Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 38

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

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C. L. Bailey was born in Allegan, Alle- gan county, Michigan, on the 22d of July, 1859, and is the son of Leonard and Mary (Fry) Bailey, the former born at Marlboro- on-the-Hudson, New York, and the latter in Connecticut. The subject's grandfather, John Bailey, also a native of the Empire state, was a prominent ship builder in his day and built a number of ships for the United States government. In 1835 Leon- ard Bailey came to Michigan, settling in the western part of Allegan county, where, as an employe of a Boston company, he erected a saw-mill. He continued his con- nection with this firm for some years, and then engaged in grist-milling on his own ac- count for a short period. He then engaged in the mercantile business, in which he con- tinued until 1871, when he was chosen su- pervisor of Allegan township, and later overseer of the poor until 1896, in which year he retired from active life and re- mained in quiet ease during the remainder of his life, his death occurring at Mance- lona on the 18th of March, 1905, at the age of ninety years. It is worthy of note that of the family of eight sons, of which he was one, none died at less than eighty years of age. Mr. Bailey was twice married and by his first union became the father of four children, two sons and two daughters. By

his second marriage, to Mary Fry, he had one child, the immediate subject of this sketch.

C. L. Bailey was educated in the pub- lic schools of Allegan and in a college in Ohio, after which he entered the law office of Albert H. Fenn, at Allegan, having de- termined to follow the legal profession. During his reading course he took a course in the law department of the State Univer- sity at Ann Arbor and, in April, 1882, he was formally admitted to practice. He first opened a professional office at Allegan, but in July, 1883, desiring a wider field and en- larged opportunities, he came to Mancelona, being one of the earliest lawyers to locate in Antrim county. He engaged in the general practice and has been successful to a very satisfactory degree. Mr. Bailey, though a busy man professionally, has found time to devote to outside interests, and assisted to organize and is general manager of the Michigan Hardwood Land Company, one of the prosperous concerns in this section of the state. He is attorney for the Antrim Iron Company, at Mancelona, local attorney for the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway Company and the Detroit & Charlevoix Railway Company, and also attorney for the estate of the late David Ward, of Detroit.

Mr. Bailey has been twice married. In February, 1884, at Washington, D. C., he married Miss Carrie Drake and to them were born two sons, Don E. and Leon D. In August, 1897, Mr. Bailey married Miss Clara B. Plummer, the daughter of G. W. Plummer, of Mancelona, and to them were also born two sons, Harry W. and Leonard C. Fraternally Mr. Bailey is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias and several other civic orders.

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In politics Mr. Bailey maintains a stanch allegiance to the Republican party and has been honored by selection to public positions of responsibility, having served as judge of probate of Antrim county for eight years and also serving as postmaster at Mancelona for eight years, being the present efficient and popular incumbent of that office. In his professional line Mr. Bailey enjoys a large clientele and by his faithful and care- ful attention to his client's interests, he has made firm friends of all who have had busi- ness dealings with him. He is progressive in spirit, takes pride in the prosperity of the city of his choice and to the best of his abil- ity does the right as he sees and understands the right.

TORVAL PEDERSON.

Among the sturdy and enterprising agri- culturists of northern Michigan is the gen- tleman whose name appears at the head of this article. Mr. Pederson is a native of far- away Norway, where he was born on the 2nd day of November, 1872. His parents, Esten and Mary (Jacobson) Pederson, were also natives of Norway. The father, who came to the United States in 1890, coming at once to Antrim county, Michi- gan, and purchasing forty acres of land in South Arm township, about three miles south of East Jordan, where they still reside.

The subject of this sketch has always resided under the parental roof, assisting in the labors of his father's farm, and is now conducting farming on his own account. He purchased forty acres adjoining the original forty acres, owned by his father, part of

which is improved. He has cleared his land of the native timber and made all the nec- essary improvements on the same, and is now considered one of the progressive and enterprising agriculturists in this section of the county. He is thoughtful and methodi- cal in his operations and his land brings him a very satisfactory return for the labor be- stowed upon it.

In matters political Mr. Pederson gives a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, believing that the principles enunciated in the platform of that party to be those most beneficial in their operations. In religion he subscribes to the creed of the Lutheran church and gives an earnest support to all measures looking to the advancement of the moral, educational, social and material in- terests of the community. In every relation of life he has consistently performed his part and is now the recipient of the confidence and regard of all who know him.

GEORGE W. BAILEY.

At this point we have to deal with another of the honored pioneers of Charle- voix county, with whose developments he has been prominently identified. Mr. Bailey is at the present time serving as supervisor of Evangeline township, while he is known as one of the representative citizens of Boyne City, to whose interests his loyalty has been unflagging. He is a veteran of the Civil war and is a man who is in all respects entitled to consideration in this publication.

Mr. Bailey was born in Chautauqua county, New York, on the 9th of April, 1837, his parents being in that locality for

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a visit, while their home at the time was in Podunk, Erie county, that state. The house in which our subject was born was likewise the birthplace of his father, Joseph Bailey, and the old homestead farm had long been in possession of the family. In Erie county Joseph Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Fanny Lake, and they be- came the parents of seven children, of whom four are living, the parents having passed their entire lives in the state of New York, where the father followed agricul- tural pursuits during the major portion of his active career.

The subject of this review passed the first sixteen years of his life in the village of Podunk. Erie county, New York, in whose common schools he secured his early educational training. He then became iden- tified with farming near the town of Col- lins, in the same county, where he remained until he had reached his legal majority. At the age of twenty years Mr. Bailey united in marriage to Miss Caroline Parkinson, and thereafter he either rented land or worked by the day there until there came the call to higher duty when the integrity of the nation was placed in jeopardy through armed rebellion. He was one of the first in his locality to offer service in defense of the Union. On the 28th of May, 1861, he en- listed as a private in Company E, Seventy- second New York Volunteer Infantry, with which command he proceeded to Virginia, where they served under Generals McClel- lan and Sickles. After two years the regi- ment was transferred to Port Hudson, Mis- sissippi, and Mr. Bailey received commission as second lieutenant in a regiment of colored troops, with which he was in active service in Louisiana until after the siege and fall of

Port Hudson, in the autumn of 1864, his regiment being in the command of General Banks during the greater portion of this time, and having been assigned principally to the work of digging trenches. During the first two years of his service Mr. Bailey took part in many important engagements, among which may be mentioned the follow- ing: The siege of Yorktown, battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks Station, after which the command proceeded toward Richmond, approaching sufficiently close to distinguish the sound of the church bells, and then the troops returned to Alexandria, Virginia, after which they took part in the engagements at Cattlett's Station, Chan- tilly and the second battle of Bull Run, and then returned again to Alexandria. Mr. Bailey was ever found at his post of duty and proved also a popular and able com- manding officer. He was never seriously wounded but had a number of narrow es- capes, particularly on one occasion, when a bullet struck his cap and glanced aside. After a faithful service of somewhat more than three years he was discharged on ac- count of physical disability, resulting from the hardships and exposure encountered, re- ceiving his honorable discharge in Port Hudson in October, 1865. Thereafter he was engaged in digging wells and in pump- ing in the oil regions of Pennsylvania until 1873, in which year he came to Michigan for the purpose of securing a homestead claim to which he was entitled as a soldier. He came to the northern part of the state and became much attracted by the fine hunting and fishing here afforded. His old friend, L. W. Skinner, had located on a homestead in Marion township, Charlevoix county, and this gentleman induced our sub-

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ject to locate in this county. In May of the year mentioned he came to the head of Pine lake, making the trip on a tug, which forced a way through the ice. After land- ing he chanced to meet Captain Thompson, who assisted him materially in the selec- tion of a desirable homestead claim, the same being finely located in section 24, Wilson township, five miles southeast of the present Boyne City. The sec- tion at the time was practically an un- broken wilderness, and Mr. Bailey's nearest neighbor was located one and one-half miles distant. Equipped with an ax, our subject went to his claim and made a clearing, in which he erected a log house. He then re- turned to the state of New York for his family, whom he forthwith brought to the new home in the midst of the forest. He came by boat the greater portion of the dis- tance, being accompanied by his wife and their four sons, while he was compelled to cut through a road to Deer lake, to which point he had his household effects shipped, the road being so rough that the wagon con- taining the same was twice overturned on the way to the lake. His home was one and one-half miles distant from the end of the lake, across which the goods were trans- ported in a skiff, and from the lake the goods, aggregating four thousand two hundred pounds in weight, were carried up the hill by hand to the cabin, a distance of one hundred rods. Four or five years elapsed ere other settlers came to the locality, so that the family was practically isolated during the interim. The first crop raised by Mr. Bailey was a small lot of potatoes, but he soon succeeded in clearing and placing un- der cultivation a considerable portion of his land. and the place soon afforded support to

the family. He and his wife cut off the tim- ber on one and one-half acres of land, and during the first five years of their residence here they had no barn and no cow, so that it may be seen that they endured the depriva- tions which fell to the lot of the average pioneer of the locality and period. On the place in the early days was secured a consid- erable quantity of the products of the sugar maples, and the syrup and sugar were sold at good prices. For a time Mrs. Bailey taught in a little school house about one and one-half miles distant from her home, the few settlers in the locality gladly avail- ing themselves of her able services in this line. In teaching she earned the first money received after the location of the family in the county, this being three years after they had taken up their abode. She had previously taught in New York state and was well qualified for pedagogic work. From an uncle in the old Empire state she finally inherited the sum of five hundred dollars, and this materially aided the fam- ily and lightened the burdens of living in a remote and undeveloped section. For six months prior to securing this financial re- inforcement the family had only cornmeal and maple syrup in the house as food. In 1875 Mr. Bailey was elected supervisor of Wilson township, which had been organ- ized in that year, while our subject was the second person to serve as supervisor, his predecessor having been Joseph Stackus. Mr. Bailey served for twelve consecutive years and his labors were such as to greatly benefit his township and county, since he held to a progressive policy and did all in his power to hasten the development and material prosperity of this now favored sec- tion of the state. In Wilson township there

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were about thirty voters at the time when he was elected supervisor, and when he re- tired the number was more than two hun- dred. He remained on his original home- stead for fifteen years, and within this time had reclaimed and placed under cultivation sixty-five acres of the tract, while he had se- cured a considerable revenue from the sale of timber and tanbark. During one winter he cut fifty thousand feet of timber, but af- ter selling the same and paying his men who had assisted in cutting the same, he found himself loser in the sum of thirty dollars, while bark at the time commanded five dol- lars a cord. After a few years' residence here Mr. Bailey found employment in scal- ing logs, and for about a decade he devoted the greater portion of his time to this voca- tion during the winter months, though at 110 time was he far distant from his home, as lumbering operations in this locality were be- ing then carried vigorously forward. In the pioneer era all the roads, primitive in the extreme, followed along through the valleys, no regular roads having been laid out or cut through. Mr. Bailey energetically gave himself to the task of laying out and im- proving the first roads through Wilson township, and the task was a most arduous one, owing to the contour of the land and the heavy timber which then covered it. He erected the first crossway in Wilson town- ship and did other important work in furth- ering the development of that section of the county.

In 1888 Mr. Bailey removed with his family to Boyne City, and thereafter he con- tinued to be employed in scaling logs and also sold land for the railroad company, find- ing this a profitable enterprise. He finally purchased twenty-five acres of land adjoin- ing the village, platting the same into one

hundred lots, many of which he has sold, his addition being a most attractive one in location. He has ever manifested great faith in the future of Boyne City, which he has seen rise up in the midst of the sylvan wilds, and he has been one of its most loyal, progressive and public-spirited citizens. It may be noted that the first milling which he had done from the products of his farm was the grinding of two bushels of buck- wheat, which he transported on a handsled a distance of nine miles, to the mill at Ad- vance, in his home county. He had raised thirty-seven bushels on one-half acre, and prior to the trip mentioned the product had been ground by hand in a common coffee- mill.

In 1896 Mr. Bailey was elected super- visor of Evangeline township. He had prev- iously served two years as deputy county clerk, during the period when Boyne City was the county seat, and for two years he was a clerical assistant in the office of the register of deeds. Through successive re- elections he has continued incumbent of the office of township clerk, and in this position he has served fully twenty-one years, includ- ing his tenure of the office while a resident of Wilson township. For nearly fifteen years he has also served as village asses- sor, and the change in conditions is shown in the statement that the assessed valuation of the village in 1896 was but $86,612, while in 1904 it stands at $626,305. The assessed valuation of Evansville township in 1896 was $136,153, and in 1904 the ag- gregate was $766,930. Within the latter year fully three hundred houses were erected in Boyne City, while here was also built a large iron furnace and other business struc- tures. The advancement within the past five years has been most marked and grati-

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fying, showing that this section is able to hold its own even against the passing of the lumbering industry, while public improve- ments, including the establishing of high- grade roads, have kept pace with the gen- eral development in the county. The future offers a most pleasing outlook, as there yet remains in the county much land susceptible of reclamation and profitable cultivation. In politics Mr. Bailey has ever given a stanch allegiance to the Republican party and he is usually found represented as a del- egate to the county conventions of his party. He was at one time a candidate for county clerk and was defeated by a few votes.

Mention has already been made of the first marriage of Mr. Bailey, and his wife proved a true helpmate during their years of struggle after locating in the wilds of Charlevoix county. The devoted wife and mother was summoned into eternal rest in 1880, on the home farm, having been ill only three days, and her name merits an endur- ing place on the roll of the noble pioneer women of this county. In 1882 Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Emma F. Hull, who had lived in Wilson township for a period of fifteen years, during eight of which she devoted her attention to teaching, having come to this section from Ingham county, where she was born and reared. Of the children of the first marriage we record that Wellington R. is a marine engineer, making his home in Grand Rapids ; Winfield is a prosperous farmer in Grant county, South Dakota; Franklin L., a painter by vo- cation, resides in Boyne City, and William W. is engaged in the drug business in Boyne City. Of the children of the second mar- riage we note that Floyd is an electrician

by vocation, being a resident of Boyne City ; and that George Munroe, Paul and Marian Pauline remain at the parental home.

Mr. Bailey has found his chief recrea- tion in the sports of the forest, stream and lake, and has many fine trophies indicating his prowess with rod and gun. He is a val- ued and popular member of Clifford Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and is also identified with the local Masonic lodge, in which he has attained the master's degree. while he is also a member of the Orange- men. He is well known throughout this section and his friends are in number equal to his acquaintances.

CURTIS S. PINNEY.

Among the residents of Antrim county, Michigan, who have through all the years of their residence here left the impress of their personality in several different lines of effort and who have honored the commun- ity of their residence because of the high standard of their living may be mentioned C. S. Pinney. Mr. Pinney is a native of Chemung county, New York, where he was born on June 28, 1840. He is the son of Smith and Julia (Van Hooser) Pinney, east- erners by birth, the mother a native of Norwalk, Connecticut, and the father proba- bly of New York state. The subject secured his elementary education in the public schools of his native state, supplementing this by a course of study at an academy at Rushford, Allegany county, New York. On the 4th of May, 1870, he came to An- trim county, Michigan, and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, of

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which he has since divided eighty acres among members of his family, so that his present holdings amount to about eighty acres. Mr. Pinney cleared his land and made all the necessary improvements in or- der to successfully conduct his farming op- erations, at which he was highly successful. He also dealt largely in live stock and found this a profitable line of enterprise. He re- mained on this farm until 1900, when, feel- ing that he had performed his share of the labor of redeeming this section of the state, he retired from active farm labor and moved to the town of East Jordan, where he has since resided. Not content to remain idle, however, he secured a position as sales- man in the furniture store of J. J. Votruba, where he is now employed. He is the owner of a splendid town home at the corner of Third and Garfield streets, where his home is the center of a large social circle and where a generous hospitality is always evi- dent.

During the dark and troublous days of the great Civil war Mr. Pinney gave tangi- ble evidence of his patriotism by enlisting in Company D, One Hundred and Fifty- fourth Regiment New York Volunteers. This command was first assigned to the Army of the Potomac, but after the battle of Gettysburg they joined the Army of the South, under General Sherman, with whom they participated in the celebrated march to the sea, later taking part in the grand review in Washington, being discharged on the 25th of June, 1865. Mr. Pinney per- formed his military duties in a faithful and creditable manner and took part in every en- gagement in which his command had a part. some seventeen in all. His old army associ- ations and comradeships are now kept alive through his membership in the Grand Army

of the Republic. He also belongs to the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Patrons of Husbandry. He has attended several of the Grand Army encampments, including those at Washington, Chicago and Detroit. He was for some three years engaged at newspaper work, as a writer for the first paper published in Antrim county, the Bellaire Breeze. In politics he is a stanch Republican and had the distinction of being a delegate from Jordan township to the first convention of that party in An- trim county. He was also for eight years the efficient postmaster at Chestonia, An- trim county, and held various township of- fices all his life while in the county.

In 1867 Mr. Pinney was united in mar- riage with Miss Marion Beebe, the daughter of Charles and Harriett (Meede) Beebe, and they are the parents of five children, Her- man, Howard, Mabel, Allison and Hubert.

FRANK SVAGR.

Among the very finest farms in Antrim county, Michigan, none excel those owned by the large number of Bohemians who have settled here and who are numbered among the county's most enterprising and success- ful agriculturists. Among the leaders in this line of enterprise is Frank Svagr, who is the owner of a fine farm in Jordan town- ship. He was born in Bohemia on April II, 1865, and is the son of Vencel and Mary (Votruba) Svagr, natives also of Bo- hemia. In 1869, when the subject was about four years old, the family emigrated to America and came at once to their pres- ent location in this county, being among the first settlers here. Their first home was a

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rude shanty, but in the course of time this was superseded by a comfortable residence and other necessary farm buildings. Mr. Svagr is the owner of one hundred acres of good land, seventy-four of which are under the plow and in a fine state of cultivation, the greater part of it having been cleared by the subject himself. The father died in 1899, at the age of seventy-two, since which time Frank has maintained an actual super- vision of the farm.

In 1884 Mr. Svagr was united in mar- riage with Miss Josie Moravick, the daugh- ter of John Moravick, and to their union have been born five children, John, Mary, Frank, Jr., Joseph and Dominick. In mat- ters political the subject assumes an inde- pendent attitude, preferring to vote for the best man, irrespective of party lines. In re- ligion he is a Catholic and in his daily life he endeavors to live up to his highest concep- tion of a right life. Because of his many estimable personal qualities Mr. Svagr has won for himself the esteem and regard of all who know him.

WILLIAM H. JAQUAYS.

The record of Mr. Jaquays is that of a man who by his own unaided efforts worked his way from a modest beginning to a posi- tion of independence and influence in his community. His life has been of unceas- ing industry and perseverance and the notably systematic and honorable methods which he has followed have won him the unbounded confidence and regard of his fellow citizens of Jordan town- ship. Antrim county, Michigan. Mr. Jaquays was born in Cuyahoga county,

Ohio, on May 23, 1839, and is the son of Abram and Mary (Mckinsey) Jaquays. They were natives of Vermont and removed to Ohio in 1838, taking up reservation land in Cuyahoga county. It is worthy of note that the subject's father and paternal grand- father were both soldiers in the Revolution- ary war. William H. Jaquays was educated in the common schools and also in an acad- emy at Berea, Ohio. Upon the completion of his education he took up civil engineering, which he followed until the outbreak of the great southern rebellion, when he offered his services to the government, enlisting in Company E, Forty-second Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During the first year they were assigned to the Army of the Ohio and later they were with the Army of the Southwest, taking part in the siege of Vicks- burg and the battles of Champion Hills, Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Austin, etc., and at the close of the conflict received an honorable discharge at Columbus, Ohio, after three years' active service.

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 38

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