Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 4

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

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and then returned to Ohio, where he re- mained until 1867, in the spring of which year he came again to Michigan, locating in Barry county, where he purchased land and engaged in farming, continuing to there make his home for a period of twelve years. He then made a trip to Colorado and other portions of the West, returning to Michigan in 1880 and coming to Antrim county, where he took up his permanent abode, pur- chasing one hundred and sixty acres of land, in Central Lake township, and forthwith initiating the task of reclaiming and other- wise improving the property, which has ever since continued his place of residence. Within the intervening year he has com- passed the reclamation of about one hundred acres of his farm, a small portion of the place having been cleared at the time when he purchased the property. At the present time one hundred acres are available for cultivation, and the farm is one of the best in this section, both in matter of fertility and superiority of buildings and other per- manent improvements. Mr. Anway devotes his attention to diversified agriculture, hor- ticulture and fruit raising, while he also places on the market each year a number of excellent grade cattle, horses and swine. He is one of the substantial and influential men of his township and is signally progressive and public-spirited in his attitude, so that his aid is ever potent in the carrying forward of enterprises for the general good of the community. In politics he accords an un- wavering allegiance to the Republican party, with which he has been aligned ever since attaining his legal majority, and he has re- ceived unmistakable evidence of the high re- gard in which he is held by the people of Antrim county, in that he has been called to

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF

offices of distinctive trust and responsibility. He was for eight years superintendent of the poor of the county, and served six years as treasurer of Central Lake township, while he has been a school official during the greater portion of the time of his residence here. His wife is a member of the Baptist church, and in a fraternal way he is a valued member of the post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Eastport.

In 1867 Mr. Anway was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarah R. Sanford, who was born and reared in Ohio, being a daughter of Andrew and Eliza A. (Shriner) Sanford. She was summoned into eternal rest in 1897, and in the year 1899 the subject consum- mated a second marriage, being then united to Mrs. Margaret J. (Mckibben) Sanford. widow of David Sanford and a daughter of William and Sarah (Falloon) Mckibben, the former of whom was a prosperous farmer of Crawford county, Ohio, in which state she was reared and educated. Mr. Anway has two children, both of whom were born of the first marriage : Sanford B., who married Miss Ada Dolph, is a railroad man and now makes his home at Midway. Clark county, Ohio; and Bertha is the wife of R. T. Edwards, who is engaged in the seed business at Cheyboygan, Michigan, being a representative of one of the leading concerns of the sort in the Union.

ELKANAH MUDGE.

One of the attractive farm properties of Central Lake township, Antrim county, is that owned and occupied by Mr. Mudge, who has here resided for nearly a quarter

of a century, having reclaimed his land from its wild state and thus having aided in the development of this section, of which he may consistently be termed a pioneer, while he is assuredly a public spirited and loyal citizen and one who has the respect and good will of the community. Mr. Mudge is a native of the dominion of Canada, having been born in Norfolk county, province of Ontario, on the 29th of January, 1846, and being a son of Joshua and Eliza C. (May) Mudge, both of whom are likewise native of the province of Ontario, where the father was born in the year 1820. Both are still living. They became the parents of two children, Elkanah, the subject of this sketch, and Eliza Jane, who is now deceased. Joshua Mudge is a man of high intellectu- ality and was a successful teacher in Canada for many years, while later he there served as constable and bailiff, while he also held the office of supervisor. He became the owner of a farm in Ontario, but his health has been delicate during the greater portion of his life, so that he has been unable to do hard manual labor. He is a man of the utmost integrity and both he and his wife are zealous and devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Elkanah Mudge passed his boyhood days in the province of Ontario, Canada, and in addition to being afforded the advantages of the common schools he had the added privi- lege of being reared in a home of distinctive culture and refinement. He began to depend upon his own resources when still a lad, and he is to be considered as the architect of his own fortunes, having worked assiduously and having gained success by legitimate and well directed industry. He devoted his at- tention principally to farming during the

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years of his residence in Canada, where he remained until 1880, when he came to Michi- gan, locating in Antrim county, where he purchased a tract of wild land in Central Lake township and forthwith instituted its reclamation. He has developed one of the fine farms of this county, and his land is of exceptional fertility. His homestead, upon which he has erected good buildings, com- prises eighty acres, and his son Grant owns forty acres in the same township., Mr. Mudge has forty-five acres under cultivation, and the land is devoted principally to the raising of wheat, oats, corn and hay, while he makes a specialty of raising sweet or sugar corn for supplying a local canning factory. In his political adherency Mr. Mudge is a stalwart Republican, and he has served as justice of the peace of his town- ship for the past eight years, being a man of mature judgment and absolute impartial- ity, so that he has brought about the ami- cable adjustment of many difficulties which have come to him for adjudication in his of- ficial capacity, while his advice and counsel are frequently sought by his neighbors. Fra- ternally he is a valued member of the Grange of his township.

Cross, who is engaged in the seed business in Charlevoix, as representative of the D. M. Ferry Seed Company, of Detroit, and they have four children, Lulu, Maude, Vic- tor and Robert B. Olive, the younger daughter of the subject, is the wife of James Hamilton, a successful carpenter, and they have two children, Charles L. and Hettie L. Jay B., the youngest of the subject's children, married Miss Carrie Johnson, and they have one child. Victor I. Jay is also with the Ferry Seed Company, of Detroit. All of the children are well established in life and are a credit to themselves and to their honored parents.

ROBERT H. WARDROP.

This representative farmer and popular citizen of Antrim county has one of the best improved and most attractive rural homes in this section of the state, the same being lo- cated in Central Lake township, and he is known as one of the progressive and public- spirited men of the county, while he wields no little influence in local affairs, though never an aspirant for office.

In the year 1865 Mr. Mudge was united in marriage to Miss Melissa Olmstead, who Mr. Wardrop is a native son of the state of Michigan, having been born in Leelanau county, on the 2d of November, 1874. He is a son of William and Margaret L. War- drop, the former of whom was born in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the 9th of August, 1841, while the latter was born and reared in the province of Ontario, Canada, where their marriage was solemnized. As a young man William B. Wardrop came to America and located in the province of was born in the county of Norfolk, Canada, being a daughter of William G. and Amanda (Heath) Olmstead, who removed from the old Empire state to Ontario, Canada, the father having been a farmer by vocation. The mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Mudge have four children : William G., who is associated with his father in the manage- ment of the home farm, married Miss Alice Williams and they have two sons, Earl L. and Grant E. Hettie is the wife of A. E. Ontario, where he purchased land and en-

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF

gaged in farming. After a few years had passed he came to the United States and enlisted in Company C, Fifth United States Cavalry, with which he served five years and then re-enlisted for two years farther, being in the army during the war of the Rebellion and making an enviable record as a loyal and valiant soldier. After leaving the army he served for two years as clerk in the war department at Washington, D. C., and then for three years was editor of the Massachusetts Current at Boston. He then removed to Leelanau county, Michigan, where he was in the employ of a lumber company as bookkeeper for eleven years. He then removed to Antrim county, this state, where he remained twenty-four years, the greater part of the time serving as book- keeper for a lumber company. He then went to Sparwood, British Columbia, where he engaged in the lumber and milling business, where he is engaged at the present time, having been located in that section for the past three years and being the owner and operator of a large sawmill, whose daily output averages fifty thousand feet of lum- ber. While a resident of the United States he gave an uncompromising support to the Republican party and was called upon to serve in various local offices, while he has so ordered his course in all the relations of life as to command the unqualified confidence and regard of those with whom he has come in contact. He and his wife have six chil- dren, namely : Karl, who is a resident of Charlevoix, this state; Mary E., who is at the parental home; Robert H., who is the subject of this sketch; Thomas W. and Wil- liam H., who are associated with their father in his lumbering operations in Canada, and John, who is deceased.

Robert H. Wardrop secured good edu- cational advantages in his youth, having at- tended the public schools and made good use of the opportunities afforded him. He has been a resident of Antrim county since 1877, having here applied his energies with such vigor and discrimination as to have be- come one of the representative agricultur- ists of the county, while as a citizen his hold on popular confidence and esteem is one of utmost tenacity. His well improved farm comprises two hundred acres, and one hun- dred and forty acres have been brought under most effective cultivation, being de- voted to diversified agriculture and horti- culture, while he has also met with success in the raising of fruit, having a good orch- ard of apple, cherry, plum and apricot trees, to which are devoted eight acres of land. On his place he secures an average annual yield of about fifty tons of hay, and he also raises an excellent grade of cattle and swine. The permanent improvements on his place include substantial buildings of modern de- sign and facilities, and his fine residence is one of the most attractive to be found in this section, having been erected in 1894, in a beautiful and sightly spot on the banks of Torch lake, while the well-kept grounds are beautified by native trees and attractive shrubbery, so that he and his family have no necessity for seeking summer resorts aside from their home. In politics, while never ambitious for official preferment in a personal way, Mr. Wardrop is numbered among the stanch supporters of the cause and principles of the Republican party, while fraternally he is identified with Eastport Tent, No. 627, Knights of the Maccabees.

In the year 1864 was solemnized the marriage of William Wardrop to Miss Mar-

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garet L. Wardrop, who was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, being a daughter of John and Jessie (Barr) Ward- rop, both of whom were born and reared in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, the former being a cousin of the father of the subject. Upon coming to America John Wardrop settled in the city of Philadelphia, where he continued to reside for more than thirty years, having been a manufacturer of silk and woolen goods, in connection with which line of industry he had served an apprentice- ship of fourteen years in the famous old city of Glasgow, Scotland. He died in the vil- lage of Paris, Ontario, Canada, while there engaged in superintending the erection and equipment of a large rug factory for the firm of Bromley & Son, of Philadelphia. He ac- cumulated a considerable fortune and de- vised property to each of his children. His wife preceded him into eternal rest by many years, her death having occurred in the city of Hamilton, New York. Both were zeal- ous members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Wardrop continued to be a zealous worker in the same until he was called to his final reward. This worthy couple became the parents of three children, namely : Mar- garet L., wife of William Wardrop; Mary, who is the wife of Captain Daniel Walter, who commands a vessel on the Great Lakes, with residence in the city of Chicago, and Walter, in British Columbia, a railroad con- tractor and miller.

H. M. HEMSTREET.

That attractive division of Antrim county known as Forest Home township has as one of its representative citizens and lead-

ing farmers the subject of this sketch, who has been a resident of the county since 1887 and who was formerly one of the prominent business men of Bellaire, the county seat.

Mr. Hemstreet is a native son of the Wolverine state, having been born where the city of Flint now stands, Genesee county, on the Ist of January, 1840. He is a son of Alonzo and Mary (Jenkins) Hemstreet, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York, the respective families having been founded in America in the colonial era. The father of the subject was born in Essex county, New York, in the year 1805, and he died at Stanton, Montcalm county, Michigan, in 1884. His first wife, the mother of our subject, was born in the year 1813, and her death occurred when he was a child of but eight years, as she was summoned into eternal rest on the 4th of May, 1848. She was the mother of eight children, namely : Henry, Harmon, Harriet, H. M., Josephine, Halzy, Helena, Helen and Cynthia. The father was a carpenter and joiner by trade and followed this vocation during the greater portion of his active life, though he was for some time employed in a grist mill. He married a second time, and of this union were born two children, George and Irwin.

H. M. Hemstreet was reared in Genesee county and secured a common-school edu- cation, while he early learned the valuable lessons of industry, having been dependent upon his own resources from his youth. Soon after attaining his legal majority he made his way to the West, remaining in the state of Kansas until 1866, this being prior to the advent of railroads in that section, while the state was much disrupted and tur- bulent by reason of the troubles incidental

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF

to the Civil war, this having been the most debatable ground in the Union at that time, as history records. After his return to Michigan Mr. Hemstreet located in Bay City, where he conducted a harness shop for nearly twelve years, having earlier learned the trade of harness making. After retiring from this enterprise he conducted a dairy business about two years, and also served three terms as register of deeds of Bay county, his preferment indicating the high esteem in which he was held in the com- munity. In 1884 he made a trip to the West and Southwest, visiting the states of Kansas and Texas and finally remaining in Ne- braska, where he was engaged in the harness business until 1887, when he returned to Michigan and took up his residence in Antrim county, locating in the county seat, the city of Bellaire, where he engaged in the grocery business, in which he continued for twelve years, building up a most pros- perous enterprise and becoming one of the influential and popular business men of the county. He was succeeded by his brother, who still carries on the business. Upon re- tiring from the mercantile business Mr. Hemstreet took up his residence on his pres- ent fine farm, which is eligibly located two and one-half miles northwest of Bellaire, in section 14, Forest Home township. The estate comprises one hundred and ten acres of most fertile and arable land, and ninety acres have been made available for cultiva- tion. while fifteen acres of good timber still remain on the place, and thirty acres are de- voted to orchard purposes. Mr. Hemstreet raises all kinds of fruit adapted to the soil and climate and this department of his farm- ing enterprise is an important and profitable one. the products including the best varieties

of apples, pairs, cherries, peaches and plums, while he also raises a considerable quantity of the small fruits each season. In his orch- ard are more than three thousand trees, in- cluding fifteen hundred apple and seven hun- dred peach trees. The subject takes great pride in his farm and has made it one of the model places of this section of the state, the improvements being of the best, includ- ing good buildings, while scrupulous care is given to keeping everything about the place in repair and good order. The same energy and progressive spirit which insured success to Mr. Hemstreet in mercantile af- fairs have conserved his prosperity as a gentleman farmer, and he may properly feel that his lines are now cast in pleas- ant places.

As a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party our subject has taken an active part in the promotion of its cause in a local sense, and has been called upon to serve in various positions of trust and responsibility. While a resident of Bay county he was register of deeds, as has been already noted, and in Antrim county he has been justice of the peace for the past twelve years ; was for two years incumbent of the position of treasurer of Forest Home town- ship, and for an equal period served as vil- lage treasurer of Bellaire, while for the past six years he has been coroner, always prov- ing faithful to the duties of his office and ever gaining the commendation of the peo- ple. His wife is a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally he is affiliated with the Grange of his town- ship. Mr. Hemstreet is a man of marked energy and activity, though he has been somewhat handicapped in a physical way, since, as the result of disease, his left leg was

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amputated near the hip joint when he was a lad of eleven years.

In 1866 Mr. Hemstreet was united in marriage to Miss Emma Wilbur, and to this union were born three children, Frank, who is a partner in the work and management of the home farm; Arthur, who is a carpenter by trade and a resident of Bay City, and Clarence, who resides in Augres, Michigan. In 1896 Mr. Hemstreet was united in mar- riage to Mrs. Harriet Doud, sister of Andrew J. Dole, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work, and she presides most graciously over the attractive family home.

JOHN GILES.

The record of Mr. Giles is that of a man who by his own unaided efforts worked his way from a modest beginning to a position of affluence and influence in the business world. His life has been one of unceasing industry and perseverance and the system- atic and honorable methods which he has followed have won him the unbounded con- fidence of his fellow citizens of Antrim county. John Giles was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1842, and is the son of Enos and Margaret (McLaughlin) Giles. The sub- ject's father has the distinction of being born on the Atlantic ocean in 1795 and his parents upon landing in this country settled in Toronto. Enos Giles upon gaining his maturity followed the carpenter's and join- er's trade and remained in Canada until his death, in 1861. He was the father of eight children, namely: Mary, Joseph, Samuel. Robert, Eliza, John, Thomas and Sarah.

The subject of this sketch was given the ad- vantages of a common school education in his youth and, being ambitious of acquiring knowledge, he readily mastered the common branches and upon attaining his majority was well equipped to take upon himself the responsibilities of life. Becoming convinced that in the United States lay better oppor- tunities for advancement, Mr. Giles came to Montcalm county, Michigan, and was there engaged in the operation of a sawmill, in which he was fairly successful. In 1892 he came to Antrim county and in 1896 located upon his present farm in Central Lake town- ship, three and one-half miles from the town of Central Lake. This tract consists of fifty-seven acres, of which about thirty-five are under cultivation. The farm is not a large one, but will compare favorably in ap- pearance and proportionate products with any in the township.

Mr. Giles gives his attention to all lines of agricultural interest, believing that a di- versified system is better than specializing. In connection with his farming operations he also built a sawmill, the first one at Snow Flake, Antrim county, which has been a very successful enterprise and which at the time of its erection was much needed in that locality. It might be here noted that during six years of his residence in this state Mr. Giles was in the employ of Archie Cameron in the capacity of blacksmith in the lumber camps. On his place Mr. Giles has created a summer resort, one of the pleasant little vacation spots of this community and which is taken advantage of by several families who come here to spend the summer months.

In politics Mr. Giles is a Republican and for a number of years was connected with the sheriff's office. In addition to his other

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF

interests Mr. Giles is a stockholder in the Farmers' Telephone Company and is also a member of its board of directors. Fratern- ally, he is affiliated with Tent No. 160, Knights of the Maccabees, at Central Lake, and with the Grange No. 85 at Greenwood, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. That his life has been one of active and consistent endeavor may be noted from the fact that for twelve years he followed the local ministry in Montcalm and Antrim counties.

In 1863 Mr. Giles was united in mar- riage to Mrs. Sarah C. Wilson, daughter of Philip and J- (Marathoe) Wilson, na- tives of Pennsylvania and of German de- scent. To Mr. and Mrs. Giles have been born the following children: Eliza J., Catherine J., Emma, Retta, Margaret A., Ella, Josephine, Hattie, Bertha, Leffa A., Louis, Lewellyn W. and Ella, the last two named being deceased, and they also adopted two children, Frank and Claud.

Mr. Giles has always been an enterpris- ing man and it is his honest conviction that labor, directed by intelligent foresight, is the primary requisite to success. As a citizen he is loyal to his adopted country and entertains intelligent views relative to the current questions before the American people. He has done his full share in developing and improving his native township and is es- teemed wherever known.

MRS. MARY CROSS.

Wholly devoted to home and domestic duties, doing through all the best years of her life the lowly but sacred work that comes within her sphere, there is not much to

record concerning the life of the average woman. And yet what station so dignified, what relation so loving and endearing, what office so holy, tender and ennobling as those of home-making wifehood and motherhood. In the settlement of the great middle West woman bore her share of the hardship, suf- ferings and other vicissitudes, helping man in the rugged toil of wood and field, cheer- ing him when cast down and discouraged, sharing his dangers, mitigating sufferings, in the end quietly and unostentatiously re- joicing in his success, yet ever keeping her- self modestly in the background and per- mitting her lord to enjoy all the glory of their mutual achievements. In a biographi- cal compendium, such as this work is in- tended to be, woman should have no in- significant representation.

Mrs. Mary Cross is a native of the land of hills and hether, having been born in Scotland's famous little town of Glasgow, being a daughter of Duncan and Catherine (Cameron) Crawford. At ten years of age she was brought by her parents to Canada, where she was reared and received her ele- mentary education in the common schools. At the age of nineteen she was united in marriage to William Melbourn Wilson. He was a native of Ontario, Canada, and the two families lived as neighbors. He was twenty-three years of age at the time of their marriage. They remained in Ontario until the spring of 1871, when they, with their three small children, came to Antrim county and located in Banks township, four miles northwest of Central Lake, their place being located near the north shore of Inter- mediate lake. Mr. Wilson homesteaded eighty acres of land, upon which he found that a tree had not been cut and so dense was

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 4

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