Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 100

Author:
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 966

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hands, a fair idea may be formed as to the amount of labor entailed upon him in this position. In addition to these duties, the following brief summary of positions held by him will convey an idea of the busy life led by him since locating here. At present he is probate judge of Iosco county, having been first elected to this position in 1900, and re-elected in 1904, this being generally acknowledged to be one of the most respon- sible positions in the county officiary. He served as treasurer of AuSable township two terms and township supervisor two terms. He was secretary and treasurer of the AuSable city board of education for the long period of twelve years, having been a member of the board for even a longer per- iod. In 1902 he was appointed collector of customs for this port and is still contin- uing in this capacity, while he is also the weather bureau displayman. He is agent during the summer months for all the pas- senger lines of boats stopping at this port, as well as agent for the White Star, Amer- ican, Dominion and Scandinavian ocean lines of steamers, and is general baggage master for the AuSable & Northwestern Railway. He is also manager of the Pio- neer Electric Light Company of AuSable and in many other ways has shown his in- terest in the welfare and advancement of the city and county of his residence. He has displayed business abilities of a high order and in every position he has filled he has performed his duties to the entire satisfac- tion of every one interested.

Judge Weir married, in AuSable, Miss Mary E. Gorbertt, a native of Huron county, . this state, and they have become the parents of two daughters, Mabel P., who is now at- tending college, and Edna G. In political

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matters Judge Weir gives a hearty alle- giance to the Republican party and has taken an active part in political affairs in his county. Fraternally he is a Mason, having been master of the blue lodge during the past five years, and being now also high priest in the chapter of Royal Arch Masons ; he is also a member of Alpena Lodge, Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and of the National Union, the Woodmen and Knights of Pythias. In every avenue of life's activities in which he has been engaged he has won for himself the highest regard of his associates and colleagues and few men in the community stand higher in general popular esteem than does he. He is a lover of field and stream and misses no opportun- ity to enjoy his favorite sports with rod and gun.

LOUIS L. KELLY, M. D.

The subject of this review is one of the representative citizens and leading members of the medical fraternity in Clare county, being engaged in the practice of his profes- sion in the attractive little city of Farwell and also being incumbent of the office of supervisor of Surrey township.

The Doctor is a native of the old Green Mountain state, which has contributed so largely to the personnel of the population of Michigan, the New England element having been one of the most potent in connection with the founding and upbuilding of this great commonwealth. Dr. Kelly was born near the city of Rutland, Vermont, on the 29th of December, 1848, and is a son of Obediah and Mary Kelly, both of whom are now deceased. Our subject was reared to

the age of thirteen years in his native state, where he received his rudimentary educa- tional discipline in the public schools. He then accompanied his parents on their re- moval to Michigan, the family locating in Ann Arbor, where he continued his educa- tional work, finally entering the medical de- partment of the University of Michigan, in that city, where he was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1875, receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine and coming forth ad- mirably equipped for the work of his noble profession. Soon after his graduation he located in Farwell, where he established him- self in practice and where he has ever since continued to reside. He is to be considered one of the pioneer physicians and surgeons of the county and he has been prominently identified with the industrial and civic prog- ress and development of his home town and county, while he has ever retained a strong hold upon the confidence and esteem of the people of the community, where his friends are in number as his acquaintances. The Doctor is the owner of about two thousand acres of land, nearly all of which is in Clare county, while of this estate about four hun- dred acres are under effective cultivation and well improved. In connection with ag- ricultural pursuits the Doctor devotes spe- cial attention to the raising of cattle, sheep and Angora goats, and has made this a prof- itable department of his extensive farming enterprise.

Dr. Kelly has ever taken an active inter- est in public affairs of a local nature and has been a prominent factor in political circles, being a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party. In No- vember, 1904, he was elected representative of Clare district, comprising the counties of

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Clare, Gladwin and Roscommon, thus be- coming a member of the all-Republican leg- islature of 1904-5. He has held various township offices. including that of super- visor, of which he has been incumbent al- most continuously since 1888, while at the time of this writing he is president of the village of Farwell. In his official life he has amply justified the confidence and esteem reposed in him by his fellow citizens and his popularity is of the most unequivocal order. Dr. Kelly is prominently identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and in the former he has for many years repre- sented his lodge, Farwell Lodge, No. 210, in the grand lodge of the state.

In Macomb county, Michigan, in 1875, Dr. Kelly was united in marriage to Miss Rosetta Cherryman, who was born in the state of New York, whence she came with her parents to Michigan when a child. Dr. and Mrs. Kelly have three children, namely : Edith, who is the wife of Roy Hubbard, of Boyne Falls, Michigan; and Genevieve and G. Eugene, who remain at the parental home.

EDGAR G. WELCH.

The gentleman to a brief review of whose life and characteristics the reader's attention is herewith respectfully invited, is numbered among the most progressive young business men and most popular citizens of Clare county, being at the time of this writing incumbent of the office of county commis- sioner of schools, while he is also senior member of the firm of Welch & Bennett, ed- itors and publishers of the Clare Sentinel,

one of the excellent weekly papers of the state. Mr. Welch has been an active worker in the field of education and has met with marked success in the pedagogic profession, being a man of high intellectuality and much initiative and administrative ability, while his genial and kindly attributes have gained to him the highest degree of personal popu- larity.

Mr. Welch is a native of the old Em- pire state of the Union, having been born in Hammond, St. Lawrence county, New York, on the 22d of May, 1870, and being a son of Richard and Anna (Gillerlain) Welch. The father of the subject was a carpenter and contractor by vocation and was for a number of years prominently en- gaged in business along this line in Clare, where he died on the 25th of January, 1898. His widow survives and is now living with her daughter, Mrs. F. P. Gray, in Los An- geles, California. Of the five children of their union four are living, the subject of this review having been the fifth in order of birth.

Edgar G. Welch passed the first seven and one-half years of his life in his native town in New York, and there secured his first educational discipline. In 1877 his par- ents removed with their children to Michi- gan and located in Lapeer county where they continued to reside about three years, at the expiration of which, in 1881, they came to Clare, where our subject has ever since made his home. Here he continued his studies in the public schools, being grad- uated in the high school as a member of the class of 1890, and having taught his first term of school when eighteen years of age. His ambition for further educational disci- pline was insistent and unwavering, and in

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1892 he was matriculated in the. Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1897, having previously been engaged in teaching at intervals for a period of five years. After his graduation he was for one year principal of the public schools at Wood- land, Barry county, where he did a most successful work, and in April, 1899, he pur- chased the Clare Sentinel and turned his at- tention to active and practical newspaper work. He conducted this enterprise individ- ually until September, 1902, when he ad- mitted Philip A. Bennett to partnership, and they have since continued the publication of the Sentinel under the firm name of Welch & Bennett. The paper is a seven-column quarto, is issued on Friday of each week and finds its way into the majority of the homes in the territory in its province, while in let- terpress and subject matter it is maintained at a high standard and is creditable alike to its publishers and to the city in which it is issued. The plant of the Sentinel is an ex- cellent one and the job department is equip- ped for the turning out of first-class work. The political policy of the paper is Repub- lican, but its prime function is to serve as an exponent of local interests, a function which it exercises in a most perfect way.

In his political allegiance Mr. Welch is a stalwart Republican, and he has in a local way been an active worker in the ranks of the "grand old party." In April, 1903, he was elected to his present office, that of county commissioner of schools, a position for which he is peculiarly eligible and one in which he is doing a most valuable work, harmonizing and systematizing the affairs of the schools in his jurisdiction and gaining the effective and hearty co-operation of the

teachers and patrons. In religion Mr. Welch is identified with the First Congregational church, being at present the chorister. His fraternal relations are with the Free and Accepted Masons and the state grange, Pa- trons of Husbandry.

On the 2d of April, 1900, Mr. Welch was united in marriage to Miss Minnie M. Presley, daughter of Thomas Presley, a well known and influential citizen of Clare, and of this union has been born one child, Aileen, the date of whose nativity was April 5, 1903.

STANLEY N. INSLEY, M. D.

Northern Michigan is favored with a high order of professional talent, and Gray- ling, Crawford county, is no exception to this rule. The subject of this sketch, who is numbered among the leading physicians of this and neighboring counties, has been engaged in the active practice here a full dec- ade and during this time has won the entire confidence of the people at large and a rep- resentative clientage. The Doctor is a na- tive of Canada, where he was reared to man- hood, and he secured his education in the public schools there, completing the com- mon branches in the high school at Col- borne, Ontario. Determining then to make the practice of medicine his life work, he matriculated in the medical department of Trinity University, at Toronto, where he was graduated in 1894. The following year he came to the United States and lo- cated at Grayling, where he has since contin- ued in the active practice of his profession. His abilities were soon recognized and he has long enjoyed a high standing with the

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public and his professional brethren. Dur- ing the greater part of his residence here he has been the local health officer and is also surgeon for the local division of the Michi- gan Central Railroad. He is also honored with the presidency of the medical associa- tion comprising the counties of Crawford, Otsego, Montmorency, Roscommon, Oge- maw and Oscoda, and is a member of the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, finding these affilia- tions a valuable means of keeping in touch with the latest advances in his profession. He is a close reader and student of all sub- jects pertaining to the healing art. In his fraternal relations, the Doctor is identified with the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias and many other frater- nal orders. Dr. Insley married Miss Anna Regan, of West Bay City, this state, and to them have been born two children, Stanley and Margaret. To his natural ability and careful preparation in the line of his profes- sion, the Doctor combines a geniality of manner and a kindly sympathy which goes far to reassure the patient and makes his presence doubly welcome in the sick room. His friends are not confined to those who have been his patrons, but are in number as are his acquaintances.

JOHN W. DUNN.

Among the leading public officials and representative citizens of Arenac county, Michigan, the subject of this sketch occupies a prominent position and stands high in popular esteem. He is a native of Ontario, Canada, born near the city of Hamilton, and

is the son of Robert Dunn, who removed to Moffitt township, this county, where he died. The subject received his education in Can- ada and in 1879 he came to Michigan and located at once in this county, engaging in the lumber business. He owned and oper- ated saw and shingle mills at Alger, still owning a mill here with a capacity of twen- ty-five thousand feet per day. During 1890-I he was in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the superintendent of the big mills known as the Louisiana Cypress Mills, the construc- tion of which he superintended. He has also to some extent engaged in the real es- tate business, having bought and sold a great deal of land in this and nearby coun- ties. In 1886 he was elected supervisor of Moffitt township, this county, and, except- ing the two years of his residence in Louisi- ana, he held the office continuously until 1901. In that same year he was elected to the office of probate judge of Arenac county, and so satisfactory were his services that in 1904 he was re-elected, be- ing at this time the incumbent of this office. He still retains his business interests, being a stockholder and director of the State Bank of Standish, and is also the owner of six hundred and forty acres of land in section 17, Moffitt township, which is in a fine con- dition, being improved with a good resi- dence and four commodious and substantial barns. Mr. Dunn was one of the first set- tlers in Moffitt township, having cleared the first land and raised the first field of wheat, and has thus been an actual eye-witness as well as an interested participant in the won- derful progress which has characterized this section of the state. He has taken a live in- terest in the welfare of the community along all lines and supports every movement prom-

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ising to benefit his fellow citizens. In poli- tics he is a stanch Republican, performing much effective service in the interests of his party, having been township chairman dur- ing the greater part of the past twenty years.

Mr. Dunn married Miss Ella Wither- spoon, of Brantford, Ontario, and to them has been born one child, Edith, who gradu- ated at the Michigan Seminary, at Kalama- zoo, in the class of 1903, and now resides at home with her parents.

WILLIAM HIERLIHY.

Dependent upon his own resources from his early youth, the subject of this sketch has attained to no insignificant success, and though he has met with misfortune and en- countered many obstacles he has pressed steadily forward, strong in his integrity, self- confidence and self-respect, and ever willing to work for the end which he has in view. He is today one of the representative mer- chants of the attractive little city of Bellaire, county seat of Antrim county, where he is engaged in the boot and shoe and furnish- ing goods business. He is one of the popu- lar young business men of the county and commands the confidence of all with whom he has had dealings.

Mr. Hierlihy was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, on the 5th of April, 1868, and is a son of Philip and Mary (Wasson) Hierlihy, who came to Michigan when he was a child, locating in Charle- voix. The father passed the remainder of his life in Canada, having been a shoemaker by trade and vocation. He died in 1897 and his wife died in 1868. Of their twelve chil-

dren, six are still living. The subject of this sketch secured a good common-school education and as a boy began serving an ap- prenticeship at the shoemaker's trade, under the direction of his father. He resided in Charlevoix until the Ist of July, 1896, when he came to Bellaire and entered the employ of H. E. Dickerson in the capacity of a jour- neyman shoemaker. He continued to be thus engaged for a period of four years, at the expiration of which he made his first independent business venture, opening a re- pair shop, which he conducted one year, when he enlarged the scope of his enterprise by putting in a stock of boots and shoes, beginning on a modest scale and gradually increasing his stock, as justified by his con- stantly growing trade. He continued to carry on a successful business in the Bansill building until 1900, when he purchased the building. In February, 1901, the building was destroyed by fire, together with the con- tents of the subject's store, the loss to him being a serious one, as his accumulations were absolutely wiped out and his insurance indemnity was merely nominal. After the disaster mentioned he opened up a business at once in the same line in Bellaire and again established himself in a good trade. At the time of the fire mentioned he was left about eleven hundred dollars in debt, but since re- suming business he has entirely cleared him- self of this incumbrance, while he has re- cently removed his establishment into new and larger quarters, where he not only has a select stock of boots and shoes, together with a well equipped repair department, but he also has put in a nice stock of hats, caps and men's furnishing goods, making his store one of the most attractive business places of the town, while the increasing

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trade indicates how strong a hold he main- tains upon the confidence and esteem of the people of the community. His courage and determination have never flagged, and it is to men of such integrity, energy and definite application that success comes as a natural sequel. Mr. Hierlihy is the owner of a nice property in Bellaire, is independent in his political attitude and is known as a progres- sive and loyal citizen, though he has never been an aspirant for public office of any de- scription. He is affiliated with Bellaire Lodge, No. 96, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the offi- cial chairs, while in 1903 he represented this body in the grand lodge of the state, which then assembled in Saginaw.

. On the 15th of June, 1896, Mr. Hierlihy assumed connubial responsibilities, since he was then united in marriage to Miss Mag- gie Bingham, a native of this state, and the daughter of Jacob and Priscilla (Pervose) Bingham, who are now residents of North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Hierlihy have two children, Rufus and Ruth.

That the subject of this sketch is a man of varied abilities is evidenced in the fact that he has invented and is now the manu-

facturer of a device called the "Never Slip Heel Plate," an article largely in use by lum- bermen, icemen, log-scalers and teamsters. It is ingenious in its style, and is made from

sheet steel, died out while the metal is cold, thus preventing breakage by frost. The calks are made of steel and are inserted in the plates. They will not ball up with chips or snow, nor will they pull out or bend over, being always firm and upright. It is the best and foremost heel plate in the market and is in great demand.

NEIL McDONALD.

Among the successful lumber men of Ogemaw county, Michigan, is the subject of this sketch. He is a native of county Glen- gary, province of Ontario, Canada, and is the son of Laughlin McDonald, who was for a time engaged in lumbering in Huron county, Ontario, but who later came to St. Charles, Michigan, and engaged in the handling of square and long timber. The subject's brother, R. McDonald, is a lumber- man and land and timber owner in Houston, Texas, while two other brothers were for- merly engaged in the lumber business at Three Rivers, Canada. The subject of this sketch came to northern Michigan in 1870 and has been continuously engaged in the lumber business ever since. He has bought and sold a large amount of timber land and built and operated several mills. He is now a member of the firm of Prescott, Miller & Company, of Tawas City, being the active superintendent of their mills. The firm owns two mills, shingle and lumber respect- ively, located about a quarter of a mile east of Rose City, the shingle mill having a ca- pacity of thirty-two thousand feet per day and the saw-mill thirty-five thousand feet per day. The firm employs about one hun-

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dred men and own approximately five thou- sand acres of fine hardwood timber land near Rose City. Mr. McDonald has been connected with the present concern for seven years and has been successful in his business enterprises.

F. B. MOORE.

The subject of this sketch, who is one of the well-known business men of Elk Rap- ids, through his connection with the Elk Portland Cement Company, is a native of Palmyra, New York, though he was brought to Coldwater, Michigan, at the age of seven years. His father was a merchant and gave the subject fair educational advantages in his early youth. At the age of seventeen years F. B. Moore engaged in selling goods for himself, and at the age of twenty sold out and engaged in the banking business in Ne- braska. In 1891 he brought his capital to Elk Rapids, Michigan, and , established the Elk Rapids Savings Bank, of which he was cashier until 1900, when he became identi- fied with the cement company at this place, with which he has since remained, being now the efficient secretary and general manager of that company.

The Elk Portland Cement Company was organized in 1899, and the buildings of the plant were erected in 1900-1, being opened for business during the summer of the latter year. The original capital was four hundred thousand dollars, which has since been in- creased to seven hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The original officers were O. F. Jordan, president and general mana- ger ; F. R. Williams, vice-president, and F.

B. Moore, secretary and treasurer, while the present officiary is as follows: S. S. Olds, president; F. R. Williams, vice-president; E. R. Sly, vice-president ; F. B. Moore, sec- retary and general manager, and E. M. Sly, treasurer. About twenty-five per cent. of the original investment is held in Elk Rap- ids. The concern manufactures high-grade Portland cement, with a normal capacity of six hundred barrels per day, using lime rock from Emmet and Charlevoix counties. During the first season they operated a marl plant, having a fine marl bed contiguous to . the plant, but finding that a higher quality of cement could be manufactured from lime rock and shale clay, they changed the com- position to those materials. In all depart- ments of the work about seventy-five men are employed, the pay-roll amounting to about five thousand dollars per month. This concern has also become the owners of the Bay Shore Lime Company, and they have largely increased the output of that plant, having now five kilns in operation with a capacity of five hundred barrels of lime per day. They have five hundred acres of lime rock accessible to the plant, and also have an extensive area of lime rock suitable for beet-sugar making. The cement company, with its allied interests, forms one of the most important plants in this part of the state.

ALPENA COUNTY.

Alpena county, Michigan, which was first laid out in 1840, was attached to Mack- inaw until 1853, when it was attached to Cheboygan, and so remained until it was organized as a separate county in 1857. The

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county was not then divided into townships · steam mill on the bay, and some others of and the first board of supervisors was created minor importance. by a special act of the legislature, the first The bill providing for the incorporation of the city of Alpena was approved March 29, 1871, and the first election occurred on the first Monday in the following April, re- sulting in the election of the following offi- cers : Mayor, S. L. Carpenter; treasurer, A. L. Power; comptroller, Donald McRae; recorder, A. Hopper ; aldermen, J. H. Steph- ens, George Richardson, H. S. Seage, Ira Stout, Samuel Boggs and G. H. Davis; supervisors, Alex. McDonald, first ward, James J. Potter, second ward, and James McTavish, third ward. members of the board being Daniel Carter, Harvey Harwood and D. D. Oliver. Al- pena was then known as Fremont, and the first election in the new county was ordered to be held on the first Tuesday of November, 1857. The first general election held in the county was on November 2, 1858, about thirty-five votes being cast and resulting in the election of the following county officers : Sheriff, William R. Bowman; clerk, A. F. Fletcher; treasurer, J. K. Miller; register of deeds, J. K. Miller ; surveyor, D. D. Oli- ver; circuit court commissioner, D. Plough ; coroner, A. F. Fletcher. The first tax-roll showed a total valuation of less than seven- teen thousand dollars.

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 100

Author: Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 966

Author:
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 966