USA > Michigan > A history of northern Michigan and its people, Volume II > Part 29
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
On the 30th of January, 1894, Mr. Crow joined the Michigan Na- tional Guard, becoming a member of Company B, Third Regiment. The Third Regiment became a part of the Michigan volunteers at the time of the inception of the Spanish-American war and was on duty from the 26th of April, 1898, to the 28th of December of that year. Mr. Crow was mustered out of service as sergeant of his company. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with Alpena Lodge, No. 199, Free & Accepted Ma-
-
776
HISTORY OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN
sons; Myrtle Lodge, No. 432, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Arthur Heney Post No. 87, Spanish-American War Veterans. His po- litical views coincide with the principles and policies of the Republican party and both he and his wife are devout members of the Congrega- tional church.
On the 11th of December, 1895, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Crow to Miss Emma Lough, who was born in Cumberland, Guernsey county, Ohio, and who is a daughter of Alexander and Mary (Wall) Lough. The father was born in Buckingham, Ontario, and the mother was born and reared in Ireland. Their marriage was solemnized in Canada and they became the parents of twelve children, all of whom are living. Mr. Lough came with his family to Alpena, Michigan, in 1881, and he was a millwright by trade. He helped construct a number of mills in Michigan and for a time was in the government employ, in which connection he constructed and repaired lighthouses. He re- tired from active business about one year prior to his death, which oc- curred in 1908, at the venerable age of seventy-six years. Mrs. Lough survives her honored husband and she now maintains her home in Al- pena. Mr. Lough was a member of the Presbyterian church, as is his widow. His political support was given to the Republican party. Mr. and Mrs. Crow have four children, all sons-Arthur, Harold, Ralph E. and Ervin.
LEWIS W. SUNDAY .- Thoroughly enterprising and progressive, Lewis W. Sunday, of Harrison, is widely known throughout northern Mich- igan, not only as sheriff of Clare county, but as one of its most prosper- ous farmers and stock dealers. He was born, in 1869, on a farm in Salem township, Steuben county, Indiana, where his parents, Daniel and Susanna (Lyge) Sunday, settled on moving from Pennsylvania. During his boyhood he attended the district schools, and when at liome assisted his father in the labors attendant upon a rural life, becoming familiar with all branches of agriculture.
Coming with his family to Michigan in 1894, Mr. Sunday purchased a tract of land in Arthur township, Clare county, and began the im- provement of the farm which he now owns. Laboring with a will, he has placed the land under a high state of cultivation, furnished it with a thoroughbred stock, and erected buildings of the most modern construc- tion, the estate being a credit to his taste and wise management. Soon after locating in Arthur township, Mr. Sunday became a stock buyer for the Saginaw Beef Company, and later began raising and buying beef on his own account. Later, in connection with his own business. he was engaged by the Saginaw Lumber and Salt Company, which owned a tract of land containing five thousand acres, to look after their interests. Through Mr. Sunday's efforts, the entire tract was sold to newcomers, and he had the full satisfaction of seeing it developed into valuable and productive farms.
Mr. Sunday continned farming and stock buying and selling until 1908, when he was elected sheriff of Clare county, an office to which he was re-elected in 1910, this being his second term in this position. He is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and
777
HISTORY OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN
has never shirked the duties of public office. While a resident of Arthur township, he was school director three years; served the same length of time as school treasurer; and for eight years was supervisor. Fraterually he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and of the An- cient Order of Gleaners.
At Hudson, Indiana, on September 11, 1890, Mr. Sunday was united in marriage with Josephine Sams, who was born in Salem, In- diana, a daughter of Abdelphan and Mary (Simonson) Sams, natives of Indiana, and they have two children, namely: Walter J., born Jan- uary 11, 1892; and Harold D., born August 15, 1894.
In 1900 the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Clare, Lake, and Osceola counties, was organized, and in 1908 Mr. Sunday was elected its president, and has held the office since, being re-elected in 1909, and in 1910.
ORLIN L. RAKESTRAW .- In partnership with his father Orlin L. Rake- straw is engaged in the general merchandise business at Lupton, Og- emaw county, Michigan, and together father and son own some nine hundred acres of improved and unimproved real-estate in this section of the state. Mr. Rakestraw, of this review, was born at Beloit, Ohio, on the 24th of July, 1866, and is a son of Joshua and Ellen (Stanley) Rakestraw, who removed from Beloit, Ohio, to Michigan, in 1884, locat- ing at what was then Lane and which is now Lupton, in Rose township, Ogemaw county. The father purchased a tract of forty acres of land, which he gradually improved, and subsequently, in partnership with his son, Orlin L., he engaged in the mercantile business. From a small be- ginning this establishment has gradually increased its scope of opera- tions and at the present time it is one of the most modern and well equipped stores in the county. The son was postmaster of Lupton in which incumbency he continued for three years, at the expiration of which the father assumed the duties of that office as Orlin L. was obliged to be absent from Lupton for a time. Joshua Rakestraw has been hon- ored by his fellow citizens with the offices of highway commissioner and township clerk. Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Rakestraw became the parents of three children,-Orlin L., Olive and Hannah, and the entire family are devout members of the Friends church, at Lupton.
In his political convictions Mr. Rakestraw accords a stalwart alle- giance to the cause of the Republican party and at the present time he is assistant postmaster under his father and he is also notary public. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the time-honored Masonic order and with the Knights of the Maccabees. He has ever been on the qui vive to advance the general welfare of the town and county and he and his wife are popular factors in connection with the best social activities in the community.
In the year 1888 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Rakestraw to Miss Geneva Dobson, who was born and reared at Alliance, Ohio. To this union has been born one son .- Ernest J .. whose natal day is the 16th of January, 1892.
778
HISTORY OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN
WILLIAM RATH .- Among the sterling citizens of Mason county who have contributed in generous degree to the industrial and civic progress and upbuilding of this favored section of the Wolverine commonwealth is William Rath, who is the present able and honored incumbent of the office of mayor of the city of Ludington, where he is also serving as deputy collector of customs for this important port on the Great Lakes system.
Mr. Rath is a scion of staunch German lineage and while he is essen- tially loyal to American institutions and an effective exponent of the American spirit, he finds a just measure of satisfaction in reverting to the great German empire as his fatherland. He was born in the city of Hamburg, one of the three celebrated "Hanse Towns" of Germany, on the 28th of January, 1849, and is a son of Hans and Mary Rath. The father died in Germany and the mother died at the home of her son after spending twenty years in America. Mr. Rath is indebted to the excellent schools of his native city for his early educational training and there he was reared to maturity under beneficent environments. In 1870, soon after attaining to his legal majority, he severed the ties that bound him to home and fatherland and set forth to seek his fortunes in America, to whose complex social fabric the German empire has con- tributed a significantly large and valuable element. He landed in New York city and soon made his way westward to Michigan. He arrived in Ludington on the 21st of June, 1870, and during the long intervening years this place has represented his home, the while he has witnessed its development from a mere straggling hamlet in the lumber woods to a position of importance as a thriving little industrial city and summer resort, as well as a prominent entrepot on the Great Lakes. The business career of Mr. Rath in Mason county began in a most modest way, as his first employment was as a workman in local saw mills. Through fidel- ity and effective service he won promotion to the position of log scaler and Inmber inspector, and he familiarized himself with all details of the great lumber industry, which then represented the principal and by far the most important line of business enterprise in the entire northern part of the state. About the year 1880 Mr. Rath engaged in lumbering inspecting in an independent way as a member of the firm of Weimer & Rath. Eventually he became senior member of the firm of Rath & Cartier, and this alliance is still in existence. Operations in the manu- facturing of lumber in Mason county were continued by the firm until 1907, and since that time its field of enterprise has been principally in the handling of southern timber lands.
Energy, industry and mature judgment have characterized the entire business career of the present mayor of Ludington, and his advancement to a position of independence and distinctive prosperity has been gained through his own well directed efforts, the while his integrity of purpose and devotion to principle have retained to him the unqualified confi- dence and esteem of those with whom he has come in contact in the va- rious relations of life. In the year 1901 Mr. Rath became associated with Judge Charles G. Wing in organizing and establishing the Luding- ton State Bank, and he has since been one of its principal stockholders as well as a member of its directorate. Under the same auspices was
W Rath
779
HISTORY OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN
founded the Fountain Bank, at Fountain, Mason county, and both of these are staunch and popular financial institutions of the northern part of Michigan. Mr. Rath continues as one of the interested princi- pals in the bank last mentioned, and his progressive spirit and business acumen have also been shown through his earnest co-operation in the promoting and upbuilding of a number of successful manufacturing enterprises in his home city and other places in this section of Michigan. He is sole owner of the Briny Inn, a splendid commercial and resort hotel in the city of Manistee, Michigan, and in addition to his extensive real-estate holdings in Ludington and other parts of Mason county he is the owner of much valuable real estate in the city of Chicago. He has shown great circumspection and judgment in his real-estate invest- ments and through the medium of the same has added materially to his ample fortune. He came to Ludington more than forty years ago, a mere youth, a veritable stranger in a strange land, and without financial resources or influential friends. Thus the success he has achieved through earnest and honest endeavor stands the more to his credit and places him among those worthy of the proud American title of a self- made man.
Mr. Rath has been significantly loyal as a citizen and has shown a deep interest in all that has tended to advance the material and social welfare of his home city. In polities he is found aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party and he has been an influential figure in local affairs of a public nature, the while he has been called upon to serve in various positions of distinctive trust. For ten years he was a member of the board of aldermen of Ludington, and in the spring of 1910 there came a further and well merited mark of pop- ular esteem when he was elected mayor of the city, for a term of one year. His administration of municipal affairs has been marked by the same fidelity and progressiveness that have characterized his business career and he is proving the wisdom of the popular suffrage which brought to him this official preferment. He had previously represented Ludington county as a member of the county board of supervisors, and in every possible way he has supported measures and enterprises that have tended to conserve the advancement and general prosperity of his home city and county. He has given time, effort and money in the pro- motion of industrial enterprises, in the effecting of public improve- ments and in fostering those undertakings that represent the higher civic ideals. He has been identified with the Ludington Board of Trade during virtually the entire period of its existence and was its president for two years. For seven years he was a member of the board of trus- tees of the Ludington cemetery. and for more than a decade and a half he has given effective service to the government as deputy collector of customs. Both he and his wife are zealous members of the German Lutheran church, in whose faith he was reared.
Ou the 17th of July, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Rath to Miss Lucy Rickhoff, who likewise was born in Germany, whence she came with her parents to America when a girl. Mr. and Mrs. Rath became the parents of one child, Jennie. They have raised two adopted daughters, Ella and Jessie.
780
HISTORY OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN
OLIVER J. GOWANS, postmaster of Mackinaw City, is an enterprising young business man who has been connected with positions of respon- sibility and honor in his home city since he was twenty years of age.
He was born at Gladwin, Gladwin county, Michigan, August 18, 1883, and received his education in the Gladwin high school and the Mt. Pleasant normal school. While still a boy he became clerk in one of the offices of the Michigan Central railroad, and in 1902 was promoted chief clerk of the office at Mackinaw City. This office he held up to November, 1910, which was the date of his appointment to the post- mastership. He is an active Republican and one of the best representa- tives of the progressive citizenship of northern Michigan.
Mr. Gowans is a son of John and Rosa (Davis) Gowans, the former a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, and the latter of Stratford, Ontario. They were married in Ontario and both are still living. Of their five children three are living :- Oliver J., Olive and Howard. The father was brought to this country when a child, and the family first located in Utah, from which state he moved to Stratford, Ontario, later to Gladwin county, Michigan, and since 1909 has been a resident of Mackinaw City. His business was mason contracting, and while in Gladwin county he served as township supervisor. In politics he is a Republican. Oliver J. Gowans is affiliated with Wawatam Lodge No. 448 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and St. Ignace Chapter, No. 364, Royal Arch Masons, and he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star. June 28, 1905, he married Miss Sylvia May Callam. Mackinaw City is her birthplace, and her parents, Charles A. and Amanda A. (Smith) Callum, were both born in this state. Her father, who died in 1898, was a lumberman of Saginaw, and her mother passed away May 5, 1911. Their children were: Mrs. Gowans, Otie A. and Catherine J.
SAMUEL W. BAKER .- An able and valued factor in connection with educational affairs in northern Michigan, Professor Baker is incumbent of the office of superintendent of the public schools of the city of Man- istee and is known as not only a successful educator but also as a dis- criminating and efficient administrative officer, in evidence of which his success in his present field of endeavor offers adequate voncher.
Professor Baker was born at Port Perry, Ontario county, province of Ontario, Canada, on the 2d of September, 1849, and is a son of Dr. M. S. and Rachel M. (Brown) Baker, the former of whom was born in England and the latter in the province of Ontario, Canada, where their marriage was solemnized. Professor Baker was about eight years of age at the time of the family removal to Michigan and he was reared to adult age in Shiawasse county, where he was afforded the advantages of the schools of Corunna, the county seat. He supplemented this pre- liminary academic training by a through course in the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti, in which admirable institution he was graduated. He has been active in the work of the pedagogic profession for fully thirty-five years, and his success in the same has been on a parity with his recognized ability, which has been reinforced by the long experience in the field of popular education. He holds a life certi- ficate from the state as a teacher, and he has further amplified his scope
781
HISTORY OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN
of knowledge by proving himself eligible also for the legal profession. While actively engaged in teaching about thirty odd years ago he pur- sued a course of study in the law, under effective private preceptorship, and he was admitted to the bar of Michigan, after which he was engaged in the practice of law in Clinton county for two years. His predilection for and great interest in pedagogy, however, soon called him back to work as a teacher, and it may be taken as a matter of objective grati- fication that he was not long deflected from this field of endeavor, as his labors have been prolific in results of the most benignant order. Pro- fessor Baker became superintendent of the public schools of Ovid, this state, and he resigned this position to take up the study of law. Two years later, however, the school board of the same place urged him to resume his former position, and he accepted the overtures. He contin- ued incumbent of this charge until he was elected superintendent of the schools of Big Rapids, where he continued his earnest and fruitful labors in this capacity for the ensuing eight years. He then, in 1893, removed to Manistee, where he opened a business college, which he con- ducted for the ensuing two years, at the expiration of which he was elected director of the Normal training school. Two years later further
recognition of his ability and sterling character was given in his elec- tion to the office of superintendent of the public schools of the city. His administration extended over a period of a full decade, and he resigned the office in November, 1908, to accept the position of district manager of a prominent life-insurance company, with headquarters in Manistee. In April, 1910, he yielded to earnest importunities and accepted his former office of superintendent of the city schools, and his influence has since been most potent in maintaining the schools of Manistee at the high standard to which he had brought them during his previous and extended regime. It will thus be seen that there has been distinctive appreciation of his long and faithful service as chief executive of the public-school system of Manistee, and here he commands secure vantage ground in the confidence and esteem of all who know him. He is not only most successful as an instructor, but has the power of infusing enthusiasm among both teachers and students, thus insuring the best results from the privileges provided.
In politics Professor Baker is aligned as a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and is a charter member of the local organization of the Modern Romans.
At Corunna, Michigan, was solemnized the marriage of Professor Baker to Miss Ellen L. Gillett, who was born and reared in this state and who is a member of one of its sterling pioneer families. Her father, the late Jason C. Gillett, was a master mechanic and was a valiant soldier in a Michigan regiment in the Civil war. Both he and his wife passed their closing years in Michigan. Mrs. Baker had been a sue- cessful and popular teacher in the public schools of her native state prior to her marriage, and she is a woman of culture and most gracious personality,-one who is a popular factor in connection with the best social activities of her home city. Professor and Mrs. Baker have four Vol. 11-15
782
HISTORY OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN
sons and two daughters, all of whom have, as may well be supposed, been afforded the best of educational advantages. They are Ethel; Ray C. and Lee, both members of the theatrical profession, in which they have shown much talent and been identified with representative companies; Ward is a professional violinist of admirable ability ; and Eva and Don- ald remain at the parental home.
RONALD BARTON .- To be numbered among the active factors in the commercial life of Farwell and thus well worthy of representation in this work devoted to the lives of the valuable citizens of northern Mich- igan is Ronald Barton, who is here engaged in the meat market busi- ness. He is still to be numbered in the younger generation of business men, his birth having occurred in 1877. He is a son of John W. and Sarah (Burke) Barton, and through his father he is connected with Erin, which country has given to the United States a large and im- portant element of her population.
When John W. Barton was a lad his parents joined the great emi- grating company seeking wider opportunity in America. They first located in Canada, where the father engaged in farming, being em- ployed as superintendent of a large agricultural estate owned by an English corporation. In 1883 the family removed to the United States, taking up their residence in Farwell, Michigan, where John W. Barton accepted a position as a superintendent in the lumber camps. Later he purchased a home in Farwell and resides here at the present time, secure in the enjoyment of the regard of his fellow citizens.
Ronald Barton holds Farwell in happiest association for it was here that the roseate days of boyhood and youth were passed, and in the excellent public schools of the town he received his education. In 1898, when about twenty-one years of age he went far afield, locating in Bliss, Mississippi, where he engaged as superintendent and cook in a lumber camp and mill. After remaining there for a while Mr. Barton returned to Farwell and established himself independently in business by open- ing a meat market. He continued at this for a comparatively brief time and then went to Weidman, Michigan, where he accepted a position. Very soon he returned to Farwell and purchased the market and business of Mr. Sheckles and in the conduct of this he has met with success and has built up a large and ever-increasing patronage. He also engages in the buying of hogs and poultry for shipping. He is a member ever welcome in the gatherings of the lodges with which he is affiliated-the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World.
Mr. Barton became a Benedict over a decade ago, his marriage being solemnized in December, 1900. Mrs. Barton is a native of Canada and a daughter of William and Mary (Clendeming) Ritchie, the former being a mill hand and the family removing to Michigan several years ago. Two children have been born into their home,-Belle in 1902, and Leo, in 1906.
GODFREY ST. PETER .- A representative business man of the younger generation who holds a secure place in the confidence and esteem of
783
HISTORY OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN
his fellow men at Mikado, Alcona county, Michigan, is Godfrey St. Peter, who is here engaged in the feed and grain business. Mr. St. Peter was born at Oscoda, Iosco county, Michigan, the date of his birth being 24th of December, 1881. He is a son of Louis and Rose (Paquette) St. Peter, both of whom were born and reared in the Dominion of Canada. The father came to the United States in 1863, locating at Bay City, Michigan, removing thence to An Sable, where was solemnized his marriage to Miss Rose Paqnette. To this union were born three children,-Godfrey, the immediate subject of this review; Joseph, who is in Mikado; and Rose, who remains at the parental home. Louis St. Peter removed to Mikado, Alcona county, in 1893, and he now resides upon a fine farm of eighty acres, where he is engaged in diversified agriculture and the growing of high-grade stock.
Godfrey St. Peter received his early educational training in the public schools at Oscoda and he was a youth of twelve years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Mikado, where he became associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm. He continued to be identified with farming until 1907, in which year he established his home in Mikado, where he is now engaged in the care of an extensive shipping business. He is a dealer in flour, feed, grain, beans and seeds, and his fine elevator, which was erected in 1906 and which is forty by sixty feet in lateral dimensions, is situated on the Detroit & Mackinac Railroad. Mr. St. Peter controls a large and con- stantly increasing trade and by reason of his fair and straightforward business methods and unfailing courtesy to his customers he is rapidly gaining prestige as one of the able and popular business men in this place. In politics he endorses the cause of the Republican party and he has served ms township with all of efficiency as clerk for a period of two years. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees and with the Modern Brotherhood of America. In his religious faith he is a stanch advocate of the doctrines preached in the Catholic church, in whose faith he was reared.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.