, was that arising from e the disputed southern boundary of the State. Michigan claimed for her southern boundary aline running east across the peninsula from the extreme 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 W compact. This compact was the ordinance of 1787, the parties to which were the original I3 States, and s the territory northwest of the Ohio; and, by the succession 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 regulate 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 subject of the line in dispute, Congress had thereby given its consent to the line as laid down by the Constitution of Ohio. This claim was urged by Ohio at some periods of the controversy, but at others she appeared to regard the question unsettled, by the fact that she insisted upon Congress taking action in regard 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 Constitution and State government. Owing to Indian hostilities, however, the line was not run till i8i8. In I820, the question in dispute underwent a rigid examination by the Committee on Public Lands. The claim of Ohio was strenuously urged by her delegation, and as ably opposed by Mr. Woodbridge, 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 government. The Territory in dispute is about five miles in width at the west end, and about eight miles in width at the east end, and extends along the whole northern 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," ( x I T I 3 * I t I ) I r:3 asrf^ — ^-A<4B (I~HD<^ --- -gan Io6 STEPHEN T. MASON. from the names of the surveyors. The territory was of their number, he found it convenient to content valuable for its rich agricultural lands; but the chief himself for a time with " watching over the border." S value consisted in the fact that the harbor on the Several days were passed in this exhilarating employMaumee River, where now stands the flourishing city ment, and just as Governor Lucas had made up his ( of Toledo, was included within its limits The town mind to do something rash, two commissioners aroriginally bore the name of Swan Creek, afterwards rived from Washington on a mission of peace. They Port Lawrence, then Vestula, and then Toledo. remonstrated with Gov. Lucus, and reminded him of In February, I835, the Legislature of Ohio passed the consequences to himself and his State if he peran act extending the jurisdiction of the State over sisted in his attempt to gain possessionof the disputed the territory in question; erected townships and territory by force. After several conferences with directed them to hold elections in April following. It both governors, the commissioners submitted proposialso directed Governor Lucus to appoint three com- tions for their consideration. missioners to survey and re-mark the Harris line; and Governor Lucas at once accepted the propositions, named the first of April as the day to commence the and disbanded his forces. Governor Mason, on the survey. Acting Governor Mason, however, anticipated other hand, refused to accede to the arrangement, and this action on the part of the Ohio Legislature, sent declined to compromise the rights of his people by a a special message to the Legislative Council, appris- surrender of possession and jurisdiction. When Goving it of Governor Lucas' message, and advised irnme- ernor Lucus disbanded his forces, however, Governor diate action by that body to anticipate and counteract Mason partially followed suit, but still held himself the proceedings of Ohio. Accordingly, on the 12th in readiness to meet any emergency that might arise. of February, the council passed an act making it a Governor Lucus now supposed that his way was criminal offence, punishable by a heavy fine, or im- clear, and that he could re-mark the Harris line with=S prisonment, for any one to attempt to exercise any out being molested, and ordered the commissioners a= (_ official functions, or accept any office within the juris- to proceed with their work. =t diction of Michigan, under or by virture of any au- In the meantime, Governor Mason kept a watch- aa thority not derived from the Territory, or the United ful eye upon the proceedings. General Brown sent States. On the 9th of March, Governor Mason wrote scouts through the woods to watch their movements, )General Brown, then in command of the Michigan and report when operations were commenced. When militia, directing him to hold himself in readiness to the surveying party got within the county of Lenameet the enemy in the field in case any attempt was wee, the under-sheriff of that county, armed with a made on the part of Ohio to carry out the provisions warrant, and accompanied by a posse, suddenly made of that act of the Legislature. On the 3Ist of March, his appearance, and succeeded in arresting a portion Governor Lucus, with his commissioners, arrived at of the party. The rest, including the commissioners, Perrysburgh, on their way to commence re-surveying took to their heels, and were soon beyond the disthe Harris line. He was accompanied by General puted territory. They reached Perrysburgh the folBell and staff, of the Ohio Militia, who proceeded to lowing day in a highly demoralized condition, and muster a volunteer force of about 600 men. This reported they had been attacked by an overwhelmwas soon accomplished, and the force fully armed and ing force of Michigan malitia, under command of equipped. The force then went into camp at Fort General Brown. Miami, to await the Governor's orders. This summary breaking up of the surveying party In the meantime, Governor Mason, with General produced the most tremendous excitement throughout Brown and staff, had raised a force 800 to I200 Ohio. Governor Lucas called an extra session of the strong, and were in possession of Toledo. General Legislature. But little remains to be said in reference Brown's Staff consisted of Captain Henry Smith, of to the "war." The question continued for some time Monroe, Inspector; Major J. J. Ullman, of Con- to agitate the minds of the opposing parties; and the stantine, Quartermaster; William E. Broadman, of action of Congress was impatiently awaited. Michigan Detroit, and Alpheus Felch, of Monroe, Aids-de- was admitted into the Union on the condition that camp. When Governor Lucas observed the deter- she give to Ohio the disputed territory, and accept mined bearing of the Michigan braves, and took note in return the Northern Peninsula, which she did.f r) - iA^-x3 I Li~ I i~i-~p — ~ L ~-U nlanH, SECOND GO VERNOR OF MICHIGAN. o09: —.-PWILIAM OOODB~IDGE. -- '^^^y _ vif~ ___ D (li(u^CBZ c)/^~;iCy$~~)? ij YI l! At r= Z:^ s3 C3 r.oe II. L. ILLIAM WOODBRIDGE, second Governor of Michigan, was born at Norwich, Conn., 3 Aug. 20, 1780, and died at e Detroit Oct. 20, I86I. He was of a family of three brothers and two sisters. His father, Dudley Woodbridge, removed to life of Wm. Woodbridge, by Chas. Lauman, from which this sketch islargelycompiled, mentions nothing 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, Q where he acquired a knowledge of i the French language. It should /( be borne in mind, however, that 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 tic relations until the death of Mrs. W., Feb. 2, I9, i86o. 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?.nown. Mrs. W. enjoyed 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 C;' - / i home ce was memonal essay written upon the occasion ot her education at that time death. In this essay, it is said of her "to contribute an indispensable feature in the trainingof theyoung. To this and even in matters of minor importance, to elevate the reputation and add to the well being of her husband and to a few studies well mastered, is due that strong mental discipline which has served in the various stations he was called upon to fill, gave I s due that strong mental discipline which has served her the highest satisfaction" She was an invalid as a basis for many of the grand intellects that have. w adorned and helped to make our National history.du the latter orton of her lfe but was en and cheerful to the end. Mr. Woodbridge studied law at Marietta, having and c t t en as a fellow student an intimate personal friend, a In I807, Mr. W. was chosen arepresentativetothe ( young man subsequently distinguished, but known General Assembly of Ohio, and in 1809 was elected to at that time simply as Lewis Cass. He graduated at the Snate, continuing a member by re-election until the law school in Connecticut, after a course there of his rmoval rom the State. He also held, by ap nearly three years, and began to practice at Marietta pointment, during the time the office of Prosecuting in 1806. In June, 806, he married, at Hartford, Con- Attorney for his county. He took a leading part in / necticut, Juleanna, daughter of John Trumbell, a the Legislature, and in 1I82 drew up a declaration and distinguished author and judge; and author of the resolutions,,hich passed the two houses unaminously jjgs~)^,_ —_-L n --- _ -4 77T 777777-777 77 - -7-,1'- I';,II~~~~ s iit) TWIL LIA M H i~I n — ' E VOODBRIDGE. - l' 4,C N>i T=iltr. '" and attracted great attention, endorsing, in strongest and most emphatic terms, the war measures of President Madison. During the period from I804 to I814 the two law students, Woodbridge and Cass, had become widely separated. The latter was Governor of the Territory of Michigan under the historic "Governor and Judges" plan, with the indispensable requisite of a Secretary of the Territorry. This latter position was, in 18I4, without solicitation on his part, tendered to Mr. W. He accepted the position with some hesitation, and entered upon 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 the Governor, the dischargeof of his duties, also including those of Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Mr. W. officiated as Governor for about two years out of the eight years that he held the office of Secretary Under the administration of"Governor and Judges," which the people of the Territory preferred for economical reasons, to continue some time after their numbers entitled th.em 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 819 authorizing one tobe chosen. Under this act Mr. W. was elected by the concurrence of all parties. His first action in Congress was to secure the passage 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 opening a means of land transit between Ohio and Michigan. He was influential 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 Bay. The expedition for the exploration of the country around Lake Superior and in the valley of the Upper Mississippi, 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 strenuously 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 the time of the admission of the latter into the Union. He served but one term as delegate to Congress, declining 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." In I824, he was appointed one of a board of commissioners for adjusting private land claims in the Territory, and was engaged also in the practice of < his profession, having the best law library in the Territory. In 1828, upon the recommendation of the Governor, Judges and others, he was appointed by the e President, J. Q. Adams, to succeed Hon. James Witherell, who had resigned as a Judge of what is conventionally called the "Supreme Court" of the Territory. This court was apparently a continuation of the Territorial Court, under the "first grade" or "Governor and Judges" system. Although it was supreme in its judicial functions within the Territory, its powers and duties were of a very general character. In I832, the term of his appointment as Judge expiring, 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 Territory, and its people began to think of assuming the dignity of a State government. Party lines becoming very sharply drawn, he identified himself with the Whigs and was elected a member of the Convention of i835, which formed the first State Constitution. In 1837 he was elected amember of tFe 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 history of the State, and the development of its politi-: cal system. Since the organization of the State Gov- x ernment the history of Michigan is more familiar, and ~ hence no review of Judge W's career as Governor z and Senator will be attempted. He was elected Gov- y ernor in 1839, under a popular impression that the affairs of the State had not been prudently administered by the Democrats. He served as Governor but ( little more than a year, when he was elected to the Senate of the United States. His term in the Senate practically closed his political life, although he was strongly urged by many prominent men for the Whig nomination for Vice President in 1848. Soon after his appointment as Judge in 1 828, Gov- j ernor W. took up 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 limits of Detroit, where he resided during the remainder of his life. Both in his public papers and private communications, Governor W. shows himself a master of language; he is fruitful in simile and illustration, logical in arrangement, happy in the choice and treatment of topics, and terse and vigorous in expres- t sion. Judge W. was a Congregationalist. His opinions on all subjects were decided; he was earnest and energetic, courteous and dignified, and at times exhibited a vein of fine humor that was the more attractive 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 adoption and for friends and family. i M = I 6 —# ti rt-l I i~~ ~^C46 r-h~i~n~aal~f~. - - Y ll J_-? ..... i'"^-l ~;:x —^ *-E GQ VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 113 ' r I T ( I I i JOHN S. BARERY. >ta^to^'tttto tt^^' C +F,~r3~ `i~~~~~~~~ Ad h~ (F~3htsjiS3~ *-~h"~~ @ tY~~~ 'I~ 4~l God>;lt~;~/~ t~3 ""L 1 ( is )Ie "y Y i -x 3C r.s OHN STEWARD BARRY, / 1. Governor of Michigan from 4 Ht l J Jan. 3, I842, to Jan. 5, I846, P ~ r/ and from Jan. 7, 1850, to Jan. ~ I, 185 2, was born at Amherst, ~(- ~ N. H., Jan. 29, 1802. His par^e. 7/f} ents, John and Ellen (Steward) [1^ Barry, early removed to Rocking*/~ Xham, Vt., where he remained until a he became of age, working on his ~ ' father's farm, and pursuing his 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 I831 he removed to Michigan, and settled at White Pigeon, where he engaged in mercantile business with I. W. Willard. Four years after, I834, 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 I835. 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 they looked to hin as a party leader, and that he should head the State ticket at the following election. Accordingly he received the nomination for Governor at the hands 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 difficulties, and it was through his wisdom and sound judgment that the State was finally placed upon a solid financial basis. During the first year of Gov. Barry's first term, the University at Ann Arbor was opened for the reception 3=.4~J I-1) 5?:,: C/ $ a I f8 78 i f —T rc.;-1;Z `,;~1 A..i- -i _"g -f um"owww ", 'P - i a/ ( 114 JOHN STE WARD BARRY. X(_ 4NN I 1r' 2=3 *s /4 1. 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 I844, the taxable 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 second 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 I85o-the only instance of the kind in the history of the State. He was a member of the Territorial Legislature, of the Constitutional Convention, and afterward of the State House of Representatives. During Mr. Barry's third term as Governor the Normal 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 constitution 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 depot at Detroit, in 1850. At a setting of the grand jury of Wayne County, April 24, 1851, 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. The Railroad Company employed ten eminent lawyers, including David Stuart, John Van Arman, James A. Van Dyke, Jacob M. Howard, Alex. D. Fraser, Daniel 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 examined 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 I 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, I85. On the 26th the prisoners were put forward to receive sentence, when many of them protested their entire innocence, after which the presiding judge condemned 12 of the number to the following 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 Champlin, 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 Europe 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 Democratic Convention held in Chicago in 1864. He was a man who, throughout life, maintained a high character for integrity and fidelity 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 State has ever had. Gov. Barry was a man of incorruptible integrity. His opinions, which he reached by the most thorough investigation, he held tenaciously. His strong convictions 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, characterized his oratory, which is described as argumentative and instructive, but cold, hard, and entirely wanting in rhetorical ornament. He was never eloquent, seldom humorous or sarcastic, and in manner rather awkward. Although 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 position. He was a true statesman, and gained public esteem by his solid worth. His political connections were always with the Democratic party, and his opinions were usually extreme. Mr. Barry retired to private life after the beginning of the ascendency of the Republican party, and carried on his mercantile business at Constantine. He died Jan. 14, 1870, his wife's death having occurred a year previous, March 30, I869. They left no children. w 10 4+ N 1 I ixrr. P. I I i,: -.aal~na3 \III "r L( 'I He~u age.; a GO VERWORS OF A rd) (~ --- —------------ xX,,, v,f,, ''^ ~ICHIGA N. I'7 7 l l i LPHEUS FELCH, the third Governor of Michigan, was born in Limerick, Maine, September 28, I806. His grandff HYMN father, Abijah Felch, was a soldier in the Revolution; and when a young man, having with others obtained a grant of land bei.2 tween the Great and Little Ossipee %! a'' ^Rivers, in Maine, moved to that rel gion when it was yet a wilderness. The father of Mr. Felch embarked in mercantile life at Limerick. He was 4S the first to engage in that business in that section, and continued it until ' his death. The death of the father, I followed within a year by the death of the mother, left the subject of this sketch, then three Sargent S. Prentiss, at Vicksburg, Miss., but on his arrival at Cincinnati, 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 Michigan. He first began to practice in this State at Monroe, where he continued until 1843, when he removed to Ann Arbor. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1835, and continued a member of that body during the years I836 and 1837. While he held this office, the general banking law of the State was enacted, and went into operation. After mature delibera. tion, he became convinced that the proposed system of banking could not prove 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 JES 1= 3= %cl > r k f years old, to the care of relatives, and he found a ment. He, therefore, opposed the bill, and pointed ) home with his paternal grandfather, where he re- out to the House the disasters which, in his opinion, 1mained until his death. Mr Felch received his early were sure to follow its passage. The public mind, education in the district school and a neighboring however, was so favorably impressed by the measure academy. In 182 he became a student at Phillips that no other member, in either branch of the LegislaExter Academy, and, subsequently, entered Bowdoin ture, raised a dissenting voice, and but two voted with College, graduated with the class of 1827. He at him in opposition to the bill. Early in I838, he was once began the study of law and was admitted to appointed one of the Bank Commissioners of the a practice at Bangor, Me., in I830. State, and held that office for more than a year. DurHe began the practice of his profession at Houlton, ing this time, the new banking law had given birth to ea Me., where he remained until [833. The severity that numerous progeny known as "wild-cat" banks. of the climate impaired his health, never very good, Almost every village had its bank. The country was and he found it necessary to seek a changeofclimate. flooded with depressed "wild-cat" money. The ex- He disposed of his library and started to seek aminations of the Bank Commissioners brought to a new home. His intention was to join his friend, light frauds at every point, which were fearlessly reAt.5 — a-d- -- 11 8 - ALPHEUS FELCH. arm, _ V1 IAX ported to the Legislature, and were followed by criminal prosecutions of the guilty parties, and the closing of many of their institutions. The duties of the office were most laborious, and in 1839 Mr. Felch resigned. The chartered right of almost every bank had, in the 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 Governor Felch was appointed to the office of Auditor General of the State; but after holding the office only a few weeks, was commissioned by the Governor as one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Fletcher. 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 I847 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, I847, when his Senatorial term commenced. 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 1846 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 I8,528 tons, the whole giving employment to i8,ooo seamen. In 1847, there were 39 counties in the State, containing 435 townships; and 275 of these townships were supplied with good libraries, containing an aggregate of 37,000 volumes. At the close of his Senatorial term, in March, i853, 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 Gaudalupe Hidalgo, and an act of Congress passed for that purpose. He went to California in May, I853, and was made President of the Commission. The duties of this office were of the most important and delicate character. The interest of the new State, and the fortunes of many of its citizens, both the native Mexican population and the recent American immigration; the right of the Pueblos to their common lands, and of the Catholic Church to the lands of the Missions,-the most valuable of the State,-wereinvolved in the adjudicationsof this Commission. In March, I856, their labors were brought to a close by the final disposition of all the claims which were presented. The record of their proceedings,-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 Ann Arbor, where he has since been engaged piincipally in legal business. Since his return he has been nominated for Governor and also for U. S. Senator, 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 election. In I873 he withdrew from the active practice of law, and, with the exception of a tour in Europe, in 1875 has since led a life of retirement at his home in Ann Arbor. In I877 the University of Michigan conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. For many years he was one of the Regents of Michigan University, and in the spring of 1879 was appointed Tappan Professor of Law in the same. Mr. Felch is the oldest surviving member of the Legislature from Monroe Co., the oldest and only surviving Bank Commissioner of the State, the oldest surviving Auditor General of the State, the oldest surviving Governor of the State, the oldest surviving Judge of the Supreme Court of Michigan, and the oldest surviving United States Senator from the State of Michigan. (I 7r~ ti I: 2: '*4. * <, * (W",*ts v. 41t 0.'' (.-,, VI k9C))Z*41,SAW C 100, 0 GO VERNORS. 121 i,'C3.,~, I ------------ XH J AILLIAM L. AkEENY JE |..I ILLIAM L. GREENLY and where it is almost impossible to find them. i Governor of Michigan for the The soldiers of this State deserve much of the 4 t year 1847, was born at Hamil- credit of the memorable achievements of Co. K, 3d 4.. ton, Madison Co., N. Y., Sept. Dragoons, and Cos. A, E, and G of the U. S. Inf. 8, 1813. He graduated at Un-!) ion College, Schenectady, in < I83I, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1834. In I836. having removed to Michigan, he settled in Adrian, where ij he has since resided. The year following his arrival in Michigan he was elected State Senator and 0 served in that capacity until I839. In 1845 he was elected Lieut. Governor and became acting Governor by the resignation of Govo Felch, who was elected to the United States Senate. The war with Mexico was brought to a successful termination during Gov. 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 The two former of these companies, recruited in this State, were reduced to one-third their original number. In May, I846,the Governor of Michigan was notified by the War Department of the United States to enroll a regiment of volunteers, to be held in readiness for service whenever demanded. At his summons 13 independent volunteer companies, ii of infantry and two of cavalry, at once fell into line. Of the infantry four companies were from Detroit, bearing the honored names of Montgomery, Lafayette, Scott and Brady upon their banners. Of the remainder 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 service. In addition to them ten companies, making the First Regiment of Michigan Volunteers, springing from various parts of the State, but embodying to a great degree the material of which the first volunteers was formed, were not called for until October following. This regiment was soon in readiness and proceeded by orders from Government to the seat of war. xo-. 3= Jb s 9 Th 1 zy4; "T' lo 0 ~, 11 ---, 1-,- klr-1 -8&P tN A (AVOUna ~13r i E~V ~I;~B ---"nn~t %t -"3/&1 f ant )i *<' e-z 3= r I I,~D- kl — -W " --- 0q I oll~ 0 *: -: ~:: i~;i:: f:::;::: * S H: \ X. ~ d:'VA0t; t\00f^ 000ff;0 *1!: 000, iiD - -— I IVi -- - - GO VERNORS. 125 HE HON. EPAPHRODI- shone forth so prominently in his acts s Governor. TUS RANSOM, the Seventh He held the office of Regent of the Michigan Univer- C Governor of Michigan, was a sity several times, and ever advocated a liberal policy native of Massachusetts. In in its management. tht Stte he reeed a co- Subsequently he was appointed receiver of the ca A that State he received a colHi < Xland office in one of the districts in Kansas, by Pres-: s legiate education, studied law, ident Buchanan, to which State he had removed, and = and was admitted to the bar. where he died before the expiration of his term of. Removing to Michigan about office. Reoving to Michgan about We sum up the events and affairs of the State unthe time of its admission to the der Gov. Ransom's administration as follows: The T \ Union, he took up his residence Asylum for the Insane was establised, as also the A at Kalamazoo. Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind. Both of Mr. Ransom served with arked these institutes were liberally endowed with lands, an and each of them placed in charge of a board of five I ability for a numberof years in the trustees. The appropriation in I849 for the deaf and State Legislature, and in I837 he was appointed As- dumb and blind amounted to $81,500. On the first sociate Justice of the Supreme Court. In 1843 he of March, I848, the first telegraph line was comwas promoted to Chief Justice, which office he re- pleted from New York to Detroit, and the first distained until 1845, when he resigned. patch transmitted on that day. The following figures Shortly afterwards he became deeply interested in show the progress in agriculture: The land reported the building of plank roads in the western portion of as under cultivation in I848 was 1,437,460 acres; of the State, and in this business lost the greater portion wheat there were produced 4,749,300 bushels; other of the property which he had accumulated by years grains, 8,197,767 bushels; wool, 1,645,756 pounds; of toil and industry. maple sugar, 1,774,369 pounds; horses, 52,305; catMr. Ransom became Governor of the State of tle, 210,268;.swine, I52,54I; sheep, 610,534; while Michigan in the fall of I847, and served during one the flour mills numbered 228, and the lumber mills term, performing the duties of the office, in a truly amounted to 730. I847, an act was passed removing statesmanlike manner. He subsequently became the Legislature from Detroit to Lansing, and tempo() President of the Michigan Agricultural Society, in rary buildings for the use of the Legislature wereimwhich position he displayed the same ability that mediately erected, at a cost of $12,450. - - ----- W000 00000Wus's U (C 0 oo 0 o 0W g^~)^^^^ k --- —-- -t-mi Is --- —-(l^^ 6? v o At.^ C NL~r I =~~~Or~~ lO O w-g W! I I CIW~ - ' GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 129. _^^ >^^ ~ **^,,,. -- _ n v; a 6w I Q; i - Bust 4 4"ittA S g I A )Xrs~wsjue$agjre, g ~ PZ^p~$p98?99X4M9$X~8$S~XP@s&S* |r OBERT McCLELLAND, Governor of Michigan from. Jan. I, 1852, to March 8, I85 3, = was born at Greencastle, Frank= ' ) lin Co., Penn., Aug. I, I807. Among his ancestors were several i officers of rank in the RevolutionA ary war, and some of his family connections were distinguished in the war of 1812, 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 death, at ' i the age of 84 years. Although Mr. X McClelland's family had been in good circumstances, when he was 17 years old he was thrown upon his own resources. After taking the usual preliminary studies, and teaching school 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 teaching, and having completed the course of study for the legal profession, was admitted to the bar at Chambersburg, Penn., in 1831. Soon afterward he removed to the t city of Pittsburgh, where he practiced for almost a ) year.,: In i833, Mr. McClelland removed to Monroe, in the Territory of Michigan, where, after a severe examination, he became a member of the bar of Michigan, 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 important committees, Speaker p ro tempore, and as an active, zealous and efficient member. In I840, Gen. Harrison, as a candidate for the Presidency, swept the country with an overwhelming majority, and at the same time the State of Michigan 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 Representatives, 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 election as Speaker of the House of Representatives I' V)R 1= (<,?Lz I T 9 00 "In / ---, A- A z I - -_, -I- — Ift N -. 0 9 u u f i>I30 ROBERT McCLELLAND. Ge) v (.) Iu (').',. -w Ns ) bc~ in I843. Down to this time Michigan had constituted one congressional district. The late Hon. Jacob M. Howard had been elected against Hon. Alpheus Felch by a strong majority; but, in I843, so thoroughly had the Democratic party recovered from its defeat of I840 that Mr. McClelland, as a candidate for Congress, carried Detroit district by a majority of about 2,500. Mr. McClelland soon took a prominent position 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 Representatives. He declined the offer in favor of J. W. Davis, of Indiana, who was elected. During this term he became Chairman of Committee on Commerce, in which position his reports and advocacy of important measures at once attracted public attention. The members of this committee, as an evidence of the esteem 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 I847, Mr. McClelland was re-elected to Con. gress, and at the opening of the 3oth Congress became a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations. While acting in this capacity, what was known as the " French Spoliation Bill" came under his special 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 Q. Adams, when the petition, was clothed in decorous language and presented in the proper manner. This he regarded as the citizens'constitutional right which should not be impaired by any doctrines of temporary expediency. He also voted for the adoption of Mr. Giddings 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 Pennsylvania, 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 together at the time in Washington, and on intimate and confidential terms. Mr. McClelland was ih several National conventions and in the Baltimore convention, which nominated Gen. Cass for President, in I848, doing valiant service that year for the election 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 I850, he was President of the Democratic State convention which adopted resolutions in support of Henry Clay's famous compromise measures, of which Mr. McClelland was a strong advocate, He was a member of the Democratic National convention in I85 2, 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 compromise measures, and took an active part in the canvass which resulted in the election of Gen, Pierce to the Presidency. In I85 1, the new State 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 into operation under the new constitution, Mr. McClelland was elected Governor, and in the fall of 1852 was re-elected for a term of two years, from Jan. i, I853. His administration was regarded as wise, prudent and conciliatory, and was as popular as could be expected at a time when party spirit ran high. There was really no opposition, 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 the cabinet by President Pierce, in March, i 85 3, he was made Secretary of the Interior, in which capacity he served most creditably during four years of the Pierce administration. He thoroughly re-organized his department and reduced the expenditures. He adopted a course with the Indians which relieved them from the impositions and annoyances of the traders, and produced harmony and civilization among them. During his administration there was neither complaint from the tribes nor corruption among agents, and he left the department in perfect order and system, In I867, Michigan again called a convention to revise the State constitutiono Mr. McClelland was a member and here again his long experience made him conspicuous as a prudent adviser, a sagacious parliamentary leader. As a lawyer he was terse and pointed in argument, clear, candid and impressive in his addresses to the jury. His sincerity and earnestness, with which was occasionally mingled a pleasant humor, made him an able and effective advocate. In speaking before the people on political subjects he was especially forcible and happy. In i870 he made the tour of Europe, which, through his extensive personal acquaintance with European diplomates, he was enabled to enjoy much more than most travelers. Mr. McClelland married, in 1837, Miss Sarah E. Sabin, of Williamstown, Mass. They have had six children, two of whom now survive. ^ I~~ I4 Ii 1 9 I 1. I, —~haai~n \'..e *.' *iSr ' p GO VER'ORS OF MICHIGAN. 133 &- 1^ v I, - -; —A-,, FR 1) .'i — , (07 -A- T I. 4 _..-..l..r11 _.11.., 4ccr I nKii Id lk of ii t51 —:IC db_~-~o&-, AeL g-,3 -Nlt,~lllI**:", 1 10, I ) Ca e- -I, e I ^^ ^lRT~ NDREW PARSONS, Goveri ^its \ [ anor of Michigan from March 8, 1853 to Jan. 3, [855, was born in the town of Hoosick, QJ i 1 County of Rensselaer, and State of New York, on the 22d e day of July, 1817, and died June 6, 1855, at the early age of 38 years. He was the son of John 7;' Y Parsons, born at Newburyport, 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 I290. Of this name and family, some one hundred and thirty years ago, Bishop Gilson remarked in his edition 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 I481, was Mayor of Hereford; Robert Parsons, born in 1546, lived near Bridgewater, England. He was educated at Ballial College, Oxford, 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 I618, was another noted member of the family. In 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 England about 1630. Samuel Parsons, born at Salisbury, Mass., in I707, 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, I739, died Jan. 4, 1789, at the age of 82, in the 53rd year of his ministry. The grandfather of Mary Jones was Capt. John Adams, of Boston, grandson of Henry, of Braintree, who was among the first settlers of Massachusetts, and from whom a numerous race of the name are descended, including two Presidents of the United States. The Parsons have become 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 1835, at the age of 17 years, and spent the first summer at Lower Ann Arbor, where for a few months he taught school which he 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 proudest States of the Union. 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 conquered, however, and to them is due all honor for the labors so nobly performed, for the solid and sure foundation which they laid of a great Commonwealth. ( JC i z SE (A = =: 3 3 = PM 4 j I a O ~ o, "3.11 134 ANDRE W PARSONS. In the fall of 1835, he explored the Grand River by threats, and in a short letter to the people, after Valley in a frail canoe, the whole length of the river, giving overwhelming reasons that no sensible man from Jackson to Lake Michigan, and spent the following could dispute, showing the circumstances were not winter as clerk in a store at Prairie Creek, in Ionia, "extraordinary," he refused to call the extra session. County, and in the spring went to Marshall, where he This brought down the wrath of various parties upon resided with his brother, the Hon. Luke H. Parsons, his head, but they were soon forced to acknowledge also now deceased, until fall, when he went to Shia- the wisdom and the justice of his course. One of wasse County, then with Clinton County, and an almost his greatest enemies said, after a long acquaintance: unbroken wilderness and constituting one organized "though not always coinciding with his views I never township. In I837 this territory was organized into doubted his honesty of purpose. He at all times a county and, at the age of only 19 years, he (An- sought to perform his duties in strict accordance, drew) was elected County Clerk. In I840, he was with the dictates of his conscience, and the behests elected Register of Deeds, re-elected in i842, and of hisoath." The following eulogium from a politcalopalso in I844. In i846, he was elected to the State ponent is just in its conception and creditable to its Senate, was appointed Prosecuting Attorney in 1848, author: "Gov. Parsons was a politician of the Demand elected Regent of the University in 85 I, and ocratic school, a man of pure moral character, fixed Lieutenant Governor, and became acting Governor, and exemplary habits, and entirely blameless in every v in 1853, elected again to the Legislature in 1854, and, public and private relation of life. As a politician he; Ad overcome by debilitated health, hard labor and the was candid, frank and free from bitterness, as an ex* responsibilities of his office and cares of his business, ecutive officer firm, constant and reliable." The =: retired to his farm, where he died soon after. highest commendations we can pay the deceased is:I He was a fluent and persuasive speaker and well to give his just record,-that of being an honest man.; calculated to make friends of his acquantances. He In the spring of 1854, during the administration of was always true to his trust, and the whole world Governor Parsons, the Republican party, at least (|\ could not persuade nor drive him to do what he con- as a State organization, was first formed in the United ceived to be wrong. When Governor, a most power- States " under the oaks" at Jackson, by anti-slavery ful railroad influence was brought to bear upon him, men of both the old parties. Great excitement preto induce him to call an extra session of the Legisla- vailed at this time, occasioned by the settling of ture. Meetings were held in all parts of the State Kansas, and the issue thereby brought up, whether for that purpose. In some sections the resolutions slavery should exist there. For the purposeof permitwere of a laudatory nature, intending to make him do ting slavery there, the " Missouri compromise " (which ' their bidding by resort to friendly and flattering words. limited slavery to the south of 360 30) was reIn other places the resolutions were of a demanding repealed, under the leadership of Stephen A, Douglas. nature, while in others they were threatening beyond This was repealed by a bill admitting Kansas and measure. Fearing that all these influences might Nebraska into the Union, as Territories, and those who fail to induce him to call the extra session, a large were opposed to this repeal measure were in short sum of money was sent him, and liberal offers ten- called "anti-Nebraska" men. The epithets, " Nedered him if he would gratify the railroad interest of braska" and "anti-Nebraska," were temporally em- i the State and call the extra session, but, immovable, ployed to designate the slavery and anti-slavery he returned the money and refused to receive parties, pending the desolution of the old Democratic 4 any favors, whether from any party who would at- and Whig parties and the organization of the new tempt to corrupt him by laudations, liberal offers, or Democratic and Republican parties of the present. ' Fs<.il ----"-i-a a.n Gus Iv I. v:Ea a^m,.Md.avS7Wv ^!^!^!^^^^^ ' ":- ' Xi INSLEY S. BINGHAM, i Goernor of Michigan from K X I855 to I859, and United ir A States Senator, was born in Camillus, Onondaga County, J N. Y., Dec. I6, I8o8. His father was a farmer, and his own [ early life was consequently devoted to agricultural pursuits, but notwithstanding the disadvan| tages related to the acquisition O A of knowledge in the life of a farmer b he managed to secure a good academic education in his native State and studied law in the office of Gen. James R, Lawrence, now of 1i31 Syrracuse, N. Y. In the spring of chosen was soon reduced to a high state of cultivation. Becoming deservedly prominent, Mr. Bingham was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace and Postmaster under the Territorial government, and was the first Probate Judge in the county. In the year 1836, when Michigan Lecame a State, he was elected to the first Legislature. He was four times re-elected, and Speaker of the House of Representatives three years. In 1846 he was elected on the Democratic ticket, Representative to Congress, and was the only practical farmer in that body. He was never forgetful of the interest of agriculture, and was in particular opposed to the introduction of "Wood's Patent Cast Iron Plow " which he completely prevented. He was reelected to Congress in I848, during which time he strongly opposed the extension of slavery in the territory of the United States and was committed to and vnted fnr the \Vilmrft Prnvir.cn I X=3 3 ^ r _trr _wr A=~.gsa d w If ) r 'I33, he married an estimable lady. 1Uvo'. who had recently a rriveIn I854, at the first organization of the Republican who had recently arrived from Scotland, and obeying the imparty, in consequence of his record in Congress as a natraly enter ing disposition Free Soil Democrat, Mr. Bingham was nominated n aturaly te ris ing dis ition, and elected Governor of the State, and re-elected in rated to Michigan and I856. Still faithful to the memory of his own former purchased a new farm in company n occupation, he did not forget the farmers during his i with his brother-in-law, Mr. Robert IWn~rdpen ir o G ~re, iviny T administration, and among other profits of his zeal in Worden, in Green Oak, Livingston County. Here, onI0 * * *........ ' 1their behalf, he became mainly instrumental in the est. our late student commenced the arduous task of In I859, Governor Bingham was elected Senator in preparing a future home, clearing and fencing, put- Congress and took an active part in the stormy camting up buildings, etc., at such a rate that the land paign in the election of Abraham Lincoln. He wit4Z4 izo X._111 38 KIS 'Y S. aa NGI Aa 138 KINSLE Y S. BINGHAM. 0T (G) C I! 1= ( ca t * I r i t 1r I I/ i 4; — (e — ~ nessed the commencement of the civil war while a of Agriculture, which was created for that purpose. member of the United States Senate. After a corn- In its essential features, of combining study and paratively short life of remarkable promise and pub- labor, and of uniting general and professional studies lic activity he was attacked with appoplexy and died in its course, the college has remained virtually unsuddenly at his residence, in Green Oak, Oct. 5, I86 I. changed from the first. It has a steady growth in The most noticable event in Governor Bingham's ntniber of students, in means of illustration and first term was the completion of the ship canal, at the efficiency of instruction. Falls of St. Mary. In 1852, Angust 26, arn act of The Agricultural College is three miles east of Congress was approved, granting to the State of Mich- Lansing, comprising several fine buildings; and there igan seven hundred and fifty thousand acres of land are also very beautiful, substantial residences for the for the purpose of constructing a ship canal between professors. There are also an extensive, well-filled Lakes Huron and Superior. In 1853, the Legislature green-house, a very large and well-equipped chemical accepted the grant, and provided for the appointment laboratory, one of the most scientific apiaries in the of commissioners to select the donated lands, and to United States, a general museum, a meseum of mearrange for building the canal. A company of enter- chanical inventions, another of vegetable products, prising men was formed, and a contract was entered extensive barns, piggeries, etc., etc., in fine trim for into by which it was arranged that the canal should the purposes designed. The farm consists of 676 be finished in two years, and the work was pushed acres, of which about 300 are under cultivation in a rapidly forward. Every article of consumption, ma- systematic rotation of crops. chinery, working implements and materials, timber Adrian College was established by the Wesleyan for the gates, stones for the locks, as well as men and Methodists in 1859, now under the control of the supplies, had to be transported to the site of the canal Methodist Church. The grounds contain about 20 from Detroit, Cleveland, and other lake ports. The acres. There are four buildings, capable of accomrapids which had to be surmounted have a fall of modating about 225 students. Attendance in 1875 seventeen feet and are about one mile long. The was 179; total number of graduates for previous year, length of the canal is less than one mile, its width one 121; ten professors and teachers are employed. Ex-. hundred feet, depth twelve feet and it has two locks clusive of the endowment fund ($80,000), the assets of solid masonary. In May, I855, the work was corn- of the institution, including grounds, buildings, furnipleted, accepted by the commissioners, and formally ture, apparatus, musical instruments, outlying lands,. delivered to the State authorities. etc., amount to more than $137,000. The disbursements on account of the construction Hillsdale College was established in i855 by the of the canal and selecting the lands amounted to one Free Baptists. The Michigan Central College, at million of dollars; while the lands which were as- Spring Arbor, was incorporated in 1845, It was kept signed to the company, and selected through the in operation until it was merged into the present agency at the Sault, as well as certain lands in the Hillsdale College. The site comprises 25 acres, Upper and Lower Peninsulas, filled to an acre the beautifully situated on an eminence in the western Government grant. The opening of the canal was part of the city of Hillsdale. The large and imposan important event in the history of the improvement ing building first erected was nearly destroyed by fire of the State. It was a valuable link in the chain of 4n 1874, and in its place five buildings of a more lake commerce, and particularly important to the modern style have been erected. They are of brick, interests of the Upper Peninsula. three stories with basement, arranged on three sides K There were several educational, charitable and re- of a quadrangle. The size is, respectively, 8o by 80, formatory institutions inaugurated and opened during 48 by 7 2, 48 by 7 2, 80 by 60, 5 2 by 72, and they conGov. Bingham's administrations. The Michigan Ag- tain one-half more room than the original building. ricultural College owes its establishment to a provision The State Reform School. This was established of the State Constitution of i850. Article 13 says, at Lansing in 855, in the northeastern portion of the "The Legislature shall, as soon as practicable, pro- city, as the House of Correction for Juvenile Ofvide for the establishment of an agricultural school." fenders, having about it many of the features of a For the purpose of carying into practice this provision, prison. In 1859 the name was changed to the State legislation was commenced in 1855, and the act re- Reform School. The government and dicipline, have quired that the school should be within ten miles of undergone many and radical changes, until all the Lansing, and that not more than $15 an acre should prison features have been removed except those that be paid for the farm and college grounds. The col- remain in the walls of the original structure, and lege was opened to students in May, I857, the first of which remain only as monuments of instructive hisexisting argricultural colleges in the United States, tory. No bolts, bars or guards are employed. The Until the spring of I86I, it was under the control inmates are necessarily kept under the surveillance of of the State Board of Education; since that time it officers, but the attempts at escape are much fewer has been under the management of the State Board than under the more rigid regime of former days. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ p * ( 7 I I 4L 14 ----; -1 - I a GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 141 -I M — IIB C,.Cif M \4..::r iOSES WISNER, Governor of - ['[ l '] Michigan from I859 to I86I, "tH i'was born in Springport, Cayuga Co., N Y., June 3, 1815r _ His early education was only what could be obtained at a ". common school. Agricultural labor and frugality of his parents gave Bj him a physical constitution of unus[ |(iS. ual strength and endurance, which was ever preserved by temperate habh:its. In I837 he emigrated to Michi-e gan and purchased a farm in Lapeer f 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 trh-l, iqe of,iPn-iCr o fi i-nrmr ~n1lA rfrnfved to' Prnltinr took little part in politics until after the election of Mr. Pierce to the Presidency in 1852, when he took an active part against slavery. As a lawyer he was a man of great ability, but relied less upon mere book learning than upon 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 advocate he had few equals. When fully aroused by the merits of his subject his eloquence was at once graceful and powerfnl. His fancies supplied the most original, the most pointed illustrations, and his logic became a battling giant under whose heavy blows the adversary shrank and withered. Nature had bestowed upon him rare qualities, and his powers as a popular orator were of a high order. ("On the no ccrp nf th, Kn _cr\ - chrM n clo Ar tf f 2= -f= 4~t Oakland Co. Here he commenced the study of law I854, repealing the Missouri compromise and opening in the office of his brother, George W. Wisner, and the Territories to slavery, he was among the foremost A Rufus Hosmer. In 1841 he was admitted to the bar in Michigan to denounce the shamful scheme. He and established himself in his new vocation at the actively participated in organizing and consolidating village of Lapeer. While there he was apppointed the elements opposed to it in that State, and was a by Gov. Woodbridge Prosecuting Attorney for that member of the popular gathering at Jackson, in July, county, in which capacity he acquitted himself well I854, which was the first formal Republican Convenand gave promise of that eminence he afterward at- tion held in the United States. At this meeting the. tained in the profession. He remained at Lapeerbut name "Republican " was adopted as a designation of, a short time, removing to Pontiac, where he became the new party consisting of Anti-slavery, Whigs, ' a member of a firm and entered fully upon the Liberty men, Free Soil Democrats and all others opA: practice. posed to the extension of slavery and favorable to its In politics he was like his talented brother, a Whig expulsion from the Territories and the District of of the Henry Clay stamp, but with a decided anti- Columbia. At this convention Mr. W. was urged to slavery bias. His practice becoming extensive, he accept the nomination for Attorney General of the f _ _ NOd1~2' ' 142 MOSAS * *WISR r 142 MOSES ISWISiR. < e _I._ af' 'A II,11 ~ State, but declined. An entire State ticket was nominated and at the annual election in November was elected by an average majority of nearly Io,ooo. Mr. W. 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 political power of the slaveholders would have to be overthrown before quiet could be secured to the country. In the Presidential canvass of I856 he supported the Fremont, or Republican, ticket. At the session of the Legislature of.r857 he was a candidate for United States Senator, and as such received a very handsome support. In I858, he was nominated for Governor of the State by the Republican convention that met at l)etroit, 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 than that of his popular predecessor, Hon. K. S. Bingham. He served as Governor two years, from Jan. i, 1859, to Jan. i, 1861. His first 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 forth an enlightened State policy, that had its view of the rapid settlement of our uncultivated lands and the development of our immense agricultural and mineral resources. It was a document that reflected the highest credit upon the author. His term having expired Jan. I, i86i, 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 conference at Washington, but Mr. W. was opposed to all such temporizing expedients. His counsel was to send no delegate, but to prepare to fight. After Congress had met and passed the necessary legislation he resol ed 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 qualities 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 A^':%_- — ^y — ^+ga': Camp Wallace. He had at the breaking out of the war turned his attention to military studies and became 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 discipline was rigid. He possessed in an eminent degree the spirit of command, and had he lived he would no doubt have distinguished himself as a good officer. He was impatient of delay and chafed at being kept in Kentucky where there was so little prospect of getting at the enemy. But life in camp, so different from the one he had been leading, and his incessant labors, coupled with that impatience which was so natural and so general among the volunteers 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 disciplining his men and urging them to be prepared for an encounter with the enemy, enlarging upon the justice of their cause and the necessity of their crushing the Rebellion. But the source of his most poignant griet 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 with glory,-a distinction it afterward obtained, but not until Col. W. was no more. The malady baffled all medical treatment, and on the 5th day of Jan., 1863, he breathed his last. His remains were removed to Michigan and interred in the cemetery at Pontiac, where they rest by the side of the brave Gen. Richardson, who received his mortal wound at the battle of Antietam. Col. W. 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 %O.) T ii Tr *. I r", " tenderest regard. Next to his duty their love and k welfare engrossed his thoughts. He was kind, generous and brave, and like thousands of others he b sleeps the sleep of the martyr for his country. x m 1 1 - -'h i I rr t I '' h~-:i -~ '~..:~ 1;1 ~:i:";1.-~ ~':ITi); ";`:~~i,,-_;I:~ —~~~,:~1-'; I-XC"'~; ^: ~i:.-~~L.,-\~'ri,5 ~~~ i-" ~~:; ~5,~ ~ frp (7/-t 'en.<- %-f< 2 -4-'.... 4-J'-V(. GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAIV. 145;I.J IN LAIR & 9 tA USTIN BLAIR, Governor 'Cm '*X \ W ~of Michigan from Jan. 2, _A,.iX.. 86i,, to Jan. 4, 1865, and,,~':..L^ kown as the War Governor, is 0 gz and illustration of the benificent influence of republican in)pj:p- stitutions, having inherited neithl, er fortune nor fame. He was born i in a log calbin at Caroline, Tompkins Co., N. Y., Feb. 8, I8I8. W His ancestors came from Scot'( land in the time of George I, and for many generations followed the pursuit of agriculture. His father, George Blair, settled in Tompkins County in 1809, and felled the trees and erected the first cabin in the county. The last 60 of the fourscore 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 ayear and a half in Cazenovia Seminary preparing for college; entered Hamilton College, in Clinton, prosecuted his studies until the middle 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 college Mr. Blair read law two years in the office of Sweet & Davis, Oswego, N Y., and was admitted to practice in I841, and the same year moved to Michigan, locat 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 general statutes; also made an able support in favor of abolishing the color distinction in relation to the elective franchise; and at the same session was active in securing the abolition of capital punishment. In i848 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 County in i852; was chosen State Senator two years later, taking his seat with the incoming Republican administration of I855, and holding the position of parliamentary leader in the Senate. He was a delegate to the National Convention which nominated Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Mr. Blair was elected Governor of Michigan in I860, and reelected in r862, faithfully and honorably discharging the arduo( s ditic of the office during that most mo (.= I __=3t *e: 3il '3 * 146 AUSTIN BLAIR. 0I- - _ j- - Ilr I) A^ mentous and stormy period of the Nation's life. Gov. Blair possessed a clear comprehension of the perilous situation from the inception of the Rebellion, and his inaugural address foreshadowed the prompt executive policy and the administrative ability which characterized his gubernatorial career. Never perhaps in the history of a nation has a brighter example been laid down, or a greater sacrifice been made, than that which distinguished Michigan during the civil war. All, from the " War Governor." down to the poorest citizen of the State, were animated with a patriotic ardor at once magnificiently sublime and wisely directed. Very early in i86I tle coming struggle cast its shadow over the Nation. Governor Blair, in his message to the Legislature in January of that year, dwelt very forcibly upon the sad prospects of civil war; and as forcibly pledged the State to support the principles of the Republic. After a review of the conditions of the State, he passed on to a consideration of the relations between the free and slave States of the Republic, saying: " While we are citizens of the State of Michigan, and as such deeply devoted to her interests and honor, we have a still prouder title. We are also citizeas of the United States of America. 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 stripes, honor and protect her citizens. In whatever concerns the honor, the prosperity and the perpetuity of this great Government, we are deeply interested. The people of Michigan are loyal to that Government-faithful to its constitution 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 equally glorious 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 paragraph being: " I recommend you at an early day to make mani 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 proffer to the President of the United States, the whole military power of the State for that purpose. Oh, for the 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 the 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,i i i men during the war. Money, men, clothing and food were freely and abundantly supplied by this State during all these years of darkness and blood shed. No State won a brighter record for her devotion to our country than the Peninsula 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 Fortyfirst and Forty-second Congress, from the Third Dis. trict of Michigan. While a member of that body he was a strong supporter of reconstruction measures, and sternly opposed every form of repudiation. His speech upon the national finances, delivered on the floor of the House March 2, I868, was a clear and convincing argument. Since his retirement from Congress, Mr. Blair has been busily occupied with his extensive law practice. Mr. Blair married Sarah L. Ford, of Seneca County N. Y., in February, [849. Their family consists of 4 sons-George H., a law partner of A. J. Gould; Charles A., a law partner with hir father, and Fred. J. and Austin T. Blair, at home. Governor Blair's religion is of the broad type, and centers in the "Golden Rule." In I883, Gov. Blair was nominated for Justice of the Supreme Court of the State by the Republican party, but was defeated. i A k t l, X, I 1 00F. X=~ f,f ~ ( AafX - I 2, r IsA b..14 WJ " -' 7 t j '~ rK W 1 — z FI- * ~,K ~ 9 Mf/ t — Ills. —i --— ^ n It B~, - —, t A: GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 49 i VIV CSfAPO 3 HSMRT - I.X_ -- V * I ad t A i. ' _ _ iAS, 6Alle Ad ~~~~~. A....s.t C~.. 1.. V.,lrENRY HOWLAND CRAPO, ~~ i H &)Governor of Michigan from i l jl I865 to I869, was born May.. > ',, ~tol Co., Mass., and died at Flint, Mich., July 22, I869. ' %C/f He was the eldest son of Jesse!/1 and Phoebe (Howland) Crapo. c fr 'f( His father was of French descent ^ D and was very poor, sustaining lis:~ ~/ family by the cultivation of a farm in X )C Dartmouth township, which yielded I nothing beyond a mere livelihood. His early life was consequently one iii of toil and devoid of advantages for intellectual culture, but his desire for an education seemed to know no bounds. The incessant toil for a mere subsistence upon a comparatively 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 carryinlg on his studies were exceedingly limited. He sorely felt the need of a dictionary; and, neither having money wherewith to purchase it, nor being able to procure one in his neighborhood, he set out to compile one for himself. In order to acquire a knowledge of a the English language, he copied into a book every / word whose meaning he did not comprehend, and upon meeting the same word again in the newspapers and books, which came into his hands, from the context, would then record the definition. Whenever unable otherwise to obtain the signification of a word in which he had become interested he would walk from Dartmouth to New Bedford for that purpose alone, and after referring to the books at the library and satisfying himself thoroughly as to its definition, would walk back, a distance of about seven miles, the same night. This was no unusual circumstance. Under such difficulties and in this manner he compiled quite an extensive dictionary in manuscript which is believed to be still in existence. Ever in pursuit of knowledge, he obtained possession of a book upon surveying, and applying himself diligently to its study became familiar with this art, which he soon had an opportunity to practice. 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, upon the forge, with such tools as he could find in the shop, while the smith was at dinner, he constructed the compass and commenced life as a surveyor. Still continuing his studies, he fitted himself for teaching, and took charge of the village school at Dartmouth. When, in the course of time and under 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 required a rigid examination in various subjects, which necessitated f sA K 1-4 I 1 " i, 1a1 I days and nights of study. One evening, after concluding 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 Academy and passed [ t u Ad. _ 11,40 I' r;'- '; O 1550 HENRY HOWLAND CRAPO. " -,~ I t?5 4 f I I 3:=,r=,%,Al*, 1= M=. I a severe examination. Receiving a certificate that he was qualified, he walked back to his home the same night, highly elated in being possessed of the acquirements and requirements of a master of the high school. In 1832, 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 occasionally acted as an auctioneer. Sool after becoming 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 government, 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 report upon which was based the order for the establishment of the free Public Library of New Bedford. On its organization, Mr. Crapo was chosen 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 established, however, soon afterwards. While a resident in New Bedford, he was much interested in horticulture, and to obtain the land necessary for carrying out his ideas he drained and reclaimed several acres of rocky and swampy land adjoining 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 regular contributorto the New England Horticultural Journal, a position he filled as long as he lived in Massachusetts. As an indication of the wide reputation he acquired in that field of labor, it may be mentioned that after his death an affecting eulogy to his memory was pronounced by the President of the National Horticultural Society at its meeting in Philadelphia, in 1869. During his residence in New Bedford, Mr. Crapo was also engaged in the whaling business. A fine barque built at Dartmouth, 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 Commercial Insurance Company in New Bedford; and while an officer of the municipal governmenthecompiled and published, between the years 1836 and 1845, five numbers of the New Bedford Directory, the first work of the kind ever published there. Mr. C. removed to Michigan in 85 6, having been induced to do so by investments made principally in pine lands, first in 1837 and subsequently in 1856. 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 & Holly R. R., and was President of that corporation lunil its consolidation with the Flint & Pere Marquette R. R. Company. He was elected Mayor of that city after he had been a resident of the place only five cr six years. In I862 he was elected State Senator. In the fall of 1864 he received the nomination on the Republican ticket for Governor of the State, and was elected by a large majority. He was re-elected in i866, holding the office two terms, and retiring in January, I869, 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 intense 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 performed which seemed rapidly to restore him, but he overestimated his strength, and by too much exertion in business matters and State affairs suffered arelapse from which there was no rebound, and he died July 33, I869. In the early part of his life, Gov. Crapo affiliated with the Whig party in 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, I825, Mary A. Slocum, of Dartmouth. His marriage took place soon after he had attained his majority, and before his struggles with fortune had been rewarded with any great measure of success. But his wife was a woman of great strength of character and possessed of courage, hopefulness 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 born. 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 for a good part 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 conscientious in her sphere, and with added responsibilities and increasing requirements she labored faithfully in the performance 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 Congressional District of Massachusetts. -T (W I; A*,.. 4 If (i' lti116/ 6CW9; —"J g —Y CLS p56~' ~ GO VERNORS OF MIICHIGAN. 153 ) \, 4 ENBY P. BAMLDN i t 0 ^y, ^S ENRY P. BALDWIN, Gov- a large business, he has ever taken a deep interest in " ^R ^ l lJ eIrnor of Michigan from Jan. all things affecting the prosperity of the city and ' ';'.... a SA Ti86o to Tan. I. I87. is a State of his adoption. He was for several vears a ^1:'" h,lineal descendant of Nathan-.lSS ielBaldwin, a Puritan, of Bucks?~ inghamshire, England, who sett'?-/C tied at Milford, Conn., in 1639. l His father was John Baldwin, i'~ a graduate of Dartmouth Col7sTyiii lege. He died at North Provi1> i dence, R. I., in I826. His I paternal grandfather was Rev. l Moses Baldwin, a graduate of Princeton College, in 1757, and the first who received collegiate honors at that ancient and honored institution. He died at Parma, Mass., in i813, 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 Roxbury, Mass., about I638. His mother was a daughter,-f Pe, Nhp,'nii-ah VillilamiC n rrndinate of Harvard I)irector 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 denomination. The large and flourishing parish of St. John, Detroit, originated with Governor 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 religious 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. Hle was a director in the Michigan State Bank until the expiration of its charter, and has been President of the Second National = A a_ lc-l bAj* Bank since its organization. C College, who died at Brimfield, Mass., in 1796,w Bak since its organization. In 186o, Mr. Baldwin was elected to the State ltor 21 years he was pastor of the Congregationalist In 86 Mr Baldw was elected to the tate ' Church. The subject of this sketch was born at |Senate, of Michigan; during the years of 1861-'2 he Coventry, R. I., Feb. 22, 1814. He received a New was made Chairman of the Finance Committee, a England common-school education until the age of member of Committee on Banks and Incorporations, 12 years, when, both his parents having died, he be- Chairman of the Select Joint Committee of the two came a clerk in a mercantile establishment. He re- Houses for the investigation of the Treasury Departmained there, employing his leisure hours in study, ment and the official acts of the Treasurer, and of until 20 years of age. the letting of the contract for the improvement of i At this early period Mr. B. engaged in business on Salt St. Mare Ship Canal. He was first elected St S.Governor in i868 and was re-elected in 1870, serving. his own account. He made a visit to the West, in G in 68 and was reelected in, serving 7 wih r in his r t from 1869 to 1872, inclusive. It is no undeserved sDetroit in te eulogy to say that Governor B.'s happy faculty of es- ^ ^ spring of 1838. Here he established a mercantile timating thenecessarymeanstoanend-the knowing. house which has been successfully conducted until of how much effort or attention to bestow upon the 9 the present time. Although he successfully conducted thing in hand, has been the secret of the uniform ||||(?^ -- _^-4?>J' 154 HENRY P. BALD WIN. ' 54 ___ 1".7) -,-fl~l - I J N I i2 = I 1 success that has attended his efforts in all relations ) of life. The same industry and accuracy that dis-? tinguished him 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 had 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 Legislature. During his administration marked improvements were made in the charitable, penal and reformatory 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 the establishment of the State Board of Health were recommended by Governor B. in his message of 1873. 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 this administration.::r Governor B. also appointed the commissioners under i 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 I such amendments of the constitution as would permit a more equitable compensation to State officers and judges. The law of 1869, and prior also, permitting municipalities to vote aid toward the construction of railroads was, in 1870, declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Many of the municipalities having in the meantime issued and sold their 4 bonds in good faith, Governor B. felt that the honor 3 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 people a constitutional amendment, authorizing the payment of such bonds as were already in the hands of bonafide holders. In his special message he says: "The credit of no State stands higher than that of Michigan, and the people can not afford, and I trust will not consent, to have her good name tarnished by the repudiation of either legal or moral obligations." A special session was called in March, 187 2, 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 lat borious and thoughtful care for the financial condition of the State, a series of tables was prepared and submitted by him showing, in detail, estimates of receipts, expenditures and appropriations for the years I872 to 1878, inclusive. Memorable of Governor B.'s administration were the devastating fires which swept over, many portions of the Northwest in the fall of I87i. A large part of the city of Chicago having been reduced to ashes, Governor B. promptly issued a proclamation calling upon the people of Michigan for liberal aid in behalf of the afflicted city. Scarcely had this been issued when several counties in his State X were laid waste by the same destroying element. ~ A second call was made asking assistance for the suf- j 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 these contributions during the short period of about 3 months, that the Governor issued a proclamation ( expressing in behalf of the people of the State grateful 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 passenger on the Steamer Arill, which was captured and bonded in the Carribean Sea, in December, 1862, by Capt. Semmes, and wrote a full and interesting account of the transaction. The following estimate of Governor B. on his retirement from office, by a leading newspaper, 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 i have been marked features of all preceding documents from the same source. Governor B. retired to private f life after four years of unusually successful administration amid plaudits that are universal throughout 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, Henry 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 State I 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 possesses to such remarkable degree." IJ (i ~ i 1:5 P Ada, k I. I-IP 11 I 4-1;'z ~r/C9: sI sZ. i I tla n 11 4:" #i $) dlJ'"'.Ir Vt: 43 ~~~~- s-; lb:~.aBi ",c;j ~, ir. - ass -.-g 1 r ;-ia ~ AR Jf.ol GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. '57, *,(- ' -' ' MiI r~ rr Il 7~9\ " GOi-A MIHCZIl 5 OHN JUDSON BAGLEY, Governor of Michigan from 'Si:g |St1 I873 to I877, was born in bJ Em H ) Medina, Orleans Co., N. Y.,, Z._ Jluly 24, I832. His father, John Bagley, was a native of New Hampshire, his mother, Mary M. Bagley, of Connecticut. He at8. I^ P tended the district school of Locki ~ >I ~,; port, N. Y., until he was eight years: old, at which time his father moved to.Constantine, Mich., and he at-.. I ~ tended the common schools of that /I 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] I stances, Mr. B. was obliged to work; l 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 removed to.Owosso, Mich., and he again I engaged as clerk in a store. From early youth Mr. B. was extravagantly fond of reading 7 and devoted every leisure moment to the perusal of such books, papers and periodicals as came within his reach. In i847, 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 manufacturing 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 manufacturing enterprises, as well as in mining, banking and insurance corporations. He was President of the Detroit Safe Company for several years. He was one of the organizers of the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company of Detroit, and was its President from 1867 to 1872. He was a director of the American National Bank for many years, and a stockholder 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 1865 he was appointed by Governor Crapo one of the first commissioners of the Metropolitian police force of the city of Detroit, serving six years. In November, 1872, he was elected Governor of Michigan, and two years later was reelected to the same office, retiring in January, I877. 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 itmay 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 denomination. He was married at Dubuque, Iowa, Jan. I6, I855, to Frances E. Newberry, daughter of Rev. Samuel Newberry, a pioneer missionary of Michigan, who took an active part in the early educational matters of the State and in the establishment of its excellent system of education. It was principally.i~4i. SZ/ PP7.:tT; lal U ~~~i %~: sp~/ (5t "' ir art i; t=i qpkt.llj3 i." Tz*aa?si~i ~~ --- —-rr~ CI rr.VL -lie- i~.c I it~,, ---- Iri t;i ii 5 --./-^tD j' B,4hi G~ Y.rc — 4 158 JOHNV J. BAGLEY. < 8-. _)__.__ I- ----- ---._ ~). I r F. through his exertions that the State University was founded. Mr. B.'s family consists of seven children. As Governor his administration was characterized by several important features, chief among which were his efforts to improve and make popular the educational agencies of the Sfate by increasing the faculty of the University for more thorough instruction in technical studies, by strengthening the hold of the Agricultural College upon 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 liquor-tax law, taking the place of the dead letter of prohibition; the establishing of the system of dealing with juvenile offenders through county agents, which has proved of great good in turning the young back from crime and placing the State in the attitude of a moral agent; in securing for the militia the first time in the history of Michigan a systematized organization upon a serviceable footing. It was upon 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 State, 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 administration. 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 represents his employer, and as the Executive of the State he was her " attorney in fact." And his intelligent, thoughtful care will long continue the pride of the people he so much loved. He was ambitiousambitious for place and power, as every noble mind is ambitious, because these give opportunity. However 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, he 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 3 the conflict eagerly and hopefully. His State papers were models of compact, busi- e ness-like statements, bold, original, and brimful of practical suggestions, and his administrations 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. Literally, to him it was " more blessed to give than to receive." His greatest enjoyment was in witnessing the comfort and happiness of others. Not a tithe of his charities were known to his most intimate friends, or even to his family. Many a needy one has been the recipient of aid at an opportune moment, who never knew the hand that gave. At one time a friend had witnessed his ready response 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 in a year?" He turned at once and said: "I do not know, sir; I do not allow myself to know. I hope I gave more X 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 especially during the last few years, he devoted much time to becoming acquainted with the best authors. Biography 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 cursory 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 Christmas story, ) closing the entertainment with "The Night Before d Christmas," or Dickens's " Christmas Carol." 7' IfI:~ ` 5" 1 1A-4I $4, 7~7, Z %sai:, ':.%%~ _ i;:3 ic: VII,'IP:; u,' i:sl t;f id W..~ ~1 3.i ~-~,~--it — ~.aorrrrrrarrr tji ";18"~.Y Ci3,O C1 i F r i L ~I r a I 1 i y at " "' U A d ^ r ad X And ~ - *((>amT ---^ --— 4-f Y I r" GO VERNORS OF MfZICHIGAN I69 -) '' - I - ' - _______ 4 —4= l present (1883)b (6overnor of roof to seek a home in the Territory of Michigan, it 0Mml %l ^9Michigan was born in Living- then an almost unbroken wilderness. He settled in i ^C 1^ I ston, County, N. Y., Jan. 20o, Genesee County, and aided with his own hands in r815. His ancestors were of building somne of the early residences in what is now -' French descent, and settled at known as the city of Flint. There were but four or an early period in the State of five houses where this flourishing city now stands X^ I Maryland. His grandfather, Capt. when he selected it as his home. N #X Bolles, of that State, was an offi- In the spring of 1839 he married Miss Harriet A. \ I |0i1 I cer in the American army during Miles.. The marriage proved a most fortunate one, the war of the Revolution. About and to the faithful wife of his youth, who lives to enthe beginning of the present cent- joy with him the comforts of an honestly earned com-!ury both his grandparents, havilng petence, Mr. Begole ascribes largely his success in become dissatisfied with the isti- life. Immediately after his marriage he commenced tution of slavery, although slave- work on an unimproved farm, where, by his perse-. holders tl s elves, atemigrated to verance and energy, he soon established a good home, t11, eig.. t and at the end of eighteen years was the owner of a ~ Livingston Couhty, N. Y., then sthn well improved farm of five hundred acres. a new country, taking with them a mber of r rmer slaves, who Mr. Begole being an anti-slavery man, became a volunteered to accompany them. member of the Republican party at its organization. His father was an officer in the He served his towvnsmen in various offices, and was American army, and se in i856, elected County Treasurer, which office he I the war of II2.held for eight years. Mr. B. received his early education in a log school- At the breaking out of the Rebellion he did not house, and subsequently attended the Temple Hill carry a musket to the front, but his many friends will Academy, at Geneseo, N. Y. Being the eldest of a bear witness that he took an active part in recruiting; family of ten children, whose parents were in mnoder- and furnishing supplies for the army, and in looking.! i ate though comfortable circumstances, he was early after the interests of soldiers'families at home. The taught habits of industry, and when 21 years of age, death of his eldest son near Atlanta, Ga., by a Confedbeing ambitious to better his condition in life, he re- rate bullet, in 1864, was the greatest sorrow of his life. ) solved to seek his fortune in the far West, as it was When a few years later he was a member in Congress 3 --- — M- -- -- -- M)f~)<'- - - -^4^: 70 JOSIAH H 17 - f. I, -)N ': I 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 1870, Gov. Begole was nominated by acclamation for the office of State Senator, and elected by a large majority. In that body he served on the Committees 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 publicspirited view of the importance of a new capitol building worthy of the State, and was an active member of the Committee that drafted the bill for the same He was a delegate to the National Republican 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 candidate for the nomination of member to the 43d Congress, in which he was successful, after competing for the nomination with several of the most worthy, able and experienced men in the Sixth Congressional District, and was elected by a very large majority. In Congress, he was a member Qf 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 appointed by that committee to draft the most important 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 I882, Mr. Begole was the candidate of both the Greenback and Democratic parties, and was elected by a vote of 154,269, the Republican candidate, Hon. David H. Jerome, The very best indications of what a man is, is what his own townsmen think of him. We give the following extract from the Flint Globe, the leading Republican paper in Gov. Begole's own county, and it, too, written during the heat of a political campaign, which certainly is a flattering testimonial of his sterling 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 purpose nobody who knows him entertains a doubt. He is incapable of bearing malice, even against his bitterest political 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- A 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 Democrats and Greenbackers, even if it is marshaled by so good a man as Mr. Begole." I I i 2Z '?:. IIa "ie. I.t*: C D sv ---:5,s:'-i-a-^ -^ ^V. BEGOLE. 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 popular. f I. I~ This sketch would be imperfect without referring to the action of Mr. B. at the time of the great calamity that in I88I 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 "'burnt district" a letter, from # which we make an extract of but a single sentence:,: "Until the differences between the two committees f/ 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. L 7 I^ --- ^ | "-~1 I" I - -.- 4 ) 6Z 'I:~- - 1- HI I I Ji&44c1(4#5-er GO VERVORS. 173 I1~ 'USSELL A. ALGER, Governor of Michigan for the term commencing Jan. i, I885, was born in Lafayette Township, Medina Co., Ohio, Feb. 27, i836. Having lived a temperate life, he is a comparative. ^ young man in appearance, and possesses those mental faculties that are!,. the distinguishing characteristics of. } robust, mature and educated manhood. When Ii years of age both his parents died, leaving him with a ^,~ / younger brother and sister to sup creased zeal, and did much general reading. Hard study and close confinement to office work, however, began to tell on his constitution, and failing health warned him that he must seek other occupation. He therefore reluctantly abandoned the law and removed to Grand Rapids, Mich., to engage in the lumber business. When Michigan was called upon to furnish troops for the war, Mr. Alger enlisted in the Second Mich. Cav. and was mustered into the service of the United States as Captain of Co. C. His record as a cavalry officer was brilliant and honorable to himself and his company. He participated in some of the fiercest contests of the rebellion and was twice wounded. ( ).. I I= 2=3 )i; - y port and without any of the substan- His first injury was received in the battle of Boonetial means of existence. Lacking the opportunity of ville, Miss., July 2, I862. riis conduct in this enbetter employment, he worked on a farm in Richfield, gagement was so distinguished that he was promoted Ohio, for the greater part of each of the succeeding to the rank of Major. On the same occasion his seven years, saving money enough to defray his ex- Colonel, the gallant Phil. Sheridan, was advanced to expenses at Richfield Academy during the winter the rank of Brigadier General. A few months later, terms. He obtained a very good English education, on the I6th of October, Major Alger became Lieuand was enabled to teach school for several subse- tenant-Colonel of the Sixth Mich. Cav., and was quent winter. In i857 he commenced the study of ordered with his regiment to the Army of the Potomac. la - in the offices of Wolcott & Upson at Akron, re- After marked service in the early campaign of I863, L, aining until March, I859, when he was admitted he was again advanced, and on June 2 received his to the Bar by the Ohio Supreme Court. He then commission as Colonel of the Fifth Mich. Cav. His removed to Cleveland and entered the law office of regiment at this time was in Custer's famous MichiOtis & Coffinbury, where he remained several gan cavalry brigade. On the 6th of July occurred months. Here he continued his studies with in- the battle of Boonesboro, Md. In this conflict he./.. _. < 0uu:uu" 174 GO VERNORS. v.- - ------ was again wounded. His health received a more attired in the prevailing style of business suits. His ' than temporary impairment, and in October, 1864, favorite dress has been a high buttoned cutaway frock L he was obliged to retire from the service. His career coat, with the predominating cut of vest and trousers, i as a soldier included many of the most celebrated made of firm gray suiting. A high collar, small cracontests of the war. He was an active character in vat, easy shoes and white plug hat completes his perall the battles fought by the Army of the Potomac sonal apparel. He is very particular as to his appearfrom the time of the invasion of Maryland by Gen. ance, and always wears neat clothes of the best goods, Lee in I863 up to the date of his retirement, with but shuns any display of jewelry or extravagant emthe exception of those engagements which occurred bellishment. He is one of the most approachable while he was absent from duty on account of wounds. men imaginable. No matter how busy he may be, he j In all he took part in 66 battles and skirmishes. At always leaves his desk to extend a cordial welcome.i: the close he was brevetted Brigadier General and to every visitor, be he of high or low situation. His Major General for "gallant and meritorious services affable manners delight his guests, while his pleasing in the field." face and bright, dark eyes always animate his hearers. Aside from regular duty, Gen. Alger was on private Gen. Alger is a hard worker. He is always at his service during the winter of I863-4, receiving orders office promptly in the morning and stays as long as personally from President Lincoln and visiting nearly anything remains that demands his attention. In all the armies in the field. business matters he is always decided, and is never Gen. Alger came to Detroit in 1865, and since that shaken or disturbed by any reverses. He has the time has been extensively engaged in the pine tim- confidence of his associates to a high degree, and all ber business and in dealing in pine lands. He was his business relations are tempered with those little: a member of the well known firm of Moore & Alger kindnesses that relieve the tedium of routine office.s c: until its dissolution, when he became head of the firm life. Although deeply engrossed in various business c:- of R. A. Alger & Co., the most extensive pine timber pursuits, Gen. Alger has yet found time for, general:: operators in the West. Gen. Alger is now president culture. He owns a large library and his stock of -, of the corporation of Alger, Smith & Co., which general information is as complete as it is reliable. %: succeeded R. A. Alger & Co. He is also presi- His collection of paintings has been selected with i) dent of the Manistique Lumbering Company and rare good taste and contains some of the finest propresident of the Detroit, Bay City & Alpena Railroad ductions of modern artists. His special enjoyment is Company, besides being a stockholder and director of in the driving of horses. His team of bays are perthe Detroit National Bank, the Peninsular Car Com- haps the handsomest that grace the roads of Detroit, pany and several other large corporations. and usually lead the other outfits when their owner While always an active and influential Republican, holds the reins. I Gen. Alger has never sought nor held a salaried Gen. Alger has an interesting family. His wife 9 office. He was a delegate from the First District to was an Annette H. Henry, the daughter of W. G. the last Republican National Convention, but aside Henry, of Grand Rapids, to whom he was married from this his connection with politics has not ex- April 2, i86i. She is a slender woman of fair comtended beyond the duties of every good citizen to his plexion, bright and attractive, and a charming hostess. party and his country. She is gifted with many accomplishments and apGen. Alger is now 49 years of age, an active, hand- pears quite young. There are six children. Fay, a some gentleman, six feet tall, living the life of a busy lively brunette, and Caroline A., who is rather tall man of affairs. His military bearing at once indicates and resembles her mother, have completed a course his army life, and although slenderly built, his square at an Eastern seminary and during the past year t:. shoulders and erect carriage give the casual observer traveled in Europe. The remaining members of the i the impression that his weight is fully I80 pounds. family are Frances, aged 13; Russell A., Jr., aged II; He is a firm, yet a most decidedly pleasant-appearing Fred, aged 9, and Allan, aged 3. All are bright and man, with a fine forehead, rather a prominent nose, promising children. Gen. Alger makes his home at an iron-gray moustache and chin whiskers and a full his handsome and large new residence on Fort Street, head of black hair sprinkled with gray. He is usually at the corner of First Street, Detroit. ^ %-n-^ --- -- to PI ` ~ a ~ n~~.oi~~~-~~~4Zi,~ (~A.i..N 7* I \ A X 14 I / I I ( 1 MlftI,,- 'T, I-f ~t~ugoi 1 -'r Mt X=I-v r.= Z=17~ I i fi,P Al I'rl ~atli~ai- I.iIC I~ -Tr 0011.1 JG* j (0 u 1 ZKII u u "to 'I- 9 - ! xK I E C, s (il X x M, s ) ( i:* 1: -.j )I 1I )o!7 2 A I' k,'O Vilr, (( -P I -----— I tr... -— _ _%w OSCEOLA COUNTY. I77, ij, p*I N TRODU(QTOO RY | Vi^^^^^^^^^^W^Sl^^^^^^^ A^W^^^^^B^^l^ qtl S^HH E value of history lies, in a a '~1 - great degree, in the biography of the personages con-..II '] |cerned therein.,; The anrials, Nml of the settlers dline'ate the: X^~ "pioneer period, while those." 1SI " 1 ~of the later residents exhibit, the progress of the country and'the status of the present generation. Osceola County gives a vivid illustration of these statements; but its. wonderful pioneer era laps upon its present period in a manner so,,gradual that there is really no dis%G-g tinctive line of demarcation. Many of those whose efforts gave the country its earliest impetus may still be seen upon 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 manipulations, successes and reverses of the present day, still jealous for the reputation of the county and eagerly solicitous for her substantial and permanent progress. The compilers of these records strive to establish their claim for biographical integrity, preparing the matter from the stand-point of no man's prejudice. The full scope of the personal record here is to demonstrate the exact relation of every individual represented to the generations of the past and of the present. ' Srcceeding ages sweep away the debris of human errors and perpetuate the real greatness of a community. Character stands out statuesque, and events cluster about individuals, forming the grandest and truest historical structure of which any age is capable. Only biography can fitly represent the foundation, progress and ultimatum of local history, and portray with perfect justice the precise attitude and relation of men to events and conditions. Osceola County is justly proud of her pioneer record, and, so far as possible, the publishers have endeavored to honor the representatives of that period as well as those of to-day. Labor and suiffering, undergone in the light of hope and the earnestness of honest effort and toil, established this county in permanent prosperity, and is rounding up a period of glorious completeness. Her villages are creditable, her agricultural community is composed of the best class, and her professional men are of marked integrity. In collecting the following sketches the purpose has been to collect the main points of personal record, through which the enterprise of decades to follow may complete a perfect and continuous historical outline from the earliest settlement of the county to the present time.: - C;.4,Z I $ X I i (~ —)>- I 0 I 1'- A,iiil 4 *UI I . 1.,1 I-.. I I 11~ /OSCEOLA COUCNTY. 181 i )?* ^ X i a.^ C —~~y2 < ----0<^Whfl^WK*-* — O — ZI% O' O,;,"W t=e /l ~'ei, t HARLES H. HOLDEN, of. Reed City, Mich., the sub-.H,; ject of this sketch, was born iz ^.'' April i8, 1832, at Groton, Grafton Co., N. H. His ais JIS " father, Josiah Rhodes Holden, was born in Groton, Feb. 22, 1797, and was married to Joanna Reed Danforth, Jan. 24, 1824. She was born in Londonderry, N. H., March io, I8oo. Of their six children but three survive: Hon. E. G. D. Holden, of Grand Rapids, Mich.; Mrs. Fannie L. Fowler, wife of a prominent lawyer and capitalist at Manistee, Mich.; and C. H., of this sketch. When the latter was an infant of two months his parents matured a long considered plan r.TST. s trouble, and when the region of the Northwest was again free from the turmoil of strife it was too late to press on to the original destination. The approach of autumn portended winter which with its associations bore little of encouragement to navigators to untried regions, and many families clung to the ties which, though so recently formed, borrowed from circumstances an added strength, and settled to await the advent of another spring. Josiah R. Holden was among the heads of families who had gained a foothold, but born of a sorrow which to him seemed irreparable. In one short week the grim messenger, death, invaded that happy family and took to its icy embrace two boys, one-half of his famnily group,-the first and third,-leaving the second and the subject of this sketch, then an infant. =:Z''.rli I* IOT I N` ot removing West, and set out for Illinois. Reach- In I834 they started from Cleveland for Chicago, ing Buffalo, they took passage for Cleveland, having which then comprised Fort Dearborn and two tradlearned of the disturbed condition of the country in ing posts. They made the trip on the first steamer that then undeveloped and remote section, where that made the the passage of the Straits at Mackinaw. fabled resources awoke the smoldering fires of dor- Ten days after reaching Chicago they went to Will mant ambitions, and lured the footsteps of the young Co., Ill., and located on I60 acres of prairie and timand ardent towards its goals of promise. The diffi- her land situated on the Du Page River in the vicinculties with the Sacs and Foxes culminated in the ity of Joliet. conflict known in history as the "Black Hawk War." The senior Holden entered into the work of the The rumors which found their way easterly, at first pioneer settler with all the vigor, hopefulness and vague and filled with an undefined terror, gradu- energy of purpose e inherited from his ancestral ally assumed the tangibility of fact, and the tide of stock and which associations of the place of his birth immigration stayed its waves in the nearer and more had fostered and preserved in their native strength. peaceful commonwealth of the Buckeye State. The He erected a hotel and had succeeded in establish( summer sped on and various complications detained ing a line of business connections which promised those who had paused to await the end of the Indian future realizations in proportion to the spirit and " _ ||u".g,Z^i. —? — 182 OSCEOLA CO UNTIY. deserts of their originator, when the financial crisis flexible methods. They have been the founders of of i837 supervened, and by its reduction of values, some of the most substantial and popular financial aided by the complications attendant upon the mis- projects; they have shone peerlessly in literature; cellaneous currency, appropriately styled "wild-cat they have walked unflinchingly to the block and money," overwhelmed the relations of business, and bared their throats to the headsman's ax with firm Mr. Holden was forced to dispose of his estate at a fingers, and invited the fatal blade with the same sacrifice, which was synonymous with financial ruin. calmness in which they were wont to stretch themLeaving his family settled at Plainfield, in Will selves for repose on luxuriant couches in palatial County, he went to Arkansas to retrieve his losses, homes. and after an absence of three years returned and It is a grand type of humanity, and its fineness of removed his family to Moorsville, near New Albany, grain is still inbred in our own composite nationality. Indiana. In 1845 they came to Michigan and set- It is like the essence of the cassava, preservative tied on a farm of r60 acres situated twelve miles and antiseptic, and from its reproduction in sucfrom the city of Grand Rapids. The territory of ceeding generations it receives a fresh impetus, and Kent County, which is now one of the finest samples takes in renewed vitality. of the probabilities of Michigan, as well as a mani- The name of Holden first appears in the records fest of the character of her pioneers and their efforts, of the New World in 1609, when Richard Holwas then undeveloped, and Mr. Holden of this den, a refugee Puritan, from the town of Leyden, sketch, then a boy of 13, was the father's assistant in came to America, followed in i6II and in I612 the workof clearing the home farm. The parents respectively by Justinian and Randall Holden, of i yet survive and reside in Grand Rapids, aged respect- the same persecuted fraternity. * ively 87 and 84 years. Their two sons are in the The earliest traceable ancestors of the family of.i C= fullness of their manhood and have crowned the am- C. H. Holden was John Holden, born in i692, from 3= a bitious hopes of the father and the unfaltering trust whom the line is intact. In the maternal line he is: == of the mother with the honors of their distinguished of Scottish origin; his mother being descended from = and successful careers. Hon. E. G. D. Holden, of the Greggs of Ayrshire, and traced to I690. Grand Rapids, is one of the " eminent men of Mich- The earliest independent individual purpose of Mr. igan," and wrought every step of his upward career Holden, of this sketch, was to obtain an education, ( ) by hard, systematic work, until he has a record which and he availed himself of every advantage of the reflects luster on his entire generation. His election public schools in the sections of Illinois where his to the position of Secretary of State of Michigan is parents resided, and after their removal to Kent among the most signal triumphs in the register of the County, Michigan, alternated his seasons of labor Peninsular State. i with study at the terms of winter school. He served Charles H. Holden has descended from illustrious the family interests faithfully and well, and at I8 ancestry, and belongs to a race that has been made his father gave him all the aid he could toward the } conspicuous by distinctive traits. The student of accomplishment of his plans,-the control of his time, history may always turn from his futile and bewil- -that he might pursue his educational project undering guest in search'of a reliable basis whereon to trammeled. He had sufficient means to enter the found a just opinion of a large majority of the char- academy at Plainfield, Ill., where he spent a year preacters of history to the records of the Puritans. paratory to becoming a student at Oberlin, Ohio. At Though they have been the objects of derision, con- the latter place he took a classical course of study, in A tumely and vituperation, no assault has availed to which he was occupied three years, earning money to F hurl the class from its position. It has stood stat- defray his expenses by teaching winters; the fourth, uesque in the history of the world since the days of or final, year of his collegiate course was passed at Elizabeth, and its appellation is the synonym for Knox College, Ill. ( sound morality and unswerving purpose. The On leaving college he was free from debt; his in-:) records of business since the period of the earliest dustry had earned all he needed, and his frugality (? dissenters, in all avenues, exhibit traces of their in- had expended his earnings to the best possible, ^^A^SI *I )* * S i OSCEOLA COUNTY. I83 -~,-T),I f (' 9;~;-: A#%,de. 4 0 r= advantage, and best of all he had the eminent satisfaction of knowing that what he had accomplished was his own work, and at the cost of no sacrifice at home. He entered the office of Patterson & Champlin at Grand Rapids, Mich., as a student of law, and read under their supervision two years, gaining much advantage from their office relations; after which one year was spent in Columbia Law College, Washington, D. C., where he was graduated. After a year's practice in Grand Rapids he finally located at Grand Traverse, and in the fall of I858 was elected Prosecuting Attorney and Circuit Court Commissioner for that county. The territory then embraced within its limits now comprises the counties of Leelanaw, Antrim, Kalkaska and Benzie. The district politically was Democratic, yet he was elected over his competitor, Frank Stevens, by 23 majority, being the only one on the Republican ticket that was elected in the county that year. He was re-elected in i86o and officiated until the President's second call for troops, when he felt the need of arduous service in behalf of the national integrity, and he abandoned a prosperous business and raised a company of volunteers, afterwards known as the "Lake Shore Tigers," Co. A, 26th Mich. Vol., and was mustered as its First Lieutenant on the i ith day of September, I862. During the spring of 1863 his regiment participated in the Blackwater campaign near Suffolk, Va., against Longstreet. During the draft riots at New York City in July, 1863, his regiment was ordered to New York, and Mr. Holden was placed on the staff of Gen. Canby, as Commissary of Subsistence. The arduous work of providing for 30,ooo troops hastily concentrated at the city of New York during this emergency required rare executive skill and prompt action in meeting and providing for the wants of the soldiers. How well he discharged the duty of this trust may be inferred from the fact that he, a volunteer officer, was retained in preference to old line regular officers, who never looked with favor'upon the volunteer service. During this period Mr. Holden handled millions of dollars for the Government in purchasing supplies for the army and in disbursements to the various hospitals in and about the city, and, be it said to his credit, every dollar was accounted for to the last farthing, as the records of the Department will show. On the i5th of October his regiment was ordered to join the Army of the Potomac and became a part of the First Brigade, First Division, Second Corps, under Gen.'Hancock, in which capacity the regiment remained until the close of the war. The cessation of the hostilities afforded opportunities to retrieve errors and for the recognition and acknowledgment of meritorious services. Mr. Holden received two brevets first as Major, and lastly Lieutenant Colonel. On being relieved of his obligations as a soldier, he was appointed to a position by the Secretary of the Treasury in the Loan Branch, Treasury Department, where he was attached to the bureau for printing and disbursing the 7-30 bonds. Later he was attached to the Second Auditor's office, where he remained until 1870. In June, 1869, he was chosen to represent the 5th Ward, afterwards 2oth District, Washington, D. C., in the City Council: he was re-elected in I870, and chosen President of the Board of Common Council, being the 69th and last Council of said city. During his administration and management of the trust reposed in him by his constituency, he advocated and perfected many plans, such as parking the avenues and a system of drainage, which has since been adopted, placing the city upon a plane its founders intended it should occupy and become the handsomest city on the continent. The plan here inaugurated was taken up and carried forward by the new life which had been infused by the new order of things, and Washington of to-day is the pride of the nation and the most beautiful city in the world. During the years 1869-70-7 -72, Mr. Holden contributed to-the city in beautiful brick blocks, aggregating over a hundred residences, with an outlay of capital involved of more than half a million dollars. He was also largely engaged in the purchase and sale of real estate. It is said of him that he rarely, if ever, made a mistake in buying real estate; his purchases always panned out with a profit, and in a few years he had risen to the foremost rank among the live business men in Washington City. I, *,?*; ---- \ ( i But success in any vocation is not absolutely assured. The panic of I873 had its depressing effect on values, and with it the consequent roll of disaster; the business men of the entire country were the chief sufferers; fortune vanished as if by magic, and lack of confidence and general distrust pervaded the business world. Mr. Holden was not alone in adversity, 2'-^:-:. Z,,~ (; 0 q x84 ( '14s T and when the storm had s self bereft of his entire foi In 878 he visited the past losses, by commencin new and untried fields, un experience. Reed City, ( point selected, and in the ing year, he opened an of business as an attorney ar continued the manageme until Oct. 31, I88r, the Charles A. Withey, the fir & Withey. This firm is r Northern Michigan and i estate operations in con lucrative law practice. v to improve, enlarge and b been instrumental in addi ful park to the city; last Heath-House Block, and mensions and leased it fo Johnson, M. D., Manager and Minnesota Hospital ( is now one of the largest pitals in the State. It i edifice is brick, four storie ment and covers a little o the most attractive structt own a large amount of v they also issue a monthly, Es/ate Bulletin. In the year 1869, while Capital, Mr. Holden beca sonic fraternity, and is n Chapter; also Columbi Knights Templar, and Kr organizations of Washingt elected Commander of St( R., of Reed City, and is n( he is also Commander of Association of Northwest tion including within its li of the State. Mr. Holden was marrie E. Brooks, daughter of He of Grand Rapids, Michiga Mr. and Mrs. Holden die The portrait of Mr. Hol _jK~~ w e VaIInWoA; A —nd_ < --- OSCEOLA COUNTY. pent its fury he found him- a preceding page is a fitting accompaniment to the rtune! biographical annals of Osceola County. His youth's 4 Vest, determined to retrieve first endeavor was as a pioneer laborer in the develop-,g again at the bottom in ment of Northern Michigan, which has supplied some iaided save by the light of of the best elements in the progressive history of this s o s.. 1. '..........., _ _.,, -I ~ r1* )sceola Co., Mich., was the month of June, the followfice for the transaction of id dealer in real estate, and ent of his relations alone date of the admission of m style becoming Holden low the most prominent in s largely interested in realnection with a large and /'_ TT_-1 _ — 1-_ _ _.-1.-. _.1 country; and to it he has brought the energies ot his manhood's prime, which are among its most valuable factors in its present condition of promise,-fast approaching fulfillment and the fullness which characterizes adjacent, as well as remote, sections of the Peninsular State. 'ir. ioluen nas uouc inucni A )eautify Reed City; he has J. Terrill, merchant and Postmaster at ng additions and a beautAvondale, and farmer, section 26, Hartseason he purchased the i1f1~*,. rrl, m a Pos at season he purchased the wick Township, was born July 23, 1837, in more than doubled its diMiddletown, Vt. His father, Ezra Terrill, was r a term of years to Norman a term of yers to Normana farmer in the Green Mountain State, where, of the Michigan, Wisconsin.,.... he was born in the town of Middletown in = Company. This institution t and best conducted hos- Rutland County. In early life he was a miller. Later he went with s also a sanitarium. The his family to the State of New York, where he ' s in height above the base-.. - i - reared his family. In i865, the Terrills, father and ver an acre of land, and is son, came to Michigan, where they remained at that Ire in the city. The firm time but a year, going in 1866 to Jones County, Iowa. 'illage and farm property; the tie of wh is Rl There the mother, Orra (Newland) Terrill, died, June, the title of which is Real II, 870. She was born in Vermont. In March, I881, Mr. Terrill, of this sketch, removed his family a resident of the National a resident of the Nationalto Hartwick Township, whither he came a month,me a member of the Maearlier and bought 40 acres of land, on which some ow a member of Lafayette improvements had been made. He afterwards a Commandery, No. 2, erected a building for a store, put in a stock of v nights of Pythias, all local ghts of Pythas, all local goods wortlh $r,200, and has since transacted a on City. In 883 he was fairly good business as a merchant. On the estabdman Post, No. 198, G. A. lishment of the postoffice at this point he was apow serving his second term ostmaster. f the Soldiers and Sailors' The senior Terrill died at the home of his son,:ern Michigan, an organiza- March 9, i88 mits the northwest quarter Mr. Terrill is a Republican in political sentiment.. He was married Feb. 20, I862, at Potsdam, St. i d Feb. 9, I859, to Fannie Lawrence Co., N. Y., to Bertha Bachelor, and they ' ratio and Elizabeth Brooks, have the following named children: Orra L., born in. Four children born to July 2, 863; Inez M., March 14, 1867; Irma L., d in infancy. Aug. 23, I869, and died Oct. 8, 1870; Albert K., ) Iden which is presented on Nov. r8, 1872. The mother is the daughter of.^a-A^jun;(-^s,S, I I~I~ ~ "7-I- - II g^^^- -- wei 9 w au-^ — N OSCEOLA COUNTY. 185 (~ v --- Nathaniel and Lucretia (Ward) Bachelor. Her Artillery, from Flint, Mich. His command accom-, parents were natives respectively of Vermont and panied Sherman through the Georgia campaign, and "Massachusetts, and they located in North Amherst, he fought in the following engagements: Resaca, Mass., where the mother died. The father went to May 14; Pine Hill, June io; Lost Mountain, June St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., married a second time, and 15; around the Kenesaw Mountains, June 22; died there in March, 1862. Mrs. Terrill was born Atlanta, July 21, 22 and 27. (These were conin Conway, Franklin Co., Mass., and was I2 years of tests of 1864.) Aug. 4, 8, 9 and r, the forces were age when she was taken by her father to the State in action near Atlanta, where Battery F had the of New York. honor of throwing the first shell. Mr. S. also took Mr. and Mrs. Terrill are members of the Baptist part in the battle near Kingston, N. C., March Io, Church. i865. He received his discharge July 8, I865, at Jackson, Mich., and returned to Hillsdale County. He resumed his former occupation of farmer, in ^ |i ~ which he continued four years. 4 In October, i869, he came to Osceola County, where he made a homestead claim of the real estate he i h1e - s owned ever since. situated on section 125 1% AY sQ ii f i' i I ~' acob Swarthout, farmer, section 32, Sher_ man Township, was born in Waterloo, n Seneca Co., N. Y., Aug. i6, I843. John 1 Swarthout, his father, was born at Seneca Falls, N. Y., and has been a farmer and blacksmith during his active life. He is of German extraction and married Amanda Taylor, a native of Wayne Co., N. Y. She died in I848, in Seneca County. The father is a resident of Ionia County, and is 84 years of age. Soon after the death of his wife he removed with his family to Hillsdale Co., Mich., removing later to his present location. After the death of his mother when he was five years of age, Mr. Swarthout was under the care of his father until he was 1 years old, when he took the control of his course of life into his own hands. He found home and employment among the farmers of Hillsdale County until he became a fireman on the Michigan Southern Railroad. tHe "fired" about Sherman Township, and consisting of 80 acres of land. The entire acreage was in its forest condition, and he has now 55 acres under most creditable cultivation, and forming one of the most desirable and valuable farms in the township. He has recently = built a large barn. He is a skilled farmer and a = trusted, respected citizen. Politically he is a Repub- x lican, and has served as Township Treasurer. He was married Nov. 26, i868, in Hillsdale Co, ( Mich., to Emma Convis. They have one childEthel —born April 23, I870. Mrs. Swarthout was born Aug. 22, I849, in Wheatland Township, Hillsdale County, and is the daughter of Philo D. and Huldah (Halleck) Convis. The father still resides on the homestead where the mother died, in July, I867. =, 31 g 13 months, after which he was entrusted with an engine on the same road, although he was not yet I5. He served in that capacity three years. g | illiam W. Cushman, farmer and lumber. He enlisted Aug. 2I, i86i, under the second call man, resident on section 22, Middle Branch of President Lincoln for men to aid in the restoration | Township, was born Jan. 25, r843, in of a " solid " Union, enrolling in the First Michigan Penobscot Co., Maine. He was reared on a Cavalry, under Colonel Broadhead, who was killed J farm and remained on the family homestead in the second battle at Bull Run. Mr. Swarthout ' until he was 20 years of age. In I863 he bewas in the caxilry 15 months, and was a participant gan to operate as a saw-mill assistant on the Penob-? in all the fights in which his regiment was involved, scot River. among which were Winchester, Oliver Heights and Two years later he came to Michigan and engaged the capture of Harper's Ferry. He was discharged in lumbering in the region of the head-waters of Cass ~ for disability, but soon re-enlisted in Battery F, Light River in Tuscola and Sanilac Counties, proceeding Rie nTonilac is, pced i186 OSCEOLA COUIVTY. thence to Rouge River in Kent County, where he Her six children were born in the following order: was similarly interested. Later he went to the State Clement L., Dec. 27, I863; Llewellyn M., Aug. 9, of Wisconsin, returning afterward to Michigan. In i865; Samantha A., Nov. 8, i866; Lewis L., May I> 1869 he made a claim of I60 acres of land in Mid- Io, I869;- Esther R., July -, 187; Homer 0., die Branch Township, on which he at once settled Nov. 28, 1876. permanently, and engaged in lumbering. To this In March following his marriage, Mr. Shadley he has added 150 acres bylater purchase. His lum- located on a farm in Hardin County, which he conbering operations have been transacted on the Mid- ducted four years. They set out from thence in die Branch and Muskegon Rivers, and have chiefly April, 1867, and traversed the entire distance to occupied his time. The improvements on his farm Hartwick with a team, coming in a pioneer wagon, are still limited. He is a Democrat in political and consuming 23 days in the trip. There was no preference, and has served as Road Commissioner thoroughfare built over the last six miles of their and School Inspector. route; snow lay four feet deep on the ground, and Mr. Cushman was married Sept. I, I872, in Hart- they had to cut their road into the bush. Their wick Township, to Laura E. Coil. She was born rate of travel was so slow that they were obliged to Nov. 6, I847, in Mercer Co., Ohio, and accompanied sleep in their wagon in the dense woods. They had her parents to Osceola County when she was 12 years brought with them their household effects, and on old. The children born to herself and husband are arrival at their destination they had no shelter for six in number: Sumner, Linwood, Mark W., Lucretia either themselves or their belongings, and they lived J. and James W. An infant died unnamed. in their wagon until it was possible to construct a rude house. Mr. Shadley had made a homestead F 2=3 Ai;7~1 1!!!! claim of i60 acres, and later bought i60 acres additional, making a splendid farm of a half section in extent, of which 200 acres is in a cultivated con-, 3= X. I0f 1; =: i=[ r=: dition. == avid Shadley, farmer, lumberman and dey e n, al Since his arrival and settlement, Mr. Shadley has V s" rlB01L stockman, resident on section 24, Hart-.. r ockan, operated extensively in several branches of lumwick Township, was born Dec. 26, 1i841, ck Township was born Dec. 26, 84 bering, and has arrangements completed for "putin Hardin Co., Ohio. He is of German and ' ting in" about 2,000,000 feet in the winter of Irish descent, and his parents were natives of n884 the State of Virginia. They came later to Ohio, He is a Prohibitionist in political opinion, and has and are now buried in the family burial place in been Township Supervisor several years; is now a Hardin County. member of the School Board. Mr. Shadley was sent to school while a child, but Mrs. Shadley is a member of the sect known as on acquiring sufficient growth and strength he was Seventh-Day Adventists. called to make practical use of both on his father's farm, where he continued his efforts until his marriage, Feb. 26, 1863, to Elizabeth J. Clark. Her parents, Thomas and Mary (Judah) Clark, were born-|~ in Fairfield Co., Ohio. She was born May 7, 1841, in Fairfield Co., Ohio,. and soon after her parents removed to Seneca rthur J. Blanchard, farmer, section 29, County in the same State. Ten years later, in 185 r, Hersey Township, was born in Onondaga, I they went to Hardin County, where they now reside & p N. Y., Oct. 15, 1857, and is the son of Loren and manage extensive farming interests. They are and Esther (Marsh) Blanchardf The parents aged 67 and 70 years, and are prominent members are residents on section 32 in Hersey Townof the community to which they belong. Mrs. ship. The father is a farmer and works to Shadley was educated in Hardin County, and some extent as a carpenter. The family came to resided with her parents until her marriage at 9. Michigan in i86o, first fixing their home in Sharon " -S ---t ---- ^ '1 '-,.c - - '~-'q7- iit. - OSCEOLA COUNTY. 187 Township, Washtenaw County. The father bought has 60 acres in cultivation and good productive coni6o acres of land, where he operated as an agricul- dition. turist until 1872. On selling the place he removed Mr. H. has served as Overseer of Highways; in to Ann Arbor, returning thence to a second farm in political science he takes the views of the "National " Sharon Township, of which he became the owner, party, and in religion he is a member of the Roman comprising 80 acres. In I877 he again sold out and Catholic Church. of which Mrs. H. is also a member ( r J (,< A -- * --- — _ - _. o 8 _ A_ --- - -_. purchased 80 acres in Hersey Township. In I882 he bought 80 acres additional. Father and son are in partnership, and both equally interested in paying for their joint property, the second purchase of land being in the son's name. The latter was married Aug. 28, I88r, to Anna Richards. Alice A., only child, was born June 8, 1882. Mrs. Blanchard is the daughter of William R. and Lydia A. (Edwards) Richards. Her father was a soldier in the Union service and was captured by the rebels at Olusta, Florida, Feb. 12, I864, and incarcerated in the stockade prison at Andersonville, rh — rp ha i.i TA1; l Tllr... T Q;9 A fcr\ fthp r- nh;,t, i a If He was married in Auburn, N. Y., to Julia O'Neil, and they had seven children, viz.: John J., Sarah, Catherine, Mary J., Julia, Elisha and Abigail: the last two are deceased. Mrs. H. died, in this county, in May, 1878, and Mr. Haslam was again married, in Auburn, N. Y., to Mrs. Ellen, nee Loven, widow of John Chester, who died in Auburn. She has two children by her first husband,-Maria and r C I C ) C T 1 John. VilcIC 11i ulcu July y9 ~ 1V,4) IlVl11 Llt; fV LHUU I LVU U-I ) fects of exposure, hardship and hunger. He was. ( born Aug 23 1813, in onmouthshire, England saac Smith, farmer, section 30, Burdell Cl Aug. 2. in ng 1n Township, was born May 8, 1834, in t-luron was married in his native country and in 1844 emi- Township, Wayne Co., N. Y. Daniel Smith, grated with his family to the United States, locating * his father, was born in Ontario, and descended primarily at Hopkinton, Mass., where he operated asw Enad "28, i acksi i. Tfrom New England parentage. He was a a blacksmith. The mother died in New England. ete He ms a.~ rmechanic in earlylife, but entered the ministry, x: Mrs. Blanchard was born Jan. 12, i852, at Hopkin- o * ie and although more than 80 years of age is still V ton. She is a lady of more than ordinary intellectual a e,. A abilities and culture, and during I88I-2 was Schooln parochial labor, n Kansas. es andcturen dng I. 8 w chl Isaac's mother, Grata A. (Stage) Smith, was born in Superintendent of Hersey Township. Mr. Blanchard Suprite o. H e T i r. the State of New York, of New England parentage, is a Republican in the truest sense of the term. r, and spent her whole life in the Empire State. She died in August, I847, in Huron, Wayne County. Her six children outlived her, and are still living, with one -- -— exception. Mr. Smith was I3 years of age when his mother,. | died. Later, his father went to Wisconsin, where the hilip Haslam, farmer on section 32, Rich- son accompanied him and remained with him until I l. i mond Township, is a son of John and Ann he reached the age of I9, when he came to Manistee, Haslam, natives of Ireland. His father Mich. There was at that date-1858-scarcely a Ij died in that country, and his mother emigrated settlement at that point. He continued to operate to America, and died in Noble County, Ind. there three years, meanwhile purchasing in Berrien The subject of this sketch was also born on County 40 acres of land, located in Three Oaks (% the "Emerald Isle," the date of his birth being Jan. Township. In June, 1854, he settled on his farm, 6, I819. He came to this country in I849 and lived where he resided some years, and combined his farm-:% in the city of Rochester about eight years, then in ing operations with the manufacture of brick and tile. ~ ) Auburn, same State, for awhile, then some time in He enlisted in the 25th Mich. Vol. Inf., and was Lenawee Co., Mich., then in Indiana, and finally, in wounded in the lower right leg by a rifle shot, at X,' the fall of 1858, he came to this county, taking pos- Tubb's Bend, on Green River, Ky. He was sent '~ session of 80 acres of land where he now resides and to the hospital at Louisville, and thence to Madison ~ Ug- -—.I l2 it (t( OSCEOLA COUNTY. 191 The fault of his youth was one that time was gradu- 0 ally and surely remedying, and he enlisted Oct. 3, 1863, at St. John's, as a private in Co. I, Ioth Mich. a ' I r Cav., Captain Ayres. His command was assigned llr saac Grant, liveryman and proprietor of the Upto lAvemnue Mills, ad pCity, was t to the Army of the Cumberland and took part in the $ ^l Upton Avenue Mills, at Reed City, was o n M a R C w Stoneman raids, serving until Nov. r, I865. Mr. IW ' born Jan. 25, 1846, near St. John's, Clinton on J 2., ne S. o, Cl Grant was a participant in 52 battles, of more or I Co., Mich., and is the son of Charles and 5 r less importance. Emmeline (Gillett) Grant. His earliest known l e. l elne t n On leaving the army he returned to Clinton paternal ancestor, Ebenezer Grant, was born in -, County for a time, and removed thence to St. Louis, Scotland, at an unknown date. Isaac Grant, son of.. d,. G, s Gratiot Co., Mich., and there engaged in the flour } the latter, was born April 4, 1760, in Goshen, Conn., '.. '. and feed business, operating in that avenue at that a: and became a soldier in the Continental Army before.. y point about two years. In 1870 he went to Mount he was 17 years of age, serving under "Mad"- ' ~... Pleasant, Isabella County, where he established himAnthony Wayne, and participating in the bayonet self ln general trade. A year and a half later he charge at the ford of Stony Point. His command of i e e r. ttransferred his locality to Baldwin, Lake Co., Mich., 40 men were captured at Fort Washington and and there pursued the same vocation for a year. At placed on the prison ship " Grosvenor" in New York the e tie he nterd a clai r the end of that time he entered a claim of 160 Harbor. The entire number were seized with smallacres of land near Baldwin, where he located and ) pox. A surgeon visited them and left a dose, for. r a commenced active operations. In i874 he was each man. All but four took the medicine and died. r''elected Sheriff of Lake County on the Republican /^ Isaac Grant was one of the survivors. After the ri o a o o Ae. lticket and served his term. In I88o he was re= close of the war he went to Lenox, Mass., and ==. ' " -... elected to the same position. He also held other A studied medicine. He married Hannah Tracy, of A. official positions, and officiated as President of the _%+ =r that place, and settled at Colerain in the same State, A ita -.,.. County Agricultural Association two years. In Febremoving later to Whitingham, Vt. He went thence /. ruary, 1883, he went to Chase, Lake County, and in i80o to Chenango Co., N. Y., where he practiced, he w t, Lake C y,. bought a livery stable, which he continued to manage. his profession and was one of the founders of the 1.,.. until Sept. 3, I883, the date of his sale of the ( first medical society of that county. He continued u 3. ad g property. Sept. 9, he became the proprietor of his a practitioner there until compelled by advancing t u livery business. His stables contain about a dozen years to withdraw from active life, and removed to horses on an average, and are fitted ith necessary..horses on an average, and are fitted with necessary Genesee Co., N. Y., and later to Albion, Mich.,. and suitable livery equipments. where he died Nov. g, 184f. His wife died Oct. 30, where he diedN. 9,. His wif die. 3, He purchased his mills of T. V. Childs, in the I 84I, ten days preceding his own demise. They.. v 8 t. fall of 1884 (current year). They include saw, grist had nine children. Charles, fifth son and child, was. 2. 1 ie a f and planing mills, and are fitted with the best born Oct. 2, I794, in Colerain. He was a drafted.., quality of modern appurtenances. They derive a man in the war of 1812, and served throughout the special value from their central location. contest. contest. Mr. Grant is a member of the Grand Army of the He married Peggy Hines, March 26, I8I6, and He married Peggy Hines March 26 and Republic, Post Stedman, No. I98, and he belongs they had three children. The first wife died, and also to the Sons of Industry. Feb. I, I831, he married Matilda Closs. They be- e s ivr He was married Oct. 25, I868, at Salt River, came the parents of two children. The mother died MA u 2 M aIsabella County, to Daney Clark. She was born (~i:) Aug. 26, I833~ Mr. Grant was a third time mar-t. i. X 3..Aug. tI, i850, in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and is ried June io, 1838, to Emmeline Gillett, and they t r R rt a r r. The, J the daughter of Robert and Martha Clark. The e had eight children. children of Mr. and Mrs. Grant were born as folMr. Grant was reared on the home farm in Clinton lows: Rena M., May i, I870; Alda M., Aug. 29, Co., Mich. He was 15 years of age when the Civil 1873; Clark D., April 25, I875; Howard, June i, War stirred the patriotism of young and old, and he 1879; and Annie, May i, 1881. experienced from the first the common enthusiasm. The portrait of Mr. Grant is given on a preced-. ^ On *nnr — ~4~-4P /^ 9- C->:)o7 CU, 92 OSCEOLA COUNTY. - 1 I WAF i ing page. He is an active, enterprising man and possesses the quality and degree of business energy which guarantees the future solidity of Osceola County. He is a fine specimen of physical manhood, is six feet one and a half inches in height and weighs 215 pounds. A)1 / i ev. John Farsberg, Pastor of the Lutheran j i e Church located at Tustin, was born Nov. i 9, i834, in Sweden. His father, Johan " Farsberg, died when he was in early childhood, and thereafter, until the age of eight years, he was cared for by his mother, Christiana Farsberg, in the home of his maternal grandfather. In I842 he went to live with an uncle to be instructed in the business of a blacksmith, and later he worked as a puddler in a foundry. When he was about 30 years of age he was appointed Government Inspector of the machine shops throughout the kingdom of Norway. He spent one year in the traverse of the country in the discharge of the trust. On the expiration of his commission in i866, he came to the United States and remained about a year in the city of Chicago, where he obtained employment as an axle-filer in various carriage factories. He became at the end of that time a missionary among his countrymen, and after laboring among them some months he returned to his trade as a mechanic, and operated three years in the manufacture of plows. He went thence to Moline, Ill., where he officiated in the Lutheran ministry one year. He went thence to Henry County in that State, and preached two years in the country. In I874 he returned to his former field in the city of Chicago, where he acted as a missionary about three years. He next proceeded to Rock Island, Ill., and spent a year in study at the Swedish seminary, and at the close of his course was regularly ordained a minister. In 1877 he took a final leave of his people in Illinois, and, answering to an urgent call from Osceola County, he located at Tustin. On his arrival he found the society without organization or place of worship, and he at once entered vigorously into 1 the work of remedying the deficiency. He has organized churches of his faith at Tustin, Reed City, Cadillac, Hobart, Morley and Bounds' Mill, all of which are now included in his circuit save at Reed City. At Tustin he has added 125 members to his society, and the membership over which he has charge, aggregates 500 in round numbers. Since his arrival in Osceola County he has been instrumental in erecting five church edifices and a parsonage. He has been indefatigable and unremitting in his parochial labors, and has often labored both day and night in his periods of effort. He is an earnest and zealous promoter of the principles of the Republican party. Mr. Farsberg was married in I866, in Norway, and three months after he came to Chicago, where his wife died six months later, leaving no child. He was again married Dec. 26, 1878, in Chicago, to Betsey Kunoson, who was born Oct. 22, 1845, in Sweden. She was well educated in her native land, and when i8 years of age came to Chicago with her parents, who went later to Minnesota, where they are farmers. Mr. and Mrs. Farsberg have had four children, one of whom, John, is not living. Those who survive are Antony W., Anna M. and Joseph T. q. ( '; 1=X 3= * <, - I 5, artin W. Westfall, proprietor of the hotel at Leroy which bears his name, was born April 17, I843, in Lyons, Wayne Co., N. Y., and is the son of James and Elizabeth, Westfall. When he was i6 years of age, his parents removed from his native State to Lenawee Co., Mich., and settled at Hudson. He took possession of a rented farm a year later, which he conducted several years, coming thence in August, i866, to Osceola County. He located on a farm and was one of the first settlers north of Reed City. He ' lived on the place where he made a claim five years, and improved 20 acres. Meanwhile, he operated on the road grade of the track of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, between Ashton and Leroy, and he "got out" Io,ooo ties for the road. Subsequently he boughtoout a man who was making preparations -4"*Y - V,~ I4.1 4z a A ' 'I^)^^ ---i^_ —ss^^-^-^^.niiltH -^ — VIinchin 'view, is Pontiac, now in its who J 1 family 4 )egin to f I869, at PonPontiac g^^^t^ —^^ -- vsmm iH ---: I b OSCEOLA CO UNTTY. 195 — I -- - ac %10 Arlk f I Bill-Poster, then owned by Wm. P. Nisbett, now of the Big Rapids Herald. From office " devil " he rose to be foreman before the expiration of his apprenticeship. In the spring of 1873 he left Pontiac to take the position of foreman in the Ludington (Mich.) Appeal office, founded at that time, and held that position over two years, when he resigned and went to Reed City, and accepted the position of local editor upon the Reed City Clarion, in the spring of 1875. From here he went to Toledo, where he worked at his trade in the Commercial job-printing room for nearly two years. Then, with his brother Jesse T., he purchased the Reed City Clarion from Mr. T. D. Talbot. This they found in very bad condition, financially and otherwise, but succeeded in putting it upon a first-class footing,-upon equal standing with the best of country papers. In September, 1879, Mr. Minchin received the commission of Railway Postal Clerk from the Government of the United States, which position he still holds, to the credit of both himself and the service. Minchin Bros. sold the Clarion to Charles E. Barnes in i880, and bought the Evart Review, George W. still retaining a half interest, while his brother continues as editor. The latter is also President of the village of Evart. Mr. George W. Minchin, the subject of the above outline, was married at Iudington, Sept. 14, 1880, to Miss Alice Bennett, of that city, and now has a pleasant home of his own at Evart. — i-~~;~ —,-^^ ^ — oseph H. Powell, farmer, section 6, Orient Township, was born April 13, 1840, in Pittsburg, Pa., and is the son of Ephraim and Catherine (Connor) Powell. His father was born Oct. 31, I806, and died Dec. 24, 1867. His mother was born in May, I8Io, and died in i88i. Their deaths took place in the city of Pittsburg. Mr. Powell lived in the place of his maturity until he was 20 years of age, when he went to Greenwood Township, Crawford Co., Pa., settling there in T860. He enlisted in the Union service Feb. 26, 1864, enrolling in Co. G, I4th Pa. Cav. The command was assigned to Averill's Division in the Valley of the Shenandoah. The first battle in which Mr. Powell was an active participant, took place May 15, 1864, at Newmarket. He was again under fire June 5, at Piedmont. June I6, he was engaged in a skirmish at Buchanan on the James River, and fought at Lynchburg on the two days following. He was in action at Liberty on the 2oth, and at Salem on the day thereafter. The command came down the valley to Parkersburg, went thence to Martinsburg and advanced to Winchester, where it was engaged June 22, 23 and 24, after which it fell back across the Potomac at Williamsport and pursued General Imboden after he had burned Chambersburg, following him until he was driven from Virginia. General Sheridan succeeded to the command, and on the t7th of September, the battle of Acquia Creek was fought. Two days later an engagement at Winchester took place. On the 2ist occurred the fight at Fisher Hill, and on the 23d Mr. Powell was wounded in the shoulder of the left arm, by a pistol shot at Mount Jackson. He went thence to Port Republic, and from there was sent to the hospital at York, Pa. His recovery was speedy and he rejoined his regiment at Winchester. He received his final discharge Aug. 17, i865, and returned home to Crawford Co., Pa. He resumed the occupation of farmer, operating as a laborer by the month and also as a renter. In i868, he determined to seek a later settled portion of the country, and accordingly made his way to Michigan, driving a horse-team through to Snow's Corners, Ionia County, reaching there April 20. After a residence of one summer at that place, he came, Oct. 20, I868, with his family, to Orient Township. He had made a homestead claim on the Fourth of July previous, and in September made a clearing and built a log house, to which he removed his family on the day stated, arriving at their home after dark. About 60 acres of the farm is now improved and cultivated, and a good frame house replaces the log cabin of the pioneer days. Mr. Powell is independent in political views and favors the Prohibition element. He was appointed Township Treasurer in r873, and was elected to the office in the spring of I874. In the spring of 1876, he was elected Supervisor and was subsequently re 3= i Ect ( 3: i I 9 r~10I. iu '. lp j 196 OSCEOLA COUNTY. elected in 1877, and in I880. He acted six years as year he platted one-half of the village where he School Moderator. resides, locating 48 lots. He has since made sale His marriage to Catherine Carroll took place Feb. of nearly the entire number. He is the proprietor f 26, i86o, in Pittsburg, Pa., and they ha4e had three of a fine residence in Tustin village, and owns I6o children: Margaret Ann was born Nov. 19, i860, acres of land on section 26, in Burdell Township. ~ and was married July 4, I88I, to James McDonald; He has recently purchased 560 acres located on an unnamed infant died at the age of six months; sections 2, I2 and 24 of the same township, and Ephraim J. was born May 17, I863. Mrs. Powell is operating as a lumberman and dealer in real was born Feb. 2, I840, in Greenwood Township, estate in his own behalf. Since his first removal Crawford Co., Pa., and is the daughter of William to Michigan he has spent three years in Ohio in his and Margaret (Brooks) Carroll. Her parents died in professional capacity., Crawford County. The marriage of Mr. Rich to Callie Meloy ocMr. and Mrs. Powell are members of the Meth- curred Dec. 25, 1873, at New Lexington, Perry Co., odist Episcopal Church. Ohio. They have one child-Wilder M.-born Aug. t -l harles M. Rich, civil engineer and lumN I - berman, resident at Tustin, Burdell Town= a ship, was born Feb. 8, I848, in Piscataquis f 4 Co., Maine. He is the son of Charles W. and Albina S. (Kittredge) Rich, both natives of Massachusetts. In 1864 they removed to Ohio, and are now living near the village of Elyria in the Buckeye State. Mr. Rich went to that State five years previously, and during that time was in charge of his uncle, I. S. Metcalf, residing at Elyria, Lorain County. He attended the Union School at that place until the removal of his parents to Lorain County, and after he was again an inmate of the parental household he continued his studies until he completed a full course and was graduated at the High School. At the age of 21 he determined to acquire a practical knowledge of the profession of civil engineering, and to that end he devoted his time, working for a while for his board; but soon, by close application and diligence, secured positions of trust and profit. Continuing in the service, he obtained employment on different engineering works in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Md., until the year 1876, the date of his removal to Tustin. He came here primarily in the real-estate interest of his uncle, E. W. Metcalf, of Elyria, Ohio. In the spring of 1877 he purchased 240 acres __ on section 24, Burdell Township, and in the same a- -- 9, I884. Mrs. Rich was born Sept. 23, 1848, in New Lexington, and is the daughter of William and Sophia (Thomson) Meloy. Her father was born in Pennsylvania and was by vocation a cabinet-maker. He was a man of prominent standing in Perry Co., Ohio, and during his life-time held several positions of responsibility and trust, among which were those of County Auditor and Treasurer. He died in Perry County, in the fall of I882, aged 73 years. Her mother was born in Ohio and descended from German ancestors. She is still living, in Perry County, and is 64 years of age. Mrs. Rich was carefully educated, and at the age of i8 years commenced teaching, which profession she pursued with success five years. Politically, Mr. Rich is a Republican. In religious preference he is a Presbyterian, while his wife adopts the tenets of the Baptist faith..- -. ---- — A- r — 1 II 3(/ ="S *V4 -r %C1 tis * f 9 I illiam H. Allen, lumberman at Evart, was born Dec. 3, i837, in Ontario Co., N. Y. J His father, Albert A. Allen, was a native 2 of the Empire State and was for some years, a minister of the Methodist Church. He died in Holly, Oakland Co., Mich., Feb. 9, 1882, at 77 years of age. William's mother, Laura (Oys- ^|' terbank) Allen, was born in May, i806, in Green Co., N. Y., and is a member of the household of her son at Evart. Three of six children of whom she be- ) came the mother are living,-Laura M., wife of a"IjQ^A — A ---A - OSCEOLA COUNI 7. 197 Andrew Seeley, at Palmyra,- N. Y.; Alpheus D.,book- paternal ancestor of Mr. Bellows of this sketch. The keeper in Detroit; and William H. family is an old New England one, the first member Mr. Allen began to prepare for the vocation of of which, John Bellows, came from England in the machinist when he was I6 years of age. In 1855 year 1635, and his descendants were distinguished he came to Michigan, where he worked at his trade, in Colonial matters and in the Revolutionary War. W andl latr conductnnrelt-] tract lllciness in the rluntl X_ otie. i__ tirA-..- -c _r -D ii I~ Ar.s i I F of Kent, Genesee and Muskegon. He was one of the earliest to enlist in the service of the United States, entering the army of the Union in April, I86i, enrolling for three months under the first call for troops. He became a member of Co. F, Second Mich. Vol. Inf., and soon after re-enlisted for three years, as a private. He fought at the First Bull Run, at Fair Oaks, Williamsburg, Yorktown, Malvern Hill, in skirmishes without number and also served on detailed duty. At the end of two years he was discharged, on account of ill health, at Philadelphia, and returned to Flint. After working a short time at his 4 - AJ 1 4 -. - aIf. -, 1 1 in 1037, wnen nve years or age, IvMr. bellows father removed with his parents from Vermont to Michigan, making almost the entire journey in a pioneer wagon with ox team, and settled on Climax Prairie in Kalamazoo County, where his father made a large claim of land. The grandfather of the Mr. Bellows of this sketch is still living, at the age of 85, on the land he located when he came to this State, still farming, having nearly 400 acres under a high order of cultivation. His wife died on the farm, about'the year 1866, leaving a large family, of which Charles F. R. Bellows was the oldest child and only son. i rraae, ne went to ivusKegon ana operated in real- From the date of the removal of the family to estate and abstract business. Going thence to Big Michigan, the boyood of Charles F. Bellowswas Michigan, the boyhood of Charles F. R. Bellows was Rapids, he was employed two years as clerk in a apids, he was employed two years as clerk in a spent on the farm, employed in clearing and improvrug store. ing it in a then almost unsettled country, having but: In I870 he came to Evart and resumed his occu- few advantages of society or schools, and leading the = ' pation of drug clerk, which he pursued about two well-known life of the pioneer boy. He afterward _ years, meanwhile becoming interested in lumbering attended the college just established at Olivet, and = " in the behalf of capitalists at Muskegon, buying tim- t State Normal School, and, leaving the farm, ber and logs. He has since been continuously en- entered upon the life of a teacher, successively at gaged in the same line of business. He is the owner Constantine Mishawaka and at Decatur. At these of a residence and two lots at Evart, and of several Princi of academies and graded places he was Principal of academies and graded tracts of farming land variously located in different schools, and devoted his entire time, not otherwise parts of the county. employed, in the study of mathematics, for which he Mr. Allen was married Nov. 26, i867, in Muske- had an unusual adaptation and faculty, enabling him gon, to Sarah J. Dale. They have two children, to enter the advanced course in civil engineering at namely: William J., born Jan. T, i870, at Big Rap- the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. After ids, and Bessie C, born May 5, 88, at Evart. rs. graduating with honor at the University he continued * Allen was born Oct. 9, 1840, in Monroe Co., Miic. teaching, and by his industry and ability has placed himself at the head of the profession which he has pursued since. He is at present Professor of Mathe--. = _ — -- matics in the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, a position he has filled for i8 years. As an author of a number of text books on mathematics, and a lifeilliam Edwy Bellows, senior member of long teacher of wide acquaintance, he is well known. '' the law firm of Bellows & Stone, of Reed as a leading educator of the State. HIe has been **( City, was born Jan. 14, I858, at Misha- prominent as well in political and journalistic cir' waka, Ind. Charles Fitz Roy Bellows, his cles, and founded the first Republican paper in Van father, who lives at Ypsilanti, Mich., was born Buren County. He is a Mason of eminence, and in f Nov. 29, 1832, near Bellows Falls, Vermont, a I883 was the Grand Master of the State of Michigan. i place founded and named by Col. John Bellows, a The mother of Mr. Bellows was Julia E. nee,I0 X " " Vs 198 OSCEOLA COUNTY. Walker, whose family were early settlers in Oakland He was m Co., Mich., and were also identified with the early laide E. Wei growth of the State. dren: Berth Being the son of a teacher, William E. Bellows Lewis Fitz enjoyed every advantage of education and training, Florence A., being a pupil in the graded schools under his father's Bellows was supervision and at the age of 12 years entering the Washtenaw I State Normal School. He was a member of the H. and Susa Classical Course until his graduation, in the class of 1877, being particularly proficient in mathematics and ancient languages, his especial delights, and the study of which he keeps up to the present time in his active professional life. While in school he spent his summer vacations on the farm, encouraging a strong physical as well as mental growth. In 1878, after a eter teaching district schools several winters while finish- Re ing his course, he became Principal of the Union i Z School at Saugatuck, Allegan Co., Mich., where he 4 Henry remained three years, and afterward assumed control is a pr of the graded schools at Allegan in the same capacity having for two years. As a teacher, he was practical, en- tion in Rich thusiastic and devoted to thorough instruction and etor of other = systematic management, and was held in high esteem corporation c ) by pupils and patrons. Dr. Bittne: E= At the age of 23 he began the study of law, at first ers, attendi during the leisure he could get from school work, and Grand Rapid afterward in the law office of P. A. Latta at Allegan the office of ) and Capt. E. P. Allen at Ypsilanti. He was admit- studied med ted to the Bar at Ann Arbor, in the Washtenaw Cir- and three mi cuit, July 25, 1882, but continued teaching and the courses of le urther prosecution of his legal studies until the where he wa spring of 1883, the date of his selection of Reed City mediately aft as his field for the practice of his profession. The father owned formation of his present partnership relation was acres is now entered into a short time afterward, and the firm are ner's Additi, already engaged in an extensive and prosperous third additiol practice. Besides legal business proper, they deal terests requil extensively in real estate, solicit fire and life insur- parties, and ance and lend money. As a young lawyer his in- accumulating dustry and native ability are making an impression In 1872 he in the community, which is the source of much im- profession, w portant and profitable business. he took char Mr. Bellows is a Republican in politics, born and ciation at O0 bred, takes a deep interest in public affairs and is a year, going s rising man in local politics. He did effective work in occupied in < the campaign of 1884 in his county for the Repub- two years, an lican ticket, and his services as a campaign speaker sumed his m are appreciated. continued tw <34 arried Sept. 3, 1879, at Detroit, to Ader. They are the parents, of three chila C., born July 23, i880, at Saugatuck; Roy, Feb. I, 1882, in Allegan; and born Sept. 29, 1883, at Reed City. Mrs. born Dec. 25, i860, at Manchester, Co., Mich., and is the daughter of Lewis n Weir. Bittner, M. D., resident physician at ed City, was born Jan. 17, 1850, at East rra, Oxford Co., Ont. He is the son of and Mary (Alles) Bittner, and his father rominent land-holder of Osceola County, g 200 acres in a fine agricultural condinond Township, and also is the propritracts in the county, and of lots in the )f Reed City. r was reared on a farm and studied winng school at Big Rapids and also at Is. At the age of i8 years he entered Fred Wood, M. D., at Big Rapids and icine under his instructions two years onths. Meanwhile he attended two full ctures at Bellvue Medical College, N. Y., s graduated in the spring of 1871. Imter, in April, he came to Reed City. His i 280 acres of land, of which a plat of 120 in the city limits and known as " Bittons." (To the first, the second and ns have since been made.) These inred the personal supervision ot interested Dr. Bittner came here to attend to the g business. e opened an office for the practice of his hich he prosecuted three years. In 1874 ge of a Church of the Evangelical Assowosso, and officiated as its Pastor one uccessively to Marshall, where he was a similar capacity one year, to St. Joseph id to Lansing one year. In 1879 he reedical practice at Reed City, which he vo years, and, at the expiration of that O I i i 14 3I Il I He 4' 'tr ar K I Y iBi WfCcC ec'nn....-... —. nI ^l fy - ^ 1?~ r^? *< OSCEOLA COUNTY. 203 ro 1%10,PA% /N) (O -"Y ii time assumed charge of a Church at Ic there two years. His health becoming again returned to Reed City, where he office practice and prescriptions. In 1883, associated with his bi Bittner, he built a mill-dam, situated c Richmond Township, and located o River. They built a flouring mill, witi 80 barrels of flour daily besides custor mill is fitted with io pairs of rollers ar improvements. The brothers have a jc in 40 acres of land, constituting the r Bittner is the proprietor of the prope resides, and i6 acres of land in village City. He was married in Fredonia, Calhou Nov. 9, I871, to Barbara Gutekunst. children were born in the following ord( Oct. i, 1872; Lottie M., Jan. 19, I874 Dec. 6, 1875; Adolph, Sept. 28, 187 Sept. 15, i879; Omar N., Aug. 24, i88 Nov. 9, 1883. Mrs. Bittner was born < in Fredonia, Washtenaw Co., Mich. T-Y-~ ~ ~ )nia, officiating to section I6, Crystal Township, together with his impaired, he eldest brother. They each made a claim of 40, is engaged in acres of land, on which Mr. Proctor remained six J years, and removed to North Shade, Gratiot Co., rotfier, Josiah Mich. Three years later he made another transfer t Dn section 14, of his home and family, to Hubbardston, Ionia mn the Hersey County. Not long afterward he embarked in the i a capacity of 'grocery trade at Matherton, combining that business n work. The with hotel-keeping and conducting both about one id all modern year. His venture proved disastrous, and as he )int ownership suffered almost total loss of his resources except his nill-site. Mr. ability to labor, he engaged as head-sawyer in the (.rty where he mill of Cogswell & Aldrich, with whom he operated A lots at Reed in that capacity three years. He next managed a saw-mill at Langston, Montcalm County, three years, n Co., Mich., and in the spring of 1872 he came to Hersey and Their seven operated as head-sawyer, scaler and foreman in the er: Lidas H., lumber camps of D. A. Blodgett. In the spring of; Austin H., I875 he took possession of the farm on which he 7; Simon P., has since pursued his agricultural interests, and he I; Almira B., also for some years continued the work of scaling, Oct. 14, 1847, prosecuting that business eight winters. He owns..a 120 acres of land, on which there was a small improvement when he took possession. He has passed 'I three winters near Harrison, Clare County, acting as == foreman in the shingle-mill of D. F. Diggins, and ": removed his family there. In the fall of I863 Mr. Proctor was drafted into (e the Union service from Gratiot County, but on reporting at Corunna, Shiawassee County, was released 24, being the only dependence of his widowed mother Co, Vt4 He The law was afterward changed, and he determined so., Vt. He a ( ) to enlist, as he considered the prospects of his being lsta (Mason) eb., i8o7 again drafted were more than likely to be realized. He decided to enroll in the Third Michigan InIrated to the d fantry. On meeting the recruiting officer at Pewamo, ed in Boston, he stated his circumstances, his large family, and the >ury, Orleans y, Orleans necessity of his presence to secure their well-being. a as a blackTas a bac he officer informed him that he could enlist him igan, whither and administer the oath in such cases made and 28, 1855, in s b i provided, give him custody of his papers, and should was born in he be drafted he could report for duty to the regi1 at the home ment as an enlisted man. He escaped the draft, /., Alfred A., lre and the necessity never arose. in, their five Mr. Proctor was married Sept. 16, 855, to Mary W. Smith, and they have eight living children, and becoming of four deceased. Fred was born Jan. 2I, I857; tion of Mont- Frank, March 7, 1858; Charlie, Jan. 5, i860; Dan, Jan. i, i856, Aug. 25, I86-; Viola. April I4, I863 (died March u-.. ---- y — fiugfir-Ad — OSCEOLA COUNTY. 213 3 1848, in Henry Co., Ohio. The former is a resident Maine, to Caroline Gatchell, and they became the ~ of Bushnell, Montcalm Co., Mich. He was born in parents of four sons and three daughters, namely:? 1797, in New Jersey. His family included four sons Ebenezer W., Rose A. (Mrs. Quigley), Winfield: and three daughters. The children born to Mr. and Scott, Leslie F., Mary A., Abner H. and Esther C. Mrs. Ferguson were named Waterman, Walter, The son, W. S., when 12 years of age, was in. Perry A., Franklin P., Emma J., Flora J., Eva E., strong and active boyhood, eager to begin his share Georgianna, Henry A., Nelson E. and Fred E. Nine in the work" of the world, and, with his inherited children yet survive. tastes and inclinations, was trained by association Mr. Ferguson became a soldier during the Civil and circumstances in the business to which his War, enlisting in Co. A, 2ist Mich. Vol. Inf. He father devoted his life and ambitions. Young Gerwas in action only at the battle of Perryville, in which ish was primarily educated in the public schools, he encountered a degree of hardship which completely and in 1864, when 15 years old, was sent to Grand exhausted his endurance. On the second night afters, to the academy, where he remained one seaRapids, to the academy, where he remained one seathe engagement he was seated in a chair near a fire, son, receiving meanwhile an appointment as cadet and becoming unconscious from over-fatigue he fell, i the naval school at Annapolis. He matriculated and was so badly burned as to cause his discharge there in r86, but, finding the career of a midshipfrom the service. man distasteful and irksome, with his father's apHe is a Democrat in political connections. He proval he abandoned the position at the end of his officiated three years as Superintendent of the Poor, y returned to Michigan to enter upon an ( nearly five years as Supervisor, several terms as Jus- activebusiness career as a lumberman. tice of the Peace, two terms as School Inspector and H o in r f 867, He was i8 years old in the winter of I867, and tC one term as Township Treasurer. i during that season he began operations as a lumberHe removed to his present location in Orient.:,.: man on his own responsibility, and took a contract:: Township Dec. 12, 1868, and made a homestead s T8, and m e a h d to "put in logs" on the Muskegon, along which line claim of 40 acres of land, on which he has since re- h. In sided.he operated during the remainder of his life In I869 he settled at Hersey, where he was a resident eight years. In the autumn of 1873, he made an _('^ ' ' |extensive logging contract with Messrs. Avery & 3-~~ ~. Murphy, to put in a large amount of logs on the Tom and Dock Creeks, in which he experienced difficulties of an unusual character, chief of which infield Scott Gerrish, deceased, son of was the shrinking of the streams to the proportions the Hon. N. L. Gerrish, of Cadillac, and of a rivulet, an obstacle which required the building brother of Mrs. Rose Quigley, of Evart, of dams and draining of lakes to raise the creeks to a P was born Feb. 15, 1849, in Lee, Penobscot height necessary for the accomplishment of the busiCo., Maine. He was early trained in the ness. The terms of the contract were finally fuldetails of the lumber business in all its branches filled, and the reputation Mr. Gerrish won for persehis father being engaged in that business in Maine verance under embarrassments that would have during his early boyhood. In 1857 he accompanied daunted and baffled men of larger experience, was of his parents to Wisconsin, whence, in I86I, they re- infinite value to his future career. John L. Woods, moved to Croton Township, Newaygo Co., Mich. the veteran developer of the lumber interests of the Hon. Nathaniel L. Gerrish, now of Cadillac, was.north of Michigan, becoming interested in the pluck bornin Dover, Maine, Feb. i6, I819. He grew to and perseverance of the young lumberman, and remanhood amid the influences of the leading industry cognizing the value of his predominating traits of f of the Pine-Tree State, and was a born and bred character, made him a proposition to take an interest lumberman, passing his entire life thus far in the in a tract'of I2,ooo acres owned by him on the up- A various avenues of that branch of business. He per waters of the Muskegon, which he accepted, be-,, was married Feb. It, I843, in Lee, Penobscot Co., lieving it to be the opportunity of his life, and which, -— @-^^n~ttli;> "9 -- 4 OSCEOLA Cou NTY. e24 OSCE'OLA CO UNT Y. X~ - t I ----.... i I afforded a broad field for the exercise of his abilities. In I874, associated with E. H. Hazelton and others, he purchased a large tract of timber land in town I8 north, 5 west, Clare Co., Mich., a location considered practically worthless for lumbering, as it lay remote from the river. While attending the Centennial at Philadelphia, in 1876, he observed in Mechanics' Hall a small Baldwin locomotive, whose operations suggested to his practical mind its feasibility as an accessory to the achievement of a lumber project in Clare County. A vivid picture of a horse that could draw logs without snow painted itself on his imagination, and he returned home with perfected plans for the accomplishment of the enterprise. In January, 1877, the first logging railroad in the United States was built, and connected Lake George in town i8, 5, with the Muskegon River, a distance of six miles. Within the following year the road was extended. During the first year it was operated, the W "put" was 20,000,000 feet; with the new facilities = in I879 the "put" reached a maximum of 114,o00,g ooo. In the spring of that year Gerrish & Woods r bought an interest in the Hamilton mill at Muske_; gon, where the former fixed his residence in i88o. Mr. Gerrish, within that year, purchased a share of the Wilson mill at Muskegon and continued to hold a proprietary interest in several shingle-mills. In I880, also, he made a purchase of the Saginaw Bay & Northwestern Logging Railroad, buying the route in company with W. J. Miller. During the next two years the firm transported 9o,ooo,ooo feet of logs annually on its track. In I879 Mr. Gerrish passed the most active year of his business career. He banked and put into the Muskegon River 130,000,000 feet, and in'the year following put in oo00,000,000 feet. During these two years he was recognized as the champion individual logger of the world. The maximum number of men employed by him in his varied interests in i880 was 4,000 in round numbers. Mr. Gerrish was married July i, I869, to Lina W. Probasco, of Croton, Mich. He died in Evart, May 9 I9, 1882, at the residence of his sister, Mrs. Rose A. Quigley. He was a man of the keenest moral sensi ibilities, and an earnest advocate and promoter of )temperance principles. He was himself an abstainer from the use of liquor in the strongest sense, never tasting it in any form. At the time of his death he was engaged in the construction of an elegant residence at Muskegon, at a projected cost of $30,000. The publishers of this work take a peculiar satisfaction in presenting the portrait of Winfield Scott Gerrish. It is a perpetual memorial to the life and influences of its prototype, and adds a special value as does the record of his busy career. See the page preceding the commencement of this sketch. — s-^^E^;-,-7_Javid Weigel is the oldest of the perma_ nent pioneer settlers of Orient Township, " and is a resident on section 4, where he entered a homestead claim, and of which he took possession April 19, 1867. He has placed 52 acres under good improvements. Mr. Weigel was born Nov. 8, I838, near Carlisle, Cumberland Co., Pa. His parents, Jacob and Catherine (Ressler) Weigel, were of German descent, and were educated in both English and German. The former was born in i806, and died in Wilmot, Ind., aged 42 years. The latter was born Aug. 17, i8io, and still resides where her first husband died. Both were natives of the Keystone State. Mr. Weigel was but ten years of age when his father died, and his mother was again married a few years afterward. He was educated with some care in early youth, and completed his education by attending school from the age of i8 years to the attainment of his majority, at Goshen, Ind. He has been occupied at various times in teaching, engaging in that business during two terms in Iowa and four terms in the State of Indiana. On the 27th of July, I862, he enlisted in Co. E, I24th Ill. Vol. Inf., his command being assigned to the First Brigade, Third Division and Seventeenth Army Corps, under General Logan, Corps Commander. After the action at Vicksburg the regiment was transferred to the Sixteenth Corps, under General McPherson. His regiment was engaged in the fight at Fort Gibson, Baker's Creek, Jackson, Champion Hills and Vicksburg. After the transfer to the Department of the Gulf, Mr. Weigel was in action > t t iti.p-t Ie — i *I I,/ " i ~?; ", h~ -:6(i 1 Hq,, H OSCEOLA S at Mobile, and went thence to Montgomery, where he was discharged, Aug. I5, I865, and went to Wil$ mot, Ind. He was wounded in Mississippi while on r scouting duty. The detail was lying on the ground and a six-pound Parrott ball, on a voyage of discov~... -1 - _ 1 W.. CO UNT Y. 215 1 A' I ery, dropping in among the men, cut onf one man s arm and also one knee-pan belonging to the same individual, passed over to Mr. Weigel who lay next behind, and inflicted a severe injury to his right arm. He was yet incapacitated when discharged from the army, and engaged during the following winter in teaching school. Mr. Weigel is independent in political views and action..,.,x ^S5. _.. ~ " )P l tv fI I f Ii k orenzo A. Barker, editor and proprietor of } the Clarion at Reed City, was born Aug. i6, 1839, in Naples, Ontario Co., N.Y. George W. Barker, his father, was born March I, 1815, in Deerfield, Mass., and was married Sept. 7, i835, to Weltha Tyler. She was born June 21, I816, and they became the parents of five children. Their first born died on the day of birth, April 6, I837; Lorenzo, born Aug. I6, I839, is the oldest living child; Bruce, born Jan. 13, 1842, died March ii, 1845; Alida, born Aug. 4, I844, died Jan. I4, 1846; Eugenia, born Jan. 31, I850, is the wife of Monroe Dickinson, a merchant at Boyne Falls, Charlevoix Co., Mich., and they have one child, Vera Ione. The father was during a number of years a merchant in the State of New York, and later transferred his family and mercantile interests to Italy Hollow, Yates Co., N. Y. In 1853 another transfer was made, to Battle Creek, Mich., where the senior Barker engaged in the daguerreotype business, and is now a photographer at South Arm, Charlevoix County. The mother of the subject of this sketch died at Italy Hollow, in 1852. Mr. Barker passed a year in farm employment after the removal of the family to Michigan. In 1854, he entered the office of the Battle Creek Journal to learn the art of printing, and was an attache of the Journal until the year in which rebellion started abroad in the land in its blind and misguided fury. All through the course of the earlier months after the I attack upon the Federal fort at Sumter, while his fingers recorded the disasters of the opening campaign and also the varied literature which arose from the exigences of the time, he was awakening to the fact that men with the true fire of patriotism blazing in their breasts were surely needed at the front, and he was led by the growing impulse to throw himself early in the contest into the heat of the fray. He enlisted at Battle Creek, Sept. 28, i86I, in Co. E, Berger's Sharpshooters. The style of the organization was changed to Company D, of the same regiment, which was known as the 66th Illinois Western Sharpshooters. Mr. Barker was in action at Mt. Zion, Mo., Dec. 23, i86i; Fort Donelson, Tenn., Feb. 13, 14, 15, i6, 1862; Shiloh, April 6-7; siege of Corinth, April 20 to May 30; Iuka, Sept. I9; Corinth, Oct. 3-4,-after which he was occupied in camp duty and guerrilla warfare until his discharge Dec. 23, I863. He immediately re-enlisted on the same date at Pulaski, Tenn., in the same command, returning home on a veteran's furlough of 30 days. On the expiration of his leave of absence he rejoined his command at the front, and the regiment marched to Chattanooga to join General Sherman in the Georgia campaign. Mr. Barker was under fire at Ball's Knob, May 9, 1864, and Resaca, May 14; and at Rome Cross Roads, May i6, was wounded in the left foot, but recognized no disabling injury and went into battle at Dallas May 27; Kenesaw Mountain, July 3; Nickajack Creek, July 4; before Atlanta, July 22; Jonesboro, Aug. 31; Atlanta, Sept. 2; Lovejoy Station, Sept. 3; Nashville, Dec. i6, 17, I8; Big Salt Creek, Dec. 21; Columbia, S. C., Feb. I7, 1865; Bentonville, N. C., March 2; Kingston, March Io; Goldsboro, March 24; Rolla, April 12; Richmond, Va., May 13, and thence he went to Washington, D. C., for the final scene, the Grand Review. He was mustered out of the service of the United States at Louisville, Ky., and received his discharge at Springfield, Ill., July 7, I865. He retained ownership of his rifle, which he had carried from I862-a Henry Repeater, I6-shooter-and having the names and dates of the battles engraved beside the lock. He was discharged as Sergeant. He came to St. John's, Clinton County, whither his parents had removed. In 1867 he went to Sioux City, Iowa, and became an employe of the Journal published at that place. Later he engaged on the Sioux City Times, where he )t II JI tq, c c r E H I ci: s,6 -i: IJ I, 1 & A'- a — S — 4 -; --- n<^n a a n-ae-b 2I6 OSCEOLA COUNrTY., continued until he founded the Sibley (Osceola Co., season, and subsequently engaged in his present ocX Iowa) Gazette, issuing its first number July 5, I872. cupation on a limited scale. He has five horses, and; He continued its publication until May 30, I873, is the only representative of his line of business at 4: when he sold the journalistic enterprise to Messrs. Hersey. He owns his barn and fixtures and three ' Riley & Brown. May 26, 1875, he assumed the lots therewith; also his residence and two lots conmanagement of the Chelsea (Iowa) Bugle, and his nected with it. connection with that paper ceased in October of the He was married in Lexington, Sanilac Co., Mich., same year. In I876 he came to Michigan and took July 3, I870, to Hannah Scollay. She was born in charge of the Hastings (Barry Co.) Banner, which he Lexington, Oct. 22, 1855, and is the daughter of conducted as foreman and manager until April 27, Abel and Abbie Scollay. Three children have been 1 1877, when he established the Lake City (Missaukee born to Mr. and Mrs. Giles-Harry A., Jan. 7, I872;:-; Co.) Journal, whose publication he continued until Charles, Sept. 27, 1876; and Lewis, June 16, 1878. < May, I884. He then sold the paper to H. N. McIntyre, and bought the Reed City Clarion. He issued the first number May 30, I884, and has al- i ready a fine circulation and a steady growing popularity. He has a large and increasing job patronage. The office facilities include two presses, comprising.. X lilysa G. Buck is one of the pioneer business an improved C. B. Cottrell & Sons cylinder press,. Buck is one of the pioneer business,,!j. V V' ^i [ men of Reed City, where he established E fitted for hand and steam power, and is the only en o ee i, ee a >..,r,,^ himself as a marketman in the fall of I873. < power press in the county. The other is adapted to h a *:; gSi r... JA He was born July i 9, i846, in Wayne Co., N. Y. * s -. the requirements of job work. The Clarion is aJuly, 846, in Wayne Co., N. Y. nine-column folio. He has been a resident of Michigan since in- = n- nine-column folio.. = X I fancy, when his parents removed from the t Mr. Barker is a Republican, and is deservedly f w h p r = i., State of New York, and settled on an 8o-acre farm in s: s popular in the local ranks of the party, was elected.:... Ingham County, situated five miles from Lansing. "'.* D Presidential Elector in the Blaine & Logan cami' * r*. - His father, Loren W. Buck, was a native of the Empaign of I884, and is a member of the West Michipire State and married Louisa Smith, who was born / gan Press Association, of the I. 0. 0. F., the Knights. i in the same State. He was a builder by vocation, of Pythias and the G. A. R., Stedman Post, No.. d th G and aided in laying out the grounds of the old capitol i 98, Reed City. 8 e i structure and in erecting the edifice. Later the Mr. Barker was married April 16, I876, in Shenanoah, I wa to Mrs. Eza ane (Rean) Grant. family removed to Lenawee County, and afterward andoah, Iowa, to Mrs. Eliza Jane (Reagan) Grant... to a farm in the township of Noble, Branch County. She was born May 20, i843, in Jackson Co., Mich. Meanwhile, in I858, the father went to California, ^,and while there occurred the upheaval of interests,? Oand issues of the country by the advent of the civil v war, and he enlisted from the Golden State in Co. I, First Cal. Vol. Inf., and spent three years in the military service of the United States, serving chiefly oseph Giles, liveryman and drayman, resi- in frontier warfare in New Mexico. Asa and Adolphdent at Hersey, was born Oct. 17, 1844, us entered the army from Michigan, the enlistment J near London, Ont. His parents, Stephen of the former occurring at Coldwater in March, 1863, i i and Ann (Evans) Giles, removed when he was in Co. I, Ninth Mich. Cav., Capt. J. H. McGowan. ~ our years old to St. Clair, Mich. When he The Ninth Michigan Cavalry is distinguished in i was 1 2 years of age Mr. Giles left home to make more than one particular. Its record of march is one his own way in the world. He found ready employ- of the most remarkable in the history of the war, as ment as a saw-mill hand and was a sailor on the it traversed more than 3,000 miles of territory by f?) lakes several seasons. In I87 he came to Hersey battalion the first year of its services, exclusive of ) "? and engaged in driving logs on the river through one skirmish and deploy service. The regiment fired the i U U U;C: liCI i Cj Illllllilj'; 'i ~. 0115ua C-l,..$nrr a kc~ls ii,,.i, 1 1 i~i OSCEOLA COUNTY. 217 last volley at the rebels prior to the surrender of campment, is a member of the Patriarchal Circle and General Johnson. The preservation of this fact is of the Princes of the Orient and of Post Stedman, due to a published notice by a Southern lady in a No. 98, G. A. R. He has served two terms as membook of which she was the authoress, and her knowl- ber of the Council. edge of it was due to her appreciation of the gallantry The marriage of Mr. Buck to Lydia M. Wood ocof the officers of the Ninth, who had paid willing curred July ni, 1869, in Ovid Township, Branch Co., tribute to her beauty and enjoyed the hospitality their Mich. Mrs. Buck was born in November, 1850, in sincere admiration of her character and position won Bethel Township, Branch Crunty, and is the daughter from her, though she belonged to the losing side. of Dyer and Mary Wood. The children of Mr. and The fact is authentic, as she was in a situation to ob- Mrs. Buck were born as follows: Bertha, Aug. 3, serve the progress of events, and her interest in her I87I; Charles, Feb. 27, 1878; and Lee, Nov. I8, friends of the Ninth preserved one of the most valu- I882. able facts in the record of the regiment. The Ninth was also the only cavalry regiment of Michigan that, marched through to the sea with Sherman, and took part in the closing actions of the campaign under ~ General Kilpatrick. Mr. Buck was a participant in or. red, o t Er rd r.,'. ~.. v 1S-l}-'obert A. Allured, of the Evart Hardware the varied experiences of the historic progress across w b rn Mr in t: Company, was born March 7, i849, in the the States of Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas. c o E I, i Jh ) -.~ -city of London, Eng. His father, John His brother Adolphus enlisted in the same company A w a of England and a book1 Allured, was a native of England and a booka and regiment, and they served together until the close maker by trade. He married Elizabeth of the war. The father and two sons joined their a a d died i te ld i. In z Daggs and died in the land of his birth. In = a savings frown the war and purchased 2II acres of 1855 his widow, with one son and two daughters, - land in Branch County. Of this, Mr. Buck of this. ht lan in Branch County. Of this, Mr. Buck of thi and her parents, emigrated to the State of New York, =:r sketch held a claim of 60 acres.. sc ao. and settled in Monroe County near the city of Roch-. In I870 he went to Angola, Ind., and passed two ester, where the subject of this sketch was reared on years in the meat business, and also operated as a a farm, and later was in the employment of a butcher carpenter. In the fall of '883 he came to Reed in the beautiful city of the Genesee Valley, where he City, accompanied by his parents. Associated with passed three ears his father, he engaged in the meat business, their Emma, youngest sister of Mr. Allured, is the wife partnership existing until the father's death in De- of William Wallace, of Rochester. Her sister Elizacember, I883. Mr. Buck continued the prosecution beth is an inmate of her home. of his business alone until March, I884, when he- In I868 he came to Flint, Mich., and entered the rented his stand and retired. On coming to Reed hardware house of Newton & Hubbard as salesman. X City he bought the site of his business building and He remained an employee in the business until July, built a market. He also owns a store building, situ- I873, the firm changing four times within that period. ated on the west side of his first property. He and In that year he came to Evart and, associated with his father erected the fine and substantial brick block O. M. Brownson, founded a trade in hardware. The on the corner of Upton Avenue and Chestnut Street, relation was in existence five years, when the busiof which he is still one-half owner. Their business ness and its connections became the sole property of was successful from the outset, with the exception of Mr. Allured. The establishment where the business one disaster by fire in January, I875, when they met was instituted was built by Mr Brownson, and cona loss of $700, partially covered by an insurance of sisted of a single structure 24 x 60 feet in extent. $5oo. Besides the property enumerated, Mr. Buck He made two additions, 20 x 60 feet, at a later date. owns two residences, nearly eight acres of land ad- The dimensions were increased by Mr. Allured in joining Reed City on the northwest and 37 acres a i88i, the building now being 44 x 132 feet, with a little more than a mile north. He belongs to the cellar, and two stories in height. The incorporated subordinate lodge of Odd Fellows and to the En- company originally comprised R. A. Allured, M. E. t~~~~( — / A rr n! A 218 OSCEOLA CO UNTY. Parkinson and Elmer F. Birdsall. Mr. Parkinson York, and was educated at Weedsport. Her parents withdrew from the firm Aug. 20, 1884. The stock reside in Burdell Township, whither they removed in in trade is valued at an estimate of $r5,ooo, and in- I879. After coming to Michigan she engaged in cludes all articles common to that branch of business, teaching until her marriage. besides agricultural implements, among which the Champion Mower and Reaper is made a specialty. Mr. Allured was married March 23, I876, in Evart, to Alice L. Brownson. Two children have been born to them, one of whom died in infancy. Karl B. was born March o1, i883. Mrs. Allured j was born May 25, 1852, in Pontiac, Oakland Co., 3 Mich,, and is the daughter of Oscar M. and Lucy M. Brownson. She and her husband are members of the Presbyterian Church. rames C. Corbin, lumberman, resident at Leroy, was born June IO, I845, in Van l% Buren Co., Mich. He was left an orphan in early childhood by the death of his parents, the demise of his mother occurring when he | | was but two weeks old, and that of his father a few years after his birth. He was in the care ot ) one family from the death of his mother until i853, ( being then eight years old. He lived in various arrah D. De Goit, assistant salesman with families until he was 17, and in the fall of 1862 he,: G. W. Bevins, merchant at Tustin, was enlisted in Merrill's Cavalry, as it was known, being X 1 born Nov. 4, I859, in Van Buren Co., an independent organization, doing guard duty and " i) Mich. His father, William De Goit, was born being on scouting service. Mr. Corbin was in battle == on the Atlantic Ocean while his parents were only in the action at Little Rock, Ark., and was honen route to the United States from France, orably discharged at Nashville Tenn., after the war )their native country. He grew to manhood in the was closed in 865. After being mustered out, he State of New York, married Lavinia Dennis, and re- returned to Michigan and went to Holland, Ottawa moved to Michigan, where he is living in retirement, County, and obtained employment during three sucsettling later in life at Tustin. The mother is of ceeding years. French parentage and was born in the province of He was mir.ried Sept. I3; i868, in Wayland, AlleOntario. gan Co., Mich, to Julia A. Hill. She was born in Mr. De Goit accompanied his parents in extreme 1850, in Grand Rapids, and died Dec. I, 1878, in childhood to Grand Rapids, where he obtained his Leroy. One daughter-Hattie May-died before earliest education. Later, in I874, he went to Ionia, her mother. Burt E. is the only surviving child. and there he added materially to his acquisitions of Mr. Corbin was married June 26, i88i, in Ithaca, information by attending the High School for two Gratiot Co., Mich., to Miss L. Meade. Mrs. Corbin years, returning at the end of that time to Grand was born and educated in Gratiot County. Rapids, again entering the excellent schools of that The family came to Leroy Township in the fall of city as a student. After completing his education, 1874. Mr. Corbin purchased i6o acres of land on he was variously occupied until I878, the date of his section 17, and a little mnre than a year after he exmaking a location in Osceola County. On coming to changed it for 8o acres located in another part of the Tustin he spent two years as printer in the Tustin township, of which he was the owner two years, lumAdvance. He obtained employment as a laborer for bering meanwhile in the interest of Hood, Gale & a few years, and in 1882 he secured his present situ- Co., of Big Rapids. In the fall of I879 he sold his ation. He is a Republican of decided principles. farm and embarked in a drug enterprise, which he He was married Dec. 30, 1883, in Tustin, to Addie prosecuted between two and three years, selling in L. Cool. She was born Dec. 6, I861, in Cato, New I882 to his associate in the business. He then e n *U4 ----5 -Got - ^ OSCEOLA CO UNT Y. i~~!~ ~ " 219.. I j) Qi I lii f dI. 4 tered quite extensively into the manufacture of lumber, running a saw and planing-mill. The former establishment was burned in August, i883, and he has since reconstructed the planing-mill, in which he is doing an extensive business. He is independent in politics. oshua W. Matthews, Treasurer of Osceola County, was born Feb. 3, I826, in the townshipof Troy, Oakland Co., Mich. His,J father, Solomon J. Matthews, was born in Livonia, Livingston Co., N. Y., June 6, 1799. He was a farmer and removed to Oakland Co., Mich., in 1822. He died in Troy Township, Aug. 14, I850. Susan (Whitney) Matthews, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was born in Livonia, in I8oo, and died in Troy Township, in I864. They = had nine children, eight of whom lived to maturity and seven of whom still survive: Almeron S. is = Deputy U. S. Marshal at Pontiac, Oakland County; Y Jane (ist) is deceased; Jane Ann, Mrs. Nathaniel Voorhies, resides in Troy Township; Susan C. is the wife of F. C. Voorhies, of the same place; Enos R. is a produce merchant at Rochester, Oakland County; Solomon S. is U. S. Marshal at Pontiac; Cordelia, Mrs. Lewis Hickox, is deceased; Mary married James C. Voorhies, a carriage-maker at Rochester, Oakland County. Not long after the death of his father, Mr. Matthews purchased the family homestead, comprising P 20 acres of well improved and cultivated land, of which he continued resident until 1866, when he removed to Pontiac to discharge the duties of Assistant Revenue Assessor, to which position he had been appointed, and in which he officiated more than five years. Associated with Henry Nichols and E. C. Martin, in 1879, he bought a half interest in a sash, door and blind factory at Pontiac, the firm style becoming Martin, Matthews & Nichols. The relation? existed actively about two years, when he interested v himself in the manufacture of hoisting machines for ^ building purposes, selling the products in Chicago. ) In the fall of 1872, he came to Evart, Osceola. County, and bought a half interest in a steam saw mill, forming the manufacturing firm of Lamb & Matthews, which existed until January, I877. In the fall of 1876, Mr. Matthews was elected Sheriff of Osceola County, on the Republican ticket, and in the fall of I878 received a re-election. He was elected County Treasurer in the fall of I880, and in 1882 was re-elected. In i86I he was elected Supervisor of Troy, Oakland Co., Mich., and he has served three years in succession in the same office in Osceola Township. In 1883 he was elected President of Hersey village. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and belongs to Evart Lodge, No. 320, located at Evart. Mr. Matthews was married Oct. 22, 1848, in Bloomfield Township, this county, to Hannah E. Beach. Their children were three in number. The first born and youngest died in early infancy. Chloe Ann, born Aug. 17, 1850, is the wife of Justus H. Prall, a builder in Pontiac. Mrs. Matthews was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Thomas C. and Lodema (Ford) Beach. l ansom Cooper, Prosecuting Attorney of Osceola County and member of the firm 1 of Cooper & Winsor, attorneys, real-estate and loan agents at Reed City, was born May 2 12, 1854, near Corunna, Shiawassee Co. Mich. His father, Andrew H. Cooper, was a native of New York, and a farmer by vocation. The son was but six months old at the date of his father's death. After that event his mother, Sarah (McGilvrey) Cooper, returned to Sterling, Cayuga Co., N. Y., where she lived with her children seven years, returning when Mr. Cooper, of this sketch, was seven years old, to Caro, Tuscola Co., Mich. She died in 1879. Ransom was a pupil in the common schools of Tuscola County until he was 17 years old. He became a teacher, which pursuit he followed until he was 20, when he entered the Literary Department of the University at Ann Arbor, where he studied two years. He went thence to Port Austin, Huron Co., Mich., where he followed the business of teaching three years, meanwhile studying law under the ' f I "Ir 3= L <~ T I:riC ca < A,, = ' _ -, — e- q i a- -a^ -2 Ii aal | >'^^- - — ^ ul B -rSl.-^BD -^ -1( A 220 OSCEO-A COUITY. A 220 OSCEOLA COUNTY. V8N:9 instructions of the Hon. Richard Wihsor and his partner, Horace G. Snover, a leading law firm of the Huron Peninsula. He was admitted to the practice of law at the Bar of Michigan at Bad Axe, Huron County, in August, I879, and in the following month established his legal business at Reed City. He formed a partnership under the style of Colgrove & Cooper, which relation continued one year, when the present firm was established by the substitution of L. B. Winsor, and its connections are still operative. The house has founded a substantial law business, deals to a satisfactory extent in real estate, and represents the following fire-insurance companies: Liverpool & London & Globe, American, British, Phoenix of Brooklyn, and the Orient. Mr. Cooper was nominated on the Republican ticket in the fall of I880 for Prosecuting Attorney,,varl mlst. n QC1lrP-cfC1II1 ronmnrirn nrrinctnf thtP arnL;_ derstanding of the customs of American people, was occupied as a common laborer. In I880 he entered upon the duties of his present position, which he has discharged with ability and fidelity. He is a supporter of the tenets of the Lutheran religion and is a Republican in political adherence. He was married in Tustin Aug. 5, r88i, to Huldah M. Olson, who was born Jan. 16, I858, in Westevrik, Sweden, where her father is a merchant. She grew to womanhood in her native land, coming to the United States in i880. She is the mother of two children,-Alfdis S. and Florence I. iii ( i I 11 3 I I ( I 1. r I U.llU lIa U _. Cl OaU,. bOOLU.. t luL date of the opposition ele 700 majority. He was r opposition. Mr. Cooper is a membe: He is prominently interes His marriage to Lillian 31, 1878, at Charlotte, 'Belle, only child, was bo 1882. Mrs. Cooper was born] daughter of Charles H. a -00 4-~oe 'ohn A. Lindst: ' Bevins, general Sweden, where 1 i in Wermland. He! Lindstrom. His ni child of eight years, until he was I7, when he father. A year later they cated on a farm in Sher County. The senior Li farmer of the same townsl Mr. Lindstrom succeed( and thorough knowledge c. language, and for some tir. —;ment, scoring a triumph of e-elect d in i882 without lanson J. McCarn, farmer and lumberman, re-elected in i882, without i located on section 8, Sylvan Township, was r of the Masonic fraternity. I born March i7, 1842, in Plymouth, Wayne Co., ted in local school matters. N. Y. Jonas McCarn, his father, was a naB. Colrove occurred Dec. tive of New York and removed his family in Eaton Co., Mich. Edith I856 to Perry, Shiawassee Co., Mich., where = rn at Reed City, Nov. 20, he died, Sept. II, I884, aged 75 years. His mother, Abbie McCarn, was born in the Mohawk Valley, in March 20, I857, and is the New York, and is living in Shiawassee County, aged nd Catherine Colgrove. 72 years. Mr. McCarn was a pupil in the common schools of his native place until the removal of the family to. Perry, when he was 14 years old. A year later he took the direction of his career into his own hands and when 17 years of age began teaching. He pursued that calling as a vocation until the second year rom, salesman for G. W. of the war, when he entered the army. He enlisted merchant, is a native of Oct. 31, 1862, in the Seventh Mich. Cav., Co. G, in he was born Sept. 30, I853, which he was appointed Sergeant. His company is the son of Nels and Kate was under Lieut. Geo. W. Hill, and the command other dying when he was a was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He was,he was cared for by others in some of the hottest and hardest fought battles of returned to the home of his the war, among which was the action at Gettysburg, came to the States, and lo- where he received severe wounds. A shot passed man Township, in Osceola through the right lung, emerging from his body under indstrom is a successful his right arm and crashing through the muscles of lip. that member. He was transferred from the field ed in obtaining an excellent hospital at Gettysburg to Finley Hospital, Washing-? >f the use of the English ton, D. C., whence he was discharged June 2, I865. ne, while acquiring an un- Soon after his return he was married and rented a FhnauD D f % Ib (-W/ OSCEOLA COUNTY. 223 farm in Perry Township, which he occupied about memory of their names. The senior Slosson retained V six years. In I876 he sold his farming interests and his citizenship in Tioga Co., N. Y., but aided in the? bought village property at Perry Center, and estab- development of this portion of Osceola County, and 4 lished a mercantile enterprise which he continued to at the date of his death was still one of the leading conduct until his removal to Evart in the autumn of property-holders in the county. He died in Newark 1874. He embarked in the same business at that Valley, Feb. II, I862. The demise of his wife, Mrs. place and managed its relations one year. At the Ann F. (Fisher) Slosson, took place Feb. 7, I872. end of that time he purchased 200 acres of unbroken She was a native of Francistown, N. H. Their family forest land in Sylvan Township, becoming one of the consisted of five children-three sons and two daughearliest settlers north of the Muskegon River. He ters. Mr. Slosson of this sketch is the youngest son. has since sold a small portion of his place and added Arthur B., the oldest, is present Deputy Sheriff of 80 acres in Hartwick Township to his possessions. Osceola County, and resides at Reed City. Edwin He has made many improvements on his property. Slosson, second son, is a grain merchant at Sabetha, In I883 he became the proprietor of a saw-mill and Kan. Willis M. Slosson was reared to manhood and has since managed an extensive lumbering manu- trained in the business habits of his father, remaining facture. In political preference he is a Republican on the homestead at Newark Valley until the age of of decided opinions. He has held several important 22 years, when he went to Kansas, and in partnerlocal official positions, as Supervisor, Treasurer, etc., ship with William B. and Samuel Slosson, his cousins, and is present School Inspector. He is a member of established the business to which his brother Edwin ) the Order of Odd Fellows at Perry Center. succeeded by an exchange of interests, the younger Mr. McCarn was married June 26, 1865, to Evelyn brother taking his place in the real-estate firm at. M. Durant. Their children were born as follows: Reed City, where he is engaged in furthering the in-. =:s Charles, May 14, I866; Ernest, Jan. 8, I872; Lynn, terests of the business house of whicji his father was- =? April 26, I88I. Their mother is the daughter of one of the primary members, and which is engaged - a Nathaniel and Harriet (Bridger) Durant, and was in the sale of its landed tracts. (The brothers Slos- = born Nov. 3, 1842. Her father died in Huron Co., son purchased the claims of their sisters.) Ohio, when she was four years of age. Her mother Mr. Slosson owns also individual property at Reed was born in England and died in 188I in Perry. City, including a business building on Upton Avenue, Mrs. McCarn was carefully educated and began occupied as a drug store and photograph gallery, a teaching when I8 years of age. half interest in the lot and building leased as a law office by Messrs. Bellows & Stone, attorneys, and other village property. He is officiating for the sec-a st 3 -|ond time as President of the village, of which he has 4 been Trustee two years. He is prominent in the 1 ^w x Order of Masonry, belonging to the several bodies,illis M. Slosson, member of the business Blue Lodge, Royal Arch Chapter and Commandery. ^ 3 firm of J. M. Reed & Co. at Reed City, He is also connected with the American Order of J Twas born May 25, I849, in Newark Valley, United Workmen Tioga Co., N. Y. Ozias J. Slosson, his father, His marriage to M. Ella Butler occurred May 20, was born in 1805, at Great Barrington, Mass. I874, in Newark Valley. She was born Nov. 20, Associated with James M. Reed and Charles 1854, and is the daughter of John and Jane Butler. Higbe, he came to Northern Michigan in I856 and The children of Mr. and Mrs. Slosson were born as aided in the location of Reed City, the firm consisting follows: Leonard B., April i:3, j875; Lawrence M., of -Messrs. Reed, Higbe and Slosson, becoming by Oct. 25, 7878; and Edna E., April 2r, I880, at Reed purchase the proprietors of more than 4,000 acres of City. The two elder children were born at Sabetha, land lying in Osceola and Newaygo Counties. They Kan. platted the city, and two of its thoroughfares-Slos- The portrait of Mr. Slosson, which is presented on son Avenue and Higbe Street-now perpetuate the the opposite page, is eminently fitting and appropriate eX --- i" nX8'ia" " C --- I gj^-)^ — y^^i,- ^<^(iOSC -O~ CO-Y. > 224 OSCEOLA COUNTY. as an accompaniment to his biography, as he repre- Wright and Burton. The second wife died sents a name inseparably connected with Reed City Sept. 30, I88I, and Mr. Halladay chose for his third from its incipiency. wife, in Cedar Springs, Kent Co., Mich., Oct. II, I883, Mrs. Elizabeth (nee Robinson), widow of David H. Wightman, who died Feb. I5, I880. By her ---—, @-... former marriage she has had eight children, as follows: William J., Henry H., Clarinda C., Lewis D., Mary E., George S., Louisa, Isabella and Louisa Arabella (twins). Mrs. H. was born in Otsego Co., eorge Halladay, merchant and farmer, re- Sept:1i^ siding on sec. Io, Lincoln Tp., was born in Leeds Co., Ont., March 8, 1820. When he was six years of age his father died, and at the early age of eight years he went to live with |-<- '+e. ^- -> i his brother-in-law, remaining with him until about 17 years of age. He then started out in the l world to take the management of his affairs into his x;onrad V. Priest, merchant at Sears, was own hands. He learned the trade of carding and | i t born at Bath, Ontario, Jan. 5, 1847, and dressing cloth, worked at that business for five years, I Ad is the son of Ezra D. and Alatheria next engaged in farming for a period of seven years, (Shorey) Priest. The senior Priest was born and then returned to his trade, which he followed for | in 1809Sog, in Vermont. His earlier business r 10 years. - life was passed in the manufacture of carIn 1870 he came to Michigan, settling at Ashton, riages in Bath, whither he removed from his native = Osceola County, where he took possession of 80 acres State, and where he was a pioneer. He engaged in X of land under the regulations of the homestead law, a mercantile enterprise there, which he conducted.= and where he now resides. He has also bought 40 23 years. A few years before his death he went; acres on section 9. During the spring following his to Ernesttown, Addington Co., Ont., where he died. settlement here he built a store in Ashton and began The mother was born in Addington County, in April, ) business, in company with his son, Frayer, with $T,ooo 8JI, and resides in Napanee, Ont. worth of dry goods and groceries. Their business so Mr. Priest passed his childhood, youth and early increased that they had to enlarge the store building manhood in Bath, coming thence to Osceola County and add largely to their stock. During the spring of in 1873, reaching Evart July 3, and proceeding in 1884, Mr. George Halladay sold his interest in the September of the same year to Sears. He estabmercantile business to his son and retired to the farm lished his mercantile business at first in company i in Lincoln Township, where he now owns i60 acres with George Hume, who sold two years afterward to ^ of land, and has about 70 acres in a state of good William Belfour, the firm style becoming Priest & i cultivation. Belfour. In the winter of 1879 Mr. Belfour was Mr. Ht. has held the office of Township Treasurer crossing the bay of Quinte on the ice, when the one year, and Overseer of Highways eight years. In horse they were driving broke through and disaphis political views he is identified with the Republican peared, dragging the sleigh and its occupants into party, and in religion he is a member of the Method- the water. The horse was drowned, but the men ist Episcopal Church, as is also his wife. saved their lives. Mr. Belfour took cold, which ret%; He was first married in Canada, Dec. 3, 1844, to sulted in quick consumption, and he lived but a few Miss Mary White, a native of Onutario. They have months. Since his death Mr. Priest has conducted. had four children, namely, Frayer, Nancy, Samantha his business affairs alone. His average stock repre( and Adelia. Mrs. H. died July 22, 1852, and Mr. sents a cash value of $Io,ooo, and his annual transH. was again married, in Ontario, March 9, I853, to actions aggregate $40,000. He buys every variety?~ Phebe Wing, who also was a native of Canada. By of farm produce, and sells everything required by \r this marriage four children were born, viz.: Annetta,farmers and other patrons. He buys and presses t~)i — '' p'" L-ti — (L 'I @r SS fil t t sj A: * -- p- e S3;gly ^: 3E=3 2^ i:t:I i ..... tl tl [:-=" ' OSCEOLA COUNIVTY. "~ 2 2., I. ) Ia S' i f A_ about 500 tons of hay annually, which he sells to lumbermen. His business location is one ot the best in this section of country. Mr. Priest is thoroughly educated, and possesses fine scholarly tastes. He obtained a comprehensive knowledge of common branches at the district schools, and of classics and higher mathematics in an academy. He has a special liking for geography and history, and is a discriminating reader, keeping himself informed in business channels and current events. He was married April I5, 1872, to Elizabeth J. Belfour, and they have been the parents of five children, the two oldest of whom died in infancy unnamed. Lillian Irma was born July 13, 1879; Hattie H., Dec. I8, r88; Nettie M., April 12, I884. Mrs. Priest is the daughter of Gabriel and Ann (Armstrong) Belfour, both of whom were natives of the north of Ireland. Her mother was killed in October, I868, iear Bath, Ont., by a train of cars while crossing a railroad on her return from a provincial fair. Her father resides in Bath, and is 72 years of age. They had six children, of whom Mrs. Priest is fifth in order of birth. She was born in Bath July I6, I847. She has one sister and three brothers. One brother lost his life, as stated in the account of William Belfour. Mr. Priest is a Republican in political principle and action. He is an honored and trusted citizen, and has been Postmaster four years, Justice of the Peace six years, and Township Treasurer five years. I where he worked as a blacksmith for a time. There the father became an invalid and never resumed active business life. Mr. Turner was the oldest child of his parents, and when he was twelve years of age went to live with Hiram Hunn, in the township of Alexandria, with whom he remained four years. His father's falling into ill health when he was 12 years of age, threw upon him the support of the family. He was occupied in farm labor by. the month six years, when he rented a farm and operated in that method of agricultural pursuit five years. In March, I866, he came to Bushnell Township, Montcalm Co., Mich., where he was engaged in farming two years. While residing there his father died. He went thence to Palo, fonia County, where he was a farmer and butcher, coming to Evart in the fall of I872, and there engaged in butchering, in partnership with Rowland S. Comstock, a few months. In the spring of 1873 the latter sold his interest to Frank E. Turner, and the brothers managed the business jointly until 1878, operating also in real estate, buying tracts ot land and putting them in good condition for farming; after which they were sold. In I878, Mr. Turner purchased his brother's claim and continued farming, and also embarked in the purchase and shipment of horses. In i880 he founded the business in which he is at present engaged. On his arrival at Evart he bought the property he now owns, and established his meat market, which he removed in I880, and erected the buildings where is now operating. They are constructed of brick, main portion being 40 x 1 13 feet in dimensions and with an addition 20 x 92 feet for a carriage room. A wash-room 20x30 feet is connected therewith, also a large frame barn. He keeps about twenty horses with necessary livery fixtures of a good grade, and combines a considerable traffic in buggies and wagons with his other operations, dealing specially in the Big Rapids wagons and the Columbus biggies. He has an extensive livery business and deals largely in horses. His farms are on an extensive scaloe and he has 235 acres under cultivation. He has bought and sold cattle, sheep and horses since he was i8 years of age. There is a brick-yard on his farm near the village of Evart, where, in company with E. C. X.= 91-Z tI f W 8 W '/ J ^ir ames W. Turner, liveryman and proprietor of sale and feed stables at Evart, was born X[ i April 3, 1843, in Medina, Orleans Co., N. Y. His father, Edward Turner, was born in { Norfolkshire, Eng. His mother, Hannah, (Starns) Turner, was a native of England, and their family included five children. In I844 they moved to Batavia Township, Genesee Co., N. Y., icE" 0''Sc~t~ ~ ~ Q ~aa3I! ~~ --- —-nr<^(] 226 OSCEOLA Cannon, he has been engaged in the manufacture of brick. - Mr. Turner belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the A. O. U. W. His marriage to Julia A. Case, took place March i, I864, in Alden Township, Erie Co., N. Y. They have two children,-Susie E, born Aug. 30, I87I, in Palo, Ionia Co., Mich., and Nina A., born Sept. 21, I874, in Evart. Mrs. Turner was born June 7, I843, in Millgrove Township, Erie Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of James E. and Susan (Dixon) Case. The mother of Mr. Turner resides at Evart. Carrie M. is a widow and resides in the village of Gaines, Genesee Co., Mich.; Henry D. is a butcher at Evart; Frank E. is a liveryman at Chase, Lake Co., Mich.; Rose resides at Evart. U a - U " r — --- COUNTY.. I ~ k ~-~j I1 — s6_ —^-^ —.^~ --- j -ohn Q. Patterson, attorney, insurance agent and Notary Public at Reed City, was born Aug. 26, I827, in Wayne Township, Steuben Co., N. Y., and is the son of John and Ellinor Patterson, both of whom were natives of the Empire State. The father was a ship carpenter by vocation, and in 1835 settled with his family in Putnam Township, Livingston Co., Mich., where he bought a farm of 80 acres. The mother died there. The senior Patterson died in Stockbridge, Ingham Co., Mich. Ten children were born to them: William, Mary A., Zera, Jane, Delilah, Ellinor, John Q., Martha, David and Henry. The oldest and youngest are deceased. Mr. Patterson was brought up on a farm, and at 21 years of age entered Michigan Central College at Spring Arbor, where he remained four years, teaching in the winter seasons. In i855 he engaged in traffic in stock and produce at Ovid, Clinton County, and operated in that line until the date of his enrollment in the military service of the United States. Dec. 20, I863, he enlisted at Ovid, and was assigned to a company as Second Lieutenant, the chief officer being Capt. A. B. Wood, and the company being attached to the 27th Mich. Vol. Inf. in March, I864. The com mand was assigned to the Ninth Army Corps, First Brigade and Third Division, and on the 29th of April became a part of the Army of the Potomac. The regiment participated in the I4 days' fight in the Wilderness, and in the engagements of the campaign through to Petersburg, including North Anna, Cold Harbor and Bethesda Church; and at the siege of Petersburg, June I8, 1864, Lieutenant Patterson was wounded by grape shot in both lower limbs, an injury which consigned him to the hospital for several weeks. On recovery he was detailed for recruiting service and served in that capacity, recruiting for the 3oth Mich. Reg. Inf. He returned to Washington in charge of a detachment of men, and proceeded thence to the front. He was in the siege of Petersburg; and at Hatcher's Run, Oct. 27 and 28, 1864, while in charge of a front line of pickets, he was wounded in the left shoulder by a sharpshooter's bullet, which ranged down through his chest, cutting off three ribs and emerging from his body at the angle of the ninth rib. He was sent to the field hospital, where he remained five weeks, and was transferred to the City Point Hospital, whence he was sent, two weeks later, to Washington. He remained there some time and afterwards went to Georgetown Seminary Hospital, where he lay ill twenty days with lung fever. He returned to his home in February, I865, and received an honorable discharge for disability April 28, following. He was made First Lieutenant of his company May 5, 1864, and maintained that rank until he was discharged from the service. After reaching his home he continued some time in precarious health, and as soon as sufficiently recovered, studied law. He began the practice of his profession at Ovid, and was admitted to the Bar of Michigan in i868. In 1873 he removed to Reed City, where he continued his law practice. Later he became associated with W. H. Palmer, with whom he remained about two years, and operated singly, in a satisfactory practice, until 1882, when he purchased the National Hotel, put it in thorough repair, and conducted its affairs as a hostelry until the spring of 1884, when he leased the property and resumed the business of an attorney. In September, I884, he sold his interest in the hotel. In his insurance connections, he represents the Home, of New York, the North British and Mer I,-, 1% il; r=' VZ/l 9; I 4. A-,-f I a s i (r 1! g,-,., of \~ HrrrW"(1, IJ JU i <="'~- % -11-( 0 q - -:W->L-4 - OSCEOLA cantile. He is the proprietor of considerable village property. Mr. Patterson belongs to the Order of Odd Fellows, to the Grand Army of the Republic, and has served two terms as member of the Village Board COUNTY. 227,A i i o i ruistees. He was married July 4, I855, at Dexter, Washtenaw Co., Mich., to Ellinor S. Torry, and they are the parents of five children, namely: Emma, who is the wife of Peter A. Auer, clerk in the Treasury Department at Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Auer have two children, Harry and Nellie. De Ette married Charles K. Esler, foreman on the Grand Haven (Mich.) Herald; Lee and Dana are the names of their children. Wilber is a clerk at Reed City. Ezra D. is an assistant teacher in the Spencerian Business College at Washington, D. C., where he was graduated as valedictorian of his class in 1883. Bertha is the youngest daughter. Mrs. Patterson is the daughter of Seth B. and Eliza Torry. I iC I1 stsbX I.... 5 I - <-aid+ I"OPI mands of the transient public. Thirty acres of his farm are cleared and in good cultivation. Mr. Reed is a Republican in his views of national government, enjoys the esteem of his fellow citizens, and as to local official positions he has been Highway Commissioner two years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The marriage of Mr. Reed took place in Berrien Co., Mich., Dec. i8, 1878, taking for his wife Mrs. Miranda, nee Smith, widow of Adolphus Griffin. By her first marriage her children were Stella, Nettie and Dolphie. By her present marriage there was one son, Joseph by name, who died when three days old. ark rdis, merchant at' Evart, and a prominent landholder and business man. ' of Osceola County, was born Oct. 20, 843, in Newtown-Hamilton, County Armagh, Ireland. His parents, William and Mary (Boyd) Ardis, are still residents of their native land. Mr. Ardis was bred to the occupation of a farmer until he was I4 years of age, when he became a clerk, and was employed in that capacity until he came to the United States. He reached Ionia, Mich., in January, I867, and entered the insurance and brokerage office of Fred Hall & Co., where he operated as book-keeper until the fall of the same year, when he came to Hersey, and engaged as a salesman in the mercantile establishment of James Kennedy, continuing in the position until he entered the employ of D. A. Blodgett, in 187. In the fall of the same year he established his business at Evart, first instituting a general mercantile enterprise, in which he is still operating, his business requiring a stock valued at an average of $15,000, and comprising all articles of merchandise suited to his patronage. He also conducts a private banking business, buys and sells exchange, makes collections, etc. ~1 i ii < 1 I I al A i 0 i I '' k I eorge Reed, merchant and farmer at Mil)l tL ton, Lincoln Township, is a son of Joseph and Mary (Crawford) Reed, the former a native of England, and the latter of Ireland. In their family were three children, namely: Mary, now the wife of G. Wilson. and resides in Lincoln Township; George, the subject of this sketch, and James. Mr. Reed was born in Canada, Jan. 22, 1838, and lived in the Dominion until 1865, when he made a tour of the Western States in search of a place to locate. In i867 he came to this county and took possession of 80 acres of land in Lincoln Township, under the regulations of the Homestead Law, settled upon the place and resided there nearly seven years. He then sold that place and purchased another 8o-acre tract, in the same township, which he still owns. He made this place his residence until the spring of 1884, when he commenced business in the mercantile line at Milton June. He has a satisfactory trade. In connection with his store,. he has a restaurant and a hotel, suited to the de 1 8 V.I I f a' ( A, He first established his business in a building N which he still owns, located opposite the postoffice at Evart, and later removed to his present stand, Ut q — S. 0 A -- A %, '-, I.- ~ I 1. 0 228 OSCEOLA COUNTY. also his property. He owns a fine residence, the mother was born April I2, i8I6, in Vermont. -Mr. grounds comprising four lots and 30 acres of land in and Mrs. Loase have four children: Mertie was born the northwest part of the corporation, 40 acres of March 26, 1872, in Greenville; Ernest was born land on section 3, Evart Township, I60 acres on July 26, 1876, in Altona, where the third child, ' section I8, Middle Branch Township, and 80 acres Blanche, was born, July 22, 1878; Clara was born on section 32, Osceola Township. Mr. Ardis has April i, i88i, at Reed City. served two terms as Village Treasurer. He was married May 21, 1872, in Brooklyn, N. Y., to Annie, daughter of Philip and Mary Redmond, a native of Ireland. Their children were born as follows: Minnie E. B., Aug. 14, 1873; Emma M., May 17, 1875; Jennie H., July 13, 1876; William F. S., July 31, i879; Walter R., Oct. 20, I883. r o b t. 0 I I I (; f,i I1 I lk '7X [ I harles G. Loase, banker at Reed City, N 8 was born Feb. 4, I842, in Detroit, and is = ll the son of John G. and Margaret (Keiser) @ i Loase. In early life his father was a car3 builder, and later a merchant in Detroit, where he died. Mr. Loase obtained his early education in the " City of the Straits," and operated there to some extent as a clerk. In 1859, when he was 17 years of age, he went to California and became interested in mining, in which he was engaged five years. Returning to Michigan, he passed a year in Jackson County, next a period of time at Greenville, Montcalm County, and engaged in building. In 1873 he embarked in a mercantile enterprise at Altona, Mecosta Co., Mich., which he prosecuted until his removal to Reed City in 879. Jan. 1, 1880, he established his banking business, and has since been engaged in the transactions common to such institutions. He owns a residence at Greenville, and a valuable farm of 80 acres in Deerfield Township, Mecosta County, all under cultivation. Mr. Loase was married Sept. 3, 1867, at Greenville, to Frances Norton. She was born Feb. 27, 1846, and is the daughter of Myron H. and Sarah A (Skinner) Norton. Her father was born in Oakland, Co., Mich., was extensively engaged in farming, in ) lonia Co., and for a number of years engaged in banking in Greenville, and is 70 years of age. The I JIIIII0IIII0. - 4 enry A. Clark, Register of Deeds of Osceola - J County, resident at Hersey, was born July io, 850, in Seneca Co., Ohio, at a point two miles south of Tiffin. His father, Thomas Clark, was born in April, I819. He married Mary Judea and settled on a farm in Seneca County, whence he removed with his family, about 1853, to Hardin Co., Ohio, buying a tract of land containing 280 acres. He is the proprietor of I60 acres, in fine and valuable agricultural condition. The mother was born in I814. Seven of their nine children are living: Catherine, now deceased, married Josephus Mustard, a farmer and hotel-keeper in Mason Co., Mich.; Ann M. married R. G. Hubbell, of Ada, Hardin Co., Ohio; Ebert died in Hardin Co., Ohio; Elizabeth J. is the wife of David S. Shadley, a farmer in Osceola County; Lloyd H. resides in Preston, Hardin Co., Ohio; Oliver is a farmer in Middle Branch Township; Henry A. is next in order of birth; Littleton G. is a farmer in Hartwick Township; Mary S. married George Dempster, traveling salesman, and resides in Hardin Co., Ohio. In 1867, when he was I6 years of age, Mr. Clark came to Hartwick Township in company with his brother-in-law, D. S. Shadley, who was the first settler in the township, and is still a resident there, on section 24. Young Clark aided him two years in clearing and improving his farm. March 9, 1870, Mr. Clark located 143 acres of land in Middle Branch Township, section 30, and cleared 80 acres, remaining there until the fall of I880, when he was elected Register of Deeds, on the Republican ticket, defeating the candidate of the opposition by a majority of 721 votes. He was re-elected in the fall of 1882, scoring a triumph by 576 votes. I' 7j k I r41,, I I -- ^ ----|Itl -— 4- I Se' OSCEOLA COUNTY. 229 S 7;iz M 1) ) ^ \i f J) l1= O rt.. c) *f. L I He removed to Hersey in December, I880, where Y he is the owner of a residence and three lots, also of I i9 acres of farm land on section 21, Osceola Township. He also owns an interest in several hundred acres of wild lands, variously located. He was Supervisor of Middle Branch Township six years, and has served as Justice of the Peace, and in other official positions. He is a member of the Masonic Order and belongs to Lodge No. 31 I, at Hersey. Mr. Clark was married Nov. II, 1869, in Grand Haven, Mich., to Mary A. Muschawaeck, and they became the parents of three children: Mary Estella was born Oct. 4, I871, and died Feb. 5, 1872; Rosella J. was born Feb. 8, 1874; and Walter C. was born April 12, 1876, and died Aug. 4, I878. Their mother died in Middle Branch Township March 15, 1879. She was born Jan. 23, 1851, in Germany, and is the daughter of Wolfgang and ) Walberga Muschawaeck. Mr. Clark was a second time married in Dearborn, Township, Wayne Co., Mich., March 3, I880, to x Mrs. Mary E. Butler, widow of John R. Butler, by 5 whom she had one child, Herbert R. A:: ) '-ohn N. Alien, grocer and provision merchant at Evart, was born April 19, 1833, in Monroe Co., N. Y. He is the son of Jeremiah and Charlotte Allen, and was reared to " the age of i6 years on a farm. His first independent movement in business was as a travel-; ing salesman, in which capacity he operated 13 years. In 1864 he bought a farm situated near Pontiac, Oakland Co., Mich., whence he went to Port Huron and from there engaged in exploring for oil in the Dominion of Canada, and speculating in oil stocks at Port Huron and Detroit. He went next to Southfield, N Oakland County, where he bought a 40-acre farm, on which he operated three years, going thence to Northville, Wayne Co., Mich., where he became interested in a large peach orchard. In the fall of 1872 he came to Evart and bought the site of the building where he is now transacting his business, and erected the structure in which he continued to prosecute the grocery trade without intermission. He is the owner of i6o acres of land on section 10, Evart Township, with 35 acres under culture. He is serving his eighth term as Township Clerk of Evart. Mr. Allen was married July 14, 1864, at New Market, Canada, to Jennie C. Hoag, and their children were born as follows: Cora, Sept. 20, i865, near Pontiac; Annie, June 2, I867, at Port Huron; Edith, March 17, 1873; John, Sept. 21, I877, and died June 2, 1884. The two last children were born at Evart. Mrs. Allen was born Dec. 6, 1843, in Somerset, Niagara Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Aaron and Marinda (Bennett) Hoag. Her parents were natives of the State of New York. 'IIl mos G. Tennant, farmer, sections 17 and 20, Orient Township, was born April 4, l- p I831, in VenangQ Co., Pa. His parents, ~J John R. and Lydia A. (West) Tennant had four sons-Elisha A., William M., Amos and John G. Their father was born of English parentage Feb. 2, 1798, and in 1833 went to Ashtabula Co., Ohio. In 1844, the family removed to St Clair Co., Mich., and thence to the county of Macomb, where the mother died, in May, I870. She was born April 10, i800. The father was a farmer all his active life, and after the death of his wife he still continued to live with his son Amos till his death, which occurred March 28, 1877. In 1855, Mr. Tennant went to South Saginaw, where he engaged as a saw-mill hand, and later became superintendent of a saw-mill, in which capacity he operated two years. He was occupied in a similar capacity in East Saginaw two years, going thence to Galesburg, Kalamazoo Co., Mich., where he was engaged in the manufacture of lumber from 1858 to 1864. On the first of September, in that year, he enlisted in the Union Army, enrolling in Co. I, 28th Mich. Vol. Inf., and going with his regiment to the front as First Sergeant. May 8, I865, he was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant, and Sept. 12 of the same year he was made First Lieutenant, serving in i E' y <. K 'I> a i I e *, " 'i;is for ^ OJ-. 7" a I c, L~~~- -'iC~uCr ~~~~2 - e230 oscEO — o UY. 230 OSCEOLA COUNTY. I< i | ) 3t that capacity until he was mustered out of the service June 5, I866. His first battle was at Nashville, the regiment being under the command of General Thomas, and afterwards assigned to the 23d Army Corps. Mr. Tennant was never in the hospital on sick leave, and was in all the active duty where his regiment was engaged. On being mustered out he returned to Richmond, Macomb Co., Mich. He became interested in his former employment, and remained in Macomb County until the last days of March, 1872, when he started with a team for Osceola County, where he arrived April 3, and found the snow two feet deep on the ground. The contrast was rather disheartening, as the farmers of Macomb County were plowing when he left that section a few days earlier. The family reached their new home by the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad from Saginaw. He settled on section 17, where he purchased 40 acres of land. He has improved 50 acres, has an excellent frame barn, and a good log house. He was married Jan. i, I858, to Albina U. Warner. She was born Sept. 9, 1839, in St. Clair Co., Mich., and is the daughter of John and Hannah (Wilkins) Warner. The latter was born in St. Alban's, Vermont, in i8i8, and died at Galesburg, Mich., in February, I86o. Her father was also born in St. Alban's in I81i, and died in Wayne Co., Mich., about 1875. They had two children. Celia, now Mrs. Andrews, only sister of Mrs. Tennant, lives in Orient Township. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Tennant were born as follows: Florence M., Dec. 17, 1858 (died May 17, I88I); Ida H., June 14, I86o; John R., Oct. 7, 1861; Gerald E., April 9, 1863. Mr. Tennant is a Republican in political affiliation, and has served a term as Justice of the Peace. Mrs. Tennant is a member of the Disciples' Church. I - - - and died Sept. 6, 1867; the birth of his mother occurred Nov. 30, 1798, and her demise took place Jan. 19, 1878. They were married Sept. 2, I820. His father moved to Livingston Co., N. Y., in the fall of I825, where he purchased a farm. Mr. Clark was reared to manhood on the farm. He was married Sept. Io, I844, in Brushville, Livingston Co., N. Y., to Maria Hanford. She was born March 2, 1824, in Parma, Monroe Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of John and Polly Hanford. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have been the parents of i children, nine of whom are living: Nelson B. was born July 4, 1845, in Sparta, Livingston Co., N. Y., and deals in hemlock bark at Fremont Center, Newaygo Co., Mich.; Annis A. was born Feb. 8, 1847, and lives in Santa Barbara, Cal.; George S., Jan. 1, 1849; Mary E., Feb. r4, 1851; Emma F., Jan. 12, 1853; Ellen T., March 21, I855; Irvilla, March II, 1857, and died Nov 26, 1859; John H., Nov. 9, 1858, and died Nov. 26, 1859; Percy H., Sept. 20, i860; Lillian M.,Aug. I6, I863; Myrtle M., May 1o, 1867. The mother of Mrs. Clark was born March TI, 1794, and she died July 21, 1832. Her father was born Jan. 28, 1789, and died in the spring of 1862. In I847 Mr. Clark went to Jefferson Co., Pa., and engaged in farming, lumbering and merchandise, conducting his combined interests 13 years. In r860, he came to Michigan and became interested in lumbering at Vassar, Tuscola County, operating in that line of business for some time. In the year preceding the close of the war he entered the military service of the United States, enlisting in August, 1864, as a private in the 29th Reg. Mich. Vol. Inf. He served primarily as a wagon-master of the regiment and afterwards, as brigade wagon-master, and remained in the army until the close of the war. His oldest son was Orderly. On obtaining his discharge he returned to Tuscola County, to the present site of Cass City, where he engaged in mercantile business and erected the first building for trading purposes in the place. He established his business in the same avenues in which he had operated at the outset of his independent career, and trafficked extensively as a merchant and lumberman, and also carried on his farming interests. During a portion of the time he was a member of the mercantile firm of Craw & Clark, located at Caro. He sold his interests there and came to Reed City in I87. At that place he I I ( ~. 1L iI I o Cri 1 lf ' ^ f is r S 5 li I I 1 f \ ~6~616B~o~ --- ~ * — * -*Sk i g athaniel Clark, Rygister in the United States Land Office, is a pioneer resident of Reed City. He was born Oct. 2, 1821, in New Jersey, and is the son of John and Amelia (Decker) Clark, both of whom were born in the same State and were of English and German lineage. His father was born July IT, 1799, 0 0119 - IL 4;R;4 IIJ0 0 \< 9 X' 'M X t *v j N - V~ jr l "4? i~b I N': r k t I OSCEO --- COUATY. 235 > OSCEOLA COUNTY. 235 < 'I.f T MA.M f. I ~= 3: ' founded a mercantile and lumber trade, which was in active existence two years, and in I873 he went to Z Chase, Lake Co., Mich., and operated in general merchandise. In the fall of 1876 he secured a soldier's claim of I60 acres of land in Custer Township, Mason County, which he proceeded to place in good agricultural condition, with good buildings, orchards and other farm appurtenances, and with 65 acres wholly cleared. He sold the property in the spring of I88I and settled at his home at Reed City, where he had continued to maintain his residence. In i8 -5 he was elected Supervisor of Richmond Township, which he resigned in April, 1884, to accept the position under the United States Government of which he is still the incumbent. The duties of Receiver are discharged by W. H. C. Mitchell. At Reed City, Mr. Clark owns a residence and two lots, and is also the proprietor of o1 acres of land in the southwest part of the village. He is a Republican in politics and belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. At the time Mr. Clark made his location where he resides at Reed City, he had to clear the lot, cut brush and build a road through one square to Upton b Avenue. at 3illiam F. Tule, farmer section 21, Orient Township, was born Feb. 3, I85, in e<; North Toronto, Can., and is the son of / if George D. and Anna (Darlington) Tule. ivi The father was born in Pennsylvania, of German parentage. He was a farmer by occupa\ tion. The mother was born in Ireland and died in I855, in North Toronto. Their family included four children, all of whom are living, and in I872 they left the Dominion and settled in Osceola County, on an unimproved tract of land in Orient Township, which the father bought of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad corporation. The death of the - father occurred Dec. 2r, 1872, within the year of the f arrival of the household in Orient Township. \ Both parties were members of the Methodist Epis) copal Church. Mr. Tule's sisters, three in number, are married. Caroline C. is the wife of Albert Van Ness, residing on section I6, Orient Township, and was married May 5, 1873; Charlotte N. was married March 4, 1878, to W. D. Strait, and resides in Sylvan Township; Harriet E. was married Oct. 8, I884, to William D. Clapp. Mr. Tule is a Republican. Since his father's death he has remained on the homestead. G illiam R. Mapes, capitalist and speculator at Evart, was born March 9, I827, ten miles north of Tunkhannock, Pa., and is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Miller) Mapes. His father was a lumberman and farmer in the Keystone State, and in I844 changed his residence to Ridgebury Township, Bradford Co., Pa., where he conducted a hotel one year, going thence to Southport, N. Y. Mr. Mapes accompanied the family in their changes of locality, and was 18 years of age when they went to reside at the place last named. There he engaged in farming and teaming, and also learned the business of a millwright, which he followed several years. In 1855 he came to Berrien Co., Mich., where he pursued his trade a year, and in T856 interested himself in lumbering. In I862 he became a member of the construction corps in the service of the Government, and continued in that employment until the termination of the war. On returning he came to Lawrence, Van Buren County, where he owned a saw-mill and passed two years in lumbering. In 1867 he removed the mill to Bangor, in the same county, and after another two-years pursuit of the same business at that point, made another removal of his property, to Deerfield Township, also in Van Buren County. He continued his operations there until the fall of 187 r, when his mill burned. He then sold his property in March, 1872, and transferred his residence to Evart. He bought a business stand, and, associated with William A. Wightman, established a hardware store. At the end of two years he sold his stock but retains ownership of the building. He at once interested himself in lumbering, which he has handled to greater ii I i I 1,I I. 4, z rlz. Ia6 ELF~' 11 I '4';3 I w s GX r-1,:x — I 1 4.~1.I ~uaunc, i;,i.I O HH o 00 - C & — 1 - 7 flfL 236 OSCEOLA C or less extent ever since, and has gradually combined the other lines of traffic in which he is engaged. He is connected with the Order of Masonry, and is a member of Lodge No..320, at Evart. He is serving a second term as Treasurer of Osceola Township.,OUNTY. A_ A, *e I In X== He is a staunch and active Republican, and is one of the Trustees of Evart, to which position he has been elected three times. He was married in Watervliet, Berrien Co., Mich., to Lydia Warren, daughter of John Warren and a native of Niagara Co., N. Y. The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Mapes appear on other pages. [ eorge W. Morris, of the firm of Morris &!. Martin, proprietors of the Reed City Flouring Mills, was born March 22, 1835, in!! the township of Ray, Macomb Co., Mich. Benjamin Morris, his father, was born Oct. 24, 1809, in Morrisville, Madison Co., N. Y., and in I833 came with his father (the mother having previously died) to the township of Ray, in Michigan, where the family settled on 80 acres of Government land, which was purchased at the rate of $1.25 per acre, and is still known as the " Morris farm." Jacob Morris was born March 20, I785, in Massachusetts, and died Aug. 4, I860. His parents went to Madison Co., N. Y., where their place of, settlement grew to large proportions, and was named for the family, Morrisville, which is the county seat of Madison County. The grandmother was born July 26, I785, and died Oct. io, i816. Benjamin Morris died April 25, i88I, at Reed City. His wife died Jan. 15, I869, at Orion, Oakland Co., Mich. In 1856 the family removed to a farm near Birmingham, Oakland County, where they resided about seven years. In i863 the farm in Bloomfield Township was sold, and a grist-mill in the same county purchased, in company with W. W. Martin. This connection continued three years, when R. W. Nye became interested in the same enterprise. Eventually, Mr. Morris became sole proprietor by purchase, and conducted the affairs of the mill singly until I I877, when it was sold, and he came to Reed City, where, associated with E. B. Martin, he built the mill now managed by Messrs. Morris & Martin. It is 48x56 feet in dimensions and three stories in height above the basement. It is fitted with four sets of double rollers and three pairs of buhrs, with other modern'fixtures. Its capacity per day is 0oo barrels of flour, and incidental custom work. The site of the mill includes about o acres of land. Mr. Morris is the owner of 40 acres of land in Richmond Township, in an excellent agricultural condition, and also owns his residence and three village lots therewith. His marriage to Lovinia Martin occurred in the township of Bloomfield, Sept. 27, I860. She was born July 25, 1841, in Troy Township, Oakland County, and is the daughter of William W. and Samantha (Stockwell) Martin. The former was born in January, I8o6, in Cayuga Co., N. Y., and in 1825 became a pioneer of Oakland County, where the family was among the earliest of the permanent settlers. He is now living in Reed City. The mother was born in the State of New York and died in Birmingham, July 27, I879. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have two children: Samantha A., who was born Sept. 25, I86r, and is the wife of Maurice W. Stevenson, real-estate broker of Grand Rapids; and Hettie E. was born April 25, I864, and married George S. Preston, liveryman at Big Rapids. ~iD liver L. Millard, Clerk of Osceola County, &,i! resident at Hersey,was born June 26, 1845, in Lockport, Niagara Co., N. Y. His father, o Junius A. Millard, was born in November, I8I7, in Niagara County, and is now a farmer in Pittsford Township, Hillsdale Co., Mich. His mother, Narcissa (Haroun) Mitlard, was born in October, 1827, in the city of Syracuse. Two of their three children are now living: Bertram J. is a traveling salesman and grocer at Vicksburg, Kalamazoo Co., Mich. Emma L. died at the age of II years. In I829 the family located in Pittsford Township, the father buying 80 acres of land which has since i ). <.. s /=3 i y t a i,..4, 'I-1 AN r d Ft-l B 4;~1; -, - i lll~-,/ (-,.H H 0 ~ -I t " OSCEOLA COUNTY. 237 been the homestead. Mr. Millard was reared to comb County. He is the proprietor of 60 acres of manhood on the home place, and was a member of land in Shelby Township, and occasionally officiates I- the parental household until his marriage Jan. i, in his capacity of minister of the Christian Church. i 1867, to Maria J. Miner. She was born in the same Geo. H. Cannon, his uncle, has made the family? township, March i, I844, and is the daughter of patronymic prominent in his position of surveyor, in James H. and Phebe Miner. The children of Mr. which he has been engaged for a long period of and Mrs. Millard were both born in Pittsford Town- years, and has operated over a wide-spread territory ship. Herbert A. was born April 8, I868, and in Michigan, in the employ of the United States Emma L., Nov. 7, i87. Government. The mother of Mr. Cannon, Sallie Mr. Millard continued a resident there until his (Cook) Cannon, was born in Saratoga Co., N. Y. removal to Osceola County in February, 1873, when She is the mother of seven children. ~ he secured 80 acres of land on section 6, in Rose Mr. Cannon was reared on a farm in his native Lake Township, of which he took possession and township, and was occupied in the quiet pursuits commenced the labors of a pioneer, clearing and pertaining to agriculture, when the nation was sud-,^,4-1,X;....;-.,: ' ' ^ 1,;. 1. -,,-.~..,-.-4-........... I 4, l....L...1Vl,- uy. 4-1,.. -,.. 4-,. f,,;l;1,*,v. LT- I i )19) r r ~ as 3tt Hel f Re oLtnrWLsC unprovinlg 111S lIllU, CIULLE11g 11MCS5afLy farm buildings, and placed 60 acres in good agricultural condition, with excellent orcharding. While a citizen of Rose Lake Township, he was alternately elected to the offices of Clerk and Supervisor, holding one position or the other every year he was a resident there, with one exception. While in Hillsdale County, he served two terms as Township Treasurer. In the fall of I882 he was elected County Clerk, Uenlly LonL;VV CU;d Uy IIC AUVCI IL ivi L Vwa. v Av. enlisted Aug. 9, 1862, at Washington Corners, Macomb County, in Co. B, 22d Regt. Mich. Vol. Inf., Captain Keeler. He was discharged at Detroit July 20, 1865, after the close of the war. He was an active participant in the various battles in which his regiment was engaged, and encountered the arduous service which characterized the field record of the "Twenty-second," passing safely through the hardfought battle of Chickamauga, where his regiment J; ~: on the Republican ticket, by a majority of 424 votes went into action with 600 equipped men, only 50 of ~= ^ over the opposition candidate. In December fol- whom afterward responded to their names at roll-; lowing he removed to Hersey, to facilitate the dis- call. charge of the duties pertaining to his position. On being discharged from military service, Mr. He owns his house and lot, and, in company with Cannon returned to his father's farm. In i868, asHenry A. Clark, is the proprietor of 320 acres of sociated with his brother, John W., he founded a land in Richmond and Marion Townships. mercantile enterprise at Washington Corners, and He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal there managed a successful business. In September, Church, as is also his wife. I871, he came to Evart and opened a branch store. under the same firm relations which existed until ^ IJanuary, 1876, when it became S. B. & G. H. Cannon, the former being sole and resident manager. In partnership with Geo. F. Andrus, he owns a farm of I90 acres, situated on the Muskegon River, three y C miles north of Evart, 50 acres being cleared and culilery C. Cannon, merchant at Evart, was tivated. v z born Dec. 28, 1842, in the township of vated. helby, Macomb Co, Mich. The family Mr. Cannon is a Republican in political connecShelby, Macomb Co., Mich. The family -'. h. tion. He has been Treasurer of Osceola Township 2 nA e,to which he belongs is one of the most promi-... two years, Supervisor four years (is present incumnent n the history of the development of bent), member of the Village Board four years, has Norther Michigan, with which it has been in- served three terms as Chairman of the Board of Supseparably connected from the Territorial days of the ervisors and in various other positions. He was the Peninsular State. His father, Rev. John Cannon, first Treasurer of Evart village, and occupied the po() was born Sept. 22, I808, in Saratoga Co., N. Y., sition three years. He is the Treasurer of the Oscewhence he removed with his family in I834 to Ma- ola County Agricultural Society and has held the ol ouny Aricultlin ;238 OSCEOLA COUNTY.. position eight years. Mr. Cannon has served as His is the largest store in the place, and he enjoys > / Treasurer of the Masonic Lodge at Evart, of which an extensive patronage, doing a business of about t' C he is a member, since its organization. In the fall $25,000 yearly. Besides, he owns 760 acres of land, v' of 1884 he was elected a member of the lower House most of which is located in Lincoln Township. He Mr of the Legislature of Michigan. has about 80 acres under cultivation. Until May, Mr. Cannon is one of the leading business men in 1884, his father, George Halladay, had an interest in Osceola County. He is justly accorded first rank in the store, and the firm was known as " Halladay & ability, integrity and reliability of judgment and Son." During the month named Mr. H. bought out character. his father's interest, and thenceforward has carried His marriage to. Harriet N. Sybrandt occurred on the business alone. ^ Dec. 28, 1868, at Washington Corners. Theironly Mr. Halladay has held the office of Supervisor of child —Emma E.-was born at the same place, Lincoln Township for five years, being re-elected to March 8, 1870. Mrs. Cannon was born Jan. 12, the position in the spring of 1884. He has also held r 841, in Niagara Co., N. Y. the position of Township Treasurer three years, and all the minor official trusts in the town. In his views of political affairs he is a Republican, and since '- | April, 1877, he has been Postmaster of the village of Ashton. He was married at Mound City, Ill., Nov. 30, | I875, to Miss Elizabeth McIllhmurry, who was born in yer Halladay, merchant at Asllton, is a Canada. To Mr. and Mrs. H. have been born three son of George and Mary (White) Halla- children, namely: Grace M., LeRoy W. and Eva... i3, [- day, who were natives of the Dominion of c= i Canada, married and settled in Leeds Co., ' r-s3x 5,< Ont. Mr. George Halladay remained in Can- A a= ada until the fall of 1870, when he came to |$~ t Osceola County and settled in Lincoln Township, -BM 0:| where he still is a resident. He had a family of f i i eigni cnlluren, Iamieu in rne oliiOWing oruer: r rayer, Nancy, Samantha, Adelia, Annetta, Ida, Wright and Burton. M The subject of this biographical outline was born in Leeds Co., Ont., Oct. 15, 1846, and received as he grew up a common-school education, remaining at home until I8 years of age, after which he at-: tended the commercial college at Hamilton, Ont., for three months. On leaving home he went to New York State and " worked out" one summer, and then returned to his father's in Canada. Soon afterward he went to Wentworth County, in the Dominion, where he was employed two years as engineer in a saw-mill. In the spring of 1869 he came to Michigan and remained at Grand Rapids until the following fall, when he came to Osceola County and took 5i possession of 80 acres of Government land in Wexford County, but did not finally " prove it up." The following spring he opened a general store at Ashton, e where he now keeps a stock of merchandise in all ^ the branches suited to the demands of the country. l -esse T. Minchin, editor of the Evart Re- view, was born July 25, 1856, at Pontiac, Oakland Co., Mich. His father, Thomas ~,~ Minchin, was born Sept. I, 1826, in Winchcome, Gloucestershire, Eng., and became a citizen of the United States and of Michigan in I85o. The mother, Elizabeth Minchin, was born Oct. 14, I8I6, at Baisingstoke, Hampshire, Eng., and came thence in'1857 to Michigan. Mr. Minchin acquired a common-school education at Pontiac, where in 1874 he entered the office of a local newspaper and obtained a thorough and practical knowledge of printing in all its details, and of the "ins and outs" of journalism. He speedily 'took foremost rank in the guild and operated as foreman of the Pontiac Bill Poster, his Alma Mater, during 1876-7-8. In July, 1878, he went to Reed City, and, associated with his brother, George W. Minchin, purchased the Clarion, which they conducted jointly until December, I880. At that date the proprietors /; j; 6 %-i*ci-aa c n!;ia ~,.~ u — ^^-i~ i ~ ~ —aa(mai^^ - - ug ->_Jv OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 239,~~~~3, _.* I I., ( =e I.. r sold the paper and purchased the Evart Review, 5 which they have since managed and are still con3 ducting in co-partnership. In 1879 Mr. Minchin served as Clerk of Reed City. He was elected Secretary of the Osceola County Agricultural Society, in i88i, and discharged the duties of the position three years. Since removing to Evart he has served as a member of the Board of Education, on the Board of Water Commissioners, and is the present (1884) President of the village. He was married Nov. 14, I877, to Minnie M. | Murray, of Pontiac, Oakland Co., Mich. She was l born Nov. i i, I863, and is the daughter of Seth T. and Jennie M. (Collier) Murray. Mr. and Mrs. Minchin are the parents of three sons, born as follows: Jesse M., March 24, I880; Eber W., July 2, i883; and George B., June 24, i884. imothy V. Childs, retired miller and 5 Iji farmer, resident at Reed City, was born i f Jan. 29, 1820, in Genesee Co., N. Y., and s.. is the son of Elias and Tamar (Vincent),) Childs, both of whom were natives of Vermont, where they were married. A few years after that event, they removed to the State of New York, going thence to Medina Co., Ohio, Later they came to Kalamazoo, Mich., and there the father died, Nov. 3, I847. He was born April 23, 1780. The mother died in Livingston Co., Mich., Aug. 13, 1865. She was born Aug. 12, 1781. Their family comprised 13 children, only two of whom are living. Asa Childs is 82 years of age, and resides in Tiffin, Ohio. Mr. Childs is the youngest of the family, and was reared under the personal care and supervision of his parents, working as a carpenter with his father and also on the farm. He accompanied his parents in their removals, and was the custodian of their comfort in their declining years. He was married Y Oct. 8, 1840, to Sarah E. Jones. She was born Aug. r I6, I816, in Geneva, Ontario Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Frederick and Polly Maria Jones. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Childs resided in Medina Co., Ohio, a number of years and Mr. Childs was there engaged as a farmer. In 1844 he came to Yorkville, Kalamazoo Co., Mich., removing thence to Otsego, Allegan Co., Mich., where he became the i proprietor of the Exchange Hotel. The house was ] burned about two years after and Mr. Childs entered the grocery and provision store of S. D. Foster as a salesman. Two years later he engaged in the same business independently, and two years after exchanged his business for a stage route and necessary equipments, the line running between Kalamazoo and Allegan. He managed its affairs eight years and bought a farm of I20 acres in Allegan County, in the township of the same name. In April, 1873, Mr. Childs came to Osceola County and founded a grocery, provision and general supply business suited to the necessities of the then embryo village, which is now Reed City. About five years later he erected a saw, grist and planing mill, located on Upton Avenue in a central situation. He continued their proprietor until December, I884, when he exchanged his claim in them for a farm of 200 acres of land near Baldwin, Lake Co., Mich. The place is valu- Z able both in fact and promise, 70 acres being in first- ' class agricultural condition. Mr. Childs is a Republican; he was a Whig in the: days of Harrison, for whom he cast his first vote, and: he has since acted consistently with his political convictions, and voted straight with the element to which he has belonged throughout. Mrs. Childs is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. — l-a --- > I; I 6 - * —"Cli+F —~~-4 (C) lien Campbell, cashier of the bank at Evart, F was born March 4, I844, in Columbia Co., N. Y. His father, John Campbell, was born in Argyle, Scotland, and learned his trade of machinist at Aberdeen, in the " land of heather and mist." His mother, Barbara (Russel) Campbell, was also born in Scotland. Both are de- ( ceased. On emigrating to this country they settled in the State of New York, where they became farmers t and reared their family. Mr. Campbell was occupied during the years of his! minority preceding the age of i8 years in obtaining e his education and on the family homestead. He; 7 K ) I <. An) I It rV _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I < 'R C; ~, ll!-! 240, OSCEOLA CO UNTY. -@) cc came to Michigan in 1855, and enlisted at Fenton, Genesee County, Sept. 15, i86i, as a private in Co. t F, First Regiment Michigan Engineers and Mechanics. He soon received promotion to the position of ) Quartermaster's Sergeant, and later was made Second Lieutenant of Co. D, in the same regiment. He was in the service until the close of the war, participating in the engagements at Mill Springs, Perryville, Stone River (where 600 of his regiment withstood a charge made by 2,000 rebels), and was under fire in ' all the fights in which his regiment was involved in B the famous march through Georgia to the sea, and a fought at Chattanooga, Atlanta, Savannah, Averysboro and at Bentonville. The command went to Washington for the Grand Review, whence Mr. Campbell came to the township of Groveland, Oakland Co., Mich. He bought 140 acres of land, of which he made a model farm, with superior orcharding and stocked with numerous varieties of fruit. At the same time he began to operate in loans to some extent. He was prominent in. politics and a zealous, z declared Republican. In 1882 he was placed in x nomination by his party to represent his district in the Legislature of Michigan, but " achieved defeat" from the well-known strength of the Democratic element in that section of the Peninsular State. In the fall of i883 he removed to Evart and established a private banking house. His range of business includes the transactions common to similar institutions. Mr. Campbell is a member of Post Sedgwick, at Holly, Mich., Grand Army of the Republic. He was married May 17, I866, in Groveland Township, to Mary L., daughter of John S. and Mary L. Warrin. Mrs. Campbell was born in the State of New York. I = 79 I 20 years of age, and also for a time the preparatory department of Oberlin College. After quitting school Mr. Clark engaged in farming, which has been the chief occupation of his life. He came to Osceola County in the spring of i88r and purchased 380 acres of land in Lincoln Township, where he now is a resident and has a fine farm of Ioo acres in cultivation. In his political views Mr. C. is a Republican, and was once elected Justice of the Peace, but did not qualify. He was married in Ashland Co., Qhio, Feb. 22, 187 1, to Miss Lydia A. Biddinger, who was born in that county, May 2, 1849. Her parents, David and Fanny (Peck) Biddinger, were natives respectively of Ohio and Pennsylvania. f illiam Tennant, farmer, section 20, Orient Township, has been a resident of Osceola County since i868, and of Michigan since 2 September, 1844. ' He removed hither from Ionia with an ox team, camping out one night, two and a half miles west of Evart, the snow being two feet ilk depth. He crossed the Muskegon River on an old scow one mile west of Evart, or where that village now stands, its location being then covered with pine. From thence Mr. Tennant cut his way through to the farm of his son-in-law, John Smith, with whom his family remained from March to July. Meanwhile he located the farm he has since occupied, went to the land office at Ionia and placed his first papers. He built a log house on the place, to which he removed his family and where they took up their abode, living the first three weeks without a floor in their cabin. The nearest trading point was Hersey, 20 miles away, and there was the only postoffice in the county. Those who desired to cross the river were obliged to wade the stream or impel themselves across it on a species of raft made of two logs fastened together with a plank or slab. Mr. Tennant came near drowning on one occasion when crossing in this primitive manner. Flour was $r6 to $I8 per barrel, and pork 25 cents per pound. The woods abounded in deer, bear and %i~.-O, " f, ) 5'0 f s ilbert M. Clark, farmer, section 4, Lincoln Township, is a son of James M. and Hannah B. (Collister) Clark. His parents, who were natives respectively of Massachusetts and New York State, had a family of six children, the second of whom was the subject of this sketch. He was born in Lorain Co., Ohio, July 4, 1845, attended common school until he was Y 14,845-atteded ommo J ol ~01 u u Tli ~i —, OSCEOLA COUNTY. 241, __;_ v A I wolves. The first were so plenty that they were as a rule encountered whenever a trip was made into the woods. Wolves frequently came and lapped water near the cabin door. Mr. Tennant was born Aug. I9, 1822, in Colchester, near New London, Conn., and is the son of John R. and Lydia A. (West) Tennant. His father was born Feb. 2, 1798. His family went from Connecticut t6 New York, and thence, after a residence of a few years, to Allegheny, Venango Co., Pa. Half a dozen years later they came to Lake Co., Ohio, and after three years to Ashtabula County in the same State, where they resided 15 years. In I844 another removal was made, to China, St. Clair Co., Mich. This was their home seven years, after which they settled on a farm in Richmond, Macomb County. After residing on this 14 years they took possession of a farm in Ionia County. In i868 the place was sold, and the family of William Tennant came to Orient. The father died in Orient, this county, aged about 77 years. The mother was born April Io, i8oo, and died at the age of 70 years, in Richmond, Macomb Co., Mich. Mr. Tennant was married Oct. 9, I844, in St. Clair County, to Betsey Burdick, and they have had six children: Mary A. was born in 1845; Helen, Feb. 2, 1848; Emma J., Sept. 29, I850; George, Jan. ii, 1855; Esadine, July I6, 1859; William J., April 12, I863. Mrs. Tennant was born March 24, I824, and is the daughter of Jewett and Huldah (Wright) Bur I sn 4,. I~l a year and a half; next, he emigrated to America and spent a year and a half in Wisconsin; then worked at cabinet-making (which trade he had learned mostly of his father) in Chicago until the spring of I873, when he came to Osceola County and purchased 40 acres of land, where he now resides. He since added by purchase 80 acres more, so tha w he has a total of I20 acres of good agricultural land, 65 acres of which are in a state of good cultivation. On his arrival in this county, Mr. Dahlstrom started a Sunday-school, and soon afterward he was called by his countrymen to preach the gospel. Accordingly, his time is now thus chiefly occupied, and he is consequently under the necessity of hiring laborers for his farm. Both as Pastor and farmer, Mr. D. exhibits the traits of industry and careful judgment characteristic of his native country, and a brilliant success is therefore in prospect for him in this pioneer land. On political matters, he votes with the Republicans. lexander Fraser, farmer, section 27, Cedar -' | Township, was born June 2, I845, in Hald-i: imand Township, Northumberland Co., Ont. 'e -He is the son of John and Margaret (Aird) S Fraser. The latter is living with a son in Brighton, Ont. The father disappeared 25 years ago and has not since been traced. The family included seven children, as follows: Isabella, Alexander, William, Catherine, Anna, Maggie, Jessie, Mary (deceased) and James. Mr. Fraser was reared a farmer, in which occupation he has passed his life. In the spring of i865 he moved from the Domirfon to the vicinity of the city of Rochester, where he passed three years in farming, working by the month and, during the seasons for packing trees for shipment, worked in the nurseries. In i868, in the fall, he removed to Grand Rapids and passed the winters of three years as a lumberman. He passed the summers in varied employments until i871, when he came to Hersey Township and bought 40 acres,of land of the Grand 1. f ( i: lx I V. j=3 b dick. The mother died in 1878, aged 76 years. The father's death occurred in i88I, when he was 84 years of age. They died in Madison, Lake Co., Ohio. Mr. Tennant adopts the principles and issues of the Republican party. ev. Andrew Dahlstrom, Pastor of the Swedish Free Church and farmer on sec7iVe. tion I5, Lincoln Township, is a son of:~ Andrew and Mary Dahlstrom, natives of Sweden, who passed their lives in that country. The subject of this sketch was also born in Sweden, June I9, I845, and lived in his native country until the fall of i866; then lived in Norway ay'''>-^y- ^ age I r 5. - - 1) C 242 OSCEOLA COUNTY. ( *. 00 g ( = I * r.4 Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company. Later, he sold the place and engaged as foreman of a lumber camp, his wife acting as cook. He.continued in this employment five years, and in 1882 he purchased i60 acres of land. Of this ioo acres are chopped and 8o acres are logged, and the place is supplied with a good frame barn and house. Mr. Fraser's prospects for becoming one of the solid men of Osceola County are unusually good. He was married July 4, I870, to Jane Ann, daughter of Elihu and Almira (Garrett) Rawson. Her father lives in Brighton, Ont., where ler mother died, in March, I88i. Mrs Fraser was born in Watertown, Jefferson Co., N. Y. She is the oldest living of six children. Timothy is deceased. Charles, Clark W., Sarah, Margaret and Isaac are living. Henry is deceased. Mr. Fraser will take out his naturalization papers in this current year (I884), and identify himself ) with the Republican party. 31 l ames Gavin, farmer and lumberman, resi' dent on section 26, Hersey Township, is the proprietor of 80 acres of land, which constitute the family homestead, and also owns 40 acres on section 25, in the same township. He was born March 27, 1845, in Hastings Co., Out. His father, Andrew Gavin, was born in Ireland, and after his marriage he emigrated, in I840, to the Dominion of Canada. The parents were resident there until their removal to Evart, Osceola County, in I88I. They are living in quiet retirement, and are nearly three score and ten years of age respectively. Mr. Gavin became the master of his own fortunes at the age of i8 years. He judged that Northern Michigan held an opportunity for a man with rugged, unbroken health and determined energy, and he came to Osceola County. He has operated during? each succeeding winter as a lumberman, and since his purchase of his farm has vigorously pushed his agricultural interests through the farming seasons. ) He was married April 23, I873, to Annie Collins, and they have a family of six children, born as fol lows: James A., Feb. 20, 1874; Ellen A., Oct. 17, I875; Abbie C., Sept. 22, 1877; William H., March 5, I879; Anna, Sept. 23, I880; Ezetta, Dec. 12, I883. Mrs. Gavin is the daughter of Morris and Abbie (McCarty) Collins. Her parents reside in Hartwick Township, Osceola County, and of I2 children born to them, but one is deceased. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Gavin are Maggie, Patrick, Florence, Jay, Abbie, Albert, Ellen, Mary, Morris, James and Daniel. Mr. Gavin is a Democrat. harles W. Ball, book-keeper in the general mercantile house of Mark Ardis at Evart, was born July 3, I849, in Goshen Township, Hampshire Co., Mass. His parents, Warren J. and Almira C. (Tower) Ball, were both natives of Hampshire Co., Mass., and reside on their farm in the Bay State. Mr. Ball left his paternal home when he was 18 years of age and came to Ionia, Mich., where he became an employe of the Hon. John C. Dexter in his flouring mill located in that place. In December, 1871, Mr. Dexter opened a supply store at Evart, for the benefit of the lumbering population, and in 1873 admitted Mr. Ball to a partnership, which existed until the demise of Mr. Dexter. Preceding the copartnership, the former had pursued a course of study at the Agricultural College at Lansing, where he was graduated in August, I873. The business is still in existence, the interest of Mr. Dexter having been sold and Mr. Ball retaining his claim. He established a trade in groceries and provisions after the death of his partner, which he man-. aged i8 months, acting at the same time as Express Agent. In the spring of r880 Messrs. Dexter & Ball erected the Novelty Flouring Mills, having two run of stones and a producing capacity of 50 barrels of flour daily, besides feed and custom work. The mill is now owned by Mr. Ball and Osman Tower, and is operated by parties who have leased it. In March, 1884, Mr. Ball entered upon the duties of I I I 't B ii Al 99,V30 -D->7RI~S-C -~ r I ~~i~: i_ -.~.~~ ~~~I;;-;~':' P;i::?l:c, i'._'- -- '.: -.:~~-~~ ~;1.:~:.~~:;ri:~~ c ~::f'~; -~ r~? ~r r:l:~5; p~ 1,,,L.~, I 4I I OSCEOLA COUNT Y. 245 -- -) his present position. He owns also his residence ated in Burdell Township. Of this, 30 acres are and lot on Main Street. under improvements. 4 He was married at Evart, Nov. 5, 1878, to Lucy He is a born and bred Republican, a thorough- 4 Lancashire, a native of England. going, active, energetic business man, and has in- j variably aided and sustained all measures for the permanent well-being of the community of which he is a member. He has served ten years as Notary Public, and six years as Postmaster, to which post he IvqC aR nnninted in TRS7 eorge W. Bevins, Postmaster and merchant at Tustin, was born Aug. 30, 1851, in Livingston Co., N. Y. His father, John Bev^ ins, was also a native of the Empire State, and in I859 removed with his wife and children to Kent Co., Mich., settled on a farm and was continuously a resident there until his death in 1866. The mother, Mary (Sabin) Bevins, was born in the State of New York, and died in Kent Co., ) Mich., in the same year in which the demise of the; husband and father occurred. Their family coms prised five children,-three daughters and two sons. t Mr. Bevins is the fourth child of his parents in D order of birth, and is the elder son. He was eight s years of age when he accompanied the family to ^ Michigan, and he was educated principally in Kent County. When he was 15 years of age his parents were both removed by death, and he went to Smyrna, Ionia Co., Mich., and became a member of the family of his uncle, where he worked on the farm summers and went to school winters. He came to Leroy, in Osceola County, where he attained his majority and became a salesman in the store of his uncle, J. E. X Bevins (see sketch), where he operated in the same capacity four years. In i876 he came to Tustin and A established a mercantile business, associating G. A. Estes with himself in its prosecution. In I878, the prosperity and extension of the relations of the firm requiring more commodious quarters, they erected a building 36 x 60 feet in dimensions. Five years after the organization of the firm Mr. Bevins succeeded to the sole proprietorship, and since that date he has made an addition to the structure, 22 x 40 feet in extent, for the accommodation of the postoffice. His? stock of merchandise is varied and extensive, and B represents a cash value of about $7,ooo-annual h sales amounting to $25,000 on an average. Mr. ) Bevins is the owner of several improved village lots. r He is also the proprietor of I?6 acres of land, situ WaZ ty1JVIIJ~L:;U L L01 He was married June 4, [876, to Laura L. Moon, and they are the parents of two children-Eva M. 1 and Elton, born respectively May 14 i877, and May (5 22, 1882. Mrs. Bevins was born July 5, 1852, in V Erie Co., Penn., and is a farmer's daughter. Her parents are quite advanced in years, but are enjoying a hale and hearty old age. sne acquired a good education and officiated some years as a teacher. The portrait of Mr. Bevins on the opposite page is a valuable addition to the ALBUM OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, in view of his efficiency as a public man and as a representative of a family to whom the county owes much. A 1; e x7Z.-I 4 yman W. June, farmer, section 5, Cedar l Township, was born Dec. 29, 1845, in Huntington, Lorain Co., Ohio. He dates his origin back to the period of the colonial settlement of America, and is of unmixed descent. His parents, William C. and Mary S. (Whiton) June, are living in Lorain Co., Ohio. i The former was born in Vermont, the latter in Massachusetts. They are aged respectively 76 and 60 years. They had nine children, all of whom attained adult age save one, who died in infancy. They are named Edwin, Olivia, Louisa, John, William, Lyman (deceased), Lyman (2d), Henry and Milo. The Civil War was upon the people of this country before Mr. June was I5 years old. He enlisted as a soldier for the Union Dec. Io, I863, in Co. E, I28th Ohio Vol. Inf. His regiment belonged to the 2oth Army Corps, but he was detailed for provost guard duty and had his headquarters as custodian E of the prison of commissioned officers at Johnson'. i1 I! - (( I V, sb H _ _ _ __ _ k^'v.; S KSA'S , 246 OSCEOLA -S I -Il/ IPf (r.110 Island, where he operated during his entire period of service. He was stationed there at the time of the attempted liberation of the prisoners by the rebels. On being mustered out of the military service he became a carpenter and soon acquired an excellent reputation as a craftsman. He continued to operate as a builder five years, and at the age of 22 years he attended Baldwin University, remaining there one year, when he went to the Western Reserve Seminary and continued as student and teacher one year. Afterward he went to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he was a student one year at the Wesleyan University. After operating four succeeding years as a teacher in the same institution, he returned to Ohio and became interested in the lumber business, which he pursued five years. Next, he came to Greendale tTownship, Midland Co., Mich., and passed two years as a lumberman and millwright. At the end of that time he was burned out and lost all his personal property. He owned i6o acres of land, which is yet in his possession. After his disastrous loss by fire he operated some time as a millwright and headsawyer, and then came to Osceola County and bought 80 acres of land in Cedar Township, of which he cleared several acres. He was married June 8, 1871, to L. Melvina Mills, and they have had five children: Mary E. was born April 19, 1874, in Mount Pleasant, Iowa; Bartholomew was born Dec. 15, I876; Martha J., Sept. 3, I879; Eva Pearl, Jan. I9, 1882, in Midland. The second and third children were born in Huntington, Ohio. One child is deceased. Mrs. June is the daughter of Galen A. and Elizabeth (Stratton) Mills, both of whom are living in Berea, Ohio. Her father has been a merchant, but has retired from active business. The family contained nine children, born in the following order: Priscilla A., James, Margaret, Mrs. June, Artemus, Daniel, Samantha, Ida and Inez. The great-great-grandfather of Mrs. June, James Parks, lived to the age of iI years. He was a renowned Indian hunter, and was much dreaded by the red-skins who infested the frontiers during the early history of the Colonies. Six of the savage family made their appearance to him at one time, when he was in the forest splitting rails to fence his garden. They placed themselves between him and his gun and informed him that he was about to die. He acquiesced in the decision ~Jg ohn Isaacson is a farmer on section 5, Richmond Township. He was born in the kingdom of Sweden, April i6, I854; his X parents, Allen and Eureka (Daniel) Isaacson, were also natives of that country. He emigrated to the "land of opportunity " in 187I, coming directly to this county and purchasing 80 acres of railroad land, where he now resides, and has about half his landed estate in a condition of good and productive cultivation. He was married in Big Rapids, Mich., to Christiana Anderson, who also was a native of Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Isaacson have become the parents of two children, namely, Alice S., one who died in infancy, and Ida C. In his principles concerning the welfare of this nation, Mr. Isaacson, as well as nearly all Swedes, sympathize with the Republican party. "I" I I k " COUNTY. making one proviso, that they should assist him in splitting the remainder of the rails, so his wife could E have the fence as intended. They assented, and he instructed them how to take hold of the log with their fingers to expedite the rail-splitting! He took the maul and, speedily knocking out the wedge in the log, they were all prisoners in a moment. He obtained his gun and slaughtered the entire party! Mr. June is a Republican in political sentiment, and is actively interested in school matters. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. a ^; 1 I 8if * | 22 ' O ~ ) tephen R. Jones, Postmaster at Hersey, was born Oct. 15, 1826, in Yates Co., N. I Y. His father, William B. Jones, resides y in Bath, Steuben Co., N. Y., and is in his 83d year. His mother, Abiah (Raplee) Jones, was a native of New York, and died in 1833. The family removed from Yates to Steuben County when Mr. Jones was a small boy. When he was r9 years of age he returned to his Ab-^- (. "-I a~l; K- o e 4 ~C il.!* —I - C -;, 0 OSCEOLA I * 3l t> I. at -,j.r:W ram Qs~ 1).. native county to acquire a knowledge of the builder's business, which he pursued some years. He was married in Milo, Yates County, April 20, I852, to Alvira Miller, and they are the parents of a daughter, -Adell M.,-born Feb. i8, I855. She is well educated and has been engaged in teaching in Hersey and vicinity. Mrs. Jones is the daughter of Daniel and Susan Miller, and was born Dec. 23, 1827, in Yates Co., N. Y. In the spring of I865 Mr. Jones became a resident of Matherton, Ionia Co., lich., where, in company with George Lance, he rented a building and put in a sash, door and blind factory, which they managed jointly three years. At the end of that time Mr. Jones sold his interest to his partner, on account of impaired health. He established his residence at Hersey in the spring of I87 and brought his family hither in the fall of the tsame year. His first business venture was in the management of a planing-mill for D. A. Blodgett, which he conducted four and a half years. His further operations as a mechanic were interrupted by an accident received from one of the saws in the mill, which deprived him of his left hand. He was appointed Postmaster of itersey in January, 1884. All the members of the family belong to the Baptist Church. rank A. True, jeweler at Evart, was born Sept. 27, 1855, at Flint, Mich. His. father, William W. True, is a native of Montrose, Pa., and has been in the business of a silversmith about 35 years, and is still engaged in it at Flint. His mother, Rowena (Blair) True, was born in Vermont, and is still living. Mr. True entered his father's store when he was 13 years of age, to learn the business, and was engaged in the acquisition of its details until, he was 20. He had meanwhile obtained an excellent education, which he completed at the schools of higher grade. In 1875 he went to Cleveland to enter upon the duties of foreman in the jewelry establishment of Jerry W. Coon, where he operated one year. In 1876 he came to Evart and bought the business of William Livingston, and has since prosecuted the John B. McFarlane, lumberman and farmer, section 2, Sylvan Township, was born July 9, 1835, in Beauharnais Co., Quebec. Andrew McFarlane, his father, was a native of ) Scotland, and came to America soon after his marriage to Jane Bryden, settling in the Dominion of Canada. Later he came to Lapeer Co., Mich., where he died, about the year 1869. The mother was born in Ireland, and is still living, in Lapeer County, aged 82 years. They had o1 children. Mr. McFarlane has been a resident of the Peninsular State since the age of 12 years. His first labor was in the lumber woods at Mill Creek, Lapeer County, in the employ of Wm. Ellison. Subsequently he went to Wisconsin and later to Minnesota, where he was occupied in lumbering. In 1854 he made a trip down the Mississippi River on a raft of logs, stopping at Vicksburg. He commenced operations there as a wagon-maker, which business he prosecuted until the secession of the State. He was one of the first to enter the Confederate service as a measure of policy and safety, and enlisted in Co. I, 2oth Miss. Vol. Inf., known as the "Jasper Rifles," under Colonel Russel, General Floyd, Brigade Commander. He was in active service until the fall of Fort Donelson, when he was taken prisoner and sent to Camp Douglas, Chicago. He made his escape from that place by scaling its walls, and returned to Lapeer County, glad to find himself once more under the protection of the Stars and Stripes, and with no love for the Confederacy. Soon after his return he f' Z=3 AC=S E=3 - o__';r= ( age' I COUNT Y. 247 trade in his line with success. He deals in watches, jewelry, plated ware and all articles suited to his trade. His stock averages an estimated value of $4,000, and he transacts a considerable business in F repairs. In February, 1884, lie founded a branch -; store at Meredith, which is conducted by his brother, Charles E. True. The stock at that point is valued at $2,000. Mr. True was married Oct. 15, 1879, at Evart, to Harriet A., daughter of Hon. John C. Dexter. She was born Feb. 23, 1852, in Ionia, Mich., died June 29, i880, at Evart, and is buried at Ionia. I I' t 'i- - rra~ll ~4l;4g-g —3 n II.l t l 7 U) X:) hav dau — ghe 248 OSCEOLA COUNTY.. came up the Muskegon River and resumed his Paris,Ont., May 22, i883. The have a daughterj wonted occupation as a lumberman in the interests Matie-born March 8, 1884. Mrs. Nix is the s, of Green & Mason, of Mecosta County. daughter of Henry and Maria Bauslaugh, and was: He was married in I864, and, with his wife, went born in Paris, Brant Co., Ont.. to Wisconsin. From there he returned a few months Mr. Nix belongs to the Order of Odd Fellows. later to Osceola and Mecosta Counties, where he has since operated extensively in timber lands and in lumbering as a jobber and contractor. He was en- - 3 gaged some years in the manufacture of lumber at Evart, but the crisis of 1873 caused such a shrinkage of values that it crippled his business at that te P.r point of operation. He is the owner of 4,000 acres | 1 ufus F. Morris, farmer, section 32, Richof land situated in various portions of Osceola mond Township, was born Feb. 8, I827, in County, which includes 220 acres of improved land, Medina Co., Oio. His father and mother, nearly all of which is comprised in the homestead John and Sally (Jennings) Morris, were born estate. Mr. McFarlane is a Republican in political respectively in Virginia and Ohio. On the preferences. He was one of the first Supervisors in event of their marriage they settled in Medina Osceola County, and has officiated in that position County, subsequently resided in various counties and two years in Middle Branch Township. both died in Geauga Co., Ohio. They had eight sons He was married March 20, I864, in Barton Town- and four daughters.; ship, Newaygo County, to Hattie S. Marsh. They Mr Morris is the oldest son, and during the years have had six children,-Archibald L., St. John, Ed- of his life until he was 22 he attended the schools of mond P., Aloney C., an infant (deceased) and Win- |the Buckeye State and labored on his father's farm. =; nie M. McFarlane was born Jan. 7, 846, in The subsequent year he worked in a grist-mill, spendDundee, Monroe Co., Mich. She is the daughter of ing the year following in working the homestead farm = Carlos Marsh, a native of Vermont, and the first per- on shares. He conducted a rented farm one year,, manent settler in Barton Township, Newaygo County. and in 854 came to Allegan Co., Mich., and bought He died in Middle Branch, June 25, 1879. The 80 acres of land, on which he was occupied in agrimother, Phoebe Ann (Palmer) Marsh, is still living. ultura pursuits until the fall of I862. On selling Iout he came to Osceola County and entered a claim iC ~....- lrch...- 1-1 '- T:..-.-....1__1_s /__! I, i ui uovernmeIint ianIu in iucnmonu I ownsmp. un this he has since resided with the exception of nearly four years while discharging the duties of the office nf C~tnlntvr Trp I Cror uhDAn hi ~qr Tc? n aiCT;irpa 1n T-Tn, — I~~ IJ~ I IIF heron F. Nix, pi born May I, ] Fulton Co., N. 5 erick and Etta (Hei on a farm and obta by attending school He left the shelter of the 20, and was variously oc Manistee five years. In July, 1879, he came the business of Eli Wigh business has been prospe owns his residence' and Street. His marriage to Cynthiv r 2? vU I-VuUVILvJ uICLZIUJLI W IIC WVb U IC:1X [IIL VU 1 r' J- i hotographer at Evart, was sey village. He owns about 50 acres of his original i848, in Bleeker Township, purchase and has cleared and placed under excellent r., and is the son of Fred- tillage about 30 acres. dner) Nix. He was reared Mr. Morris adheres to the principles upon which ined his education chiefly was grounded the National Greenback political orduring the winter seasons. ganization. He was elected County Treasurer in parental roof at the age of I869 and served one term and part of a second. He cupied at Milwaukee and has been Supervisor of Richmond Township two years, and has held in succession nearly all the posito Evart and purchased tions of trust pertaining to the control of local towntman, photographer. His ship affairs..rous from the outset. He Mr. Morris is a member of the Methodist Episcopal g the lot connected on Oak Church. His marriage to Esther Hazen took place Nov. i,, a M. Bauslaugh occurred at 1852, in Geauga Co., Ohio. Four children were born _ u,' au:-=-..' OSCEOLA - ) VA A3l i ' i. (, k6 *'AAFS 17,a to them: Francis, John, Elnora and George F. The first named died when but three weeks old. Mrs. Morris was born Feb. 27, 1834, in Geauga Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of Francis W. and Polly (Giles) Hazen. She is the third child of six born to her parents. In 1862 the shadow of a dread calamity fell upon the happy and united household. The mind of the wife and mother became unsettled and for three months her reason left its high citadel. She was taken to the asylum at Kalamazoo, whence she returned to her home perfectly restored, as was hol)ed and believed. In the fall of 1870 the cloud again lowered over her intellect. She was again removed July 22, 1871, to Kalamazoo, and the same experience has been repeated over and again. She returns at intervals to her home and hope is again lighted, but in a brief time the darkness and unrest of unbalanced reason again hold her in their grasp, and she is conveyed to the asylum, where she receives every tender consideration that can be brought to bear for her welfare. In I873, Elnora, in the promise of her late girlhood, became similarly afflicted, and finds with her mother a retreat at Kalamazoo, where all that skill and patient treatment can devise for her recovery is being done. It is a merciful decree of Almighty God that the clouded intellect experiences little of realization of its own misfortune. eonard Reed, farmer, sections 22, Lincoln Township, is a son of Truman and Lucy (Hicks) Reed, who were natives of the State of Vermont, married and settled in New York State, and came to Michigan about the year I846, first settling in Washtenaw County. They afterward made their residence in various counties in this state. Mr. Truman Reed died at the residence of his son Leonard in Osceola County, Dec. 23, I876; his widow is still living. Of their family of eight children the subject named at the head of this sketch was the eldest. He was born in Erie Co., N. Y., Oct. r8, I832, and has resided in Michigan since he came hither with I COUNTY. 249 his parents. He came to this county in the fall of \ 1867, taking possession of 80 acres of land where he ' now resides. Here he settled and began improve-. ment, with a view to making a desirable home. He now has 30 acres in good tillable condition. Some G time after his purchase of the land he disposed of 40 acres. Mr. Reed has held the office of Highway Commissioner, School Director for nine consecutive years, and School Inspector. In his views of national affairs he is a Republican, and both himself and wife are members of the Disciples' Church. The marriage of Mr. Reed took place April 6, 185 I, in Berrien Co, Mich. His wife, Mary A., was born June 2, 1832, in Brown Co., Ohio, and is a daughter of John and Elizabeth Hanover. (See sketch of John Hanover.) Mr. and Mrs. Reed have nine children, namely: Mary E, Rose, Frank, Wesley F., Ida, Walter, Lena, Clyde and Charles. City, was born March 23, 1836, in Lock' port, N. Y. Joseph Crocker, his father, was a native of Cape Cod, Mass., and was born ) in i80o. He married Sarah Pomeroy, who was born in i806 in Hamilton, N. Y. Their family comprised six children, of whom Mr. Crocker of this sketch was third in order of birth. They were named Charles, Daniel P., J. Newton, Hannah, Orpha and Robert L. Their father died in Lockport. Mr. Crocker was reared on the paternal homestead, - and on reaching his majority acceded to the possession of 60 acres of the farm where he had passed the previous years of his life. He came to Michigan in March, 1867, and began business as a stave and heading manufacturer in the village of Allegan, in the county of the same name. He operated at that point four years. In December, 1872, he transferred his interests to Reed City, and, associated with Henry Lonsbury, founded a grocery and provision trade, their relation existing one year. On its termination, he became a salesman with R. B. Simpson, and was occupied in that capacity about three years. He received the appointment of Postmaster in Sep I,AI N Ar'N D) Qlc~~ (iIH~fltk7) 2 4$~~IL '250 OSCEOLA 1 ' x at E=S A_ tember, 1877, and has conducted the business of the position with satisfaction to the general public. He was elected Justice of the Peace in the spring of I873, and in his position as magistrate is. engaged in the transaction of a large amount of business. He owns the postoffice building and the lot where it is located, also two tenant houses. Mr. Crocker is a member of the Odd Fellows Order. He was a member of the Village Board for four years upon the first organization, and upon the resignation of Charles Clark as President of the village, he was appointed by the Board to fill the vacancy. He served two terms as Township Clerk and one as Village Assessor, and for four years was agent for the American Express Company, while acting as Postmaster and Justice of the Peace; and was also a member of the School Board upon the organization of the district. He was married Jan. 8, I862, at Lockport, to Thankful Stedman. They have had three children: Joseph, who was born Aug. 6, 1863, and is a mail agent on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad; Lena, who was born July 2, 1866; and Valie, who was born Sept 9, 1876, and died Feb. 4, i88r. Mrs. Crocker is the daughter of Ferrand and Thankful Stedman, and was born in Newfane, Niagara Co., N. Y.; ohn Finkbeiner, dealer in general merchandise at Hersey, and sewing-machine agent, was born Dec. 5, I842, in Wurtemberg, Germany, and is the son of Daniel and Agnes Finkbeiner. He was reared to agricultural pursuits in his native country, and in i868 emigrated to the United States. On landing he proceeded directly to Hersey, and on arriving obtained employment as a farm assistant two months, after which he engaged as a clerk in various establishments. In the spring of 1874 he instituted the business enterprise in which he has since been interested. His stock includes dry goods, -groceries, sewing-machines and other merchandise suited to the demands of his patrons. He is agent of the Howe, American and Victor Companies, and has a fine trade. Mr. Finkbeiner was married June i6, I874, at Hersey, to Elizabeth Balzer. They have had six rank S. Postal, of the firm of F. S. Postal & Bro., proprietors and managers of the "Evart House, located at Evart, Mich., was born Oct. 8, 1843, in Avon Township, Oakland Co., Mich., and is the son of William F. and Eliza (Gray) Postal. His father was born near Bath, Genesee Co., N. Y., April 6, 1817, and resides with his son at Evart. The mother was born Sept. 23, I8I7, in the same place, and died Jan. I7, 1880, in Sterling, Macomb Co., Mich. Four of their children are living: Charles was drowned when two years old; Wellington resides at Evart, and is employed by his brother; Frank S. is third in order of birth; George is deceased; Augusta is the wife of Philo Hamlin, a miller in Paris, Mich.; Thomas is deceased, and Fred is associated with his brother in the management of the Evart House. When he was 25 years old, Mr. Postal owned a farm containing 80 acres in Sterling, Macomb County, on which he resided three years and which he partially improved, putting it in fine condition. In November, 1871, he sold the place and came to Evart. The hotel of which he is now the owner was then in process of erection by James H. and Willard G. Trowbridge and Bela Davis. He bought the interest of the latter, and the house continued under the management of Trowbridge Brothers & Postal eight years. In I878 Mr. Postal purchased the entire property, which he conducted singly until August, I882, when he formed his present business relation with his brother. They have greatly increased the facilities and accommodations, which are now adequate for the comfort and welfare of nearly 1oo guests. The fixtures of the house are in every way calculated to meet the requirements of V- < "Ok, * A~ SC/ COUNIVTY. children, namely: William, Julia and Albert are deceased; the surviving children are John Ezra and Emma. Their mother is a native of Canada. Mr. Finkbeiner owns his store and lives over his sales-rooms. He is the owner of four village lots. He is a member of the Village Council, and, with his wife, belongs to the Evangelical Church. ~., -..+.~ ~~ ~4-bm,.qazrm~ qwqww: %4 - i z D ( ^ v1 J-A<^ t — 4 (~ I= OSCEOLA COUNTY. 251 I -- 4k ' S (c ^ the traveling public and patrons. The hotel is the leading establishment of its class at Evart, and controls the traveling patronage. There are stables in connection with every appurtenance for caring properly for 50 horses, and there are first-class barber and bath rooms attached. Mr. Postal is a member of the Evart Land Company, which is doing an extensive local business in real estate, and also in the Upper Peninsula, in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada. The office of the company is in the Evart Bank Block, adjoining the hotel, and the firm transacts a large amount of business both in their own property and on commission. Mr. Postal is also connected with the Northwestern Casket Company, located at Minneapolis, where the firm have a large factory for the production of undertakers' merchandise, and employ two traveling salesmen. He is the owner of a considerable amount of real estate at Evart, comprising two dwellings and lots in the western part of Evart, the site of the skating rink and two stores on the southwest corner of Main and Seventh Streets, in Osceola Township, also 640 acres of land on section 5, 80 acres on section 35, Hartwick Township, 80 acres, section 36, Osceola Township, 40 acres on section 13, Evart Township, and 80 acres in Antrim County, near Mancelona. Mr. Postal is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Royal Arch Chapter, and Pilgrim Commandery at Big Rapids. He was married March 22, I883, to Ellen Wright, a native of Durham Township, Grey Co., Canada. A son-James R.-was born to them in Evart, March 5, I884. II ~ k. B* Crl 1 "M Y"=, K * i}\ holder in Richmond Township, by the purchase of 80 acres of land on section 33, on which he has expended his energies to the best purpose, and has placed 50 acres already under a good order of cultivation. He was married June 24, I855, in Erie Co., N. Y., to Ida Oberlin, and they have had eight children -Minnie, Charles, William, John, Wesley and David. Two children died in infancy. Mrs. Kaphaem was born in Germany. She and her husband are members of the Evangelical Association. j oseph W. Ash, farmer, section 6, Lincoln Township, is a son of George and Mahala (Bradley) Ash, natives of Canada, who married and settled in Niagara Co., N. Y., where Mr. Ash, senior, was born May 25, i8oo, and died Nov. 9, 1839. His widow, after his death, was married to Joseph Cardinal, moved to Osceola County, and died in Lincoln Township, April 18, I880. By her first marriage she was the mother of three children, and by the last, of two, namely: Joseph W., Elizabeth A., Hiram L., Huldah C. and George D.,-in the order here named. Mr. Ash, the first of the above mentioned children, was born July 22, i830, in Niagara Co., N. Y., and received his education mostly in the common schools of his native State. When he came of age he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he followed until the year I868. In I853 he came to Michigan and settled in DeWitt, Clinton County, and a year afterward he removed to St. John's, that county; and three years still later he went to Kansas with an emigration company, where, in company with several others, he laid out the village of Geneva, Kan. After remaining with them about a year, he returned to Niagara Co., N. Y., and a year later to St. John's, Mich., where he resided until i868. Then he came to this county and took possession of 80 acres of land in Ashton, under the provisions of the homestead laws. It was the east half of the southeast quarter of section 4, which is now the principal portion of the site of the village of Ashton. He platted the town in company with Simeon Vanakin it 5I) IId t (o, % W ( ) @ l- — *0s e^^ rederick Kaphaem, farmer, section 33, ll, Richmond Township, was born Dec. 2,.~-~ _" I830, in Germany, his parents, John and Henrietta Kaphaem, being also natives of the same country, where they passed the entire.course of their lives. When he was 23 years of age, in 1853, he emigrated from his native land to the Dominion of Canada, where he was a resident 20 years, engaged in farming. In the fall of I873 he came to Osceola County and became a land~Ill>l7~ -- -" ^ -^ 'll u, 252 OSCEOLA COUN TY. and Spencer Preston. In 1875 he purchased So as foreman of a lumber camp. He is a Republican acres of land on section 6, where he has since lived in political convictions and action. and at present has about 40 acres in a good state of He was married May 14, I878, to Eva M. Cutter, cultivation, and they have three children, born as follows: FlorAs a man of executive talent and well adapted to ence J., March 16, I879; Sylvester R., Jan. 9, i88i; serve his fellow citizens in a public capacity, Mr. Adelbert Clyde, Aug. 10, 1883. Mrs. Ross was Ash has been entrusted with the office of Supervisor born Feb. 25, 1855, in Richburg Township, Alleeight years, and that of Sheriff of the county in gany Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of William 0. 187 I-2. He has also taken an active and prominent and Matilda B. (Satterlee) Cutter. Her father was part in all the educational interests of his cornmun- born April i, 1811, and died July i, 1880, in the ity. In all matters pertaining to the welfare of the village of Stanwood, Mecosta Co., Mich. Her mother neighborhood, township and county, he is consulted was born in Allegany Co., N. Y., April 17, 1826, and by those who know him, with great confidence in his is living with her daughter, Mrs. Ross. Their family foresight and judgment. He has also held the office consisted of four children. One daughter died when of Notary Public for a period of eight years, and she was four years of age. William B. Cutter and from 1875 to i880 he was President of the Osceola Adelbert S. Cutter are living. Mr. Ross is one of County Agricultural Society. He was Postmaster at seven children born to his parents,-William HopAshton from I872 to 1876. Politically he is identi- kins, Nelson A., Mary J. and Sarah J. (twins), Sylfled with the Republican party, and religiously with vester, Daniel (deceased) and Martha M. the Methodist Episcopal Church, as is also his wife. /, He was married in Lewiston, Niagara Co., N. Y., Off'N *AA X= ~r )~ July 3, I853, to Eliza A. Leggett, daughter of Elijah Leggett, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. She was born in Porter, Niagara Co., N. Y., April 6, I835. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Ash are seven in number, namely: Zoa E., George F., Mabel (who died in infancy), Glen E., Della A., Eddie E. and Alta M. _.._.~~ o__ I -acob J. Reik, liveryman and dealer in lumh ber, horses, buggies and real estate, at }A Evart, was born July I, I849, in Seneca X Co., Ohio. His father, Welch Reik, was born in Germany, also the native place of Jacob's mother, Regina, nee Librandt. They became the parents of eight children. In 1852 the family removed to Coldwater, Mich., where the father h orlniht QR-, nr-rpo f 1nor1i )tn iwrlf;irh fli r trora rzacn-n; -4 x 3 -e 2 14:. = =3 ^.-. ~ —.~p UVXgL UO a.%;LVi ui~ Il tiLl, V/11 Vll l t1 VY1 1. I3 LI1UC 11L L ~ 'j ' |five years. In 1857 they removed to the village of ylvester Ross, farmer, section 21, Hersey Coldwater, and the father opened a grocery trade, in Township, was born May 14, 1852, in Nor- which he operated about ten years. The mother wich, Oxford Co., Ont. His father, Hop- died in Coldwater in i866. Mr. Reik's father is a kins Ross, was born April 6, i808, and married member of his family, and is aged 78. Mary Mustard for his first wife. She has been On attaining size and understanding sufficient, dead more than 20 years, and the senior Ross Mr. Reik entered his father's store as an assistant, in is now living with his second wife in the township of which capacity he aided until the business termiHersey. He is a farmer and carpenter, and has nated. At the age of 13 he established a grocery passed many years in the prosecution of these call- business on his own responsibility at Bronson, Branch ings. County, which he conducted four years. He then Mr. Ross of this sketch came to Osceola County entered Hillsdale College to secure a satisfactory edwith his father in 1864. In April, I876, he settled ucation, and was a student there three years. on the place he now occupies. He has been en- In the fall of 187 he came to Evart and opened a gaged in lumbering, and has operated several years bakery and grocery together, which he continued to _ _* 17' Jedediah (Woodworth) Tozer, who were 0( natives of the Green Mountain State. His father was a Captain of the war of I812, and took part in the battle of Lake Champlain. After the close of that war he removed to Canada, where he spent the remainder of his life. He had six children. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch was born in the Dominion of Canada, Nov. 18, 1819. He emigrated to the State of New York, lived there awhile and also in other States of the Union until the fall of 1867, when he came to Osceola Co., Mich., and, under the provisions of the Homestead Laws, took possession of 80 acres of land on section 6, where he has since lived and now has about 50 acres in a fine state of cultivation. Mr. T. has served his fellow citizens in the capacity of Commissioner of Highways; in political matters he is a Republican, and both himself and wife ' are members of the Baptist Church. He was married % in Canada, Feb. 12, i850, to Fanny E. Clayton, who was born in New Brunswick, Oct. II, 1826. Her. parents, Archibald and Zilpah Clayton, were also jamin N., Luther;. and William named died when he was five and a h 11. l e last alf years of age. natives of the same province. Mr. and Mrs. Tozer have been the parents of seven children, namely, Eusebia L., Morland W., Emily B., Eunice M., Ben2: I XT T. T1 - I_ 'I IT _ _ TT 1_ _. __________ 190iKHIIf0i- 40 a ilfred V. Harrington, farmer, section 28, Lincoln Township, is a son of William j- " and Miranda (Adams) Harrington, both of ' whom were natives of Rutland Co., Vt. Soon after their marriage in that State they removed to Niagara Co., N. Y., and in 1840 to Jackson Co., Mich., where she died, Nov. 7, i856, and Mr. H. Nov. 13, i865. They had a family of ii children, namely: Alberto, Caroline, Harriet, Diton, Lerona, Pulaski, Susan, Esther, Irwin, DeKalb and Wilfred V. The last named, who is the subject of this sketch, was born in Jackson Co., Mich., Nov. 3, 1844; was 12 years old when his mother died, and was then "bound out" by his father for three years to learn the mason's trade. Soon after he completed his term of apprenticeship, the great civil war was inaugurated by the impetuous "fire-eaters " of the South, and he patriotically concluded that "laying" the insurgents was more important than laying stone, until the insurrection was wholly suppressed. Accordingly, in July, Y86i, he joined the First Mich. Inf. This first term of service, however, was comparatively short, and the next year he re-enlisted, in the IIth Mich. Vol. Cav., and served one year, when he was discharged for disability. After recruiting his physical abilities at home for about five months, he enlisted for the third time, in the cavalry regiment denominated " Merrill's Horse," and served until the last insurgent "laid " down his arms. He was wounded three different times: first, at the battle of Corinth, by a spent ball, in the left arm: secondly, at Independence, Mo., by a bayonet thrust in the right knee and thirdly, at Eastport, Miss., by a throw from his horse. The last injury was a serious one. After receiving his discharge, he returned to Jackson Co., Mich., but his health was so poor that he was unable to prosecute any kind of business for I Ai _ tA A ^ I -.4ic via 71fr.alE z v H olln.(lu 0F~ — 254 OSCEOLA COUNTY. more than a year. On convalescence he resumed capable of producing 25,000 feet of lumber daily, his trade and followed it until I875, when he came 35,000 shingles and 2,000 broom-handles. They to Lincoln Township, this county, and, in company employ 20 men and run a planing-machine in conwith John H. Freeland (see sketch of the latter), he nection with the mill. bought 80 acres of land where he has since resided. Mr. Gray is a member of the Evart Land ComIn company with Mr. F., he owns 70 acres, most of pany, which is engaged in the transaction of general which is under cultivation and in good agricultural real-estate business in the interests of its members condition. and on commission, and control large tracts of land Mr. Harrington has held various public offices in in Michigan and in Canada, Wisconsin and Minnehis township, being at present Chairman of the School sota. The firm includes F. S. Postal, J. C. Creith, Board, and has been Constable two terms. In his Allen Campbell and C. L. Gray. This is one of the views of national policy he acts with the Repub- stanchest real-estate business houses in Northern licans. Michigan, and has an enviable and wide repute foi 1 '1, TI h nrPabli1rcLr onf t-he hlqinc^r- rennerns I, o~s~" J:.-)I wrc~Z~~ z= 'i * I )harles L. Gray, senior member of the firm %h > ^ of Charles L. Gray & Co., manufacturers 5: of and dealers in lumber and shingles of all ~ grades and lengths, and merchants, at Evart, * was born Oct. 22, 1849, in Lancaster, Ohio. He was reared on a farm near Marion, Linn Co., Iowa, from the age of six to eighteen years. In the spring of I87 I he came to Evart and entered the employment of Dermont & Co. as a clerk, the firm operating in the same building in which his own business is now transacted. Later he became a bookkeeper for J. B. & P. C. McFarlane, lumber dealers. He began to traffic in lumber products, and eventually was admitted to a partnership in the lumber firm of Davis, Berry & Co. A year later this association was succeeded by a partnership bearing the; present style, which was followed by the firm of McFarlane & Gray, a relation which existed about two years, when the present business connection was established, its members being Charles L. Gray, B. G. Colton and William Latta. Their mills are located at Evart, Hartwick and Sunrise Lake. The capacity ' of the two last named is I5,ooo shingles daily, and about 5,ooo clapboards. They employ about 75 men. e Previous to forming his present business relations, Mr. Gray was interested in the firm of Gray & Spires in the manufacture of lumber, shingles, etc. He is a ) member of'the firm of Gray & Curtis, lumber and, shingle manufacturers at Evart, their works being L;.i;aDIllLLy. I IC 1 dl, LIUt3U3 v.C i. 1A L Ul l..,oo,-VL',k.l _I. A>JI..with which Mr. Gray is connected are located at Evart, near the depot. His individual property includes his residence and about 3,000 acres of fine farm lands. He also owns an exceptionally good farm of 80 acres on section I4, Evart Township. Mr. Grav is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He has served three terms as a member of the Village Board of Evart, one term as Township Clerk, and three terms as Township Treasurer. In i880 he acted as Census Enumerator of Evart Township. Mr. Gray wab married Oct. 19, 1872, at Evart, to Charlotte M. Bennett, and they now have three children: William L., born Oct. II, 1874; Blanche L., April 20, I877; and Elizabeth T., Dec. 6, i88o. Mrs. Gray was born June i6, 1849, near Montreal, Can. _____ 0IIk0I a ) oseph H. Jenkins, farmer, section 20, Her- ', sey Township, was born Dec. o1, I831, in:i; Parma, Monroe Co., N. Y. His father, S John Jenkins, was born March 17, 1795, in Pennsylvania, and was of Yankee extraction. He was a farmer and mechanic, and followed those callings jointly all his active life. He married Catherine Whitaker, and in 1835 moved to North-, field, Washtenaw Co., Mich., where he bought I20 acres of land and resided eight years. In 1843 he second struggle between the Colonies I "Britain, when the vessel foundered on Newfoundland, and the soldiers were *- to England, arriving there seasonably -. ames G. Robbins, farmer, section 34, Rich- in the battle of Waterloo. [ mond Township, was born March 12, 1818, The father came to Canada in 181 a in Tompkins Co., N. Y., and is the fourth up a farm near Ottawa, where he r X son of David and Mary (Burleigh) Robbins. March, 1837, the date of his coming 1 His parents were born in Connecticut and had He first reached Detroit and came th a family of nine children. to Allegan County, where he secured Mr. Robbins was a resident of the State of New land from the Government, returning t, for: York through his youth and early manhood, remov- his family, whom he brought to this St ing when 23 years of age to Potter Co., Pa. In May, He died on his farm in Watson Townsh 1835, after a residence in the Keystone State of 14 1877. I years, he came to Big Prairie Township, Newaygo The mother was born Jan. r, 1804, n t Co., Mich. In February, 1856, he bought I6o acres Eng., and died in Trowbridge, Allegar: of land, a part of which has since constituted his February, 1884. They had 14 childre homestead. 'He is the owner of 69 acres of the Mary, Joyce, John, Jane, Elizabeth, N a- B-^ — -a1 23, Hersey [842, in Alleof John and her was born England, and rice; he was e part in the and Great the coast of ordered back to take part [5, and took resided until to Michigan. ence on foot his claim of o Canada for ate in 1838. ip, Sept. 14, tear London, n County, in en-Thomas, Delilah (de V"' I I I OSCLOLA COUNTY. 257 I OSCEOLA COUNTY. 257 i 4kL o — I - - ceased), Ann, George, Robert (deceased), Hannah, When he was taken prisoner he weighed Emily, Robert (2d) and Martha. and on reaching Annapolis his weight M On removal to Michigan, the senior Hicks found pounds! After his health and strength v himself at Detroit with his wife, six children, and he rejoined his regiment, once more tak one dollar in money. On leaving the place in Alle- for the flag, July 26, I864, his comi gan County, where he had built a small log house to stationed near Atlanta, Ga. He receiv shelter his family, he had engaged a man to meet discharge Aug. 9, 1864, the period of hi him at Detroit with a team, to transport them to having expired. their home, but nothing was to be seen of either After a brief tarry at his home he wen team or man, and the father, mother and six little Montana Territory., accompanted by his ones walked to Battle Creek, a distance of nearly St. Cloud, Minn., they bought two yoke Too miles, where they met the expected assistance. proceeded to Fort Abercrombie, joinint Mr. Hicks was educated in the public schools of route for Helena. Arriving there, he Allegan County. When he was 17 years of age he prospecting, in which avenue of oc came to Osceola County and engaged in lumbering operated.six years. He went north, ant on the Muskegon River, arriving here in September, took a southerly route. He found gi 1859. He combined that vocation with that of a extent, but not in startling quantities, an hunter and trapper, in which he became expert and made his way back to Osceola County. ( ) successful. The avails of the last season in which He was married March I6, 1873, he was engaged in that line of business, were $1,200. daughter of Ebenezer and Rosamon, He left Hersey May io, i86r, less than a month Jones. Her father was born in 1787, in =: after the assault on the Federal flag at Fort Sumter, shire, and died in Allegany, Cattaraugu an event that awoke in him a deep interest, to which Aug. i, i859. He was of Welsh des( = he gave unmistakable expression by enrolling in the for many years a lumberman on the All( mE military service of his country. He enlisted July 29, in the State of New York. His fain i86r, in Co. A, i6th United States Infantry. The from the Granite State to Wyoming C command was assigned to the i4th Army Corps, and i817, before canals or railroads exis.) the regiment was under fire at the first battle of imagination, traveling in pioneer wago Shiloh, General Rosecrans, commander. The brigade horse teams. included the i6th United States Inf., the Louisville The mother of Mrs. Hicks was born C Legions, the i9th United States Inf., and the 6th in Hawley, Franklin Co., Mass., and di Indiana. i884, in Hersey Township. Mrs. Hic Mr. Hicks was also in action at Perryville and Dec. 17, I849, in Allegany. Her mot} Stone River, and at Chickamauga sustained two married. Of the first union, James E i wounds; a bullet passing through one arm above the and Isabel Humphrey were born. A, elbow, and a second through the right side of his ried Ebenezer Jones, she became th neck. He was captured late in the day of the same Ebenezer, Henry T. and Mary A. action. The regiment went into battle 700 strong, Mr. Hicks is a Republican and a Pr and at roll-call only one officer and 47 men responded political connection and views. to their names! The rebels took 42 prisoners belonging to the reg- Em iment. Mr. Hicks was sent to the famous Libby ra H. Whitney, editor and prc prison at Richmond, whence, after nearly eight, 1 Union Banner, published at R months of captivity, he was paroled, May 7, i864. E born in the township of Hartl The date of his capture was Sept. 20, 1863. One ton Co., Mich., March 12, i856. sacred remembrance of that day was a sight of Gen- John W. and Elizabeth (Davis) eral Garfield in action on the field. still residents of Hartland. The On being paroled, he came to Annapolis, Md. native of Massachusetts; the latter \,(,A,} F~gND:Rtl-nv> 240 pounds, vas only Ioo vere restored king up arms mand being ed his final s enlistment t to Helena, brother. At of oxen and g a train en engaged in cupation he i his brother old to some d in 1872 he to Alice A., id (Buttrick) New Hamp-.s Co., N. Y., cent and was eghany River lily removed o., N. Y., in sted, even in ns with two)ct. 10, 1809, ied March 4, ks was born her was twice I., Charles B. fter she marle mother of ohibitionist in \r/ V1 2= Im l )prietor of the.eed City, was and, LivingsHis parents, Whitney, are former is a was born inA 58 OSCEOL~ 4 COUNTY. I; 2 Rhode Island. Their family included five sons and three daughters. Mr. Whitney was occupied in the avenues of employment in which the sons of Michigan farmers are trained, and in the acquisition of his education, until he was I8, and at that age abandoned agriculture in order to put into practical effect a determination to prepare for the career of a printer. He entered the office of the Milford Times, published at Milford, Oakland Co., Mich. After becoming familiar with the details of the craft he was made foreman and officiated in that capacity until he went to Ludington in r883, to take a similar position on the Ludington Record, where he operated about four months. In t883 he came to Reed City, and for a few weeks was employed as foreman on the Newzs, when, associated with H. E. J. Clute, he established the journal known as The People. Its first issue appeared Nov. ) 24, 1883, and it was managed by Messrs. Whitney and Clute about four months, when they dissolved, and the former, in company with his brother, John = M. Whitney, founded the Banner, published in the interest of prohibition principles. It is a folio of five r columns, published weekly, and is steadily growing - in influence and popularity..The marriage of Mr. Whitney to Katie A. Fralick occurred Dec. 20, 1882, at Brighton, Livingston Co., Mich., and they are the parents of one child-Cecil -born April 25, 1884, in Hartland, Livingston County. Mrs. Whitney was born May I6, I858, and is the daughter of John and Catherine Fralick, of Brighton, Livingston County. ~l~ ardam Wilson, farmer, section 32, Lincoln;[ig Township, is a son of Shepherd and Eliza^\t beth (Gardam) Wilson, natives of Eng-? X land, who emigrated to Canada in 1832 and L lived there the remainder of their life, Mrs. W. dying Feb. 29, I880, and Mr. W. Jan. 19, 882. In their family were eight children, namely: Ann, Gardam, Samuel S., Elizabeth, John C., Albert C. and Marietta. The eldest son, the subject of this sketch, was Tr, --- A..H born in Canada, July 7, 1832. He received a common-school education, which was rather limited; but, being a diligent reader, he has advanced himself to a considerable extent. He remained at the parental home until about 25 years of age, when he started out into the world for himself. He first rented a farm, on which he resided for eight years, and then for three years he acted as agent for the Massey Manufacturing Company, of New Castle, Ont. In February, 1867, he came to Osceola County and took possession of 8o acres of Government land under the regulations of the Homestead Law, in Lincoln Township, and the following autumn he moved his family from Canada to the place, which was then an unbroken wilderness. Here he commenced the struggles and tedious trials and privations characteristic of frontier life. He at once built a log house and began the arduous task of clearing his land; and, to know how well he has succeeded, one has to visit his place, as the improvements, the present condition of the farm, and the initial outlines for future advantage are too elaborate for description here. Of his present possession of 80 acres, about 60 are improved. His wife also owns 80 acres, on section 30, of which 14 acres are improved. In reference to political affairs, Mr. Wilson is identified with the Prohibition party. He has held the office of Township Clerk one year, School Director two terms, School Inspector three terms, Township Treasurer one year, Supervisor of Lincoln Township 1883-4, and during the latter year was Census Enumerator. In the fall of 1884 he was nominated on the Prolibition ticket for County Treasurer. He was Secretary of the first county convention held in Osceola County. In I857 Mr. Wilson was licensed to preach the gospel, and during the earlier settlement of this county he was a tireless worker in the cause of Christianity. He nearly always preached two times each Sunday during his residence in Canada. Often, after working hard during the week, he would ride 20 miles to fill an appointment; but in the course of time age and enfeebled health forbade such arduous duties in a great measure, and he gradually confined his energies to his farm work. Both himself and his wife have been active and prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for a great number of years. Mr. Wilson was married in Ontario, Oct. 7, i856, FIN 4 IS r _d S (,V" 3), S^~ I. Ij (1 u 9 ~ -).- 1p1-)-l I^B^-...... -U I -i:. ' OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 25 9 j... ( f f. 'kf.. t= 0 e*0 as1 to Miss Mary Reed, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Crawford) Reed. Her mother died Sept 24, 1883, and her father, still surviving, is a resident of Lincoln Township. Mrs. W. was born in Canada, Dec. 6, 1836. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are seven in number, born as follows: Alice A., Sept. 23, i857; Albert G., April ir, 1859; Florence A., Oct. 8, i860; John J., June o1, 1862; George S., Oct. 29, I863; Adelia M., June 27, 1867; and Elizabeth M., May Ir, 1878. The first mentioned is now the wife of Robert Gamble, and resides in Lake Co., Mich. I enjamin R. Cole, carpenter and joiner, at 1.,^ Reed City, is one of the-oldest settlers of ct~ Osceola County, of which he became a (, resident in 1866, when he located on section 6, Richmond Township. He was born Aug. II, 1832, in Hornellsville, Steuben Co., N. Y. His parents, Solomon and Laura (Rathbun) Cole, were natives of the same place, where they were engaged in agriculture. In i839 the family removed to Lenawee Co., Mich., and the father bought a farm of 80 acres, and made another removal to a farm in Ottawa County, where he died, Nov. 13, i849. The mother died there, June 4, I864. When he was 23 years of age Mr. Cole was well settled in life, and was the owner of a farm of 80 acres in excellent agricultural condition, but lost his hard-earned property through dishonest trickery; and, his wife dying about the same time, he decided to enter the army, and accordingly enlisted, July 30, i86i, at Grand Rapids, enrolling in Battery E. The command was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. Mr. Cole was in the service until March i8, I863, when he was discharged as Second Sergeant. Among his engagements were Mill Springs, Pittsburg Landing, Lookout Mountain and Stone River. At the last named he was injured by a leap from a wounded horse belonging to his battery, three of his ribs being broken and other injuries resulting, which caused his discharge and disablement for a period of two years. In I866 Mr. Cole secured a homestead claim of 80 acres on section 6, Richmond Township, on which he settled June 19 of the same year. He cleared 70 acres and placed the farm in excellent condition. He was one of the movers in the separation of Osceola from Mecosta County, and also in the organization of the townships of Lincoln, Sherman and Hersey. In i880 he built his residence at Reed City and took possession, where he has since resided. He belongs to the Masons and to the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a Republican of decided standing: has officiated as Justice of the Peace four years, as Highway Commissioner six years and eight years as School Inspector. Mr. Cole was married Dec. 5, 1857, in Grand Rapids, to Sarah A. Camp, and they had two children,-John S., now a herder in Montana Territory, and Zuleika, now deceased. His wife died in Ottawa Co, Mich., and he was again married Oct. 22, 1865, in Hornellsville, N. Y., to Elizabeth Robins. She was a native of that place, and died Oct. I9, i880, at Lansing. Mr. Cole was again married, at Hornellsville, to Jennie Donnelson, a native of Hornellsville, where she was born May I, 1853. Mr. and Mrs. Cole are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Reed City. ll oewton S. Gwynne, farmer, section 22,:$ Hersey Township, was born Jan. 6, i857, J V in Kent Co., Mich., and is the son of l Thomas and Jane (Saunders) Gwynne. His parents were both natives of England. His mother died in Kent County, in I860; his father entered the military service of the United States, and died of fever in I864, in a hospital at Nashville, Tenn. In i869 the grandparents of Mrs. Gwynne, who were residents of Iowa, disposed of their property there, came to Kent County and removed with him and his only sister to Hersey Township, when they bought the farm now owned by the grandson. The sister married William Engle and resides at Fisher Station, six miles from Grand Rapids. The grandfather died July 20, i88r; the grandmother's decease occurred Aug. 20 of the same year. The former was the guardian and custodian of two farms left to his 0d A 't: ('(.... I rN — — ~ i 260at- OSCEO-LA CONTY-. ----"i~,260 OSCEOLA COUNTY.,I ^o tl j d 1 c r= r "r children by the father of Mr. Gwynne of this sketch. The latter was married April 12, i88r, to Rosetta, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Saunders) Smith, both of whom reside in Hersey Township. Mrs. Gwynne was born March 18, i86o, in South Haven, this State. She has a brother, Franklin S. Smith. The family are Congregationalists in religious principle. illiam S. Davis, of the manufacturing firm of Beardsley & Davis, was born March I8, I846, in Camden, N. J., and is the son of Bartholomew and Hettie (Hunt) Davis: His father was born in September, I819, in ) aidstone, Kent Co., Eng., and emigrated to this country about I840. He went back to England. in I847 with his wife and two children, and returned a alone in I859 to Pennsylvania, expecting to send for his family. His wife died in Maidstone, and the 3 two children, William, a boy of I3, and his sister, < aged i r years, came alone across the ocean. A friend met them in New York and took them in charge to the city of Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., where they joined their father. The latter now resides on a farm in New Cambria, Mo. Mr. Davis obtained his education chiefly in the night schools of the section of Pennsylvania where he resided in his youth, and when 14 years old was apprenticed to learn the trade of shoemaker. After working three years he determined to become a soldier in the Union service, and enlisted in I863, in the 39th Pa. Vol. Inf., to serve ioo days. On being discharged from that service he enlisted in Co. A, 12th Pa. Vol. Cav. The regiment was in the Army of the Shenandoah, under Sheridan, and was in the service at the date of the precipitated flight of Gen. Early up the Valley of the Shenandoah, and was left at Charleston, Va., when Sheridan joined General Grant on the James River. Mr. Davis w s in battle * at Monocacy, Cedar Creek, Winchester and Berry-, ville. Just before the surrenderof Lee the regiment to which Mr. Davis belonged was transferred to Gen. Hancock's Division. He received his discharge July 1 I7, I865, and returned to Pottsville, whence he went I a few months later to Philadelphia and fitted himself for a machinist and engineer. He passed two years in his preparations, and followed his trade until he engaged, in I880, in the manufacture of hoops at Edgerton, Kent County, in which he was occupied one year. In I882 he formed a partnership with W. L. Beardsley, in the manufacture of shingles, a relation which still exists. The mill has a daily producing capacity of 55,000, and as a rule is run nearly to its maximum. They employ a working force of 22 assistants, including two packers. Three teams are required to put in logs, and the pine resources will keep the mill operating about two years, or until I886. Mr. Davis was married Feb. 9, I87 r, to Mary E. Alexander. Gertie A., adopted daughter, was born Feb. II, I870. Mrs. Davis was born Jan. 31, I847, and is the daughter of William G. and Amanda (Margrum) Alexander. Her father is a mechanic. After marriage Mr. Davis was in charge four years of the machinery of the Huntsville Coal Co. in Randolph Co., Mo. He is a Republican in political sentiment, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, as also does~ his wife. I K X/ ( -ohn Hanover, farmer, section 28, Lincoln Township, is a son of Isaac and Susan (Marquiss) Hanover. The parents, who were natives of Pennsylvania, removed after their marriage to Ohio, and spent the remainder of their life there. In their family were three children, namely, Rebecca, John and William. The eldest son, the subject of this sketch, was born in Adams Co., Ohio, Nov. 15, I8Io. When very young his father died and the three children were all "bound out" till of age; but John started out in the world to take care of himself when he was 18 years of age. He worked in various capacities and in different places for nearly four years. Shortly afterward he bought a farm in Highland Co, Ohio, which he carried on about two years. Some five years later he came to the Peninsular State and settled irn Berrien County, where he remained almost 12 years. He then sold his farm there, spent a short time in i r f.qun - Hu Ii I B, - -, x64&6twy 7 8 I Is *ro>}t * ---^-i nnisnn^t-7-^ — - OSCEOLA COUNTY. 265 Iowa, returned to Berrien County, this State, and, April 8, 1837, in Lottsville, Pa. Her father, David: after residing there until the fall of I865, he came to Stone, is living in Cherry Valley, Ohio. Her mother stead law, of 80 acres of land in Lincoln Township, last four years as School Director, and is a Repubf where he has since lived. He now owns 67 acres, lican in political views. He belongs to the Methodand has almost 50 acres improved and in a state of ist Episcopal Church, as does also his wife. good cultivation. With regard to national issues, Mr. H. is a member of the Republican party. He was married in Brown Co., Ohio, to Elizabeth Marquiss, who is a native of that county, born Jan. II, I8II. Mr. and Mrs. Hanover are the parents of r, prrir of t p iI children, viz,: Isaac P., Mary A., William H. ill at Reed Ci, was boorn in St. plang\? > <~ ~mill at Reed City, was born in St. CathCyrenus, Eliza E., Francis M., Charlotte J., John A.,erines, Ontario, Aug. 23 His father, Sarah E. and Jacob G. W., who are living, and Lu- Samuel Horner, was born in 817 in the cinda, who died at the age of one year. T S m e rr ' i t North of Ireland, and emigrated to the United States, landing at New York. He afterward went to Canada, where he taught school, and in the ~) State, of New York more than a score of years. His = |mother, Elizabeth (Walker) Horner, was born in 1819,. I in Ireland, and is now living at Stratford, Ont., with. 3x,, her youngest son. The ancestral origin of the = lton Moffitt, farmer, section 3, Cedar Horner family dates to the French Huguenots who.,, Township, was born April 2, 1841, in fled to the North of Ireland to escape religious perse- = i t - Wayne, Erie Co., Pa., and is the son of cution. S Jesse and Dorothy (Wheeler) Moffitt. His The father of Mr. Horner died at Brockville, Ont., paternal grandparents were Scotch and Ger- on the St. Lawrence River, when his son was but I ( man by birth, and his father was born in Attica, years old. He was then under the necessity of conN. Y. He was a shoemaker by trade, but passed tributing to the support of the four young children, most of his life in the vocation of farmer. He was who were deprived of the father's care and protection. about 50 years of age at the time of his death in I849. After the death of the father the family removed to The mother is yet living, in Pennsylvania. Baltimore, Md., where Mr. Horner engaged as a Mr. Moffitt was reared to the profession of farming telegraph messenger and operator until he was 15 in his native State, and on becoming of age learned years of age. They then removed to Stratford, Ont., the blacksmith's trade, which he followed at Corry, and he became an assistant in a mercantile estabPa., until his removal in 1875 to Osceola Co., Mich. lishment, and was occupied in that line of business He rented a farm in the vicinity of Ashton, Leroy until he was 19 years of age. He commenced Township, which he conducted three years. In 1878 operating as book-keeper with Scismgeour Bros., of he bought 80 acres, on which he has since operated. Stratford, continuing iii that capacity six years. In It was wholly unimproved, and he has placed 20 i877 he went to Desoronto, Ont., and was there acres under cultivation. He is the mail-carrier be- employed by H. B. Rathbun & Son, as contractor in -: tween Hersey and Penasa, the latter office being their lumber and ship-building interests, in the manustationed ii, his house. His wife is the Postmistress. facturing department in which he required the aid of:j? Mr: Moffitt was married April 8, 1863, to Martha 20 assistants. A. Stone, and their children were born as follows: In I880 he went to Warren Co., Pa., in the capacEva E., Frank A., Era I., Hubert M. (deceased); ity of superintendent of a wholesale sash, door and i) Walter G. (deceased), Ernest (deceased), Isaac B., blind factory, owned by L. D. Wetmore & Co. In () Archie C., Bertie and Daisy. Mrs. Moffitt was born January, 1882, associated with S. E. Cormany, he:d l ' mUnmet R. White, dealer in drugs, medii~ cines, books, stationery, etc., at Reed City, was born at Elk Creek, Pennsylvania, Sept. A 27, I852, and removed to New York, in 1862, with his parents, Welcome W. and Abbie (Hoard) White. He went West in I877, and i in I879 came to Reed City and engaged as clerk for? his brother in the drug store. He entered the busi-. ness as a partner in December, 1882. 4 -— cfe.< j<^ ^.^-. ). scar M. Brownson, dealer in real estate and loans, at Evart, was born Aug. 6, 1826, in.Somerset, Niagara Co., N. Y. His parents, y Luman and Lucy (Barbour) Brownson, were natives of Vermont. The former was born Dec. 26, i8oo, the latter, Feb. 5, I8or. They had five children, of whom Mr. Brownson, of this - sketch, is the oldest. Amanda E. married C. C. Farrar, a capitalist of Flint, Mich. Their children are Lucy D., Frank L. and Edward B. Sopronia L. married Geo. H. Holman, of Flint; a dealer in grain, lime, coal, etc. They have two children, Arthur B. and Harriet, wife of George Bishop. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop are both graduates of the High School at Ann Arbor, and are farming in Dakota. Samuel N. Brownson, second son, is a farmer and stockman in a Greenwood Co., Kan. He married Mattie Adams, of Pontiac, Mich., and they have five children^Edith M., Frank L., Freddie 0., Clara and Mabel. (E The fifth child in the family of the senior Brownson died unnamed. CO UVTY. 267 '>. * f; Mr. Brownson remained under the paternal roof until he was 25 years of age. He acquired the education of the common schools in early youth, afterwards passing a year at the famous school at Oberlin, Ohio, and a like period of time in the High School at Romeo, Mich. After completing his education he began teaching, in which he was occupied eleven terms. In 1853 he bought a small tract of land containing 40 acres in Oakland County, four miles west of Pontiac, where he devoted his energies to the nursery business, and also engaged in raising fruit, being occupied there I3 years. At the end of that time he removed to a farm situated eight miles north of Pontiac, on which he was resident four years. In I869 he went to Flint, where he became interested in the hardware business as a member of the firm of Holman, Farrar & Co. After four years of business connection with his brothersin-law, Mr. Brownson came to Evart, where he arrived July I, I873, and, in company with Robert A. Allured, opened a hardware store. He erected a brick building for the transaction of their business,. and a few months later doubled its capacity by building an addition of the same dimensions, to which he made another addition between three and four years later. The business relations of Messrs. Brownson & Allured were in existence about six years, when they were terminated by the sale of the senior partner's interest to his associate, and Mr. Brownson began to operate in real estate and loans sufficiently to retain his interest in active business life. He is a Notary Public, and transacts the business common to the position. He owns 250 acres of farming land in Osceola County, and in 1882 built his fine residence at Evart, and has two village lots connected therewith. He is also the owner of a tenement house and several village lots, variously located. Mr. Brownson was married June 19, 1851, in' Almont, Lapeer Co., Mich., to Lucy M. Johnson. They have had two children, only one of whom survives-Alice L., wife of Robert A. Allured (see sketch). She was born May 25, 1852. Charles H. was born Nov. 8, I855, and died in the prime of his young manhood, Aug. I6, I880. He married Mira Spaulding. Mrs. Brownson was born in Wales Township, Erie Co., N. Y., Jan. 26, 1824, and is the daughter of Samuel and Sally Johnson. The parents came from the Empire State to Almont in I834, when that portion of Michigan was in its 1 1 (1, N1, I F And.. -i ^,i i A. I' I K D I r/- -~ llllli 1,10 U U U -- 268 OSCEOLA COUNTY. fearliest pioneer period and when the State was in tion clubs. He was delegate to two State Convenits Territorial days. Mr. Johnson was born Sept. 20, tions of 1884, and to the County Conventions of the I797, in the State of New York. Mrs. Johnson was same year. He attended the National Convention born Oct. 28, I793, in Whitehall, N. Y., and died held at Pittsburg, July 24, 1884, in the capacity of in Almont, Dec. 30, 1865. Mr. Johnson died in delegate from his State, and was nominated on the l the same place, Feb. I5, 1845. They had four Prohibition ticket of Michigan for Presidential children. Elector from the Ninth Congressional District. Dr. Hosmer A., oldest son, was born Oct. 6, 1822. He has risen to a distinguished position, solely through his own efforts, working his way through the |, ~ a University at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in I849, with the degree of B. A. In 1850 he went to Chicago and entered Rush Medical College, grad- ~ C uating there as one of its most accomplished l eter Cody, farmer, section 21, Hersey students. He is one of the founders of the Chicago Township, was born April 4, i86, in the., ~]. li,County Carlow, Ireland, and is the son of Medical College, of which he has been a Professor, 1.i.3i.. ) James and Mary (Dunne) Cody, both of whom since its establishment, and has held the Chair of James and Mary(Dunne) Cody, both of whom ),. are natives of Ireland. June 22, 1830, they Physiology. In 186 he was made a member of the a ln. r, 1, te sailed from Dublin, with their family, includBoard of Medical Examiners for the State of Illi-. s d i A l ini. ing four sons and six daughters. All are yet living nois, of which body he became President. He of wich body he becae Preident. He but two of the latter. They were born as follows: married Margaretta A. Seward, niece of Hon. Wm. Mary A., Peter, Hanora (deceased), Margaret (de-. H. Seward, of distinguished memory.,. =. S, o d m ceased), John, James, Ellen, Bridget, Andrew and = == Mrs. Brownson is the second of her parents' '. = childr...Jane. Their father bought a farm in Simcoe Co., w children. Emmeline L. married E. B. Hough, a...a Ont., on which he resided about 15 years, when the 3=: farmer of Almont, and died Jan. 25, I867. James *.. place was sold, and another purchased where the *_ o F. is a farmer in Kansas. He married Emma Fish., 1 F,. is a. He married Emma Fish family removed, and where the father died. The of Flint, sister of a prominent physician of Flint, The mother also a. i.., 'township was named Tassarontio. The mother also and of Dr. Fish, of California. dd t i) died there. Mrs. Brownson began teaching when 16 years of,.Mr. Cody was in charge of his parents during age, and continued in the profession until 27 years n u 2 y the last years of their lives. After they were deold. ceased he bought a farm in the county of Bruce, in Mr. Brownson is a gentleman of decided moral the Dominion, where he resided I years, coming convictions, and acts fearlessly in consonance with thence in 869 to sceola Co., Mich, where he his views. bought 80 acres of land in a wholly wild state, He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian from the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company,: Church, and he is officiating as a Ruling Elder in in Hersey Township. He has cleared and placed that body, to which position he was elected in 1875. 65 acres under culture, has erected a good frame He donated liberally to the building of a church barn, and is rapidly approaching assured compeedifice for the benefit of the denomination to which tency. On removal here he left his family at Big he belongs, and aided personally in its erection. The Rapids, took possession of his farm Oct. 17, 1869, entire cost of the structure was $5,000, to which and built a log house. sum Messrs. Brownson and Allured contributed He was married Sept. 8, 1843, to Loretto Doyle, $2,000. and they are the parents of 13 children, born as Mr. Brownson is one of the most prominent actors follows: James, July 15, 1847; Margaret, Dec. 15, I in the cause of Prohibition in the State of Michi- 849; Maria, March 13, 1851; Loretto, Sept. 5, gan. He is earnestly interested in the progress of 1852; Elizabeth, May 16, I854; Peter, Aug. 12, i i) the party as antagonistic to the liquor traffic, and I855; Bridget, Jan. I8, 1857; Andrew, June I, ( has aided in the organization of eight local Prohibi- 1858; John, June 24, I86o; Daniel, Feb. 2, i862; h\9, (:',0lS^u* OSCEOLA I s 1 s,:)!' IS1 s 2 2 m x I Ellen, Oct. I3, I863; Edmond, June 23, j865; Ann, g Feb. 9, 1867. Mrs. Cody was born about the first of April, 182, in County Carlow, Ireland, and is the daughter of James and Bridget (Dunn) Doyle. Her father was born in the same county, and died in 3 Canada. Her mother was born in Queens Co., Ireland, resides with Mrs. Cody, and is nearly 89 years of age. They came to America with four sons and two daughters, having buried two sons in their native land. They are named Daniel, Edward, James, Matthias, Bridget (deceased) and Loretto. ( The family are Roman Catholics. Mr. Cody is a Democrat in political affiliation. -s ----M^-f ----^acob W. Thomas, farmer, section i8, Cedar ) Township, was born Nov. II, 1815, in ' Gettysburg, Pa. He has been a resident of Osceola County 15 years without intermission, having settled on his farm May 15, I869. He entered the claim for his land under the x provisions of the Homestead Law. His father, Charles Thomas, was a stone mason by trade, and descended from Welsh ancestry. He married Elizabeth Schroder, a German. Their children were named Hannah, Jacob, John, Susan, Mary, William, Catherine, Elizabeth and Joel. Mr. Thomas has one sister living, Elizabeth by name. She resides in Lincoln Township. The father died in I844, at the age of 63 years, in Logan Co., Ohio. The mother died in I860, in Hardin Co., Ohio, aged 60 years. They were natives of Pennsylvania. I Mr. Thomas was instructed in farming and in the calling of his father. He followed the latter business about 40 years before he settled permanently to the vocation of farmer. His parents removed to Champagne Co., Ohio, when he was 15 years of age, and he accompanied them later to Logan County, and subsequently to Hardin County. He was married in July, I842, to Jerusha Hutchinson. They had two children, only one of whom is living, P. S., born Aug. I, I844, in Logan Co., Ohio. Ellen was born in I850. Mr. Thomas is independent in political opinions and connections. He is serving his eighth term as Supervisor, in which position he has acted consecu ohn H. Auer, merchant tailor and Notary Public at Reed City, was born Oct. 16, i823, in Nickenich Rhein, Prussia. His parents, Anton and Margaret Auer, were also born in Prussia, and belonged to the farming community. In I837, when he was 14 years of age, and had fulfilled the requirements of the law of his native land in his attendance at school, he entered upon an apprenticeship to acquire a knowledge of the trade of tailor, serving two years, after which he managed his relations in the capacity of a journeyman. He opened business in his own behalf in the place where he learned his trade, in which he met with success. He left the land of his nativity in I854, and came to Schenectady, N. Y., where he engaged with a tailoring house as cutter. In i858 he went thence to Perry, Wyoming Co., N. Y., and founded a business in his own interest. Next he went to Moscow, Livingston Co., N. Y., and established himself there in the same calling. He went next to Mount Morris, where he remained two years. In I863 he came to Almont, Lapeer Co., Mich., where he operated similarly until September, i868. Two years previous he came to Lincoln Township on account of ill health, and entered a claim of 80 acres of land on section 32. In i868 he abandoned his professional business and removed to his farm, and he operated as a pioneer farmer, made an extensive clearing and resided thereon until his health was re-established and his farm in comparatively fine condition. He is still its proprietor. In the fall of I875 he again commenced the pursuit in which he has since been engaged at Reed City. He is doing an excellent business, which requires several assistants. Arthur J., his son, acts as 33 33 't a COUNTY. 269 tively since 1876, with the exception of the year 1883. He has discharged the duties of Township Treasurer two years, Highway Commissioner three years, and has been a long time Justice of the Peace. k~) 3S )* v 3 3w K X Y f 13 I I "I, -AL, P ~-:711 s;~raaar. "` FL~ 270 OSCE0OLA COUNTY. the cutter for the establishment, and also, on occa- about 32 acres under cultivation, and is laying well sion, operates as traveling salesman. He owns his the foundation of a good home. place of business, his residence and other village Mr. Drake is independent in his political views, property. and has served his community as Overseer of HighHe served four years as Justice of the Peace in ways. Both himself and wife are members of the Lincoln Township, as Superintendent of Schools of Baptist Church. He was married in Le Roy TownRichmond Township, and as member of the City ship, this county, Dec. 5, I872, to Miss Mary Boyer, Council two years. daughter of William and Elizabeth Boyer. Her He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of father was a native of the State of New York, and the Sons of Industry. her mother of New Jersey. ~ Mr. and Mrs. D. have The marriage of Mr. Auer took place in Germany, one child, Millie L. by name, who was born Jan. 28, Nov. 22, I848, Mary Schuld becoming his wife. Two 1875. of their six children were born previous to their emigration to America. Peter A. is a clerk in the Treasury Department at Washington; Mary married William B. McDonald, a farmer of Lincoln Township; Catherine was born in Schenectady, and married P. T. Morris; Elizabeth married L. C. Dill, homas H. Peacock is the pioneer manufacturer of Reed City, where he located in station agent at Traverse City; she was born in facturerof Reed City, where he located in Schenectady; Henry was born in Moscow, N. Y., and 1876. He manufactures and deals in sash, doors, blinds, frames, store fronts, moldis clerk in a store at Cadillac; Arthur J. was born in doors' bd raes stre frt' ml September, I88I, since which time no trustworthy 1 b. c. i.i. ch tim n tstw y he lived a year. He then concluded that he could I) intelligence of him has reached his family. His wife. ( ~ i.nle * rbetter his fortunes by a removal to the frontier, and died in Richmond, Va., in December, 1865. Six of..... accordingly came to Newaygo County and took postheir ten children attained adult age,-Mary, Ben-... session of 80 acres of land under the provisions of jamin, Louisa L., William P., Emma B. and George.t... f..... the homestead law, in Barton Township; but after i H. Louisa L. was born in Virginia, in I843. She i a residence there of two years he moved to Big I went with her father to Central America in i866,. Rapids and followed the mason's trade for about X whence she returned to Texas in 1871. In 1873 she e to Reed City and worked1 1;.. ' two years; he next catme to Reed City and worked >;x. became the wife of Capt. B. B. Scott, and removed. r yas T to Bwnsv.. at his trade four years; and finally he came to Lin- At; to Brownsville, Texas, her husband being appointed...'.. e ito,, h h coin Township, this county, in the spring of I875, Attorney of the I5th Judicial District of Texas. She, inW.. Harri, pur I ' and, in company with W. C. Harnrngton, purchased died at her home in Belton, Texas, Jan. 7, I878, o. i f' t /80 acres of land, where he settled and has since leaving two children. She was a woman of very res. i i r ' -,resided. He also owns, in company with Mr. H., I lovely character and her loss was deeply deplored by 40 acres on section 29, and in his own right one-half i.. 4o acres on section 29, and in his own right one-half; her family and friends. of 70 acres more, all of which is under good cultiva/%v Mr. Robbins is a leading citizen of his county and tion. township. Although popular and possessing to an Mr. Freeland has risked his life on the camp-, unusual degree the confidence of the community of grounds, skirmish lines, battle-fields, etc., of the which he is a member, he has persistently refused to army in defense of his country, enlisting Sept. 4, hold office. He has so managed his business inter- 1864, in the 12th Mich. Vol. Inf., serving one year I ests as to develop the section where he resides, and 'nd returning home without having received serious ( ' is widely honored and respected. His influence is injury. He has held the office of Highway Commis_________ ^- J ^x,|Q --— __ _ OSCEOIA COUNTY. 275 ^ (. i.__ IU, i N\ sioner four terms. In his views of governmental policy he is a Republican. Mr. Freeland was married at Leslie, Ingham Co., Mich., Oct. 13, i866, to Miss Rozilla, daughter of George and Ada (Whitmore) Hull,-her father a native of Vermont and her mother of Massachusetts. She was born in Pike Co., Ind., July 3, 1850. Mr. and Mrs. F. have been the parents of one child, Clarence L., who was born Aug. 6, i868, and died Sept. 15, I882. 3hristian Frohlich is a farmer on section i 18, Richmond Township. He is a native of Germany, as was also his father, Jacob Frohlich. He was born in 1824, and in I855 came to Canada; afterliving in that Dominion seven years, he came to Osceola County and took possession, under the provisions and regulations of the Homestead Laws, of 8o acres where he now resides. He has added to his homestead 80 acres more by further purchase, and he now has auriLLL Ar% o,-arr iiirplvr, d i In 1 AU I CA Ir 1.2-e+ remained there until the spring of I855, the date of / his removal to Osceola County. He settled in the township of Richmond, and is one of the earliest 4 permanent settlers. He bought 240 acres of land, established his residence there and has been its oc-. cupant continuously ever since. He has brought to bear the best quality of thrift and energy, and has about I80 acres under excellent improvements. He affiliates with the Republican element in politics, has held the offices of Justice of the Peace and Highway Commissioner, and has officiated two years as Township Treasurer. He was married Nov. 12, 85 9, in Mecosta County, f: to Abigail Montague, and their seven children were born as follows: Harvey W., Charles E., Ida M. (married Abraham Seeley, April i i, 1883, and resides I in Crapo), George W., Hattie M., John J. and Laura A. Mrs. Berger was born March 30, 1840, in Kent County, and is the daughter of James and Laura L. i; (Hungerford) Montague. Her parents were natives of New England. Kr A 1A AY y y-^ we.} 0i. 16~ 't ~ Ep r I auLvtt uu lcLCS ilLLpIUVCU idllU 111 goUU U IUUUCtIl1V condition. In religion he and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church. He was married the first time in Germany, to ndrew J. Johnson, deceased, formerly farmer and blacksmith, resident on section Mary Bram, in 1855, and they were the parents of k four children: Anna, Henry, John and Albert. 26, Hersey Township, was born May 28, Their mo die in C 1840, in Trumbull Co., Ohio. He is the son Their mother died in Canada. Mr. Frohlich was. ( Jro * of Ichabod and Mary A. (Whitmore) Johnson. again married, in Osceola County, in i866, to Doro- of Iad and Mary A. ( itr e) Jnsn, i The latter survives, and resides in Farwell, M thy Hopp, who is a native of Germany. Mr. and Clare Co., Mich., with her son. His father died on Mrs. Frohlich have been the parents of four children: is fae, his farm in Hersey Township, in I876. He was a Jacob, Mary, Reka, and Freddy.. mechanic and blacksmith by vocation, and taught his son the latter trade. He was a resident of California some years, and meanwhile Mr. Johnson of. +" <~ -c-' this sketch was under the care of an uncle. He spent some years in hunting and trapping in 9.Northern Michigan, and in I86i he enlisted in the illiam Berger, farmer, section 35, Rich- Third Michigan Infantry. He was wounded twice in mond Township, was born Dec. 12, 1829 his left leg, and also received an injury to his scalp in Germany. When about five years old and was mustered out in 1864 for disability, having his parents, John and Catherine (Lux) Ber- participated in about a dozen heavy engagements. ger, left their native country with their After the war he took possession of his present farm, family and emigrated to the State of New York, consisting of 80 acres, and has improved 15 acres. where they settled in Wayne County. Mr. Berger He was married Jan. 6, i866, to Mary A. Jones,> A~))-i --- @^ 0 n^A-9-,w^ — — f^^ Q 276 OSCEOLA COUNTY..~ I7 - f A! i a, o.3.! x~a v' a V' and they have been the parents of seven children, born as follows: Alice May, Jan. 12, 1867 (died Sept. i, I868); Charles A., Oct. 12, I868; Mary E., March 4, I871; George W., Dec. 13, 1873; Wm. P., June 8, I877; Courtland W., Oct. 24, i880. Mrs. Johnson is the daughter of Ebenezer and Rosamond (Buttrick) Jones, and was born June 7, I846, in Allegany, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. She has two brothers and one sister living,-Ebenezer H., Tyler and Alice A. Andrew J. Johnson died Feb. 23, I880. He was the oldest of 13 children born to his parents, several of whom died in infancy. Those who attained maturity were Ann, Richard M., Sidney, Ichabod B. and Ellen Martha. William, Martha (Ist), Mary, Ella and Joseph are deceased. The mother of Mrs. Johnson lived with her about lo years and died March 5, I884. Her father died when she was a child, in Allegany, Cattaraugus Co., N.Y., H/ enry Walker, farmer, section 8, Richmond;l.__ Township, is a son of Samuel and Sarah @ A. (Schoonover) Walker, who were natives of the honest old State of Pennsylvania. In their family were seven children,-five sons and two daughters,-the subject of this sketch being the third son. He was born in Tioga County, in the State of New York, Aug. 25, 1824. He remained at the parental home until 24 years of age; then, being naturally skillful with tools and mechanical work, he commenced in the world as a carpenter and builder, and followed that trade exclusively for ten years. He then bought a saw-mill in Pennsylvania, which he operated for two years, when he sold out and moved to Illinois, and entered into partnership with his uncle in a steam saw-mill in Kendall county, that State. After continuing in that relation for two and a half years, he returned to the Keystone State and for a time engaged in carpenter work. Next, he went back to the old farm in Tioga Co., N. Y., resided there four years, and then went to Elmira, N. Y., resuming his trade there for one year. Next, he returned to farming, in the same State and in Bradford Co., Pa. Finally, in the spring of I875, he came to this county, and purchased I00 acres of partly improved land (having about 20 acres cleared) on the section where he has since made his residence. He.now has about 65 acres improved and in a good condition of cultivation, with fine farm buildings, etc., and in I883-4 he built a commodious residence, which he now occupies. Mr. Walker has held the several school offices in his community, and in his views of the common weal he sympathizes with the Prohibition element. He was first married in Bradford Cc., Pa., Nov. 24, 1852, to Sarah J. Carner, who was born in the same county, in 1837. By this marriage there were two children, named Mary E., who was born Jan. r, I853, and Horace P., Oct. 7, 1855. Mrs. Walker died June I8, I858, in Illinois, and Mr. W. was again married, in Waverly, Tioga Co., N. Y., Jan. 9, I863, to Julia Walker, who was born July I7, 1841. By this union three children were born, viz.: Fred, April I4, I865; Lewis, June I5, I867; and Alvah J., Sept. 6, I858. Mrs. Julia Walker died Feb. 23, I874, and Mr. W., in Delaware Co., N. Y., chose for his third wife Hannah C. Hinckley, who was born in that county, May 13, I838. Her parents, Birch and Mary (Traverse) Hinckley, were also natives of the Empire State. J; i I "'?t) * i N ^ I loseph Earnest, farmer, section 21, Richmond Township, was born Jan. 5, I842, in Germany. His parents, John and Caroline ( Earnest, emigrated thence to Canada in I849, I settling in Oxford Co., Ont., where they were residents during the remaining years of their lives. They had x6 children, eight of whom died in infancy. Five sons and three daughters reached mature years. Mr. Earnest was seven years of age when he bid a final farewell to the land of his birth. He lived in: Ontario until his removal to Michigan in the winter.: of I86I, the date of his locating in Mecosta County. J He remained in the township of Wheatland one year, proceeding in 1862 to Osceola County. He () became a farmer and lumberman and operated at 'K?uu: ffi 4 w ancr OSCEOLA COUNTY. 277 Rae_-IIII.___-_, ~IF~- i.~_ _ ___~-~- I _. _.__ _ 7_ ^_= v, _ ---lI --- vcl t- --- - — ~ --- —---- I f 7= '7 -~iT I 'f. opl, various points some years. In the autumn of 1871, he bought 80 acres of wild land in Richmond Township, of which he is still proprietor, and of 80 acres additional acquired by later purchase. His property is situated on sections 21 and 28, and he has cleared, improved and put under cultivation, 115 acres. His farm is skillfully managed, and the buildings, of recent erection, do credit to the township, and compare favorably with farm structures throughout the county. Mr. Earnest is a Republican and has acted in the capacity of Overseer of Highways. He was married Feb. 3, I863, in Richmond Township, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Waylerter) Nakle, and they have had two children,-Joseph and Daniel. 'The latter died July 15, 1883, when I years of age. Mrs. Earnest was born Dec. 17, 1838, in Germany. Her first husband, Philip Nakle, died in 1862. They became the parents of five children. Two died when in infancy. Adam died June 5, 1883, aged 22 years. Philip and John survive. Mrs. Earnest is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. eorge W. Troyer, farmer, section 4, Her-.. i sey Township, was born May 13, 1856, near Toronto, Canada. His parents, Christopher and Margaret (Clark) Troyer, came from the Dominion to Ionia Co., Mich., in 1862, his father buying a farm in Lyons. In the fall of 1878 they came to Hersey Township, where the father and son bought 40 acres and 120 acres respectively, on which they have since lived and labored. The senior Troyer was born March 31, 1827, and is living with his son. The mother was born in i834, and died in Canada in 1863. Mr. Troyer began life independently when 14 years old, working as a farm assistant by the month, which sort of labor he continued until 1878, when he learned the business of a carpenter; and in this he has been more or less occupied ever since. Since his removal here he has also engaged in farming and lumbering. He was married March 22, i88r, to Nettie E., daughter of James and Mary R. (Scranton) Coakley. They have two children,-Frank J., born Sept. I9, 1882, and Harvey C., born Sept 13, 1884. Mrs. Troyer was born Aug. 15, 1859, in Grattan Center, Kent Co., Mich. Her father was born July 24, I834, at Verban, Kings Co., Ireland, and was married Jan. 19, 1859. His wife was born Dec. 21, 1834, in Washington, Macomb Co., Mich. She died in Grattan, Aug. 24, 1863. Mr. Troyer is a Republican in political principles, and is actively interested in the educational matters of his township. *~ Llexander McFarlane, farmer, section 26, S Richmond Township, was born Aug. 4,..~ I832, and is the son of Andrew and Margaret (Gray) McFarlane. His parents were Il born in Scotland and emigrated to Canada about the year 1830, where the family resided until the death of the father. After that event the mother removed with the five surviving children to Mecosta County, where she is still a resident. Five of their children died in infancy. Mr. McFarlane was a resident of the Dominion until i855, the year of his removal to Michigan. He passed some months as a laborer in Newaygo and Mecosta Counties, and in the spring of 1858 he bought i60 acres of land on section 26, of Richmond Township. At that date the settlers were like angels' visits, —few and far between,-and the entire county in the most primitive condition, as but three years had elapsed since the first permanent settler had established his residence here. He has placed about one-half of his acreage under tillage. Mr. McFarlane was appointed one of the Inspectors of the first election held in Osceola County, has been Justice of the Peace, Treasurer, Overseer of Highways and Commissioner of the same, and has officiated as one of the County Superintendents of the Poor. He was married Jan. -, I860, in Crapo, Richmond Township, to Charlotte R. Robbins. Their children were born as follows: Andrew, April 28, 1862; Franklin P., April 8, 1864; Jennie A., April I, I866; x ( k4i i i It r I "fi1 --I f-T, ~s~ ~II~,lci~3all~L~h~ — 7,+, ~ i U0.;- q.S 278 OSCEOLA Neil G., May ii, I867; Ethel M., May 2, 1869; Bertha E., Sept. I8, I872; Lena B., June i8, 1878. Jennie died May 27, 1866; Neil died Sept. io, i881. Mrs. McFarlane is the daughter of James G. and Olive E. (Slade) Robbins. (See sketch of J. G. Robbins.) She was born Jan. 27, I845, in Potter Co., Pa., and was II years of age when her parents settled in Osceola County, where they were among the earliest settlers. Mr. and Mrs. McFarlane are members of the Congregational Church. He is an ardent Republican, a man of clear understanding, safe judgment and possesses an abundant store of information gleaned from extensive reading. COUNT2Y. I. I I K | lohn F. Radcliffe, owner, manager and edi-. tor of the Osceola County Outline, agent of ' the American Express Co., Coroner and j Justice of the Peace, located at Hersey, was b orn Feb. 26, i829, in the township of Perry, a= Lake Co., Ohio. His parents, William and I Margaret (Kelley) Radcliffe, were both natives of the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea. After their marriage they emigrated to the United States and settled in Lake Co., Ohio. Later the family removed to Mentor, Ohio, where the senior Radcliffe pursued his vocation of tailor until his death in I856, at the age of 6i years. The mother was born Sept. 6, 1804, and still resides at Mentor. She is in the possession of the activity and firm health of her years of prime. Mr. Radcliffe decided early in youth on the pursuit of a machinist as a calling, and at 17 entered upon a course of preparation in a machine shop, and persevered in operating in that line to the fulfillment of his purpose three years, when failing health compelled him to permanently abandon the project, and he obtained a position on the literary staff of the Painesville Telegraph, to whose columns he had been a miscellaneous contributor since the age of 15 * years. In i853 he commenced a series of contribut tions to the local department of the Detroit Tribune, ( and wrote stories for its literary columns, continuing ) his connection with that journal about i8 months., In 1855 hewas made local editor of the Toledo Blade, the first incumbent of the department after the establishment of the paper, operating in that avenue about two years, and working successively on the Commercial and Herald, contemporaneous journals published at Toledo. Meanwhile he officiated two years as clerk in the postoffice of that city. In 1858 he went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and superintended the publication of the Cedar Valley Times, remaining in the position until the advent of civil war. In I86I he received notification of his military obligations as a member of the I4th Regiment Ohio Militia, to which he belonged, and was summoned by the superior officer of the organization, Colonel (afterwards General) Stedman, to report for duty and rejoin "Company A." He arrived in Ohio too late, the regiment having obtained its quota and gone to the front. At the urgent request of Colonel Stedman he went to Waterloo, De Kalb Co., Ind., and took charge of the Waterloo Press, a local Union journal, which he managed four months, and at the end of that time he leased the office, fixtures and relations of the paper for a year, after which he assumed the management of the Kendallville (Ind.) Standard, his family remaining at their home in Waterloo. In I863 he bought the Press, and continued its publication until the destruction of his office in i867 by fire, a disaster which involved the proprietor in considerable loss. He resumed operations after a short delay, continuing but a brief period when he established the Air Line in the same place. In the fall of 1870 he came to Hersey, having fallen into precarious health, to take control of the paper now known as the Osceola Outline, coming here for the purpose at the solicitation of D. A. Blodgett and Dr. Norman Teal, the latter at that time acting as editor. Mr. Winchell, later the founder of the Plainwell (Allegan Co.) Independent, and subsequently elected to the Legislature of Michigan, came simultaneously to aid in establishing the Outline on a permanent basis. The first copy was issued Jan. 5, I87I. In May, 1872, Mr. Radcliffe succeeded to the sole control by purchase, and in I88I changed the name of the paper to its present style. At the date of his removal to Hersey the site of the place was chiefly in its natural condition, and the present location of his residence and office was covered with primeval forest. In I873 he purchased I i LIp 0C11. 41%, N < > (^ CI # s I 1."~.SI71. ~Hu 1 6 t,,Ue-A s 1 1 — OSCEOLA COUNTY. 279 (I -- -I " block 68," cleared a small " patch" and erected a Township, of which he is still the proprietor, and building for his business. His residence is on the also 80 acres respectively on sections 27 and 28, and same traict. He is the owner of 80 acres of land on I20 on section 29 of the same township. He has a section 13, Richmond Township, and holds 240 about 200 acres under cultivation and in fine farmacres additional in different parts of the county. In ing condition. }877 he was appointed express agent. In 1882 he opened a bar and billiard-room at Reed Soon after coming to Hersey he was elected Jus- City, where he traffics in the articles common to simtice of the Peace, and has continued the incumbent ilar establishments. He built the building where he of the position. In the fall of i880 he was elected operates in 1882, and retains his residence on his County Coroner, and has been successively re- farm two miles south of Reed City. elected. In the fall of 1884 he was elected Treasurer of Osceola County, by a majority of 633. The marriage of Mr. Radcliffe to Mary French oc- | - _^,@gEa^; curred in I855, at Painesville, Ohio. She was born in Perry, Lake Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of Nathaniel and Abigail French, a family of Vermont L t origin. They have two children,-Harriet, the wife | illiam L. Stiege, farmer, section lo, Richor George W. Moore, lumberman in Missaukee Co., mond Township, was born in Buffalo, N. Mich. She is a graduate from the female Seminary | - Y., June 29, I835; his father, Carl Stiege, f) at Painesville, Ohio. Lucy E. is at home with her was a native of Germany. In the fall of parents. Mrs. Radcliffe is an able assistant in the Y 1865 the subjectof this sketch came to Oscee mechanical department of the Outline. ola County and took possession of 80 acres of rv* land on section 10, under the regulations of the = nTTmeqrtendo T nrw n- qn hqO lnr r CAAe residd there 6-P I l)* CNe,se ) Ia cj| d N.ohn Mitchell, an old settler of Richmond Township, was born in Germany, March 12, 1835, and when he was 15 years of age emigrated thence with his parents, Frederick and Frederica Mitchell, to Hamilton, Ontario, and later to London. His father was a farmer in "das Faderland," and followed the same vocation after reaching the New World. Mr. Mitchell's first important move in the world was his settlement in a matrimonial enterprise. He was married Sept. 15, 1859, near Stratford, Ont., to Elnoia Ruppert. She was born Nov. I6, I837, in Prussia. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have nine children, namely: Adam, Maggie, Annie, Mary, Grace, Catherine, John, Lewis and William. Adam is married. and is a farmer in Richmond Township; Maggie married Jerry Golkey, a hotel-keeper at Chippewa Lake; Anne is the wife of John Roth, at Reed City. Mr. Mitchell came to Michigan in June, i862, and located a claim of 80 acres on section 22, Richmond JL L III U L VCt -t u au C4 II Nly LJ X V IKla e LljLIU- I L has 45 acres under good cultivation, and a comfortably equipped home. He also is in possession of some village property. Mr. Stiege was married in Newaygo Co., Mich., Oct. 3, 1867, to Miss Mary Roberts, and they are the parents of six children, namely: Sanford, Lewis, Louisa, Josephina, Albert and Benjamin. ~'j^i~ iram Wetherell, farmer, section 17, Hersey _ a Township, was born April 20, i8i6, in Con. quest, Cayuga Co., N. Y. He is the son of Noah and Betsey (Mott) Wetherell, both of whom are deceased. The father was born in Massachusetts, was a soldier of the war of I812, and fought at the battle of Lundy's Lane. The parents died about the year 1840, in Cayuga Co., N. Y., and were separated in their deaths only six days. The mother was born in the near vicinity of the Catskill Mountains in New York. In I840 Mr. Wetherell removed from his native Cr= 3= e I I! Of f(0a t^ S X | - - q 'I.' ho` Q o lr ~ 09 280 OSCEOLA COUNTY. 0 -rEV i V4( ' State to Livingston Co., Mich. He purchased 80 i acres of land in the township of Conway, removing * thence to Grand Blanc, Genesee County, in I86i. He was in the hotel business there 18 months, in; which he was fairly successful. He exchanged the property for 80 acres of land in the township of Montrose in the same county, coming thence to Hersey, in I880. He bought nearly 67 acres of land, on which he established his homestead. He is a Republican in principle and has held the Supervisorship of every township in which he has lived, except Hersey. He was one of the delegates to the Convention in Livingston County when the party was organized. He was Treasurer of Montrose seven years, was Justice of the Peace and State Road Commissioner. He opened the road from Chesaning to Clio in 1875. He was married June 19, T834, in Conquest, Cayuga Co., N. Y., to Mahala Ferdig. Their children were born as follows: Cynthia, Sept. 4, I835 (died March 24, I857); Hannah J. was born Dec. 15, I837; Mary E., April 24, i840; Eri H., Oct. i8, 1842; Hiram, Jr., Nov. 6, I846 (died Nov. 8, 1852); Helen, Dec. 15, 852. The motlier was born Dec. 4, 1815, in Conquest, and is the daughter of John and Hanna'j (Waters) Ferdig. Her parents died in Middleville, Barry Co., Mich., aged respectively 6o and 55 years. The golden-wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Wetherell was celebrated by their children in June of the current year. Two of their daughters reside in Osceola County. 'enry K. Smith, harness and trunk maker _ -| at Reed City, was born July 27, 1848, in Truro, Colchester Co., Nova Scotia. His parents, William C. and Renew (Nelson) Smith, were natives of the same province, where his father died, in May, 1872. The mother is still living there, aged 76 years. Mr. Smith is the ninth of ten children born to his parents, and passed the first 17 years of his life on a farm. He served from that age until he was 21 years old, at Truro, in acquiring his trade. He opened his business at Woburn Center, Mass., I and after a trial of six months' duration he returned to his home and soon after opened a shop at Maitland, 12 miles from the place of his birth. Two years later he went to Lowell, Mass., and operated there and at Bath and in other towns. He came to Reed City in 1876, and established himself in the business of harness-making. Meanwhile he erected the building in which he is now managing his business, which is two stories in height above the basement, is 23x55 feet in height, and constructed of brick. His business relations require the aid of four assistants. Mr. Smith was married Sept. 26, i877, to Julia E. Stoddard, and their three children were born as follows: William R., July 31, 1878; Mary R., deceased, and Mabel, born Aug. 26, I883. Mrs. Smith was born in Detroit in June, r847, and is the daughter of Rodman and Mary Stoddard. -— ^^^o<(0()) ))>)-~ —2-. lg ames H. Hope, farmer, section 20, Hersey ^' Township, was born Feb. 17, 1842, in Kalamazoo, Mich. His parents, Edward and l Amelia A. (Stevens) Hope, are both natives of t l the State of New York. His father is of mixed English and Scotch parentage; his mother descended from Irish and Dutch ancestry. They were early settlers in Kalamazoo County, where the father erected the first frame barn built in the township of Texas. They live on a farm two miles trom the village of Edmore, Montcalm Co., Mich. Mr. Hope was reared on a farm, and Aug. 7, 1862, he enlisted in Co. H, 25th Mich. Vol. Inf. His regiment was assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division and 23d Army Corps, General Schofield commanding, and was mustered out of the military service of the United States June 24, i865, at Salisbury, N. C. Mr. Hope fought at Franklin and Nashville, Tenn., and his regiment was in breastworks at the time of the surrender of General Johnston. They came to Jackson, Mich., where they were paid off, and after reaching home Mr. Hope spent a year in recovering his former state of health. He became interested in farming, and operated two years as manager of his father's farm. He next went to Nebraska and worked one season by the k\~,, f I &a D ) I w Kx6+ --- ~! PI na~an.l I I Cl t 4 2j< /$ 47. '^ ^I t .2,,,.,r.*.,?_i.-.' s OSCEOLA COU UTY. 285 f i —,.85.i.. k\.7j IT%1 i month, returning thence to Kalamazoo County, remaining there one year. In 1871 he came to Hersey Township and secured a claim of 80 acres of land by purchase from the individual who had become its proprietor under the Homestead Law. Mr. Hope found himself obliged to go back to first principles to protect his title and re-entered the claim. About 15 acres were partially improved, and the clearing had a small log house. The latter is now their home, and the entire place manifests the care and energy of the owner. Mr. Hope was married Jan. 29, I870, to Sarah J. Ross, and they have one child-Cora B.-born June 3, I872. Mrs. Hope was born June 7, I850, in Norwich, Ont. Her mother, Mary (Mustard) Ross, died in Norwich when her daughter was about nine years old. Her father, Hopkins Ross, is living in the village of Hersey. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Hope are named Wm. H., Nelson A., Mary J. (twin sister of Mrs. H.), Sylvester, Daniel (deceased), and Martha A. Three brothers and a sister of Mr. Hope are all living. They are Charles E., Mary A., Isaac H. and Chauncey C. less body was rescued from the cold waters. Every effort at resuscitation was made, but in vain, and she was buried in the beautiful cemetery of Mount Hope in the southern suburb of the city of Rochester, and the bereaved family pursued their sad journey to their destination. The senior Gooch had disposed of all his business interests on leaving the Pine-Tree State, and the money realized-all in gold -was in a belt clasped around the body of the wife, and was the means of her death, as its weight prevented her rising to the surface. The family located in Wayne Co., Mich., where, later, the father married Phebe Sherman, and they became the parents of four children. In I848 they removed to Kent Co., Mich., where the father died of small-pox. His wife died in I847, in Plymouth, Wayne County. Mr. Gooch of this sketch was born March 20, I831, in Machias, Washington Co., Maine. He was but three years old when he was deprived of his mother's care. Until he was I6 years of age he passed his life in the manner common to farmers' sons in a pioneer period. He was a level-headed boy, having a well-balanced temperament, formed of the excellent traits of a mixed Scotch and English ancestry, the former predominating and descending I>*,**.rV '1"`~ I. L I:=-,a6 rr,-.r z 0 A to him in the maternal line. The element of active v ~ -effort is his leading characteristic and has marked all his life. He is an embodiment of the principle of enjamin F. Gooch, farmer, section 25, doing a duty himself instead of delegating what Richmond Township, is one of the earliest needs to be done to the chance of a transferred settlers in Osceola County and is as close- duty. His education consisted chiefly of a comprey ly associated with the history of the "first hensive knowledge of Daboll's Arithmetic, obtained things " of the county as any other member by resolute braving of the wintry winds daily a disof its pioneer element. He has been a resi- tance of nearly two miles, where he was a pupil in dent of Michigan since early childhood, his father,a log school-house with horizontal windows, stone Benjamin Gooch, having removed from his native fire-place, "stick" chimney and slab seats. But in State to the Territory of Michigan in I834. He was this instance, as in thousands of others, the achievea merchant and lumberman in Maine, where he was ments of Mr. Gooch attest the value of rugged trainborn, and married Lucy Boyington. ing and lack of the effeminating appurtenances of In the year named they set out with their family e ife o tto-day, which fosters wekness and exof nine children to found a home in Michigan. They trcts the vigor and fire from the human compositraveled westward on the Erie Canal, and while in tion. the immediate vicinity of Rochester, in the middle The capital was removed from Detroit to Lansing of the night, the wife and mother rose from her at a time when that portion of Ingham County was berth, made her way to the deck, and as the watch- a wilderness, and in three localities the eager citizens man observed her she suddenly walked overboard began to build with all haste. A Mr. Randolph, and sunk from sight! The watchman roused the who owned a foundry, engaged the senior Gooch to occupants of the boat, and in half an hour her life- draw a load of stoves to Lansing, and Benjamin was ) zr~ H~i" _ --— A ran^^: w — ^^^^t I286 OSCEOLA COUNTY.,;286 OSCEOLA COUNTY. I rI 7 sent with the team. Mr. Randolph gave him in addition a quantity of cast-iron boot-jacks to peddle in the city on commission, which he did, and sold them when there was not a painted building in the place. All finishing material had to be drawn from Detroit with teams, and the people waited for the advent of winter and snow in order to facilitate transportation of heavy merchandise. In I849 Mr. Gooch went to Virginia, where he worked by the month in a steam saw and grist mill, and also aided in the management of a cardingmachine. He operated in that capacity until I853, when he returned to Michigan and engaged as a farm assistant and as a lumberman in the woods near Grand Rapids. In the fall of I855, in company with three other men and driving an ox team, Mr. Gooch proceeded to the northern extremity of the thoroughfare in Mecosta County, to a point four miles north of the present city of Big Rapids, when the site of the plucky and prosperous city was not marked by a single g4 structure. On the fifth day of September he began m cutting a road northward into the wilderness, crossing,^ the boundary of Mecosta County into Osceola County = on the 14th day of the same month. This was the the first wagon road in Osceola County. A few settlers had come in the previous spring, and had ) utilized the water routes, coming hither by means of canoes on the Muskegon, the general method of travel in Northern Michigan previous to the day of railroads and State thoroughfares. The line of road constructed by Mr. Gooch extended to Cat Creek, a distance of I6 miles. The party were joined by Delos A. Blodgett, who made a permanent settle-. ment and became inseparably connected with the development of Osceola County, but who removed to Grand Rapids, where he is now a resident. Nicholas Rescoe also came with them. He is still a resident of the county. In the latter part of November, Mr. Gooch hired a Mr. and Mrs. Dildine and their daughter-eleven years old —at Grand Rapids, and moved them to Cat Creek. It is believed these were the first white women within the county limits. In that winter Mr. Gooch shot a large number of deer, and a lynx. He has still in his possession a robe made from the pelts of six wolves which he killed the same winter. The exigencies of the time XQ -- in which he became a resident of Northern Michigan developed his abilities as a hunter, and he has shot deer in the counties of Kent, Newaygo, Mecosta, Osceola, Missaukee and Clare, at a date when the present sites of Big Rapids, Reed City, Hersey and Evart were fair fields for the hunter's harvest, which he gathered with his rifle on more than one occasion. Mr. Gooch passed the winter in the discharge of his duties as foreman of a logging party and lumber camp, and in the spring of I856 pre-empted I60 acres of Government land where he has since maintained his residence. Later, he bought 40 acres additional. He made a small clearing on his original purchase, built a log shanty and entered with characteristic vigor and energy into the work of clearing his farm. le is now the proprietor of 200 acres of land, of which i o acres are free from stumps and in valuable farming condition. In the spring of I857 he set out ioo apple-trees on his farm, which he bought from John Foxbury, of Walker Township, and drew from Grand Rapids with an ox team, a distance of 75 miles, as the road was constructed. Many of these trees are still in a flourishing condition, some of them having branches I5 feet long. When these trees were planted the ground was still the resort of deer, wolves and foxes. The orchard scheme of Mr. Gooch was the source of much comment among the farmers of Grand Rapids and vicinity, as it was firmly believed that apples could not be raised so far north as Osceola County. He was told by one distinguished gentleman that some of his trees would live and blossom on the south side and perhaps one or two apples might mature on the south side of the core, but the severity of the climate would prevent the sap circulating all around the apple. The apple crop of the orchard in i884 (current year) is 400 bushels. The fact is, the fruit is more perfect and hardy than in regions farther south. A prominent faculty of Mr. Gooch, and one which has been of inestimable value to him as a pioneer and in other capacities, is his superior abilities as a pedestrian. In the fall of i857 he was troubled by a decayed tooth. The only available instrument in the settlement was an old-fashioned pair of turnkeys, and on their application to the tooth it was crushed, proving only an aggravation of the difficulty. Mr..I t ~, H 1. w. h W I D 'fll;? -U ~, 7au_ 4P'c~ 5 OSClEOLA COUNT7. r { i: '~ ' ~ * n r. _~ ~-....-_v___.__. _.... _ - (ES) 287 ): lk.1 r" I /I\N I=,, ) -3 r=3e I e Yn, C, Gooch retired with a determination to endure the suffering, but it proved too much for his endurance, and he arose before morning and started afoot for Grand Rapids, walking the entire distance to that city, where he procured the services of L. D. Rogers, who is still living and pursuing his profession in the same place. Traversing the distance from Richmond Township to Grand Rapids in those early days was a common practice with Mr. Gooch, who has preserved no record of the number of times he has made the trip —" hundreds of times." The first school-house in Osceola County was built on the northwest quarter of section 25, Richmond Township, and was donated by Mr. Gooch for the purpose to which it was devoted. The first official dignity borne by Mr. Gooch was that of Highway Commissioner, his jurisdiction including the entire county, which was then attached for municipal purposes to Mecosta County, and known as Green Township. In the spring of i86i the township of Richmond was organized, the meeting for that purpose being held at the house of D. A. Blodgett. Nine votes were cast. Mr. Gooch was elected Town Treasurer, Justice of the Peace and School Inspector. Mr. Gooch was one of the Judges of Election. The echoes of the shot at Sumter in their journey round the world aroused the spirit that actuated the pioneers of Osceola County in their toil and privation, and Mr. Gooch, in May, before the wave of patriotism had surged across the continent, made another journey on foot to Grand Rapids to search for a recruiting officer, full of an invincible determination to lend his aid to preserve intact the integrity of his country. He went thither alone, and was the first enlisted man from his county. He enrolled in Co. F, Third Mich. Vol. Inf. The regiment was mustered in 1,o40 strong, Col. Daniel McConnell commanding. Mr. Gooch was under fire in all the important engagements in which his regiment was involved, and in the common experiences of skirmishes and deploys. He was in the first battle of' Bull Run, and afterwards, while stationed at Arlington Heights, to guard against rebel invasion, he had some interesting experiences. On one occasion, when foraging in the corn and potato fields beyond the line of Union pickets, the party was discovered by the rebels, who sent a shell into the field they had just left. No one was injured, but they returned to gather the potatoes dug by the missile, which they ate with a grim relish, in consideration of the murderous intent which failed of its purpose and added to their stores. During his period of military service, Mr. Gooch received four wounds. At the battle of Fair Oaks he sustained an injury to his right arm from a gunshot, and in the same conflict a piece of shell struck his right shoulder; but he remained in the ranks. The regiment went into the second fight at Bull Run with about 500 men. The command was deployed to make a feint attack upon the main line of the rebel army, a movement which depleted the ranks of the "Third" to a fearful extent, roll-call showing that 20 more than half the number who went into action were either killed or wounded. All the colorbearers and color guards were killed or wounded. Mr. Gooch had borne the regimental standard presented by the ladies of Grand Rapids since the siege of Richmond, and during the second fight at Bull Run he was shot through the right thigh. After spending two months in the hospital he came to Grand Rapids on recruiting service, for which he was specially detailed. He rejoined his regiment previous to the battle of Gettysburg, where he was a fourth time wounded, by a minie-ball, in the calf of the right leg. This injury was so severe as to cause him to be sent to the hospital, and his life was seriously imperiled by the appearance of gangrene in the wound, and from which he remained eight months in ths hospital. He was discharged June 21i I864, and returned to his farm. He is a member of Post John J. Bagley, Grand Army of the Republic. In the spring of I865 he was elected Supervisor of Richmond Township, which then comprised the entire county. In the fall of I866 he was elected Surveyor of the territory of Osceola and Mecosta, then included in one county, and held the position. two years. Since the organization of the county he has officiated as Superintendent of the Poor, a number of terms as Justice of the Peace, and has served several times as Director of the County Fair. He has been also a Director of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company of Osceola, Lake and Wexford Counties. Mr. Gooch is a Republican in the completest sense of the term. He did not vote for Pres %TAP 4 ( / I:: ), -I ', 1) t!,i I Ior cQ) f - ll 9 l,:$,!-, iu u 288 OSCEOLA CO UNTY.:::::: 288"^ " (~... ),, T' f JAP,r Wn. *<; s: v ~ ident on becoming of suitable age, being 90 miles from his polling place. His first Presidential vote e was cast for John C. Fremont, and his suffrage has been cast in an undeviating line for the nominees of the Republican National Convention. He took an active part in the Blaine and Logan campaign. He is a member of the fraternity of Masons and belongs to the "Old Settlers' Union " of Mecosta County. A fact worthy of note is that Mr. Gooch, D. A. Blodgett, and Luther O. Schofield, the three first settlers in the vicinity of Hersey, used neither whisky nor tobacco in any form, Mr. Gooch brought the first cow, pig and hens into the county. His portrait appears on another page, and will receive a hearty welcome from the pioneer patrons of this work, as well as from later settlers of Osceo!a County, who have learned his worth as a man, neighbor and citizen. He was married Oct. I7, I865, in Ionia, Mich., to Desdemona Harrington. Sylvia E., adopted daughter, was born June 8, I868, in the State of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Gooch are of the class who grow old gracefully. They rank among the bon camarades of their generation, as is exemplified by an account of a maple sugar frolic which transpired in their " sugar bush" in the season of 1884, and at which were present representatives from all classes, conditions and generations. The assembly disposed of the proceeds of nine barrels of sap in the course of two hours! The central source of enjoyment was the complete manufacturing system of the works, consisting of pipes, pans, syphons and fire arches. Mr. Gooch has 600 buckets and hundreds of trees, and the gathering is done by horse-power. The occasion was one of the most satisfactory of local county entertainments. Mrs. Desdemona Harrington Gooch was born in Charleston, N. H., one chilly day in October, the I7th, more than 50 years ago (1830 or '3i), but was born in the day-time, however, and has loved the light ever since and kept cool. When a child of seven or eight years her parents left their Eastern home and moved West and commenced pioneer life in the near vicinity of Grand Rapids. There were no district schools in those days in that region, and she was taught at home with her younger sister and brother by an elder sister who had been educated in the East. Before she was I6 she had read Rollins' Ancient History and Josephus, besides Scott's and Byron's poems, and worse yet, Young's Night Thoughts, Milton's Paradise Lost and other similar productions. Her mind did not give way, however, as might be supposed. She didn't even die, but came very near it; was very sick for more than a year, and was only saved by a kind mother's intelligent care. She recovered, and went to Grand Rapids, which had grown somewhat, and attended Prof. Everett's Academy. The Professor was a man of gigantic intellect, and she nearly worshiped him for his knowledge. Mrs. Everett taught the female department, was remarkably sweet-tempered and agreeable, as gentle and considerate as a kind mother to all her pupils. Both of them understood making learning a delight, and she loved them both, and does yet. She left the academy to teach a district school, but returned again in company with her younger sister, after which she taught the village school of Newaygo a year, rode thither from home, a distance of 36 miles, on horseback (no stage-coach nor railroad from Grand Rapids to Newaygo then),-rode a vicious black horse belonging to Benj. Wright, who then carried the weekly mail between the two places. Nearly every foot of the road led through dense, primeval forest, but she enjoyed its gloomy grandeur, also the spirited paces of the horse. He would pace, trot or gallop, at the behest of his rider. And here let it be stated, the same horse carried home the teacher in addition to the weight of the mail bags, when the school term was done. Then she attended the union school on the east side one term to study French and the higher mathematics. She also taught one term in the same school while Rev. James Ballard was Principal. Meanwhile Grand Rapids had become an incorporated city. Afterwards she taught two years in succession in the upper department of the same school when Prof. Chesebro was Principal. Her health began to fail, went home to rest, then taught the village school at Laphamville (now Rockford) several terms, after which she taught the winter term of school in I860-i in Big Rapids. She returned home and comrn menced the study of medicine with Dr. Henderson, of Grand Rapids. Helped run a soldiers' aid so X It i 71.1 i '' 3"^. - - ' -.='r A.1 To e j i (Sj (h "_ 1, IT%_~ir ~~ ~006011~- ~~ -- iP i~ ~~ ,i OSCEOLA COUNTY.. 289 - I l!tC~ 4 I < i i \ 1 *4, kLII 4, '-iY" ciety during the war of the Rebellion (being Secretary of the same) and continued teaching off and 6n till the close of the war, when she was married. Mrs. Gooch is the daughter of John and Phebe (Field) Harrington. Her parents were natives of Vermont, where they were married, and after a residence of some years removed to New Hampshire, coming thence in I838 to Kent Co., Mich. Daniel Field, the maternal grandsire of Mrs. Gooch, descended from an ancient English family, whose record was traceable back to its two Norman and Saxon sources. He married Hannah Whitman, and they became the parents of 13 children, all of whom are deceased. The sturdy, independent traits which distinguished the stocks in which their families had their origin, have marked each successive generation and are faithfully reproduced in the character of Mrs. Gooch. Her portrait is presented on another page. rank Shields, farmer, section 17, Rose Lake Township, is a son of Alexander and i. ' Jane (Robertson) Shields, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Scotland. Q Some time after their marriage in Scotland the parents emigrated to the American continent, and after a residence for a time in Canada they came, in 1864, to the Peninsular State and settled in Kalamazoo County. Mr. Shields, senior, died in Canada while on a visit to his daughter. The subject of this sketch was born on " Scotia's Isle," Feb. 22, I841, and was almost 12 years old when the family emigrated to America. In I86I he came to Kalamazoo County, lived about two years there, and then went to Allegan County, this State, where he was employed about 13 years by Kellogg, Sawyer & Co. In the spring of I876 he came to this county and purchased 80 acres of land in Rose Lake Township, but remained in the employment of Kellogg, Sawyer & Co. until the spring of I880, when he settled upon his land, which he now occupies, and where he has 48 acres in a good tillable condition. Mr. Shields is a citizen of high standing in his I community, and has been honored with the office of Township Treasurer for a term of two years. In his political views he sympathizes with the Prohibitionists, and as to religion' both he and wife are members of the Baptist Church. The marriage of Mr. Shields to Miss Belle McGonegal took place at Battle Creek, Mich., June 7, 187. She was born in Scotland Sept. 15, I852. Her parents, William and Mary C. McGonegal, were natives of Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. S. have four children, namely, Nellie M., Anna M., Frank C. and Lizzie B.. Hf eorge H. Bassett, farmer, section 22, Le Roy Township, was born Sept. I6, I845,, in Licking Co., Ohio. His father, William Bassett, was a native of Martha's Vineyard, and descended from French ancestry, who came to this continent in the early Colonial days in search of freedom from religious persecution. He married Permelia Skeels, a native of the State of New York, of English and German extraction. The family removed to Licking Co., Ohio, where the father died, in i850, aged 40 years. The mother died in Ohio, in January, I879. Mr. Bassett began his struggle for an independent livelihood at the age of 14 years, and operated as a laborer in various avenues until the advent of the rebellion. He was early awakened to the dangers which assailed the Federal Government, and enlisted June 21, i86r, in Co. C, 39th Ind. Vol. Inf. The regiment was afterwards mounted and became the Eighth Ind. Vol. Cav., and was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, Gen. Buel, Corps Commander. Among the battles in which Mr. Bassett was in action were the celebrated eng igements at Shiloh, Corinth, Bridgeport, Ala.; and at the conflict of Stone River, Dec. 31, I862, he was wounded by a rifle ball, the I shot entering the joint of the left hip, whence it was extracted three weeks later. In September, I863,, he rejoined his regiment in Tennessee and continued in active service until the war was over. He received an honorable discharge June 24, I865, at - Madison, Ind. He was a second time wounded in, t I S s *^ ) f ) j b I I ( I I A' 1. ID~ — " 1 Ann Arbor, and is the daughter of Thomas and up in the Church of England. Louise (Kellett) Edwards. Her parents were Dorn in New York State, and are both deceased. She was educated in the schools of Ann Arbor, and is a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Hooper was brought / elah G. Moulton, farmer, section I8, Rose Lake Township, was born in the county of tH Jefferson, State of New York, on the 14th 7( of February, I846. He was brought up at the home of his parents, and was I2 years of age when his parents removed to this State with their family. At the early age of I8, Mr. Moulton demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice his health and even life for the support of the legitimate Government of his country, by enlisting, Feb. 26, 1864, in the I3th Mich. Vol. Inf., and serving honorably until the close of the war. He then returned to Allegan Co., Mich., where he purchased a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He continued there until the fall of 187 I, when he came to this county and settled upon a quarter section of land in Rose Lake Township, of which he had taken possession under the provisions of the homestead laws the previous spring. At the present time he owns a fine farm of 320 acres, and has almost 200 acres in a state of good cultivation. In I881-2 he erected a magnificent barn, 38 x 76 feet in dimensions, with a wing 32 x 64 feet. The horse barn is 30 x 40 feet in size. In quality these buildings are second to none in all this county. Mr. Moulton's business capacity and integrity have been attested by his electioh to the offices of County.Superintendent of the Poor for four years, Supervisor of Rose Lake Township four years, Township Treasurer three years, etc., etc. In respect to political issues he is classed with the Republican party, and in religion he, as well as his wife, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. M.'s parents, Belah D. and Corinda J. (Walls) Moulton, were natives of the Empire State, and their children were, in order, Irving L., Belah G. and Ida J. The subject of this sketch was married in Martin Township, Allegan County, Dec. 6, I871, to Miss I t I (c A -ILI I II)"' """""" — 4 11 0 qlll-' u qI.inS k PI~:I 45 1- --- - -c I....r.. u ~. — OSCEOLA CO UNVTY. 295 Mary C., daughter of Cortland B. and Clarissa (Sny- "Sawyerville," named in his honor. Here they em- ~ I der) Smith. She was borne in Otsego Co., N. Y., May 4, 1851. Her father was a native of Vermont and her mother was born in New York State. They came to Michigan in i854, settling in Allegan County, locating in Rose Lake Township, where they now reside. Mr. and Mrs. Moulton are the parents of seven children, namely: Forest R., Belah D., Charley B., Myrtle M., Earl L., Verne V. and Harry G. --— S ~~-$^^ ~~t —^lbert E. Sawyer, lumberman at Sawyerville, Rose Lake Township, was born in Charlemont, Franklin Co., Mass., Oct. 4, 4Jt I1820, the youngest son in the family of six children; from the age of 6 to I8 years he lived away from home, his mother having died when he was young. He was brought up on a farm, and from the age of i8 to 22 he worked out in that vocation by the month. According to his inherited nature as a Yankee, he then struck out as a peddler, in which business he continued for a period of six years. About the year i850 he moved to Ohio and remained in that State about two years, engaged in the stove business. This he sold out, and came to Michigan, locating in Wayland, Allegan County. During the following year he was engaged in different occupations, and then he was employed by Israel Kellogg for almost nine years, stocking the mill and piling lumber. Next, he returned to the village of Heath, in the same county, and formed a partnership with David Coy in the business of running a steam saw-mill. Two years afterward Mr. Coy sold out his interest in the mill to Israel Kellogg, Mr. Sawyer's former employer at Wayland. They continued together some two or three years, when Mr. Kellogg made his son, J. E. Kellogg, a present of his interest in the business. This relation continued about five years, when they closed in that county. In i87 Mr. Sawyer came to Osceola County and purchased 3,000 acres of timbered land. In the spring of that year, in company with J. E. Kellogg, he commenced the erection of the steam saw-mill at ploy, on an average, 40 men the year round, the mill having a capacity of ioo,ooo feet of lumber daily. In I872 they also built a tram road from Sawyerville to LeRoy, for the purpose of conveying their lumber to the railroad. In- the fall of the same year, Mr. Sawyer erected a fine residence, which he has since occupied. When he located his mill here, not a stump was to be seen between Sawyerville and Le Roy. He cut the way through in order to get in his boilers and heavy machinery for the mill. During the winter seasons they put in large numbers of logs, sometimes exceeding Io,ooo,ooo feet. In their work they have 50 horses and oxen. They also own two stores, one at Sawyerville and one at Le Roy, where they have an extensive trade. In politics Mr. S. is a staunch Republican. His parents, Elias and Harriet (Williams) Sawyer, were natives of Massachusetts, married in Charlemont, and resided there during their lives, the father a carpenter and joiner by trade. They had six children, namely, Ellsworth, Ethan, Charles, Emily, Albert E. and Persis. X Mr. Sawyer was married in June, i861, to Ann, Ritchey, of Martin, Allegan Co., Mich. They have X five children,-Mary Jane, Willard W., Alice, Isa- S bella and Albert B. ~ In the portrait of Mr. Sawyer, on the opposite ( page, the PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM OF OSCEOLA COUNTY has the likeness of a representative lumberman of Northern Michigan. The works at Sawyerville, of which he is the proprietor, present a fine picture of the extent and merits of the lumber business. A series of photographs taken on the } premises, contain views worthy of permanent reproduction in oil. ( i;{7 t.^7 s-o f,. i At,,^ K 1, rl v I q harles M. Pierson, farmer, section 31, in l Hersey Township, was born March 6,,g. — I855, at Pierson, Montcalm Co., Mich., where his parents, George M. and Nancy E.: (Peck) Pierson, are now living. They have been residents of Montcalm County since the5 fall of 1854, when they removed there from the State ( of New York, and made a home in the depths of a H^v\ _ — I-' 4 296 OSCEOLA COUNTY. wilderness, so unbroken and new that they were the entire catalogue representing a value of about obliged to cut their road to their location from the $6,000. main route of travel for several miles. The father Mr. Blank was an early comer to Reed City, and was twice married and has three children by his first in company with E. Trout bought a railroad shanty, wife, viz.: Theodore M., Florello J. and George J. which they managed jointly six months, since which Charles M., Thomas P., Mary E., Albert L. and time Mr. Blank has operated alone. He also owns. Minnie L. are the children of the second marriage, besides his store, I60 acres of land near Reed City, Mr. Pierson is the eldest of the children born of and two houses and lots in the city. the second marriage and remained under his father's His marriage to Bertha Kuehl occurred Jan. I9, care until he was of age, when, in I876, he came to I875, at Reed City, and they have two children: Hersey Township and bought II6 acres of land of Charles, born Nov. 15, I876, and William, born the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company. March II, I878. Mrs. Blank was born in Germany, He has improved about 33 acres and erected a good Jan. i6, 1848. farm house, and is rapidly establishing his property in the most desirable condition. Mr. Pierson is a Democrat in political sentiment. He was married Dec. 25, I877, to Eva E. Hastings, and they have two children,-George E., born Aug. I7, I882, and Grace E., born June 19, I884.. ohn Riggs, farmer, section 22, Le Roy Mrs. Pierson was born April 27, 1856, in St. Law- I o gs f er sec 2 rence Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Edward H. BuTownship, was born Feb. 14, w834, i. and Mary E. (Streeter) Hastings, who are now resi- Bourbon Co., Ky. His father was of New *arEngland parentage and of English lineage, = dents of Lakeview, Montcalm Co., Mich. Their chil- England parentage and of English lineage "I dren-Eva E., Etta A. (see sketch of F. T. Turner), [ was a mechanic in Kentucky and in 1840 rethan E. and a Mayare all livingmoved his family to Shelby County and later to M ercer Co., Ohio. The mother, Rachel (Plu-iving. to Mercer Co., Ohio. The mother, Rachel (Plum I I 1 i * I I I ) 9 I I I II 1 I f I r ) — r0. I-;.~c~~c~~j5)~ I'. i A, IS " fl ilhelm Blank, ies, boots and s lath, shingles, building materials tobacco and cigars * born May 20, I845, was a herder and farmer i emigrated in i868 to the 1 the first two months afte tinent in Baltimore, con in the vicinity of Chicago, time, and proceeding to to Michigan. He went t( and engaged in railroad I869 to i870. In I870 h in June, 87 I, opened a < until I874, when he adder dealer in dry goods, grocershoes, flour, feed, corn, oats, lime, cement and other; also wines, liquors, beer, mer) Riggs, was born in i8o5, and is a descendant from genuine "Blue-Grass" ancestry. She resides with her daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth J. Bailey, in Le Roy village. Mr. Riggs was a child of six years when his parents moved to the Buckeye State, where they resided for a time in Pickway, Shelby County. After the death of his father, he succeeded to the cares and responsibilities of the family, being the oldest of three children left fatherless, and has since cared I k it-. N o,. 'I. t ' I- 1 s, at Reed City. He was principally for his widowed mother. in Natzton, Germany. He He was married in Auglaize Co., Ohio, to Sarah n his native country, and A. Bennett. She'was born in Shelby County, and United States. He passed reared there and in the county where she was mar-:r his arrival on this con- ried. Her parents were well-to-do farmers in the ning thence to a locality Buckeye State. Eight children have been born to tarrying there but a brief herself and husband, four of whom are deceased- ci Wisconsin, and eventually Elizabeth, Thomas G., an infant and Rachel. Those | o Morley, Mecosta County, surviving are Permelia F., Emma A., Ida F. and Hi construction, from May, Martha J. e came to Reed City, and After marriage Mr. Riggs followed the trade of a saloon which he conducted shoemaker until the folly of the Southern States culd the balance of the stock, minated in armed rebellion, and he entered the _ j u~1^11^ I - c OSCEOLA fe( By==9k il r. mli 7: army before the war had passed through the first 4 year of its existence. He enlisted March 22, 1862,! in the 57th Ohio Inf., Co. C,'and the regiment was: attached to the command of General Sherman. He was a sharer of the chances of war in some of the most hotly contested battles in which the corps of General Sherman was involved and was wounded June 22, I864, at Kenesaw Mountain, receiving a gunshot wound in the left eye. He remained in a hospital until the close of the war. After receiving his discharge he resumed his trade at Coldwater, Mercer Co., Ohio, remaining there until the date of his removal to Michigan. In I869 he came to Paris, Mecosta County, where he worked as a shoemaker a few years, coming meanwhile to this township and county, where he located the farm on which he now resides, and of which he took possession in I870. He owns 80 acres of land, of which he has improved all but o1 acres, and placed it in fine farming condition. He adheres to inflexible Republican principles in ) his political views. He has been Justice of the Peace and has also discharged the duties of minor official positions. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. " S ylvester Bowker, a farmer on section 32, Rose Lake Township, was born in Cayuga, C Co., N. Y., on the fourth day of February, in the year 1847. He received a common-school education and remained in his native State until 1867, when he came to Barry Co., Mich. Residing there until the spring of 1869, he came to this county and homesteaded 80 acres of land in Rose Lake Township, where he has since made it his residence. He now owns I20 acres of land, and has 74 acres of the same in a fair state of cultivation. He thus has a very fine farm, for this pioneer country. Mr. Bowker has been entrusted with public office of some responsibility, having been School Director,, Oyerseer of Highways, Vice President and Director ) of the Osceola, Lake and Wexford Farmers' Mutual _ Insurance Company. ~3-~-~ +4==E* I CO UIVTY. 297 The marriage of Mr. Bowker to Miss Carrie Brogden took place Feb. 6, I867, in Cayuga Co., N. Y. She was the daughter of Abraham and Catherine (Gay) Brogden, and was born in Cortland Co., N. Y., July I6, I842. Mr. and Mrs. B. now have two chil-.H dren, namely, Katie S. and Clifton. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. B., in his principles of national government, is a Democrat. His parents, Jefferson and Sophronia (Henderson) Bowker, were natives of the State of New York, and married and settled in Tompkins County, that State. The former died in Cayuga County, in the Empire State, in i857, and the latter is still living. Mj orton B. Peck, dentist at Reed City, was born Dec. 8, 1828, in the township of Butler, Wayne Co., N. Y. Horace Peck, his father, was born May 24, 1789, in Connecticut, and died in Butler, Nov. 15, I865, aged 77 years. His mother, Anna (Burch) Peck, was born April I, 1793, in Washington Co., N. Y., and died in August, I878, in Butler. They had nine children. Mr. Peck learned the jeweler's business when he was 17 years of age, and after completing his term of service went to the academy at Clyde, Wayne Co., N. Y., and spent a year there as a student. On the termination of his studies he engaged as a salesman in a drug store, where he was occupied six months. In November, I848, he began to prepare for his profession, and after five years of practice he opened an office at Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., pursuing dentistry there 13 years. He went thence to South Butler, in the same county, and operated there jointly in the drug business and as a dentist. In August, i866, he came to Lowell, Kent Co., Mich., and entered upon his profession of practical dentist, operating at that point six years. He moved to Middleville, remaining six months, going thence to Caledonia and entering the drug business. He settled at Reed City in 1875. His office was the first in the line of dentistry established at that point, and j 'c AI \ f r - I <.0 91'$.Ig %~b- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~X.7 Iiil I - -SS I N 28- a aCOUNY: < 298 4 OSCEOLA COUNTY: e _. ~~I i - Dr. Peck has succeeded in establishing a first-class trade. Dr. Peck is a charter member of the first lodges of f Masons and Odd Fellows at Reed City. He was Town Clerk in the township of Butler, Wayne County, and has officiated two years as Treasurer of Reed City. His marriage to Phebe J. Calkins occurred April 20, 1854, in Westbury, Wayne Co., N. Y. Mrs. Peck was born Feb. 4, I835, in Butler Township. The family includes five children: Annie J., born in Wolcott, N. Y., March 22, 1857, A married Cornelius Crawford, a druggist in Caledonia, Kent Co., Mich.; Nathaniel W. was born Aug. 28, i859, in Wolcott, N. Y., and is a jeweler at Reed City; Bethiah C., born July 15, 1864, in Wolcott, N. Y., married Clark Williams, of Reed City, baggage master in the employment of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad corporation; Sarah C. was born April 1I, i867, in Lowell, Mich.; Fred L., born May r6, 1872, in' Lowell, is the youngest child. }' Am_ rank T. Turner, farmer, section 29, Her-.| ^ sey Township, was born Aug. 27, I852, in '\ in Foxcroft Township, Piscataquis Co., Maine. His parents, Bradman A. and Fidelia Turner, are natives of Maine and still reside in the county above named. They have four X sons,-Charles P., Frank T., Walter L. and George A., all of whom are living. Mr. Turner passed the years of his minority on his. father's farm. In the fall of 1872 he came to Michigan and worked two winters in the lumber woods, after which he returned to his native State, where he operated as a farm assistant by the month, nearly two years. In March, 1875, he came to Detroit, going thence after a brief stay to Montcalm County, where he operated the winter subsequent in the lum< ber woods. In March following, he engaged in farmI ing in the same county, becoming interested also in ^ lumbering in its various branches. He came to Hersey Township in the spring of i88i and purchased the property on which he has established his homestead. It comprised 40 acresof \ land in a wholly wild condition, of which he has cleared and improved I5 acres. Mr. Turner is present Township Treasurer (I884), in which position he is serving his second term. He is also School Assessor. He was married June 3, I878, to Etta A. Hastings, and they have one child-Ethan Altan-born May 12, 1882. Mrs. Turner was born Jan. I5, i860, in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Edward H. and Mary E. (Streeter) Hastings. They are residents of Montcalm County and are the parents of four children. Mr. Hastings was born in Vermont; his wife is a native of St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. Mr. Turner is a Republican in political opinion, and, with his wife, is a member of the Methodist Church. oren Blanchard, farmer, resident on section 32, Hersey Township, was born Jan. 27, t83I, in the town and county of Onondaga, N. Y. His father was English by descent, and was a farmer all his life and married Susan Fellows, of New England origin. Mr. Blanchard was a resident of Onondaga until he attained to man's estate, when he bought a farm in Marcellus Township. Four years later he sold the place and returned to his native town, became a land-holder and lived there nearly seven years. In the spring of i86i he bought r60 acres of land in Washtenaw Co., Mich. In 1867 he sold the place and, removed to Ann Arbor to obtain better educational advantages for his children. A year later he returned to the neighborhood whence he had removed, and bought a farm which he occupied seven years. In the spring of 1877 he came to Hersey Township, where he made a permanent location. He was in financial difficulties when he came to Osceola County, and he bought his farm, teams and cows on time, relying on energy and industry to enable him to overcome his indebtedness, which he has accomplished, and has added 80 acres to his possessions in oompany with his son Arthur. Mr. Blanchard was married in the fall of 1852 to Esther Marsh. She was born Jan. 5, 1833. They have three children: Augusta M., born Aug. 24, I I x X, (D) l 9 %I Ole W kil "yc - - "- 4<~ U Va OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 299 b. - ~I-. f I I ^~ A ) S. t 1853; Arthur J. (see sketch); Irving B., born Sept. 3, I860. Mrs. Blanchard is the adopted daughter of Ebenezer and Rebecca Carr. The former died in Manlius, N. Y.; the latter died in 1878, in Washtenaw Co., Mich. Mr. Blanchard is a Republican, and, with his wife, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. t avid G. Mason, deceased, formerly a farmer _ on section 32, Richmond Township, was ~ eo born Oct. 12, 1829, in Essex Co., N. Y. He married Sally Fairbanks and settled in Chautauqua County, in the Empire State. Later he removed to Pennsylvania, and came thence in the spring of I877 to Osceola County. He purchased 80 acres of land on which he operated until his death. Three children constitute the issue of his first marriage,-Frank A., Flora and an infant who received the name of the surviving sister, and who died in extreme infancy. The mother died in Chautauqua County, and Mr. Mason subsequently married Christina Albord, a resident of the same county. Two children-Lynn A. and Alice M.were born to them. Mr. Mason was an influential and leading citizen of Richmond Township, where he was an early settler in the history of the township. He died March 4, 1884, and ten days later was followed by his wife, who died March 14, 1884. 12 years old. He came to the United States with a brother. They made their first stop at Muskegon, where they were employed in a saw-mill; they went thence to Grand Rapids and found employment as laborers in the construction of a railroad. They made their way next to Indiana and from there to Illinois, where they labored together on the Green River Canal. They returned to Grand Rapids, where they operated a year, and in I869 purchased 80 acres of land of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company together. They purchased 80 acres additional at a later date, of which they are still the joint owners, and which is in excellent farming condition, with fine buildings, including a valuable residence. Mr. Johnson was married Dec. 19, I877, at Le Roy, to Johanna Carlyle, and they have three children,-Johanna E., Charles A. and Amanda. The mother was born in Sweden, Oct. 13, 1859. Her parents were farmers in that country and in 1870 emigrated with their family to the United States, locating in Illinois. They became residents of Le Roy Township in 1873. Mr. Johnson is a Republican in political faith and principles and sustains the issues of that element. He and his wife belong to the Lutheran Church.;K OiPl i /P tS 3== 3J= 1z;:: ~ C- ~~ —3*t - ( arren S. Denniston, farmer, section 32, Hersey Township, was born Oct. 8, 1854, Iohn Johnson, fc iTownship, was 1 shire, Sweden.,;/ senior, is living in country," and is 85 Augra (Guhands) same age. They have b and reared their sons to tl Mr. Johnson became se! i? in Eckford Township, Calhoun Co., Mich. His parents, Samuel and Rosanna (Fenton) ) Denniston, are members of the community of Il~ ----~ ---farmers in Eckford Township, Calhoun County. His father was born on Grand Island in the Niagara River, and is about 65 years of age. His mother is irmer, section 27, Le Roy 55 years old. They had eight children,-Alice, born Nov. 6, 1844, in Wex- John M., Warren S., Asahel A., Rosanna (deceased), His father, John Johnson, Mary, Emory (deceased) and Elmer. the same place in the "old Mr. Denniston was married in 1874, when he was years of age. His mother, 20 years of age, and remained at home until he atJohnson, has attained the tained his majority. On reaching that period he as>een farmers all their lives sumed the management of his father's farm, which J he same calling. he conducted two years. In 1877 he purchased a.f-sustaining when he was small tract of land, on which he resided about 18 "uzsa —@Av >-3- -^-^ 300 OSCEOLA I COUNTY. A = = = = == = = = - @) — tY months. At the expiration of that time he sold his home and again became interested in the management of the family homestead, continuing to operate thereon two years, when,in December, I880, he came j to his present location in Osceola County. He bought 40 acres, which included o0 acres already chopped, three acres logged and without buildings. He erected a log domicile in which he resided one year, and it is now utilized as a hen-house. Within the short time he has been a resident of the place he f has placed 36 acres under thorough cultivation, doing nearly all the necessary work himself. He is a Rei publican in political faith and action. Mr. Denniston was married July 20, I874, to Elva F. Hart. Two children have been born to them,Melinda S., April 12, I875, in Walton Township, Eaton Co., Mich., and Ora L., June 19, 1884, in Hersey Township. Mrs. Denniston was born Nov. 5, i854, in Walton, and is the daughter of William and Judith A. (Stone) Hart, the former of whom was born Dec. o1, 1814, and the latter in I820,-both in the State of New York. They died near Olivet, Eaton Co., Mich. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Denniston were born in the order here named: Ada M., Alanson M. (deceased), Eber D., Carrie, Elva F. and Eunice A. Ak nson Berger, farmer, section 34, Richmond Township, was born Oct. 13, 1835, in Ger-. many, and is the son of John and Catherine Berger. The parents emigrated to the United States from Germany, and settled in Wayne Co., N. Y., where the mother died in i86I, and where the father still resides, aged 84 years. They had a family of eight children. Mr. Berger is the youngest son, and was in infancy when his parents became residents of the State of New York. He has lived in Osceola County since 1856, when he bought 80 acres of land in Richmond Township. His farm now includes 85 acres, of which all but 20 acres is in tillage. Mr. Berger is politically identified with the Republican party. He has been Constable three years, besides having officiated as.School Assessor and Overseer of Highways. I He was married in the township of Richmond, July 24, 1859, to Nancy M. Robbins. Their children are eight in number,-Anna L., Carrie J., Etta V., Evaline K., Ada R., Franklin H., Leona M. and Nina M. The first daughter is the wife of James W. Gregg, of Pennsylvania. Carrie married Clarence A. Whitney, and lives at Duluth, Minn. Mrs. Berger was born Dec. 8, 1840, in Potter Co., Pa., and is the daughter J. G. Robbins. (See sketch.) Mr. and Mrs. Berger are the first couple married in Osceola County.;~-s ---- +^ --— ft ---;; o eter Gunkel, farmer, section 22, Le Roy r Township, was born May 25, 1830, in c 't~ Prussia. He obtained the education re-.3 quired by the laws of his country, remaining at school until 14, when he was apprenticed to acquire the blacksmith's trade, serving nine years and six months. He afterward entered the German army and was in the military service three years. In 1856 he came to this continent, locating in Hamburg, Ont. In May, 1857, he was married, in Ontario, to Mrs. Catherine (Bentley) Bender. She was born in Hesse Darmstadt Aug. 2, 1832, and came to the American continent when 14, her father's family locating in the Dominion of Canada. Her first husband died there about I855, leaving her with one child, Katie. Six children have been born of her second marriage, namely: Caroline, Oct. 25, 1859; August, July 5, I86I; Minnie, Feb. 28, i863; Charles, Nov. 26, 1865; Eliza, Sept. 12, i875; John, born Nov. 25, 1865, died Oct. 14, 1883. After his marriage Mr. Gunkel followed his trade in Ontario until 1869, the year in which he removed his family to Michigan. He was a pioneer settler in Le Roy Township, locating a homestead claim on Which he has since been resident. The period in which he became a citizen of the township was one of the severest in point of hardship for the settlers in the early history of Osceola County. There was no work to be had. For weeks, no salt could be obtained, and often there was no bread. Sometimes a few potatoes could be procured, and only the abundant wild game in the forest prevented general suffering from actual starvation, which for a long period 'p, V~i2lh I 0 9 I H 9, OSCEOLA COUNTY. 301 R- i -1 v 9 9Jy C~X - - - - - was imminent. Mr. Gunkel succeeded in keeping "the wolf from the door," and as his family maintained good health he weathered the season of privation. His farm is in excellent condition, with good and suitable farm buildings. Mr. Gunkel is a Republican of the genuine stamp, realizing the full value of republican institutions to this generation. He has educated his children, and his family are honored and respected, as they deserve. The parents are members of the Lutheran Church. rIank A. Mason, farmer on section 32, 711 t Richmond Township, is the son of David ' ffG. and Sally (Fairbanks) Mason. (See sketch of D. G. Mason.) He was born Jan. i6, ' 1851, in Chautauqua Co., N. Y. He attended the schools of his native county until he was 13 years of age, and since that time he has been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits, working as a lumberman in the seasoms of that business. He owns 40 acres in Mecosta County, including I5 acres of improved land. In political faith and connection he is an adherent of the Republican party. He was married June o1, I876, at Big Rapids, to Cynthia, daughter of Abner Joslin. She was born in Pennsvlvania. Aura i. T AA. transferred his family and interests to Michigan, where they settled in Eaton County, in the vicinity of Lansing. Thence they went later to Grand Ledge, where Mr. Watson completed his education. When he was 9 years of age he became self-sustaining and engaged as a saw-mill assistant in Ashland Township, Newaygo County. He went thence to Baldwin, Lake County, where he engaged in teaching in the public schools. Eventually he engaged with Dewing & Sons in the lumber business at Baldwin, their interests being transferred to Le Roy Township, this county, in the fall of I880. In the spring of 1883 the Ashton Lumber Company was organized, of which Mr. Watson was made Secretary, holding equal shares in the profits of the business. Since the organization, he has acted as resident manager. He is an adhere ent of the Republican party, and is Justice of the Peace. He was married Sept. 23, i877, at Grand Ledge, to Myra J. Lamson, and they have three children,Edward H., Flora E. and Lee. The parents of Mrs. Watson, Henry and Harriet (Robinson) Lamson, were born respectively in Vermont and New York, and were farmers. The father is deceased. Mrs. Watson was born June, I, 1858, in Grand Ledge, where she was reared to womanhood. Y J K r; ~ t A -,- Y 41, I 'I5 i==;ac= 1=3 Irt, ( ) js ' eter A. Auer, Clerk in the Second Coimptroller's Office in the Treasury Department |1I[.- -Ls at Washington, D. C., was born April 15,! | 1849, on the Rhine, Prussia. His parents,,'' iJ.. John H. and Maria Auer, are natives of PrusiR enry L. Watson, Secretary and member of sia, and removed with their family in 1853 to v the Ashton Lumber Company, located at the city of New York, and afterwards resided sucDewing's Station, Le Roy Township, was cessively in Schenectady, Perry, Moscow and Mount born April 9, 1857, in Onondaga Co., N. Y. Morris, in the Empire State, where his father pursued His father, John Watson, was a descendant the business of tailor, later removing to Almont, from New England ancestry and was born in Mich., and afterwards to Reed City. (See sketch of New York. He came thence with his family to J. H. Auer.) By Grand Ledge, Mich., where he was extensively en- Mr. Auer was carefully educated, and at 17 begaged in lumbering. His mother, Rebecca J. (Lee) came a clerk in Almont. He attended school after a / Watson, is also a native of the Empire State, and year's service in that calling, and continued his both parents are now resident at this place. studies a similar period. In i868 he interested him$ Mr. Watson was io years of age when his father self in insurance business, in which he operated two - -- ,IB^>^^~- III I: — ^ ^Dtl]'D~f^T^ —^K ----^^(@ 302 OSCEOLA COUNTY. _ -- - - - -- - I- - i ( (1 years. In 1870 he engaged in teaching, in which he was occupied two years. In October, 1872, he came to Reed City and entered upon the pursuit of the same calling; also for a year was Deputy Postmaster. He obtained a position as Clerk in the Treasury Department at the National Capital, and attended the Law Department of the Columbian University, where he was graduated, in the spring of 1877. Since that date he has discharged the duties of his position in the Department, and at intervals has practiced as an attorney. Mr. Auer was married in 1875, to Emma L. Patterson, daughter of J. Q. Patterson, of Reed City. (See sketch of J. Q. Patterson.) Mr. and Mrs. Auer have two children, namely: Harry, born May io,. 1878, and Nellie, born April 19, I881. In March, i882, Mr. Auer was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, and is also qualified to practice in the Circuit Courts of Michigan, to which privilege he was admitted at Hersey., He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging. to the Blue Lodge and Chapter. 3 ~' ^ amuel A. Wells, a farmer on section 32 of Rose Lake Township, was born in Fayette Co., Ind., June 7, 844. Until 1870 he lived in his native State, except what time he was in the army. He enlisted in August, 1862, in the 75th Ind. Reg. Vol. Inf., served three years and came home unharmed. In the year 1870 he came to Osceola County and " took up " i 60 acres of valuable land in Rose Lake Township, under the special act of Congress relating to lands for soldiers. Here he settled and has since lived, having 50 acres improved and in good tillable condition. He was married in Huntington Co., Ind., to Lydia J. Shields, a native of that State, and they have one child, Mary Alice. Mr. Wells' parents, John and Susanna Wells, were natives of North Carolina, who married and settled in the State of Indiana. While working in a well, Mr. W. received injuries from which he died, Mrs. W., his widow, is still living. licans. — licans. ---- ---- -— v --- Mr. Wells, the subject of this sketch, has been honored with the public offices of Highway Commis. sioner, Justice of the Peace and School Assessor. Ir nolitical matters he sympathizes with the Repub ( II I O ill L. Beardsley, shingle-maker, resident in Hersey, mills on section 29, Cedar Township, was born Aug. 21, 842, in Albany, N. Y. He is the son of Leonard and Gertrude (Lamphier) Beardsley. His father was a merchant in Albany and died there in 1852. Both parents were natives of the State of New York. The mother is still living, in Cannonsburg, Kent Co., Mich. She was born in August, 7824, and has been the mother of three children. One daughter, Catherine C., is living; another ~ daughter, Carrie, is deceased. Mr. Beardsley came with his mother when I i years of age, in 1853, the year succeeding the death 1 of his father, to Grand Rapids, removing the following year to Cannonsburg. His mother bought a farm and established thereon a mill for carding wool, in which pursuit, combined with farming, Mr. Beardsley was engaged about seven years. Within the first year of the war he enlisted in Co. H, 2ist Mich. Inf. The regiment was assigned to the Third Brigade, Second Division and in the corps of General McCook, attached to the Western Army. Among ) the most important battles in which he was' under fire were those of Perryville, Chattanooga, Chicka- j mauga and Lookout Mountain. He was in service throughout the war and received an honorable discharge in May, I865. He returned to Cannonsburg and resumed the occupations of former years. In I866 he began to operate as a land locater in the northeastern part of Michigan, in which he met with ( success until the financial stringency of 1873, which terminated his labors in that direction. He engaged * a year in farming, and in 1875 he opened a mercan- I tile enterprise at Ada, Kent County. He sold his ' business at the end of a year and became interested ( in lumbering at a point 15 miles north of Grand o "I rs D-. I ~^m~v^^~ 111 *~ 4z; & 0*—: _707 IIg Ajl A. -- ^ii — i - 5 I!f -i' C' r~~ > OSCEOLA COUNTY. 305 i) I ftN B I '.E ~ r. ~c s~ II Rapids. Four years later he erected a steam shingle-mill at the same point, where he operated a year, removing the mill thence in 88o to Cedar Township, where it is still operating. The business is prosperous and bids fair to be a permanency. Mr. Beardsley is a Republican in political principle and action. He served four years as Township Clerk while resident in Cannonsburg. He was married Jan. i, i868, to Victoria Bell Livingston, and they have four children, viz.: Orlo M., Adazell, Ella Bell and Retta M. Mrs. Beardsley was born Sept. 16c, I848, in Canada, and is the daughter of John and Malinda (Woods) Livingston. Her parents died in Richmond, Ont. Their other children were named as follows: Nancy M. (deceased), Sarah, Carrie E., Happy L., Ada, Harvey and John V. _. — 3rj-2~~~C I ) r ) jl[ 'tavid M. Tillman, farmer, section 33, Rich-, mond Township, was born Feb. 13, 1852, 1 in Allen Co, Ind. John Tillman, his 5 father, was born in Pennsylvania and married Sarah Castleman, a native of Ohio. After their marriage they settled in Allen County, and are now resident there. In their family have been six children,-Delilah, David, John, Margaret, Henry and a child that died in infancy. Mr. Tillman of this personal account is the oldest son. He studied in the public schools until he was nearly 20 years of age, when he became a student in the Normal School at Valparaiso, in his native State. At the age of 23, in 1877, he came to Osceola County. He worked as a farm laborer by the month a short time, when he rented a farm, which he continued to manage two years. In the summer of i882 he bought the farm which now constitutes his homestead, and which contains 80 acres of land. It was under some improvements, and at this writing-two years later-50 acres of the place are subject to the plow. Mr. Tillman is in affiliation with the Democratic party and its issues. He has officiated as School Director of the District in which he resides. He was married Sept. 2, I877, in Richmond Town ship, to Ida M. Noyer, and their two children were born as follows: Lee C., Sept. 28, i880, and Frederick E., May 21, T883. Isaac J. and Catherine (Ole) Noyer, the parents of Mrs. Tillman, were natives of Pennsylvania. She was born May 4, i86o, in Randolph Co., Ind. ~|* ndrew H. Brandow, lumberman and dealer -_; | in real estate at Evart, was born April 5, i 1846, in Green Co., N. Y. His father, John H. Brandow, was in early life a farmer He was born in Greene Co., N. Y., Feb. 24, 1 820, and was married June 8, 1844, to Abigail Hornbeck, a native of Sullivan Co., N. Y., born Feb. 28, I824. Andrew H. is the oldest of their children; Eli is a farmer in Hartwick Township; Nelson A. operates at Muskegon in 'the interests of William A. Daugherty, buying timber and logs; William B. died when 20 months old. In March, i86o, the family came to Newaygo Co., Mich., where the father engaged in lumbering, and in i865 formed a partnership with his son, in the prosecution of lumbering interests. He is now retired and resides on a valuable farm comprising 120 acres in Croton Township, Newaygo Co., Mich. In i868 Mr. Brandow closed his business relations with his father and came to Osceola County, embarking as a contractor, putting in logs in the interest of non-residents, in which he operated extensively, the "put" amounting some years to 15,000,ooo feet. He was considered the heaviest operator for his age on the Muskegon at that date. He formed a partnership with John A. Bell, which was in existence and operative about seven years. At the same time he owned a half interest in a sawmill at Evart, associated with W. A. Wightman, and also owned a shingle-mill located four miles north of Evart in Osceola Township. His real-estate proprietorship includes about 7,000 acres, a third of which is in pine timber. He owns a valuable farm in Algoma Township, Kent County, which is included in the limits of the village of Rockford, and is the:I. i i Iir -7-Y r I ~i~ia" I gVr "e" —;I (A I I C f 1 6 N fl-fl - ~D-XZ I H V~l 306 OSCEOLA COUNTY. proprietor of a farm of 80 acres in Missaukee Co., 880, and George A., June 4, 1882. Mrs. McKay Mich. was born Sept. 19, i856, in Oxford Co., Ont. Her " ^ In i883 he formed a business association with parents, Alexander and Dorothy (McDonald) McKay, i Stephen F. Dexter, which continued one year. In were residents of West Zorra, where the father died addition to his more important occupations, he deals Feb. 4, I88i; the demise of the mother occurred in in all variety of lumber products. May, I863. They had five sons and six daughters, He is a member of the Order of Masonry. all of whom are living. I1 Mr. Brandow was married June 13, 187 1, in Rockford, Kent County, to Mary A. Pierson. They have had one child, Arthur C., born April io, i874, in Evart, and died Aug. 8, of the same year. Mrs. Brandow is the daughter of Aaron B. and Clarissa M. Pierson, and was born Nov. 25, 1852, in the State of New York. The portrait of Mr. Brandow; accompanying this sketch, deservedly embellishes this ALBUM, being that of a representative business man of this enterprising county. W — - -- ~09141UI[1I!IIlowICI. ~~c (X ) C —~* —G o-' -~ t r ngus McKay, farmer, section 28, Hersey Township, is the proprietor of 200 acres of /? land where his homestead is located, on ) which he settled in March, I882. The farm was in a wild condition with the exception of a small "slashing." He was born Sept. i, I854, in Oxford, Ontario Co., Ont., and is the son of William and Christina (Graham) McKay. His father was a soldier in the British Army and belonged to the 93d Highlanders, and after his removal from Scotland, his native country, to the Dominion of Canada, he was appointed a militia Captain. He died Jan. 4, i868, in East Zorra, Oxford Co., Ont., at the age of 75 years. The mother is a native of Scotland and resides on the homestead in Ontario. Mr. McKay was educated in the common schools of Canada, and was reared on a farm. After reaching his majority he managed a portion of his father's farm, which had been divided into shares. In March, x882, he sold his interest and came to HerseyTownship. He has cleared and otherwise improved 32 acres of his farm. He is a Republican in political sentiment and action. His marriage took place Jan. I6, 1878, to Anna McKay, and they are now the parents of two children,-Agnes M., born May i8, --- b B -H- obert W. Hall, hardware merchant at Her-;-; sey, was born Oct. 20, 1853, in Oxford Co., e Ont., and is the son of William and Mary Vlo (Pavey) Hall. His father was a native of \ England, and after his emigration from the land of his birth he was a farmer in the Dominion of Canada, where he died about i860. Mr. Hall became an assistant in a mercantile establishment at Bell's Corners, on the Ottawa River, in Canada, where he operated three years, subsequently passing three years as a farm laborer. In August, I874, he came to Michigan, and operated two years as a lumberman in Osceola County, after which, in company with his brother John, he opened a store for the sale of general hardware merchandise, which they managed jointly five years. At the end of that time Mr. Hall became the sole owner by purchase, and has since continued its management singly. His stock of stoves, ranges, agricultural implements, etc., averages about $5,000. He makes a specialty of the sale of Jewel stoves, deals in spouting and other building fixtures, and manages a fully equipped repair shop. In i880 he started a furniture store, associated with H. T. Lewis. They were burned out in March, 1884, sustaining a loss of $1,000. Mr. Hall has established a small furniture and undertaking business over his lardware store, and is doing a satisfactory business. In I88I he opened a harness shop, which is constantly stocked with an assortment of all goods common to similar establishments. In i884, with John H. Manning, he bought a saw and shingle mill in Hersey, with a capacity for the daily manufacture of 40,000 feet of lumber and 35,000 shingles, and requiring the assistance of 35 men. During the season he has a threshing-machine in operation in the surrounding country, I wH ^ -- -- I OSCEOLA COUN7TY. 307,. Ij,V I )j I I I=. 4., in charge of a competent manager. Mr. Hall owns his residence and two lots therewith, and three other village lots; also I60 acres of pine land in Cedar Township. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity,-Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery. He is also an Odd Fellow. He has officiated two years as Village Councilman, and is present President of Hersey village. He was Treasurer of Richmond Township two years. Mr. Hall's marriage to Maggie Beers occurred Jan. 2, 1882, in Baldwin, Lake Co., Mich., and they have one son, William, born June 4, 1884. Mrs. Hall is the adopted daughter of Dr. Beers, *who died near Hersey in 1878. She was born in Portland, Mich., in 1862. 1; aniel W. Gould, farmer, section 8, Highland Township, was born July 13, 1843, in the State of New York. His parents went when he was six months old to Stark Co., Ohio, and four years later removed to Calhoun Co., Mich. His father, Rev. Joseph Gould, was for a long period of years a minister in the Baptist Church. After growing old in the exercise of his parochial efforts, he retired, and at the time of his death was an inmate of the family of his son, James Gould, at Kalamazoo. He died in 1876, aged 86 years. Abigail Gould, the mother of Daniel W., was born in New England and was of English descent. She died in Athens Township, Calhoun Co., Mich., April 2, I86i, aged 65 years. Mr. Gould is the youngest of four children born to his parents, and he was under parental control and attended school until the age of I8 years. He entered the army of the Union during the first year of the Civil War, enlisting July 28, I86r, in the 44th Ill. Vol. Inf., enrolling in Co. H. The regiment was commanded by Colonel Noblesdoffs, and was assigned to the Army of the West. Mr. Gould was in six different campaigns and 36 battles, among them Pea Ridge, Farnington, Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Resaca and others of equal importance. He was present at the siege of Murfreesboro, Jonesboro and Franklin. At the last he received a gunshot wound in the left side, which inflicted permanent injury. He escaped capture by the rebels and was mustered out of service at Galveston, Texas, ill September, 1865, after a period of active military service including four years and two months. He returned, after his discharge, to Athens Township, Mich., and became a farmer, pursuing that profession there two years. He set out for Osceola County in September, I867, and entered the papers securing a homestead claim of I60 acres of land in Highland,-the second settler who came into the township,-and made a permanent location. The stillness and qaiet of the unbroken forest pervaded the entire surroundings, and he set himself vigorously to the task of converting the wilderness into a home. He has since sold 80 acres, and has about seven-eighths of the remainder under improvements. Mr. Gould is a Republican and true to the principles for which he braved the fate of war. He has been Highway Commissioner and Treasurer of his Township. His marriage to Jane Teal occurred July 3, 1865, in Battle Creek, and they are the parents of three children,-Edith, Frank and Jennie. Mrs. Gould was born in September, 1845, in Jefferson Co., N. Y. Her father has been deceased some years. Her mother resides in this township. Mrs. Gould came to Michigan in I86r. She and her husband belong to the Baptist Church, of which society Mr. Gould is Clerk. IG i ( )) d-1I %t? i CE=3 *<\.*l ohn B. Byers, farmer, section 36, Burdell Township, was born April 29, I838, in Bavaria. At the age of eight years he found himself thrown on his own resources, and he earned his own living thenceforward as well as he could, until his marriage, which occurred Jan. 21, I851, to Wealthy Bigameyer. They. have had nine children,-Henry, Mary, William, John, Charles, Anna, Ella, Frank and Della. The mother was born June 21, 1831, in Bavaria. Two years after marriage Mr. Byers came to America. He landed at the port of New York with his little family, and resided in that city about two years; he went thence into the country and passed f is i l") at ': - ( i i,7, (''I C 17 44 ' K 3o8 OmSCEO-Ls- Ar 308 OSCEOLA i 0 A I 4 four years as a general laborer. In I856 he went to Geauga Co., Ohio, where he operated as a farm, laborer until the breaking out of the Rebellion, + which afforded him an opportunity to better his for-. tunes and to prove the spirit in which he adopted the issues of the country for which he had abandoned the home of his birth. He enlisted Dec. 20, I86I, in the I28th Ohio Vol. Inf., Co, E, under Col. C. W. Hill. The duty of the regiment was chiefly to guard the rebel officers taken prisoners of war and confined on Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay. He received an honorable discharge Jan. 17, 1865. He returned to Geauga County, where he continued to reside until the fall of I868, the date of his coming to Michigan. He secured a claim of 80 acres on section 36, where he established his homestead permanently. The condition of things was primitive; there were no roads and the township of Burdell was for some time 9 afterward unorganized. He has made extensive improvements on his farm, and erected excellent, buildings. In political faith he is a Republican,::X and in religion the family are Catholics. His chilK> dren are all unmarried, and there has been no death: in his family. b | M harles D. Francisco, farmer, section 28, Hersey Township, was born Sept. 25, I857, in Ontario Co., N. Y. His parents, [ Henry D. and Charlotte (Chaffee) Francisco, are natives of the State of New York. They came thence in i86I and located in Grattan Township, Kent Co., Mich. In i868 they removed to the township of Bown in the same county, whence, in I876, they came to Hersey Township and located on section 33, where they are now resident. (See sketch-of H. D. Francisco.) h Mr. Francisco accompanied his parents in their several removals, and was i8 years old when they v came to Osceola County. He was married Sept. 23, 1882, to Alta Sturdevant, and they are now the part ents of one child, Orra V., born Jan. 8, 1884. The mother was born June 19, I858, in Yates Co., N. Y., ' and is the daughter of Sheppard and Olivia (Cooper). /., N x mos B. Perrin, Superintendent of the Graded Schools at Reed City, was born May 22, I847,in Sherman Township, St. Joseph Co.,. S Mich. He is the fourth child of his parents, Andrew and Eliza (Burch) Perrin. His father was born in Livingston Co., N. Y., and resides in Park Township, St. Joseph Co., Mich., in retirement, his youngest son being in charge of the management of the farm. The mother of Amos B. was born April 6, 1822, in Niagara Co., N. Y., and died in St. Joseph Co., Mich., Sept. i8, I84-. Five of their eight children are living. Mr. Perrin was a pupil in the common schools and an assistant on his father's farm until he was I7 years of age, when he entered the preparatory department of Hillsdale College, where he was a student four years, teaching winters to secure means to defray his expenses. He passed the school year of I873-4 at the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, and on leaving that institution he went to Benzie Co., Mich., and took charge of the schools at Frankfort, as Superintendent, officiating in that capacity four years. He passed the year following at Parkville, St. Joseph Co., Mich., and in I878 entered upon his present incumbency. The assistant teachers are seven in number, and the department individually controlled by Mr. Perrin contains 82 pupils. The school is in a prosperous condition, and under the management of Mr. Perrin is advancing to a grade commensurate with the progress of Reed City. The first class graduated at any school in Osceola County took their diplomas in June, 1883. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry and of the Odd Fellows, and during the last two years has officiated as a member of the County Board of School Examiners. COUNTY. < Sturdevant. Her parents are living in Reed City, and her father is estimated to be one of the best mechanics in Osceola County. John, Francis and:, Alta are their three children. Mr. Francisco belongs to the Republican element in politics. () VC/: I i *'D, z;I=~ _.r 11I ai AO N <)t.. oA c\/ \y ^X ~a0a~ ~iiJ i O —COi CON —. < OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 309.... I... He was married June 26, I877, at Frankfort, Benzie Co., Mich., to Clara, daughter of Lucius and Betsey Marvin. She was born Aug. 5, i858, inTus cola Co., Mich. Her father is a merchant. ll^) 4 x,q E== I= ~ e 1 I,-, IA illiam H. Hawkins, of the firm of Hawkins Bros., grocers at Reed City and Ash-! w e ton, was born in Ashtabula Co., Ohio, 9 Sept. 15, 1849. His parents, Joseph and -' Lucy (Hill) Hawkins, were natives respectively of New Hampshire and Ohio. William H., the subject of this sketch, lived at home with his parents until 12 years of age, and then worked upon a farm for three years; next, he was apprenticed for two years to learn the mason's trade, and followed )this occupation until 1882, whern he formed a partnership with his brother, Harvey W., at Reed City, % for the purpose of carrying on the grocery business. x In this line they succeeded well, and last spring 0 (1884) they established a branch store at Ashton, = where Mr. Hawkins, of this sketch, is in charge, and having a good trade. In his political principles Mr. H. acts with the Prohibitionist party, and he is a member of the Masonic Order and of the A. O. U. W. In Genesee Co., Mich., April i8, I875, Mr. Hawkins married Miss Flora Graham, daughter of R. W. and Sarah J. (Warner) Graham. She was born in Flint Township, that county, Sept. 20, 1855. The children now in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins are three in number, namely: Lulu F., Daisy G. and ' Ralph W. devoted himself without delay to its reclamation from a state of nature, and settled permanently, becoming a resident thereon in I869, He has accomplished a good degree of successful effort and has 50 acres under cultivation and supplied with all necessary farm buildings and fixtures. Mr. Tabor is a Democrat. He was married March 23, I883, in Cadillac, to Fanny Barton, and they are the parents of two children-Ernest and Orion W. Mrs. Tabor was born July 20, 1854, in Big Prairie Township, Newaygo County, and is the daughter of William and Dorothy (French) Barton, natives respectively of the North of Ireland and of France. She is niece of Judge James Barton, whose abilities, position and public services in Newaygo County have acquired for him a fame which will live as long as the county has an organic existence. Mrs. Tabor has been educated with care, and when she was 20 years of age she entered the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, where she completed a course of study and was graduated. She has been a successful and popular teacher. I RSf i;i P T ( ),.r 1= 0 3= *v4;,, I,;:.C~. A<=.~ \.R rG Hhristian J. Fleischhauer, grocery and provision merchant at Reed City, was born June 6, 1842, at Waterloo, Ont. His parents, John and Mary (Youngblut) Fleischhauer, are natives of Germany and are still living at Gad's Hill, Ont., where the father is enjoying a retired life. Previous to the age of 17 years he was reared on a farm, and in I859 he commenced his career in mercantile life as a salesman in a general store. Later, he established himself in the same business in company with Joseph Schaeffer in Waterloo. Two years I Is I4 after, his partner purchased his interest, and he - elson J. Tabor, farmer, section 4, Sherman operated as a clerk in the employment of B. Devitt _-A Township, was born Dec. 13, I847, in as book-keeper and salesman for some time. In i870 [ Franklin Co., N. Y. He was educated in he became book-keeper in L. Breithaupt's leather and the common schools, and instructed in the shoe finding house at Berlin, Ont., where he was emJ duties of farm labor, in which he engaged inde- ployed about two years, when he engaged as a travel[ pendently at the age of 19, and on attaining his ing salesman for the same house, operating in that majority he came to Michigan and secured a home- capacity more than five years. In July, 1877, he stead claim of 80 acres in Sherman Township. He moved from Berlin, Ont., to Reed City, Mich., and r ))t ----F QaDFlo — ~ cSCEOA_ CN._2 _ _ —__ 3o ' OSCEOLA COUIVTY. (\*. - -.-. n, v v I =t 'n) AO, founded his business at Reed City in the same month. In the fall of 1882 he took possession of his * present quarters in the Opera Block. His stock is valued at $3,000, and comprises a well-selected assortment of groceries and provisions, crockery and glassware, and his business also includes a jobbing trade in kerosene oil. He requires the aid of three assistants. He is the owner of his residence, four lots therewith, a dwelling and lot in another part of the city, a business building opposite his stand and f three lots variously situated in the city. He was married Oct. i8, I864, in New Hamburg, I Ont., to Elizabeth Gingrich. Their children were born as follows: William G., Aug. 20, I865; Alfred M., March 3I, 1867, at Waterloo, Ont.; Mary A., at Berlin, Dec. 28, I870; Arthur E., atBerlin, June 27, i874 (died Oct. 15, I880), at Reed City; David S., at Berlin, Ont., Jan. 27, i877. Mrs. Fleischhauer was born in Wilmot Township, Waterloo Co., Ont., and is the oldest daughter of Michael and Mary Gingrich, and have both died since she was married. ' amuel J. Lyon, farmer, section 2, Sherman Township, was born June 24, 1849, in ] jY" Madison Co., N. Y. He was subject to the l parental control until he was 21 years of age and acquired a common-school education. On attaining his majority he engaged in farm labor as opportunity served, in which avenue he was occupied until his marriage, April io, 1872, at Utica, Oneida Co., N. Y., to Delia J. Cooper. They have two children-Lena M., born Dec. 12, i874, and Frank S., Dec. 2, i880. Mrs. Lyon was born Jan. 26, 85 I, in Madison Co., N. Y. Her parents, Isaac and Mary Miller, were born in the same county and belonged to the farming community. Her father died in i873 in the Empire State. The mother is 60 years of age, and is a resident of Sherman Township. Immediately after his marriage he was tendered and accepted the supervisorship of the agricultural laborers on the farm owned by the famous Oneida Community, and officiated in that capacity between two and three years, but sustaining no other relation to the order than that of one who had skilled labor to sell,-a commodity the society had occasion to purchase. Leaving his position at Oneida, he set out westward with his family and commenced lumbering in the woods of Chippewa Co., Wis. He was occupied there in that field of effort until his removal to Osceola County in the spring of 1876. He purchased immediately 51 acres of land, where he established his homestead. Later, he added by purchase a similar acreage and at present (1884) the two farms have a combined amount of land under cultivation aggregating 65 acres, which has been brought up to the quality of farming common to the section where it is located. He is a Democrat in political faith and action. He is present Justice of the Peace, and has held other positions of minor importance. rastus A. Carroll, proprietor of the NaE tional Hotel at Reed City, was born Sept. y 26, 1832, in Utica, N. Y., and is the son of Chauncey and Harriet (Gibbs) Carroll. His father was a farmer and a cooper, and reared his family on a farm in the Empire State. His first business enterprise was as a farmer, and he afterwards combined with his agricultural relations the operations of a stock dealer. He began butchering afterward, and pursued that business eight years in East Bloomfield. He passed three years afterward in the hotel business. In March, 1884, Mr. Carroll came to Bay City, Mich., to prospect. In April following he came to Reed City and rented the National 'Hotel for five years. It is one of the principal hotels in Reed City, and has accommodations for 75 guests, and is fitted with the necessary accompaniments suited to the demands of the traveling public. Mr. Carroll is a member of the A. O. U. W. and of the order known as the Select Knights. His marriage to Charlotte Barnes took place Oct. 20, 1857, in Farmington, N. Y. She was born Nov. 25, 1831, in that place, and is the daughter of Stephen and Rachel Barnes. Stephen B. Carroll was I I.r). ' I ( N -Z,.;rtl WI ci1 -. "'llat, v I H il - 'Vo.-l", / -, N l i 7,' OSCEOLA born Feb. i8, I86o, and is a farmer in East Bloom-: field, Ontario Co., N. Y., on a fine farn of 155 acres. Gertrude A. Carroll was born April 5, 1863. These are the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Carroll..iw C;O n I —,t I CO UNVT Y. 3 I r.... 5 \ I ~g, '*Jl I, LI c^ *^ 7-7- -7-~ — ~g4 ^ 1larence H. White, M. D., practicing phyl < sician and surgeon at Reed City, was born a June 12, 1848, in Erie Co., Pa. When he I9 was 12 years old his parents, Welcome W. and Ahbie (Hoard) White, removed from the Keystone State to Chenango Co., N. Y. On the paternal side of his descent he is of mixed English and Irish origin. On his mother's side he descended fron Henry Hoard, who went with his family in 18oo from Connecticut to the Holland Purchase in Western New York. He was a soldier 3 of the Revolution and fought at its initiatory battle at Lexington, where he carried an old " Queen's Arm," a munition of war immortalized in the " Biglow; Papers," and undoubtedly a fac-simile of the one that " Gran'ther Young brought back from Concord busted." It is a Queen Ann musket, and was issued by the English Government to the Indians in Canada to fight the French in their war with that people in 1754. The son of Henry Hoard, also named Henry, the maternal grandsire of Dr. White, enlisted in the service of the United States when the British made the attack on Buffalo, in [812, and presented himself for duty armed with the musket that did service in the war of the Revolution. The weapon that bore a part in three wars is now in the possession of Dr. White. On the removal of his parents to Chenango County, he became a student at the old Sherburne Academy and was graduated in 1867. On leaving school he began the study of homeopathy in the office of J. C. Owen. He came thence to St. John's, Clinton Co., Mich., two years later, and began to read for his profession with his uncle, Oliver C. Joslin, remaining under his instructions until I871. He attended one course of lectures in the Medical Department of the University at Buffalo, and subsequently completed his studies at the Medical College at Fort Wayne, Ind. In 187I he came to Paris, Mecosta County, then the terminus of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, where he began his practice anid also engaged in the sale of drugs. He removed in I877 to Hersey, and he continued his practice two years, sold his business and came to Reed City in the fall of 1878. Associated with his father, he erected the building in which he has since transacted his business. Dr. White is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows and of the Masonic fraternity. He has served the county four years as Coroner, and has been Mayor of Reed City one year. He is the United States Pension Examining Surgeon, and in 1883, when the Board of Examining Surgeons was instituted, he was made its President, and still occupies the position. He is a member of the Northern Michigan Medical Society and the Surgeon of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad corporation. He was married July i, 1877, to Anna M. Hardy. They have one child, Floyd G., born March 12, 1879, at Hersey.. Mrs. White was born in 1856, at Cooperstown, N. Y., and is the daughter of William and Maria Hardy. 'oseph Shank, farmer, Sherman Township, residenton section 14, was born Jan. 26, 1 82i, in Portage Co., Ohio. His father was a native of New York, lived most of his life in Virginia, and died in 1842, in Portage Co., Ohio. His mother, Mary (Cliff) Shank, was born in Virginia, and died in May, 1870, in Allegan Co., Mich. Mr. Shank remained under the paternal care through his minority and attended school most of the time until he was 22. After arriving at that age he was occupied as a farm laborer by the agriculturists in the vicinity where he was reared, and operated in that capacity until his marriage, in March, 1848, to Sarah Crow. Nine children have been born to them, two of whom are deceased,-Joseph L. and Samuel B. Those who survive are Martha M., Alonzo M., John W., William, Nicholas B., Mary = =..1 1k i U n l 04 I A O lf \,. i ~<"Y - w -^ BBinn- J (> 312^~ - -SC —a r - 3I2 OSCEOLA f X A. and Albert M. The mother was born July 31, E 1827, in Portage Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of Samuel and Martha (McCullough) Crow. Her father was born in Virginia and died in Ohio. Her mother lives with her children in Osceola County. She is 84 years of age and was born in Pennsylvania. Mr. Shank was for some time after his marriage a farmer of Portage County. He came thence in 185 1 to Allegan Co., Mich., where he was a resident a number of years, and while there exchanged his farm for another in the same county. In 1867 he secured a homestead claim of 80 acres in Sherman Township. Three families only preceded their settlement in this part of Osceola County, and the nearest market for necessary supplies was Big Rapids. Mr. Shank has improved 40 acres of his farm. He was active in establishing the municipal regulations of the township, of which he was elected second Supervisor. He has been Highway Commissioner and held minor official positions. He is a Democrat in political views, and is regarded as an upright and reliable citizen. He is a member of the Methodist s Episcopal Church, as is also his wife. ellington J. Law, M. D., practicing physician and surgeon at Le Roy, was born J ^ July 29, 850o, in York Co., Ont. Dr. |Y Law is a descendant from ancestors of Scotch and English extraction, his immediate i progenitors being of American origin. The race is remarkable for tenacity of life, particularly in the maternal line of descent. His parents, -- and Elizabeth (Klinck) Law, are living in retirement near Toronto, and are aged respectively 77 and 70 years. His maternal grandmother is yet living, at Peoria, Ill., and is 105 years old! Dr. Law obtained a good fundamental education in the Dominion of Canada, and on attaining his majority, he matriculated at the Detroit Medical College, where he completed a full medical course, and was graduated in I88I. On receiving his credentials as a physician he established his business at Le Roy. His earnestness in his profession, his integrity and conscientious fidelity to the important trusts con f COUNTY. fided to his skill and judgment, have won for him a merited popularity, and he is steadily advancing to prominence as a medical practitioner. He is a Republican in political proclivity, and has officiated as Health Officer of the village and Township of Le Roy. He is the owner of four village lots. t:: \ I II I I i Dr. Law was married July 29, 1884, at Manistee, Mich., to Miss E. Norine La Croix. She was born in the State of Illinois, Jan. 26, 1862, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. I Benry D. Francisco, farmer, section 33, = Hersey Township, was born Dec. io, 1832, 5 ' in Ontario Co., N. Y. His father, John H. Francisco, was born in Ontario County, in I797. His ancestors were Spaniards and the descendants in the United States had their origin in one individual who came here 50 years, or thereabouts, previous to the War of the Revolution, married among the Hollanders of the Mohawk Valley in the State of New York, and became the father of seven sons of stalwart stature. One son, six and a half feet in height, became a soldier of the Revolutionary War and was in action at the battle of Stillwater, near where his family had settled. John H. married Nancy Kinsman, who was born in Bennington Co., Vt., in 1807. She was of mixed Welsh and New England lineage. Two of the brothers of Henry D. lost their lives while in the military service of the United States —one being killed in the battle of Winchester; the other died in the hospital from sun-stroke. Mr. Francisco was a resident of Ontario County during his minority. He taught school winters, working meanwhile as a carpenter during the intervening seasons. In December, i86i, he came to Grand Rapids, where he purchased land and resided 14 years. In the spring of 1876 he removed to an improved farm in Hersey Township, which comprised 60 acres. He has cleared and otherwise improved 45 acres. He is a Republican in political sentiment, and while resident in Kent County was Justice of the Peace, a position to which he was elected in Osceola ~u 1.41 /.,A 4 Itrr~ ::02050X: ~~i In Sw - v;~ -.2ii. ilY;~: ~; -: t~;: ia;~~~i:.~~i:-n:,:t.r ~-~, 9 1 I-' 2 C;;- ~ ~d tr P-i~~ ':i ii_'~ C) -- -c(r~nni --- --- " OSCEOLA COUNTY. 315 County and in which he has served altogether I8 Stark Co., Ohio, thence to Portage County, where years. He acted as Supervisor in 1878. Mr. W., senior, died, July 30, I88I. Mrs. W. afterMr. Francisco was married July 23, 1854, to Char- ward, in the summer of i88r, came to this county, lotte Chaffee, and they have been the parents of six and finally departed this life at Le Roy, Feb. I, 1882. children: Charles D. was born Dec. 25, 1857; Kate.They had seven sons and seven daughters, in which C., Sept. 23, 1864; Orville Grant, Nov. 5, i868; family Edward H., the subject of this sketch, was Jennie M., March 25, I870; Frank C., Jan. 25, 1875; the youngest son. one is deceased. The mother was born Dec. 29, i837, in Yates Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Ephraim and Jane (Blair) Chaffee. Both died in Middlesex, Yates Co., N. Y. They were natives of New York, and their ancestors were French Huguenots, who settled in Massachusetts.. l nthony M. Sample, farmer, section 14, Hersey Township, is the proprietor of 120! 1a acres of land, including 80 acres cleared -QtzoQ.- aJ t, l _ J! improved and in fine agricultural condition. l| He was born March 6, 181o, in Beaver Dams, Schuyler Co., N. Y., and is the son of David (,>) |a, and Margaret (Lttta) Sample. They removed to ' g1 dward H. Woods, book-keeper for Kel- the Dominion of Canada in 1822, and died near 2 ~ logg, Seymour & Co., at Sawyerville, was Belleville, the father's decease occurring about A ' 'GMt'' hborn in New Raltimnore. Stark Co.. Ohio. TRA - thalt of thi mother toolr nlace ahonlt T'rA. " =Cj= ILZ ~. March 31, I858. In his early life he attended the common schools and also Mount Union College in his native county; but the greater portion of his life, prior to his coming to Osceola County, was spent in Portage Co., Ohio. On his arrival in this county in the spring of 1879, he engaged in teaching for a short time; then for two years he was engaged as book-keeper for James E. Bevins, and since that time for the firm of Kellogg, Seymour & Co. TT _A_ _ v 11 1 J_1_-A _ 7 1- AT_ _ '- 1 At the age of i8 years the father of Mr. Sample placed him to learn the business of a carpenter, which he pursued, as opportunity served, about 15 years. He remained a resident of Canada until I865, the year of his removal to Hersey. On coming here he bought 80 acres of land, to which he has added materially by later purchase until he owns his present fine estate, and has given each of his six sons land enough to make a start in the world for himI r 2=9. 41r 1r unuecr nhe uiu scnooul aw ivir. vvoous nas servea selr. as Township Superintendent of Schools, and under He was married Jan 8, 183I, to Mary A. Potts. the new law as member of the County Board of She was born April 3, I8I6, in County Fermanagh, School Examiners, being Secretary of the Board dur- Ireland, and died Nov. 3, I85I, leaving ro chiling the last year of his term. In his views of national dren, born as follows: Eliza E., April I2, I834; policy he is a stalwart Republican. Juliana, Feb. 5, I836; John G. W., June I9, I838; In Reed City, May 13, I88o, Mr. Woods was mar- Sally, April I9, I840; Nancy E., Aug. 2, 1842; ried to Miss Mary I. Tomlinson, who was born in Henrietta, Aug. 22, 1844; Prince A., July 14, I846; Portage Co., Ohio, Oct. i, 1859, and they have had George M., May 26, I848; Anthony W. and Mary three children, namely: Nellie, Berenice B. and Rae A. (twins) June 13, 185I. The mother was the Dean. The first mentioned died at the age of I4 daughter of Thomas and Sally Potts. a months. Mr. Sample was a second time married Jan. 12, d Mr. Woods' father, Hiram F., was a native of 1853, to Lettie A. Lucas, who was born in I825, Ohio, and his mother, Lydia H., nee McBride, was a and died June 23, I874, leaving two children,native of Pennsylvania. After their marriage they Daniel W., born in August, I854, and Chauncy M. settled in Pennsylvania, and afterward removed to born in September, 1855. Z~~_(_~ ( 316. SIO ---NP 3I6 /;i'~i~ni~cnni I 1- _ OSCEOLA CO UNTTY.,D W,'m, ulr, S I I ( ( ( i' A i-, I, I it) ~o II If7 p f The third marriage of Mr. Sample, to Susan Lucas, occurred Aug. 23, I874. She is a sister of the s second wife, and was born Dec. 22, 1838, in Canada. Their parents, Daniel and Catherine (Goslin) Lucas, were natives of Canada. The father died in July, 1878, and was 80 years of age at the time of his decease. The mother was born Jan I4, I804, and resides in Canada. Four children have been born of the third marriage: Lettie A., April 9, I875; Margaret C., Sept. 6, I877; Elijah, June 28, 1879; ( Lovicy J., Jan. i, 188i. Mr. Sample is independent in political principle, and has taken much interest in school matters. His portrait, on another page, is that of a representative farmer of Osceola County. keeper in a mercantile establishment at Matherton, Ionia Co., Mich. Soon afterward he became owner of the stock and business relations by purchase, and he continued the management of the business there 13 years, operating after the first two years as Postmaster also. He disposed of his affairs at Matherton Oct. 9, 187 i, and proceeded to Osceola County. He arrived at the latter date at Evart, and 15 days later received the appointment of Deputy Sheriff. He held the position until April, I872, when he was elected Supervisor of the township and Justice of the Peace, and also received the appointment of Postmaster at Evart. He was the chief instrument in securing the establishment of the office at that point. In the fall of I873 he built a grist-mill near the village site on Chippewa Creek. He began its practical operation in December, 1874, which he has since prosecuted. He is the owner of 84 acres of land adjacent to the mill, on which he has made great improvements. He is a Republican of most decided proclivities. Mr. Lemert was married Dec. 30, I849, in Wyandot Co., Ohio, to Phebe Bentley. Mrs. Lemert is the daughter of Andrew and Eliza (Brownell) Bentley. Her parents were both natives of New York, and came to Ohio in 1838, settling in Wyandot County, whence they removed in 1854 to Ionia Co., Mich. Her father died there in the spring of I860. The mother died Feb. 13, 1855, in the same county. Mr. and Mrs. Lemert have a daughter, Alta, now Mrs. Samuel E. Clay, and resides at Williamstown, Ingham Co., Mich. I (J i 3; f *TO aba'n J. Lemert, miller and farmer on secy tion 27, Osceola Township, was born Oct.. m^ M6, 1823, in Cohocton Co., Ohio. Lewis ( Lemert, his father, was born Aug. 5, I802, in London Co., Va., of Holland Dutch parentage, and was taken to Ohio when he was five years old, residing there until 1828. In that year he went to Crawford County, in the same State, where he died, Aug. 5, I882, being 80 years old. The mother, Ruth (Purdus) Lemert, was born in Bedford Co., Pa., of French ancestry, and went to Ohio about r808 with her father's family. She died May 12, 188o. Of their family of nine children, six attained adult age, and there are four survivors at this writing (I884). Joshua is a merchant at Nelsonville, Ohio. Eliza-Mrs. Rouse-is a widow and resides at Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Wilson C. is a prominent business man living at Bucyrus, Ohio. He has been interested in the construction of the Nickel Plate Railroad in Kansas, and is the owner of 1,200 acres of land in Iowa. Mr. Lemert, of this sketch, is the oldest born of the family. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, and acquired a very thorough and practical knowledge of agricultural pursuits. At 21 he devoted his time and attention to the acquisition of an education and attended the university at Delaware, Ohio. His first employment afterward was as a clerk and book I (I I I: -e 6.. I,,Y% 41' I/ If?, A. ( sharles Johnson, farmer, section 27, LeRoy '1[ Township, was born Oct. I8, 1837, in ~i Sweden, and, accompanied by a younger brother, he came to the United States. They..r obtained employment in different locations until I868, when they came to Osceola County; and located I60 acres of land, on which they have lived and operated together, sharing mutually the benefits accruing. Mr. Johnson was married Aug. I7, I884, to Ida < ^n^9-^y ---^^(,s I - 1111 I II ^ v.~ 1^ Irr~, " k- ta~" OSCEOLA Petersen. She was born in Sweden and came to Michigan from the land of her birth in June, 1883.; Her parents are living in their native country. Politically Mr. Johnson is a Republican. 'He is a member of the Lutheran Church, as is also his wife. CO UNTY. 317.-x 7 1 / I f 4.a r=~ yron G. Colton, member of the business house of Charles L. Gray & Co., merchants, manufacturers and dealers in lum-. ber, shingles, etc., at Evart, was born Aug. 17, 1856, in Genesee Township and County, Mich. His parents, Elon and Harriet (Begle) Colton, are natives of the State of New York, where the former was born July 9, 1822, the latter, March 6, I829. The families of which they were members came to Macomb Co.. Mich., when they were young. After their marriage they settled in Genesee County, where they are still resident. Seven of their ten children are yet living. Mr. Colton is the sixth child in order of birth, and was reared on his father's farm during his childhood and early youth. He abandoned agricultural pursuits when 17 years of age and learned telegraphy, which he pursued as an occupation seven years. He came to Evart in the spring of 1879 and officiated as telegraph operator in tne office of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad Company. Two years later-in i88r —he opened a store where he is now doing business, and after six months he admitted George V. Seeley to a partnership. A year afterward the latter sold his interest to the original owner, and not long after Charles L. Gray purchased the interest he has since held, and consolidated his extensive lumbering relations with the mercantile connections. Jan. I, 1884, William Latta was admitted to an interest in the business, the firm style becoming Charles L. Gray & Co., and the relations of the house are steadily expanding and increasing. One mill is situated on River Street at the foot of Sixth, where 15 men are required as assistants in the manufacture of lumber and broom-handles. At another mill, located in Hartwick Township, they employ. 15 men, and manufacture shingles and fourfoot clap-boards. A third mill, at Sunrise Lake, requires a complement of 20 assistants and is devoted to the manufacture of shingles and other lumber products. Their stock of merchandise represents from $8,ooo to $ro,ooo in value, and includes dry goods, groceries, and all articles suited to their trade. The mill site at Evart occupies several acres, and the company owns two large warehouses near the depot for storage purposes. Mr. Colton is a member of the Masonic fraternity. His marriage to Nettie Tupper occurred at Grand Blanc, Genesee Co., Mich., April I5, 1877, and they are the parents of one child, Etta May, born in Evart, April r2, 1882. Mrs. Colton" was born at Grand Blanc, Nov. 12, I855, and is the daughter of Benajah and Charlotte Tupper. 'rthur V. Sunderlin, resident at Reed City, was born Feb. II, I853, in Potter Co., Pa. - His father, Cyrus Sunderlin, was born Jan. 8, 1814, at Wayne Junction, Steuben Co., N. Y. The latter passed his early life as a farmer, and later became a merchant. In 1876 he came to Reed City and leased the Evergreen House, which he managed some time, and afterwards assumed charge of the St. Elmo House, in which he died, March 3, I884. The mother, Sarah M. (Barnes) Sunderlin, was born Feb. II, I822, in Troy, Bradford Co., Pa., and is now a resident of Reed City. Their six children lived to mature age; but Mr. Sunderlin, of this sketch, is the only survivor. He was brought up as a farmer's son, attending school winters until the age of I8 years, when he became a teacher and taught two terms of winter school. He studied during three terms in the Woodhull Academy in Steuben County, and, when 20, entered the State Normal School at Edinboro,.Pa., where he pursued a defined course of study and was graduated in the spring of I875. He went to Oberlin, Ohio, and passed a few months as a student at the famous college there, after which he again engaged in teaching in his native State, where he was occupied in that profession two years. In I877 he came to Reed City and officiated as Principal of the schools two years, entering meanwhile upon the B ( z 0 I' 3 LZ Q v S.3 ri) B Yny iu~al't 318 OSCEOLA COUNT7Y. study of law, in which he is still engaged. In I879 child managed to obtain the barest livelihood. There -8o, he discharged the duties of Superintendent of was no work to be had. Swamp hay was $40 per - Schools of Richmond Township, and in the spring ton, and could not be afforded even for a bed, and; of i880 was elected President of Reed City. At the they slept on hemlock boughs. The famous salt - Senatorial Convention of the Prohibition party, held famine of Northern Michigan occurred at this time, at Reed City, Sept. 16, 1884, he was placed in and the family were destitute of that sanitary article nomination for the incumbency. for seven weeks. Many other necessities were Mr. Sunderlin was married Dec. 27, I877, at equally scarce, and their only food for nearly a year Home Wood, Beaver Co., Pa., to E. Jennie Coffin, was potatoes, eaten from a borrowed tin plate! A and they have two children,-Louis K., born Oct. 2, barrel of salt, the first brought in, by a man named 1880, and one born Dec. I, 1883. Mrs. Sunderlin David Shadley, was sold in the vicinity for $i8. The is the daughter of John D. Coffin. wife worked during the winter of i868, and earned the money to buy their first cow. Mr. Clark is still i~I t88he nr n f atnd o-nre bolrrn Dec. In I\8 A M s. S a In rlin; I '~' liver Clark, farmer, section 30, Middle Branch Township, was born Aug. 28, 1848, Xwl in Tiffin, Seneca Co., Ohio. His parents, Thomas and Mary Clark, are natives of the Buckeye State and removed from Seneca County to Hardin County in the same State in I851. They have been farmers all their lives and have reached advanced age. Mr. Clark was three years old when his parents located in Hardin County. He obtained his education in the common schools, and worked on his father's farm until he was 17 years of age. His first independent action was his enrollment in the military service of the United States. He enlisted Aug. 23, 1864, in the i8oth Ohio Vol. Inf., Co. A, Captain Howell, the regiment being commanded by Colonel Warner. After six months he was seized with illness, and was assigned to the hospital at Newbern, N. C. A month later he was transferred to the hospital on David's Island, New York Harbor, where he was discharged in June, I865. After his return to Ohio he remained a year with his parents, and afterwards was occupied at various points as a farm laborer, until he was married. In 1867, the year following that event, he made a homestead claim in Middle Branch Township, securing I40 acres of land. At that date this section of Osceola County was wholly unsettled; not a road had been built nor a tree cut. He had hardly settled in his new home when his house and its contents were burned. He again erected a log house, and with his wife and LIIC UVW 1i1I UI LUC 111i3L pUlUlldC Ul ldllU 11C Illdl.UC.11 the township, and of i60 acres additional. He has 50o acres under excellent improvements and supplied with good and necessary farm buildings. He is a Republican of fixed and earnest principles, has been Township Clerk two years, and has held various other official positions. He was first married Sept. 24, I867, in Hardin Co., Ohio, to Lydia E. Connor. She was born in the same county and there grew to womanhood. She died in the Hospital for the Insane at Kalamazoo, Mich., leaving three children,-John W., Thosia B. and Byron L. Mr. Clark was again married Oct. 23, I877, in Middle Branch Township, to Agnes Mitchell. She was born July 3, i858, in Bruce Co., Ont., and is the daughter of Joseph and Mary A. (Kingshott) Mitchell. Her parents were born respectively in England and Ontario, and are both of English parentage. They reside on section 4, Middle Branch Township. i - homas P. Pierson, farmer, section 29. Hersey Township, was born Dec. Ii, 1856, in Pierson Township, Montcalm Co., Mich. His father, George M. Pierson, was born in Naples, Ontario Co., N. Y., has been a carpenter most of his life, and is also a farmer. c' He came in early life to Michigan and married Nancy E. Peck, a native of the Empire State. The parents yet reside in Pierson. Mr. Pierson remained under the guidance of his [n|1<3 -- ---- "'* I I, A~ lft OSCEOLA COUNT Y. 319 I —t-""- - "- - - - ~- - - -'.-~- I ' ' ' father until he was of age, when he obtained employ- R. and Mary (Crandall) Wightman, who were born in ment in a shingle-mill, continuing in that occupation Homer, Cortland Co., N. Y. Her father was born V six years in various parts of the State. In I883 he Oct. I8, I808. He is a physician by profession, and took possession of the farm which has since been his is now resident at Wayland, Allegan Co., Mich. Her field of operation. About five acres were under im- mother was born Aug. 3I, 1815, and died June 17, provement at the time of his purchase, and he has I883, in Evart. They had 12 children. Mrs. Mccleared 17 acres, built a frame house, and by his Ilwain was born Sept. 22, 1855,in Galesburg, Kalavigorous industry is fast putting his affairs into pros- mazoo Co., Mich. The brothers and sisters of Mr. perous condition. He is a Democrat in political Mcllwain are George, James, John, Mary, Jane and views and relations. Samuel. He was married May 6, I883, to Martha Jacobus, who was born Feb. 22, I862. She has two brothers and two sisters and a half-brother-Frank E., George ---------- E., Elizabeth, Minnie E. and Warren. Her father, Edward Jacobus, resides at Vistula, Ind., where her mother, Christina (Daun) Jacobus, died, July 26, rancis D. Lacy, of Nirvana, Lake Co., I87_ I. Mich., was born in Western New York on 7 z~' the 5th day of May, 1838. He is the youngest son of Eli Lacy, who raised up a ' IF —.- -tF family of six boys and four girls. His father moved to this State in the year 1840, and setttled in the wilds of Oakland County upon 120 acres s jt illiam J. McIlwain, farmer, located on of land, marsh and lake, about one-third of which section 26, Evart Township, was born was upland of an inferior quality, and the remainder =: ^ - A May 12, I849, in Newtown-Hamiltcn, entirely worthless. = County Armagh, Ireland. His father, Isaac Eli Lacy was a man of respectability and fair in- C Mcllwain, was a native of the same county telligence, but his financial abilities were lacking, ) 'and married Margaret Scott. She died April and had it not been for the wonderful qualities of his 12, 1862, and was about 50 years of age when her wife, her good physical health and untiring ambition, decease occurred. The senior Mcllwain is still a it is hard to say what would have been the result in resident of the Green Isle, and is 62 years old. raising up a family of ten children, and in what conMr. Mcllwain, of this sketch, landed at the port dition they would have been launched out upon the of New York, May 21, 1873. After a delay of one world. As it was, the family passed through many week, he came to Evart, where he arrived May 28. privations and was forced to exercise a frugality His first employment was as a clerk in the store of which has scarcely a parallel on record. Thousands Mark Ardis. He afterwards formed a partnership have passed through a more degraded poverty, but with his employer, which continued two years. After the cases where a family of such high order of intheir dissolution he resumed his former relation as telligence has been forced to so low 'a condition of salesman, in which he still continues. In 1877 he destitution, are certainly uncommon. Imagine what bought his farm, with only five acres under culture. a burden of anxiety must have rested upon the inadThe place is now in fine condition, with 70 acres equate abilities of parents, struggling to their utmost under the plow and with excellent farm buildings of to furnish food and raiment and educate so large a all varieties necessary to a high order of agriculture. family, and at the same time somebody standing He was married Sept. i9, I876, to Ida M. Wight- ready to snatch the last dollar at hand to pay the man. They have had five children: Mary M. was interest on an old calloused mortgage which held a born July 4, I877; George J., July 3, 1878; Mag- death grip upon the freedom of the household! gie E., July i9, 1882; William Joseph, June 5, 1883, Children attending school in cold winter weather, and Allie Louise, June 23, 1884. One child is de- wearing blue drilling trousers without lining or 7 ceased. Mrs. Mcllwain is the daughter of George drawers, and otherwise lightly clad, and suffering -— @aDilna^A A — 320 OSCEOLA COUNTY. with the cold as the children of this family were often phrenology as advocated by Fowler & Wells was )compelled to, have learned to demonstration what somewhat a farce, and therefore dropped the subject "hard times" mean. An older brother, now a wealthy to engage in the study of legerdemain. In this he citizen residing in Reed City, went bare-foot the soon became proficient, and, being without money to winter through, and did chores in the barn, and often start with, constructed his own apparatus, and bought slid down hill as a pastime; and in relating the fact, on credit a horse, buggy and harness. He now remarks that it was not so much a matter of romance boldly struck out in his new profession, and, meeting as of stern reality. This brother, V. E. Lacy, al- with good success, soon paid for these, and conways bore his privations with fortitude, and labored tracted for 80 acres of land, costing $1,400, near for the comforts of others, denying himself; being Laingsburg in this State. half way from the oldest to the youngest, he was last Wearying of this business, after following it for to be provided for; and yet he doubtless did more for about three years, he engaged as a partner with his the comforts of home than all the others together; brother, V. E. Lacy, near Lapeer, this State, in the and even since leaving home for himself, he has manufacture of shingles. This business prospered, rendered much for the comforts of parents and sis- the same as anything else that V. E. ever took hold ters, as also has Francis, of whom we are narrating. of, and at the end of three years they dissolved partThese blessings have doubtless been showered back nership, each buying a mill for himself; and in the upon both of them, as they are both well situated in year I874 Francis shipped his mill and household life, with happy families around them. In those boy- goods to Nirvana and established himself there for hood years, it required but little to constitute a making shingles, and also engaged in merchandise, } luxury. A toy like a penny jewsharp, a slate pencil where he will be found comfortably situated at the a= or goose-quill pen, or stick of candy, were all worthy present time. Since he has been at Nirvana he has l 'of remark, and well relished by children of such suffered some severe losses. His mill was burned, j, poverty. A new garment made by that industrious and at the time when the loss fell most heavily upon D = mother, or a new pair of shoes, would make the lucky him, and in other way, has had numerous financial = wearer the center of attraction for a time, and let set-backs; yet he has passed through them with '/ those only who have experienced the situation judge scarcely a riffle to disturb his good humor; and, being how "good " the red leather "looked." surrounded by a beautiful wife and four sparklingFrancis was mentally bright and physically active. eyed children, he has but little to regret. He still He became a good scholar, and at the age of I6 en- continues to ply the pen, and within the last two gaged as a teacher. This vocation he followed for years has published two works,-"Nature's Harmony," several years, " until," as he expressed it, "he became a philosophical treatise, and "Star Lake Romance,' unfit for anything else, and a few more terms would a poetical story-both of which do credit to the make him totally unfit for that!" At intervals, dur- author. And thus we have narrated the history of ing the years of his teaching, he learned the printer's one who commenced in the lowest degree of poverty, trade, and, having a taste for literature, indulged in and has arisen to a fair height in both fame and writing considerable for the press, and acted at times fortune. in the capacity of editor. Having quite a fondness When he had made some progress in the accumufor poetry, he wrote occasional pieces, and in the lation of property, and was standing well in society, year I860, published his first pamphlet, entitled he thought favorably of taking a wife. Some there "Leisure Hours." In 1862 he published "The Ray were of the gay and fashionable circles, and some of Light," and in 1863 a treatise on mental philoso- who were wealthy, among the ladies, whom he flatphy, to be used as a phrenological chart in giving tered himself that he could win; but being interested delineations of character. Engaging in this profes- with a beautiful child 3 years old, Eunice A. sion, he followed lecturing for a time, but having an Stevens, the daughter of William and Delilah Steopportunity of studying more carefully the anatomy vens, who lived far back in the lowest of poverty, he of the human brain, and the nature of its convolu- took pleasure in providing her with nice clothing and tions, he rather concluded that the old theory of furnishing her with books for intellectual culture. ta -'- I —I OSCEOLA COUNTY. 321 (i 1 'i) v f -W~L 3;3=.e.= She bore the appellation of " The Rustic Angel " and " Lacy's Gypsy Princess " until 1872, at which time she had reached her 14th year; and on the 8th day of November, of that year, in the presence of a pleasant circle of friends at Lapeer, Mich., he married her. She was arrayed like a princess on the occasion, much to the admiration of those present, but greatly to the contempt of many who envied her. Eunice A., nee Stevens, the wife of Francis D. Lacy, was born on the 28th day of October, I858. On the I9th day of August, 1874, she gave birth to her first child. Lately before this ordeal, they moved from near Lapeer to Nirvana, and it is thought her fatigue proved fatal to the child: it lived but 2 hours. His name was entered upon the family register as Herbert Emmanuel. Arthur Jay, the second son, was born Sept. 30, 1876; Rollo Guy was born Jan. 27, 1879; Plato Ray, April I7, I88; and Florence May, March I7, I884. f l l~Iilliam Lambert, woolen manufacturer at E___ Reed City, was born Nov. 23, 1837, at W Cavan, Ont., and is the son of Richard 2. and Elizabeth (Amos) Lambert. His father b was born in Dublin, Ireland, in i808, and his mother in Dalkeith, Scotland, in i818. They moved to Ontario in 1832, settling in Cavan, and are now living in Ailsa Craig, in the Dominion, to which point they moved in 1859. Mr. Lambert left the parental home in I856, going to the township of London, where he resided most of the time until his removal to Reed City, arriving June 2, I883. Here he purchased a building a mile and a quarter from the city for the purpose of converting it into a woolen mill; but, finding that a poor investment after a nine months' trial, he purchased the building he now occupies in Reed City, where he is setting out in good earnest in his chosen business He was married Oct. 9, I858, in the city of London, Ont., to Miss Ann Waugh, the daughter of Robert and Margaret (Robson) Waugh, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of the North of England. Mrs. L. was born in Lobo Township, Ont., May I3, I841. To Mr. and Mrs. L. have been born six children, as follows: Robert A., Sept. 9, 1859, in the i5th concession, Land Township, Ont.; Margaret, Jan. 3, I86r, at the same place; Isabella, June I, 1863, at Varna, Ont.; William A., May II, I865, in Carlisle, Ont.; Elizabeth M., July 24, I867, in London Township, Ont.; and Richard A., Nov 28, i868, in the same township. ~'H'harles Carmell, farmer, section 3, Sylvan Township, was born Dec. 31, 1836, in t Marine City, St. Clair Co., Mich. His father, J Moses Carmell, was born in the Dominion of Canada, and descended from French ancestors. He was a carpenter and joiner, and pursued his vocation at Marine City until his death in I867. Julia (Cushway) Carmell, his mother, was born, married, and passed the entire course of her life at Marine City. She was of French descent, and died about 1848, leaving seven children. Two of her children's deaths preceded hers. Mr. Carmell remained in the protecting care of his father until about I7 years old. At that age he became a saw-mill assistant in the lumber mills of his native county and acquired superior skill in the position of sawyer. He pursued that business during the winter seasons and through the summers of several years he was a sailor on the lakes, operating at first as a common seaman, and later as first mate. In I856 he went to Saginaw City, where he was a sawyer in the extensive lumber mills for some years. Meanwhile he purchased a home in South Saginaw and resided there until I872, working at his trade, and as foreman for a boom company. He went thence to Lowell, Kent County, where he remained ii months, going from that place to Evart, Osceola County. In the spring of 1877 he purchased 40 acres in Sylvan Township, all in timber and situated on the line of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad, where he established a permanent home, went vigorously to work to reclaim his land from its wild state, and he now has 20 acres under cultivation, with comfortable buildings. Mr. Carmell was married April 24, i859, in East I X I I i llraa I~!~DG~ I' A A 322 O C O AO — ~N^rT^ -YTn 2 322 OSCEOLA COUNTY. Aw"AlwtJ- ah. I~I M ~- `, $ I oJ ' Saginaw, to Mary A. McNally. She was born Aug. 26, 1838, in County Down, Ireland. Her parents, Thomas and Mary A. (Forley) McNally, came from Ireland to America in 1852, and located primarily in Albany Co., N. Y., where the entire household were employed in the cotton factories situated at Cohoes. After a stay there of four years, they came to Michigan and settled in the forest on the Flint River, 16 miles from East Saginaw, and at so early a period that it was still an unbroken wilderness and inhabited by Indians. Later, the daughter went to East v Saginaw, where she was soon after married. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carmell:, Lizzie (Mrs. Birdsall), Josephine and Willie; the latter died in infancy. _....gI. h- -. I -.0 - 0 4), ( I s I uther T. Elmore, farmer, section 32, Syl-. van Township, was born April 5, I840, in Ontario Co., N. Y. His father was a tailor by profession and reared his family on a farm. The son, who is the subject of this sketch, was under his father's care until the period of his majority, when he entered the Union Army, the Civil War having broken out just after he arrived at his 2ISt birthday. He enlisted in Co. F, 26th Mich. Inf., under Capt. Lemuel Saviers, now of St. John's, Mich. He was in the service throughout the remainder of the war, and was honorably discharged June 4, I865, at Washington, D. C. He went to 4 Jackson, Mich., whence he enlisted, and later was assigned to duty at the Government bakery at Alexandria, Va. In May, I867, he came to Osceola County, and made a homestead claim of I60 acres in Sylvan Township. He is one of the pioneer settlers of this portion of the township, and has improved about 60 acres of his land. He was the leading % active mover in securing the organization of the township, and has been Clerk and Notary Public. He is a Republican in political creed and connections. The marriage of Mr. Elmore to Clarissa E. Jones i took place Dec. 25, 1869, in Orient Township. She. was born in Ronald Township, Ionia Co., Mich., May I I3, I852; and came with her parents to Osceola County in i868. Her parents were the first settlers of Orient Township, where they are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Elmore are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have two children, Lizzie M., born Aug. 17, I812, and Rosie V., born March i8, I875. amnes A. Lunney, farmer, Osceola Town_ ship, section 14, was born Nov. 7, I847, in.Z Halton Co., Ont. His father, Hugh Lunney, was born in the north of Ireland. He i married Ann Noble in his native land, and when 22 years of age came to Ontario, where he became a lumberman of prominence, and resided until his death, Sept. 19, i868, at the age of 49 years. The mother is 58 years old, and lives in Gaylord, Mich. Mr. Lunney was sent to the public schools of Ontario until he was 16 years old, and he passed three succeeding years assisting his father in lumbering. In i866 he came to Saginaw and became a member of the lumber firm of J. Henry & Co. The relation existed seven years, the company transacting extensive operations in lumber and shingles at Hemlock City, Saginaw County. In 1877 he came to Osceola County and purchased I60 acres in Osceola Township, a part of which was under cultivation. He has added by later purchase to his home place until he holds 300 acres, and he also owns 700 acres in Clare County, Mich., which is principally in timber. He has been engaged to a considerable extent in lumbering operations since he settled in this county. The mill of the firm with which he is connected, situated on section 2, Hartwick Township, was recently destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of several thousand dollars. Mr. Lunney has improved I15 acres of his homestead, and is now erecting an elegant residence designed to cost $5,ooo, and finished throughout the interior in hard wood of beautiful grain. He aims to put his entire surroundings over which he has control in the best possible condition. His business firm owns 1,400 acres of land, in which he holds an interest. It Vpj) f. I I _) Be\ I I 6 frid? I a g....u r.....'-/-h C; n9 ,t k And OSCEOLA COUNTY. comprises both pine and hard wood, and is all sit- moved into Hersey, to m; uated in Osceola County. Politically Mr. Lunney is S. Gerrish, running two m a Republican. ation, the second situated 4 Y _ _ _ _ -I _ el YY r* _T 11 __1_ _ Ir A, 1_ AT_:T 327 ) Jr I He was married Sept. i r, I809, in Holly, Uaklanc * Co., Mich., to Mary Ennes. They have had two children: Vernon H. was born May 1I, I873, in Hemlock City; and Elmer M., Sept. 26, 1880, and died Fel). 29, 1884. Mrs. Lunney is the daughter of James R. and Catherine (Reed) Ennes, natives of New York. They reside at East Saginaw, where her ( father is manager of a carriage factory. Mrs. Lunney was born Nov. 5, 1846, in Erie Co., Ohio. Her parents became residents of Holly in I869. 0 ot the depot. Hie contint years. In I882 he boug grocery, to which he gave one year, and then rented 1 1883, he bought a half ii Flouring Mills, owned b ownership continued until Shank became sole prop mill has three runs of ston a producing capacity of custom grinding of feed, employed. Mr. Shank is a Mason, Lodge, Royal Arch Chapl He was elected to t] A j At& Osceola County in the fa ( [ ~ lonzo M. Shank, Sheriff of Osceola County, lican ticket, receiving a n and proprietor of the Hersey City Flouring the nominee of the opposi,:.h Mills, was born May, 2, I850, in Hancock He was married June i! O Co., Ohio. Joseph Shank, his father, was ship to Essie E. Deenba r born in the same county, Jan. 6, 1822. In born asfollows: Bessie,Ja i I853 he removed his family and interests to a 875; Byron L July 3 farm in Heath Township, Allegan County, coming born y 853, in M thence in I867, to Sherman Township, Osceola daughter of Jacob and Ha County, locating on an 8o-acre farm, now in fine In the portraits of Mr. condition for agricultural purposes. The mother, pages of this work, may be Sarah (Crow) Shank, was born July 31, 1828, in element on which the as Hancock County. Seven of their nine children are County is based. ntellig living. Martha married Ashley Babbitt, a farmer in and public-spirited, Mr. S McPherson Co., Kansas. Mr. Shank, of this sketch, a representative of the spi is the second in order of birth. John is a farmer; a William Nicholas is a shingle manufacturer; Mary the depression of the tim married Charles Marvin; Albert is still at home. roded nor dimmed the lusi With the exception of the first and second they are of Osceo County. residents of Sherman Township. Joseph and Samuel are deceased. In I872 Mr. Shank secured 80 acres of land on section io, Sherman Township, and he now owns 80' acres situated on the same section, having added * ndrew J. Mapes, 80 acres by later purchase. In I871 he began thei on section 14, manufacture of shingles in Heath Township, oper-. born Dec. 3, 1836 ating in that line of business two years. In 1873 he Cuyahoga Co., Ohio. took possession of his property in Sherman Town- was born in the St ship, where he has 13o acres of his land under cul- farmer, and died tivation, and is largely engaged in the raising of hay mother, Abigail (Allen) for the Cadillac market. In the spring of 1878, he Maine and related to the c a) — AA - anufacture shingles for W. ills, one within the corporone and a half miles east led their management four;ht a meat market and his personal supervision the stand. In September, iterest in the Hersey City y A. Root. Their joint Aug. 22, I884, when Mr. rietor by purchase. The es, two sets of rollers, and f 70 barrels, besides the etc. Two assistants are and belongs to the Blue ter and Commandery. he position of Sheriff of 11 of I882, on the Repubiajority of 500 votes over tion element. 9, 1870, in Sherman Townugh. Their children were in. 27, I873; Cora, Feb. 6, 1883. Mrs. Shank was >rrow Co., Ohio, and is the innah Deffenbaugh. and Mrs. Shank, on other seen the fair types of the sured progress of Osceola ent, energetic, trustworthy,;hank may be considered rit which gives the county d course, notwithstanding es, which have not yet corter of the era of the present I I, 14 1 9l ei 10 % % % % ( ( f r f K i ci m, farmer and joiner, resident Hartwick Township, was, in Mayfield Township, His father, Rufus Mapes,:ate of New York, was a in 1875, in Ohio. His i Mapes, was a native of (:elebrated Ethan Allen of ^ ) N "i, do )A r0 e 010 - _,, ^ I- -I;QuH6a o-— d6QIP — (6CD^^ --- 328 OSCEOLA COUNTY., 32I An51 (k,I I I I s 4 Revolutionary fame, better known as the " Hero of Ticonderoga." She died in Cuyahoga County, Jan. 14, 1882, and was the mother of 17 children, nine of whom are still living. Mr. Mapes represents number 14 in the list of his parents' children, and he passed his minority under the parental roof. On being released from his filial obligations he began to serve an apprenticeship for his trade, and after he had acquired a thorough knowledge of its details, he engaged in its prosecution and continued to pursue it as a vocation until i866, the date of his removal to Michigan. He settled in Osceola (now Hartwick) Township, securing a homestead claim of I20 acres of land on section 26 and purchasing I60 acres on section 14. He lived on the first named property six years, working meanwhile at his trade in connection with farming. In I876 he removed to the farm situated on section 14, where he has improved 70 acres. Politically he )is a Republican of a decidedly radical type, and has served his township as Clerk. He was married Nov. 27, 1869, in Mayfield, his native place, to Atnah M. Hawkins, who was born March 25, 1837, in Otsego Co., N. Y., and is the = daughter of Smith and Lucy V. (Gardner) Hawkins. She celebrated her 3oth birthday dressing the first white child born in the township of Hartwick: this was Miss Emma, daughter of Loyd and Sarah Clark. At that period her neighborhood was about 40 miles from the nearest physician or drug store, and Mrs. Mapes was for many years the only attendant upon the sick for many miles around. In 1879, the only year she kept a record, she spent 200 days in this service. July 3, 1883, while she was riding horseback, she was thrown off and nearly killed, the injury being so great as to fracture the hip bone. In her religious views she is a close-communion Baptist, with which Church she first connected herself, remaining with them as long as she was within convenient distance of their places of worship; she is now a member of the Disciples' Church. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Mapes are: Rufus S., born Dec. 3, [864, and Melvin A., March 25, 1870. Mr. Hawkins was born Nov. 4, I809, in Otsego Co., N. Y. His father, Rufus Hawkins, was born in.Rhode Island, of English parents. Mr. Hawkins re) mained in New York until he was 27 years old, when, he came to Michigan and settled where Battle Creek is now situated, and moved thence to Ohio in I851, where he remained until I866. He then moved to Hartwick Township, settling on I60 acres on section 24, clearing 35 acres with his own hand. He was a man of poor health and had not been able to do any labor, having been a school-teacher for 21 years. The school-room being too confining for him, he started out with a wagon load of dry goods and crockery, which he peddled through the country, selling goods all the way from Ohio to this township. He had located his land here the year before. His mother was born in Rhode Island in 1759, of Gertan and English descent, and went to New York in I8oo, where she remained until her death. Mr. Hawkins was the first settler in Hartwick; was the first Supervisor of the township, holding the position for many years. A man had come in here before him, but Mr. Hawkins' was the first land located. Himself and wife were members of the Baptist Church, joining in 1841. They came to Michigan in I837, settling where Battle Creek now stands and residing there 14 years. They then moved to Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, and after 14 years' residence there, in i866, they came to this county, where they both have since died, he at the age of 73 and she at the age of 63 years, and they are buried on the farm of Mr. Mapes, where is located the little grave-yard designated by the family name. ip kjp_ 4 (... i pi|a e I __rwv^v.^^^^^^K_ as?^ ( ohn J. Arndt, one of the first settlers and most widely known citizens of Osceola, Township, is a resident on section 23, and.) is the proprietor of 260 acres of land. He was born Oct. 21, 1824, in Prussia. He was a pupil in the schools of his native country until he set out alone without money to make his way to Arnerica. He shipped on a sailing vessel as a deck hand, and worked his passage, which consumed eight weeks. This was in 1837, and he landed at the port of i New York. He proceeded soon after to Waterloo, Ont., where he found occupation as a farm assistant on the estate of John Eyte, and continued in that gentleman's employment eight years. After leaving WH - ~ — a 1 Ib "T" ~ - - -; q q 1 jA OSCEOLA COUINTY. 32 I I I II 104 I — PI (V ii his service he bought Ioo acres of forest land in Perth County, on which he began operations in his own behalf, and placed the entire acreage under improvements. In I873 he sold the place and came to Osceola Township, buying 340 acres of land on section 23. He has sold 80 acres and placed nearly all the remainder under improvements. The farm is justly ranked among the most valuable in this section of the county. It is supplied with three flowing wells. He is a Republican of an unmistakable and inflexible stamp, and has held local official positions for I2 years. In 1858 he connected himself with the Evangelical Church, in whose interests he has been an unremitting and zealous laborer. He has discharged the duties of all its offices and has been for many years Superintendent of the Sundayschool, for whose welfare he has labored untiringly. He was first married in Perth Co., Ont., in 1849, to Barbara Riffer. She was born about 1828, in Germany, where her parents passed their entire lives. She came in youth to Perth Co., Ont., where she died Jan. 13, 1863. Of six children of whom she became the mother three are deceased-Elizabeth, Maggie and Lizzie. Henry, Christina and Mollie survive. Mr. Arndt was a second time married in I864, in Perth Co., Ont., to Rebecca Leibert. She was born in Ontario, of German parentage, and died in October, t868, in Osceola Township, aged 33 years. Of her six children, two preceded her to the land of the hereafter,-William and Betsey. John, Katie, Mary and Simon are living. The wives of Mr. Arndt were both members of the Evangelical I mother, and he discharged the duty until the close of her life, Aug. 7, i88I. She was born March 29, 1792, and was the mother of nine children. Four sons and a daughter survive her: George, Mary, David, William and John. Daniel, Adam, James and Elizabeth are deceased. Mr. Hoover grew to manhood in Wabash, and in March, 1867, came to Osceola County, where he had entered a homestead claim of 80 acres the year previous. Besides improving his farm, he has engaged in lumbering during the winter seasons. He affiliates with the Republican party. He was married Feb. io, 1859, in Wabash Co., Ind, to Eva Lenon. Their children were born as follows: Charles E., March 30, I860; Elizabeth, Nov. 24, r86i; Araminta, Feb. 23, I863; Mattie, July 3, 1864; Daniel W., Feb. 12, i866; George W., Nov. 19, i867; John H., Dec. 26, i868; Nettie S., Dec. 8, I876. Mrs. Hoover is the daughter of Daniel and Sophia (Saunders) Lenon. Her father was a native of Miami Co., Ohio, and was a soldier in the Union service. He died of diarrhoea, June I9, 1864, in the hospital at Chattanooga. Her mother died Dec. I3, r88o, in Wabash Co., Ind. Their family included seven daughters and one son, born as follows: Sarah C., Elizabeth, Eva, Ruth C., Martha, Barbara, Phebe E. and John W. fl o ) I;.:O '. )p Church. u|aniel Oaks, owner of the Oaks House at ) I'l| Reed City, and a saloon-keeper in that. il place, was born Nov. 24, 1835, in Worces3> | r ter Co., Mass. His father, Joel Oaks, was born in New Hampshire and died in Massachusetts, which was the native State of the I -mother, Abbie (Pierce) Oaks, who died at East Sagiohn Hoover, farmer, section 14, Evart naw in 1880.. Township, was born June i8, 1837, in Mr. Oaks is the youngest of nine children born to S, Stark Co., Ohio. His parents, Solomon his parents. He was reared on the farm in the Bay 1 and Margaret (Ringley) Hoover, removed from State until he was 15 years of age, after which he the Buckeye State in the fall of I837, to the obtained employ in the factories about five years, city of Wabash, Ind., where his father died He came to Detroit in I855, and there became inAug. 6, 1854. Mr. Hoover was i6 years old, and terested in the traveling entertainment business, in 0 was made executor of the estate by the will of his which he was occupied a long term of years. He father, which entailed upon him the care of his came to Reed City Jan. i, 1872, and erected a small ~-^>/ C-,,-^^g"i^^ ^^ - 44^: _; 330 OSCEOLA COUNTY. buildingon the south end of the lot which is his can in political opinions, and has served four years present location, and which was designated the as Supervisor, Clerk two years, also as Treasurer and. "Blue Front." In i882 he built the hotel which Highway Commissioner, and is at present a School bears his name. It has a frontage of Ioo feet and Inspector. j and is 75 feet deep, is three stories high and can ac- He was married in Columbia Co., N. Y., to Hattie f commodate a large number of guests. The house M. Messenger. Their children are Frank C., James commands a liberal share of the best patronage. I., Carrie A. and Anna M. Two died in infancy. The first floor has three store apartments. Mr. Mrs. Lanphear was born in Massachusetts, and reOaks built his present place of business in i88i. It moved in her childhood to New York. is constructed of brick, 80x 50 feet in size, and is two stories in height above the basement. He deals in the merchandise common to similar establishI ents. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity | "c -tr. 4 v a and is one of the Council. Mr. Oaks is publicspirited and takes a considerable interest in local politics.. olitics. ohn H. McMullen, farmer, section 26, He was married in August, I876, at Bowen's Mills, *t DEvart Township, was born Jan. 16, I83 1, in Barry Co, Mich., to Mrs. Ellen E. Gates. She n Evart T ownsh, rlan, of whic, 3,cou.. *....,..... i ' in Kilkenny Co., Ireland, of which county was born in Allegan Co., Mich., and has a son by [ his parents were also natives. His mother was her former marriage, McGinley Gates., f e born Nov. 2, 1809; his father, April 22, i8io. They emigrated to America in 1832, with two i= fi 1.4"j I /i i.i iil \L ohn H. Lanphear, farmer, resident on section 30, Sylvan Township, was born Dec. 12, 1836, in Columbia Co., N. Y. His parents, James A. and Rebecca R. (Shufeldt) Lanphear, were natives of the State of New York, and were descended from parents born in New England of English and German origin. They are now in advanced years and reside in Columbia County. Mr. Lanphear is the oldest of five children born to his parents, all of whom are living. Two reside in the State of New York and two live in Massachusetts. At the age of t9 he began to serve an apprenticeship in a machine shop, and spent xo years in that business in Chatham, N. Y. In 1877 he came to Jackson, Mich.; coming a year later to Osceola County, he located on i6o acres of land in Sylvan Township, of which he is still the owner of all but 40 acres which he has since sold. He bought 40 acres on section 29 adjoining his homestead, and has placed Ioo acres under improvements. His farm buildings are creditable and suited to the needs of his farm. He is a Republi children-John and Mary Ann-(the latter is now deceased) and located at West Guillemsbury, Simcoe Co., Ont. They purchased ioo acres of land, and soon after sold a portion of the property to a relative. The remainder was sold soon afterward, and they entered a claim of 200 acres in the township ot Mara, Ontario Co., Can. They maintained a residence thereon about i8 years, when the father sold the farm and engaged in a mercantile enterprise in the same township, combining therewith the manufacture of potash. He was Postmaster at that point for I8 years. In i865 Mr. McMullen sold his Canadian property entire, and in the fall of the same year came to Ottawa Co., Mich., where he remained three years on a farm, of which he became the owner. He was not satisfied with the place, and in I868 sold out and removed to Evart Township, where he bought 80 acres of wild, unimproved land. He has cleared away the forest and has 62 acres in excellent farming condition, with good and valuable farm buildings. He now owns I60 acres. He is a Democrat in political connection and views. He was married in Orillia, Ont., in I864, to Jessie Elder, and they are the parents of eight children, viz.: William J., born Oct. 22, I864; Harry, Oct. 7, i866; Julia, Oct. ig, I868; David D., July i8, X K >< L* VI 9 14 OfN -", 1119vio OSCEOLA i871; George M., Dec. 29, T873; May, May 12, 877; Ernest 0., Feb. 29, i880; Ada E., Nov. 6, 1882. Mrs, McMullen is the daughter of James E. and Jeannette (Wilson) Elder, who reside in Mara, i II = =).C;,. I p = 3 ( I Canada. She was born March 25, I847. The record of her brothers and sisters is as follows: Mary H., Jane L. (deceased), Wilhelmina, John E., James T., David W., Christina F., George M. and William M. Following is the record of the brothers and sisters of Mr. McMullen: Mary Ann (deceased), Ada, William A., Margaret A., Louisa (deceased), George M., Jane E. (deceased), David and Emma. William C. and Margaret (Nesbitt) McMullen, the parents of Mr. McMullen of this sketch, removed to Osceola County in I868 and reside on section 26, Evart Township. The family are in sympathy with the Episcopal Church. 0 t c S s e I t r m PI f p -:*f l fred Davis, farmer and merchant, located on section 8, Hartwick Township, was born Feb. i8, 1-44, in Steuben Co., N. Y. His father and mother, George and Nancy (Holden) Davis, were natives of New England, of English descent, and were farmers by calling. The county of Steuben was t'he scene of nearly the entire course of their earthly career, and there they both died, the former in October, I866, the latter in 1880. They had three children. Vincent resides in Steuben County; Matilda died in her native county in 1879. Mr. Davis is the eldest, and attended the common schools until he was I6 years of age. He remained at home until he was 22, when he engaged in general farm labor. He was married March 22, 1862, in Steuben County, to Elida E. Robinson, a native of the same county, born April 9, I844, of New England parentage and origin. Wilbert, Emery, Benjamin, Denis and Daniel are the names of their children. All but one are attendants at the public school of the district in which the family reside. Mr. Davis was a farmer in his native county until 1870. In the spring of that year he secured the homestead where he has since resided, which included 160 acres of land, then entirely wild and unbroken. Of COUNTY. 331 ~ ----~ --- —-----,- -Q — --:. —::: the original acreage he owns 79 acres, most of which is improved. He is engaged in the sale of articles of merchandise, for which there is a local demand, and he manages his store in conjunction with the postoffice, of which he is the official, to which position he was appointed in i88i. He is independent in political views and actions, and is Justice of the Peace and Township Treasurer. His wife is a member of the Metlodist Episcopal Church.:Kj-elos A. Blodgett, lumberman and farmer, was born March 3, I825, in Otsego Co., l N. Y. He is the son of Abiel D. and Susan (Richmond) Blodgett. His father was born in Plymouth, N. H., April 21, 1794, was Sheriff of Otsego Co., N. Y., two terms, and otherwise a prominent citizen of that county. His mother was born in Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Mass., Nov. 19, 1796. They were both of English descent. There were five children born to them, namely: Albert A., Delos A., Ellen C., Helen R. and Harriet E. Delos A., the subject of this biographical sketch, was named for Dr. Delos White, of Cherry Valley, N. Y., then his father's family physician, and was always called by his parents and schoolmates " Doc:" hence the cognomen of to-day. When he was four years of age his father sold out his farming interests in Otsego County and settled in Erie Co., N. Y., near Springville. Here Delos was reared and educated, going to school betimes, and helping his father on the farm. When he was of sufficient age he was sent to the Springville Acafdemy, where he remained, pursuing his studies during the school months, until the age of 20. At this period-the spring of I845-his father sold his farm, to be delivered to the purchaser the following year, with the intention then of going West and settling in Illinois. Having a desire to see something of the world, Mr. Blodgett then formed his plans to make what was then considered an extensive tour. Accordingly he set out from his parental home, and, having a preference for Western navigation, descended the Allegllany River. From this he went down the Ohio River to the Mississippi, and on this great" father of I 3 4 g f, f, 3j i 1^N F I23 -~a~Ir~ g0 r ~6t u lk -, At 1-1... = Ak ; $32 OSCEOLA COUNTY..< ti#( evgd.4 J- sJ"I r ll, *b d1*-;A rc s._.; —;: —A 1 I i r: r r. I /'U 7 waters" was carried to New Orleans. Here and at Vicksburg, he spent most of his time, working at whatever would favorably present itself, until the fall of I846, when he joined his parents, who had in the meantime purchased and settled on a farm in Mc Henry Co., Ill. Here he remained for two years, working with his father on the farm and attending school winters at the Geneva (Wis.) Academy. In the fall of I848, believing that by age and knowledge he was able to take care of himself, and probably do something more, he again left his home and started out to seek his fortune, arriving at Muskegon village, his objective point, soon thereafter. At this place he worked a year and a half at lumbering. In July, 1850, he formed a partnership with Thos. D. Stimson, " pooling their issues," for the purpose of engaging in the lumbering or logging business up the Muskegon River. They bought them a canoe, and loading it with supplies, haying implements, etc., started up the Muskegon. With this canoe, they r paddled, pushed and worked their way up the river, y camping out nights and often wading, one pushing a and the other pulling their little barge, which contained all their earthly possessions, up the rapids or over shoals until they reached a point 200 miles from their starting point, which was some miles above any other lumbering camp. This was at the place where the little river-which has since become historical and known as the " Doc and Tom," deriving its name from the given names of these two pioneers — effects a confluence with the Muskegon River. One of their night camps was made at the mouth of the Hersey branch of the Muskegon River. Here Mr. Blodgett was struck with admiration of the beautiful level of land bordering these rivers on the west side, ald the magnificent elm forests, and made up his mind that if fortune favored him he would some day be the owner. They arrived at their destination in August, looked up their beaver meadows and cut their hay for their coming winter's work. This accomplished, they returned to Muskegon on foot. Buying their oxen, supplies and other camp equipA ments, and hiring their men, they returned, driving v their oxen before them. From Big Rapids (which was then an unbroken wilderness) they had to drive their oxen through the thickest of woods, without ' any road or even a trail, to the mouth of the Doc and I Tom, their future lumbering camp. Here they labored through the winter, getting out their logs. In the spring of I85 they constructed some canoes, and when the river opened put in their camp outfit and started down the river, driving their logs before them, until they reached the rear of the main "drive." Then Mr. Blodgett returned to Croton, purchased some potatoes, which he hauled to Big Rapids. These he loaded into his canoe and started for the mouth of the Hersey, the place that had so captivated his fancy the previous summer. The land all about here then belonged to the Government. On arriving here he availed himself of the squatter's right, selected his land and chopped and logged off a piece by hand and planted his potatoes. This was the first crop planted, and Mr. Blodgett was the first settler in the territory now embraced by Osceola County. This land lay near the Muskegon River on the south side of the Hersey branch, and is embraced in the present village plat of Hersey and his now adjoining farm. When done with his planting he looked up more pine lands in this and Muskegon County, and from this began his afterward extensive lumbering operations. In I852, he cleared up more ground, enlarging his potato crop, purchased the first 40 acres from the Government, which was the beginning of the farm now known as the " Blodgett Farm," in Hersey. Mr. Blodgett continued to lumber winters and farm summers, purchasing additional lands from time to time, until the spring of 1858, when, with L. O. Schofield, of Branch Co., Mich., he erected a saw-mill and 1 grist-mill at Hersey. Before these mills, however, ( were fully completed, he purchased the interest of Mr. Schofield. All the lumber used up to this time J in putting up farm buildings was drawn from Newaygo County, a distance of 60 miles. In the fall of I859, he was married to Miss Jennie S. Wood, daughter of John and Clara L. Wood, of Woodstock, Ill. She was bori Aug, 26, I841, at { Jersey Shore, Lycoming Co., Pa. He returned to Hersey with his bride, where they settled down to, domestic life. Of this marriage there were two children: John Wood, born July 26, i860, and Susan, Richmond, born May 26. I865. ( In 186I, Mr. B., with B. F. Gooch and others, or- I,,,? 1 a > I rri cE I it\ mommom- - ommmm~lsom0. <0~ ---" 0 Vt.. I u u.1i~ ; --- —6-T^H ID _ - Go" --- — ~ OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 333 ganized the first township, which then embraced the County from its first settlement to the present time; t entire territory of the county, and which was called his individuality is clearly wedded to its annals and Richmond, from his mother's family name. At this traditions; his life is a part of its history, which first election Mr. Blodgett was chosen Supervisor. He would be incomplete without this, his biography. was instrumental in bringing about the organization t of the county, which was effected in I869, and caused the county-seat to be located at Hersey, where it still remains. Upon the advent of the railroads, he platted the village of Hersey, in and about which his farm lands were located. In 1870, he commenced the.. '. 1., ^ eorge F. Taylor, farmer, section 29, Hererection of his large and handsome residence, which r i this betifl h e sey Township, was born May 15, 1846, in ( was completed in 187i. In this beautiful home he was completed n 187. In t h Portland, Ionia Co., Mich., and is the son resided until the fall of i88i, when he removed to of Charles and May (Olmstead) Taylor - he of Charles and Mary (Olmstead) Taylor. The - Grand Rapids, where he now res:des. latter died in April, 1859, in Portland. His Mr. Blodgett started out in life with a purpose and father was born in 18I7, and in 1836 came to worked up to it. During the last 15 years, Mr. Plyoutlh, Wayne Co., Mich., where he remained a Blodgett has been extensively engaged in lumbering year going thence on foot to the township of Portin Osceola, Missaukee and Clare Counties. He is containing but four settlers. He land, at tiat date containing but- four settlers. He also the surviving member of the firm of Blodgett arrived there in the spring, when the roads were & Byrne, who are largely engaged in lumbering in impasable; and as all supplies were brought from Roscommon and Crawfcrd Counties. Here they Detroit subsistence was a matter of some difficulty. 5. have an extensive tract of fine pine timber, and op- two weeks Mr. aylor's food consisted of greens e rate a steam railroad, the track of which is laid with and fsh. He was unmarried and made his way into Hi steel rails. With this road they put in at the head the wilds of Michigan to establish himself preparaof the Muskegon River from 25,000,000 to 30,000,000 founding a home. He returned to Nw ~ - tory to his founding a home. He returned to New ' feet of logs a year, which is floated down to Muske- York and was married. gon where they have their mills.Mr. Taylor remained with his father five years Mr. Blodgett has a natural taste for farming, and after attaining his legal freedom. He was then takes great pride in it. He has several farms in married and rented a farm, which he conducted one different parts of the State; but his best farm, and year, going thence to Portland village, where he was the one to which he has given the most attention and employed three years on the railroad. He passed in which he has the most pride, is at Hersey. Here the year subsequent as a farm assistant, working by he is breeding the Norman and Percheron stock, the month, when he became interested in the busihaving first imported this breed of horses direct from ness of boring wells, and followed that calling two France. years. In 1878 he caine to Hersey Township, but Mr. B. has been eminently successful in his business did not take possession of the farm on which he now operations, and is to-day one of the largest lumber operates until I883. operators in the State. While this has been the result He was married April 22, 1872, to Delilah Kinney, of his labors, it is gratifying to know that his successes daughter of Fernando C. and Huldah (Clark) Kinney. have not been accomplished at the expense of his Her mother died April 5, r875, in Portland, and was manhood, or his humanity, which is too often the re- nearly 64 years of age. Her father has married again suit. His hand is ever ready to help the poor or aid and resides on a farm in Hersey Township. She was the deserving, while his heart always welcomes an born June Io, 1846, in Portland, and is the third child old friend or acquaintance. He is a pronounced of six born to her parents. Mary A., Sarah A., JeRepublican, and has been active and prominent in ranle and Harriet are living. Sylvester was a soldier the politics of the county, as well as that of the of the 27th Mich. Vol. Inf., was wounded at PetersState. He has been a leading figure and an import- burg and was burried at City Point, July 6, 1864. ant factor in the growth and development of Osceola He sustained a flesh wound in the thigh, a bullet -— 6( ^gNM;)C -- 334 OSCEOLA CO UNTY. &I,.F Z=== a =r A; passing entirely through the limb, from the effects of which he died at the City Point Hospital four days later. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been the parents of three children. Elroy B. was born June 4, I876, and died March i, I877. An unnamed infant died when four days old. Ray B. was born Jan. 27, I883. Mr. Taylor is an adherent of the Democratic party. -^I ---~Ec-^1^ ----- ~ illiam Bennett, farmer, section 14, Evart Township, was born Oct. 14, I833, in Steuben Co., N. Y., and is the son of 2 Thomas and Angeline (Jamison) Bennett. The former was born April 5, i8io, in Steuben County. In I869 he came to Michigan and is now a resident on section 28, Evart Township. The mother of William was born June 14, I809, and died Feb. 9, I865, in Steuben County. In the maternal line of descent Mr. Bennett is of Scotch lineage. His father came of Dutch ancestry. He was reared on a farm in his native county and during his minority remained under his father's con-:trol. On reaching the period of his legal freedom he went to Oconto Co., Wis., and engaged as foreman for the lumber firm of Eldredge & Balcom, with whom he continued a year. At the end of that time he returned to the county where he was born, and again engaged for a time in agricultural pursuits. He went back to the employment of Eldredge & Balcom in the Badger State, and after a service of six months he went to Butler Co., Iowa. He bought a farm which he owned three years. Meanwhile he went to Pike's Peak, there interesting himself in mining.,He came back to Iowa, sold his farm, and in May, I868, came to this State and settled near Georgetown, Ottawa County, on Grand River, for two years, then one year in New York State, then for a time on Grand River again, and finally came to the township of Evart, where he bought the farm he now owns. In the fall he went again to the State of New York, and during the winter which succeeded he managed a lumber camp in Pennsylvania. In the spring of [ 869 he returned to Osceola County and engaged as foreman in the lumber interests of Edward Cole, for whom he operated three years. In 1872 he came to this township and commenced lumbering for Wright & Grove, and continued one year in their employment, his family meanwhile residing on the farm on which there were no improvements except a log house. He has now 30 acres under the plow and a good frame house and barn. Mr. Bennett is a Democrat in political conviction and action. He has acted through four terms as Supervisor, has been School Director since he came here, and has served one year as Highway Commissioner. He was married Dec. 14, 1858, to Frances A. Benaway, and they are the parents of seven children: Thomas was born Oct. I, I859; Alonzo, June I6, I86I; Elliott L., May 4, i864; William, April 8, i866; Carrie, Feb. i, I869; Jennie, June 23, 1871 Mortimer, April 23, I873. Mrs. Bennett is the daughter of Thomas and Lettia (Brewer) Benaway. The former was born Jan. 9, 1813, in Dutchess Co., N. Y.; the latter April 15, T809, in New Brunswick, N. J. They had five children: Esther A. and Morgan M. are living; Andrew and Sarah A are deceased. Mrs. Bennett was born Feb. 9, 1838, in Steuben Co., N. Y. Mr. Bennett has two brothersBenjamin R. and John J. Thomas is deceased. Mary A., Addie and Permelia are his surviving sisters. Nancy, Eliza and Sarah are not living. 1 i li L. Hayes, Supervisor of Richmond Township, was born Jan. 25, 1852, in New ' Haven, Conn. His father, Eli D. Hayes, th was born Sept. 25, I825, and is still pursuing the business of wood engraver and landscape painter, in which he has passed his life. His mother, Cordelia (Lewis) Buck, was born April 6, I828, in Newton, Fairfield Co., Conn. Mr. Hayes was a resident of New Haven and attended school until he was 17 years old, when he engaged as a surveyor with his brother, and acquired a practical knowledge of the business, which he followed several years. At the age of i8 years, he engaged in surveying for wall maps for F. W. Beers & Co. and C. 0. Titus, following the calling in portions of Michigan and in Osceola Countyt In 1879 he k r r F e J X; V t i i I I I t 7~p tlac~E~ a~m~ ---~p~L ---~ -.i~~:N OSCEOLA COUNTY. 335 ~~ -...._ _.......................................................,...f.,....... r,. _....._4 - - I I, I c r I settled in Reed City, and in company with a man named Lewis, founded a grocery and crockery trade, under the style of Hayes & Lewis, the relation existing five years, and including a traffic in builders' materials. They afterward sold their entire interests and are now arranging and settling their business affairs. Mr. Hayes is the proprietor of a considerable amount of property at Reed City, and owns ten acres of land in the vicinity of New Haven, Conn. He was married Sept. 17, 1879, at Reed City, to A Anna Lewis, and they have one child, Eli, born July 2, i88o. Mrs. Hayes was born Sept. 14, i856, in i Sanilac Co., Mich., and is the daughter of William and Emmeline Lewis. 1 Up ohn Hoffmeyer, farmer, section 24, Osceo1'- la Township, was born May 8, I833, in 5 Perth Co., Ont. His parents were born in GTermany, where his father pursued the vocation of millwright. They emigrated from the fatherland in early life, settling in Canada., The father died there about 1863. In 1866 the mother became an inmate of the family of her son. She died in 1883, aged 8i years. Mr. Hoffmeyer was a pupil in the common schools until he was 19 years old. He tlegan his career of independence as a teamster, which was his business about three years. In the fall of 1855 he went to Toledo, Ohio, where he obtained employment in the ship-yards. He continued to work there and as a carpenter two years. In 1857 he went to work in the machine shops of the railroad at Toledo, and in the switch-yard, and was appointed fireman on the Michigan Southern Railroad. Six months of service in that position was succeeded by an appointment as engineer for the same corporation, in which capacity he operated two years. He next engaged as engineer on the Cleveland Railroad, where he was occupied three years. In r8 —, associated with another: man, he purchased a canal boat. After I8 months of canal experience he disposed of his interest in in> land navigation property and returned to Toledo, ) where he again engaged in the ship-yards. One p year later he came to Osceola County and labored a year in the saw-mills of D. A. Blodgett. At the end of that time he located on the Muskegon River, at a point now included in Osceola Township. This was, in I866, and he was the first permanent settler in the township, his nearest neighbor being I6 miles distant. He secured his farm under the regulations of the homestead law, including I60 acres of land. He is now the owner of 270 acres of land in Osceola Township and 5io acres in the county. He has a choice and valuable farm, now comprising io acres of improved and cultivated land. He is a decidedRepublican and radical in his political views. He C has officiated five years as Justice of the Peace and j held several other official positions in Osceola Township. He was married Oct. 7, i855, in Toledo, to Mary A. Dane. They have had eight children. Two died when infants. Edward, Frank, Charles, Laura, Alonzo and Ella M. are living. Mrs. Hoffmeyer was born Sept. 28, I833, in England, which was the native country of her parents, Richard and Ann Dane., The family came to Ontario in 1841, where the: father died about i850, and the mother July 25, I884. The death of the father left a family of six @ children dependent upon the exertions of the older 3 members. Mrs. Hoffmeyer was the oldest and de- s voted herself to the maintenance of the family until her marriage. ( harles Peel, farmer, section 23, Hartwick l_ Township, was born Oct. 12, 1838, in: Leicestershire, England. His father,Wil- i liam Peel, emigrated from his native country I with his wife and children in I842, locating in Avon, Lorain Co., Ohio. Mr. Peel was three years of age when his parents became residents of the Buckeye State, where he remained during the years of his minority and obtained his education in the common schools. On attaining his majority he came to Michigan, making his first location at James- ' town, Ottawa County, where he engaged in farming on 40 acres of land, of which he became the proprietor by purchase. In the second year of the War of the Rebellion he enlisted at Grand Rapids in the p brJ~ J.; I (-, e _';^. j '4 1 OI ~atYk0-1 t 0,i~ -l i@$- --- ~ ^s-.-^^(iM^T -^s^ — l^~v 336 i OSCEOLA CO UNT'}'. ___ V ), (\ Z ii First Regiment, Mechanics and Engineers, enrolling in Co. H, Capt. W. P. Ennis. His command joined the Army of the Cumberland and Mr. Peel was a participant in the battles of Perryville, Lavergne, and Bentonville, besides being in various minor affairs. He escaped without wound or capture, and was honorably discharged Jun_ 19, I865, after a military service of more than two years. He was made Corporal, and in August, 1864, was promoted to Second Sergeant. He returned on leaving the army to Oakfield, Kent Co., Mich., where he engaged as assistant in a saw and shingle mill, spending three years in that employment. In i867 he purchased 40 acres of land in that township, on which he operated two years, going thence to Greenville, Montcalm Co., Mich. Some months later he sold his interests there, and in the same year, i868, he purchased 40 acres which has since been his home. He is now the owner of 120 acres, and 80 acres of the tract are under improvements and cultivation. He is an exceptionally good farmer. Mr. Peel was formerly a Republican, but is now a supporter of the principles of the Prohibition eleient. He has officiated in his township as Treasurer and School Assessor. He was married Jan. I, t860, in Paris, Kent County, to Lucy A. Leman, and they have had seven children,-William A., Albert W., Elnora, Percy J., Harvey F., Howard E. and Frank E. Mrs. Peel was born July 6, 1840, in Newfane, Niagara Co., N. Y., and was 12 years of age when she cane with her parents to Paris, where she was reared and educated. She is a member of the Baptist Church. II I to Salem Township, Michigan, and bought a small farm on which he was resident until his removal in I875 to Isabella County, where he owned 40 acres of land, and there maintained a residence two years. He came to Reed City in the spring of 1877 and founded his present business. He has about 15 horses generally in his stables and livery appointmients suited to his patronage. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the A. O. U. W. He has officiated six years as member of the Village Council. Mr. Shay owns his business premises, residence and other village property. His marriage to Martha M. Higginson took place April 15, I857, in Superior, Washtenaw Co., Mich. She was born Oct. i6, i837, in Detroit. Their children are, William, Emma and Ida. I eorge W. Leeman, farmer and lumberman,!i [D I resident on section 23, Hartwick Town-; ship, was born April 26, I840, in Albany Co., N. Y. His father was born in the north of Ireland, of Scotch parentage. He came to the United States with his parents when he was two years old and resided in Albany Co., N. Y., many years. He was married there and soon afterward came to Michigan and settled in the township of Paris, in Kent County, and afterward to Oakfield, where he lives now, aged about 78 years. The mother, Sallie A. (McKinley) Leeman, was of Scotch descent, and was born in Albany Co., N. Y. She died Sept. 19, 1883, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Sarah E. Mowitt, whom she was visiting. They had 12 children. Mr. Leeman is the fifth child in order of birth. He came to Kent County when he was 14 years of age. After securing a good practical education and living at home with his parents until he was 24 years of age, he became, in I864, the owner of 80 acres of land, which he increased to 120 acres by later purchase in the township where his father was a landholder. In 1867 he sold his property and removed to Osceola County, purchasing 40 acres of land on section 23, Hartwick Township, on which he settled, and later purchased a like quantity of land in addi I eorge W. Shay, liveryman, at Reed City,.iS. was born Oct. 12, I834, in Schoharie, N. i Y., and is the son of William and Anna.' (Diver) Shay. His father was a miller and owned a mill on Foxen Creek, a stream which v \ flowed through the township. In 1844 the family removed their residence to Cleveland, Ohio, where Mr. Shay was employed in the Cuyahoga Works, and acquired a knowledge of engineering, in which he was occupied several years. He came — ^' << lll! ~aaisst-~ —~... I OSCEOLA COUNTY. ) - I ",^ffl'%<^i^. 337 < t I ~; (^ /; I f q, i< 3 tion. He afterward sold the latter to E. J. Terrill, and has placed all the remaining portion-his original purchase —under improvements. In political affiliation Mr. Leeman is a Republican with prohibition principles, and he has officiated as Highway Commissioner in his township and as Justice of the Peace. He was married Nov. io, I864, in Greenville, Montcalm Co., Mich., to Hannah M. Huff. They have one child,-Gracie Bell, born Feb. 22, r876. Mrs. Leeman was born June 23, I839, in Orion, Oakland Co., Mich. She attended the common schools of her native county until she was 15 years old, and after her parents removed to Greenville she completed her education in Montcalm County. She began teaching there, and continued that calling until she had served 17 terms successful labor as an educator. Her parents, John and - (Fuller) Huff, are still living in Montcalm County, and are aged respectively 72 and 67 years. They are of German descent, he a native of the State of New York, and. she of Vermont. =: v X F rederick J. Fleischhauer, wagon and carriage manufacturer, general blachsmith at Ni ^ Reed City, and manager of the Clifton ' House, was born Sept. 23, I854, in Waterloo, Ont. He is the son of John W. and Mary Fleischhauer, and was reared on his father's farm in Waterloo Co., Ont. He was 17 years of age when he began to acquire the knowledge necessary to the prosecution of the business in which he has been actively engaged for many years, and he served an apprenticeship of three years at Wellesley, in his native county, afterwards becoiing a journeyman and operating in that method eight years. In I88I h he went to Milwaukee, Wis., and, three months later, proceeded to Reed City, where he opened his shop in? December, I88I. He is doing a successful business, requiring two assistants in the various departments except in wood work, all of which is made by his own hands. He purchased the Clifton House in October, 1883. The establishment accommodates a limited number of guests and has a restaurant attached. The property belongs to his wife. He is the owner of his shops and their sites. Mr. Fleischhauer was married Oct. 19, 1883, at Reed City, to Ernestine Treptow. She was born in Canada Sept. I3, I857. One child, Edward F., was born of their union, at Reed City, Sept. 23, 1884. Mr. Fleischhauer has one daughter by an earlier marriage, Caroline, born in November, 1879, in Richmond Township.!i2 3arren A. Wagrr, Supervisor of Sylvan J Township and farmer on section 28, was _ born Aug. I7, i840, in Yates Co., N. Y. 1 Char!es Wagar, his father, was a native of the same State and followed the pursuit of agriculture in Yates County until his death, which occurred in I841, within the first year of the life of his son. His mother, Sophronia (Wier) Wagar, is a native of New York, and is now a resident of Wayne County in that State, and is aged 67 years. After the death of Mr. Wagar she again married. Warren was a member of his mother's family until he was 13 years of age, when he found a home with a young man named Gage. Between three and four years later, he became an inmate of the household of Morgan Gage, father of his former patron, with whom he remained until he was 22 years of age, attending school and obtaining a knowledge of the builder's trade. He was married Aug. 27, I862, in Yates County, to Mary A. Green. She was born in that county and died there in June, i864, leaving one child, Charles, who was born Oct. 9, 1863. The wife and. mother when dying urged his speedy union with a friend to whose care she wished to entrust her infant child, and in accordance Mr. Wagar was married Feb. r6, i865, to Jennie M. Van Liper. She was born Nov. 9, 1845, in the State of New York, and is the daughter of Jeremiah Van Liper. One child constitutes the issue of this marriage, Elnora, born Sept. 23, i866. After his marriage Mr. Wagar was occupied at his T * O) (-Ai< i r B I 9 2-t~k -^Z-1ati m- f 338 OSCEOLA CO UNTY. s ~ I V i I *t_ s= P'..- - ( 1-. ii lohn Smith, farmer, section 12, Evart Town1 ship, was born Sept. 7, 1833, in York, Washtenaw Co., Mich. His parents, Harmon and Eliza (Davenport) Smith, are natives I of the State of New York. They removed in I847 to Ronald Township, Ionia County. His mother descended from the Davenport brothers,John, Isaac and Morris,-whose posterity has kept intact the lineage record from their emigration to this country in the Colonial period, and who were Quakers in religious sentiment. She was born July 19, I8I2, either in Dutchess or Orange Co., N. Y. The father was born Sept. 27, I805, in\Lima, Livingston Co., N. Y. Mr. Smith went to Iowa when 23, and after passing a year in the Buckeye State returned to Ionia. He came to the township of Evart Feb. Ii, 1867, at a period when the natural condition of the county i V. — w. /~- I -~i% lmlo mmmmft —t- -4117k, t 1 1 I" OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 339 *Zw 021k f I i f i,( ) Iep 4qr | LG3! afforded ample scope for the indulgence of his tastes and proclivities for hunting and trapping, which he turned to profit, and which he has pursued more or less ever since for sport when no necessity urged. He settled on 80 acres of land, where he has since resided. He was married, in Orient Township, Dec. 12, i865, to Mary Ann Tennant. She was born Dec. 29, I845, in Macomb Co., Mich., and is the daughter of William and Betsey (Burdick) Tennant, of Orient Township (see sketch). Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had six children: Harmon, born Dec. 17, I867; Rhoda, Oct. 7, 1871; Alva, March 20, 187-. Ida born Sept. i, 1869, died Oct. 26, I879; Alva, born April 12, I876, died Nov. 13, I879; Ethan, born Dec. j, I873, died Nov. I, 1879. These children died within three weeks, of diphtheria. Their mother joined her little ones gone before to the land of the silent majority April i, 188r. Mr. Smith is a Democrat. He has been Treasurer three terms, and Highway Commissioner and Justice of the Peace one term each. ^ —~ --- ^ipffitn --- —.[ -erman Stephan, farmer, section 20, Richmond Township, was born in Germany, Sept. 15, I843, of which country his parents, Gottlieb and Julia Stephan, were also natives. They emigrated to the Dominion of Canada in 1855, when their son was 13 years of age. The latter remained there until 1862, the date of his removal to Osceola County. His first homestead claim of 80 acres is included in the farm of ir 8 acres of which he is now the owner, and of which 98 acres have surrendered to the forces of energy, judgment and perseverance that have been brought to bear on them, and are under creditable and profitable cultivation. In the fall of 1863 Mr. Stephan enlisted in (he Fourth Michigan Cavalry, and remained in the military setvice of the United States until the close of the war. Still true to the principles for which he braved the fate of the war, he is a supporter and endorser of the issues of the Republican party. He was first married Sept. I9, i865, in Richmond Township, to Mary Ruppert, and they had four children,-Ernest, William, Laura and Julia. Their mother died Sept. 17, 1875. Mr. Stephan was again married Nov. 21, 1875, to Elizabeth Schnatz. She was a native of Germany, as was her predecessor, and was born April 4, I853. Two children born of the second marriage died in infancy. Four survive,-Mary, Catherine, Herman and Lizzie. The parents belong to the Lutheran Church. JCh5 harles M. Collins, senior member of the C-i: firm of Collins & Amspoker, manufacture7? ers and dealers in furniture and undertakers' wares, at Reed City, was born July I, 1844, 4 in Brant Co., Ont. At the age of 23 years Mr. Collins took leave of the farm where he had been brought up, and went to Stratford, Ont., where he obtained a situation in the agricultural house of Siarman Brothers as traveling salesman, in which capacity he passed a year; he then spent two years in the acquisition of the trade of a cabinet-maker at St. Mary's, Ont. He went then to Atchison, Kan., and operated in that line a few months. He removed next to a farm in Brantford, Washington Co., Kan., operatiig as a farmer and builder until the date of his coming to Reed City, in the fall of I876. He bought the site of his present business stand, erected a building and commenced the sale of furniture. In 1879 he erected a brick building in the rear of the store, fitted it up with machinery and began the manufacture of the wares in which he deals. He formed a partnershil- with T. J. Amspoker, Oct. t, 188i, and they have a stock which represents a cash value of about $10o,ooo, and transact annually an extensive business. The warehouse of the firm fronts on Higbe Street. Mr. Collins was married at Norwichville, Dec. 25, i866, to Mary Ann Clemmens. She was born in Bronte, Oalt., June I, [845, and is the daughter of Thomas Clemmens. They have five children: Lillie was born Feb. 25, i868, in Stratford, Ont.; Leland was born April 17, 1871, in Brantford, Kansas, 3X= A ~I,>;Z 1= r1 W, (I) I \.l Kn I.IV,~," 2~ 340 OSCEOLA where Gertrude was born Oct. 20, I874; Frankie was born June I8, I879; and Georgie, May 23, 1880. The two last named were born at Reed City.. eDO COUNTY COUIVNY. I\ i / =; E= ) ) r r r 0z zm r a>..tephen H. Allen, farmer, section 36, Bur dell Township, was born Feb. 22, 1818, in "7 Kentshire, Eng. At the age of i6 he 1 entered the British sailing service and became a sailor on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. During the 20 yearis in which he was a seaman, he was engaged 12 years as a marine, and in the naval military service during the war with China in i840-1, and was on the coast of Africa five years, engaged in the capture of slave vessels. He sailed on all the seas and oceans of the Eastern continent and visited all the European nations that had a seaboard. He came to the port of New York in 1852, where he was soon after married to Eliza Conway. They have had seven children: William E. was born Feb. 15, I853; Joseph P., Nov. i, 1855; Edward E., Sept. 26, I86I; Stephen, Feb. 22, 1862. Stephen H. (ISt) John and Mary are deceased. Mrs. Allen was born in tounty Roscommon, Ireland, Dec. 5, 1832, and lived in her native country until her marriage. After that event Mr. Allen established a mercantile business in Brooklyn, and also operated as a ship-rigger, carrying on both branches of business until 1859, the year of his removal to the West. He located first in Chicago, where he resided three years. Among his experiences in the Garden City were two disastrous fires, which involved heavy loss and inconvenience. He came thence to Plymouth, Ind., where he was variously employed four years. He removed his family in 1874 to Kalamazoo, where he left them, and came to Osceola County. He located a homestead claim of 80 acres, on which he made some improvements and returned to Kalamazoo. The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad was then in process of construction, and he became an employee of the corporation, and worked on the line until it reached the vicinity of his home, where he brought his family for the first time. There the first opening in that part of the county was made at a time when Reed City was but little more than begun, and Cadillac had no existence, either in fact or fancy. His place is now nearly all improved and has suitable and good farm belongings. Mr. Allen continued to work on the line of railroad as it extended north until it reached Rapid River, when he returned to his farm labor. He is a Democrat in political persuasion, and is an Episcopalian in Church connection: Mrs. Allen is a Catholic. He has been Justice of the Peace nine years and held the various school offices. I t illiam H. Staninger, farmer on section 12, Osceola Township, was born Oct. 11, 1841, - in Mercer Co., ia. He received a comI 5 ' mon-school education, and at the age of 20 ' years he began to operate as a farm laborer, coming to Michigan in 1854. In the course of the second year of the war he entered the army, enlisting Aug. 6, 1862, from Lenawee County, in the i8th Regt. Vol. Inf. His Captain was Charles R. Miller, latterly a prominent citizen of Adrian. The regiment was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, and the period of Mr. Staninger's military service was two years and ten months, or until the practical close of the war. He fought at Decatur and Athens, Ala., escaping unhurt, and received his discharge May I6, 1865, at Huntsville, Ala. He returned to Lenawee County, and was occupied on his father's farm until March, 1870. At that date he severed his business relations there and proceeded to Osceola County and Township, securing 200 acres of wholly unimproved land. All surroundings and circumstances were of the pioneer order, neighbors were remote, supplies high-priced and market far away; but all obstacles were surmounted with cheerful courage and unremitting toil, and Mr. Staninger has go acres of well-improved land. He is an adherent of the party whose interest he fought for and to which he clings with perfect loyalty. He was married March 3, i866, in Morenci, Lenawee Co., Mich., to Alida J. Partridge. She was born March 3, 1850, in Lenawee County, and is the daughter of Ira J. and Sachra M. (Berger) Partridge. 1 eT*4 VW Al% 1111 VI 11 1 , N A#' (5 a~~itl~,T~,""=I"-""""""~F"; (r~is"-"'I I', / -a 34' OSCEOLA COUNTY. Her parents were born and married in the State of New York, and came to Michigan about i834. Her father died March 28, I884, in Osceola County. Her mother lives in Adrian and is 63 years old. Two children are included in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Staninger: Viola, born Sept. 3, 1867; and Earl, April 14, I884., H enry H. Freedman, cigar manufacturer at Reed City, was born June i6, 1854, in?i Hungary, of which country his parents, Joseph and Lena Freedman, were also natives. He was brought up on a farm and emigrated to the United States in 1870. He passed two years at Cleveland, Ohio, and returned to the land of his birth in r873. He visited there six months and again crossed the sea to America, locating in Coldwater, Mich. He learned his business of cigar-making of B. S. Tibbitts of that place, and continued to operate in Branch County for some years. In February, 1883, he came to Reed City and established his business, which has gradually grown in popularity and increased in extent. He employs eight men, and is putting upon the market the cigars known to the trade as the " Unknown," the " Eclipse," " Osceola " and " Reed City." He puts out about 35,000 monthly and rolls all kinds of manufactured tobaccos. Mr. Freedman is a member of the Masons,-lower body, Royal Arch Chapter and Jacobs Commandery, No. to, at Coldwater. He also belongs to the Encampment. He was married June 27, I877, in Coldwater, to Louise Graff, and they have one daughterBlanche-born Feb. 24, 1884, at Reed City. Mrs. Freedman was born June 17, i857, in Rochester, N. Y......J.,.^ b where they remained until death. They had four children,-Edward C., Noah and Seymour. One died in infancy. Mr. Baumgardner was born Sept. I6, I852, in Van Buren Co., Mich. He was a student at public schools until he was i8 years of age. He remained at home three years after that age, when he began to work by the month, in which method he operated seven years, farming summers and in the lumber woods winters. In 1876 he'bought 8o acres of land in Richmond Township, under some improvements, on which he settled in the spring of 1882. Twothirds of the place is now in a good state of cultivation. In political connection he is a Republican and has held the office of School Assessor. He was married in Richmond Township, April Io, i879, to Mary J. Robbins, and they have two children, —L. J., born Jan. 24 1i880, and Leo V., born Dec. i8, 1882. Mrs. Baumgardner is the daughter of James G. and Olive E. Robbins. (See sketch of J. G. Robbins.) She was born June 4, i86i, in Richmond Township, and is the first white child born in Osceola County. _- -S.4-<^^..^ --- 1 xiiA Z=r obert Nixon, farmer, section 35, Evart Xi Township, was born Feb. Ii, 1844, in r^-' Belleville, Hastings Co., Oat. His parents, Tl John and Margaret Nixon, were natives of Ireland. They came to America in the early part of the present century, settling first in Ottawa, Can., where they resided a few years, and removed to Madock Township, Hastings Co., Ont., where they have since resided. Mr Nixon commenced the life of a lumberman when e was 17 years of age, and operated as such in the Canadian forests, where he spent five winters, meanwhile passing the summer seasons on the lakes as a sailor, operating on his last trip as mate. In 186i he caine to Cape Vincent, Jefferson Co., N. Y., and in i865 settled permanently in Osceola County, since which time he has passed every winter season in the woods except two. In 1877 he bought an unimproved farm, on which he located, and now has ~ 1 dward C. Baumgardner, farmer, section 33, Richmond Township, is the son of 1 Jacob and Catherine (Koutz) Baumgardner, natives of Switzerland and Pennsylvania respectively. After their marriage they settled in Ohio, and subsequently moved to Van Buren Co., Mich., going thence to Ionia County, Iau lo ~cn~ p~ —~-~ —"It3 II. 342 (= —= OSCEOLA CO UNTY...- - - - - S ( ) ) 40 acres cultivated and io acres chopped (I884). Since coming to Michigan he has operated as foreman of the camps of different parties. His first employment in that capacity was with Brown & Nestor, on Tobacco River. He was next with Smith Brothers at Sturgeon Creek, and subsequently with Shaw & Williams and Mark Fleitze. Mr. Nixon is a Republican in political sentiment, and served two years as School Director in Chippewa Township, Mecosta County. He was married Aug. 7, 1874, to Jane McCormick, and they are the parents of four children: Flora, born Jan. 3, 1876; Charles, June 20, T877; Wellington, Jan. 26, I879; Manly, Oct. 13, 1882. Mrs. Nixon is the daughter of Archibald and Flora (McCallum) McCormick. Both parents died in Puslinch. Wellington Co., Ont., the demise of her father occurring when she was a year old, and she was wholly orphaned when- she was two years of age. She was born Aug. 7, 1855, in Puslinch, and has two brothers-John and Archibald. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Aiathan 0. Pettibone, farmer on section 28, X._ Hartwick Township, and civil engineer by. ' profession, is the son of Roswell and Harriet (Ball) Pettibone. His father was born ( about 1788, in the State of Vermont, and probably underwent as many years of pioneer experience as any man who ever lived. Vermont was admitted as a State in 1790, and the events in her history immediately preceding that era form some of the most interesting records of the annals of the settlement and adjustment of this continent. In i826 he came to Oakland Co., Mich. At that date few white men aside from the Indian traders were permanently settled in the State, and in that section the " Lo" family were more numerous than agreeable. He secured considerable tracts of valuable land in that county, whose agricultural facilities are well known, going later to the county of Monroe. In i838 he purchased a small property in Hillsdale County, where he lived a little more than 30 years and died, in 1870, aged 82 years. He was a soldier of 1812, enlisting from the State of New York. While in Monroe Co., Mich., the famous Toledo "War" was on the carpet, which served as the source of much excitement, and he was in a community of Southern Michigan when the place was greatly disturbed by the chances and apprehensions resulting from the Black Hawk War. The mother of the subject of this sketch was born in New England and died in February, 1835, in Monroe County. Five children survived to bless her memory, four of whom are yet living. A daughter, Harriet, was married in Washtenaw Co., Mich., and is deceased. John is a farmer in Clare County. Lydia (Mrs. Duesler) resides on a farm near Hersey. Sarah (Mrs. Brockway) lives at South Allen, Hillsdale Co., Mich. Mr. Pettibone was born May 30, 1830, in Farmington, Oakland Co., Mich., and was little more than four years old when his mother died. He was cared for by the family survivors and reared to the age of i8 years with few school privileges, owing to the pioneer condition of the country. On approaching manhood he realized keenly his deficiencies, and devoted every leisure opportunity to the acquirement of information to remedy the defect. Feeling that he was and should be in need of a thorough knowledge of grammar, he procured a copy of Brown's text-book on that subject, then holding a place of honor in the common. curriculum of study, and committed not only the " Rules " to memory, but also nearly the entire work. A thorough familiarity with the book is in itself a liberal education. At the age of 21 he commenced teaching, which vocation he followed until he entered the military service of the United States, a little more than a year after the breaking out of the Rebellion. He enlisted Aug. 28, 1862, at Angola, Steuben Co., Ind., in the 74th Volunteer Regiment of that State. The regiment joined the Army of the Cumberland, and Mr. Pettibone participated in its chances until his discharge in the winter of 1864. He was under fire at Perryville and at Hartsville. On obtaining his liberty once more he returned to Southern Michigan, and in the spring following (1865) he came to Osceola County. He secured a homestead claim in the township and near the village of Hersey, situated on the Muskegon River. At that period there was not a location made north of his place for many miles along the course of the river. His education and tastes fitted him to sup ( i f I x, s.. 3~ ii orJ, i I i I I i i i T ~oW271-/.0 9lll~Il u 04 I I v -, q OSCEOLA COUNTY. 345 ply a peculiar demand of the place and period, and He was agent for the United States ExpressoCompany A he at once gave his attention to land prospecting four years. Was elected President in 1883, when - and surveying, in both which avenues he has con- Le Roy was incorporated as a village, and re-elected ~, tinued to operate with gratifying results. in 1884, receiving every vote cast at the election. In I875 he purchased oo00 acres of land in the He voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and voted ' township of Hartwick, where he has operated as a the Republican ticket ever since. At the Republican farmer and been active in his professional duties. County Convention of 1884 he received the nominaIn political principle and connection he is a Prohibi- tion for Judge of Probate, and was elected by tionist. He has been County Surveyor three terms, 773 majority, running ahead of his ticket in the Township Treasurer and Supervisor, and held all county and in his own township. In Le Roy he had the minor local offices. 130 majority over both the Democrat and Prohibition, He was married in September, I875, near Inde- candidates, the vote standing: J. E. Bevins, Rep., pendence, Iowa, to Amelia Roberts. Of their five 17 9; D. McGovern, Dem., 34; W.A. Lewis, Pro., 15. children one is deceased. The others are recorded Mr. Bevins' parents were John and Olive (nee as follows: Elva, married; Fred resides in Colora- Hubble) Bevins. His grandfather on his father's do; Emma and Frank live at home. Mrs. Pettibone side came from Wales, and his grandmother was a was born in I833, in Dexter, Washtenaw Co., Mich., German. His mother's people came from Conand is the daughter of George and Temperance necticut and settled in Conesus about the year 1812. (Monroe) Roberts. Both her parents are deceased. The subject of this sketch is the youngest of 12 chil- ( She is a member of the Congregational Church. drp, six boys and six girls. His mother died when he vW, was six years old, and his father married a Miss Mary ames E. Bevins, Judge of Probate and Postmaster at Le Roy, was born in the town of Conesus, Livingston Co., N. Y., July 27, 1843. He received a common-school education by working on a farm in summer and attending school in the winter: also attended high school at Bergen Academy, Genesee Co., N. Y., two terms. He came to Michigan in the spring of 866; worked at the carpenter's trade during the summer in Kent County; went north in the fall and worked for J. H. Rogers in Mecosta County one year in a store. Built a store at Paris in 1867, and commenced mercantile business in partnership with his brother under the firm name of Bevins Bros. Mr. Bevins was married to Miss Alice Haynes, Oct. 3, 1869. In 1870 he homesteaded in Osceola County; built branch store at Le Roy in fall of 1871 and moved on the homestead in Le Roy Township.? He was appointed Postmaster in March, I872, and still holds the office. He bought 80 acres of land ^ where Le Roy stands, and platted the village in i(i 1873. He has served two terms as Supervisor of his $ township, once by appointment and once by election. Ann Perry, about 1852, and by her had three children,-two sons and one daughter,-making a family of eight boys and seven girls. His father died in Chili, Monroe Co., N. Y., in 1864, at the age of 72 years, leaving all of his 15 children alive at the time of his death. Four of the children have since died, all being over 50 years of age at the time of their death. One of the children (a boy), by his second wife, was drowned at the age of 27 years. Mrs. Bevins was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y. Her parents came from England and moved to Kent Co., Mich., when she was 12 years old. Mr. and Mrs. B. have had three children,-two girls and one boy. They lost their first child, a girl, when she was only five weeks old. They now have the two: the girl, Jessie M., is 13, and the boy, John W., 9 years old. Mrs. B. is the Deputy Postmistress, and has attended the postoffice the most of the time for five or six years., Ever since Mr. Bevins' advent into Osceola County he has been intimately identified with its growth and progress. In every enterprise looking to the better development of the country, the material advancement of its wealth and the welfare of its people, he is ever to be found in the van. Just such men are required to open up and settle a new country and d evelop its resources to the best advantage;: x ( =t = = - PI qk Pk4 Kno x Cec il, O346 OSCEOLA COUNTY. While MI Bevins is enterprising, he is also cautious, Margaret L., Anna, Deborah, Nancy E., James, safe and judicious in all undertakings, bringing to John, Grace, William and Florence. One child died;o bear rare good judgment and business ability in unnamed. Mrs. Lennon was born Feb. 28, I844, in i carrying out any plan. While serving himself and Ontario. Her father, Andrew McFarland, was a his family, he has also served his neighbors in vari- farmer in Lapeer County, where he died, in October, ous official capacities and always with that same de- I858. She was io years old when her parents revotion, earnestness and unselfishness he has served moved to Ontario from Quebec, and five years later his own. In public positions he has ever won the they settled in Michigan. favor and good will of the people, as in private life he commands the respect and wins the esteem of all who are fortunate enough to know him. As the subject of the foregoing brief biographical outline has proved himself a thorough representative of that class who rise in the world by adherence to good maxims, t eorge H. Gilbert, proprietor of the Gilbert the publishers of this ALBUM take especial pleasure House at Reed City, was born in Schuyler, in presenting his portrait in connection herewith, on HerkimerCo, N. Y, June 19, 1843. His the page preceding the commencement of this sketch. parents, Josiah and Tilda (Whitaker) Gilbert,.- i............ a _ - f 1 a3 (-i "I a,. S!"i ) _ -- * -- Sohn Lennon, farmer on section 25, Hart^ wick Township, and lumberman, was born ' Aug. I6, 1837, in County Carrol, Ireland. was I years of age, in I848. His father dying a few years later, Mr. Lennon found himself at the head of the family, he being the oldest of io children deprived of a father's care. He devoted his efforts to the discharge of the duty until he was 20 years of age, when he came to Michigan. He hio on,- ern hr, I- r n, % n " n fAS, n Ir 0, I- C\: I, r (^112+. were natives ot the Empire state, ana aiea there. Mr. Gilbert, when about 14 years of age, began to operate as a buyer and shipper of cattle, in which he was engaged 11 successive years. In July, 1862, he enlisted in Co. C, i2Ist N. Y. Vol. Inf., under Capt. Fish, and went to the front as Third Sergeant. He was in the service until the close of the war, and was in the Army of the Potomac. He was in the actions of the second Bull Run, Antietam, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court-House, Cedar Creek, Crampton's Pass, Frederick City, Winchester, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, Sailor's Creek, or Oliver Mountain, and was present at the surrender of General Lee. Mr. Gilbert was discharged as Orderly Sergeant, and re-...,...-1 c4-~.~ r XT- I' 1.. UCltictl a ldllUmlliL. itL IVILIn 1^C, L. lU1 1 iUuLLy, LUIrCU LiU tLic,tLaC U1 NCW OrK ana. passea two t where he operated three years, going thence to years in the vicinity of the city of Utica, on a farm. 0; Lapeer County, following the same pursuit until In the spring of 867 he came to the village of A i876, the date of his coming to Osceola County and Newaygo, in the county of the same name, and en- J to Hartwick Township. He purchased 120 acres gaged in the meat business. He officiated as manof land on sections 25 and 26, in a wholly wild con- ager of the Jarse House two years, and in I87 I came dition, and later became the proprietor by purchase to Reed City, where he bought a building site, of a like quantity of land in addition. He has removed the timber, literally "cleared the bush," cleared and improved 70 acres and erected excel- erected a building and established a saloon and > lent farm buildings. The entire tract in his posses- billiard-room. In the following year he built the hoi sion lies in a solid body. tel which he is now managing. It is 24 x 96 feet He is a Prohibitionist in principle, and has served in extent, is two stories in height, with a basement,; three years as Highway Commissioner. and has accommodations for an average of 40 guests. The marriage of Mr. Lennon to Ellen J. McFar- His hotel was destroyed by fire the morning of Jan. land took place at Goodwin, Lapeer Co., Mich., Jan. 17, I885. 27, i86. They have had ii children-May J., Mr. Gilbert is a member of the order known as the -,L.,l' --- - OSCEOLA COUNTY. 347 Princes of the Orient, and also of the Odd Fellows. and Clyde reside at home. Five are deceased,Besides his hotel property he owns 90 feet front on Perida, Adelaide, an infant, Burton and Harry; the Slosson Street, with a barn, 80 acres of land in Mason two last died at Reed City. Mrs. Hood is a memCounty and also I60 acres of land in Lake County. ber of the Congregational Church at Reed City. He was married in Schuyler Co., N. Y., Aug. 27, I866, to Amoretta Sterling, and they have two children: Vara, born in January, I870, in Newaygo; and Ira, born in July, I879, in Reed City. Mrs. ^f Gilbert was born in August, I844, in Schuyler, N. Y. t larren A. Wagar, Supervisor of Sylvan | - Township and farmer on section 28, was y on hs f born Aug. I7, I840, in Yates Co., N. Y.,f Charles Wagar, his father, was a native of 1 the same State and followed the pursuit of avid J. Hood, Manager and Overseer of te same tate an owe te pursuit o l r agriculture in Yates County until his death, the County Poor Farm, located on section S y 28, Sylvan Township, was born in Craw- which occurred in I841, within the first year of the d Co, Pa. He was reared to the ageof life of his son. His mother, Sophronia (Wier) Waford Co., Pa. He was reared to the age of i yeas on his fathers farm and attended the gar, is a native of New York, and is now a resident of common schools. On attaining the age named Wayne County in that State, and is aged 67 years..^. he devoted his abilities to the acquisition of the car- After the death of Mr. Wagar she again married. Warren was a member of his mother's family until = penter's trade, following it as a vocation in Pennsyl- arren was a member of his mothers family until: vania and Missouri until 1876, the year of his he was 13 years of age, when he found a home with A o removal to Osceola County. In August he came to a young man named Gage Between three and four; Reed City and a few days later purchased of the years later he became an nmate of the household of Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad corporation a Morgan Gage, father of his former patron, with whom tract of land in Richmond Township containing 80 he remained until he was 22 years of age, attending. acres. It was in an unimproved condition, and he school and obtaining a knowledge of the builder's has now 45 acres under the plowl He took charge e. of the poor farm in Sylvan Township March i8, He was married Aug. 27, 1862, in Yates ounty, 1882. He has succeeded in conducting its affairs to Mary A. Green. She was born in that county and with satisfaction to all concerned. The occupants died there in June, i864, leaving one child, Charles, of the farm have numbered 17, the maximum. There who was born Oct. 9, i863. The wife and mother are eight persons now in his charge. Politically, when dying urged his speedy union with a friend to Mr. Hood is a Republican, with strong prohibition whose care she wished to entrust her infant child, and views. in accordance Mr. Wagar was married Feb. 16, i865, He was married June 14, I850, at Evansburg, to Jennie M. Van Liper. She was born Nov. 9, Crawford Co., Pa., to Rosanna Stewart. She was I845, in the State of New York, and is the daughter born in that place Aug. 16, i83I, where in former of Jeremiah Van Liper. One child constitutes the days her father was a merchant. Later he removed issue of this marriage, Elnora, born Sept. 23, i866. to a farm where he passed the remaining days of After his marriage Mr. Wagar was occupied at his his life. Her mother died also in Crawford County. trade, which he pursued with success until 1877 in, Mrs. Hood was well educated and previous to her his native State. In that year he concluded to seek r marriage engaged in teaching. She has been the a home in Michigan, which he did and made his lomother of ii children: J. Stewartis a manufacturer cation on the place where he now resides April 27, of pumps at Akron, Ohio. Melbourn resides at 1877. He at first purchased I20 acres of land, to Reed City. Ellsworth lives at Rockford, Mich. which he added five acres soon after. Later, he sold,Margaret (Mrs. Hoover) lives at Chase, Mich. Ray 40 acres, and has about 20 acres of the remaining 85 x~) trti ---- a- ^w^ — — ~^^7^1 348 OSCEOLA COUNTY. acres under the plow. He is the owner of a half in- County, and was killed at Winchester, Va., near dterest in 80 acres of pine land on section 24. Polit- Harper's Ferry. Horace enlisted in the Sixth Mich. s ically he is a Democrat and has been Justice of the Cav. at Grand Rapids, and was killed July 14, 1863, Peace two years; is the present incumbent. in Major Weber's charge at Falling Water, Mo.,4)John volunteered in the Michigan Regiment of EnT gineers and Mechanics, served his time and was r /I A 9 enj. F. Gooch, continued, from page 287. fSI (The following items, concerning Mr. G.'s J ~ Ip^ brothers, came too late for insertion in the Se proper place.) Amos Gooch volunteered, at Milwaukee, Wis., for the Mexican War, was in Gen. Wool's Brigade, and died in his country's service at Puebla, Mexico, July 30, 1847. In the great War of the Rebellion Mr. Gooch had four brothers, besides himself! Charles enlisted in ) the 14th W. Va. Vol., at Mannington, Marion honorably discharged. And still another brother volunteered in the i2th Regulars, was wounded and taken prisoner, served his time of enlistment and received an honorable discharge. Six brothers in one family! Scarcely another family in the whole State of Michigan can make such an exhibit of patriotism as that. Here are deeds that speak louder than words, giving evidence of a self-sacrificing heroism not describable in words; and all the surviving brothers still "vote as they shot" by a firm adhesion to the principles upon which the Republican party was founded. (I i C *{ D 'N *11 (I) 7- 08v> r — ern,,~ II * 8? > S fo^A(c^^r j^r\^^@ 'kYY : >l t ~4 I I(I At. i - I -v < ua:U 0 i - -2T, -, —(a *nn- O ~I ~ /~C~~I-' """"""-~f~I vi l~jI B4 f 4 I 1) - C IA M —I a~ /, n "I 4%' -- * ~;~p- M?~~ I I9I:C=t tr 0-V1 &= f; I 0 'i 4 XO- -S3 GI I I lllj, (J. I"',T 1 -9 3 of ( I 1 fi I N I k11 ( c S N I; Irz)I 1~* 7 -- (Av il ~ e,, 0 1 1 1 I I I = f ( I I; R ) =X X:m x x r s f (JOA (I j 1*, ,f,~-,vofXnt — --- -— 3'-nr^~tUa —? OSCEOLA COUNTY. 351 3 5z" ) ' ~^ I I vW- I el o I i I I ( I J I —.0 0 — ( ) -- -! K. ri # s __I _wY r=T -V~,40), I 1;'(- HE forests of Osceola County A1/1 wi have been but recently sub/j.flt- dued by the enterprise of a civilized race, preparatory / Yl to the establishment of comfortable and permanent l11. homes for a dense population. The early surveyors which v1 l, the Government sent out to make the survey of this part of the State reported that it was an irreclaimable waste and not fit for cultiva/ e of that character which precluded a the propagation of cereals. The ~,' ~ subsequent rapidity of settlement e God and enormous crops of everything in the line of cereals has demonstrated conclusively their mistake, for no acreage surpasses Northern Michigan in productiveness. Notwithstanding the oft-repeated tales of want and hardships told by their sires, men of energy, with their families and all their earthly possessions loaded upon wagons drawn by oxen, pushed their way step by step, through the unbroken forests of Osceola, 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, upon which stand palatial residences and outbuildings of the most expensive character. Over the grounds where the red man chased the bounding deer, and the wildcats and wolves held their nightly vigils, may be seen herds and flocks feeding and reposing in content; where useless weeds and unused timber cumbered the ground, the husbandman may now be seen gathering the golden harvests; and where the savage's miserable wigwam occasionally appeared, now stands a dwelling which by comparison is a mansion, with here and there a schoolhouse or a church, the greatest distinctive feature of all in contrast with the aboriginal paganism. Transportation of goods by ox teams has given way to the power 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, taking age into consideration, are fortunate in living in the most healthful, beautiful and productive States in the Union. The history of this county is possessed of no small degree of interest. While other counties were connected with the frontier by large bodies of excellent lands, this seemed for a long time 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 the timber and products of the soil has given many of the first comers a handsome competency. T \1 I I,. N The old cabins are rapidly being superseded by modern frame and brick structures, yet with almost ' tearful eyes* we watch them disappear. Every log and chink has a history; could they speak, they would tell us of the days of toil and privation undergone by our fathers, of the days made sacred by the \. / S.- AI q V~L "I, yOSCEO-L- — Cnti TS > OSCEOLA *CO at7NT., X.,..., ~..~ ~........ 353 _ \7) r, j,,..##X r ",iNI r.rM.4, birth or death of his children, of the religious services which were held there when no church was yet * built in the neighborhood, or the merry-makings which the neighbors for miles around attended, when logs were to be rolled, and a dance given in the evening; the whole to conclude with a supper, the delicacies of which consisted of venison, maple sugar and corn bread. One by one of the old log structures are being removed; but it seems almost a sacrilege to tear them down, so closely have they been connected with the success of our pioneers, many of whom now state that although they are now wealthy and have every comfort and luxury that money can procure, yet the days spent in their primeval home and the kindness which everywhere prevailed among neighbors, brought more happiness than is now enjoyed, although their barns are filled with grain, their pockets with gold and their lands dotted with herds of cattle and sheep. Value of Local History.. k'HE great dread of mankind from the reg tmotest ages has been to be forgotten. The g &^ means employed to prevent this and to perpetuate his memory has been in proportion G to the amount of intelligence he possessed. It has been conceded now by scientists that the principal object of the Egyptians in building their pyramids was to perpetuate the name and deeds of their great leaders and rulers. The walls in the extensive apartments beneath those huge stone monuments are covered with paintings illustrating the deeds, both in peace and war, of her illustrious princes, and in chronological order. These colors are as bright, apparently, as when they were first laid on, and the work shows great skill and artistic desin. The exhumations made by the archeologist of Egypt from buried Memphis indicate a desire of these people to perpetuate the memory of their achievements. The walls of these palaces found buried here are decorated with historical emblems representing the lives and deeds of these people. In Memphis they displayed a higher art. They carved out in marble elegant and life-like statues of their distinguished princes, accompanied with hieroglyphics, illustrating their deeds. The erection of those great obelisks were for the same purpose. Coming down to a later period we find the Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and monuments, and carving out statues to chronicle their great achievements, and carry them down the ages. It is evident that the mound-builders, in piling up their gross mounds of earth, had but this idea, to leave something to show that they had lived. All these works, these representations, though many of them costly in the extreme, give but a faint idea of the lives and character of those whose memory they were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of the people that then lived. The great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain, objects only for scientists or curiosity seekers; the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crumbling into dust. The monuments, statues and other relics are being gradually conveyed to the different museums of the world, and soon there will nothing remain in these countries to illustrate the lives of the people who once dwelt in them. Generation after generation comes and goes like the leaves of autumn. Nations have been born, have had their rise and fall, and then passed away leaving scarcely a riffle on the great ocean of time to show that they ever existed, so imperfect and mutable has been their means to perpetuate their achievements. It was left to modern ages to establish an intelligent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating this history; immutable in'that it is almost unlimited in extent, and perpetual in its action; and this is through the act of printing. Nations may become disintegrated and pass away, monuments and statues may crumble into dust, but books will live. This art has been rapidly advancing from its first inception until now it would seem that there were no longer any further ground for improvement. This is pre-eminently an age of printing, an age of books. To the present generation, however, are we indebted for the introduction of the admirable system of local history and local biography. By this system every man, though he has not achieved what the world calls greatness. has the means to perpetuate 4 i I z z 3 Je k7-1) %if Alk f klv) 1 i kb. 'M I 1I ( A\; ( ~ 9 'I'm IIt; I4z 11;~..I~ nc I S. I:-",, o,., H9 354 OSCEOLA CO U/NTY. his life, his history, through the coming ages; so that, together with the present development of the alike has every community. county. Many of the pioneers came into these We come now to the work before us. To our primeval forests without a dollar in their pockets,, patrons, we say, that the scythe 4f Time cuts down and with but the ax on their shoulder to carve out all; nothing of the physical mat is left; the monu- their fortunes and build up a country. With unment which his children or friends may erect to his daunted hearts, and a courage equal to that of the memory in the cemetery will crumble into dust and great heroes of history, they began life. pass away; but his life, his achievements, the work The land where the wild animals once roamed he has accomplished, which otherwise woald be for- undisturbed, where the Indian later on built his gotten, is perpetuated by this book through coming wickeup, has been transformed into cultivated fields, ages. Shakspeare has said: or is occupied by business houses, dwellings, schools and churches. Here now may be seen all the eleThe evil men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. ments of an advanced civilization: the husband-. man at his plow; the artisan at his forge; the Our aim in this work has been only to preserve merchant with his stock of goods; the railroad train the good. We have sought to gather from the best steaming through the country; the youth gathering sources of information obtainable, the conditions and into schools, and the people into their places of incidents of the early pioneer life, and to present worship. c3= A- \,i ^&\~)$.~^~ --- —a a ----fl.|(j.tl - ~Y!r!T u. I 356 OSCEOLA COUNT Y. settlement in the county, which was on the west side In 1856 the pigeons nested in this county; the air of Muskegon River, on what is now known as section seemed to be full of them; so thick were they that: I9 in the township of Hersey. This settlement was the people could kill them with clubs. made in the spring of 185. Mr. Blodgett cleared In mentioning first things, it might not be just to off a patch of ground and planted it in potatoes (the leave out the first theft. There were people in those long pink-eye), which he brought up in a canoe from days, as well as the present, who liked to possess Croton, and this was the first crop of any kind planted themselves of others' property. Farmer Gooch had in the county. secured a stock of meal which was the envy of a Benj. F. Gooch was the next settler to come in, neighbor. A bag of the meal was missed, and the which was in I855. He located i60 acres of land thief was suspected. Upon searching he found it in on what is now section 25, Richmond Township, and possession of his neighbor. There were no officers has remained there to the present time. in those days, nor were there any courts in the The first women to settle in the county were Mrs. county. Mr. Gooch constiluted himself both, and Dillornie and daughter, who were brought in from ordered the man to take the bag on his back and rePlainfield by Mr. Gooch in the fall of I855. They turn it to his store-room, a distance of three miles, were hired to cook for a lumber camp. which he did, Mr. Gooch following him! He was In the spring of 1856 James G. Robbins, William then requested to to get out of the county before the and Anson Berger came in. court sat (this was to be held soon), which he did, Mr. Gooch and Mr. Blodgett, with their men, selling his farm. opened the first road into the county, in the fall of odg of A very good story is told by D. A. Blodgett of i855. It was built from north of Big Rapids. The,~ ' early pioneer days. Jack Daniel came into his camp z first State road was constructed from Big Rapids,. ^ first State road was constructed from Big Rapids, to log one winter, and brought with him a negro by. entering the township of Richmond in section 34, he name of Ike. Jack was a boasting sort offel the name of Ike. Jack was a boasting sort of fel- Ad - and running diagonally through the county alongthe lowe a great trapper and hunter, == low, and claimed to be a great trapper and hunter, west side of the Muskegon River. Mr. lodgett and one of the best judges of fur about the country. carried the chain all the way through the county.. ne dy he went He had with him a big bear trap. One day lie went Mr. Gooch paid the first tax in the county, which the woods and set the trap, chaining it to a was collected fromNewaygo County. He also tree. He then went off to Croton, telling the negro brought in the first cow, and the first ens. The to watch it. The next day Ike went into the woods hens were secured in this way: He went to Grand where the trap was and sprung it, cut off some of Rapids to purchase some flour. Arriving there he his hair (or wool) and put it in between the jaws. found that article very high. He was told if he He then scratched the bark of the tree, tore up the would wait a few days he could get it cheaper. Ac- went back to ground around it in a fearful way, and went back to cordingly he went back to his brother's, some eight await events telling the boys what he had done. miles, and helped him in planting. When he wente home and hs ft i The next day Jack came home and his first inquiry away he said he would take his pay in hens, which of the negro was if he had seen the trap. Ike rehe carried off with him. he carried off with himplied that he had not. Jack then shouldered his D. A. Blodgett and L. O. Schofield put up the first gun and went out into the woods to look after it. grist-mill in the county. It was a log building and Pretty soon he returned in great excitement bearing was located where the bridge now crosses the Hersey in his fingers the negro's wool, which he showed River. around to the camp, bewailing his misfortune in Alice Jones taught the first school in the county, losing such a splendid piece of bear's fur! The on section 25 in the township of Richmond. This joke of the negro was too good to keep, and Jack, in school-house was put up by Benj. F. Gooch, a little order to have any peace, left the camp. way west of his residence, on his farm. The old A bill for establishing a mail route in the county building is still standing, a relic of the past. was, through the efforts of D. A. Blodgett, passed by The first child born in the county was Mary, Congress in i865. It provided for weekly service daughter of J. A. Robbins, in i860. from "Hersey Branch," as it was then called, to g sN'i"D4 - ^S^^^ ----\?inna:: —B-~-^-^ I —t<(v OSCEOLA COUNTY. 357 (5 -'~ I Qf ^v 1 X.s I \ (;4 r I.I A I Sr -~~ ) )::A: Zv Big Rapids. This route was opened in the fall of 1865, and was the first in the county. Mr. Blodgett was appointed Postmaster for Hersey, who was also the first man in the county to have charge of the Government mails. In March, 1869, the county was finally organized by the Legislature, which included the east half of the present county of Lake. The townships at this time organized were, Richmond, Hersey, Lincoln, Middle Branch, Osceola and Sherman. The first meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Osceola County was July I, I869, at Rooney's Hall, in Hersey. In I871, the territory of Lake County was withdrawn, leaving Osceola with i6 townships and an acreage of 368,640. Hersey was the first village laid out in the county, namely, in 1869, by D. A. Blodgett, which was made the county seat upon the organization of the county. Judge Giddings held the first Circuit Court in the county, in June, 1870. The first murder committed in the county was in November, 1869, by a man named James Daggett, who killed a negro of the name of Daniel White. White had homesteaded a piece of ground on section 30 in Highland Township. He was killed on section 36, in Sherman Township, a short distance from his home. The body was not found until the following spring, in May, when the snow had melted away. It was discovered in the northeast corner of section 36, near the line. It was supposed up to the time of the finding of the body that the negro had left the country or gone into some lumbering camp. Some time subsequent to the murder, Daggett, probably in a fit of remorse, told his father about the killing. At one time he drew his shot-gun on his father, fearing he would expose him. His father bared his breast and told his son to shoot, who thought better of it and dropped his gun. The negro had been shot and then his throat was cut. After the body had been discovered, the father, fearing his son, swore out a warrant against him, and he was arrested. After his arrest, he swore out a warrant against Isaac Reems, accusing him of the homicide. Reems was arrested, and, with Daggett, was taken to Big Rapids, where they were to be tried. The people of Sherman and Highland Townships had no doubt of Reem's innocence, but firmly believed in Daggett's guilt. Daggett had often shown LA ^ _______ 1ABi h rB '- A X rtfl his prejudice against the African race, and often boasted how he used, when in the army, to shoot ) them down. The impression got abroad that the court functionaries desired the conviction of Reems. He was acquitted, however, by a ready and unanimous verdict of the jury. After the acquittal of Reems, Daggett made a confession, acknowledging the killing of White. He was sentenced by the Court, without trial, to 99 years' imprisonment in the penitentiary. The first death in the county was that of Pete Cameron, called "Scotchy," on the farm of Mr. Blodgett, in 1867. Mr. Blodgett sent to Big Rapids for a coffin. They sent back to know whether a J preacher was wanted also. Blodgett replied that they did not. Funeral services were organized, and they went down to Big Rapids, Mr. Blodgett taking along with him Mr. Gamage to officiate, who was employed by him on his farm, and who was a sort of preacher, a man of considerable ability and a fine orator, though of eccentric habits. Arriving at Big i Rapids, they held their funeral service, at which there. were many people and several clergymen present.: Mr. Gamage took his text and delivered a most powerful funeral oration, distinguishing himself Z pre-eminently by his brilliant eloquence, his biblical v lore and his oratorical powers. After the services were over some of the clergy came to Mr. Blodgett (who is something of a wag and had planned for and anticipated this surprise), and inquired who this man was and where he came from. "Oh," said Mr. B., I keep him up on my farm for just such occasions! " f'j1 3 12 1,w N, I ( t The first store opened in the county was at Hersey in I869, by James Kennedy. D. A. Blodgett, as Justice of the Peace, married the first couple in the fall of I860, the contracting parties being Theodore Lott and Mary McCarty. Osceola County owes its rapid development to its grand forests of timber and her water facilities for transportation, and to the advent of the railroads. The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad, which runs east and west through the lower tier of townships, was the first to enter the county, which was in i870; it was followed in I87 I by the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, which enters the county on section 34 in Richmond Township, passes through the western tier of townships northward and goes out on section 6 in Sher. i i,) V^e fr) I 1~~[11] i ~gi~ a 11 \z 1~d9 I" '~r / ',i i _ >nuwauo ---as —p>n 358 OSCEOLA CO U T Y. Y man Township. These roads connect the county With the new lands, is to alternate the wheat with corn, Q the great commercial world, and have been potential oats, and other spring crops. In the older fields the factors in its growth. By these lines all important practice of ' seeding down " is adopted. towns can be reached in the county in a few hours, Lands are still comparatively low. Unimproved and those of the State within a day. When the lands can be had for from $3 to $r5 per acre, and Toledo & Ann Arbor road comes in, which will be improved for from $15 to $50. A comfortable log during the present year (1885), another impetus will cabin can be built for $50. Where the wood is be given to the development of the county. During burned, lands can be cleared for $Io to $15 an acre. its early days, and before the railroads came in, it Where the timber is put into a marketable shape, the was aided very much in its growth by the construc- land will more than pay the expense of clearing. tion of State roads. Another favorable feature of this county is its freeThe territory of which Michigan is composed once dom from destroying insects. Since the first settlebelonged to the State of Virginia and extended to the ments there is not an instance known where crops western boundaries of that Stace, and was known as have been injured by these pests. Some of the the "Northwestern Territory." In 1787, it was farmers say that the best crop to raise is "almost ceded to the general Government. Osceola County everything." While this might be well enough to ^ is of an alluvial formation, and, geologically speak- meet the eccentricities of some of the seasons, yet we ing, of a recent date. Nearly all of the soil of the believe the best crops for the farmers of Osceola county was originally covered with dense forests. It County to raise are wheat and hay, and the most varies somewhat in composition, from strong clay to profitable branches of farming for them. would be light sand; with slight graduation from tile-clay loam dairying and stock-raising. The latter industry could.~' to sand. But the great body, however, is clay loam. be started very cheaply, as stump lands could be got. = This loose material, or drift soil, according to the best at very low figures. X geological reports, covers the surface of this territory D. A. Blodgett, in Hersey Township and at Cadil- ' from 200 to 300 feet in depth. lac, has taken the lead in high breeding in the == The forests of Osceola County were principally French, Norman and the Percheron, which he impine, with a liberal admixture in some sections of ported direct from France; and in the Short-horns )elm, maple, oak, ash, cherry, beech, hemlock and bass- and Jerseys. wood. The wheat is generally put into the ground from It was thought, before the lands were brought the middle to the latter part of September, and beunder cultivation, that they would be poor farming fore snow falls it usually gets a growth of three or.ands; but experience has demonstrated to the con- four inches. The Michigan winter furnishes usually trary. These lands have been known to produce from a heavy covering of snow to protect it, and in the two to three tons of excellent hay to the acre. The spring it comes out fresh and green. The White surface of the land throughout the county is generally Winter seed is generally used. As has been stated, rolling; but occasionally there are tracts of from oo00 the wheat of this county-and it holds the same to 500 acres of level land. throughout the State —maintains a high rank in Another favorable feature of this soil is its strength. the markets, and has a separate standard. MichiCrop after crop seems to have no effect in diminish- gan White Winter wheat flour is known in all the ing its fertility. The wheat produced is plump, large, important grain exchanges of Europe. and excellent in quality, weighing above the aver- The climate here is preferable to that of most age per bushel. Forty bushels to the acre have been of the Northern States. While Michigan is in about ) raised on new lands. The statistics of i880 give the same latitude as that of Southern France and 5,413 acres of land in wheat, yielding 79,465 bushels, Northern Italy, it is colder, on account of its higher averaging 14.68 bushels to the acre. It has been elevation, being about 800 feet above the sea. This demonstrated that upon the newest lands a good difference in altitude would not make the difference crop can be raised every year. The practice of that exists between those countries and Michigan, farmers in the newer portions of the county, or on in temperature, were it not for other causes. Scient* n t e nw coun, 1'i''9ff- ha-^- t-naiur —yg"-'?^>> OSCEOLA COUNTY. 359 -^ (@ I _ En - ists give as another reason, that the climate of small strear Michigan, like the American climate in general, has have been s the peculiarities of inland regions, in its not being made upon I modified or controlled by the warm breath of the ally unceas oceans. The influence of the large bodies of water down the that surround Michigan on three sides, is a source county, a lai of protection from the ravages of the fierce storms tories, and I: and cyclones which afflict other portions of this con- articles of co tinent, and serves also to mitigate the excessive manufacture heat and cold, and gives it that soft and balmy a home trad atmosphere peculiar to salt-water climates. While county for tl the Lower Peninsula is visited occasionally by late Most of t1 frosts in the spring, it is remarkable for its fine kind or oth autumns, and its freedom from early frosts. These his products advantages make this country well adapted to fruit The laborer culture. Those who have tried fruit culture have $3.50 per da met with success. Apples, plums, cherries, and all or the kind the small fruits are grown to perfection, and are re- Notone-tent markably free from insects. The wild berries are been yet util ) exceedingly rich and plentiful, and the harvesting ests of har and shipping of these products constitute during scattered all the summer months an important industry, an unexcelle = The rainfall about this locality is very evenly can offer fin( 4 distributed. According to the report of the Agricul- can furnish; to tural College, the mean annual rainfall is a little up. With more than 31 inches, and is ample for all crops. It should be sl is, according to this report, very evenly distributed into flour. through the year, though a little more than half falls water power during the five months of the most active growth, all that ten that is, from May to October. This equitable dis- munity. tribution of the rainfall is a very important consid- It is the g eration for agriculturists. The average fall of snow that build u in this county during the winter months is four feet, the people but there is seldom more than 12 inches on the sources, whc ground at any one time. About three months of let it go to tl good sleighing is generally had during the winter, be prosperc which is very advantageous to farmers as well as the agriculturist lumbermen. It enables the farmer to do his heavy facturer. V teaming with less tax on the strength of his teams; country can and the latter to get his logs to the different water hardly adva courses and the mills. Osceola Cou Osceola County is very liberally supplied with be well assu water courses. The great Muskegon River runs di- Since the agonally through the entire county, coming in at the structed by middle on the eastern line, and going out in Hersey along nearly Township near the southwest corner. Besides this have been I) magnificent river, it has the Hersey, Chippewa, Mid- the townshil dle Branch and Pine Rivers, and numerous other some time t( 7x^.s — C 1u$:'3 - ns and lakes. While the large forests omewhat depleted by the heavy draughts them, yet the lumber business is virtusing. Instead of this lumber passing Muskegon River and going out of the rge portion of it is now held by manufac)efore going out is made up into different ommerce, thus retaining the profits of the er within the county, and establishing also e. The estimated cut of lumber in the [le year 1883 was 37,000,000 feet. he townships have lumber mills of one ier, which enable the farmer to exchange s for cash or for some article of lumber. rs at these mills receive from $1.50 to ay, according to their skill or experience, of work in which they are employed. th of the facilities for manufacture has lized. Factories for making up the ford-woods, as well as the soft, might be along the Muskegon River, which has ed water power. No county in the State er sites for manufacturing, and no county a better article of timber to be worked such splendid water power, no wheat hipped out of the county until it is made The county has the raw material, the, the best of transportation facilities, and ds to make up a manufacturing com-;reat manufactories, and the smaller ones, p communities, towns and counties; and who husband their manufacturing reo make up their raw material before they he outside world, are the ones that will:us. The manufacturer builds up the and the agriculturist supports the manuVithout one of these two elements no thrive; without either, a country would nce beyond the condition of a wilderness. inty has both; therefore her future may Lred. e first highway, or State road, was conCommissioner D. A. Blodgett, running y parallel with the Muskegon, new roads built in every township, and in many of ps on almost every section line. It takes o build up good country roads, and many ~Y ---- -t^^~fs| I Aj 1;, p =i lcol Q ~ E: 360 OSCEOLA COUNTY.. 14 10 I I x r3 h counties are old in settlement before this has been done. But Osceola people have felt the necessity of good roads and have advanced very rapidly in this t direction. The old log causeways are fast disappearing for the bridges and stone culverts; and the delectable corduroy road, that horror of all travelers, is passing away and giving place'to the gravel bed. For a person of limited means, wishing to secure a home, there is no county in Michigan more desirable to locate in than Osceola. It is not so thickly settled but that he can find a place to meet his fancy, and that, too, at reasonable figures. If he comes in with courage, energy, and staying qualities, he will win. If he has not these, he had better stay out, for the people of Osceola County will not want him. Persons settling here have many advantages which do not accompany the possession of low-priced lands further West, or in the Territories. They have really the benefit of a settled society. They have all the advantages of good schools, churches and societies, and are in communication with the = great railways of the country. It is not an unorgan> ized community, nor is the society that of a crude = and wild country. It is in connection with, and has all the advantages of, an old and cultured community, and a prosperous and thoroughly established state. The laws are enforced, life and property are protected, a standard of morality is fixed, and the habits of the people have become settled. No State in the Union has better educational advantages, or devoted more care to the education of the young; and this system is extended and its influence felt in the remotest settlements. It permeates all parts of the State, and one of the first considerations of a new settlement after they have constructed habitations for themselves, is to provide a school building and a teacher for their children. The county is also well provided with religious societies and places for worship. They are liberally distributed throughout the county. Some of the; edifices are very elegant in construction, and display a cultivated taste by the designers. Osceola County has no special Indian history. A few of these uncivilized people roamed about the v forests for awhile after the white settlers came in, i and then went out. Only one difficulty occurred ) with the Indian, which will be given in the history D of Le Roy. Having only about a score of people at the breaking out of the rebellion, the county could not be expected to have much of a war record. There was one enlistment, that of Benj. F. Gooch, from Richmond Township, the account of which will be found in his biography. The population of the county is now estimated at about 15,000, and is increasing very rapidly. All the towns with but few exceptions are also on the increase. Dotted all over its territory can be seen fine cultivated farms, with good dwellings and farm buildings. There is not a township now in the county but has some well established farms in it, and in the older townships they are quite numerous; most of the farmers, too, are out of debt, and are either increasing their acreage, their stock, adding to their buildings, or putting by a little money. The people of the county have been very fortunate in conducting their municipal affairs, and in the selection of their officials. Its public buildings, though not expensive, are good, and meet the wants of the people, and are all paid for. Osceola County is in the 28th Judicial District, in the 9th Congressional, and 27th Senatorial District, and comprises a Representative District of itself. It is but a little while"since the first settler came into thelcounty; but a little while since the blow of the ax first resounded through its forests, and the wild animals roamed fearlessly and undisturbed beneath their tall trees. Only a few years have rolled around since the first log cabin was put up, and the family altar erected; and only a few years since the cry of the first babe was heard with the low, sweet notes of the mother's lullaby. All is changed now. The wilderness has disappeared and in its place broad cultivated fields are seen. The rudely constructed cabins, with their home-made furniture, have given place to fine dwelling,, to stately homes, with elegant and cultured surroundings. The buzz of the saw, the sound of the artisan's hammer, the shrill voice of the locomotive are now heard where once the only sound to break the stillness of the night was the howl of the wolf. Some of the old cabins, with their rough articles of furniture, yet remain as a link between the past and the present, as a reminder of pioneer life with its struggles and privations. To their former occupants, hallowed memories cluster around them. Here were I I (2i Ae '1 I 4,/ i - 11 I.!'7",A:a c... ll —i li!l,~ 00 - OSCEOLA COUNTY. 36 their first beginnings; beneath these humble roofs habitants no longer have to depend on the wild game they communed with each other, devising and matur- of the forest or the fish in their streams for subs; ing their plans for life's journey; and here the first- sistence; neither do they have to haul their supplies born played around the light of the fire-place, with its from Big Rapids or other distant markets. On the bright, innocent face and chirping, musical attempts contrary, now, all that can be had in city markets at speech. can be had almost at their doors. As modes of conveyance the old ox-sled and cart, The settlement has been established, the experiand the heavy lumber wagon, with most of the peo- ment is over, the reality has come, and success is pie, are among the things of the past, and fine car- guaranteed. A complete social and political governriages, easy road wagons, or sleighs, drawn by good ment, under American institutions, has been founded. horses, have taken their places. With many the With the pioneers of this county there is no longer. elegant railway coach has been substituted. Good any doubt or misgivings as to their venture. The markets are now accessible to almost every farmer as clouds of uncertainty have passed 'away and before well as to those who dwell in villages. The in- them and their children the future is hright. --- - -- - - -, — - - - --, -- - ------ --- -..-..j I. F, t %I 1+ e r=~r i I I i L im 3= $il I'Mm 1~4~~~ rnrr~a ~ ~ ah~;u qr 362 OSCEOLA CO UNTY'}'. 362 OSC'EOLA COUNTY. ~cti, F,NI4? i N I i 1 YY i_ mow~ i "I E i:S; <. F 3P s ) "r T'a I.'' URDELL Township was set off from Le E Roy Township by order of the Board of X Supervisors. The first election was held on the first Monday in April, I87I, at the house of Calvin Woodworth, on section 34. The Inspectors of Election were Calvin Woodworth, M. B. Holton and W. J. Townsend. Enoch Starks was elected Supervisor, George W. Somers, Clerk, and Wellington Starks, Treasurer. Daniel Hewit, Stephen Allen and George Arnold had the honor'to be the first Trustees, with Lee Alden as Constable. This township is located in the northwest corner of the county, and is numbered 20 north, of range o1 west. Its boundaries are, Wexford County on the north, Sherman Township on the east, Le Roy on the south, and Lake County on the west. It is very liberally supplied with school districts, having seven school-houses, which are located as follows: School District No. 2, on section 27; District No. 3, on section 25; No. 4, on section 31; No. 5, on section 23; No. 6, on 9; No. 7, on section 17. Fractional No. i is located in Le Roy Township. The first school meeting was held by the Inspectors April 30, 1872, at the residence of George W. Somers, in Tustin; and the second meeting was held at the house of Walter Tank, on section 13, May 2, I872. The surface of the land is rolling, and in some parts it might be called hilly. The soil is generally a sandy loam, with a clay sub-soil. Elm, maple, birch and hemlock are the principal timber, which is interspersed with some pine. Pine River and its branches water this township, which, with the rolling nature of the land, affords ample facilities for drainage. In these streams there is excellent fishing, grayling, bass and other fish being plentiful. Philo Newberry has the credit of being the first settler in what is now Burdell Township. He located on section 36, in I865. The settlers who came in before 1870 were Stephen Allen, Henry Comings and John Byers, locating also on section 36; Patrick Downey, on section 34; Calvin Woodworth, William R. Simington, on section 28; S. Hewit and Enoch Starks, on section 20. W. J. Townsend was the first man to bring a horse into the township. Miss Ida Jones opened the first school, in a log school-house on section 24, in 187 1. Following this lady's efforts to impart knowledge to the young, came the Rev. Mr. Miller to administer to the religious wants of the older settlers, which was in the winter of 1871-2, holding his services at the house of John Mitchell, on section 26. At one time quite an extensive lumbering business was carried on in the township, the lumber going out by the way of Lake County. Its means of transportation has been and is by the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, which runs along the eastern line of the township, and which was completed through it ie;) I ^ b *Ir44 c N~-W j t —$.- ----^u^....... C-N OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 363 ~~iIe,%,Ur Aa* f 8 in the early part of 1872. The trading place of the people is Tustin, which is also their postoffice. The census of 1884 gives the population at 840, and the. assessed value of the property in 1883 was $192,000. There are a few pretty well cultivated farms here, and the soil is regarded good for vegetables and grain. Hay and potatoes are the best crops. Fruit has not been cultivated very much. This part of the county being very heavily wooded, it required a great deal of hard work to clear up the lands and make them tillable. In the early days there were some pretty "slashing " feats performed. John Lindburg, who located on section 30, in I87I, "slashed" 49 acres during the first twelve months, the timber of which was mostly hardwood! As to business in this township, outside of Tustin, Henry S. Kelley has a saw-mill and shingle-mill located on section i. William Bullock has a saw-mill on section 12; and a water-power grist-mill is operated on section 21 by McHugh & Bros. James E. Bevins has a saw-mill and shingle-mill on section 32. Section 7 has a shingle-mill owned by Mr. Slat; and send was the enterprising man first to locate here, who after settling had energy enough to cut the first tree. In the spring of I872, a general store was opened by Daniel McGovern. About this period the Swedish colony of New Bleking located in and around here, with headquarters at the village. The railroad company, to encourage Swedish immigration, gave the colony 40 acres of land here for church and school purposes, and for building lots. There were in this colony some 80 families, numbering in all about 300 persons. In the spring of I875, Mr. Townsend erected and opened the first hotel, which was called the Tustin House. This building is still used as a hotel. In i880, the first Fourth-of-July celebration was held. A gentleman from Chicago delivered the oration, which is reported to have been very eloquent and patriotic. A liberty-pole was raised, games of various kinds were indulged in, and a grand old time was had. Tustin has a population of about 350, and is a thrifty, growing town, sustained principally by the lumbering trade. DRTTTP TTPCT CC T.TDCPPCC I I,kgx IE3 section 36 a saw-mill by Allen & Bros. The following named Supervisors have had the Belsher & McGowan and Truman A. Stephens, honor to look after this township's financial matters: have two good saw-mills in the place, which were started in 1883. SUPERVISORS. SUPERVISORS.Sawyer & Knox are manufacturing bowls. Enoch Starks, I87I CG. A. Estes is one of the old merchants, and has M. B. Houghton, I872 a large stock of general merchandise, with a thriving 0. F. Mcllwain, I873 business W. J. Townsend 187 4-7 A. W. Ransom, I878-9 Kennedy & Sons are manufacturers and dealers G. D. Cool, I880-i in flour, feed and grain. W. J. Towynsend, 1882 George W. Bevins, who is one of the old settlers, J. H. Anderson, I883-4. has an extensive line of general merchandise. Stokes & Co. deal in groceries, provisions, dry _ -D goods, drugs and medicines. D. S. Liddle is agent for Ransom & Giles, of DeTustin. troit, in general merchandise... A. J. Thompson has a full line of dugs and mediHIS village is located on the line of the Grand Rapi s & Indiana Railway, in the cines, and is also a practicing physician.. Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway, in the J Rs ) eastern part of Burdell Township. It was J. W. Ransom has drugs and medicines. laid out upon the advent of this railroad, the F. J. Luick deals in confectionery, fruits, tobacco first train of which gave a happy New Year's and cigars. greeting to the pioneers January I, I872. Its L. B. Stephens has a real-estate office, and is also site is on rolling ground, which affords the residents a Justice of the Peace. some very fine locations for dwellings. W. J. Town- Stark Layman looks after the surveying interests. -— 'cgIin- HAn. 0 IC 7< 3 364 OSCEOLA COUNTY. L1m- '..i VW f lk A.;,~ P S. S. Stephens has a billiard hall, and keeps "soft drinks." P. L. Compton and J. T. Willner carry on the livery business. Maxwell & Moore have a wagon and blacksmith' shop, and G. S. Deal does blacksmithing. O. L. Knox handles groceries and provisions. Charles Johnson keeps a restaurant, and A. J. Anderson wines and liquors. The Commercial House is conducted by S. C. Jones, proprietor. He has recently purchased this house, and when completed will be one of the largest hotels in the county. He is an old pioneer of this part of the State. In early days he was an extensive trapper, and in this business having of necessity roughed it much, he now knows how to make his guests comfortable and at home. The Tustin House, kept by J. T. Cavanaugh, is a good hotel, and the first opened in Tustin. Mr. Cavanaugh also keeps a meat market. The postoffice was established here in 1872, with W. J. Townsend as Postmaster. He was succeeded by George W. Bevins in 1878, who is still in possession of the office. Tustin has a flourishing and attractive school, with 85 scholars. They have a good school building, which cost $r,25o. Albert Demory is the present teacher. CHURCHES. The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the spring of 1882, with I6 members, namely: L. D. Cool and wife, Henry D. Mowers and wife, Daniel McGovern and wife, Wm. E. Walker and wife, John E. Mitchell and wife, Mrs. Mary Stokes, A. M. Demory, Mrs. Alice Letson, Mrs. Jane Edgett and Mrs. Lucy DuBois. It was organized by Rev. Owen J. Golden, of LeRoy. This society has no church building, but hold their meetings in the building formerly occupied by the Swedish Church. Services are held here every Sabbath by Rev. J. F. McKinley, of LeRoy. It has a membership at present of 25. The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized April Io, 1874, with io members. Articles of faith are those of the Augsburg Confession, and accepted by the Scandinavian Augustana Synod, to which body this society belongs. This was the first Church organized in Tustin. In I882, they erected their new church edifice, which cost $2,500. At present there are 225 members, halving one of the largest congregations in the county. Rev. John Forsburg is their Pastor. Episcopal Church.-This Church was organized soon after the town was settled, and embraced in its membership a part of the Swedish colony. Owing to some misunderstanding, the Swedish portion of the congregation withdrew and organized a separate society, known as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church, and erected for themselves a new church building. This action reduced the membership of the Episcopal Church to a very few. The society, however, still holds together, and is occasionally served by Bishop Gillespie, of Grand Rapids. THE PRESS. The Tustin Echo is a six-column folio paper, published and edited by Frank J. Luick. The Echo is a very neat, newsy sheet. The editor says there is nothing miraculous about his paper further than that " it has come to stay." It first presented itself to the reading public Dec. 18, I884. The office was formerly the plant of the Advance, which was established in 1878. It existed until Oct. r, I884, when its light was withdrawn from the world. Another paper was published in the office, called the Herald. It had a brief life and then its flickering light went out, to be rekindled by the Echo. The Echo will be independent in politics, enterprising, and faithful to its patrons. We bespeak for it a successful future. SOCIETIES. Col. Stewart Lodge, No. 285, Grand Army of the Republic, was instituted Oct. 8, I884. Charter members-A. Corwin, Daniel McGovern, Stark Lampman, S. N. Barron, M. B. Houghton, G. F. Naygle, Joseph G. Fenner, H. B. Chapman, John Byers, John Grove, John Mitchell, G. C. Taylor, Frank Allen, William Degart, Frank Edgett, Jerome Morgan, Charles Winchell and C. A. Bolin. The lodge has at present 20 members, with the following officers: Commander, M. B. Houghton; Senior Vice Commander, Stark Lampman; Junior Vice Commander, George Naygle; Quartermaster, John Grave; Adjutant, Areteus Cannon; Chaplin, Daniel McGovern; Officer of the Day, H. B. Chapman. This lodge has a good hall and is in good working order. Odd Fellows, No. 372, was instituted in October,. %LA AlCj j S (^ ke V~ --- ^ j i< '.Z O.N - t ( " 0 9 u q sS''v --- — 't' AR ---- OSCEOLA COUNTY. 365 1882. Charter members-Oliver Platts, A. M. De- -Mary R, Collins, Nellie Kennedy, Eunice B. mory, Stark Lampman, Davis Collins, Wm. Laugh- Thompson, Alta Hoove-, Maria George, Mary A. rae, James H. Anderson, Joseph H. George, A. J. Townsend, Mary Byers, Lucy B. Cool, Jane Morgan, ' Morgan, Irael Sherman, S. B. Root, Wm. Gage and Mary M. Somers, Sarah L. Anderson and Elma W. J. Townsend. The lodge is in a flourishing con- Clark. Officers-Mrs. A. W. Somers, N. G.; Mrs. t dition and has now i8 members, with a good. well K. Anderson. Secretarv and Mrs. M. A.Town snd,. equipped hall. Officers-N. G., W. J. Townsend; Recording Secretary, D. R. Marvin; Treasurer, A. J. Thompson. Rebecca Lodge, Florence, No. 64, was chartered April 6, I883. Members —Oliver Platts, D. F. Collins, Stark Lampman, David Kennedy, A. J. Thompson, Wm. Byers, S. D. Cool, H. A. Morgan, George Hawkins, J. H. Anderson, George Clark, Henry Hoover and George W. Davis. Sisters Treasurer. The lodge of United Workmen was instituted March ii, I88I. Charter members-Francis Smith, Daniel McGovern, W. J. Townsend. W. E. Walker, A. L. Cool, D. T. Jaques, Daniel Buse, H. D. Mau-.er, J. E. Graves and Oran Hewit. Present membership, 28. Officers-Master, M. W. Perry Secretary, S. B. Root; Treasurer, A. J. Thompson Chaplain, Daniel McGovern. i' K k y, N aA! TV, 1=~ layA, S 3 3 51 A I1 - ) I JD f V I* ~I, 1.c* '!i <.-f^.ad- e. " ^. - - - r 366 OSCEOLA COUNTY. T I I Z, g s " ' -e - (r^ *e at aownh / | S tf '^^'^ia W"a6I — S < -s2 -( j^gi^^. iEDAR Township is number i8 north, of i[m range 9 west, and is surrounded by the ji following named townships: Rose Lake, on the north; Osceola, on the east; Hersey, on the south; and Lincoln, on the west. It assumed the responsibility of self-government in 1871, under an order of the Board of Supervisors made in January, of the same year. The meeting was held the first Monday in April, at the residence of T. H. Slaybough. S. S. Reed, G. H. and S. Slaybough were the Inspectors. The following officers were chosen: G. H. Slaybough for Supervisor, S. Slaybough for Clerk, and Elisha Parker for Treasurer; for Highway Commissioners, S. Slaybough, S. S. Reed and E. W. Hayes; School Inspectors, E. Parker and E. W. Hayes; Constables, J. A. Worth and H. C. Parker. G. H. Slaybough, Elisha Parker, Jacob Thomas and S. S. Reed are the first settlers in this township. The township is watered by Cat Creek and branches, numerous other creeks and several little lakes. The surface of the land is rolling, with a clay and sandy soil. The principal timber is pine, which is interspersed with the hard-woods. For many years after the first settlement of this township the population consisted chiefly of those engaged in the lumber business. This business has somewhat diminished during the last few years, on account of the thinning out of the great forests, and consequently the population has decreased, being estimated at about 250. The farming lands are mostly stump lands. Number of farms in the township, r8, with about 500 acres improved. Average number of acres in eacn farm, 88. Cedar has four school districts, which contain 103 pupils. District No. i has a log school-house, costing $150, and located on section i8, iand has 22 pupils on the list. District No. 2 has a frame house, costing $450, located on section 6, and has 32 pupils on the list. District No. 3 has a log house, which is located on section 31, and cost $150, with I6 pupils. District No. 4 has a frame building, costing $250, is located on section 14, and has 13 pupils. The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad, running east and west, and the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, running north aid south, pass within a few miles of.the south and west lines of the township. On section 29, Beardsley & Davis have a shinglemill, with a capacity of 40,000 per day. These shingles are hauled to Evart and are handled by C. L. Gray & Co. At Strawberry Lake, A. Richardson has a saw-mill, shingle-mill and a box factory. Capacity for lumber, about 25,000, and shingles, 40,000. Mr. Richardson has also a saw-mill on section 26. Cedar Township has been governed by the following named Supervisors: f -W i i SUPERVISORS. G. H. Slaybough, i871-3 Jacob Thomas, I874-82 L. W. June, I883 Jacob Thomas, I884. m<*,-E Ii ('rm 9 q lY 4 OSCEOLA COUNTY. 367 i var oT wnst C-! - T @, y. M X' g VART is in the southern tier of townships, northward into Osceola and then southward to. f and is numbered 17 north, of range 8 west, Evart, and passing south to the west between secv, C with Osceola on the north, Orient on the tions 6 and 7, Muskegon River; crossing south, it ^ ~ a$ east, and Mecosta County on the south, and enters the township at Evart, and passing through i e {s Hersey Township on the west. The meeting the northwest part goes out about the middle of sec- ' for the organization of the township was held in tion 7. =s the school-house April 5, I870, under an order made Big Stone Creek, with its branches, head in this by the Board of Supervisors. The Inspectors ap- township and empty into the Muskegon. Upper 'e pointed were J. B. Smith, John Hoover and Stoel J. and Lower Big Lakes, Tift, Wright and Saddle Tyler. The 26 votes that were polled elected Will- Lakes, with numerous little streams, give a liberal ( iam Bennett Supervisor, William C. McMullen Clerk, supply of water, and afford ample facilities for drainand John Smith Treasurer: S. J. Tyler, T. T. Bene- age. way and John H. McMullen, Highway Commis- Portions of the township are quite rolling, and sioners; 0. R. Winsor and Stoel J. Tyler, School In- others flat. The soil is clay loam, and sandy, with a spectors; J. H. Smith, Aaron Winsor, John Smith and clay sub-soil. There are some 70 farms, with about Thomas Bennett, Justices of the Peace; John Breck- 2,500 acres improved. Wheat does very well in the nor, F. C. Yorks, E. H. Minier, Jeremiah Means and township, the yield being estimated last year at ' Thomas Bennett, Constables. about 5,000 bushels; but hay and potatoes are reEvart has four whole school districts and one garded as the best crop. In agricultural products fractional, namely, No. 3, which is in Evart village. it rates the sixth. The school building in District No. i is located on The trading point for the inhabitants is Evart, and section 14, and cost $700; number of pupils on the to this place they go for their mails. list, 44. In district No. 2 the school-house is located As to the early settlers, and where they located, on section 19, and cost $800; number of pupils, 25. we first mention Edward Manes, who came to the District No. 4 has the school-house on section 27, township in 1865, and located on section 23. J. B. and cost $200; number of pupils on the rolls, 23. In Smith located on section 22 in i866; John Smith on District No. 5, the school-house is located on section section 2 in I867. Philander Peck and John Hoover 5, and cost $700; number of pupils on the list is 21. took up homes in 1867, on section I4. Frank Evart The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad passes and Wm. C. McMullen located on section 23 in () through the upper portion of Evart Township, com- I867, and Jeremiah Manes on section 22, in I867. ing in at the line of the northeast corner, deflecting During their pioneer life they obtained their sup_._ACUik'" " 368 OSCEOLA plies from Big Rapids, and sometimes from the lumber camps. Other incidents connected with this township will '_. A..'LL- -._.. r' 1... — i. -11 --- CO UNTY. ------ *0 ( T iB I uC Iounu In tII nHistory otui Evar village. About one mile below the village of Evart, J. Bowley, Jr., has a boom siding with a mill, where he manufactures lumber, shingles, and clapboards. Evart Township has a population of some I,200, which has been represented by the Supervisors named below: f SUPERVISORS. j w Wm. Bennett, Wm. C. McMullen, Robert Sherman, Wm. C. McMullen, M. L. Stephens, F. E. McDougall, Wm. C. McMullen, M. L. Stephens, Francis York, W. H. Styker, I870-3 1874-5 1876 I877 I878 I879 i880 1881-2 1883 1884 amr r^. OSCEOLA CO UNTY. I "row 375.4I z in attendance, 9. In No. 4, the building cost $200;, number of pupils in attendance, I4.; It is estimated that this township has about I,500 acres under improvement, with 60 farms; and with a, production in the year 1884 of 2,500 bushels of wheat. Average yield per acre, I5.11. Population in 1884 was 427, showing an increase of i88 since i880. The nearest railroad station is Le Roy, on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. There is one postoffice in the township, located on section 8. Alfred Davis is Postmaster, who also has a store here, and deals in general merchandise. C. L. Gray & Co. have a lumber and shingle manufactory in this township, located on section 35. Capacity of shingle-mill, 40,000 per day. On section 36 they have another mill, with a capacity of 40,000 shingles and 5,000 clapboards per day. C. L. Gray & Co. also c section 29; A. J. Mc( section 35, \ and shingle Evart, hand The name served, are E >perate Cox's lumber and shingle mill on capacity in shingles 40,000 per day. 2arn has a lumber and shingle mill on vith a capacity in lumber of 8,000 feet, s 20,000 per day. C. L. Gray & Co., of le their stock. es of the Supervisors, with the terms given below: SUPERVISORS. I Smith Hawkins, D. S. Shadley, Smith Hawkins, D. S. Shadley, N. O. Pettibone, D. S. Shadley, John Cockerton, D. S. Shadley, John Cockerton, 1870-3 1874-6 I877 187 8-9 I880 I88I 1882 1883 1884. A, Of (jp,. r 5 ( K 1 I ir 60-11-6-i r:, I ) w I tf!,J — l^^~/:E:N Na u N1I a w'Kt 376 - OSCEOLA COUNTY. 37 OSELACUNY 3 -- r.= rrat r.= IHIS township was granted an organization by the Board of Supervisors of Mecosta County April 6, i868, and was attached to this county. Its organization was perfected a year before the county in which it is situated was formally organized. P. S. Holdridge, A. J. Johnson and Nathan Pettibone were appointed Inspectors of the election. John A. Gamage was chosen as Clerk of the Board. They met at the residence of D. A. Blodgett, where they organized the meeting, and then adjourned to the house of S. P. Gamage. The polls were opened and the citizens of Hersey exercised their rights of suffrage here for the first time. It did not take as long then to count the vote as it does now, yet they might have had as much weight in shaping the destinies of this township as the more numerous vote of later days. When the ballot-box was opened, there were found to be 35 votes, which determined the election of the following officers: Edwin F. French, Supervisor; John 4. Ganlage, Clerk; George L. Laughlin, Treasurer; Nathan Pettibone, A. J. Johnson and Frank Evart, Highway Commissioners; Nathan Pettibone and J. B. Smith, School Inspectors; P. S. Holdridge, John Smith, S. P. Gamage and L. O. Schofield, Justices of the Peace, and Anthony Sample, John Hoover, C. J. Graham and Wm. Rose, Constables. Hersey lies in the southern row of townships, and is numbered 17 north, of range 9 west. Its boundary lines are Cedar on the north, Evart on the east, Mecosta County on the south and Richmond Town ship on the west. It has four school districts, with the school-houses located respectively on sections 32, 23, I8, 4. Nos. I, 2, and 3 have frame buildings, and No. 4 is a log house. Values of these school-houses are as follows: In district No. i, $500; No. 2,$700; No. 3, $450, and No. 4, $190. The pupils on the rolls in No. I, 26; No. 2, 62; No. 3, 72, and No. 4, 20. The pupils living in and about Hersey village, the site of which is taken from Richmond and Hersey Townships, attend the graded school at Hersey, which is in district No. 5, section 24 of Richmond Township. The first settler in this township was D. A. Blodgett, who located on section 17 in the spring of I85. Though Mr. Blodgett was the first settler in the county and was in the first organization of Richmond Township, which at the time embraced the entire county, the first settlement was given to Mr. Gooch, as he located in the territory now embraced by Richmond; and Mr. Blodgett is given the first settlement in Hersey, as his location was made in the territory now embraced by it. Following D. A. Blodgett as pioneers, came Edwin F. French, John A. Gamage, L. O. Schofield, Nathan Pettibone, George L. Laughlin, Frank Evart, J. B. Smith, P. S. Holdridge, John Hoover, C. J. Graham and Wm. Rose. I!' F.; f-I, j 'ir i.A- A The land in general is undulating. Along the north side of Muskegon River there is a great deal of level land. It was originally heavily timbered with pine and the hard-woods, with some grand elm and maple form ^9~c — -^( 3 ~an r 0r > OSCEOLA4 COUNTY. ^. I 377 14 (I ests. The principal business for many years after the first settlements was lumbering. The soil is very well adapted for 'agriculture, the bottom lands being rich and fertile. Hersey is exceedingly well watered, having the Muskegon, which runs diagonally, with circuitous courses, through it. Big Stone, Cat, Two Mile and several other creeks, which head in this and adjoining townships, empty into the Muskegon. This river was, and is still, of great advantage to the lumbermen of this township. Special attention has been given by the people of.this township to public roads. Nearly all sections of the township can now be reached by good graded roads. It is also crossed by the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad, which enters from the east between P. S Jaco Zera H. I Jacol A. 0 Fred A. 0 J. F. ~. Derevage,. Holdridge, b Fenning, h Whitney, ). Francisco, b Fenning,. Temple, Temple,. Temple, Proctor, I872-3 1874 i875-7 i878 I879 i880 I88I 1882 1883 1884 K V Hersey. sections i and 12 and goes out westward on section rsey Townshipranksthesecondinimproved HIS pretty and interesting village is situa19. Hersey Township ranks thie second in improved o.9I.. y ted in a valley, surrounded by an elevated lands and in production.. * ~ ~ \... - and beautiful landscape in the midst of a UM The best stock and agricultural farm in the town-ft ' fertile country where the waters of the Muske-,N ship and the best in the county is D. A. Blodgett's, gn and H y ( c t., gon and Hersey (sometimes called the Hersey t =: which lies along the banks of the Muskegon in the an c Branch of the Muskegon) effect a confluence., the suburbs of the village of Hersey. But there are The waters of the Hersey nearly divide the tow *f RE ELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Congregational Church.-In the spring time of I870, a gathering was had of the followers of this Church at the house of L. F. Stephens, to take into consideration the propriety of organizing a Congregational society. At this conference 'there were present George L. Laughlin, Alex. McFarlane, Mrs. I e 2)`)f\f~ u V f: KS 380 OSCEOLA COUNTY. e) — 8o tN (^k I I,*zx X-Ty their services. Mr. Mumford was succeeded by Rev. G. H. Lockhart in I883, who remained until i884, when Rev. George Gilleen, the present Pastor, was appointed. Mr. Gilleen has a charge in Schofield, services being held there at the school-house every two weeks, with some 20 members in attendance. By the zeal of the present Pastor a new interest has been awakened within the fold of this society, and the membership is on the increase. The Evangelical Association was the first religious society to organize in Hersey, which was in 1867. It was established by the Michigan Conference, and served by Rev. Carl Deike. First members-Henry Bittner, Henry Gerhardt, Adam Rupert, Daniel Faist, John Pfeffer and families. The first quarterly meeting was held September 6, I867, by Rev. Andrew Nickolai, in the house of Henry Gerhardt. In the spring of I868, Rev. John Orth was sent to preside over the society and remained two years. He was succeeded by Rev. Stephen Henne, who remained until 1872. Rev. C. Roehm then took charge, and under his administration a church building was erected, and was dedicated Sunday, May 19, 1872, which cost $3,000. Rev. L. Brum was the next Pastor, who came in I873, and remained three years. Rev. T. W. Shaefer followed, serving one year, and then was succeeded by Rev. F. F. Meyer, who served two years. Rev. Wm. Berge then took charge until I882, when he was relieved by the present Pastor, Rev. E. Weiss. At present there are about 32 members. A large and interesting Sunday-school is connected with the Church. Services are held every two weeks, the pastor having other charges. They have a good, large, substantial edifice, and the society is growing. THE PRESS. Osceola Outline.-The first issue of this paper was sent out to the reading public June 5, I871. Norman Teal was the editor, and Blodgett & Teal were the proprietors. This partnership was dissolved in the fall of the same year, Mr. Blodgett (D. A.) going out. In I872, J. F. Radcliffe purchased the paper and conducted it till I876, when he leased it to W. G. Campbell, who had editorial charge one year. At the expiration of this time, Mr. Radcliffe again assumed charge, and has since been editor and proprietor. It was a folio up to I875, when it was changed to a quarto. In politics it is Republican. Circulation about 600. The editor, Mr. Radcliffe, is an experienced newspaper man, and understands how to conduct a journal, giving to the people of Osceola one of the best papers published in the county. He has lately been honored by the people of the county, who have placed him in charge of their exchequer. SCHOOL. The people of Hersey have manifested no inconsiderable interest in the education of the young, by establishing a good graded school. They have erected a good school building and secured the services of competent teachers. At this school there are about Ioo pupils in attendance. It is in School District No. 5. SOCIETIES. I. 0. 0. F., Hersey Lodge, No. 311, was instituted Jan. 17, I873. Charter members-R. B. Sherden, James Rooney, John W. Mills, Jacob Finning and and D. E. Spring. Officers-R. B. Sherden, W. M.; John Mills, S. W.; A. D. Wood, J. W.; John Eastwood, Secretary; O. E. Jones, Treasurer; S. D. Proctor, Sr. D.; R. F. Lewis, Jr. D., and Norman Yorks, Tyler. Present officers-R. B. Diggins, W. M.; H. T. Lewis, S. W.; A. L. Brooks, J. W.; James Aikens, S. D.; N. Shank, J. D.; R. W. Hall, Secretary; A. M. Shank, Treasurer, and Thomas Taylor Tyler. This lodge is in good working condition, with 34 members, and a good hall. Hersey (John J. Bagley) Post, No. 97. —This lodge was chartered Dec. 27, 1882. Charter members —Wm. H. Miller, Marcus A. Lafler, G. V. Chamberlain, George Meyers, Oren E. Jones, M. B. Houghton, Benj. F. Gooch, E. A. Stephens, A. C. Berge, Henry Rose, Patrick McCann, John Lafayette A. O. Temple, Z. B. Pease, Charles Huff, Abraham C. Barkley and John Huff. Officers —N. B. Houghton, C.; Marcus A. Lafler, Sr. V. C.; A. O. Temple, Jr. V. C.; E. A. Stephens, Adj't; Oren E. Jones, Q. M.; Benj. F. Gooch, Q. M. Sergt.; A. C. Page, Officer of the Day; Harvey Hope, Officer of the Guard; Abraham Barkley, Chaplain, and G. V. Chamberlain, Surgeon. This lodge is in a prosperous condition, and a lively interest is manifested in it, which indicates that Hersey is a patriotic village.. I Q I I I O X C-, I'l-q oq —IHP B^~)) — -- - rraan c B5n n^ * ^^g ----N^-> --->: I a7f I, O' I WOIMAN. 5, 1870, the Board of Supervisors made an order for the organization of Highland a Township, and appointed George Stump, XV. W. Stewart and J. P. Gould Inspectors to i preside at the election, which was held in the school-house. S. C. Jones was elected Supervisor. Highland is situated in the northern tier of townships, in number 20 north, of range 8 west. It is bounded on the north by Missaukee County, on the east by Marion, on the south by Hartwick, and on the West by Sherman Townships. The surface of the land is rolling, and the soil is a sandy loam. It is watered by the Middle Branch River and several streams which empty into it, and the west branch of the Clam River. The first settler in this township was S. C. Jones, who came in the fall of i866 and settled on section 18. He put up a cabin and the following winter devoted himself to trapping, at which he was an experienced hand. He followed his favorite pursuit that winter on the Middle Branch, Clam, Pine and other rivers and branches, and on Muscat Lake. His route was regularly laid out with stations, where he would have his shanties. He would time it so as to reach these stations about nightfall, visiting his numerous traps, killing his animals and taking off the fur, which he would put into his sack, throw it over his back and travel on. In order to make these stations he would often travel 50 miles a day. In those early days trapping was a very profitable business. The principal fur caught was marten, beaver, mink, and sometimes they would take in a bear. As other early settlers, Anthony Duddles, George Stump, Edgar Blaisdell, Joseph Holmes, located in I867. Duddles on section 8, Stump on I8, Blaisdell on 20, and Holmes on section 30. Highland is divided into seven school districts, with the school buildings located consecutively from district number i up, as follows: section I8, 4, 25, 27, 30, 12 and 7. No. 7 is frame, the rest are log buildings. P. W. Mitchell teaches the school in district No. 5, and has nine pupils. This township is heavily timbered with maple, rock elm, black and white ash, beech, basswook, hemlock and some pine, which is being cut and sent to the difierent markets. Roads have been, and are being, built to meet the wants of the settlers, and schools are opened where there is sufficient number of pupils to make it worth the while. The township lies a little out of the line of the rapid settlements, yet its population is gradually increasing, having, according to the census of I884, 3I souls, an increase since i880 of 123. Assessed value ot property, $140,000. i;3 J0 cc c c (! E I ( ^ I ) ) 0 * 4. > v Q I O.- ~-,,~/ XJ;arr~a T 1 --- —A^DnuDD^^. ---382 OSCEOLA CO UNT'Y. Fruit, as far as it has been cultivated, is reported and 2. The meetings are presided over by Rev. Mr. to do well. Potatoes are the best crop for vegetables, Green, from Wexford County; preaching every two and oats the best crdp for grain. weeks. Highland is remarkable for its production of that The Baptist Church has one organization in school medicinal plant known as gentian. Hundreds of District No. i. Services are held every month at the pounds of the root of this plant are marketed annu- school-house, and are presided over by Rev. W. P. ally. Squiers, of Reed City. The society was formed in ^,, Raymond Bebee has a saw-mill located on section 34. The township has two postoffices, one located on section 26, called Milburn, and the other on section 4, which is known as the Freelingville postoffice. The trading point for the people is Tustin, in Burdell Township, and this place is their nearest railroad' station. In religious matters Highland has been quite progressive, it having established two churches. The Methodist Church has two organizations, with services held in the school-house of Districts Nos. i I87, by Rev. Mr. Stillwell, and services have been held pretty regularly since. It has now some 15 members. Highland Township, from its organization to the present time, has been represented by the following named SUPERVISORS: 1 ( El S. C. Jones, M. W. Stewart, George W. Culver, M. W. Stewart, P. W. Mitchell, 1870-2 873-5 I876 1877-82 I883-4 (I = I..( '4 i_ I= ) ( ~&r1 7~~:`~;2~~ ~~-~ B~34,~-~ Iiasan - ~ OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 383 S,|e g ' rf Kl5h 5^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ H ** ^ r U e >~< ^X ^B- 1 ^ fp. rISfM ri, *,a, ~A> 53 > 'gg >b -Ssi p > e + s *) I' t ^'?*< a st i? I? HIS township was organized from Lincoln Township by order of the Board. Its local t i government was established April 4, I870 the election being held at the residence of Richard Toms. Thirty-two votes were cast at this meeting, resulting in the choice of Daniel XN McGovern for Supervisor, R. D. Simonton for Clerk, = and George H. Bassett, Treasurer; Highway Com^ missioners-Daniel McGovern, Wm. Slaughter and J. R. Simonton; Justices of the Peace-Calvin () Woolworth, Gideon A. Estes, John Frayer and Charles W. Worden; School Inspectors-George H. Bassett and Frank E. Payne; Constables-Wm. Snyder, R. D. Simonton, Richard Toms and John E. Guild; Overseers of the Highway-Henry Vandusen, George H. Bassett and Stephen Allen. SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Le Roy has five organized school districts. The school buildings are located as follows: District No. I (fractional) on section i; No. 2, on section 9; No. 3, on section 7; No. 5, on section 13, and No. 6, on section 22. No. i has ioo pupils on the list; No. 2, 61; No. 3, 20; No. 5, 178, and No. 6, 58 pupils. The buildings cost, in No. i, $600; No. 2, $400; No. 3, $300; No. 5, $,5o00, and in No. 6, $4oo. There is no district numbered 4. District No. 5 is located in Le Roy village. Le Roy Township is in the western row in number I9 north, of range Io west. Burdell Township f lies on the north, Rose Lake on the east, Lincoln b on the south, and Lake County on the west. It is.- ^ag ---- e' watered by Beaver Creek —which heads in Rose Lake Township —and its tributaries; the Hersey River, which heads in this township; and the Pine River, running across the northwest corner. The country is rolling, and well timbered with beech, maple, elm, hemlock and a little pine. The soil is clay loam, and in some localities a little sandy. The first settlers in the township are, Richard Toms, Daniel McGovern, R. D. Simonton, George H. Bassett, Calvin Woolworth, Gideon A. Estes, Charles W. Worden, John Frayer and E. M. Braden. Le Roy ranks the fifth in population, and in the assessed value of property, its population according to the census of 1884 being 1,020, and assessed valuation $232,000. It has now about 2,500 acres of improved land, with I20 farms. In I882 it produced 3,522 bushels of wheat, Io,635 bushels of corn, 6,6c2 bushels of oats, and 1o,663 bushels of potatoes, and 671 tons of hay. In 1883 it had 94 horses, 140 milch cows, I45 hogs, and I90 sheep. Wool production, 943 pounds. The average yield of wheat per acre is 1,414 bushels. The soil is regarded as productive and well adapted for farming purposes. Good roads are being constructed to meet the demands of an increasing population. The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad passes through the township, entering on section 34, deflecting eastward and passing out north on section i. The village of Le Roy is the trading place for most of the inhabitants and also their postoffice address. At Dewing's Siding the Ashton Lumber Company IIK~ 4f re) B I ~.!, u A s$| — ar L 384 OSCEOLA ( - OUNT[Y. Jhave their lumber mill, and a general store. ity of mill, 30,000 per day. The members 4,company are Dewing, Halladay & Watson. The names of the Supervisors who have sented this township are given below: SUPERVISORS. Daniel McGovern, 1 870-I T. F. Delzell, 1872 G. W. Bassett, I873-4 James E. Bevins, i875 G. A. Estes, 1876 f E. M. Braden, i877:i G. H. Bassett, I878-82 Peter R. Grant, i883-4 Capacof this repre K Le Roy. * BOUT the time of the advent of the railroad is the idea was conceived by some of the: ' business men of the township of Le Roy: " S of starting a village, and knowing that no town could prosper in modern times away ) from a railroad, a site was selected on the line of the Grand Rapids & Indiana. During the summer of 1871, while the railroad was being constructed through here, James E. Bevins, W. W. and Charles G. Westfall, Samuel Kimball, James M. Brown and H. C. Booth, located here for the pur-!I pose of engaging in business, and this was the be-: ginning of the town. It is situated near the eastern ' line of Le Roy Township in section I3, on Beaver Creek, which is a tributary of the Manistee River, and about I8 miles north of Reed City. The site is on rolling ground, and is quite attractive. Extensive forests of fine timber surround it, and its location is in the midst of what will ultimately be a rich. farming country. 1 The first railroad train came in during the latter part of November, I871, and from that time it became quite a lively town. The village of LeRoy was incorporated by act of the Legislature passed Feb. 2, I873, and the election under this act was held the first Monday in March following: J. E. Bevins, H. M. Patrick and G. W. Averill were appointed a board of registration. The election was duly held, resulting in the choice of James E. Bevins for President; L. C. Dill, Clerk, and G. W. Kellogg, Treasurer. G. W. Averill, H. M. Patrick and Anthony Wenzel were elected as Trustees; James C. Corbin, E. M. Braden', Godfrey Gundrum, George E. Merrill, Street Commissioners; Assessor, Walter L. Evans; Constable, M. W. Westfall. John Glerum was appointed Marshal, which completed the village government. The village was platted by James E. Bevins, its founder, Dec. 30, 1873, the plat embracing 40 acres. Samuel Kimball was the first man to open a store. M. W. Westfall, who was the first settler, put up the first house in the place; and Westfall Brothers opened the first hotel. This was all done in I871. The first child born here was a daughter to the wife of Charles G. Westfall, which event occurred during the latter part of I871. MURDER. One of the noted events of this part of the country was the murder of Charles G. Westfall, just mentioned, by two Indians, named Charles Powers and John Ka-the-way, which occurred Feb. 22, I872. Mr. Westfall was thought a good deal of by every one who knew him, and this murder threw the entire country in this region into the greatest excitement. It was only by sober and conservative counsels, and probably from the fact that they were Indians, that saved these murderers (as both were supposed to have done the deed) from being lynched. Mr. Westfall had secured himself a homestead in Lake County, and in company with William A. Balcom was moving from Le Roy to his new home. He had an ox team and sled, which was loaded with their household goods, and which was also their only means of transportation. Balcom was acting as driver and was also looking after the little child. The Indians had been drinking at Le Roy, and had not started from town with the Westfall party, whose route took them by the Indians' cabin, and who were hauling some flour for them. Some ways out of town and awhile before dark, the Indians came up, and, asking to ride, were allowed to get upon the sled. Soon afterward Powers became quarrelsome; and as the party proceeded on its journey, grew more so. About dark they all ar II-; I I9 f i xo 1^ 7 I *-nl-at — -~ OSCO.- COiau. 8 OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 385 - I... t rived at Pine River, and soon thereafter at the point where the trail to the Indians' wigwam led off from the main road. Here the Indians' flour was put off and they still being quarrelsome-particularly Pow| ers-Mr. Westfall stopped to parley with them, hoping thereby, as it was thought, to placate them. Balcom, with the team, went on to the house of Mr. Byam, where they were to put up for the night. The night wore on and Mr. Westfall not coming in, considerable uneasiness was felt in regard to his safety, I particularly as Balcom had made known the condi| tion of the two Indians. ( Finally a party, with Balcom, started back in search of the missing man. They found him nearly where he had been left by the team by the roadside, with life almost extinct. He was unable to speak, and died within a few moments after he was found. The body was taken to Byam's, and upon examina)tion was found to contain 29 stabs! Early next morning, a posse with guns started out for the InN dians. They were found at their wigwam, arrested z and taken before T. T. Delzell who committed them. } There being no jail in the county, they were taken grudge against him for it. The name of the person who really did break up the wigwam was afterwards ascertained, which entirely exonerated the lamented Westfall of the act which was eventually the occasion of his murder. ( ci i BUSINESS INTERESTS. Wenzel Brothers are extensive manufacturers of, and dealers in, lumber and shingles. This firm was organized in I882. The business was started here in I880, under a different firm. Capacity in lumber, 40,000 feet, shingles, 400,000, per day. They have 200 acres of timber land adjacent to their mills. J. C. Corbin, planing-mill, molding, matching, etc. Mr. C. has a large establishment; started his business in I883; also deals in lumber. A. Kimball has a flouring mill, and is a general dealer in flour and feed. Established in i883, and has a capacity of 300 bushels per day. James E. Bevins is a dealer in general merchandise, having one of the first stores opened in Le Roy. Is also an extensive dealer in real estate. C. F. Walden carries a general stock of merchan A= (J 'V =Agi dise. to Big Rapids and imprisoned there. Change of Patrick & Co., have a general line of merchandise.: venue was finally obtained for them to Mecosta H. N. Babcock supplies the people with jewelry, " County, where they were tried for murder in the first clocks, watches, etc. degree. Excitement ran high during this trial, and A. Shelander hasa boot and shoe store. people gathered to the court-house from all around J. H. Williams keeps a general store. the country. M. V. Gundrum carries a line of boots and shoes, Ka-the-way was acquitted, but Powers was con- crockery, drugs, groceries and dry-goods. victed. He was sentenced by the Court to imprison- The fair ladies of Le Roy have not been forgotment for life. Before, however, he was conveyed to ten, nor their wants, for Mrs. Wm. Herlan is with the Jackson penitentiary, he committed suicide by them with a fine stock of millinery goods. - taking poison. This was accomplished by taking B. S. Niles manufactures boots and shoes. some bed-bug poison found in his cell, which was Le Roy meat market is kept by M. W. Westfall. largely composed of corrosive sublimate. The people Dell Roberts keeps a saloon and billiards. were ably represented by their counsel, and the de- J. W. Davidson carries on a general blacksmithfense was well conducted. Ka-the-way claimed ing business, keeps shingles and does general wood that he was unconscious when he committed the work. murder, and knew not what he was doing. He bore Wm. Herlan, general blacksmithing and horsehimself during the trial with what people are wont, shoeing. or more properly speaking, pleased, to call Indian Drs. J. W. Law and C. H. Andrews look after the stoicism, but which is only the absence of conscience, health of the people, and I. H. Corbin attends,o l or a sense of moral responsibility. It was developed the legal business. after the trial that some one had, at a time dating Grant & McQuarrie, contractors and builders. back many months previous to the trial, broken up Le Roy has also a restaurant, a barber-shop and ( the wigwam of these Indians, and that Powers be- a skating rink. lieved that Mr. Westfall had done it, and held a The Westfall House, M. W. Westfall, proprietor,, P P, HA. ~ 386 OSCEOLA e ( ( ( I I i i was opened in x88I, and is located upon the rising ground a little way from the depot. The house is well furnished and well kept. Landlord Westfall gives such attention to his guests that on leaving they feel like returning to Le Roy just for the pleasure of putting up with him. The American House, H. J. Jenkins, proprietor, is also a good house. It has beenrecently re-opened, newly furnished throughout, and offers good accommodations. Le Roy contains many good substantial buildings, has a population of about 350 souls, and is a growing village. Its people are industrious and energetic. This, together with the rich lands and splendid timber districts surrounding it, furnish all the elements necessary to a populous town. Le Roy is the shipping point for the products of the great lumber mills of A. E. Sawyer at Sawyerville, in Rose Lake Township. A tramway is constructed from this place to Le Roy, a distance of some three miles, over which his lumber is freighted - to the depot. There are about or adjacent to Le Roy village eight shingle mills, owned by Charles Duray, Mr. = Spere, Metcalf & Noles, H. Gowsey & Sons, L. Brown, Freeman & Morse, and Charles Jepson. A postoffice was established at Le Roy in the winter of i87. James E. Bevins was appointed Postmaster, and has retained the confidence of Uncle Sam from that time to the present day. Daily mails by rail, and once a week from Hartwick by stage. SCHOOL. Le Roy has been attentive to the educational interests. The citizens have put up a good school building, at a cost of $I,500, and have provided good teachers. This is in district number five, and is a graded school, with I78 pupils on the rolls. W. E. Jackson is Principal, and Alice S. Brown his assistant. PRESS. Le Roy Independent.-This is a five-column quarto paper, established in September, I884. Its first issue was Sept. x3th, and this date is an epoch in the history of Le Roy as well as in the life of the ener' getic, enterprising and talented editor and proprietor i of this journal. Shakspeare has said that There is a tide in the affairs of men, ) Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyages of their lives ' Are bound in shallows and in miseries. I SOCIETIES. Osceola Lodge, 1. O. O. F., No. 300.-This lodge was instituted July 26, I877. Charter membersR. C. Johnstone, William D. Clark, Frederick Shields, Charles Bradley, John R. Simonton, Godfrey May, D. B. Hamlin, Lewis Tupper, Joseph H. Forbes, S. E. Morris, Octave Decair, Thomas Hood, J. Randolph and J. G. Piper. Present officers-William Allen, N. G.; Joseph Allen, V. G.; W. J. Gaw, P. S.; John Kelley, R. S.; Samuel Bush, Warden; George E. Merrel, I. S. G.; John Byers, O. S. G.; J. G. Piper, R. S. V. G., and A. P. Bailey, L. S. V. G. Encampment of Le Roy and Rose Lake, No. 6, was instituted Aug. 21, I879. Charter members-W. D. Clark, Frank Shields, Edwin Smith, Oliver Platts, Melvin P. May, James E. Bevins, John Gore, John Kelley, George E. Merrel, Joseph H. Forbes and John R. Simonton. Present officers of the Encampment: George Merrel, P. T.; E. S. Bevins, C. W.; Joseph Allen, J. W.; Samuel Bush, H. P.; John Kelley, Scribe; A. P. Bailey, Treasurer, and Oliver Platts, G. D. Victoria Lodge of Rebecca, No. 73. —This lodge was organized Sept. 24, I884, with the following named charter members: W. J. Law, Miss E. V. Law, E. S. Bevins, Miss Permelia Bevins, A. P. Bailey, Elizabeth Bailey, Samuel H. Bush, Miss Martha Bush, F. Ripley, Miss Mary Ripley, Miss Julia Olekerk, M. W. Westfall, Miss Frances E. Westfall, N. J. Archibald and Miss R. H. Archibald. Officers of Rebecca Lodge: E. S. Bevins, N. G.; Miss Frances E. Westfall, V. G.; Miss E. V. Law, R. S.; A. P. Bailey, P. S.; Miss Martha Bush, Treasurer; S. H. Bush, Warden; W. J. Law, Conductor; Miss R. H. Archibald, R. S. N. G.; N. J. Archibald, R. S. V. G., and M. W. Westfall, L. S. V. G. All these lodges have a good hall, are well equipped and in good working order. G. A. R.-This lodge was instituted Aug. 3, i883. Charter members-Arian Newcomb, M. W. Westfall, Henry Vandusen, Homer R. Peake, George Hinkley, Henry M. Evarts, J. E. Scribner, Christian B0 B~r- --- COUNTY. - - - — Y Mr. Jackson did not "omit the opportunity," but "took the tide at the flood." He is now afloat on the full sea of life, and he has but to keep a firm, steady course, and his venture will "lead on to for- i tune." We wish him the success he so justly deserves. I1 Z= X=,i V."A X=~s r.= 1 I A -I, —* *^ I oo(y ff 1}, L- I-. - - H n. i~ 1 -a~ OSCEOLA COUNTY. 387 Gugle, Joseph A. Braden, Levi S. Jackson, George Henry Hale, Mary E. Hale, Martin Burris, Margaret E. Filley, Abraham H. Fox, William A. Boyer, Louis Burris, C. F. Price, Ann Price, William Wood, G. Hall, Reuben H. Bishop, George W. Averill and Amanda Miner, Lewis Hall, Angeline Sprague, Mrs. George Caslaw. Officers-William A. Boyer, C.; S. A. Newcomb and Marsena Brown. The first Lewis S. Jackson, Sr. V. C.; A. H. Fox, Jr. V. C.; Pastor was Rev. O. S. Wolfe. He was followed by ) T-T nm.r ' P.-,. 1 — C.,rn,,,, T A "RrD.-,n ( M * -.,,R T T M/rtin n,,,.,,..c ir.,PrloPr hv, R T,, N i 113 *4 i \~ L.UIIICIL 1. -Ci^K;, OUILgCUVL, J. aII. DLIUCII.,. ITn., Lewis J. Hall, Chaplain; George Averill, Officer of the Day; J. E. Scribner, Officer of the Guard; A. Newcomb, Adj't; R. H. Bishop, S. M.; M. W. Westfall, Q. M. S. This lodge is prospering, is holding meetings regularly, and a good deal of interest is manifested. CHURCHES. The First Baptist Church of Le Roy was organized Feb. 2r, 1877. Names of the first membersWilliam C. Burke, Mary E. Burke, Elizabeth Babcock, John Lockhart, Esther Lockhart, 'Gideon A. Estes, Lottie Estes, Henry Worden, Ann Worden, LCY~.V J. J, &.LC IV UL LJ, WII WCdb b)tl~,.,..i.U. LUy X.A.V o V.J. Stilwell, the present Pastor. A good church building has been erected by this society, which was dedicated June I8, I882, and cost $r,650. Evangelical Lutheran Church.-This society belongs to the General Synod of Illinois. It was organized July 3, I883, by Rev. Charles F. Walden, with 42 members. Services once a month, which are held in the Methodist church. There is a MAethodist Society here, but, though repeated efforts were made to the presiding pastor on whom we had to depend, we were unable to get any further information regarding it. = =: ) Is I r: I i 4 U - '* v., — e.u a n s)_> 388 OSCEOLA COUNTY. (SG5Y3) ~ —. A t^ ',.,It k lw( I f -%. Iq~ 3~L 3 ~~~ t-,VN Lewl I (I. i h x r r: ii 1 )Y INCOLN Township was organized under special act of the Legislature passed March, 1 i867. The meeting was held at the residence of T. M. Warren. James R. Carlisle was Chairman, C. A. Warren, Clerk, and James S. Donnelly, Moderator. Fifteen votes were cast at this election which resulted in the choice of James R. Carlisle for Supervisor, Martin Horan for Clerk, and Oswald Esner for Treasurer. James S. Donnelly, W. C. Burgess, James F. Denton and James R. Carlisle were elected Justices of the Peace; W. C. Burgess, James S. Donnelly and George Reed, Commissioners of the Highway; W. C. Burgess and T. J. Wilhelm, School Inspectors; Martin Horan, Asa L. Rice and Fred Media, for Constables. The township is divided up into eight school districts, with school buildings located on the following sections: No. i, on section 26; No. 2, on section 27; No. 3, on section 8; No. 4, on section 2; No. 5, on section io; No. 6, on section I6; No. 7, on section 20; No. 8, on section 21. They are all good frame houses, averaging in cost $600. School District No. i has on the rolls 26 pupils; No. 2, 54; No. 3, 6r; No. 4, 33; No. 5, 74; No. 6, 94; No. 7, 52, and No. 8, 57 pupils. William and Frederick Media, James Donnelly, Gardam Willson, Oswald Esner and J. W. Ash were the first settlers in this township. It has for its northern boundary Le Roy; eastern, Cedar; southern, Richmond Township; and on the west lies Lake County. It is numbered I8 north, of range o1 east. The township of Lincoln is exceedingly well watered, having the Hersey River with its numerous branches, which meander through it; also by several small lakes. It was once very heavily timbered with pine, hemlock and the hard-woods; but the great raid made on its forests by the lumbermen has made them look thin. The surface of the land is rolling, with a clay loam and a sandy soil. It is regarded good for farming purposes, and the township contains many fine farms, with good farm buildings. The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad runs I north and south nearly through the center of the: township, with a branch road starting from the junction and running northwest through it to Luther, a which have done much towards its development. It has three stations within its limits-Ashton, Milton Junction and Orono. These stations con- ( stitute the trading places for the people of Lincoln and furnish them the means of transportation. In I884 there were 1,269 inhabitants. It is estimated there are 3,539 acres under improvement, with I57 farms, each averaging about 68 acres. In live stock Lincoln Township makes, in comparision X with the others, a very good showing. Horses, I68; i horned cattle. 571; hogs, 347; sheep, 334. At Mil- } ton Junction, George Reed and William Tuttle keep a general line of merchandise. At Orono, about a mile south of Milton Junction, C. A. Warren has a general store. Below are given the names of the Supervisors who have represented the township since its organization:.( SUPERVISORS. I m x I x c e I (i - K' I v f v James R. Carlisle, i867-8 J. W. Ash, I869-70 B. E. Westfall, i87 -2 J. W. Ash, 1873 J Frayer Halladay, I874 J. W. Ash,. I875-7 M nNA -^\ a V, eKei 'HU' 0 l^^ti — -— ^e^ — ^v~i na annj-t-s^(\ OSCEOLA COUNTY. 389 S I - Frayer Halladay, 187 8-8o J. W. Ash, 1881-2 G. Willson, I883?rau.r '14a IIt1-n.,00,QQA r iraycr iUallaUay, 004. -. L; Ashton. SHTON village is situated on the line of I the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, in Lincoln Township, on the north branch of the Hersey, and about six miles from Reed City. Its location is pleasant and healthy, surrounded by a very good farming country; but it is principally sustained by the business. It was started by Joseph W. Ash in I870, after the Grand = Rapids & Indiana Railroad route had been de< termined. This road was completed here in the c= latter part of 1871. Mr. Ash was the first Postmaster of the town, receiving his commission in the spring of I870. He held this appointment seven years, when he was succeeded by Frayer Halladay, who has held the confidence of Uncle Sam to the present time. The first store opened in the town was by Lou & Balch. They were soon followed by E. G. Raymond, who also opened a store. It is quite a mart for lumber, shingles, telegraph poles and tan-bark. The population is now estimated at I8o, and is on the increase. BUSINESS INTERESTS. Frayer Halladay, who was one of the first to open a store here, carries a large stock of general merchandise, together with agricultural implements. He opened his store (then Halladay & Son) in I870. His trade has increased from small beginnings until now he handles about $20,000 worth of goods annually. A. C. Adams has a general line of merchandise, with a good assortment of drugs and medicines. He cast his fortunes with this people in I875; was burned out once and rebuilt, putting up a very recherche establishment, one of the best appointed in the county. Arthur Mulholland keeps a general store, with drugs and medicines. James Verguson does the blacksmithing for the community. There are two saw-mills near the village, which are operated by Purchase & Son, and Brett & Brothers. The medical profession is represented by Drs. J. W. House and Herman R. Palmer. The Exchange Hotel, T. A. Thorn, proprietor, is a good house for the traveler, and the landlord is painstaking in looking after his wants. The Ashton House, Purchase & Son, proprietors, is the oldest hotel in town, and is well kept. The guests are well attended to, and everything done to make them comfortable, and to feel at home. SCHOOL. Ashton has a good school building for the accommodation of its scholastic population, which number about one hundred. Henry Swem is the present teacher of this school. CHURCHES. Methodist Episcopal Church. -The society was first organized in Ashton in I870, by Rev. Mr. Deal, who preached the first sermon here or in the township. The first presiding elder was Rev. H. P. Peck, who was succeeded by Rev. H. P. Henderson. Rev. Mr. Russell followed, and after him came Rev. J. A. Sprague, who is the fourth and present Presiding Elder. They have a neat little church edifice, which was erected in 1882, at a cost of $1,8oo, and 25 members who worship in it, with a flourishing Sabbath-school. Rev. James Anderson is the present Pastor. The Baptist Church was organized several years ago, but the society became disintegrated, and for years had no meetings. It was re-organized about the first of January, I884, by Rev. Wm. P. Squires, with a membership of 6. Services are held in the school-house every two weeks, and are presided over by Rev. Wm. P. Squires, of Reed City. j ( J:c z ( 1-V — J f( 6 ' '. ,39o OSCEOLA CO UNVTY....SC..LA C U Y ) 4K Wv-.' ~. pq.p.,. A+ S9 pip~, ~at gw.~>C~X~: *~a) *.A~ ';X^~fjr6(~Zi^J~fe^?~~C3 ^^ <..'" ships for Osceola County. This was done,.\.w by order of the Board of Supervisors made January 9, I877. The meeting for the organc ization was held at the residence of C. Clark on the first Monday in April following. Ahira Chapin, J. R. Sawtell, and U. 0. Chase presided at the meeting, which elected Ahira Chapin Supervisor. This township is situated in the northeast corner of the county, in number 20 north, of range 7 west. It is bounded on the north by Missaukee County, on the west by Clare County, and the south by Middle Branch, and the west by Highland Township. It is watered by the Middle Branch and its tributaries, and other feeders of the Muskegon River. The land is mostly covered with hard-wood timber, there being but very little pine, except in the eastern part. It is rolling in the northwest portions, and rather flat in other parts. Soil, clay loam with some mixture of sand. Population in i884 was I94, showing an increase since I880 of about Ioo. There are about 700 acres of land improved, with some 22 farms. Hay is regarded as the best crop. Potatoes also do well. Marion has six school districts, with two frame and three log school buildings, and are located as follows: No. i, on section 35, and cost $275; No. 2, on section i, and cost $300; No. 3 has a log house and is built on section 3o, and cost $75; No. 4 has a log building which cost $50, and is situated on section I7; No.' 5, is log, cost $Ioo, and is built on section 6; No. 6 has no building. The scholastic population in this township is quite limited. District No. i has 20 pupils; No. 2, 26; No. 3, 4; No. 4, 14, and No. 5, 6 pupils on the rolls. The lumbering business was carried on here at one time quite extensively. The timber was cut and hauled to the Middle Branch and from it floated down to the Muskegon River, and thence onward. At Chesetopler Creek there is a saw-mill and a shingle-mill; also a supply store. There is another mill known as Clark's mill, where there is a postoffice. The nearest railroad station for the people of Marion is Tustin, on the Grand Rapids & Indiana. Immigration is coming in and the township is growing slowly. It has been represented by the following named l., * =i ^1 e rrr-, I SUPERVISORS: Ahira Chapin, 1877-8 Daniel Marsh, 879 9 Ahira Chapin, 1880-4 18a0lA-4 —, "T, WI ~o ---— mi Cl --- - H — ^ - — ~ ( -.v) ~ OSCEOLA COUNTY. 391 t-4. > s o r "' S I - r, i, I Aft A -., ' *E 0 - I / j, i -c i'4 I IDDLE BRANCH was one of six to come I into the township organizations before the /]t ': county was formally organized. This was ) R.^?: in I867, with J. B. McFarlane as Supers visor. It is situated in the eastern tier of towni ships, in number I9 north, of range 7 west. Its boundary lines are Marion on the north, Clare t County on the east, Sylvan on the south and Hart= wick Township on the west. V This township is very thinly settled, and the principal business by those who have come in has been lumbering. The timber was pine, hemlock and the hard-woods. Originally there were some grand pine forest-unsurpassed by any of the townships —which have been depleted by the lumberman's ax. This timber was cut into logs, and then floated down the Middle Branch to the Muskegon River, and from along the course of this river they were taken up by the great saw-mills and manufactured into lumber. The forests of this township contain sonme fine cherry, which so far has been mostly preserved, the owners holding it for fiture markets. Among the early settlers were J. B. McFarlane, U. O. Chase, H. A. Clark, A. W. Harrington, William Watson and J. M. Greer. The surface of the land is rolling, except in the eastern part, which is flat. The major portion of the land is sandy loam, with a clay sub-soil; other parts ' -the eastern-is sandy. f There are three school districts in the township,, with about 40 pupils attending. The school building ) in No. I is frame, located on section io, and cost $325; number of pupils on list, 17. District No. 2 has a frame building, costing $300, and is located on section 13. This district has 13 pupils on the roll. The building in District No. 3 is located on section 30, and cost $325, and is a frame building; number of pupils in attendance, 9. This township had in I883, 473 acres of improved lands, which was divided into 18 farms, with 1,589 acres of unimproved lands. The best crop to raise in this township is hay, and the next best is potatoes. The production in i882 in wheat was 435 bushels, and in potatoes, I,970 bushels, with i68 tons of hay. But very little attention, so far, has been paid toraising stock. The census of I884 showed a decrease in the population from that of i880, giving only 153. For the last year, since the census of I884, it has been slowly increasing. The Middle Branch, with several little streams, meanders through the township and empties into the Muskegon River. There are four pretty good roads constructed, which run parallel with the section lines, and which meet the wants of the present inhabitants. Their nearest railroad station is Sears, in Orient Township, and at this place and Evart they do their trading and get their mails. It has been represented in the Board of Supervisors of the county by the following named citizens: UTTPER VTISORS. < > a! >v (S^ J. B. McFarlane, I867-70 U. O. Chase, I87I1 William Watson, 1872 * H. A. Clark, 187 3-8 A. W. Harrington, I879 J. M. Greer, I880-4. n^ - ~ m I:ia Ee --— ye —:wfimw-' 392 OSCEOLA COUNTY. I 'I *era a:,. 'r, f RIENT Township is situated in the south- River and its branches. Big and Wright Lakes lie east corner of the county, and is numbered in the western part. The surface of the land is roll1 17 north, of range 7 west. It has for its ing, with a varied soil,-clayey, loamy and sandy. northern boundary, Sylvan; eastern, Clare About three fourths of the land was heavily timbered i County; southern, Mecosta County; western, with pine, a great part of which has fallen before the h= r Evart Township. It was organized by order ax of the lumberman; the balance of the land was of the Board of Supervisors, and held its first meet- covered with maple, beech, basswood and hemlock. ing at the residence of Wm. Wescott, April 4, I870. Hay and potatoes are regarded as the best crop, Wm. Wescott, Joseph H. Powell and Daniel Weigel though grain does very well. About 2,000 acres are took charge of this meeting, which resulted in the improved, and the acreage is increasing yearly. election of Nelson Ferguson for Supervisor, Lemuel The first settlements were made in the spring of P. Jones for Clerk, and Wm. Wescott for Treasurer; 1868. Lumber camps were established before this David Weigel, Joseph H. Powell and S. H. Gordon time, but the location on lands for farming purposes were elected Highway Commissioners; Amos F. Blair, does not regard the lumber camps as bona-fide set-. Obadiah Lloyd, Hosea Brown and Ransler Beck- tlements, nor the lumberman a bonafide settler. 1 weith for Justices of the Peace, and Andrew Noyes They regard him as a sort of nomad,-here to-day A for Constable. and gone to-morrow. The township has four school districts, with school- The following named settlers came in I868 and houses located as follows: District No. I, which is made their locations as given: David Weigel, lofractional, on section 6; No. 2, on section 2; No. cating on section 4; John West, on section I8; Wm. 3, on section i; No. 4, on section 33. In all Tennant, on section 20; Obadiah Lloyd, on section I A these districts there are good frame buildings, costing 8; J. W. Powell and Wm. Wescott, on section 6;: from $400 to $800. District No. has 80 pupils on Amos Blair, on section 8; Samuel Gordon and I the rolls; No. 2, has 60; Nos. 3, 19 and 4 have 24 Hosea Brown, on section 4; Andrew Noyes, on secp pupils. tion io; Nelson Ferguson, Henry Thetky and (AK, The sdhool at Sears, which is in District No. i, is Lemuel P. Jones, on section 6. ) taught by J. B. Sleeger. The first school opened was on section 5, and was Orient Township is well drained by Chippewa taught by Miss Clara Gordon in a log school-house. — })(5n-,a - —. _7-^"*' i''.: 1.-^ o --- —OSCEO~L I r OSCEOLA (r = =: r* I " T.,, J,- / /, S:-44 f i: "-. It I I'O,;P N.. * The first marriage that was celebrated in the township was between Luther Elmore, Sylvan Township, and Clara Jones. The wedding took place at the residence of the bride's father on section 6. The first sermon preached was in the summer of I869, by a Methodist clergyman, and was delivered at the residence of Samuel Gordon, on section 4. About the last of September, 1871, the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad was completed through the township. It runs along the northern line, deflecting a little southward and passing out through the middle of section I2. The first store opened in the township was at Sears, by Baker & Pratt, railroad contractors, in the spring of 187 1. The lumber camps came in before the early settlers, who used to depend on these camps for supplies until they could replenish their stock, which, before the railroad was built, they hauled from Big Rapids, a distance of some 30 miles. More attention is being paid to farming than formerly, and new lands are constantly being brought under the plow. The population is estimated to be about 7oo, and is increasing. The township has two trading points, Sears and Chippewa, on the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad; the latter, however, is about broken up, owing to the withdrawal or change in lumber camps. At Big Lake there is a lumber and shingle manufactory, operated by V. Chandler, and owned by C. L. Gray & Co., of Evart. The capacity of these mills forlumber is 1,200 feet; for shingles, 30,000 feet, per day. At Chippewa there is a shingle and saw mill, owned by George Jackson; also a supply store. Capacity of the saw-mill per day is 2,000 feet, and that of the shingle-mill is 30,000. Church services are held every two weeks in a school-house on section 21, by Rev. T. M. Huddle, of the United Brethren. Orient has honored the following named citizens as HIS little hamlet was started before the adfI|| vent of the railroad, which came in about K the middle of September, I870. Barker &, Pratt started the business by putting in a supply store. They were soon followed by others, who opened stores, hotels, boardinghouses, saw-mills, etc. For awhile it was quite a flourishing place, with ambitious hopes; but when the railroad-which makes and unmakes townspassed through and on, carrying its commerce with it, this hamlet settled back again to a conservative ambition and reasonable expectations. It is located near the line of Orient Township, and on section 5. The site is pleasant and the country surrounding it is good. A postoffice was established here in the winter of 1871-2, with Nelson Ferguson as Postmaster. Mr. Ferguson was succeeded in I877 by C. V. Priest, who still holds the office. Daily mails are received by rail. A Fourth-of-July celebration-which was the first in the township-was held here in 1872. C. Berch was the orator of the day. It was a great day for the patriots of Sears and the adjacent country, this Fourth-of-July,'and it is still remembered and spoken of with pride and pleasure. BUSINESS INTERESTS. I i CtIB --- —i SA 4 COUNTY. 393 -Sears. L Jr.. I /-I I I C. V. Priest carries a large, general assortment of merchandise and agricultural implements: is also dealer in lumber, shingles, telegraph poles and cedar posts. He established his business in I872, and handles about $40,000 annually, in goods. A. Pierce keeps a general store, which he has re-. cenuy openea. SUPERVISORS: Henry W. Carsons keeps a hotel for the accomNelson Ferguson 1870-3 modation of the general public. B. N. Kellogg, 1874 Quite an extensive charcoal manufactory is carried M.J. Boreland, I875 on at this place, by the Detroit Union Iron Works. J. H. Powell, 876-7 87-7 J. B. Slazer, 1878-9 Hard wood is used mostly in making this coal. J. H. Powell, i880 A little way from the town there are two saw-mills; G. W. Delamarter, 1881-4. one owned by Manly & Branderberg, located on secC I A i ~gsU6)4F 394 OSCEOLA COUNTY. (E)tion 4; and the other, by J. H. Lanphear on section 5. CHURCH. #2 Nelson Willoughby and McFadden do the black)$... The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in <- smithing for the community. a Chi-h w o I smithing for the community 1871. First service was held by Rev. E. Fleming. Mark L. Borland makes boots and shoes for the. Preaching has been supplied to this society from the ^ people here, and has done so since T871. eople here, and has done so since 87 Evart charge. Some 20 members belong to this conSCHOOLS. gregation, who hold their meetings in the schoolhouse, and have preaching every Sabbath afternoon. Sears is in School District No. I, and the school- An interesting feature of this Church is its Sundayhouse is in the town. They have a good school, with school, which consists of 80 members, and is presome 80 pupils on the rolls. sided over by G. W. Delamarter. A. I - I II X i — - I - Final, X 4 ( sceo a *Owns %Po I --- —-- -r 2hml IMMI mm allammmalmn -— llM ---- HE; W, r.;'7 1 ) V. A i" 11 II 1#,,' 'r, - %X, 'O # 11, N... I B iN I869, on the 5th of Osceola Towr for the purpose officers. At that per the little ballot for for their public ser numerous as they are now felt the importance of this at the present day, if not of this meeting was the officers: Samuel Fitzgeral Hulburt, for Clerk; Jame Justices of the Peace-Jc wood, Cyrus Moulton and Staninger, David Shadley chosen for Highway Con Mapes, R. H. Coon, John inger, for Constables. Thi house of Isaiah Mauer. H. ley and Isaiah Mauer we Election, at which there we meeting, they also voted a $2.50 for young, wolves, bi This liberal action of the v dared illegal. A._ UICLtVIIJ V1 i LII;C 1I1l-UlfltllJ _._ A. -T, - ___ _ _ ' I -- I' Id, for Supervisor; Edwin This township is numbered r8 north, of range 8!s Wetson, for Treasurer. west, and is bounded on the north br Hartwick, on )seph Young, H. Under- the east by Sylvan, on the south by Evart, and the $ Smith Hawkins; Joseph west by Cedar Township. and R. H. Coon were The Muskegon River runs across the southeast nmissioners; and A. J. corner of the township. The Chippewa Creek, and Rickets and Joseph Stan- several other streams heading in the northern part, s meeting was held at the course through the township and empty into the Underwood, David Shad- Muskegon. Like most of the other townships, the i ere the Inspectors of the land is rolling, with a clay and sandy soil. For ere 34 votes cast. Atthis many years the lumber business was the principal 4 bounty of $5 for old, and industry. Its extensive forests of timber was a parrought in, dead or alive. adise to the lumbermen, who reaped from them oters was afterwards de- golden harvests. Lumber railroads were constructed in different parts of the township to facilitate trans— cu i _(iA,-4$ 1 day of April, the people iship assembled together of electing their town iod, those who could cast those whom they wanted vants, were not quite as in this township; yet they action as much as they do greatly more. The result ~l1..-t;,,.f -the Fllnw..;,-,r Osceola is divided into five school districts, with the location of school-houses as follows: District No. i, on sections i6 and 21; No. 2, on section 26; No. 3 (which is the Evart graded school), on section 34; No. 4, on sections 13 and 14; No. 5, on sections 19, 20, 30 and 29. In District No. i there are 66 pupils enrolled; No. 2, 41; No. 3, 434; No. 4, 37, and No. 5, 28. The school building in District No. I cost $r,200, No. 2, $450; No. 3, $6,ooo; No. A..foo. and No.. t947' 0. OSCEOLA COUNTY. 395 portation. Most of these tracts have been taken, The Evangelical Association has a Church about and though the great bulk of the timber has been three miles from Evart, with 40 members. It is carried off, yet an extensive business is done in this presided over by Rev. E. Weiss. A new church ediline. fice was erected last year, and dedicated Nov. 9, _. _) I About 3,000 acres of land is now under improvement, with about Ioo farms. It stands the fifth in stock-raising, with a rapid increase in this department of industry. Among the earliest settlers were Isaiah Mauer, Samuel Fitzgerald, H. Underwood, David Shadley, James Wetson and Smith Hawkins. James A. Lunney & Co. have a lumber and shingle manufactory about four miles north of Evart. Most of the timber now is brought to Evart and there cut up. The people of this township do their trading at Evart, which is also their postoffice. i884. Something more of the history of this township will be found in that of Evart village on preceding pages. It has been represented by the following named SUPERVISORS: Samuel Fitzgerald, I869 E. H. Underwood, I870-1 L. J. Lemert, I872 E. O. Martin, i873 J. W. Mathews, 1874-6 C. A. Waffle, I877-80 E. C. Cannon, I88 I-4 i t~ I=I N/ -1~.1 "'a l4v-l -!~)K- t, A)-his:: 8 U U —ra-n — i —^ii 396 OSCEOLA COUNTY. HE territory that is now embraced by Os- Richmond Township has nine school districts and ceola County was attached to Mecosta two graded schools, —one at Reed City and the County for judicial purposes by act of the other at Hersey. District No. I is located on section Legislature passed in the year 1859. The 34; No. 2, on section 30; No. 3, on section 6; No. Board of Supervisors of Mecosta County, by 4, on section 17; No. 5, on section 24; No. 6, on resolution passed Jan. 2, i86r, organized this section 3; No. 7, on section i6; No. 8, on sections,."Jterritory into a township which was called "Rich- 22 and 27, and No. 9, on section ii. mond." Richmond was the maiden name of D.A. The land in this ownship has an undulating con-.fj BlodgE territory that is now embraced bwith some very fineOs- level fRichmolds. Township has nine school is and *, regard had requested it. with the hard-woods, with pine, hemlock and bass- ' Th e electi on was held under the order of the wood. Red cherry is quitone abundant i n som e porCounty for judicial purpos at the esidence of D. tionsof this township, whic is held n reseonrve by Blodgett, in said Township. Alex. McFarlane and its owners for future demands. It is drained by D. A. B lodgett were passed inted I T nspectors of Elec- Hersey River and its branches. tion. Sixteen votes were cast at this meeting, which The Flint & Pere Marquette and the Grand resulte d i of Supervisors of Mecosta County, Rapids & Indiana Railroads pass through the24; No. 6, on J. G. Robbins for Clerk an d Benj. F. ooch for ship;the former enters from the east about thetions Treasurterritory intodgett a nd F. B. Haynes were middle and passes out estward on section 7; the chosend. RicholCommissioners; B maiden name of Dj. F. Gooch, Wil-A. The latter comesinaboutmidway from tnshiphe south, andulating conam B erge r and Alex. McFarlane, Justices of the runs northward nearly fine parallel with t he county line, Peace; William Berger and Joseph Ryan, Highway going out on section 4. Commissioners; John McBride, Charles Broth, Anson Good highways are built on nearly all of the secBerger on account of her son, wh, with o mmenstables. clation lnes, and in pany of them are well gradtimbed. It regard had requested it. southwest corner o with the hard-woods, with pine, hemlock and bass-in production. The election was held under the order of the wood. Red cherry is quite abundant in some por-oved, and is bounded on the north by Lincoln, on the with about I75 farms. The statistics of 1882, the east by Hersey, 86on the south by Mecosta, and on latest, gives,444 acres in wheat, with a yield ofserve by Blodgthe west by Lake County. 23,700 bushels. ThAlex. McFarlane anated onumbers for future demands. It is drained by Benj.. Go och takes pre appointed Inspectors of Elec- Hersey River and its branches. tion. Sixteen votes were cast at this a home on production of 67,25 bushels. The hay land the Grand resulted in electing D. A. Blodgett for Supervisor, Rapids & Indiana Railroads pass through the -townsection 5, in After him came J. G Robbins, 882 numb er d Ben,393 chres, w the east about t,3he X Treasurer. D. A. Blodgett and F. B. Haynes were middle and passes out westward on section 7; the Ad a chosen School Commissioners; Benj. F. Gooch, Wil- latter comes in about midway from the south, and Anson and Berger and Alex. McFarlane, ustices of the runs. Thestock businessarly parallel wis quite extensivel county car-ine, PeHaynes, Joseph Ryan and John McBride. Higed on. In 883 the number of cattle section hand Commissioners; John McBride, Charles Broth, Anson Good highways are built on nearly all of the secBerger and T. B. Haynes, Constables. tion lines, and many of them are well graded. It Richmond is located in the southwest corner of ranks the first in improvements and in production. the county, is in number 7 north, of range I1 west, It is estimated that there are 7,500 acres improved, AL and is bounded on the north by Lincoln, on the with about I75 farms. The statistics of i882, the, east by Hersey, on the south by Mecosta, and on latest, gives 1,444 acres in wheat, with a yield of.: i the west by Lake County. 23,700 bushels. The estimated number of acres ~ _ Benj. F. Gooch takes precedence as the pioneer of planted last year (i883) in wheat, is 1,700, with a + c this township, who located for himself a home on production of 67,250 bushels. The hay lands in if 2 section 25, in i855. After him came J. G. Robbins, i882 numbered i,393 acres, with a yield of 1,344 J C Anson and Wm. Berger, Alex. McFarlane, T. B. tons. The stock business is quite extensively car- ~ _ Haynes, Joseph Ryan and John McBride. ried on. In i883 the number of cattle on hand f jjjN::..-^ a -. a(Mi^. —>e -- X OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 397 was 907, and 353 horses. The production of wool Nathaniel Clark, I873 this year was 4,752 pounds, which was sheared from Stephen Kissinger, I874 X 974 sheep R. W. Page, 1875 J....' _.. William Stiege, 1876 In i884 the population of the township was 3,510, M. 0. Green, I877-80 and had an assessed valuation of $820,000. C. B. Dean, 88i f The first school taught in this township (and the Nathaniel Clark, I882-3 first in the county) was by Alice Jones, on section W. W. White, I884. 25, in 1862, and the first child born was Mary, daghter of J. G. Robbins, in i866. In those early days, as well as at the present time, - there were people who liked to take what did not belong to them, particularly if they could get it on a dark night. They wished to reap whether they Reed City sowed or not, and with them, as with people from time immemorial, stolen fruit tasted much sweeter than any other. Mr. Gooch planted and cultivatedN te p t b s of t -.,, ',, r B n n '.., LA,foPON the pleasant banks of the Hersey at wtII a goou ueai oi care an orcnaru. rDUL imtte uenefit, however, did he derive from it. Orchards and fruit were scarce in those times. He set his wits at work finally, after many tedious nights of watching, and devised a plan which he executed. This was to string wires about and around his orchard, and connecting them with a wire running into his house. To this wire was attached a bell, which was placed directly over the head of his bed. This scheme worked admirably; and it was not necessary either for him to go out after the bell rang to fire off his shot-gun, for the fruit thieves fled with precipitate haste. Though this was before the days of dynamite; yet those moonshiners thought these wires connected with some infernal machine, and after that he had the pleasure of gathering his own fruit. There are many fine farms in this township, with farm buildings above the average. Usually the farmers are out of debt, with their lands all paid for, and many of them in independent circumstances. It has two very thriving towns, Reed City and Hersey, where the people do their trading, carry their products and get their mails. The history of these two villages contains many incidents connected with Richmond Township, to which the reader is referred. Richmond Township has been represented in the council halls of the county by the citizens-named below: ] ^ the junction of the Flint & Pere Marquette and Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroads, is M' situated the prosperous and rapidly growing town of Reed City, and, at present, the largest in Osceola County. The site chosen for this village was pre-eminently a good one. In the business portion the land is well adapted for business blocks, while around the business center, in the suburbs, are beautiful locations for residences. No better location than this for a town could be found in the county, and none with superior advantages. With the clear waters of the Hersey meandering around it, offering, in addition to its attractions as a water course, the best of facilities for manufacturing establishments; with the junction of the two great railroads that traverse the State, and the lovely rolling grounds formed to gratify every taste for the location of homes, and shaded with grand old forest trees, it would seem that nature had left nothing more to be wished for. While the track of the Flint & Pere Marquette was in process of construction, and early in the year of 1870, Devenport Brothers came here with a stock of goods and opened a general store. This was the first business house opened in the place. Mr. Gibbs came soon afterwards and also opened a general store. He was followed by E. Trout, who opened a drug store. Win. Blank came along about this time with a stock of liquors, and, attracted by the business features of the new town, concluded to cast his fortunes with it. Nathaniel Clark, who is among the first settlers, I. -VI )r. t,, I I I 4, SUPERVISORS. / D. A. Blodgett, 186I-5 Rufus F. Morris, I866-8 ( S. E. Lane, 1869 x William Stiege, I 87 0-2 -— a> frV -...; I, f>' — D 1\- -^( — -ac I 398 OSCEOLA COUNTY. (... I N i ( I i 1 \ r 7 came in the fall. He footed it up the railroad track from Hersey. Arriving at the town, he began the construction of a home by locating a site, cutting off the timber, clearing up the ground and building a dwelling. The railroad was completed to Reed City, and the locomotive steamed up with its train of cars about the middle of November. In the spring of I87 Lonsbury & Crocker started a general store. About this time the crossing of tfe Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad by the Grand Rapids & Indiana had been fixed at Reed City. This action of the latter company determined the future prosperity of the town and settled the question of its success, and from this period commenced its rapid growth. One business house was quickly followed by another, together with dwellings, and soon this site, which a few short months previous was but a wilderness, had the appearance of a thriving town. Early in the fall of I87I the Grand Rapids & ' Indiana completed its track through the village, and a continued its construction northward. g The Baptist society was the first to erect a church = building, which was in the early part of I872; and this society was the first to hold religious services. The first school taught in the town was by Miss )Mary Clark, and was opened in 1872 in the Baptist thurch. Reed City village was incorporated by a special act of the Legislature, passed Dec? 3, I872. The act of incorporation having been decided illegal by the courts, the village was re-incorporated in April, i 875. The officers of the first organization consisted of Charles Clark, President; J. N. Crocker, D. M. McClellan, H. C. Stoddard, M. O. Green, J. L. Heath and John Moore, Trustees; O. V. Monroe, Clerk; and Stephen Kessinger for Marshal. The village plat embraces one-half of section 9, one-fourth of section o1, one-half of section I6 and one-fourth of section 15. It is located 69.miles north of Grand Rapids, and 179 miles from Detroit. The population now is estimated to be over 2,000, and is increasing very rapidly. The location of the United States Land Office at Reed City was of great advantage to it, as it brought D land dealers here and facilitated the settling up of the country. At the time the town was platted, which was in I872, it contained less than a score of people. Comparing this with the present number of inhabitants, it will be seen that there is scarcely a town in the country that has developed faster.. It is surrounded by a finely located and rich farming country, and these farms are yearly increasing their acreage of cultivated ground. It has a good water transportation, and by its two railroads it is connected with all the great business interests of the continent. The manufacturing industries, though already extensive, are constantly enlarging. Liberal expenditures have been made in improving the streets, grading off the ground, laying sidewalks, etc. There are many firstclass business blocks, and they are well constructed for elegance and durability. Many of the residences, too, are conspicuous for their architectural beauty and the lovely and picturesque grounds which surround them. There are also several quite fine church edifices, and a large and handsome school building. For sporting men, Reed City is a favorite headquarters. The grayling and other fish are quite plentiful in the waters of the Hersey, and the woods adjacent to the town are abundantly supplied with game. The location is extremely a healthy one, and malarial and pestilential diseases are unknown. The people are wide awake and energetic, and endowed with that enterprise so essential to the building up of a great city; they are ready to take advantage of every opportunity that is presented which will increase their business or advance the interests of their town; they are also liberal-minded and hospitable. With these elements in her citizens, with her splendid location and fertile country surrounding her, with her extensive manufacturing advantages, and ready transportation facilities, Reed City can only look forward to a constant and rapid growth and a prosperous future. BUSINESS. T. H. Peacock has an extensive planing-mill. He also manufactures sash, doors, blinds and moldings, and is a wholesale lumber dealer. He established his business in I876, and has now one of the largest establishments in the county. The Reed City Roller Mills, Morris & Martin, proprietors, were first started in I876, with the old 11= E.! j I' a.. v \Zcp-dric H 0 vlln ~ - 0 -4- E - JJ-,.:JJ tw -— as~ ---_yQ^JJ ^a> ---*it| OSCEOLA CO UNTY. 399 i (49 I I.) A i; % 41 buhr system. In I882, they adopted the roller system, putting in eight sets of rollers. The machinery. is run by water power, with a turbine wheel, having a 14-foot water-fall. The capacity of this mill is Ioo barrels per day. The machinery of this mill is complete, and arranged with the skill which only experience can give. The flour manufactured is as good as any in the State. I. Grant has also a flouring-mill, with three run of stone, where he manufactures first-class flour. Cat pacity, 300o bushels per day. In connection with this business Mr. Grant has a saw-mill and planing-mill, and a livery and feed stable. William Horner is another of the large manufacturers of Reed City. He has a planing-mill, matching and molding machine; puts up boxes for shipment, and is a general dealer in lumber. He established his business in 1882. He is a young man and has the energy and strength to manage the large and increasing business before him. Collins & Amspoker are extensive manufacturers of furniture, and is very creditable to Reed City. a They established their business in 1876, and employ at present 15 men. = W. H. Whipple has a planing mill, also an eleva/ tor, and is a large dealer in grain. ' The Reed City Woolen Mills is one of the prom) inent and valuable industries of the town, and was established in the spring of I884, by William Lambert. The people of Osceola County can procure at this factory, at very reasonable rates, the best of goods in his line of manufacture, such as flannels, fulled cloths and woolen yarns. Mr. Lambert has j four looms and employs from 12 to 15 men. j P. & J. Bittner have a water-power roller mill, situated on the Hersey a little below town. They have four sets of rollers. In town they have also a flour and feed store, and are dealers in grain. Stoddard & Bros. are dealers in general hardware and mill supplies, of which they have a very large and complete assortment. They opened their business in i873, and have now one of the largest hardware stores in the county. They put up the first brick block in town, which was in 1874. Densmore & Bros. carry a well selected stock of dry goods and groceries. [ Seymour & Smith deal largely in dry goods, ) groceries, boots and shoes., F. J. Tracy keeps dry goods, notions, etc. Cook Brothers carry a general line of hardware and mill supplies. Muehlig & Huss are dealers in hardware. William & Kerry deal in groceries. John M. Cadzow has general merchandise. C. H. Coles is a jeweler with a well-selected stock and goods in line. D. M. McClellan has a dry-goods and clothing establishment. Edward Fletcher & Co. keep boots and shoes and rubber goods. Fred Ballacker has a boot and shoe store. Charles G. Loase has a banking house, established Jan. i, i880, and was the first bank opened in Reed City. Marble and granite works by C. H. Mason. The good ladies of Reed City are well supplied with milliners and millinery goods by Mesdames L. T. Bayliss, E. Gilbert and Connaut. The Misses Lamberts are dressmakers, and do fancy work. Miss Yates is a dress and mantua maker. C. Rothweller and J. H. Auer are merchant tailors, and keep the gentlemen of the city well dressed. There are three first-class drug stores in the village, which carry a fine assortment of goods in this line. They are represented by P. M. Lonsbury, E. R. White and P. H. Hoonan. W. H. Smith has a general furniture store. Another important branch of industry in this town is the manufacture of brick. This business is carried on by L. D. Webster and Wm. Jaching. A good quality of brick is made by them. Bowie & Mills have a machine shop, where they attend to all business given them in their line. A. C. Barclay and Hawkins Brothers are dealers in groceries; so also is C. J. Fleischhauer. G. W. Shay has a livery and sale stable. H. Buergman, jeweler and gunsmith. William Curtis supplies the town with news. T. H. Clayton is a dealer in furniture. R. L. Wilcox keeps a fruit stand. H. K. Smith and H. Gerhart have a large assortment of harness and saddlery, and goods in line. McCulloch & Haynes carry a general line of groceries and provisions. The bakery business is represented by John Russell and R. Reiners. Q-1 (I md i In arI' "'N.;",o W'!: Z=~; =Z7".4r, ll-, I 1 4 ~; i ~. N ` a ---^^ nn-Gn^-eA400 OSCEOLA CO UN TY. William Blank has a grocery (one of the oldest in sented by Messrs. Holden & Whitney, who are also town) and a saloon. extensive dealers in real estate. $ John Melvin has a furniture store. In the same line are Cooper 8& Winsor, Melville ~ Fred Fleischhauer, B. C. Curtis and C. E. Barnes Stone and W. E. Bellows. have restaurants. The village is a very healthy place, yet it is well John Howden, H. Kelley and 0. S. Buck supply supplied with the followers of Esculapius. The the town with markets. M. D.'s are Collins & Nevill, E. S. Richardson, C. D. Adams is a dealerin real estate. H. White, A. W. Miller, D. S. Taplin and Albert P. Avery & Williams has a pop factory. Heckman. Fred P. Atherson and Frank H. Nix have photo- Reed City shows her musical taste by supporting graph galleries, and are skilled in their art. a good brass band. It was organized in 1884, and There are two skating rinks in town, run by Higbe has 16 members, with Q. D. Hoyt as leader. Presi-. & Avery and Hamilton & Titus. dent, A. T. Amspoker; William Adams, Treasurer; Trnhn Ailer Secretairv. and T. R. Averv. Drum Maior d i I,,rt Also there are several saloons, with billiards, and several barber-shops. Reed -City is liberally supplied with hotel accommodations. Among the first of these stands the National Hotel, with E. A. Carroll as landlord. This hotel is a three-story building and is located on the best site in the town. The house is well appointed ' throughout; the cuisine is first-class and the service 3 is attentive and good. This is one of those favorite hostelries that make a traveler feel at home and = comfortable. Landlord Carroll is one's ideal of a, host. He is ever cheerful and happy, and is always around to see that his guests are well attended to. If they are sad and lonely, he will cheer them up; if they are homesick, or have the blues, he will, in order to comfort them, take a game of pedro with them. This is a great resort for traveling people, and of those who want good living, good company and good cheer. The Oaks House is a good hotel and has a fine j location, being near the depot. It is kept by Messrs. Bradley & Gray. This house is well furnished, sets a good table and is well spoken of by the traveling public. The Gilbert House, George Gilbert, proprietor, is located near the depot. The hotel is a good one, the landlord is a genial fellow and has many patrons. At the depot there is a first-class eating-house, presided over by D. Adams, who is a very popular caterer. This is the best point on the railroad for the traveler to supply the inner wants. Dentistry is represented by D. C. Felt and H. B. Peck. > Reed City has a very able Bar, which is repre The United States Land Office is a consolidation of the Ionia and Traverse Districts, and was transferred to Reed City soon after it was laid out,-or a few years after,-being established in April, I878. Nathaniel Clark is Register and W. H. C. Mitchell is Receiver. It embraces the western half of the State. There is yet to be disposed of in this district about 50,000 acres of Government land. The location of this land office at Reed City was a great benefit to the town. The enterprising citizens of this place have organized an industrial association, the object of which is to further the interests of the town, but more particularly to assist worthy manufacturers who want aid in extending their business. They are clear-headed enough to know that if they build up the manufactories they are establishing the foundation for the future growth of their village. The president of this rroitahlPo nrarmnia.ntion i (Chnrleq -T. Holden. an able I lawyer and an extensive dealer in real estate, and a man who is aiding very largely in the growth of Reed e City. The Reed City Hospital and Sanitarium, a branch established by the Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota Hospital Company, was opened in I884, and is established on the ticket system. A ticket is issued for one year and is sold for $5, which entitles the holder to medical attendance during this period if C sick. They have a large four-story brick building,, centrally located, and constructed with all the modern Ad improvements. There are IIo rooms in the establishment, many of them large and elegantly furnished, 0 and all well fitted up. Each patient has a separate @) room, which is carpeted and contains a complete ffXi. Y^- Y —. k4 I ~n.- ~ I1~~! w,. i: I- 1 . OSCEOLA * chamber set. A large dining hall is on the first floor, the tables of which are furnished with first-class @ table ware and supplied with the best that the t markets afford. Patients that have no tickets are (!) also admitted, and at reasonable rates. Dr. Norman Johnson is managing physician, and Dr. H. T. Jones is the resident physician and surgeon. This hospital is one of the attractive features of Reed City. The postoffice was established in Reed City in 1872, and E. Traut received his commission as Postmaster. He held his position until 1877, when he f| was succeeded by James N. Crocker, who is the i present incumbent. This is a salaried office. Mails daily, by the two railroad lines. This office handles more mail matter than any other in the county. CO UNT Y. 401 *. It,'... ~^ ' _ EDUCATIONAL. The people of Reed City have erected for the education of their children a fine, large two-story school-building, and secured the services of able and experienced teachers. This is the school district No. 7, in Richmond Township. The building cost $5,500, and has a seating capacity of over 400; yet it is not large enough to meet the wants of the citizens, as they have to rent rooms outside. There are 412 pupils on the rolls. A full English course is taught and the school is thoroughly graded up to eleven grades. A. B. Perrin is Principal, and is assisted by Alvira Brown, Mattie Dalzell, Bertie Yorks, Nettie Thompson, Orell Brown, Euphrasia Johns and Lily Clark. The Principal seems to be a man born to instruct the young; if not, he is certainly well adapted for it, and understands the science of imparting in a pleasant way the knowledge he possesses to others. Besides these qualities, he is as much interested in this large family of children placed under his care for instruction as though they were his own. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. St. Philip's Church, Catholic.-Mission service has been held here by this Church for about ten years. In i880 they completed their church edifice, which cost $3,000, and is a good, substantial structure. A station was established in November, 1883, and Rev. Father M. T. Nyssen was placed in charge. Membership, about 30 families. A parsonage is yet to be built. Services every other Sunday. Father Nyssen has charge of the Evart Church, holding service there every two weeks. The Catholics of Hersey come to Reed City for worship. First Congregational Church.-This Church was organized Dec. 29, I872. The members that formed the first organization were Daniel A. Lathrop, J. N. Crocker, Mrs. T. Clark, Mrs. Harriet Hart, Mrs. Loretta A. Smith, Mrs. Sarah J. Franklinberger and P. F. McClelland. The last mentioned was chosen Pastor. As this society increased in membership, the necessity of having a place of their own for worship was felt, and accordingly a movement was made in this direction, which resulted in the construction of a fine church edifice, at a cost of $3,000. This was dedicated Jan. 26, I879, by Rev. Wallcot B. Williams. Present membership is 75, with Rev. George L. Bench as Pastor. This society has a very neat church, and is in a thriving condition. Afethodist Episcopal Church. —In I878 this was in a circuit embracing Reed City and Crapo, with Rev. J. Turner as Pastor. Services were held in the Baptist church. Mr. Turner was succeeded in 1879 by Rev. J. B. Knott. In 1880 Mr. Knott was succeeded by Rev. W. H. Thompson, and during his administration the foundation of the church was laid. In 188i, Rev. J. W. Hallenbeck was appointed to take charge, who in 1883 was succeeded by J. W. H. Carlisle, under whom the church edifice was carried to its present stage. The next pastor to preside over this congregation was Rev. G. Daniels, the present worthy incumbent. The membership now numbers 125, and is increasing. The cost of the building so far is $7,000. When completed, which is only to finish up the towers and some minor details, it will cost $8,ooo. It is a fine edifice, built of brick, and constructed with architectural beauty. It is the finest church building in the county. A large and interesting Sabbath-school is attached to the Church. The Baptist Church was organized in I872. M. O. Green and wife, George Haycock and wife, Wm. Johnson and wife, Mrs. N. Clark, Mary, Emma and Ela Clark were the first members. The society was founded by Rev. D. L. Deland, of Saginaw. A church edifice was erected the same year of the organization of the society, and was the first brilt in the village. Later members —H. B. Peck and wife, Theodore Talbert and wife, S. F. Thomas and wife, Calvin Thompson and wife, and E. N. Traut and wife. 110 S:." ri I.,2k 1 —~ V N I K-; B The first pastor was Rev. Mr. Chapman.. They first organized as a "Church and Society." In 1881 #,n^ ^ -- - 7 ll~ A- 0-', 4( E402 OSCEOLA CO Un 2 T Y. ---ie > 4oa OSCEOLA COUNTY. __ they organized under the new statutory law, as a Church, dropping the "Society." Previous to and:- after the change, Rev. O. S. Wolfe was Pastor. Rev. Wm. P. Squiers is the Pastor now in charge of the Church, which has a membership of 65. Cost of church building was $1,500. The Evangelical Lutheran Association was established in I878, with 40 members. They have a church building under construction which, when completed, will cost $r,6oo; lot and property, about $3,000. The present Pastor is Rev. B. Merg. It belongs to the "Synod of Michigan." This church has two schools.-one in the village with about 45 pupils, and is a parochial school, with the other branches, together with the English. The other school is in the country four miles, and has 35 pupils. Evangelical Lutheran, Synod of Missouri (Unaltered Confession of Augsburg). This society was organized in July, i867, by the Rev. John Karrer. A church building was erected in I88I. Membert ship, 55 voters. Cost of building and property, T $1,500. Rev. H. Juengel is the present Pastor. The Evangelical Association was established in 1879, with about 30 members. This society is comc pleting a church which will cost about $3,000, with the parsonage included. The church building was dedicated Nov. 28, 1884. Service every two weeks by Rev. E. Weiss, of Hersey. Present membership, 80, with an interesting Sabbath-school. THE PRESS. Reed City, with all her advantages, would not have progressed very rapidly without the aid of the newspaper. The people were cognizant of this fact and have had one of these potent auxiliaries to the development of a new country with them from the organization of the village, and this is the Reed City Clarion, which was established in the spring of I872, by C. K. Fairchilds. From that date it passed through several hands and was finally purchased by L. A. Barker, who is the present editor and proI prietor. It is now a nine-column folio paper, published weekly, with a circulation of about I,Ioo. Mr. Barker has lately added a new power press, at a cost of $r,ooo, and otherwise improved the establishment, This journal is ably conducted, and the editor is: looking carefully after the interests of his patrons, <- and especially.those of Reed City This paper is I Republican in politics, and has been so from its foundation. The Union Banner, J. H. Whitney, editor and proprietor, is a weekly paper, was established in 1884, sending forth its first issue March 8. It is a Prohibition paper and has a circulation of about 400. It is a newsy little sheet. SOCIETIES. Reed City (Masonic) Lodge, No. 363.-This lodge was instituted Jan. 21, 1883. Charter membersL. B. Winsor, Willis B. Slosson, Edwin Trump, John F. Twitchell, H. B. Peck, J. C. Tobias, Simon Vanakin, Calvin Thompson, Lewis J. Johnson, Fred M. Mason, Robert J. Johnson, James F. Hall, James R. Youngs, Isaac Peacock, Benjamin F. Reynolds, Jacob Bush, Charles Corwin, I. N. Thompson, Peter T. Morris and John Quinn. Present membership, 60. The lodge has a fine hall and is in good working order. Chapter No. 112.-Instituted Jan. i6, 1884. Charter members-L. B. Winsor, Willis B. Slosson, A. B. Diggins, John F. Twitchell, John Densmore, Robert W. Hull, Edwin Trump, Lewis J. Johnson, Arthur B. Slosson, John F. Quinn, Charles I. Bellany, Jeremiah A. Tobias, Alonzo M. Shank, James A. Ladd, H. H. Hammond and Thomas Guilmer. This Chapter meets in the Blue Lodge hall, is well equipped and in good working condition. Grand Army of the Republic, Steadman Post, No. r98.-This lodge was chartered Oct. 30, 1883, with the following members: C. H. Holden, I. Grant, A. G. Buck, G. H. Gilbert, P. M. Lonsbury, H. C. Stoddard, N. Clark, J. Q. Patterson, P. W. Vaughn, V. R. Coles, Louis Barrett, L. D. Webster, A. C. Loomis, Alfred Brown, J. C. Langdon, Isaac Watkins, C. M. Ferdon, John Mitchell, C. C. Church, E. A. Cross and Joseph Frankenberger. This post is equipped with 32 muskets. It has a good hall and is in a growing condition. The I. 0. O. F. No. 316 was instituted Aug. I2, I878, with the following charter members: T. H. Peacock, T. H. Willson, G. H. Gilbert, J. Q. Patterson, J. F. Radcliffe, R. D. Simonton and George Mort. Encampment No. 95. —This lodge was established March 29, I883. Charter members-T. J. Amspoker, H. H. Freedman, G. H. Gilbert and C. E. Barnes. These lodges are well equipped, have a good hall and are flourishing. I ~ff I I. yF 14 l c.; i.:~ ~;~ a rrani; nc;7.m7 I "J~\ -, ~ ~I-*~-~~ —ra f OSCEOLA COUNTY. 403 Patriarchal Circle No. 12 was organized May I2, the engine house. The engine is about 45-horse1 883. Members-J. N. Crocker, H. C. Stoddard, H. power, and is always ready. Cost; about $1o,ooo. E Buck, Frank H. Nix, T. J. Amspoker, Charles J. Operating with this system there is an organized Flinn, M. N. Witherell, J. C. Holden and J. H. hose department, with three hose companies and one Gilbert. hook and ladder company, which are organized as FIRE DEPARTMENT. follows: Cataract, No. l. —Charles Vaughn, Foreman; JaReed City has been progressive in the establish- cob Marzoff, Assistant Foreman; F. M. Mason, ment of its fire department. It has adopted the Secretary; John Twitchell, Treasurer. Holly system with the Dean improvement. Con- eclipse, No. 2.-H. K. Smith, Foreman; John nected with this is also the water-works for the Hamilton, Assistant Foreman; Burt Trumbull, Secsupply of town demands. The works are located on retary, and T. J. Amspoker, Treasurer. the banks of the Hersey. Here there is a fine spring Tempest, No. 4.-Foreman, Miles Callahan; Asnf mirt- wntpr with q ri- zcirvnir into whirh thpnr crin rcr11 vU;UIE WULvCLt WvLli U lZIlVVLI LILV WVl/Ltol LItM.;tIl1 water flows for a reserve supply. A pipe is extended from the pumps to the river for use in case of fire. Mains (eight-inch) are laid through the principal streets, with hydrants placed at proper places and connecting with them. Water is forced direct from the engine through the different mains, and is so arranged that all the force, if necessary, can be concentrated at any one given point. There are alarm stations about the town, with wires connecting with sistant Foreman, Sherman John; Secretary and Treasurer, Will Fleischhauer. Hook and Ladder, No. 3.-Foreman, W. M. Slosson; Assistant Foreman, F. J. Tracy; Secretary, L. B. Winsor; Treasurer, N. A. Stoddard. These companies have 2,000 feet of hose to operate with in case of fire. H. C. Stoddard is Chief of the Fire Department; T. J. Amspoker is Assistant Chief; L. B. Winsor is Secretary, and Charles Wolf, Treasurer. ) (;t X $. i ( Q & _ _:_ ^> i? E \ ')^ - -^^ - A- Sln-^ -^ ^ -- ^^ ~ 404 OSCEOLA CO UNT'Y. ^~ '* f 4 I i Rose.a$e Townshipn| l 'l| **R^" _'' ^^ Ay^" ' ** ~_~<<^I W w I; ~)$( 1D(1BR^(^.^~^^ 1/ ^wXA// 5r ) ( I=E e. IN# f i, 3~, S OSE LAKE was organized under authority of the Board of Supervisors given Oct. 12, i m 1870. The first election was held on the first Monday in April, I87 i, at the house of Wm. McKinzie. Inspectors of said election were Wm. Wood, Wm. McKinzie and J. N. Miner. Officers elected-Wm. Wood, Supervisor; L. Price, Clerk, and G. W. Oliver, Treasurer; Highway Commissioners-G. L. Hinkley, D. Lanigan and S. A. Wells; School Inspectors-G. L. Hinkley and what is called stump lands.- The pine lands are sandy, and rather flat; the hard-wood lands are clay loam with a rolling surface. It is watered by one of the branches of Pine River, which forms the outlet to Rose Lake. This lake is about two miles long, and from one-half to one mile wide, and is located in the northern part of the township, which is dott!d over by numerous other little lakes. The principal business of this township is lumbering, which is carried on extensively. Comparatively speaking, S. A. Wells; Constables —W. G. Shepherd and J. N. but little farming has been done here yet, and the A Miner. farming interests are secondary. It is numbered 19 north, of range 9 west, and is W. M. McKinzie, Wm. Wood, L. Price, G. L. bounded on the north by Sherman, on the east by Hinkley, S. A. Wells, J. N. Miner and A. E. SawHartwick, on the south by Cedar, and the west by yer are credited with having made the first actual Le Roy Township. It has five school districts, with settlements. Its railroad station and principal tradthree school-houses, located as follows: District No. ing place is Le Roy, on the Grand Rapids & Indiana i school-house is located on section 29. Building Railroad, which runs along near the western line of is frame and cost $8oo00. Number of pupils in at- the township. The population, as shown by the. tendance, 79. No. 2 has a log school-house, which census of 1884, is 673, an increase of about 200 in is built on section 3, and cost $X50, with 49 pupils four years. in attendance. No. 3 has a frame building located Business interests are centered principally in Saw- & on section 15, costing $300. In this district there yerville, which is situated by one of the little lakes t are 34 pupils. Nos. 4 and 5 have no buildings, and on section 32. Here A. E. Sawyer has the largest ( no report of school population. lumber manufactory in the county. Operations were About one-half of the lands in this township are begun for this establishment in 1873, by cutting ----- ^f? ' ---._'IJXltlll Jt --- ^ ---- ':} ---tr; ~~ v X — OSCEOLA COUNTY. 405 roads, etc. During the winter of I873-4 the ma- shingles and clapboards. Capacity of shingle-mill, chinery was hauled in and a tramway was constructed 40,000, and the clapboard-mill, 5,000 feet, daily,i from the mill to Le Roy, a distance of three miles. which is handled by C. L. Gray & Co., of Evart. In the spring everything was completed and the saws A Methodist society has been organized at this were started. Average amount of lumber cut annu- place, and is served every two weeks from the Le ^ ally up to 1880, was 5,ooo,ooo feet. In 1880, Roy charge. Services are held in the school-house. k l6 another saw and a steam feeder were put in, increasthe capacity to about 12,000,000 feet annually. The lumber is transported over the tramway to Le Roy, and from that place sent to the various lumber marts. Mr. Sawyer employs at times over a hundred men. He has a blacksmith shop here, mostly for his own use, and a general store. Metcalf& Knowles have a saw and shingle mill on section 23, with a daily capacity in shingles of 40,000. This mill was moved from Sunrise Lake. On section 13, Joseph H. Spiers manufactures The following named citizens have served the township as SUPERVISORS: Wm. Wood, B. G. Moulton, Wm. Wood, B. G. Moulton, James McHugh, O. L. Millard, A. J. Archbold, 0. L. Millard, B. Monagan, 1871 I872-3 I874 1875-6 I877 1878 1879-80 I881-2 I882-4 ) ( =sl 3=3 32 -( )) ) X moot.. ~~J.fw*41 I I$hii~~~ 3 ~~ 406 OSCEOLA COUNTY. r " 1 " - " - * - - * "^ -.-,-: I d 'MHERMAN came into the union of town- 200 milch cows and some 300 of cattle of other ships in i868, with H. Wiest as Supervisor. kinds. Fruit culture is increasing, and it does well, Isaac Reems, George and J. E. Grove especially in the line of apples. 4 were the first settlers in the township, which The early settlers had to cut their way into the was in the year I866. Isaac Reems located township, by making their own roads through the on section 26, and the Groves on section 12. wilderness as their settlements advanced. Now they Amos Bell came soon after them and settled on sec- have pretty good roads connecting with all the section 24. Oliver Platt located in i868. He was a tions, and running on the section lines. It ranks the trapper and devoted his time to this business, catch- sixth in population, with a steady increase. _..I Ag f:J~;Lta1 1J, LYUIi., I. State Representative-N. L. Gerrish, Rep., 550; G. F. Stearns, Dem., 208; Fitch Phelps, Gbk. 88. Sheriff-M. B. Houghton, Rep., 802; Stark Lampman, Dem., 23. County Clerk-T. T. Delzell, Rep., 822 (no other candidate). Register of Deeds-Charles Clark, Rep., 571; Irwin Chase, Dem., 256. County Treasurer-E. G. Raymond, Rep., 827 (no opp.) Prosecuting Attorney-C. O. Trumbull, Rep., 823 OLT;cwtLIL, JtJI;IJ., U2. Register of Deeds-Charles Clark, Rep., 900; Samuel Delzell, Dem., 528. County Treasurer —E. G. Raymond, Rep., 848; H. E. Whitney, Dem., 594. Prosecuting Attorney-C. M. Beardsley, Rep., 891; W. A. Lewis, Dem., 544. Circuit Court Commissioner-J. B. Judkins, Rep., 789; W. A. Lewis, Dem., 613. County Surveyor-R. W. Page, Rep., 748; E. C. Martin, Dem. 682. Coroners —M. B. Houghton, Rep., 814; G. W.,,1 A... '1 no opp). lviiier, Kep., 7 o0. < Circuit Court Commissioner-Walter H. Palmer, ) Rep., 8I5; S. F. Dwight, Dem, 2. ELECTION OF APRIL, I877. County Surveyor-R. W. Page, Rep., 1817; S. Justice of the Supreme Court-Thomas M. Cooley, Lampman, Dem., 2. Rep., 708; H. F. Severens, Dem., 176. Coroners-J. N. Crocker, Rep., 701; Hezekiah ELECTION OF NOVEMBER, I878. Brown, Rep., 707. Governor-Charles M. Croswell, Rep., 598; OrELECTION OF NOVEMBER, T876. lando M. Barnes, Dem., 220; Henry S. Smith, Gbk., 262; Watson Snyder, Pro. I32.:! President-Rutherford B. Hayes, Rep., 804; Sam- -- uel J. Tilden, Dem., 620; Peter Cooper, Gbk., 297; Secretary of tate-William Jenney, Rep. 600; George C. Smith,, 2Pr. 22 G. H. Murdock, Dem., 218; G. H. Bruce, Gbk., 262; Traverse Phillips, Pro. 132. Congressman-Jay A. Hubbell, Rep., 800; J. H. Kilbourn, Dem., 637. State Treasurer-B. D. Pritchard, Rep., 597; Alex. McFarlane, Dem., 222; Herman. Goeschell, Governor-Charles M. Croswell, Rep., 793; Wm. Gbk., 260; D. H. Stone, Pro., 132. L. Webber, Dem., 628. Auditor General-W. J. Latimer, Rep., 6oo; W. Secretary of State-E. D. G Holden, Rep., 798; T. B. Schermerhorn, Dem., 218; Levi Sparks, Gbk., G. H. House, Dem., 6I8. 260; L. L. Farnsworth, Pro., 132. State Treasurer-W. B. McCreery, Rep., 785; J. Commissioner of the Land Office-J. M. Neasmith, bi G. Parkhurst, Dem., 656. Rep., 597; George Lord, Dem., 222; J. A. Elder, Auditor General-Ralph Ely, Rep., 790; F. M. Gbk., 250; W. G. Brown, Pro., 132. Holloway, Dem., 651. Attorney General-Otto Kirchner, Rep., 582; A. Commissioner of Land Office-B. F. Partridge, B. Morse, Dem., 250; Frank Dumon, Gbk., 254; Rep., 783; J. B. Fenton, Dem., 635. D. P. Sagendorph, Pro., 124. 412 OSCEOLA CO UNT Y. I; M= r.=,! I)v r.=.It11 I I Superintendent of Public Instruction-C. Al. GowIer, Rep., 597; Z. Truesdell, Dem., 223; Daniel Parsons, Gbk., 261i; M. V. Rork, Pro., 131. Congressman-Jay A. Hubbell, Rep., 647; John Power, Dem., 230; George Parmelee, Gbk., 268. Circuit judge —A. V. McAlvay, Rep., 709; S. D. Haight, Dem., 447. State Senator-W. E. Ambler, Rep., 644; S. S. Conover, Demi., 222; Win. Jefts, Gbk., 258. State Representative-W. H. Palmer, Rep., 578; W. J. Morey, Dem., 460; John Giberson, Gbk., I53 Sheriff-J. 1W Mathews, Rep., 726; J. G. Piper, Dem., 480. County Clerk —R. D. Simonton, Rep., 714; A. Chapin, Dem., 489. Register of Deeds —Charles, Clark, Rep., 655; W. \V. Stewart, Dem., 423; J. B. Sleezer, Pro., 123. County Treasurer —E. J. Raymond, Rep., 68i B. B. Chadwick, Dem., 406; W. F. Seeley, Pro., [ 24. Prosecuting Attorney —C. M. Beardsley, Rep., 668; WV. A. Lewis, Dem., 413; John Q. Patterson, Pro., 131. Circuit Court Commissioner-M. A. Lafler, Rep., 623; W. A. Lewis. Dem., 4.53; John Q. Patterson, Pro., 130. County Suirveyor —R. W. Page, Rep., 63-1; E. C. Martin, Dern., 482; N. 0. Pettibone, Pro., 3. Coroners —Truman Sa~wdy, Rep., 633; E. C. Ri'chardson, Rep., 624. ELECTION OF APRIL, i879. Justice of the -Supreme Court-J. V. Campbell, Rep., 846; J. B. Shipman, Dein., 326. ELECTION OF NOVEMBER, i188o. i I Auditor General —W. J. Latimer, Rep.', 1 231; Richard Morse, Dein., 574.; 5. Havollo, Gbk.,; W. S~nyder, Pro., 23. Commissioner of the Land Office-J. M. Neasmith, Rep., 1230; J. J. David, Dem., 576; Porter Beal, Gkb., 23;- J. A. Elder, Pro., 23.,Attorney General-J. J. Van Riper, Rep., 1 230; H. P.- Henderson, Dem., 576; M. M. Burnhamn, Gbk.,7 23; Win. Newton, Pro., 23. Superintendent Public Instruction-C. A. Gower, Rep., 1 230; Z. Truesdell, Dem., 576; WV. H. Moore, Gbk; 23; David Parsons, Pro., 23. State Senator —W. B. Ambler, Rep. 1 266; 5. W. Fowler, Dem., 562. State Representative-E. B. Martin, Rep., 1 282; Robert Porter, Dem., 531. Circuit judge —J. B. Judkins, Rep., 1 296; D. Cool, Dem., 3. Probate judge —Joseph Sayles, Rep., 1354; B. B. Chadwick, Dem., 484. Sheriff-M. B. Houghton, Rep., 973; M. W. Stewart, Dem., 855. County Clerk —R. D. Simonton, Rep., 1 297; Z. Whitney, Dem., 539. Register of Deeds-H. A. Clark, Rep., 1 271; Luther Russell, Dem., 550. County Treasurer-J. W. Matthews, Rep., 1 288 I. J. Noyer, Dem., 546. Prosecuting Attorney - Ransom Cooper, Rep., 1 253; WV. A. Lewis, Dem., 579. Circuit Court Commissioner-C. H. Rose, Rep., 1 262; W. A. Lewis, Dem., 577. County Surveyor-N. 0. Pettibone, Rep., 1 230; E. C. Martin, Dem., 607. Coroners-C. H. White, Rep., 1 25 8; J. F. Radcliffe, Rep., 1 25 7. Vt:o IA p F ' President-Jamnes A. Garfield, Rep., 12 25; W. S. Hcancock, Demn., 58i; Jame BWevrGk,2;ELECTION OF APRIL, i1 Neal Dow, Pro., 21. Congressman —Jay A. Hubbell, Rep., 1234; E. S. justice of the Supreme Court-Isaa Pra-tt, Dem. 577; George Parmelee, Pro., 20. Rep., 819; A. C. Baldwin, Dein., r65. Governor-David, H. Jerome, Rep., i i 8o; F. W. Circuit judge, i9th Judicial Dist.-J, Holloway, Dem., 6[2; David Woodman, Gbk.. 23; Rep., 1023 (no opp.). I. W. McKeever, Pro., 22. Secretary of State —Win. Jenney, Rep., 1 230; ELECTION OF NVEMBER, Willard Stearns, Dem., 576; John Evans, Gbk., 21; GoenrDvdH JrmRp. I. P. Crouse, Pro., 20.GoenrDvdH JrmRp, State Treasurer-Benj. D. Pritchard, Rep., 1230; W.BglDM., 495;D.PSgedr I. W. Weston, Dem., 576; A. D. Powers, Gbk., 23, Secretary of State'-H. A. Conant, J. M. Norton, Pro., 23. Win. Shakespeare, Dem., 435; M. V. Ri _ _ 1 ~88i. ac Marston, [.B. Judkins, 1882. 7 31; Josiah ph, Pro., 1 2 5. 4".Rep., 852;.rk, Pro., 38. J (I),1 --- ^T^ arrrn~a n~~r^ --- ~ S OSCEOLA COUNTY. 4I3i -,.r — ( ). I ir &d I 8 v State Treasurer-E. H. Butler, Rep., 859; L. S. i Connan, Dem., 439; E. S. Brown, Pro., 9I. Auditor General —W. C. Stevens, Rep., 849; Jas. Blair, Dem., 428; J. S. Osborn, Pro., 9o. Commissioner Land Office-M. S. Newell, Rep., ) 853; J. F. Van Devanter, Dem., 437; E. C. Newell, Pro., 87. Attorney General —J. J. Van Riper, Rep., 854; T. C. Tarsney, Dem., 435; J. H. Tatem, Pro., 86. Superintendent Public Instruction-V. B. Cochran, Rep., 841; David Parsons, Dem., 436. t Congressman-Byron M. Cutcheon, Rep., 950; | Stephen Bronson, Dem., 386. \ State Senator-Fitch Phelps, Rep., 880; S. W. Fowler, Dem., 464. State Representative-E. B. Martin, Rep., 90o; E. C. Martin, Dem., 444. Sheriff-A. M. Shank, Rep., 918; Z. Whitney, Dem., 43i. ) County Clerk-Oliver L. Millard, Rep., 889; J. H. Anderson, Dem. 465. Register of Deeds —Henry A. Clark, Rep., 916; i A. Chapin, Dem., 440. County Treasurer-J. W. Matthews, Rep., 938; E. C. Thompson. 417. Prosecuting Attorney-Ransom Cooper, Rep., 930 (no opp.). Circuit Court Commissioner-C. H. Rose, Rep., 908 (no opp.). County Surveyor-Frank Trumbull, Rep., 87; S. Lampman, Dem., 484. Coroners-C. H. White, Rep., 923; J. F. Radcliffe, Rep., 911. ELECTION OF APRIL, I883. Justices of the Supreme Court —Austin Blair, Rep., 862; T. J. O'Brien (to fill vacancy), Rep., 868; J. W. Chanlplin, Dem., 430; T. R. Sherwood (to fill vacancy), Dem., 422. ELECTION OF NOVEMBER, T884. President-James G. Blaine, Rep., I497; Grover Cleveland, Dem., 792; J. P. St. John, Pro., 273. Congressman —Byron M. Cutcheon, Rep., 1457; I S. S. Fallas, Dem., 8oi; H. P. Blake, Pro., 285. Governor —Russell A. Alger, Rep., 1466; Josiah W. Begole, Dem., 768; David Preston, Pro., 324. Secretary of State-Harry A. Conant, Rep., I466; William Shakespeare, Dem., 785; G. Chase, Pro., 3 I. State Treasurer-Edward H. Butler, Rep., 1461; James Blair, Dem., 789; A. B. Cheeney, Pro., 310. Auditor General-W. C. Stephens, Rep., I466; G. P. Sanford, Dem., 786; 0. E. Downing, Pro., 31o. Commissioner of Land Office-M. S. Newell, Rep., 1464; J. H. Dennis, Dem., 787; W. W: Barcus, Pro;, 311I Attorney General —Moses Daggart, Rep., 1467; F. W. Cook, Dem., 784; J. H. Tatem, Pro., 3o0. Superintendent of Public Instruction-H. R. Goss, Rep., 1467; David Parsons, 784; J. B. Steere, Pro., 311. State Senator-Fitch Phelps, Rep., 1439; S. W. Fowler, Dem., 802; A. V. Sunderlin, Pro., 314.. State Representative-E. C. Cannon, Rep., 1382; Stark Lampman, Dem., 691; M. L. Stephens, Pro., 473. Probate Judge —James E. Bevins, Rep., 148t; Daniel McGovern, Dem., 708; W. A. Lewis, Pro., 35I1 Sheriff —Alonzo M. Shank, Rep., 1235; James McLean, Dem., IooI; George Hicks, Pro., 302. County Clerk-Oliver L. Millard, Rep., 1423; David Redmond, Dem., 703; William Hawkins, Pro., 427. Register of Deeds —Henry A. Clark, Rep., 14I5; Luther Russell, Dem., 837; J. B. Sleezer, Pro., 294. County Treasurer —John F. Radcliffe, Rep., 1441; A. Y. Smith, Dem., 808; G. Willson, Pro., 299. Prosecuting Attorney-Ransom Cooper, Rep., 1544; Joseph Patterson, Dem., 757. Circuit Court Commissioner-Frank Beardsley, Rep., 1484; Joseph Patterson, Dem., 769. County Surveyor-Frank Trumbull, Rep., r480; E. C. Martin, Dem., 718. Coroners-H. P. Lewis, Rep., 1479; A. W. Miller, Rep., 1481. A j`g 1? ( ) 4=.1 >1 i-1 - I _ _ _ _ _.. * ~ *-^ ^@ 41^fe4v'e9-4 -C-OL Cun TSY.i^ e O — it~ 414 OSCEOLA COUNTY. ~. '. i:.'.,,., _1 _ '.. ~..........,...........,..I.,. a 0 be away from railroads in 4/ modern times would be to ^ffi [Elive away from civilization. ~,/t w2 They have become the necessary adjuncts to the development of a country, and no community now of any proportions think they can exist ": l without them. Osceola County has had the advantages of railroad 'j! icommunications almost from its first organization as a county. It M! is now traversed by two leading The Flint & PeAe Marquette Railroad. HIS road came through the county in I870, passing east and west. It is one of the longest lines in the State. The main line commences at Ludington, on the western shore of Michigan, and passes through the counties of Mason, Lake, Osceola, Clare, Midland, Saginaw, Genesee, Oakland, Wayne and Monroe, to lines are the Flin Rapids & Indian ing into the coi Grand Trunk,-b determined. The people of terests. They a potent factors in and will do all th these transportat for the dispositior Michigan lines which run nearly at Monroe City. By adopting this route the road served y right angles with each other, north a large belt of new country, rich in resources, which and south and east and west, and since its construction has been rapidly developing [ intersect at Reed City. These and increasing the wealth and population of the it & Pere Marquette, and the Grand State. This line has branches extending from Mana. There is another railroad corn- istee to Manistee Junction on the main line; from unty,-the Toledo, Ann Arbor & East Saginaw to Bay City; from a point near East )ut its route has not yet been fully Saginaw to South Saginaw, and from Flint through Otter Lake to Fostoria. This corporation also oper- t. this county are alive to railroad in- ates the Saginaw & Mt. Pleasant Railroad, which is ppreciate the advantage of these a narrow gauge, running from Coleman on the main the development of their resources, line to Mt. Pleasant; and the Saginaw & Clare line ( ey can to encourage them. Upon connecting it with Harrison, the county seat of ion companies they mainly depend Clare. i of their surplus products. As will be seen, this is one of the most important,/ -, --- un — 0~n?^ F-vto-i-t;s-9/Ern —^Air-u OSCEOLA COUNTYY.45 1 (^,^,I) I eZ/ N I railroads in the State, as it is not used simply as a means of transit from one State to another, but goes into a country to develop it, and bring out its products. The company holds a large amount of land yet undisposed of, granted to them by the Government, under acts of Congress of I856-7 and I864, which they hold at from five to ten dollars per acre, where they are strictly farming lands. Their terms are liberal,-one-fourth down and from three to five years for the remainder. Smaller cash payments are often received, however, where a settler in good faith is seeking a home. The total length of this company's line, including its branches, is 345 miles. The Flint&Pere Marquette Railroad Company was the first company that adopted any practical method of opening up the northern part of the Southern Peninsula. The company was organized Jan. 21, 1857. The work of grading the road was begun in August, I858, and track-laying was commenced at East Saginaw, Aug. II, 1859. There are now several branches of this road running in many directions and contains, together with sidings, almost 500 miles of track. The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. I x3= *.ok j= ar.: ) 382 acres of land for the purpose of constructing this road. The track was completed through Osceola County in the early part of I872, and to Petoskey in 4 1873. On the 25th of November, the company had an excursion party, celebrating the completion of this line, and carried over its road into Northern Michigan, Governor Bagley, General Cass, Stephen S. Cobb, the State Railroad Commissioner, and a party of distinguished gentlemen from New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and other cities. The track was examined and found to fill all the requirements of the law. The grant of the land was transferred to the company several months in advance of the time required by the Legislature for the completion of the road. This road is the most important of the Northern Michigan lines, and has been a great factor in the development of the northwestern portion. of the Lower Peninsula. At the time it was constructed Northern Michigan was but a wilderness. To traverse this country before the construction of this line,, was regarded as a heroic task, and one that many = shrank from; now the traveler can pass through this country with ease and comfort. All along this line + now can be seen thriving towns, built up chiefly by.= the great lumber interests of the country. This railroad penetrates a country which for its 'extensive forests of timber is unsurpassed by any in the world. ( The total length in Michigan of the lines owned or operated by this company is 341 miles. They have yet thousands of acres of farming lands, some of which are in Osceola County, which they hold from $3.50 to $7.50 per acre. They require onequarter down and the remainder in five equal payments, at seven per cent. interest. Ten per cent. discount is allowed when the price is paid in full at the time of purchase. The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad is one ot the leading roads of the State. The enterprise of building it was inaugurated before the war, but fell through on the Union Army being defeated at the first battle of Bull Run. After the war closed the project was revived and the work commenced, the. objective point, from Fort Wayne, being Little Traverse Bay. The work dragged along slowly, meeting many obstacles, and in 1872 was finally completed through Osceola County. > ]. HE road extends from Petoskey, near the upper end of Lake Michigan, almost due southward through the counties of Antrim, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Wexford, Osceola, Mecosta, Montcalm, Kent, Allegan, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where it connects with the great Pennsylvania Railway system, leading to the Atlantic coast. From Petoskey the line has been extended to the Straits of Mackinac. The Government granted to this company i,I60,^x^^i —^y -eln n I HNJ 0KY 1,0 0 -, '2~ 41-6 ---iIT - COUTY.-@ 4I6 OSCEOLA COUNTY., 4 $ Y i I -1 - ( i1 i- WHERE is no organization, perhaps, that tends more to pro~ E I nmote the interests of a county or a community than... an agricultural society, if properly conducted. Such a society is of inestimable advantage, almost, to farming and fi~ ~also stock-raising. It brings the people together with their products and their stock, to exchange notes [ wwith each other, and to compete.^.tl l. for the Drizes that may be offered. determined to have an agricultural association. A thing once determined upon, it is said, is already half accomplished. However, having determined on having an agricultural association, the people got together and completed the organization, which was done in April, 1875. The officers were, M. L. Swem, President; E. J. Raymond, Secretary, and Henry Gerhardt, Treasurer; W. D. Houghton, H. E. Whitney, J. K. Hartt, Charles B. Churchell, M. L. Swem and E. J. Raymond were selected as a Board of Directors. The first meeting was held at Hersey, Sept. 29 I875. It was held at Hersey the following year and the fair grounds were located at Evart. The first This stimulates a laudable ambi- meeting held at Evart was in September, 1877, with N tion and produces a desire to ex- D. A. Blodgett as President. Since the grounds e cel,-to have the best butter or the have been located at Evart, the Association has been ' 3 -: n best cheese; to have the finest increasing in numbers and interest, and have been corn and the plumpest wheat; to have the largest making extensive improvements on their grounds. potatoes and largest and most luscious fruit; to place In the first place they purchased 20 acres of ground, on exhibition the highest breed of cattle or horses, near Evart, and inclosed it with a substantial fence. and to contest around that most charming circle- They have constructed a half-mile course, which is said by turfmen to be one of the best in the State.. ( the race-course —for the prize awarded to the fastest s y o, st, r. t e A They have also erected buildings, stands, etc., necrac o toerse thn essary trotter. All meet these this of such anc association. and stock interests much more than what is generally Amount expended so far is $4,ooo, and it has been conceded or believed by those who have not been well laid out. They have had at these grounds some intimately associated with such matters. interesting meetings by the Driving Park Association, r Holding these views, the people of Osceola County and some splendid time has been made. — ^a =,'t(-.-^ ^ —.a - i~~ll~U~; '.i "$. H-6 m i w G^X a -s — OSCEOLA COUNTY. 417 These grounds are centrally located, and are ac- Ash, President; A. Kellogg, Vice-President; E. C. cessible from all parts of the country by the Flint & Cannon, Treasurer, and William L. Stoddard, Secre-, Pere Marquette Railroad. Through the good man- tary. Board of Directors —C. V. Priest, A. B. Knapp, s f agement of the Directors the financial condition of J. E. Bevins, H. E. Dearing, J. A. Lunney and Milthis Association is good. Present officers: J. W. ton Moffitt. ^ R C 1 t^^^^^^^^^s^^^^^^^^d^^^^^^o-^, t)-9i,0N qb,.e,^f^,J ^ j q /.N I 4# 1:1=,, 0s *i. IY ~ I Ir County Poor Farm. T the annual session of the Board of Supervisors in 1872, it was determined, after. v.a short conference, that the proper thing for ] the county to do was to make some provisions for its poor. Accordingly a committee was appointed to select and purchase suitable grounds for this purpose. Acting upon this authority, the - 44- _ 3 I3....'! I-3 { efforts to secure this information while at Hersey and since, but failed, because the parties to whom we applied, and on whom we had to depend, did not respond to their promises. Q eagm-,/, — >^^^s r i z U 4 me JIIm it I C~ muL-.n... 1r"1 t.. t commitree selectea ana purcnasea 1Oo acres on sec- Tme uourt-iaouse.. tion 28, in Sylvan Township, about two miles north of the village of Sears, at a cost of $2,000. The first building was erected in I873. Since this time many ROM the time the county was formally improvements have been made, and the farm has a organized and the county seat located at been brought under good cultivation. The rooms -.- Hersey to the completion of a court-house, are comfortably furnished, and are amply sufficient y the county rented a building for a court room to meet the present demands on the county. The and offices. During the winter of 1871-2, or poor that are sent here are kindly treated, and their early in the year of I872, Mr. D. A. Blodgett wants attended to. Such institutions speak well for (to whom the county is much indebted for many a county, insomuch as they represent the charity benefits conferred) proposed to the county, through and benevolence of its people. its Board of Supervisors, to donate a block of ground ) We would have been much pleased to give further in the town of Hersey and $3,500, toward the condetails regarding this institution, and made repeated struction of a court-house, if the county would give CO.. e *.._-..... U -418 OSCEOLA COUNTY. the balance. This liberal proposition was accepted by the county, and the erection of the court-house The Jail..r was begun. It was completed in 1873, about midsummer, and was formally taken possession of and. the officers duly installed in their respective office HIS is a less imposing building, but it is rooms. The cost of this structure is estimated at adequate to meet all the wants of the $8,500. county and holds all the prisoners that It is a two-story square frame building, with a. have been placed within its walls. The peocommodious court-room and other offices for the ple of Osceola County are not very criminally various uses of the county. The County Clerk's and inclined. The structure is located in one corRegister of Deeds' room has a good vault for the ner of the court-house block, is made of wood, and safe, keeping of the records, etc. It is in the cen- contains three cells, with family apartments for the ter of the block, and is an ornament to the town. sheriff. It was erected at a cost of $3,500. 0I 11 I I I I I ) ') I r I 4..,~~~ IV —I I %.4 > -— r ~- 1 (O-I.1o N" t 'I 35 111 =11111113 F== I lo MM I WM rr. ul KWM Kz ~nl4S~-vYu BIOG^I FI u. ) ( lI c~ P 3t 3: A (! Beardsley, W. L.............302 Begole, Josiah W..........I.69 Bellows, W. E.........I.......97 Bennett, William........... 334 Berger, Anson...............300 Berger, William.............. 275 Bevins, Geo. W............245 Bevins, J. E................345 Bingham, Kinsley S.......... 37 Bittner, Dr. P............... x98 Blair, Austin................. 145 Blanchard, A. J............. 86 Blanchard, Loren............ 298 Blank, Wilhelm.............296 Blodgett, Delos A............33I Bowker, [bylvester......... 297 Braden, E. M................93 Braden, J. A............... 209 Childs, T. V.............. 239 Clark, Gilbert M............240 Clark, Henry A..............228 Clark, Nathaniel.............230 Clark, Oliver............... 318 Cody, Peter................. 268 Cole, B. R..................259 Coles, C. H.................255 Collins, C. M............... 339 Colton, B. G.................317 Cooper, Ransom.............219 Corbin, J. C...............218 Crapo, Henry H.............. 49 Crocker, J. N................249 Croswell, Charles M.......... 6i Cushman, Wm. W............ 85 Ellis, Joseph................255 Elmore, L. T.................322 Estes,G.A.......... 94 F ) Adams, A. C................. 26 Adams, John............... 23 Adams, John Quincy..........39 Alger, R. A............. 173 Allen, J. N................229 Allen, S. H.................34 Allen, Wm. H............ 196 Allured, R. A.............. 2x7 A -I- - 1, — 1 Farsberg, Rev. John.........192 Felch, Alpheus............... 117 Ferguson, N. A.............2X Fillmore, Millard............. 67 rro,i. T_,., ruls, ivlarK.............227 rinnDelner, Jonn............250 Brandow, A. H..............305 Arndt, J. J.......... 3 328 w 3Fleischhauer, C. J...........309 < ArthurBrownson, Chester A............ 267 JFleischhauer, F. J..........337 Buchanan, James............ 75 Ash, J. W.............. 25x 1 BuckA.G a...... 5 Francisco, H. D.............312 Auer, J. H............ 269 Francisco, Charles D..........308 Byers, J. B.................3o 07 Auer, P. A.............. B 307 Fraser, Alex.................24 Dahlstrom, Rev. A.........24 Freedman, H. H........34 Davis, Alfred................ 33 FreelandJohn H274 Davis, W.M............. Frohlich, Christian..........275 Davis W.............. Fulmenshauser, C. W........272 B C De Goit, G. D................ 28 Denniston, W. S.............299 Drake, James H...........270 G Bagley, John J...............57 Baldwin, Henry P..........1.53 Campbell, Allen..............239 E Ball, C. W...................242 Cannon, E. C...............237 Barker, L. A................ 215 Carlson, Peter................290 Barry, John S................113 Carmell, Charles.............32I Garfield, James A............ 95 Bassett, Geo. H..............289 Carroll, E. A...............310 Earnest, Joseph............ 276 Gavin, James.................242 Baumgardner, E. C.........341 Carson, H. W................07 E dwards, C. K..............206 Gerrish, W. S..........2.......3 2 dward,- C4KJ.... INDEX. 421. Gilbert, G. H................346 Johnson, John..............299 Nix, T. F....................248 Shields, Frank..............289 Giles, Joseph.................216 Jones, S. R..................246 Nixon, Robert................341 Slosson, W. M............223 Gooch, Benj. F..........285, 348 June, L. W...................245 Smith, H, K................280 Gould, D. W...............307 Smith, Isaac.................. 187 Gould, W..................266 Smith, John..................338 Grant, Isaac.................. 191 0 Sprague, J. B...............291 Grant, Ulysses S............... 87 K Staninger, W. H.............340 Gray, Charles L..............254 Stephan, Herman..........339 Greenly, Wm. L............. I21 Stiege, William L............279 Gunkel, Peter................3 Oaks, Daniel................32 Sunderlin, A. V............3I7 Gwynne, N. S............. 259 Swarthout, Jacob............. 85 H Hall, R. W.................306 Halladay, Frayer...........238 Halladay, George...........224 Hanover, John.............. 260 Harrington, W. V...........253 Harrison, Wm. H............ 5 Haslam, Philip...............87 Hawkins, W. H..............309 Hayes, E. L.................334 Hayes, Rutherford B......... 91 Hicks, George..........256 Higbe, W. A...............208 Hoffine, Solomon............273 Hoffmeyer, John.............335 Hoffmeyer, Wm..............290 Holden, C. H............... I8I Hood, David............... 347 Hooper, Wm. L..............29 Hoover, John...............329 Hope, James H..............280 Horner, Wm..............265 Howe, Isaac W., M. D.......204 I Isaacson, John..............246 J Kaphaem, Ft............... 25 L Lacy, Francis D.............. 39 Lambert, Wm...............321 Lanphear, J. H..............330 Law, Dr. W. J..............312 Leeman, Geo. W.............336 Lemert, L. J.................36 Lennon, John................346 Lincoln, Abraham............ 79 Lindstrom, J. A.............. 220 Loase, Charles G.............228 Lunney, James A.............322 Lyon, S. J.... 3..............3 M Madison, James.............. 3I Mapes, Andrew J.......... 327 Mapes, Wm. R...............235 Marvin, Enos H...........272 Mason, David G.............299 Mason, Frank A.............301 Mason, Stevens T...........105 Matthews, J. W..............29 McCarn, A. J...............220 McClelland, Robert..........129 McFarlane, A............... 277 McFarlane, J. B.............247 Mcllwain, Wm. J............319 McKay, Angus...............306 McMullen, J. H........... 330 Millard, O. L................236 Minchin, Geo. W............. 94 Minchin, Jesse T.............238 Mitchell, John...............279 Moffit, Milton................265 Monroe, James............. 35 Morris, G. W................236 Morris, Rufus F..............248 Moulton, B. G...............292 P Parsons, Andrew............. 33 Patterson, Joseph.......... 193 Patterson, J. Q...............226 Peacock, T. H.............270 Peck, H. B............... 297 Peel, Charles.............. 335 Perrin, A. B.................308 Pettibone, N. 0..............342 Pierce, Franklin........... 71 Pierson, C. M................ 295 Pierson, T. P...........3.... Polk, J. K................... 59 Postal, F. S..................250 Poulliott, A................. 272 Powell, J. H.................95 Priest, C. V.................224 Proctor, J.FF.................203 Purchase, Wm.............. 271 R Radcliffe, J. F............... 278 Ransom, Epaphroditus.......25 Reed, George...............227 Reed, Leonard...............249 Reik, J. J............. 252 Rich, C. M...................96 Richardson, E. S., M. D....209 Riggs, John..................296 Robbins, F. S................273 Robbins, J. G................ 256 Ross, Sylvester...............252 S l Tabor, N. J.................. 30 Taplin, D. S., M. D.........29 Taylor, Geo. F..............333 Taylor, Zachary............ 63 Tennant, A. G.............. 29 Tennant, Wm................240 Terpenning, Noah...........266 Terrill, E. J.................184 Thomas, Jacob W...........269 Tillman, D. M..............30 Tozer, L. M................53 Troyer, G. W................77 True, F. A............. 247 Tule,Wm. F............. 235 Turner, J. W...............225 Turner, F. T...............298 Tyler, John.................. 55 VanBuren, Martin............ 47 W Wagar, W. A................347 Walker, Henry...............276 Washington, George......... 19 Watson, H. L...............30 Weigel, D..................14 Welch, W...............338 Wells, S. A.............. 302 Wenzel, Anthony............ 88 Westfall, M. W..............92 Wetherell, Hiram..........279 White, C. H., M. D.........31 White, E. R........... 267 Whitney, I. H................257 Wilson, G.................. 258 Winsor, L. B................. 205 Wisner, Moses.... 14........ 141 Witt, John................207 Woodbridge, Wm............109 Woods, E. H................. 315 I!{ (m j r~f fQ) Ja Je Je Je lo Jo To ckson, Andrew........... 43 fferson, Thomas,........... 27 Sample, A. M................315 nkins, J. H................54 N Sawyer, A. E..............295 rome, David H............ 65 Shadley, David.............. 86 hnson, Andrew............ 83 Shank, A. M................ 327 hnson, Andrew J..........275 Shank, Joseph.............311 hnson, Charles............3I6 Nix, F. H....................28 Shay, G. W.................336 u.3 — ^- 6 - 410 3l 422 INDEX. 3 T:;.; 5)vc^^~ ^ ^ *' (s (Gg '~~c atita ''''~eei( t9 W.-&O-1 T r>) Adams, John................ 22 Adams, John Quincy......... 38 Alger, R. A................72 Arthur, Chester A........... 98 Bagley, John J............... 56 Baldwin, Henry P...........152 Barry, John S................ 12 Begole, Josiah W............68 Bevins, Geo. W............244 3evins, J. E.................344 Bingham, Kinsley S.........136 Blair, Austin...............144 Brandow, A. H............304 Buchanan, James............. 74 Crapo, Henry H...........48 Croswell, Charles M.......... 60 Felch, Alpheus............I6 Fillmore, Millard............. 66 Garfield, James A............ 94 Gerrish, W. S................212 Gooch, Benj. F...............283 Gooch, Mrs. D. H...........282 Grant, Isaac...............9o Grant, Ulysses S............. 86 Greenly, William L.......... 20 Harrison, Wm. H............ 50 Hayes, Rutherford B......... 90 Holden, C. H.................80 Horner, William.............262 Horner, Mrs. Maggie........263 Jackson, Andrew............. 42 Jefferson, Thos.............. 26 Jerome, David H............ 64 Johnson, Andrew............ 82 Lincoln, Abraham............ 78 Madison James.............. 30 Mapes, W. R................234 Mapes, Mrs. Lydia...........233 Mason, Stevens T............ 04 McClelland, Robert.......... 28 Monroe, James.............. 34 Parsons, Andrew............. 32 Pierce, Franklin............. 70 Polk, James K............ 58 Proctor, J. F.................200 Proctor, Mrs. Mary W.......20 Ransom, Epaphroditus....... 24 Sample, A. M................314 Sawyer, A. E................294 Shank, A. M................325 Shank, Mrs. Essie E.........324 Slosson, Willis M............222 Taylor, Zachary............. 62 Tyler, John.................. 54 VanBuren, Martin........... 46 Washington, George.......... 8 Wisner, Moses...............40 Woodbridge, William......... o8 tS x., Sk AS~'~. I 41. v r INTRODUCTORY How Our Fathers Lived Value of Local History GENERAL HISTORY TOWNSHIPS 362 Burdell Cedar Evart Hartwick Hersey Highland Le Roy Lincoln * --- — 35I 352 353 355 -408 362 366 367 374 376 38I 383 388 Marion Middle Branch Orient Osceola Richmond Rose Lake Sherman Sylvan VILLAGES: Ashton Chippewa Evart Hersey 390 39I 392 394 396 404 406 407 Le Roy Reed City Sears Tustin POLITICAL Election Returns RAILROADS AGRICULTURAL COUNTY BUILDINGS Court-House Jail Poor-House and Farm 384 397 393 363 409 409 4I4 4I6 417 417 4I8 417 389 393 368 377 11 15aa~t C,,,.1 A, tenterhook V ', I 4 - - -, - I 1 lr I 1 I- 11I I i I 1, I I I - - I I IL I I I I , Iz,, I , fIz,I , I: 4 1 In I, I L I I -, ", - I a M-c l