Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 45

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

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In 1866 Major Green entered the law department of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, where he completed the pre- scribed course and was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1868, receiving the de-

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gree of Bachelor of Laws. The Major has stated that his ideal star beckoned him to the west but his practical monitor led him to northern Michigan and to cast in his lot with the pioneers of "Charlevoix, the Beau- tiful," where he took up his abode in May, 1868, and where he has ever since main- tained his home. In his professional work Major Green is the pioneer member of the Charlevoix county bar. He has been called upon to serve in various positions of trust and responsibility. Thus it may be noted that he was incumbent in turn of the offices of prosecuting attorney, circuit-court com- missioner and county treasurer. He served as a member of the state legislature, as representative in 1873-4-5. And for four years was deputy collector of customs. His loyalty to Charlevoix has been of the most insistent order and every measure looking to the advancement of the welfare of the town has received his support and co-opera- tion. He was the first editor of the Charle- voix Sentinel. In politics the Major has ever accorded a stanch and uncompromising allegiance to the Republican party. In a fraternal way we find him consistently affil- iated with the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, in which latter order he is identified with the commandery of the state of Michigan, while he is also a valued and appreciative member of the Masonic fraternity, being past master of the Charle- voix lodge and past high priest of the local chapter of Royal Arch Masons, while he is a charter member of Ivanhoe Command- ery, No. 36, Knights Templar, and warden of Christ church, Episcopal Mission in Char- levoix, of the diocese of western Michi- gan; while it is interesting to note in this

connection that Rt. Rev. George D. Gil- lespie, the venerable and loved bishop of the diocese, has for a number of years past been numbered among those who pass the sum- mers in Charlevoix, one of the most attract- ive of the many resorts of northern Michi- gan, the good bishop conducting divine services during July and August, annually.

In 1868 was solemnized the marriage of Major Green to Miss Luena A. Matthews, of Ann Arbor, this state, and she was sum- moned into eternal rest in 1886, leaving five children, Fred, Margaret, Irma, Edna and Guy. In 1888 Major Green consummated a second marriage, being then united to Mrs. Genevra (Barnes) Guyles, of Manitowoc. Wisconsin.

ROBERT W. KANE.

The subject of this sketch is known as a man of marked erudition and practical abil- ity as a lawyer and as one who has achieved success in his profession because he has worked for it. His prestige at the bar of Charlevoix county stands in evidence of his ability and likewise serves as voucher for intrinsic worth of character, as he has di- rected his energies in legitimate channels, while his career has been based upon the assumption that nothing save industry. per- severance, sturdy integrity and fidelity to duty will lead to success. The profession of law offers no opportunities except to such determined spirits, and Mr. Kane has made a place for himself and is known as one of the representative members of the bar of this section of Michigan, being engaged in practice in the city of Charlevoix.

Mr. Kane was born in Galesburg, Kane

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county, Illinois. on the 5th day of June, 1856, and is a son of Robert S. Kane, who was a farmer by vocation, passing the closing years of his life in Kalamazoo county, Michigan. Our subject was a mere boy at the time of his removal to Kalamazoo county, where he was reared on the farm and received his pre- liminary educational discipline in the dis- trict schools. Through close application to his studies he finally made himself eligible for matriculation in Kalamazoo College, where he was graduated as a member of the · class of 1879, receiving the degree of Bache- lor of Arts. After his graduation he took up the study of law under the preceptorship of Judge A. C. Briggs and Hon. Charles S. May, distinguished members of the bar of Kalamazoo county. He made excellent prog- ress in his technical reading and in 1888 was admitted to the bar of the state, in Char- levoix county, having here taken up his resi- dence in the year 1880. Here he had been for a time an assistant and student in the law office of J. Milo Eaton, while later he was with Judge F. W. Mayne. From 1884 until 1889 he was identified with the real- estate and insurance business. In the latter year he initiated the individual practice of his profession, to which he had previously given somewhat of his attention while in partnership with Judge Mayne, and he has built up a large and representative legal busi- ness, conducting a general practice in the state and United States courts, while he has been concerned in much important litigation in this section and is retained as counsel by a number of leading corporations and influen- tial citizens. He has a large and select law library and is a close student of his profes- sion, being well grounded in the erudition of the science of jurisprudence and being

known as an able trial lawyer and safe coun- selor. He is a loyal and public-spirited citi- zen and is held in high esteem professionally and socially. He still continues to carry on a successful business in the handling of real estate and is agent for a number of leading companies, but these enterprises are held subordinate to his law practice. He is a member of the Charlevoix County Historical Society and takes much interest in its work and objects and also in literary pursuits, be- ing a student of the best literature and read- ing widely and with much discrimination.

In the year 1884 Mr. Kane was united in marriage to Miss A. Flora Hart, of Ionia, this state, and they have two children, For- rest H. and Doris E. Mrs. Kane is a tal- ented musician and is a popular teacher of music, while she is organist of the Baptist church, of which she is a valued member.

DARWIN F. MEECH.

The able and popular county clerk of Charlevoix county figures as the subject of this brief sketch. Mr. Meech is a son of Frederick J. Meech, of whom specific men- tion is made on another page of this work, so that a recapitulation of the family history is not demanded at this juncture, as ready reference may be made to the article noted.

Darwin F. Meech was born in Shelburn, Vermont, on the 9th of March, 1867, and as to the conditions of his boyhood days it may be stated that he was reared principally in the state of Michigan, where his parents took up their residence when he was about four years of age. He secured his early edu- cational training in the public schools and

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supplemented this by attending a Sweden- borgian school in Waltham, Massachusetts, and the Orchard Lake Military Academy, on the lake of that name near Pontiac, Mich- igan, where he remained four years. After leaving school he became a clerk in the of- fice of the register of deeds of Charlevoix county, his father being the register at the time, and in this capacity and under the regime of his father he was employed in turn at four different places, Charlevoix, East Jordan, Bay Springs and Boyne City. Thereafter he was for one year employed as bookkeeper in the office of the Charlevoix Manufacturing Company, and then he be- came associated with his father in the flor- ist's business at Charlevoix, special atten- tion being given to the growing of tuberous begonias and to the development of new hybrid varieties of the same. With this en- terprise he was identified until the spring of 1900, when the business was sold out by his father. In that year our subject served as township and village assessor and also as supervisor of Charlevoix township, and he resigned the last mentioned position upon being elected to his present office, that of county clerk, in the autumn of 1900, while he has ever since been continued in the of- fice by successive re-elections, having shown distinctive discrimination in the handling of the affairs of the clerk's office and having done much to facilitate and improve the ser- vice and to systematize the records, his ad- ministration having gained to him unmis- takable popular approval, as it attested by his retention in office. Mr. Meech is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Re- publican party and is an active worker in its local ranks. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, hav-

ing been for the past six years keeper of rec- ords and seals in the local lodge, and with the Knights of the Maccabees.

In 1887 Mr. Meech was united in mar- riage to Miss Minnie E. Lewis, daughter of Mrs. John Nichols, of Charlevoix, and they have one daughter, Caro F. C., who was born in 1892 and who is at the present time a student in the public schools of Charlevoix. The subject affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal church, though not a member.

EDWARD B. WARD.

On another page of this work is incor- porated a resume of the life history of John Ward, the honored father of the subject of this sketch and one of the sterling pioneers of Charlevoix county. As he is the senior member of the firm of Ward & Ward, his associate being him whose name appears above, due description has been given of the large and important enterprise conducted by the firm in the handling of agricultural ma- chinery, implements, wagons and general farm supplies, so that in this connection it is unnecessary to recapitulate in the mat- ter of genealogical or business data, giving instead an outline of the career of the son, who is one of the representative business men of Charlevoix county, where he has passed practically his entire life.

Edward B. Ward was born on the old homestead farm, in Marion township, this county, on the 24th of August, 1868, and he still owns a portion of this tract of land, which was secured by his father so many years ago, when this section was essentially an unbroken forest wild, while he also is the

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owner of another valuable farm, of eighty acres, in the same township. He devotes the major portion of his attention to the demands of his business in Charlevoix, but retains an active supervision of his farming interests, having long been prominent in connection with agricultural affairs in the county, especially in the work of the Grange, as will be duly noted in a later par- agraph. Mr. Ward was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm, early beginning to contribute his quota to its work, while his preliminary educational discipline was se- cured in the district schools, being supple- mented by further study in the public schools of Charlevoix and by the lessons gained by personal application and exper- ience. He continued to reside on the farm until a few years later, since which time he has maintained his home in Charlevoix, where he enjoys unstinted regard and popu- larity in both business and social circles. In politics he accords allegiance to the Repub- lican party but he has never been ambitious for public office, though taking a deep in- terest in the promotion of the party cause. For the past eighteen years Mr. Ward has been identified with the Grange, in which he has been a prominent and valued worker. For nine years he served as master of Barn- ard and Marion Center Grange, and for sev- eral years he also had the distinction of be- ing incumbent of the office of master of the Pomona or county Grange, while for four years he was one of the overseers of the state Grange. He is at the present time mas- ter of the subordinate and county Granges and a deputy at large of the state Grange. He was local deputy for several years and took a very active part in lecture and organ- ization work in the order, having effected the organization of more than fifty local

Granges in the northern part of the state, while he did much visitation work, infusing new life and vigor into the various local organizations and bringing utmost harmony into the work in general. He is well known to the agricultural representatives of this section of Michigan and enjoys marked popularity wherever he is known. Fra- ternally Mr. Ward is a Mason and a Wood- man, while his religious affiliation is with the Methodist church.

On June 15, 1893, Mr. Ward was united in marriage to Miss Annie Meggison, who was born in the province of Ontario, Can- ada, whence she came with her parents to Charlevoix county and of this union has been born one child, Edna.

JOHN WARD.

The publishers of this work take dis- tinctive pleasure in incorporating in the same a resume of the career of this honored pio- neer of Charlevoix county. Mr. Ward was one of the first settlers of Marion township, where he developed a fine farm in the midst of the virgin forests, living up to the full tension of the pioneer epoch and ably play- ing his part in carrying forward the work of improvement and progress in both civic and material affairs. He has long been an in- fluential factor in county affairs, has served in the highest offices of local trust and has ever retained the unqualified confidence and regard of the people of this favored section, being now engaged in the agricultural im- plement and machinery business in the city of Charlevoix, as senior member of the firm of Ward & Ward.

Mr. Ward settled in Marion township

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in the year 1866, the district at the time be- the poor of the county, having charge of the ing practically a sylvan wilderness with no roads or other evidences of civilization save for a few primitive cabins of the little band of pioneers. Among those who were his contemporaries in settling in the township may be mentioned William Black, who still resides there, having come to the county about a year prior to the arrival of our sub- ject; William Vosburg, who was probably the first permanent settler in the township; William Graham and William Burns, the latter still residing on the old homestead, having been a boy at the time when his father, the late Barney Burns; while other pioneer representatives of the township are Joseph Clark, Robert Matchett, Myron Geer, Isaac Eager, George Cooper, the late Michael Nowland, and the William Gregory family. The early settlers found their task a strenuous one, while they were deprived of the many conveniences and associations which are now in evidence in this section. Their names merit honorable mention in any and every work touching the history of the county, for they were numbered among the founders and the upbuilders of its industrial and civic superstructure.

John Ward is a native of the province of Ontario, Canada, having been born on a farm in Hastings county, on the 15th of Jan- uary, 1841, while he was there reared to maturity, receiving a common-school educa- tion and continuing to assist in the work of the old home place until he had attained to his legal majority. In 1863 he went to Lockport, New York, and in that vicinity he was engaged in farm work until 1865. when he came to Michigan, securing work in Oak- land county, in the employ of John H. But- ton, who was at the time superintendent of

county farm. While thus engaged Mr. Ward chanced to form the acquaintance of William Atchison, who was then a resident of Marion township, Charlevoix county, whence he had gone to Oakland county to sell evergreen trees which were shipped in from his home county. This worthy pioneer induced Mr. Ward to come north and he arrived in Charlevoix county in the autumn of 1866, in company with another young man, making the trip by boat from Detroit, the vessel being the "Fountain City." The boat touched at Charlevoix, where the firm of Fox & Rose had a dock, constructed for the purpose of supplying the various vessels with necessary fuel, and here Mr. Ward and his companion each took up a farm. Mr. Ward secured one hundred and twenty acres of railroad land in Marion township, at a stipulated rate of five dollars an acre. He secured this tract as a squatter's claim, as it was not yet for sale, but eventually he se- cured the land at the price mentioned, though the railroad company was at the time holding the general price up to six dollars an acre. At the time of thus becoming a landholder of the county Mr. Ward's cash capital was represented in the sum of twen- ty-five dollars, and the major portion of this was applied as a preliminary payment on his land. His embryonic farm was located in section 15, Marion township, four and one- half miles south of Charlevoix, which city was then represented by a few small houses in the woods. After thus establishing him- self as a permanent settler Mr. Ward, in company with three other men, engaged in cutting wood at Norwood, receiving one and one-half dollars per cord. Provisions at that time commanded very high prices, pork sell-

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ing at forty dollars a barrel, flour at fifteen dollars a barrel, tea at two dollars a pound, and other commodities in proportion, so that the pioneers had no sinecure in providing themselves with even the absolute necessities of life. In the spring of 1867 Mr. Ward in- itiated the work of reclaiming his land, erecting upon the place a log shanty, which was covered with basswood boughs for a roof, and this rude domicile served as his abiding place for some time. He thereafter continued to reside on his farm until his re- moval to Charlevoix, many years later, but in the early days he found employment at various occupations aside from his farm, thus earning the funds with which to provide necessities and carry forward the improve- ment of his land, having worked at cutting wood during the winters, while within his first summer in the county he assisted in building a dock at Norwood, for O. D. Wood & Company, for whom he had cut wood the preceding winter. Mr. Ward's first crop on his farm consisted of potatoes, and the next autumn he put in two acres of wheat, having hired a team of Mecosaba,' an old Indian chief at Charlevoix, while three years passed ere he was able to own a team of his own, this being a yoke of oxen. After the first two winters he devoted his attention to clear- ing his own land, and he eventually re- claimed seventy acres to cultivation, while he erected good buildings and made other ex- cellent improvements, continuing to reside on the farm until 1897, when he removed to Charlevoix, where he has since maintained lris home, having an attractive residence here and also owning other village realty. Mr. Ward assisted in cutting through and building the first road in Marion township and otherwise took a prominent part in fur-

thering the work of progress, while he was early called upon to serve in offices of local trust and responsibility, in which connec- tion his career has been one of exceptional prolongation and marked fidelity. In 1871-2 he served as township treasurer, and ever since that time he has been incumbent of some office, so that out of the thirty-five years of his residence in the county he has been an official for thirty-two years, while a significant evidence of the confidence re- posed in him is that offered in the fact that he has never met defeat at the polls. In 1873 he was elected to represent his town- ship on the board of supervisors of the county, and thereafter was re-elected each year for fourteen consecutive years, though he had refused to become a candidate one year, George Cooper having been elected to the office. Mr. Cooper however, removed from the county, and the old and faithful incumbent, Mr. Ward, was appointed to fill out the term, at the expiration of which he was again elected to the office. While still a member of the board of supervisors he was elected county treasurer, in 1887, being chosen as his own successor two years later and thus serving four consecutive years, giving a most able and satisfactory adminis- tration of the fiscal affairs of the county. Thereafter he served two terms, or four years, as register of deeds of the county and eight years as county treasurer. Thereafter he served two years as supervisor of Charle- voix township, and was then elected justice of the peace, of which position he has ever since remained incumbent, while he has made a most excellent record in the connec- tion. He has ever been a stanch adherent of the Republican party and has been one of its leaders in Charlevoix county, serving as

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delegate to the local conventions and doing much to further the party cause in this sec- tion.

In April, 1900,- Mr. Ward became iden- tified with his present business enterprise, entering into partnership with his son Ed- ward B., under the firm name of Ward & Ward, and engaging in dealing in farming implements and machinery, wagons and other farm supplies, while the firm also own a half interest in the business conducted under the title of the Benjamin Brown Har- ness Company. They have a ware house thirty-two by thirty-five feet in dimensions, two stories in height. The enterprise has been successful from its inception, and each year's business has doubled that of the pre- ceding, so that the concern is one which has done much to further the commercial and industrial precedence of Charlevoix, the firm being the only exclusive dealers in ag- ricultural machinery and implements in this city. Mr. Ward has a wide circle of friends in this section and to him is accorded the fullest measure of popular confidence, for his record has been one unsullied by equivocation in thought. word or deed during all the long years of his residence in Charlevoix county. Fraternally he is a Mason and religiously a member of the Methodist church.

In Marion township, in the year 1867, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ward to Miss Lydia A. Nowland, daughter of Thomas Nowland, who was likewise one of the first settlers in said township, where he took his residence in 1865, having removed hither from Wayne county. Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ward only four are living, namely : Edward B., of whom individual mention is made else- where in this work; John T., who is a suc-

cessful and representative farmer of Marion township: Mary, who is the wife of L. E. Crandall, of that township ; and Myrtle, who is attending the public schools of Charle- voix at the time of this writing.

OSCAR WATSON.

One of the sterling pioneers and repre- sentative business men of Kalkaska is Mr. Watson, who is engaged in the jewelry business here and who has been a resident of the county since 1879. He is well known in this section and has the confidence and esteem of all, being one of those worthy citizens whom it is a pleasure to accord con- sideration in this historical compilation.

Mr. Watson is a scion of one of the pioneer families of the old Wolverine state and here he has lived during the entire period of his life thus far. He was born at Waterford, Oakland county, Michigan, on the 30th of March, 1837, and is a son of John B. and Harriett (Reed) Watson, who came to the state shortly before its admis- sion to the Union, the father having been one of the early settlers of Oakland county, where he developed a farm and where he and his wife continued to reside until death. The subject of this sketch passed his boy- hood days principally on the farm, being in the town of Waterford a portion of the time. and his educational advantages were such as were afforded in the common schools of the locality. At the age of seventeen he began to learn the jeweler's trade, having no general instruction in a technical way and gaining his knowledge largely by investi- gation and experimentation in an individual

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way, his mechanical talent having early manifested itself in no uncertain way, so that he soon became an expert workman in his chosen line, finally securing the facilities which enabled him to properly round out his knowledge of his trade, while he con- tinued to give more or less of his time to farm work for a number of years after leav- ing the home roof. He has been established in the jewelry business in Kalkaska for more than a score of years past, having inaugu- rated his present enterprise in 1882. He came to the county in 1879 and located on a farm in Orange township, where he re- mained about three years, within which time he reclaimed about thirty acres of his land to cultivation and otherwise made good improvements on the property, dispos- ing of the same upon establishing himself in business in Kalkaska. Prior to locating on the farm mentioned he had followed the work of his trade at intervals, having other- wise been concerned with farming and lum- bering enterprises, and his life has been one of signal industry and consecutive applica- tion, while his course has been directed along the line of inflexible integrity and honor in all the relations of life, so that he has ever held as his own the confidence and good will of his fellow men. Mr. Watson erected his present store building in 1900, and his establishment is attractive in its ap- pointments and in the scope and variety of stock carried, the same including watches, clocks, silverware, jewelry, etc., while the trade controlled is a profitable one and of distinctly representative character. Though never an active factor in public affairs Mr. Watson has ever been a loyal and liberal citizen, and he is unwavering in his al- legiance to the Republican party, whose

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 45

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