Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 32

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

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the same freedom of thought which he claims for himself and which he insists is one of man's most sacred rights. He has served as township clerk and supervisor, was also a member of the first village council of the village of Central Lake and at this time is holding the office of justice of the peace, a position for which his clear judgment, good common sense and practical knowledge of the law so well qualify him. He was made a Mason shortly after leaving the army, and ever since has been an active worker and leading spirit in the order. Mrs. Sage is a member of the Methodist church and manifests a deep and abiding interest in all lines of Christian activity under the auspices of the congregation to which she belongs. Mr. and Mrs. Sage are the parents of one son, Alonzo, a man of intelligence and high standing in the community and one of the successful and influential farm- ers of Antrim county. He married Miss Imogene Drake, and at this time is an hon- ored resident of Central Lake township, his wife being highly esteemed and popular among her friends and associates.

BENJAMIN J. POWELL.

Among the men who have been largely instrumental in developing and advancing the opulent natural resources of Antrim county stands the gentleman whose name initiates this review and whose fine farm property, in Forest Home township, is one of the many attractive and valuable rural domains of this favored section of the Wol- verine state. It is most consonant that in this compilation be made mention of those

sterling pioneers who come to this section and essayed the task of reclaiming the land to cultivation, in the majority of instances being compelled to clear off the native tim- ber and to endure the vicissitudes which usually attend those who form the advance guard of civilization in a new country. It is well known that the upper portion of the state of Michigan remained untrammeled long after the southern section had been set- tled and developed to a high standard, and for years the only practical industry repre- sented in the great North was that of lum- bering. Time and prolific enterprise have wrought wonderful changes and the great section no longer depends upon its initial industry of lumbering but has been brought forward to the high plane which is marked in the older settled portions of the com- monwealth. The subject of this sketch has aided materially in the developing of the county of Antrim and it is gratifying to note that he has not been denied a due measure of prosperity, while to him is accorded the unqualified confidence and esteem of the community in which he has lived and labored to so goodly ends.

Mr. Powell comes of stanch English lineage and is a native of the province of Ontario, Canada, where he was born on the 2d of August, 1845, being a son of John and Rebecca (Drewery) Powell, both of whom were born and reared in Yorkshire, England, whence they came to Canada in an early day, settling near Brockville, On- tario, where the father became a prosperous farmer and sterling citizen, commanding the respect of all who knew him, and there both he and his wife continued to reside.

The subject of this sketch passed his boy- hood years, on the old homestead farm, and

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it is pleasing to note the fact that in later years he has not wavered in his allegiance to the great basic art of agriculture, with which he became familiar in his early youth. He duly availed himself of the advantages afforded in the public schools, and thus pre- pared himself for the active duties and re- sponsibilities of life through both mental and physical discipline. The father con- tinued to reside in Ontario until 1877, hav- ing been there engaged in farming, and he then came to Michigan and became one of the pioneer settlers of Antrim county, taking up one hundred and sixty acres of govern- ment land in Forest Home township and re- claiming the same to cultivation and pro- ductivity, while the land remains still in his possession and is an integral portion of his fine homestead farm. He has attained to the venerable age of eighty years and is well preserved in both his mental and physical vigor, while his devoted wife still remains by his side. In politics he has given his support to the Democratic party ever since becoming a citizen of Michigan. In the family are four children, namely : Mary E .. who is the wife of William Russell, a farmer of Antrim county : William G., who is a suc- cessful farmer of this county; Charles M., who is a farmer near Torch lake, this state, and Benjamin J., who is the immediate sub- ject of this review.

Benjamin J. Powell accompanied his parents on their removal to Michigan, and he has well upheld the high standard of citizenship and personal integrity which has so significantly indicated his father's course, and he is today one of the prosperous and highly honored farmers of Antrim county. His farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres, of which fifty are available for culti-

vation, and the land was cleared and im- proved by him, while it stands as one of the model farms of this section, having excellent buildings and showing on all sides the evidences of thrift and prosperity. In addi- tion to raising the various cereals best adapted to the soil and climate Mr. Powell gives much attention to the propagation of fruits and potatoes, while he also raises a sufficient number of horses and other live stock to meet the demands of the farm. He personally cut the first timber felled on his place, and has transferred the same from a wilderness into an attractive and well im- proved farm. In politics Mr. Powell is found stanchly arrayed as a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and he has been incumbent of various offices of local order, having been a member of the school board of his district for the past seventeen years, and having also served a number of years as pathmaster. He has the contract for the carrying of the mail between Bel- laire and Alden, making the trip between the two towns twice a week. He has attained success by hard work and unremitting ap- plication, and is well entitled to the prosper- ity which is now his, while his course has been such as to retain to him at all times the confidence and good will of his fellow men. His wife is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

In 1868 Mr. Powell was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarah J. Angel, who was born in Michigan, being a daughter of Jason C. and Lucinda Angel, her father having been a farmer by vocation. To Mr. and Mrs. Powell have been born five children, namely : Clara, who is the wife of George F. Hall ; Dolly, who is the wife of Arthur C. Thayer : Sarah A .. who is the wife of Frederick L.

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Crandall; John, who married Rebecca Yager and who is a successful farmer of this county, and Benjamin, who still remains with his parents, being associated with his father in the management of the home farm.

CYRENUS CHAMBERLIN, M. D.

Prominently identified with the agri- cultural industry in Antrim county, Michi- gan, is Dr. Chamberlin, who is one of the honored and influential citizens of Central Lake township, where he has maintained his home for nearly a quarter of a century. He is an able member of the medical profession. but is not actively engaged in practice, while his is also the distinction of being a veteran of the Civil war. He is a man who com- mands respect and esteem of the most equivocal order, and in Antrim county his circle of friends is circumscribed only by that of his acquaintances.

Dr. Chamberlin is a native of that great commonwealth which can properly dispute with Virginia the claim to be the "mother of presidents," since he was born in Roches- ter, Lorain county, Ohio, on the 5th of Sep- tember. 1842. His father, Dr. Marshall Chamberlin, was born in Ontario county, New York, being a scion of stanch old New England stock. the family having been founded in the new world in the colonial days. As a young man Dr. Marshall Cham- berlin went to the state of Ohio, and he finally entered the Ohio Medical College, in the city of Cincinnati, of which he held an honorary diploma, becoming one of the skilled and popular physicians and surgeons of the state. He was engaged in the prac-

tice of his profession for thirty years in Rochester and Oberlin, Lorain county, Ohio, whence he came to Michigan in 1866, lo- cating in Hillsdale, Hillsdale county, where he continued in the active practice of his pro- fession for a score of years, his death there occurring in 1886. His wife, whose maiden name was Betsy Odell, was born in the state of Ohio, and her death occurred in the year 1856. Of their seven children, three are living, namely : Henry H., a resident of Torch Lake; Cyrenus, the immediate sub- ject of this sketch; Lorinda, deceased; Car- rie, and Orestus, a resident of Torch Lake Lake township.

Dr. Cyrenus Chamberlin, whose name initiates this article, passed his boyhood days in Ohio, securing his educational discipline in the common schools and supplementing this by a course of study at Oberlin College. while he took up the study of medicine under the preceptorship of his honored father. He had not yet attained his legal majority when the war of the Rebellion broke out, but in August, 1862, he gave manifestation of his loyalty by enlisting as a member of Battery E, First Ohio Light Artillery Volunters, with which he went to the front. his command being assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. He participated in the engagements at Perryville, Stone River, Murfreesborough, Nashville, Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge, besides many others of minor importance. He continued in active service until the expiration of his term, having received his honorable dis- charge in July, 1865. The Doctor retains a lively interest in his old comrades and manifests this by his affiliation with the post of the Grand Army of the Republic at East- port. . The Doctor still practices medicine to

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a limited extent, confining his attention mostly to such of his former patrons and their families as desire his service, though he no longer seeks new business.

Doctor Chamberlin began the active practice of his profession in Jamestown, Ot- tawa county, Michigan, and prior to coming to Antrim county, in 1880, was successfully established in practice at Eastport, this state. He is the owner of a farm in Central Lake township, the extent of his landed estate being one hundred acres, of which about sixty acres are reclaimed to cultivation. He raises the various products best adapted to the soil and climate, and four acres of land are devoted to orchard purposes, his apple, cherry and plum trees giving good yields. The Doctor employed men to clear his land of the timber and his home farm is one of the best improved in this section, having ex- cellent buildings, all of which have been erected by him, including his attractive resi- dence, and he has no reason to regret his de- cision to cast in his lot with the people of Antrim county. He is a loyal and public- spirited citizen, and while not ambitious for office he has never failed to take a proper interest in local affairs of a public nature, and has not refused to serve as health officer, of which position he has been incumbent for many years. Mrs. Chamberlin is a faithful and consistent member of the Congrega- tional church.

In the year 1865 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Chamberlin to Miss Maria Jackson, who was born in London, Eng- land, and reared in Ohio, being nearly six years old when brought to America. She is' a daughter of John and Amy ( Barney) Jackson, who came from England to the United States in 1852 and settled in Ash-

land county, Ohio, where Mr. Jackson con- tinued to be engaged in farming until after the war of the Rebellion, when he came to Michigan and located in Ottawa county, where he followed the same vocation until 1881, when he took up his residence in An- trim county, where he passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring in June, 1900, while his devoted wife passed away in Janu- ary, 1903. John Jackson was, during the Civil war, a member of Battery B, First Ohio Light Artillery Volunteers, in which he served for four years. He was a valiant and true soldier, being always at the post of duty, and took part in all the battles and skirmishes in which his regiment and bat- tery were engaged. He and his wife were the parents of six children, namely : Maria, John, Amy, Louisa. George and Edward. Dr. and Mrs. Chamberlin have one child, Edcel Vernon, who was born November I, 1877, in Jamestown, Ottawa county, Michi- gan, and who still remains beneath the home roof.

EDWIN S. NOBLE.

The honored subject of this sketch is now engaged in the grocery business in the attractive little city of Elk Rapids, Antrim county, where he has maintained his home for many years. He has been most promi- nently identified with industrial enterprises of great scope and importance and the name ' which he bears has been one which has stood for progressiveness and magnificent enter- prise ever since the early pioneer epoch in this section of the state, while he is a scion of one of Michigan's old and honored fami- lies. So important have been the business

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and industrial undertakings in which he has been concerned and so high is the confidence and esteem in which he is held in Antrim and surrounding counties, that it is imper- ative that he be accorded recognition in a publication of the province assigned to the one at hand.

Mr. Noble is a native of the Wolverine state, having been born in Dexter, Washte- naw county, Michigan, on the 21st of July, 1838. and being a son of Nathaniel and Harriet Lucretia (Stilsen) Noble, the for- mer of whom was born in New York state and the latter in Vermont, while they re- sided at Geneva, New York, for some time after their marriage. The original progeni- tor of the Noble family in America was Norman Noble, who came from England to the new world in 1653, his death occurring in Westfield, Massachusetts, i in 1704. Nathaniel Noble, who was a surveyor by profession, came to Michigan in the terri- torial epoch, in company with Judge Samuel W. Dexter, whose name is promi- nently identified with the early annals of the state, the town of Dexter, Washtenaw county, having been named in his honor. Mr. Noble did a considerable amount of sur- veying in the early days, and it is interesting to recall the fact that he filed entry on the land upon which the great University of Michigan is now located, at Ann Arbor. He later resigned this claim and secured another tract on the river bottoms of the same county. About one year later, however, he located in the embryonic village of Dexter, ten miles west of Ann Arbor, where Judge Dexter had already settled. The latter was the father of Wirt Dexter, who was long one of the most eminent members of the bar of the city of Chicago, while he was also

a member of the firm of Dexter & Noble, whose operations in Antrim county were of magnificent scope, the firm continuing un- changed until his death. This firm or- ganized the Elk Rapids Iron Company, with Henry H. Noble in charge of the operative and executive affairs. Mr. Dexter became the owner of extensive landed and timber interests in northern Michigan, and in as- sociation with Henry H. Noble established large sawmills and conducted extensive lum- bering enterprises in Antrim and adjacent counties, while the firm also established a large general store in Elk Rapids, of which town they were numbered among the foun- ders. They also erected a gristmill in this place and promoted many other enterprises which aided materially in bringing about the growth and material advancement of this section. They were associated with the late Wilbur F. Storey, the well known founder of the Chicago Times, in the organization of the Elk Rapids Iron Company, whose furnaces here were erected in 1873, being the largest charcoal furnaces in the United States. This enterprise was inaugurated in order to utilize the hard wood timber in this section, where the pine timber had been prac- tically exhausted. Mr. Story was later suc- ceeded by N. K. Fairbank, another promi- nent citizen of Chicago, and Edwin S. No- ble, the subject, of this sketch. also sold his interest to Mr. Fairbank, in 1891. Prior to this time our subject and his brother had full local management of the company's af- fairs, Edwin E. having been secretary and treasurer. The Elk Rapids Iron Company finally absorbed all the Dexter & Noble in- terests in this locality. while Henry H. No- ble continued as local manager until his death, which occurred on the 15th of Febru-

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ary, 1897. The three interested principals in the iron company are now deceased, and the business is thus controlled by the estates of the Messrs. Dexter, Noble and Fairbank. Dexter and Noble were the pioneers of the whole series of enterprises, H. H. Noble and Wirt Dexter having bought out all the in- terests of M. Craw & Company. Mr. Dex- ter and the Messrs. Noble had been boys to- gether in Dexter, Michigan, and they con. tinued warm friends until the relations were severed by death. This friendship led to Mr. Dexter's having become interested m the extensive lumbering and manufacturing enterprises in Elk Rapids.

Edwin S. Noble, whose name initiates this sketch, came to Elk Rapids in 1866 and was here employed by the firm of Noble & Dexter for two years on salary, having the management of the office and mercantile de- partments. At the expiration of the period noted he purchased a quarter interest in the entire business conducted by the firm, the consideration being one hundred and twelve thousand dollars. The firm had purchased large tracts of pine land and were at the time cutting an average of eight million feet of pine annually, while the mercantile business was also one of extensive scope, having transactions to the amount of three hundred and sixty thousand dollars in a sin- gle year. The store supplied the lumbering camps over a wide radius of country and was a general headquarters for supplies for all this region. The firm continued to buy pine lands, and when the supply of this sort of lumber began to wane the firm conceived the idea of establishing an iron furnace in order to utilize- the hard wood which was to be had in large qualities. The furnace was erected in 1873, and the financial panic

of that year caused it to remain practically at a stand-still so far as operation was con- cerned, but after that the enterprise thrived magnificently, its annual dividends having been as high as twelve and one-half per cent. The capital stock of the concern was six hundred thousand dollars, while the hardwood lands at that time owned by the company represented a valuation of about four hundred thousand dollars, so that the investment, all paid in, reached the notable aggregate of about one million dollars. Edwin S. Noble remained secretary and treasurer of the company and had charge of the buying of ores, supplies, etc., in connec- tion with his other executive duties. The chemical works as originally established were controlled by a separate stock company, whose members were the principals in the Elk Rapids Iron Company. The province of the chemical company was to utilize the smoke from the charcoal kilns in the manu- facturing of wood alcohol, which was suc- cessfully converted in this way by a patented process devised by Dr. N. M. Price, who originally had a small plant at Bangor, this state. When the iron company secured the stock of the chemical concern the subject took charge of the latter, retaining this po- sition for three years. The chemical works were a success from the start, one hundred and twenty-five pounds of acetate of lime and two and one-half gallons of wood alco- hol being secured from each cord of wood burned. In 1891 the business had reached an annual aggregate of two millions of dol- lars, involving the annual consumption of fifty thousand cords of wood and the em- ployment of about three hundred and fifty operatives. The company then owned about twenty thousand acres of hard-wood lands,

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operated two tugs and twenty barges on the been outlined in foregoing paragraphs. He lakes, while Dexter & Noble owned two was a man of lofty integrity and marked in- tellectuality, and he filled a large place in the civic and business annals of Antrim county during the long period of his residence here. His death occurred on the 14th of February, 1897, and the village and county lost one of their most valued and honored pioneers and generous and public-spirited citizens. On the 27th of December, 1847, H. H. No- ble married Miss Clarissa C. Sears, daugh- ter of Dr. Thomas Sears, of Lima, Washte- nåw county, and she died on the 4th of Feb- ruary, 1868. On the 9th of June, 1870, he wedded Miss Margaret Ewing, who now re- sides in the city of Chicago. His eldest son. Thomas H., is engaged in business in Glad- stone, Michigan, and Charles E. and Edwin S. are residents of Chicago. steamboats, the "Leland" and the "Grand Traverse." So long as Mr. Dexter lived no contention ever arose in connection with the business affairs of the companies in which he was concerned, but upon his death other persons came in and the conditions of affairs finally led to the withdrawal of our subject. who sold his interests in 1896, since which time he has conducted a large and successful grocery business in Elk Rapids. The entire interests of the firm of Dexter & Noble were not absorbed by the Elk Rapids Iron Com- pany, and after the death of Henry H. No- ble Mr. Dexter and members of the com- pany organized the Dexter & Noble Land Company, which carried on operations most vigorously and successfully for a number of years, while the holdings of the company are not inconsiderable at the present time. During all these years of extensive oper- ations in the buying and selling of land, the LEONARD ARMSTRONG. firm of Dexter & Noble never foreclosed a mortgage, and the policy was ever liberal and progressive, while the principals never found it necessary to forget the obligations of humanity and exercised functions which aided others who were less fortunate.

Henry Hobart Noble, the honored brother of the subject, was born in Palmyra, New York, on the 25th of August, 1823. and accompanied his parents on their re- moval to Michigan, being reared to man- hood in Washtenaw county. In 1856 he came from Dexter, that county, to Antrim county, and identified himself with the founding and upbuilding of Elk Rapids, where he began the manufacture of charcoal, pig iron, etc., and also engaged in the general merchandise and lumbering business, as has

Rising above the head of the masses are many men of sterling worth and value, who by sheer perseverance and pluck have con- quered fortune and by their own unaided efforts have risen from the ranks of the com- monplace to positions of eminence in the business world, and at the same time have commanded the trust and respect of those with whom they have been in any way thrown in contact. Among the earnest men whose depth of character and strict adher- ence to principle excite the admiration of his contemporaries, Mr. Armstrong is promi- nent. Leonard Armstrong is a native of Canada, having been born on the 4th of January, 1858. He is the son of Benjamin and Margaret ( Philipson) Armstrong, na-

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tives of Northumberland county, England, but who emigrated to Canada in 1858. Benjamin Armstrong was a shoemaker for ten years during his residence in Canada, but upon his emigration to the United States in 1868 he settled in the midst of the dense wilderness which then covered Antrim county and took part in the task of clearing the land and making it fit for cultivation. He followed the pursuit of agriculture dur- ing the remainder of his days and became fairly well-to-do. He was independent in politics, preferring to cast his ballot for the man he thought best fitted for the office than to follow any party affiliation. He was the father of six children, namely: William, John. Benjamin, Leonard, Henry and Thomas.

Leonard Armstrong was educated in the district schools and was early inured to the toil and labor of the farm. Upon at- taining his mature years he farmed to some extent, in connection with which he also con- tracted in the lumbering business, handling some very large contracts in this line. He was thus occupied until 1901, when he en- gaged in the hardware business at Alden, an enterprise in which he has met with gratify- ing success, being accorded a liberal share of the public patronage. He carries a full line of hardware and furniture, also farm im- plements, and therefore his efforts to please have been fully appreciated by the general public. He owns two hundred and thirty acres of land in this county, of which one hundred are under cultivation. He does not give his personal attention, however, to the operation of this land but derives a good rental income from the same. Mr. Arm- strong has ever since coming to "the states" taken a deep interest in the public welfare,

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 32

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