Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 16

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

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the result of his own well directed labors. Mr. Dawson's place is situated about three miles from Central Lake, on both sides of the state road, which thoroughfare he helped establish and construct in 1877, cut- ting out all the timber on the right of way through his land, besides doing a consider- able share of the other labor required to make the road passable. This proved of great benefit to the country and was an im- portant agency in its development. From its completion to the present time the lands con- tiguous thereto have steadily advanced in value, among them being the farm of the subject, which is now among the best im- proved and most attractive and desirable places of its area in the township of Central Lake.

Until Mr. Dawson's marriage his mother lived with him, kept his home in order and looked after his general interests and com- fort, but after her death in 1878 he spent two years in the timber business near Che- boygan. Of recent years, however, he has devoted his attention exclusively to tilling the soil and raising live stock, in both of which branches of husbandry his success has been gratifying. He carries on mixed farm- ing and in addition thereto raises a great deal of fine fruit, having ten acres of orch- ard to which he devotes much care and at- tention and from the proceeds of which in favorable seasons he realizes liberal returns. .

Mr. Dawson is a public spirited man and has ever manifested a lively interest in the affairs of his township, county and state, being in touch with all questions pertaining to each and an influential factor in all pro- gressive measures for the good of the com- munity in which he lives. In politics he votes with the Republican party and, while

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not an office seeker or aspirant for any kind of public recognition, he was elected some years ago township commissioner and dis- charged the duties of the position ably and to the satisfaction of all concerned. Com- ing to Michigan when the country was new and full of wild game, Mr. Dawson was wont to spend considerable time in hunting, a sport of which he was soon quite fond and the liking for which he still retains. He ac- quired great proficiency with the rifle and before his unerring aim many denizens of the woods, both large and small, met death and he still finds his greatest pleasure with his favorite weapon as he takes his annual hunts through the wilds of Michigan and Canada, frequently returning from these long incursions loaded with the trophies of his prowess and skill.

The domestic life of Mr. Dawson dates from October 15, 1879, at which time he was united in the bonds of wedlock to Miss Jane Petrie, whose birth occurred in Canada, but who was reared and educated in La- Peer county, Michigan. Later she accom- panied her parents, John and Sarah Petrie, to Antrim county, where her marriage was solemnized. To Mr. and Mrs. Dawson have been born the following children: Mary Effie, wife of Charles Morris, of Central Lake; Mabel Jane, Harriet, Lois, Olive Blanche and Gordon George, all except the first named being members of the home cir- cle.

L. N. SPRING.

Among the enterprising and energetic business men of Elk Rapids, few are as well known to the public as L. N. Spring, who,

as member and manager of the Spring & Amerson Mercantile Company, has done much to advance the material interests of the city and give it an honorable reputation among the important business centers of northern Michigan. The company with which Mr. Spring is now identified dates its history proper from October, 1902, pre- vious to which time the business had been carried on under the name of the Elk Rapids Iron Company, the present firm being the successor of that establishment. As origin- ally conducted, the iron company carried a full line of general merchandise and did a thriving business of about one hundred thousand dollars per year, but under the present management attention has been con- fined principally to dry goods, clothing, etc., which lines are full and complete, the stock representing every article demanded by the trade, while from the time Messrs. Spring and Amerson took charge the patronage has grown in magnitude and influence until, as already stated, the establishment is at the time not only the largest and most import- ant of the kind in Elk Rapids, but ranks with the leading business houses in the more pretentious metropolitan cities of the state. In the management of the large concern of which he is the executive head Mr. Spring displays ability of a high order and few men of his age and experience have so impressed their individuality upon the public with which they deal or exercised such a potential influence in a business way. He came to his present position well fortified for its respon- sible and exacting duties, having received his early training in the mercantile business and by years of patient toil and close appli- cation become familiar with every detail of the trade. He was born in Kent county,

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Michigan, and there spent his early life, entering at the age of fourteen the business house of Spring & Company at Grand Rapids, where he remained a period of twenty-one years, during which time he became skilled as a salesman, efficient as a buyer and thoroughly acquainted with the underlying principles of commercial law and the ethics of business life.

Severing his connection with the estab- lishment in the above city, Mr. Spring in 1897 came to Elk Rapids and accepted a clerical position in the mercantile depart- ment of the Elk Rapids Iron Company, tak- ing charge of the same lines of goods to which his firm has devoted especial atten- tion since succeeding to the business in 1902. Mr. Spring's experience with the above concern covered a period of five years, at the expiration of which time he effected a copartnership with H. S. Amerson for the purpose of purchasing the company's stock, which being accomplished, the new firm began operations under exceedingly favor- able auspices, its career since then being characterized by a series of continued suc- cesses such as few houses of the kind achieve. Mr. Spring's relations with the public have been mutually pleasant and agreeable and his uniform courtesy and kindness and his desire to please have not been among the least of the influences in winning him the large and constantly in- creasing patronage which his firm now commands. By fair and honorable dealing and by according to his numerous customers the same rights which he claims for himself, he has met with success in his financial af- fairs and today not only occupies a com- manding position in the business world, but enjoys to a marked degree the esteem and

confidence of his fellow citizens in every walk of life.

Mr. Spring is a married man and the father of two chidren, his wife having for- merly been Miss Emilie Schneider, of Grand Rapids, daughter of Hugo Schneider, who for a number of years was a prominent wholesale tobacconist of that city. Their nuptials were celebrated at the home of the bride on the 21st of October, 1889, since which time their home has been brightened by the arrival of a son by the name of Har- old, an intelligent and manly lad of twelve, and a daughter, Mildred, his junior by five years. While manifesting a commendable zeal in all that concerns the welfare of the city of his residence, and keeping himself well informed on the leading questions and political issues of the day, Mr. Spring has never sought nor desired the honors or emoluments of public office, preferring to devote his time and attention to his business interests and to be simply known as a citizen. He and his wife are well known in the social circles of Elk Rapids and have many per- sonal and warm friends whom they take pleasure in entertaining at their beautiful home which is one of the favorite resorts for the best people of the city.

JOHN C. GREENMAN.

If one desires to gain a vivid realization of the rapid advancement made in the de- velopment and substantial upbuilding of the northern portion of the lower peninsula of Michigan within the four decades, he may listen to the stories and reminiscences of men who are still living here, and not over-

JOHN C. GREENMAN.

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burdened with years, and whose memories form an indissoluble chain linking the early pioneer epoch with these latter days of pros- perity and proud accomplishment, as the glorious twentieth century swings into the cycle of the ages. The subject of this re- view, one of the prominent and influential farmers of Antrim county, is a represent- ative of one of its sterling pioneer families, his parents having located in the forest wilds of this section forty years ago, and here he has lived continuously since his boyhood days, witnessing and aiding the march of progress and standing as one of the honored citizens of Forest Home township. It is well that records concerning such worthy pioneers be perpetuated on printed pages of this nature, and of the career of Mr. Green- man we now offer a brief resume.

John C. Greenman is a scion of stanch English ancestry and bears a name which has been identified with the annals of Amer- ican history since the colonial era. He was born in the state of New York, on the 3d of October, 1854, and is a son of Alanson and Lucinda (Allen) Greenman, both of whom were likewise natives of the old Em- pire state, where the father was engaged in farming until 1865, in which year he im- migrated to Michigan, coming to Antrim county and purchasing a tract of wild land in Banks township, said land having been secured from the railroad company. This section of the state was at the time a veri- table wilderness, and the lumbering in- dustry, through which was initiated the de- velopment of northern Michigan, was in its incipiency. He cleared a considerable por- tion of his land and brought it under culti- vation, and as one of the pioneers and ster- ling citizens of this section wielded no little influence in local affairs, while he was pro-

gressive and public-spirited in his attitude, his name meriting a place of honor among those who were the founders of the county's prosperity. He died in 1886, at a venerable age, and his wife passed away in 1889. Of their eight children four are living, namely : William, Mary, Della and John C. Those deceased are Wesley, Matthew, Frank and Lucinda. The father was a man of spotless integrity, was energetic and industrious, and his great ambition was to provide a good home for his family and to attain prosperity by worthy means. He supported the Re- publican party from the time of its organiza- tion until his death, and held various local offices of trust, while his religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he held a license as a local preacher, both he and his noble wife being zealous workers in the cause of the divine Master.

The subject of this review passed the first decade of his life in the state of New York, where he secured his rudimentary educational discipline. He was reared to maturity upon the pioneer farm in Antrim county, Michigan, and here his educational advantages were such as were afforded by a somewhat desultory attendance in the primitive log school house in the vicinity of his home, and while still a boy he began to lend his aid in the reclamation and cultiva- tion of the home place. He has thus been ever appreciative of the value and dignity of honest toil, and his life has been one of con- secutive application and earnest effort, while he has gained success through his own labors and secured a place of honor as a loyal and public-spirited citizen of the county in which he has so long made his home. He is now the owner of a well improved farm of one hundred acres, about one-half of which is under effective cultivation, while on the

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place he still retains about ten acres of good timber. Mr. Greenman has made excellent improvements on his farm, including a com- modious and comfortable residence, and he has one of the valuable farms of a section which was densely timbered at the time when he came here with his parents, wild game of all kinds having been plentiful in that early day, while the Indians were in evidence in considerable numbers. Strong in his con- victions and implacably opposed to the liquor traffic, Mr. Greenman consistently gives his allegiance to the Prohibition party, in whose cause he takes an active interest. Though ever ready to lend his aid and influence in the support of all measures for the general good, he has never sought public office, but has served as a member of the school board of his district. Both he and his wife are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church in Bellaire. while fraternally he is identified with the tent of the Knights of the Maccabees at Eastport and with the Grange of his home township.

In 1875 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Greenman to Miss Helen Yettaw, who was born in the state of New York, being a daughter of Benjamin and Matilda Yettaw. who came thence to Michigan when she was a child. To Mr. and Mrs. Greenman have been born seven children, namely: Wesley. who married Miss Grace Nicholas, resides at Central Lake, this county; William, who married Lillian Donaldson, resides in Bel- laire, this county ; Mary is the wife of An- gus MacCaskill, and they reside in the state of Oregon : Frank, who married Miss Myrtle Thomas, is a successful farmer of Forest Home township: Milan remains at the par- ental home and assists his father in the work of the farm : Maude died in early childhood, and Claude is at home.

IRA A. ADAMS.

A varied and interesting career, both as an official and civilian, attaches to the life history of the enterprising gentleman of whom the biographer writes in this connec- tion. Ira A. Adams, who, in the three-fold capacity of business man, journalist and public servant, has made his presence felt as a potential force among the people of An- trim county, Michigan, was born near Niagara Falls, New York, in October, 1862. His boyhood was spent on a farm and after receiving a pretty thorough educational training in the Portland high school, he entered, at the age of eighteen years, a busi- ness house in that town, his parents having moved to Ionia county, Michigan, in 1871, when he was nine years old. Young Adams continued to clerk in Portland until 1884, in the fall of which year he resigned his posi- tion and came to Antrim county, preferring the North country to the West, where he at first contemplated going. Shortly after his arrival he secured a clerkship in a store at Bellaire, but a brief experience in that ca- pacity convinced him that he could do better by engaging in business on his own account. He soon purchased a stock of goods and entered upon his career as a merchant, a career which, amid the various other enter- prises that have subsequently demanded his attention, still continues and which has more than realized his original expectations in the direction of financial success. He has been identified with business in Bellaire for the past nineteen years and at this time is one of the oldest merchants in point of continu- ous service in the city.

It was not long after becoming a citizen of Antrim county that Mr. Adams began taking an active interest in public affairs

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and in due time he became one of the lead- ers in the Republican party in this part of the state and an influential factor in shaping its policies and promoting its success. In recognition of his political services, he was twice elected to the office of township treasurer and in 1894 was further honored by being chosen to the higher and more re- sponsible position of county treasurer, which office he filled one term, to the satisfaction of all concerned. Subsequently, in 1898, Mr. Adams was nominated after a spirited contest in the convention for the office of county clerk and register of deeds, and at the ensuing election he defeated his com- petitor, a strong and popular man, by a de- cided majority. He served his term faith- fully and efficiently and at the expiration of the same was renominated by acclamation for register of deeds, which the meantime had been separated from the clerkship and made an independent office. Mr. Adams' second race was also successful and he is now discharging his official functions with the best interests of the public at heart, his record being above the shadow of suspicion and his reputation comparing favorably with that of any of his predecessors.

In the year 1894 Mr. Adams embarked upon the sea of journalism, purchasing shortly after his election the plant of the Bellaire Independent, and organizing the Bellaire Publishing Company, under the auspices of which the paper has since become one of the best and most influential local sheets in the northern part of the state. It is the official organ of the Republican party of Antrim county and, while clean-cut and forcible in discussing the leading questions of the day, is fair and impartial and through its columns much valuable miscellaneous

matter is given publicity, thus making it highly prized as a clean, sprightly and ex- ceedingly interesting family paper. Since changing hands the office has been under the personal management of Mr. Adams, who has not only made it a very valuable prop- erty, but, as editor, has won for himself an influential position among the leading news- paper men of Michigan. He wields a trenchant pen, expresses himself fluently and fearlessly, and, while a formidable antagon- ist, as many of his brethren of the quill have learned, is also courteous in discussion and never stoops to the low vulgarisms and of- fensive personalities which too often tend to lower the dignity and tone of political jour- nalism. Through the medium of his paper, as well as by reason of his abilities as a leader, Mr. Adams has, as already indicated, 'become a power not only in local politics, but in district and state affairs as well. He is a familiar figure in all county conven- tions and for a number of years has been a delegate to conventions for the nomination of state officers, in all of which he takes an active and prominent part, his sound, de- liberate judgment and wide knowledge of public questions rendering his services of special value in the enunciation of principles and the making of platforms.

In addition to his public record, Mr. Adams has ever manifested a vital interest in the welfare of Bellaire and has done much in a material way to promote its interests and prosperity. By judiciously investing his means in real estate and improving the same he has added much to the beauty and at- tractiveness of the city, among the buildings erected by him being the large store in which he carries on business and the Bellaire House, the largest and best appointed hotel

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in the place, which is conducted under his management. He is essentially a progres- sive man, keeps in close touch with every measure for the public good and all worthy enterprises for the material advancement of the community or conducive to the social or moral well-being of the people find in him a worthy advocate and liberal patron.

Fraternally, Mr. Adams is identified with the Masonic order, belonging to both blue lodge and chapter, his membership with the brotherhood covering a period of fifteen years.

Mr. Adams was married, in Portland, Michigan, in September, 1883, to Miss Clara A. Kibby, a highly esteemed young lady of that town, the union being without issue.

JOHN PALMER BRAND.

The career of the subject of this review has been varied and interesting and the his- tory of Antrim county would be incomplete without a record of his labors and achieve- ments, and a tribute to his worth and high character as a business man, public official and enterprising, broad minded citizen. James Palmer Brand is a native of England and was born near the city of London on August 30, 1826. His father being a banker and a man of influence, also well-to-do financially, was able to provide for him ex- ceptional educational advantages, and dur- ing his childhood and youth he applied him- self closely to his studies, making rapid progress as long as he remained in school. While still young he decided to fit himself for the legal profession and in due time re- ceived his preliminary training in the same

and was admitted to the bar, but after prac- ticing two years in the court of chancery he abandoned the law to become bookkeeper for a large zinc works in Derbyshire, Wales. After spending four years in the office of that concern, Mr. Brand resigned his posi- tion and, returning to London, was made secretary of a mining company, in which capacity he continued the ensuing four years, severing with the same about the year 1852.

In the spring of 1851 Mr. Brand came to the United States and during a part of the summer of that year worked in the harvest fields of Wisconsin, receiving liberal wages for his labor. While there he be- came acquainted with a civil engineer by the name of Orange Risdin, whom he accom- panied to Leelanaw county, Michigan, the following fall for the purpose of helping survey certain lands in the vicinity of Carp Lake and Traverse City. After spending a part of the next winter in the woods skirt- ing the lake, the party, under the leadership of Mr. Risdin, five in number, made their way to Traverse City, arriving at that place after experiencing many hardships and suf- fering much from cold, the snow the greater part of the trip averaging three and a half feet in depth and making the work of sur- veying very difficult. Shortly after his ar- rival at Traverse City Mr. Brand secured employment as a wood chopper, in connec- tion with which he also did considerable work at skidding, but his experience in these capacities not being very agreeable and the provisions of the camp where he stayed be- coming scarce, he finally decided to get out of the woods and go further south. Ac- cordingly he and two companions, one of them an Indian, started in the dead of win- ter for Muskegon, one hundred miles dis-

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tant, following the old mail trail, on which were no settlements and which led through a wilderness region exceedingly difficult, even under favorable circumstances, to traverse. The little party, after much suf- fering from cold, hunger and exhaustion, finally arrived at their destination, one of the number falling by the wayside on the last day of the journey and being rescued by his companions after they had reached Muskegon, and returned for the purpose of bringing him into the town.

Mr. Brand remained at Muskegon until the weather moderated, when he returned to Traverse City, thence, after a brief stay, went on to Elk Rapids where Amos Wads- worth had started a lumber mill in operation, the other settlers of the town at the time of the subject's arrival being Thomas Hill, Samuel Rogers, Amos Wood, Alexander Mobicar, and a man by the name of Mc- Laughlin, who kept the first boarding house in the place. Mr. Brand worked two years for Mr. Wadsworth at one dollar per day, boarding himself, and while thus engaged purchased land, built a house of his own and subsequently laid off a part of his place into lots as an addition to the town. After two years' experience living alone, during which time he subsisted principally on bread and tea, vegetables, meat and other articles of diet being difficult to obtain, Mr. Brand went to Chicago, where he spent one year in the office of a railroad company, resigning his position at the expiration of the time noted for the purpose of returning to Elk Rapids. He next entered the employ of James Rankin, successor to Mr. Wadsworth in the lumber business, with whom he remained until that gentleman sold out to other par- ties, when he turned his attention to the im-

provement of his land on the west side of Torch lake, the greater part of which he cleared and reduced to cultivation. While thus engaged he was induced by Henry No- ble, foreman and general manager of Mr. Craw & Company's large lumber and mer- cantile interests at Elk Rapids, to become bookkeeper for the firm, which responsible position he held for a period of twelve years, becoming during that time familiar with every phase of the concern's extensive opera- tions, besides achieving distinction in the public affairs of the town. Severing his con- nection with his employers at the expiration of the time noted, Mr. Brand again resumed the improvement of his real estate, which the meanwhile had been increased by the ad- dition of eighty-five acres south of Elk Rapids, to the clearing and development of which he devoted the greater part of his attention during the several years following. He soon forged to the front as an enterpris- ing tiller of the soil and has always kept abreast of the times in the matter of ad- vanced agriculture, his beautiful and highly improved farm adjoining the city being at this time one of the finest and most attrac- tive places in Antrim county, also one of the most highly improved. On the eighty-five acres in cultivation he raises in abundance all the grain, vegetables and fruits grown in this part of the state and in addition to this devotes considerable attention to live stock, his horses, cattle and other domestic animals representing the finest and most ap- proved breeds.

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 16

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