Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 43

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

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In conclusion we may consistently make extract from the resolutions adopted by the Republican city convention of Petoskey in recognition of the honored subject of this memoir : "He was a man of noble ideals,- who loved truth and honesty; who hated sham and detested hypocrisy; whose life was marked with integrity and frugality ; who loved his home and country and his country's flag, fighting upon the field of bat- tle in their defense; whose eloquent words and fearless pen were ever used in uphold- ing the right and condemning the wrong; whose valiant and courageous upholding of the principles of the Republican party was a tower of strength in the city and state; and whose noble nature is most fittingly por- trayed in the tribute of Sir Walter Scott to Fox :

'For talents mourn, untimely lost,

When best employed and wanted most; Mourn genius high and lore profound, And wit that loved to play, not wound; And all the reasoning power divine, To penetrate, resolve, combine; And feelings keen and fancy's glow,- They sleep with him who sleeps below.'

FREDERICK J. MEECH.

The subject of this review is one of the prominent and representative citizens of Charlevoix, being postmaster at this place and having been intimately concerned in public affairs of a local nature, while he is one of the leaders of his political party in this section of the state.

The Meech family has been identified with the annals of American history from the early colonial era to the present time and is of English origin. The original American progenitors settled in New Lon- don, Connecticut, in 1636, and the name be- came one of prominence in New England, whence representatives in later generations became scattered throughout the most di- verse sections of the Union. Frederick J. Meech, the immediate subject of this sketch, was born in Shelburn, Chittenden county, Vermont, on the 15th of January, 1840. His father. Ezra Meech, was likewise a na- tive of the old Green Mountain state and devoted the major part of his life to agricul- tural pursuits. The grandfather of our sub- ject settled in Bennington, Vermont, in 1771 and became a man of prominence and influence in that state. Ezra Meech was a man of colossal physique, having weighed three hundred and sixty pounds and having been a man of much ability and of sterling character. He was a member of congress for several years, in the time of Andrew Jackson, and on several occasions he was the Democratic candidate for governor of Vermont.

Frederick J. Meech passed his boyhood days in Vermont and received good educa- ·tional advantages in his youth. For a time he was a student in the academy at Platts-

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burg, New York, the historic old building still showing the marks of shots fired by the British soldiers during the war of 1812. Later Mr. Meech pursued his studies in Poultney, Vermont, and in 1860 he was graduated in the celebrated old Russell Military Academy, in New Haven, Connec- ticut. Upon the first call for volunteers to aid in suppressing the Rebellion he tendered his services but was refused admission to the ranks when he offered himself for enlist- ment. Thereafter he continued to be iden- tified with agricultural pursuits in Vermont until 1868, in which year he engaged in the florist's business at Albany, New York, suc- ceeding to the business which had been car- ried on by the old Wilson nurseries. In 1870 he disposed of his interests there, hav- ing built up a large and important enter- prise, and in the following year he took up his residence in Norwood, Charlevoix county, Michigan. Here he became associ- ated with his father, under the firm name of F. J. Meech & Company, and purchased a saw mill in that village, thereafter contin- uing to be actively identified with the lum- bering industry in this section for a score of years, having operated the mill at Nor- wood for fourteen years and then having re- moved to Charlevoix, where he followed the same line of business for the ensuing six years. While at Norwood the business of the firm reached an average annual aggre- gate of thirty-five thousand dollars, includ- ing the transactions of the general store which was opened by the firm in 1871. The products of the mill were shipped to Chi- cago and a large lumbering business was carried on by Mr. Meech until he came to Charlevoix, in 1884. His father had in the meanwhile engaged extensively in the sheep business in Kansas, but finally returned to

Charlevoix, where his death occurred in 1884. After the death of his father the sub- ject continued to conduct a large and pros- perous lumber business, operating princi- pally in Charlevoix and Antrim counties, for a number of years, retiring from this en- terprise in 1890, when, in company with his son Darwin, he engaged in the nursery or florist business here, making a specialty of tuberous begonias, and becoming the larg- est grower of this special variety in the United States. The firm made importations to France and England and gained a high reputation, continuing the business until 1899, when they disposed of the same. In 1897 Mr. Meech was appointed postmaster at Charlevoix, and at the expiration of his first term President Roosevelt appointed him as incumbent for a second term of four years, which will expire in January, 1906. He has given a very able and satisfactory administration of the office, the receipts of the Charlevoix office having practically doubled within the time of his service as postmaster. Four rural routes have been established from this office, and Mr. Meech gives his undivided attention to his official duties and has done much toward improv- ing and thoroughly systematizing the local service. He served four years as register of deeds of the county, whose judicial and offi- cial center was not fixed in any one place at that time, four different towns figuring as centers in which the business affairs of the county were administered and trans- acted. The four towns thus given equal prestige were Charlevoix, East Jordan, Bay Springs and Boyne City, each in turn hav- ing had the honors of being temporarily the county-seat. It was finally decided that the county-seat be established in Boyne City, to which point the sheriff was in-

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structed to remove the county records and other effects from East Jordan. In the lat- ter place this officer found the doors of the temporary court-house closed and locked, and he forthwith forced his way in, demol- ishing the door of the register's office. The citizens of the town were assembled and de- termined to effectually resent the removal of the county property to the rival town. Thus they threatened to throw the sheriff into the lake if he persisted in his purpose, Mr. Meech taking pains only to properly protect the books and other properties which were held in his office. In the next convention of his party in the county he was defeated in his candidacy, and then made the run for re- election as an independent candidate, and in the election following he received but three votes less than both the Democratic and Re- publican candidates combined, while in East Jordan every vote was cast in his favor with the exception of only six. He is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party and has been active in the party work for many years, having served on state committees for three decades and hav- ing been prominent in the primary or nomin- ating conventions, believing it the duty of every loyal citizen to do his part in working for clean and effective politics and good offi- cial incumbents. In addition to serving as register of deeds of Charlevoix county he was also a member of the board of supervis- ors for six terms, giving much and valuable service in the connection and advocating a liberal and progressive policy in the handling of the affairs of the county as vested in this board. Mr. Meech is a prominent and ap- preciative member of the time-honored Ma- sonic fraternity, being a charter member of the lodge in Charlevoix and of the chapter

of Royal Arch Masons in Traverse City, while he received the chivalric degrees in the commandery at Big Rapids, being one of only two members of the commandery body of the order living in Charlevoix at that time, while he is now affiliated with Ivanhoe Commandery at Petoskey. He is held in un- equivocal esteem in the county which has so long been his home and is one of the pro- gressive and public-spirited citizens of Char- levoix.

At Shelburn, Vermont, in the year 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Meech to Miss Polly F. White, who was born and reared in that state, and they have three children, namely: Arthur B., who is en- gaged in the mercantile business at Essex, Antrim county ; Darwin F., who is county clerk of Charlevoix county and who is indi- vidually mentioned elsewhere in this work; Helen remains at the parental home; and Belle, who died July 29, 1902, was the wife of E. R: Harris, of Ellsworth, Antrim county, where he was engaged in the mer- cantile business.

HENRY RICHARDI.

The prominence of the subject of this sketch in connection with the industrial and civic affairs of Bellaire, Antrim county, is such that he is recognized as one of the lead- ing citizens of this section of the state, be- ing identified with business enterprises of wide scope and importance and being known as a progressive and public-spirited citizen. He is president of the Bellaire Wooden Ware Company and a member of the firm of Richardi & Bechtold, whose interests

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here are likewise of an important nature. It dates its inception back to about 1882, and its founders were Robert Richardi and Fred- erick W. Bechtold, the former being the fa- ther of him whose name initiates this para- graph. The enterprise was the outgrowth of one formerly conducted in the town of Lou- isiana, Missouri, where Mr. Richardi re- sided until coming to Michigan, having been attracted hither by reason of the available supply of timber, while the water-power ad- vantages, as yet undeveloped, led to the lo- cation of the original firm in the attractive little city of Bellaire, the judicial center of Antrim county Robert Richardi continued to be actively identified with the industrial enterprises here until 1895, when he sold his interests to his son, having had charge of the mechanical and operative departments of the business and being a man of distinctive tal- ent and skill in a mechanical way. Upon closing out his interests here he established an electric lighting and power plant in the village of Plainwell, Allegan county, whence he eventually removed to the city of Rich- mond, Virginia, where he now operates a fine electric plant. He was associated with Mr. Bechtold in the development of the val- uable water power in Bellaire, utilizing the same in the operation of their first wooden- ware plant, in which employment was given to about forty men. In 1900 a stock com- pany was organized and duly incorporated under the laws of the state, while the scope of operations has been greatly expanded un- der the present regime, that of the Bellaire Wooden Ware Company. The company was organized with a capital of fifteen thou- sand dollars, and this was subsequently in- creased to twenty-five thousand dollars. The extent and nature of the business and plant at the present time may be in a degree un-

derstood when it is stated that the assets of the company represent about fifty thousand dollars. The executive and official corps is as follows: Henry Richardi, president ; Frederick W. Bechtold, secretary; Osborn D. Tiffany, treasurer; and William G. Phelps, vice-president and superintendent. The corps of employes in the plant averages about seventy persons, and about three mil- lion feet of timber are utilized annually, while the average annual business has reached an aggregate of one hundred thousand dollars. A wide variety of wooden-ware specialties is manufactured, and a number of the ma- chines utilized in the processes of manufac- ture are the invention of Robert Richardi. The fine water power also supplies the saw- mill of the firm of Richardi & Bechtold, this being a custom mill, employing about six op- eratives; while two other plants secure power from the same sources,-the planing mill owned by Mr. Richardi and operated by the firm of Cook & Wilcox, and an indi- vidual wooden-ware plant owned by Mr. Richardi. The last mentioned enterprise was established by the elder Richardi about a decade ago, and his son purchased the same about 1895, at which time the plant was rebuilt upon a much larger scale. The specialties here manufactured are numerous but are of such character as to not conflict or compete with those produced by the Bel- laire Wooden Ware Company. This indi- vidual enterprise controlled by Mr. Richardi does an annual business of about twenty thousand dollars, and in the factory about thirty operatives are employed.

Mr. Richardi is the owner of valuable timber land in this section and is also devel- oping a farm in Antrim county, having two hundred and fifty acres under cultivation, while the improvements are of the best type,

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making the place one of the model farms of the county. He also deals in real-estate to a considerable extent and at all times mani- fests a lively interest in everything that tends to promote the material and civic ad- vancement of his home town and county, being one of the popular and representative citizens and leading business men of this sec- tion of the Wolverine state. He has installed an electric plant for the use of mills in which he is interested, while a number of his pri- vate dwellings are also lighted from this source. Arrangements are about completed for the converting of the above referred to water power into electricity and it is confi- dently expected that by the spring of 1906 Charlevoix, Central Lake and other towns near Bellaire will use the electric current generated at Bellaire for lighting and power purposes. About fifteen years ago the fa- ther of the subject effected the organization of the stock company by which the village waterworks and system were installed, and the stock of this concern is now practically owned and controlled by his son, the subject of this review. This water system was orig- inally planned for the affording of protection of fire to private property, but the expansion has constituted one of the most important and valuable public improvements, twenty hydrants, properly placed about the town, affording all necessary facilities for effective work on the part of the fire department In politics Mr. Richardi is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, but he is in no sense a politician and has never sought the honors or emoluments of public office. He was born in Williamsport, Penn- sylvania, whence his parents removed to Louisiana, Missouri, when he was a child. and he was reared and educated in that

place, where he learned the details of manu- facturing wooden ware in his father's fac- tory, of which he was superintendent for several years prior to the removal of the business to Michigan.

GEORGE MONTGOMERY.

An enumeration of those men of the present generation who have won honor and public recognition for themselves, and at the same time have honored the locality to which they belong, would be incomplete were there failure to make mention of the one whose name forms the caption of this sketch. George W. Montgomery is a native of Dryden, New York, having been born in 1839 and being the son of John and Eliza (Overacker) Montgomery. The parents were both natives of the old Empire state, the father having been born in 1812 in Sara- toga county and the mother in 1815 in Hud- son county. They were honored residents of the locality in which they lived and the father followed the pursuit of agriculture in his native state, in which his death occurred at the age of forty-eight years. Their chil- dren, ten in number, were as follows : Daniel R .. G. W., Sarah (deceased), Thomas T. (deceased). Mary E. (deceased). Joseph P. (deceased), Josephine, Charlotte (de- ceased), John J. and Emma L. The father was during all his mature years an ardent and active Democrat and his business career was honorable and successful.

In 1868 George W. Montgomery came to Michigan, attracted by the better oppor- tunities opened to encourage the ambitious agriculturist, and he entered at once upon

OBITUARY

LODEMA M. MONTGOMERY

Mrs. Lodema M. Montgomery,' a pioneer resident of Antrim county, passed away late Thursday afternoon, December 15th, 1921, at her home in Kearney town- ship.

Mrs. Montgomery was born in Wiltsie Towir, Canada, Jan. 16, 1853, and came to the United States with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Clow, when at the age of thirteen, and settled in Central Lake, Mich., Where she lived until her first marriage to Henry Redding in 1868, who died three years later.

July 4, 1874, slic was again united in marriage, to George W. Montgomery who was one of the first to invade the wilder- ness of Antrim county. From that time on, until ill health prevented, Mrs. Mont- gomery was well known, both in Kearney township and throughout Antrim county, for her faithfulness the willingness to an- swer calls to the sick and administering what help she could to the needy. In the early days when medical aid was prac- tically unknown to the few residents of this vicinity, her services were invaluable.

Mrs. Montgomery was well known in social circles throughout Antrim county and northern Michigan.

She leaves to mourn her loss two sons and their families, Milo R. Montgomery, who resides on the old homestead, and Birney S. Montgomery, of Brooklyn, N. Y.

Interment took place at Southern Cem- ctery, Central Lake Mich., Dec. 20, 1921.

LEAKAGE BIG ON WINDY DAY

Ordinary Felt Weather Stripping Helps to Keep Out Cold Air and Reduces Fuel Cost-Also Keeps Out Dirt and Smoke.

(Prepared by the United States Departmen of Agriculture.)

Stopping up cracks around doors an windows is an important factor in cut ting down the coal bill and keeping th rooms comfortable, according to' Farm ers' Bulletin 1194, Operating a Hom Heating Plant, published by the Unite States Department of Agriculture More fuel invariably is cor sumed. in house with loosely fitted windows tha In one where the cracks are protected In the windwar i rooms of some house on particularly cold, windy days th

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the task of reclaiming a farm from the in 1882, is an artilleryman in the United primitive wilderness which covered this sec- States army, being located at Fort Totten, New York state; Rex died while young. tion of the state. At the opening of the Civil war he enlisted in Company D, Nine- In politics the subject is a Republican and his loyalty and activity in his party's interest have been rewarded by his election to offices of trust and responsibility, as is evidenced by the fact that he has served five years as township clerk; three years as justice of the peace; seven years as town- ship supervisor, fourteen years as superin- tendent of the county poor, oue term as coro- ner and the long period of thirty years as a school officer. teenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and with which he took part in many campaigns and sanguinary battles. Shortly before the battle of Gettysburg Mr. Montgomery was captured by the Confederates, being held a prisoner for forty-eight hours, being paroled on July 3, 1863. He was again captured on May II, 1864, and taken to Andersonville, being confined in that terrible prison for four months, or until the fall of Atlanta, when Mr. Montgomery is one of the most re- spectable and substantial citizens of Kearney township. He was a faithful soldier; prompt in the discharge of every duty and endured the hardships of a soldier's life with fortitude and cheerfulness. He is absolutely a self-made man and stands high as a citizen and neighbor. he was transferred to Florence, South Caro- lina, and confined there for three months. After the subject's release he reached his command and participated in the grand re- view at Washington, after which he re- turned to his farm home in New York and thence came to Michigan in 1867. He first came to Alpina, where he remained one year, and then came to Antrim county, taking up the first homestead in Kearney township, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, WILLARD A. SMITH. and his first labors consisted in making a cabin, after which he commenced the task of clearing the land. He now possesses one hundred and twenty acres, forty of which are highly improved, and altogether the place is one of the attractive ones in this township. He gives his attention principally to the production of hay, potatoes and corn and realizes abundant returns from his labor.

On the 4th of July, 1874, Mr. Mont- gomery was united in marriage to Lodema M. Clow, the daughter of Robert and Eliza R. Clow. To the subject and his wife have been born three children, namely: Milo R., born in 1875, who married Miss Lizzie Roy and is a farmer in this county ; Birney, born

To the subject of this review belongs the unique distinction of being one of the oldest journalists of Michigan between Os- ceola county and Lake Superior, dividing the honor with only one contemporary, Mr. Sprague, of Traverse City. Willard A. Smith served his apprenticeship as a printer on the old Marshall Statesman, which dur- ing a continuous career of sixty-four years has turned out more good newspaper men than any other paper in the state. When the subject entered the office the Statesman was under the editorial management of Seth Lewis, a journalist of wide repute, whose in- fluence in political circles made his paper a

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powerful factor in the material upbuilding of the community in which he lived. After spending some time under the efficient di- rection of this veteran editor young Smith worked in the office of the Citizen and Globe at Flint and in 1868, when but tweny years old, went to northern Michigan and ac- cepted a position on the Eagle at Elk Rapids, which paper he subsequently as- sisted in removing to Traverse City, where the first edition was gotten out with his efficient help as pressman. Shortly after lo- cating at the latter place he was induced by Hon. D. C. Leach to establish a paper for him at Charlevoix, and in March, 1869, the first number of the Sentinel made its ap- pearance with his name as publisher. At the end of one year he purchased the plant and under his management the paper soon ob- tained a wide circulation and a liberal ad- vertising patronage, becoming in due time the leading Republican organ of that section of the state. At the time mail facilities were exceedingly limited, there being no rail- road nearer than Grand Rapids, while horses were almost unknown. so that letters and papers had to be carried to the different settlements on foot, many of the latter reaching subscribers from a week to ten days after coming from the press. The site of the present flourishing city of Charle- voix was then covered with trees and stumps and presented anything but a pre- possessing appearance, and the business of the county, both public and private, being controlled by the Democrats would have made the progress of a Republican paper exceedingly difficult had not the leading members of the party given the young edi- tor their influence and financial support. be- sides assisting him to secure a fairly remun- erative patronage. Mr. Smith received his

exchange list by stage and the Grand Rapids dailies were often a week old before reach- ing his office, but he made up for this dearth of news by getting an occasional Chicago daily from steamboat captains who stopped at his place from time to time. In 1870 Mr. Smith was elected township clerk at a yearly salary of twenty-five dollars and, standing for re-election at the expiration of his term of office, was defeated mainly be- cause of the balance of power being held by the Indians, who the day preceding election were treated to a banquet of crackers and lard with a sufficiency of fire-water to make them promise to vote for the opposing can- didate. through whose munificence the feast was prepared and paid for.

Mr. Smith conducted his paper ably and fearlessly and hesitated not to expose fraud or corruption wherever it might be found, and no man, whatever his social standing or official station, escaped censure if he mer- ited it. The consequence of this independ- ent course was made manifest the second year by a suit for libel in which the editor proved his charges and came off victorious and from that time on his record as a fighter was firmly established, in addition to which he also won an enviable reputation as a formidable, though honorable, antagonist in discussing the leading public and political issues of the day. While his paper contin- ued to grow in favor and gain a large and lucrative patronage, he gradually lost the publication of tax sales and other legal and official business by reason of new papers being started in adjacent counties, thus tak- ing from him one of the surest sources of income. His interest in political matters, however, soon made him an influential fac- tor in his party, and it was not long until he was elected county clerk, which office he

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 43

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