USA > Michigan > A history of northern Michigan and its people, Volume II > Part 42
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At Harrisville, on the 3d of June, 1865, occurred the birth of Edward W. Chapelle, and after completing the curriculum of the public schools of this place he engaged in the work of scaling logs and measuring lum- ber, with which line of enterprise he continued to be identified for a pe- riod of seven years, at the expiration of which he turned his attention to the pedagogic profession. He was a successful and popular teacher for thirteen years and during a portion of that time he taught in his home township. In 1898 he engaged in the hardware business at Harris- ville and in connection with that enterprise he has built up and controls an extensive patronage, whose wants he supplies from a large and well equipped establishment. In politics he is a staunch Republican and in a public way he has been incumbent of the following offices : village clerk for fifteen years, city clerk for one year, alderman for six years and reg- ister of deeds for six years-from 1895 to 1899. He is serving as a mem- ber of the board of aldermen at the present time, in 1911. In the time- honored Masonic order he is a valued and appreciative member of Har- risville Lodge, No. 292. Free & Accepted Masons, of which he was wor- shipful master in 1903-4. He is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees. In religious matters he gives his support to the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he and his wife are most devout members.
In the year 1888, at Harrisville, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Chapelle to Miss Ida M. Ralston, who is a daughter of George and Eliz- abeth (Church) Ralston, representative citizens of Canada. Mrs. Ral- ston was born in Canada, where she was reared and educated. To Mr. and Mrs. Chapelle have been born four children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth,-Anna G .. Zoe R .. Eugena E. and Edward W., Jr.
Mr. Chapelle is a man of broad mind and liberal views, there being nothing narrow or intolerant in his nature. IIe is essentially alert and progressive, lives in the present and takes a pardonable pride in his community and state. Socially he is genial in manner, considerate of the opinions and feelings of others and he possesses scores of friends, whose faith and confidence in his ability are manifested by loyal votes at eleetion time.
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RALPH CASE .- Among the representative men of northern Michigan who have for years figured prominently in the lumber industry is Ralph Case of Kingsley, Grand Traverse county, who is senior member of the firm of Case & Croster.
Mr. Case was born in Calhoun county, Michigan, April 15, 1856. His father, Nelson Case, was a native of New York, who, at an early day went to Ohio. By trade he was a blacksmith, and for several years had a shop in the Buckeye state. While there he married Miss Eveline Gwinn, who came with him to Michigan, where she shared with him the joys and sorrows, the privileges and privations incident to life on the frontier. They lived in several locations in Michigan, the family home being in Kalamazoo county at the time the father died. He lived to the ripe age of seventy-eight years, and his widow survived him until she reached the advanced age of eighty-two years.
Ralph Case was the youngest of the four children composing his father's family, and was two years old when they moved to Kalamazoo county. There his early education was received in the district school. At the age of fifteen he became a wage worker, and when he was seven- teen was employed in a sawmill, where he laid the foundation for his business success. In 1881 he became associated with Joseph O. Croster, a copartnership was formed, and a lumber enterprise was started which has been continued successfully for a period of thirty years, and was never more prosperous than it is to-day. The Kingsley mill operated by this company was for years the largest industry in this section of the country. Other mills have since been built and are now being operated by the company : one at Bingham, Leelanau county, and another at Walloon Lake, Charlevoix county. In 1910, Messrs. Case and Croster with Mr. John Grund formed the Arcadia Lumber Company, which erected a mill at Arcadia, Michigan, with a capacity of six to seven mil- lion feet of lumber per year, and which they are now operating success- fully. Besides owning twelve thousand acres of timber land in the upper peninsula of Michigan, the firm has one hundred and twenty-five million feet of standing timber in Oregon. Mr. Case is a director in the First National Bank of Traverse City, and a large stockholder in the Queen City Light & Power Company of that place. At Kingsley, where he maintains his home, he has long been recognized as one of the most public spirited men of the village. He has contributed freely both of his time and his means to the advancement of its best interests ; has served as a member of the school board and the village council, and has been president of the village.
Mr. Case and his partner, Mr. Croster, married sisters, their double wedding being celebrated on the 12th of September. 1878. Mr. Case was married to Miss Emma and Mr. Croster to Miss Ella Snyder, daugh- ters of George and Elizabeth (Hoover) Snyder, natives of Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs. Case were born four children, namely: Earl J., presi- dent of the Case Lumber Company of Kingsley; Atta, who died at the age of eight months; Roy and Carl, the former born in August, 1888; the latter, in July, 1893. Roy married Miss Myrtle Rierick, and is en- gaged in farming in Kalamazoo county.
Mrs. Case died January 1, 1911, and since her death the home has
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been presided over by a relative of hers whom she and Mr. Case reared from a baby girl, giving her the same care and attention they bestowed upon their own children.
Politically, Mr. Case is a Republican. Fraternally, he is identified with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Free and Accepted Masons. He has received the higher degrees of Masonry and maintains membership in Traverse City Lodge, No. 222; Chapter, No. 102; Commandery, No. 41, and belongs to the Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids. He is a member of the Grand Lodge and Grand Encampment, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
ELMER E. WHITE .- A man of wide vision and broad ideas, Elmer E. White, who for thirteen years was associated with the Traverse City Daily Eagle, is now rendering noteworthy service as county clerk of Grand Traverse county. He is deservedly prominent and popular in political and journalistie circles, and a typical representative of that manhood that has practically made northern Michigan. A native of Wisconsin, he was born April 16, 1871, in Milwaukee county, a son of George L. White.
His grandfather, Woodard D. White, was born February 20, 1800, reared and married in New York state. In 1845, desirous of investing his money in cheap land, he eame westward with his family in the old- time prairie schooner, and located as a pioneer in Greenfield, Milwau- kee county, Wisconsin. A blacksmith by occupation, he followed his trade in the new country, having work for miles around, and as there were comparatively few horses in the state at that time he used to shoe oxen for the farmers, and in addition made all kinds of eutlery and household utensils, work that every blacksmith was expected to do. He secured title to eighty acres of heavily timbered land, and from the wilderness cleared and improved a homestead, on which he resided un- til his death, July 24, 1867.
Born in New York state September 29, 1842, George L. White was but three years of age when taken to Greenfield, Wisconsin, where his carlier years were spent. Succeeding to the ownership of the home farm, he lived in Greenfield until 1882, when he moved with his family to Milwaukee, which was his home for a year. In 1883, the year in which occurred the disastrous fire that destroyed the Newhall House. he came with his wife and children to northern Michigan, locating at Mancelona, Antrim county. Opening a meat market and grocery, he earried on a substantial mercantile business during the remainder of his life, passing away January 22, 1900, an honored and respected citizen. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Minnie C. Kehding, five children were born, as follows: Sherman T., a practicing physician at Redding, California : Nelson N., of Detroit, Michigan; Frank G .. of Bellaire, Michigan; Elmer E., the special subject of this brief sketch : and Olive E., living in San Francisco, California. The mother died March 19, 1903, in Redding, California.
Receiving the rudiments of his education in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Elmer E. White was a pupil in the Milwaukee schools for a year, and Vol. II-21
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after coming to Michigan completed his studies at the Mancelona High School. He subsequently assisted his father in the market and the store for a time, but having a strong desire to learn the art preservative, left his clerical position and entered the printing office of the Mancelona Herald, with which he was associated for five or six years. Then, after teaching school one term in Antrim county, Mr. White spent one season in a drug store at Petoskey, and the two ensning years was in Cadillac, where, in the office of the Cadillac News and Express, he was asso- ciated with the editor of this history, Mr. Perry F. Powers. Com- ing to Traverse City in 1897, Mr. White entered the office of the Daily Eagle, with which he was connected for thirteen years, in 1909 being made its editor and manager.
Prominent and influential in political circles, Mr. White has taken an active part in Republican caucusses and conventions, and is now chairman of the Republican City Committee. A candidate for the office of county clerk of Grand Traverse county in 1910, he was elected, and on January 20, 1911, assumed the duties of his position. Fraternally Mr. White belongs to various organizations. As a Mason he belongs to the Blue Lodge, the Chapter, Council and Commandery; he is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; of the Order of Eagles : of the Knights of the Maccabees; and of the Grange. He is likewise a member of the local Association of Musicians.
Mr. White married, September 12, 1899, Winifred E. Pratt, a dangh- ter of Edwin S. and Ada K. Pratt, of Traverse City, and they are the parents of two children, namely : Edwina E. and Fredericka H. Mr. and Mrs. White are held in high esteem by their large circle of friends and acquaintances, and are valued members of the First Congregational church.
DANIEL MCGOVERN .- A retired farmer and former representative of Osceola distriet in the Michigan state legislature, Daniel McGovern is now residing at Tustin, Osceola county, Michigan. He was born in Ireland on the 3d of February, 1833, and is a son of Hugh McGovern, who was born and reared on the fair Emerald Isle, whence he emi- grated to America with his family about the year 1833. The father was identified with agricultural pursuits in Osceola county, Michigan, until his death, January 18, 1872. He was educated for the Catholic priesthood but was never ordained. He was married in Ireland to Miss Nancy Flannigan and they became the parents of ten children, eight of whom were born in Ireland and two in the Dominion of Canada. For a time after his arrival in America Mr. Hugh MeGovern resided in Ottawa, Canada, and after the death of his wife, he removed to the state of New York, where he was identified with farming until 1860, in which year he located near Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was at one time a member of the British army and in polities he was a staunch Democrat. He was a devout communicant of the Catholic church and two of his brothers were members of the Catholic priest- hood. At the time of his death he had attained to the patriarchal age of ninety-nine years and he was held in high esteem by all with whom he had come in contact.
Daniel Mcgovern
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Daniel MeGovern was in infant at the time of his arrival in Amer- ica and he received his early educational training in the public schools of Canada and in those of New York. As a young man he learned the carpenter's trade and he was engaged in that line of enterprise and in farm work for a number of years in New York. For a period of eight years he was engaged in boating on the Eric canal. In 1864 he enlisted in the Third New York Light Artillery and he served on the signal corps until the close of the war. In 1865 he came to Mich- igan, whither his father had preceded him, and settled at Grand Rapids, where he was for a time employed at odd jobs. Thereafter he removed to Ionia, where he maintained his home for two years, at the expiration of which, in January, 1868, he located at LeRoy, Osceola county. In May, 1872, he removed to Tustin and entered a homestead of eighty acres of timber land. As time passed he cleared this tract of land but eventually sold it and bought another tract of timber land in the vicinity of Tustin, one half of which he cleared and improved. For a number of years he was extensively engaged in the land business and in all his financial ventures his success has been of most prominent order. He is a stockholder in the Tustin bank and a director of the same.
On the 24th of January, 1857, Mr. McGovern was united in mar- riage to Miss Mellissa Worden, who was born and reared in the state of New York, where her marriage was solemnized. To this union have been born the following named children,-Daniel, Franklin, William A. and Bird B. Daniel and Franklin are deceased and William A. is en- gaged as a telegraph operator. The only daughter, Bird B., is now the wife of Warren M. Holmes, a retired merchant at Tustin, Osceola coun- ty, this state, concerning whom further mention is made in a sketch dedi- cated to his career which appears elsewhere in this work.
Mr. McGovern has always been a stalwart in the ranks of the Demo- cratie party and he has taken an active part in public affairs, having served as a member of the board of supervisors, as school director and as highway commissioner all at one time, this having been in the days when LeRoy was first organized. He gave most efficient service as jus- tice of the peace for twenty years and this in a Republican county. In 1891 he was elected to represent Osceola district in the state legisla- ture and he was a prominent and influential factor in the workings of the lower house during the session of 1891-2. He has not participated in active politics since his representation in the legislature and he re- tired from his farming pursuits in 1892. In a fraternal way he is af- filiated with the time-honored Masonic order and his religions faith coincides with the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a man of ability and learning and it is through his own well-directed endeavors that he has made of life such a marked success.
WARREN M. HOLMES, a retired merchant and prominent public official of Tustin, Osceola county, Michigan, was born in Madison county, New York, the date of his nativity being Jannary 17. 1848. His father, Edward Holmes. who is now deceased, was long engaged in farming at Vernon. Michigan, and he was likewise born in the fine old
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Empire state of the Union, where he was reared and where his mar- riage was solemnized. Mrs. Holmes, whose maiden name was Nancy Kinney, was born in New York and she and her husband became the parents of ten children, of whom Warren M. was the fourth in order of birth and the last to be born in New York, the remaining six elaiming Michigan as the place of their nativity. The Holmes family removed to Michigan in 1848, at which time the subject of this review was a mere infant, and settlement was made in Shiawassee county on a home- stead of eighty acres of timber land. In due time the father succeeded in clearing and cultivating this land and on the same he constructed a fine comfortable home for his family. He continued to reside in Miehi- gan until his death, which occurred in his seventy-third year in 1881. He was a Democrat in his political convictions and was affiliated with the Masonie order. Mrs. Holmes was summoned to the life eternal in 1865, at which time she was forty-two years of age. Mr. Holmes was twice married and two children by his first wife are deceased, while eight children by his second wife are living.
Mr. Hohes, to whom this sketch is dedicated, received his pre- liminary educational training in the public schools of Shiawassee county, Michigan, and he was associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-three years. Thereafter he farmed and worked in the woods until 1881, when he went to Colorado, where he was employed in the mines for about one year. Returning to Michigan in 1882, he worked in a store at Vernon, for the ensuing two years, and in 1885 he came to Tustin. Osceola county, where he engaged in the general merchandise business on his own account, first conducting a general store and later adding wagons and buggies to the stock of his concern. From 1885 to 1903 he was in partnership with Mr. G. D. DeGoit, the firm being known as Holmes & DeGoit, but in 1903 he bought Mr. DeGoit's share of the business, and continued to operate the same individually until 1906, in which year he disposed of the entire establishment to the firm of G. A. Swanson & Sons. He was instrumental in the construction of one of the largest buildings in Tustin and during his active business career he dealt largely in forest products,-bark, posts and wood.
Mr. Holmes has been twice married. In May, 1881, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Hattie Perry, who was a daughter of M. W. Perry, of Cadillac. They became the parents of one child, who died in infaney. Mrs. Holmes passed away in January, 1892, and on the 15th of Janu- ary, 1896, was recorded his marriage to Miss Bird B. McGovern, who is a daughter of Daniel MeGovern, concerning whose career a sketch appears on other pages of this work, so that further data regarding the family is not demanded at this point. Mrs. Holmes was reared in Ionia county, Michigan, and after graduating in the high school at Tustin she was a popular and successful teacher in the public schools in and around Tustin. No children have been born of this marriage.
Mr. Holmes is a stalwart advocate of the eause of the Democratic party in his political convictions and he served as a member of the board of supervisors of Tustin for two terms. He was president of the village of Tustin for two terms, was village assessor for five terms, and
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is now incumbent of the office of township treasurer. IIis fraternal con- nections are with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his wife is a member of the Episcopal church.
DR. CHARLES J. GRAY is numbered among the leading representatives of the dental profession in Michigan, as is evident from the fact that he has served as a member of the state board of dental examiners, and he is engaged in the successful practice of his profession in the city of Petoskey, the metropolis of Emmet county, where he is known as one of the city's most loyal, liberal and progressive citizens and where he is a representative of the first ward on the board of aldermen. He is a scion of a distinguished English family and the name which he bears has been most prominently identified with the army and navy of Great Britain. Though reared in the "right little, tight little isle," as Max ('Rell designated England, the doctor is thoroughly appreciative of the advantages, institutions and attractions of the land of his adoption, and his sterling attributes of character, coupled with most gracious per- sonality, have gained to him a wide circle of friends in the state in which he has elected to establish his home.
Dr. Gray was born on the beautiful island of Jersey, one of channel islands, on the 31st of December, 1873, and thus he became a welcome New Year's guest in the home of his parents. John and Elizabeth (Smith) Gray, who now reside at Woolwich, England, where the father is living virtually retired, after long years of effective service in con- nection with the affairs of the British army and navy. John Gray is a scion of one of the old and patrician families of Scotland and born in the village of Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, on the 19th of November, 1841. His wife was born in the city of London and their marriage was solemnized in the city of Woolwich, England, which has long been one of the principal points in connection with the army and navy service of the great empire. Concerning the five children of John and Eliza- beth (Smith) Gray the following brief data are given: William D. is incumbent of the office of major on the headquarter staff at Simla, India ; Louise W. is the wife of Roy Ferguson and they reside in India, where the latter holds a government position ; Archibald J., who was an officer in the celebrated Black Watch Regiment, was with that gallant command at the opening engagement of the Boer war, and in this con- fliet he received a wound that resulted in his death, in India, at the age of thirty-six years; Dr. Charles J., of this review, was the next in order of birth; and Miss Nellie remains at the parental home.
John Gray, father of the doctor, entered the military service of Eng- land when hut fifteen years of age and rose to position of great trust in connection with both army and navy affairs, as a staff officer. He con- tinned in the service until he attained to the age of sixty-five years. when he retired, in 1906, and he now resides in Woolwich. England. as has already been stated in this context. He is a man of fine ability and commands secure place in the confidence and esteem of all who know him.
Dr. Charles J. Gray was afforded the advantages of the royal mili- tary academy at Woolwich, England, and by the prosecution of further
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study in historie old Cambridge University he secured from this great institution both junior and senior certificates. After passing the re- quired civil-service examination he was given a position in the English admiralty, and after holding this incumbency for a period of eighteen months he decided to sever the ties that bound him to the old home and to join his uncle, William M. Gray, one of the representative citizens and business men of Seaforth, Huron county, province of Ontario, Can- ada. He thus came to America in 1893, at the age of nineteen years, and after his arrival at his destination he was given the position of manager of his uncle's salt works. In 1894 he came to Detroit, Michi- gan, where he entered the dental department of the Detroit College of Medicine, in which he completed the prescribed technical course and was graduatd as a member of the class of 1898. Ile not only received his degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery but he also had the distinction of being the winner of the gold medal awarded to the member of the class whose proficiency was the highest. To fortify himself further for the work of his chosen profession Dr. Gray thereafter passed two years in post-graduate work in surgery, in leading institutions in London and Paris, but the lure of America proved sufficient to draw him again to its shores. He returned to Michigan in 1900 and established his home in Petoskey, where he has since been engaged in practice and where he has an office that is a conceded model in equipment and facilities. He exemplifies in his work the most advanced methods of dental surgery and is one of the representative members in Michigan of a profession that embraces both a science and a mechanic art. The appartenances of both his laboratory and operating room are of the most approved modern type, and this fact, as reinforced by that of his splendid skill in all departments of his work, has gained to him a large and apprecia- tive clientage. Ile is an active and influential member of the Michigan State Dental Society and in 1902 he was appointed, by Governor Bliss, a member of the state board of dental examiners, in which position he continued to serve, with all fidelity and efficiency, until 1905.
In politics Dr. Gray has aligned himself as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and his interest in the affairs of the party has not been one of apathetic order, as is evidenced by the fact that he has served since 1905 as treasurer of the Republican county committee. Signally alert, progressive and public-spirited as a citizen, Dr. Gray takes the deepest interest in all that tends to further the social and material advancement and prosperity of his home eity, and, by successive re-elections, he has served continuously as representative of the first ward in the city board of aldermen since 1908. In this mu- nicipal body he is known as a strong supporter of progressive policies and yet as one ever insistent upon the careful conservation of the city's financial resonrees.
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