Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 2

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

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Mr. Swatosh is a native of Austria, where he was born on the 26th of May, 1840. being a son of Joseph and Eleanor Swatosh, who immigrated to America in 1856, taking up their residence in Wisconsin, where they passed the remainder of their lives, the father having become one of the successful farmers of Racine county, where he com- manded the respect and confidence of all who knew him. In the family were five children, of whom all are yet living. The subject of this review was a lad of about eighteen years at the time of the family immigration to the United States, and his fundamental education was secured in the excellent schools of his native land, while

later he prosecuted his studies, as oppor- tunity afforded, in the pioneer schools of Wisconsin, where he was reared to man- hood, assisting his father in the reclaiming and cultivation of the home farm. He con- tinued to be thus engaged until he attained his legal majority, when he set forth to face the battle of life on his own responsibility, coming to the forest wilds of Antrim county, Michigan, in the year 1861 and taking up the tract of land which comprises his pres- ent well improved farm. No timber had been cut on the place, no roads had been established in the county and he erected his rude forest lodge or cabin and then in- itiated the herculean task of clearing his farm. Its appearance today indicates how well he succeeded, but the unceasing and arduous toil, the privations and vicissitudes, -these are not so clearly indicated. His farm comprises one hundred and forty acres and is most eligibly located about one and a half miles northeast of the thriving vil- lage of Eastport. About half of the land is under a high state of cultivation and devoted to diversified agriculture, horticulture and fruit-growing, his orchard being one which yields large crops of apples, pears, plums, etc., while he also raised the smaller fruits. Mr. Swatosh has made excellent improve- ments in the way of buildings and his pres- ent commodious and attractive residence is far different from the little cabin in which he took up his abode so many years ago. He has been enterprising and energetic, true to all the duties of citizenship, aiding in the various undertakings which have conserved the material and civic advancement of his township and county, and he has the while ever held a firm place in the confidence and regard of those with whom he has come in

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contact, being one of the well known pio- to the state of Michigan. He was born in neers and popular citizens of Central Lake the province of Ontario, on the 22d of Octo- ber, 1836, and is a son of Angus and Cather- ine (McDonald) Campbell, both of whom were likewise born and reared in Canada, being of sterling old Scotch stock, as the names imply. The father became one of the prosperous farmers of Ontario county, Ontario, and there continued to reside until his death, as did also his devoted wife, while both ever commanded the unqualified esteem of all who knew them. township. For a long term of years Mr. Swatosh was arrayed as a stanch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, but, with the courage of his convictions and after careful and appreciative consideration of the issues of the hour and the eligibility of the respective presidential candidates, he transferred his allegiance to the Republican party at the time of the first nomination of the late lamented President Mckinley, and has since been a stanch advocate of the prin- ciples for which the "grand old party" stands sponsor, though he has never sought the honors or emoluments of public office. In religion Mr. Swatosh and wife are Baptists, in which society the subject has served as trustee.

On the 6th of May, 1869, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Swatosh to Miss Sophia Obersh, who aided him in the labors of the pioneer days, and who was sum- moned to the life eternal in 1884, being sur- vived by five children. In 1888 Mr. Swatosh was united in marriage to Miss Mary Emory, who presides most graciously and effectively over the domestic and social affairs of their pleasant home. The sub- ject's children are five in number, their names, in order of birth, being as follows : Joseph, Jr., Frank, Sophia, Charles and Henry.

JOHN M. CAMPBELL.

This substantial farmer and represent- ative citizen of Milton township, Antrim county, is another of the worthy citizens whom the dominion of Canada has given

The youthful years of the subject of this review were passed on the old homestead farm and his early educational privileges were such as were afforded in the common schools of the locality and period. Upon initiating his independent career he naturally continued to follow the vocation to which he had been reared, and it may be said that he has never abated his allegiance to and appreciation of the great fundamental art and science of agriculture, through his as- sociation with which he has attained to a high degree of prosperity. As a young man Mr. Campbell came over from Canada into Michigan, and in the year 1860 he numbered himself among the pioneer settlers of Antrim county, where he has ever since maintained his home and where he has aided in the march of progress and development. Dur- ing the earlier years of his residence in this section of the state he was actively identified with the great lumbering industry, which line of enterprise was practically the only one then carried forward here. In 1874 he purchased a portion of his present farm, in section 36, Milton township, and instituted the task of clearing off the heavy growth of timber. He now has a well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres, the greater

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF

portion of which is under effective cultiva- tion, and the entire reclamation of the place was made through his efforts, while he has erected good buildings and made other im- provements of the best type. He has ever shown himself to be a loyal and public- spirited citizen, and in politics gives his al- legiance to the Democratic party. He has served as a member of the school board of his district and also as a member of the board of review of his township, and fra- ternally he is identified with the local or- ganization of the Grange. Mr. Campbell is a member of the Roman Catholic church at Elk Rapids, and his wife belongs to the Episcopal church.

In 1878 were pronounced the words which united the life destinies of Mr. Camp- bell and Miss Flora Purcell, who was born in Canada and who is a daughter of Dougall and Jean (Morrison) Purcell. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have two children, John H. and Catherine J., who still remain members of the home circle.

LUCIEN KAISER.

We are pleased to incorporate in this volume a resume of the life history of this worthy representative of one of the leading pioneer families of Antrim county, with whose annals the name has been identified since 1869, prominently concerned in the founding and upbuilding of this favored section of the Wolverine state.

Mr. Kaiser, who is one of the influential citizens and substantial farmers of Milton township, was born in the province of Switzerland on the 24th of October, 1852,

and is a son of Frederick and Martha (Harney) Kaiser, both natives of one of the German provinces of Switzerland. The father continued to be engaged in farming in Germany until 1869, when he immigrated with his family to America, landing in New York city and forthwith making his way westward to Michigan and locating in An- trim county. He was one of the first settlers in Elk Rapids township, where he erected a log cabin in depth of the unbroken forest and then began the reclaiming of his land, the subject rendering material aid in this connection, as he was about seventeen years of age at the time. The early returns in a financial way came from the timber product thus secured, and each year further progress was made in the cultivation of the land. Purely individual enterprise, however, was not all that was the portion of these sturdy pioneers, for they aided in the construction of the new roads, which were cut through the virgin forest, and in other work whichi was of general benefit to the new country. In the early days the subject frequently walked to Elk Rapids for supplies, which he transported on his back, often carrying a burden of from one hundred to one hun- dred and fifty pounds. His parents both remained in this county until they were summoned to eternal rest, and their names merit a place of honor on the roll of the worthy pioneers of the county.

Lucien Kaiser, whose name introduces this article, secured his early educational dis- cipline in the excellent national schools of his fatherland, and, as before stated, was about fourteen years of age at the time of the family immigration to America. A youth of energy, sturdy physique and dis- tinctive ambition, he was well fitted to take

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up the arduous work of a pioneer in the forests of Antrim county, and he may well be considered as one of the founders and builders of the industrial and civic structure of this section of the state. He also secured a tract of land in Milton township and at once began its reclamation. He had no team during the first three years of his residence in the county, and his first one was a yoke of oxen, for which he paid two hundred dol- lars. With the passing of the years the re- sults of his labors and good management have grown more and more obvious, and he today is the owner of one of the best im- proved and most attractive farm properties in the township mentioned. His estate com prises one hundred and ninety-two acres. and one hundred acres are under a high state of cultivation, rendering tribute in large yields of grain, hay and various horti- cultural and pomological products, while the enterprising owner also devotes considerable attention to the raising of live stock, giving preference to the Durham type of cattle and the Chester White and Poland China swine. For the first ten years after locating on his farm Mr. Kaiser occupied his primitive log cabin, and then erected his present comfort- able and commodious residence, on which he has since made improvements from time to time. He has ever shown a deep interest in all that has tended to conserve the ma- terial and civic prosperity and progress of the county, and while he has not aspired to office he is stanchly arrayed as a supporter of the cause of the Republican party and has consented to serve as a member of the school board of his district. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his wife is identified with the Baptist denomina- tion, while in a fraternal way he is affiliated

with the Eastport Tent, No. 657, Knights of the Maccabees.

In 1873 Mr. Kaiser was united in mar- riage to Miss Julia A. Rutherford, daughter of Maxim and Julia (Levi) Rutherford, and she was summoned to the life eternal in 1898, leaving one child, George, who is a successful farmer of this county. He mar- ried Miss Gertrude Fox and they have two children,-Hazel and Helen. Mr. Kaiser has reared four adopted children, to whom he has given a generous and affectionate care and a good home, their names being Frank, Velma Rutherford, Kittie Kiser and Wil- liam Wamus. In'1902, June 16, Mr. Kaiser consummated a second marriage, being then united to Mrs. Teresa Densmore, who had three children by her first husband,-Edna, Roy and Alva. The family stand high in the community of their residence.'

JAMES E. BOICE.

For more than a score of years has Mr. Boice been a resident of Antrim county, and in his farm, which was partly covered with the native timber at the time of his securing possession of the same, he has wrought a wonderful transformation, making it one of the productive and valuable places of the county, while he is known as a reliable and public spirited citizen and as one of the sub- stantial agriculturists of Central Lake township.

Mr. Boice is a native of the state of Michigan, having been born in Jamestown. in the vicinity of the city of Grand Rapids, on the 26th of January, 1858, and being a son of Judson A. and Mary A. (Odell)

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF

Boice, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts and the latter in Ohio, in which state their marriage was solemnized. The father of the subject followed the trade of harnessmaking for a number of years, residing in various places in the United States, and came to Michigan and located in Ottawa and Barry counties where his father passed the remainder of his life, having there been successfully engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. He was summoned to his reward in 1878 and his wife survived him by many years, entering into eternal rest in 1900, at a venerable age.

The subject of this review was reared to manhood in Barry county, where he as- sisted in the work of the home farm and in the meanwhile pursued his studies in the public schools, which he continued to attend until he had attained the age of twenty-one years. He continued to be identified with farming in that county until 1883, in the spring of which year he came to Antrim county and purchased forty acres of wild land, in Central Lake township. Here he established his home in a primitive little log house and then proceeded to reclaim his land, meeting with success as the years passed by, and eventually purchasing addi- tional land, so that his estate now comprises sixty-six acres, all of which is available for cultivation with the exception of nine acres, while on the place is an excellent orchard of about eight acres, the trees having been planted by Mr. Boice, under whose direction the entire farm has been cleared and placed under cultivation, while he has made sub- stantial improvements, having a large and specially well equipped barn, forty by forty- six feet in dimensions. The principal pro- ducts of the farm are wheat, oats, potatoes.

peas and hay. Mr. Boice has been indefati- gable in his efforts, and the results of his labors are shown in the thrift and prosperity so distinctively in evidence about his farm. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and he has served as postmaster and as an officer of his school district, and fraternally he is identified with the Gleaners. Mr. Boice is an Adventist in religious belief, but attends the Baptist church, of which his wife is a member.

In 1889 Mr. Boice was united in mar- riage to Miss Altha W. Wilkinson, daughter of R. R. and Eliza (Sanford) Wilkinson, who came to Michigan from Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Boice have three children, Gladys, Mary E. and Grace.

THOMAS KENNEDY.

Nearly two score years have passed since the time when Mr. Kennedy took up his residence in Antrim county, and in view of this statement it is scarcely necessary to say that he is numbered among the early pioneers of this section, where he has at- tained to marked prosperity through his ef- forts in connection with the development of the resources of the locality, which was prac- tically a forest wilderness at the time when he made his advent in the county.

Mr. Kennedy is a native of the fair Emerald Isle and is a scion of the stanch- est of old Irish stock. He was born in Tipperary county, Ireland, on the 2d of Feb- ruary, 1833, and is a son of Edward and Maria (Thorpe) Kennedy, who passed their entire lives in their native land, having been folk of sterling worth,-honest and indus-

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trious. The father was a laboring man and the family was in modest circumstances, as a matter of course. The parents were de- voted communicants of the Catholic church, in whose faith they reared their three chil- dren, Jane and Maria, who are now married and residing in the United States, and Thomas, who is the subject of this sketch.

Thomas Kennedy was reared to maturity in his native land, where he was afforded the advantages of the parochial schools, and he early began to depend upon his own re- sources. He continued to reside in Ireland until 1859, when, as a young man of twenty- five years, he immigrated to America, be- lieving that here were to be had better oppor- tunities for the gaining of success through . personal effort. He sailed from Liverpool, England, and disembarked in one of the Canadian ports. He located in Hastings, province of Ontario, Canada, where he re- mained about a decade, having followed various occupations. At the expiration of the period noted he came to Michigan, in 1868, in the spring of which year he took up his residence in Antrim county. He se- cured eighty acres of railroad land in Milton township, the tract being covered with the native timber and entirely unimproved. He cleared a little place in the woods and there erected his primitive shanty, which served as his residence for a number of years, and he then turned his attention vigorously to the herculean work of reclaiming his land to cultivation, securing his first returns from the sale of the timber cut on the place. He now owns one hundred and eighty acres of land, of which ninety-five are under effective cultivation, all having been cleared by the owner, and on the place still remain about thirty-five acres of good timber. In addition

to general farming and horticulture Mr. Kennedy has made the raising of live stock a profitable phase of his enterprise, and no further evidence of his discrimination and progressive ideas need be asked than that afforded in the appearance of his fine farm, which is one of the model places of this county, the improvements being of the best, including an attractive modern residence and other substantial and well equipped build- ings.

In his political adherency Mr. Kennedy is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the prin- ciples of the Democratic party, and he has ever taken a lively concern in local affairs of a public nature, having aided in the ma- terial and civic upbuilding of the county. He has served nine years as an officer of his school district, was township treasurer for five years and highway commissioner for two years. Both he and his wife are com- municants of the Catholic church, being members of the parish at Elk Rapids.

In the year 1859 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kennedy to Miss Bridget Hogan, who was born and reared in Ontario, Canada, and they have six children, namely : Patrick, Jane, Edward, James, Margaret and Maria. The two elder sons are suc- cessful farmers of this county, and the youngest son is associated with the work of the home farm.

CLINTON S. BOICE.

This representative farmer and highh- esteemed citizen of Central Lake township, Antrim county, is a native of county Kent, Michigan, where he was born, in the village

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF

of Jamestown, on the 25th of May, 1859, being a son of Judson A. and Mary A. (Odell) Boice, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts and the latter in Ohio. The father of the subject was a harness- maker by trade and followed this vocation in various parts of the county, while finally he took up his residence in Michigan and turned his attention to farming, with which he continued to be identified until his death. which occurred in 1878, at his home in Barry county. His devoted wife survived him by nearly a quarter of a century, her death occurring in 1900.

The subject passed his boyhood days in Kent and .Barry counties, this state, early beginning to assist in the work of the home farm and duly availing himself of the ad- vantages of the public schools. The greater part of his business career thus far has been one of successful identification with the great basic industry of agriculture, and he followed farming in the southern part of the state until 1892, in which year he disposed of his interests in Barry county and came to Antrim county, where he effected the pur- chase of his present homestead, which is one of the valuable farms of Central Lake town - ship, comprising one hundred and twenty acres, of which about eighty acres are available for profitable cultivation. Mr. Boice has made many improvements on his place and has carried forward the various de- partments of his farming enterprise with marked energy and good judgment, being alert and progressive in his methods and having thus gained the maximum returns from his farm, which is devoted to diversi- fied agriculture, horticulture and fruit and stock raising. So far as national and state issues are involved Clinton S. Boice is Ohio.

an uncompromising Republican in his po- litical adherency, but in local affairs he main- tains an independent attitude, giving his support to men and measures approved by his judgment, without regard to strict par- tisan lines. He is affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and also with the fraternity known as the Gleaners. Mrs. Boice is a Methodist in religion.

The marriage of Mr. Boice was solem- nized in the year 1877, when he wedded Miss Evelyn Chamberlain, who was born in Carlton, Michigan, being a daughter of Ly- man and Nancy (McDonald) Chamberlain, who came thence to Michigan when she was a child, locating in Barry county, where she was reared and educated, and where her parents passed the remainder of their lives, the father having been a farmer by vocation and a man of influence in his community. Mr. and Mrs. Boice have six children, namely : Floyd E., Lyman L., Ila S., Carl C., Henry R. and Gertrude M. The older daughter, Ila, is now the wife of Henry Vanderyacht, a prosperous farmer of this county.

In conclusion it may be said that the subject traces his lineage on the paternal side to pure French origin, the original spelling of the name having been DuBois. David DuBois, to whom the ancestry is di- rectly traced, removed from France to Ire- land, where the orthography of the name was changed to Boice, and in 1728 members of the family emigrated from the Emerald Isle to America, settling in Massachusetts, and representatives of the name are now to be found in the most diverse sections of the Union, ancestors of the subject having been numbered among the early settlers in

NORTHERN MICHIGAN.

ERWIN HEMSTREET.

For a score of years has the subject of this review been identified with the business and civic affairs of the thriving little city of Bellaire, the judicial center of Antrim county, and no citizen is held in higher re- gard in business and social circles than is this pioneer merchant, who is recognized as one of the leading business men of the county, where he has varied and important interests. He is a man of sterling character and the intrinsic strength and individuality of his nature have made him a valuable fac- tor. He has stated that he has always had to work and expects always to work, and this denotes his appreciation of the true values of life, ostentation and undue assump- tion being absolutely foreign to him. A plain, honorable, straight-forward man is he, and one who deserves the confidence and esteem so uniformly reposed in him by the people of the community in which he has lived and labored for so many years.

Mr. Hemstreet is a representative of one of the pioneer families of the Wolverine state, of which he is himself a native, having been born in Atlas, Genesee county, Michi- gan, on the 28th of December, 1851. and being a son of Alonzo and Agnes ( Herring) Hemstreet, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York, whence they came to Michigan in 1834. The father here devoted his attention to mechanical pur- suits until his death, his wife also being de- ceased. The subject passed his boyhood days in his native county, and his early edu- cational training was secured in a modest little frame school house, while the expense of his tuition here was paid by his father from money which he realized from cutting

cordwood. He left school when but thir- teen years of age and went to Bay City, where he secured employment, and a little later he went to Flint, where he worked for a year in a bakery and confectionery store, where he learned the baker's trade, to which he thereafter devoted his attention until he had attained the age of thirty-four years. From Flint he returned to Bay City, where he was employed for the ensuing six years in one bakery, and within the following six years he was similarly employed in other towns in the state, including Lansing, Stan- ton, Portland and Leslie. While working at Leslie he married Miss Carrie Estella Mar- ble, of Portland, their nuptials having been solemnized on the 17th of June, 1876, and he thereafter continued to be employed at Stanton until coming to Antrim county, in 1884. A local newspaper has recently pub- lished an appreciative sketch of Mr. Hem- street's career in Bellaire, and from said article we make the following quotations, with but slight metaphrase :

Mr. Hemstreet built the building now occu- pied by E. G. Averill's billiard room and bowling alley, and work on it had progressed so far that the household goods had been moved in, when it was blown down by high wind. This was a serious setback for Mr. Hemstreet, but a bee was organized and the building rebuilt in time to prevent any great loss. With the late John Rodgers Mr. Hem- street ran a meat market for a year or more in this building, but as the business was hardly ade- quate for the support of two families at that time, he sold out his interest to Mr. Rodgers. For a year or two Mr. Hemstreet worked at different things afforded by a new town in the midst of a lumbering country and then, with his brother, Harvey .M. Hemstreet, started in the grocery busi- ness. Times were not of the best then, and Mr. Hemstreet did much work outside of the store. He took the contract and laid the corduroy north toward the William Derenzy neighborhood and helped also in the digging of the ditch from the

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 2

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