USA > Michigan > Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens > Part 52
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In Butler county, Pennsylvania, Mr. Glenn was married to Miss Jane McIlvane, also of Butler county, and to them have been born four children : Reuben R., Alice, Emma and George G.
Reuben was a partner with his father in the store during the time he was engaged in milling. It was started as a very small affair, but gradually increased in capacity and patronage until its annual sales amount to over fifty thousand dollars. The store was disposed of at the time of the sale of the mill and Mr. Glenn, in company with a Mr. Bush who had operated a hoop factory in East Jordan, opened the East Jordan State Bank. The subject has had many thrilling experiences during his early life in Michi- gan and it is related that at one time during the month of December he walked through the woods from Traverse City to Grand Rapids, a compass being his only guide, and spending five nights in the woods. At an- other time he spent five days during a storm on the south shore of Charlevoix, his only food being raw potatoes. In all the relations of life he has signalized his efforts by energy, sound judgment and wise discrimination that has not failed to bring its proportion- ate success and among the business men of this section of Michigan he embraces a well- earned place in the front rank.
ALBERT T. KELLOGG. 1
Albert T. Kellogg, justice of the peace and one of the oldest residents of Kalkaska, also one of the county's leading citizens, is a native of New York state, born in the
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county of Courtland, July 11, 1834. He was reared on the family homestead and assisted with the labor of the same until a young man, when he took up the carpenter's trade, in connection with which he also became skilled as a wagonmaker, besides doing various other kinds of mechanical work. At the breaking out of the great rebellion he entered the service of the government as a bridge builder and at the close of the war returned to his native state, where he fol- lowed his chosen calling until his removal to northern Michigan in September, 1868. On coming to this state Mr. Kellogg located on Rapid river, about eight miles northwest of Kalkaska, where he took up a homestead and during the ensuing six years lived on the same, reducing a portion of it to cultivation, but devoting the greater part of his atten- tion to carpentry, for which there was then a wide demand. He erected a number of houses and other edifices in different parts of the county, many of which still stand as monuments to his mechanical skill, among them being the large flouring mill at Elk Rapids which was built under his direction.
In 1874 Mr. Kellogg discontinued his trade and started a general store at Elk Rapids, his establishment being the first business house of any importance in the place, his only predecessor having been a dealer in notions, whose trade was about as limited as his stock. Mr. Kellogg soon built up an extensive and lucrative business and continued the same for a period of twenty years, the greater part of the time as sole proprietor of the establishment, but for awhile he was associated with A. C. Beebe in the grocery trade and later formed a part- nership in the same line of merchandise with G. W. Wooden. In connection with his mercantile interests he was engaged for three
or four years in the manufacture of shingles, which enterprise proved quite profitable and added materially to his income while it lasted.
Mr. Kellogg early became a leader in the public affairs of Kalkaska, and took an active and influential part in promoting the ma- terial advancement of the town and adjacent country. Shortly after the organization of Kalkaska county he was elected prosecuting attorney and served as such with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the peo- ple for one term, during which he tried a number of cases in the courts besides doing a great deal of general legal business. He had previously studied law and was well fitted to attend to the duties of his office, but at the expiration of his term he abandoned the profession in order to devote his atten- tion to the more satisfactory and remuner- ative business of selling goods.
Mr. Kellogg's mercantile career was eminently successful, as is attested by the handsome competence he accumulated while prosecuting the same. Since disposing of his stock he has devoted the greater part of his time to his official duties as justice of the peace, to which position he was elected in 1897 and which he has since held to the entire satisfaction of all who have business to transact in his court. Many important cases involving large financial and other in- terests have been tried before him and so just and equitable have been his decisions that none have suffered reversal at the hands of higher tribunals. His rulings are always fair and impartial, his opinions clear and explicit and his knowledge of the law in all its relations enables him to pronounce judg- ments that seldom fail to be satisfactory to litigants. In his political affiliations Mr. Kellogg is strongly Republican and as such
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has exercised a strong influence in his party, locally and otherwise. For many years he has attended as a delegate the different county, district and state conventions, in all of which bodies his voice has been heard and his influence felt in the making up of tickets and the formulating of policies. His long residence in Kalkaska, which covers a period of thirty-seven consecutive years, has given him wide publicity throughout the northern part of the state and wherever known his name is honored and his character highly es- teemed. His fellowmen repose the utmost confidence in his integrity and as a conse- quence he has been called at different times to positions of honor and trust, in all of which his record has been creditable and above reproach. Fraternally he is a Mason of high standing, having risen to the Royal Arch degree in the order, besides holding important offices in the various branches through which he has passed Mr. Kellogg's first wife, whom he married in Ontario, and who died in 1895, after a residence of twenty-five years in Kalkaska, was Miss J. Thompson, a native of Canada. Sometime after her death he contracted a matrimonial alliance with Mrs. Sarah Sargent, who de- parted this life after a brief but happy wed- ded experience of two years' duration, and later he took another companion in the per- son of Miss Ann Sprague, who died two years after entering marriage relation. Mr. Kellogg's present wife was formerly Mrs. Sarah Raby, of Ionia county, Michigan, whose home for a number of years was in the town of Belding. Mr. Kellogg is the father of three children, namely, Mrs. Jen- nie Wooden, Nettie, wife of C. C. Jencks. and Emma, who married Aldis W. Clark, of Kalkaska.
HUGH R. MILLER.
He to whom this sketch is dedicated is a member of one of the oldest and most honored pioneer families of Charlevoix county, and he personally lived up to the full tension of the primitive days when was here initiated the march of civilization, so that there is particular interest attaching to his career, while he stands today as one of the representative citizens of Boyne City.
Mr. Miller was born in the town of Os- wegatchie, St. Lawrence county, New York, on the 14th of February, 1842, and is a son of John and Harriet (Russell) Mil- ler. John Miller was born in county Down, Ireland, and when eleven years of age he came to America with his parents, his father, Hugh Miller, having been of Scotch-Irish lineage and having taken up his residence on a tract of wild land in St. Lawrence county, New York, where John was reared to manhood and where his mar- riage occurred, after which he reclaimed an- other new farm to cultivation. His wife. whose maiden name was Harriet Russell, was born in the province of Ontario, Can- ada, of Irish parentage, and was the guest of relatives in St. Lawrence county, New York. at the time of her marriage. The father of our subject continued to be identi- fied with agricultural pursuits in St. Law- rence county until the autumn of 1856. when he came to Charlevoix county, Mich- igan, and identified himself with the for- tunes of its pioneers. He had previously visited in 1837, in which year was held the constitutional convention which led to its admission to the Union in that year. After his return home he read interesting letters from John S. Dickson and Rev. Steele, who
HUGH R. MILLER.
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had located in the northern part of Michi- gan, and this led him to cast in his fortunes with the early settlers of Charlevoix county. He came to Northport, Leelanau county, where he met Mr. Dickson, who was wait- ing there for sufficient wind to bear his sail- boat to Pine lake, where he was to assume charge of an Indian mission. His descrip- tion of the country about this lake proved the inducement which caused John Miller to come to this locality. He made the in- itial trip on the sailboat, with Mr. Dick- son, and in another boat his two sons found transportation, Hugh R. being fifteen years of age at the time, while his brother, James R., was nearly two years younger. The party reached what is now known as Charlevoix on the 26th of October, 1856, and on the 14th of the following month they arrived at the head of Pine lake, in Charlevoix county. Mormon families had taken up squatter claims at the head of the lake and also on the site of the present village of Ad- vance, while another representative of the "Latter Day Saints" was found on Hor- ton's bay. In that same year these Mor- mons were driven from the country by other white settlers, who did not approve of their doctrines or their habits, and thus their little cabins were left vacant, the one near the head of the lake furnishing a domi- cile for the Miller family during the first winter. The original trip was made on an old fishing boat, but near the cabin was found a log canoe, which was thereafter utilized in making the trips to Charlevoix. The primitive cabin mentioned was situated in the immediate vicinity of the site of the present plant of the Boyne City Chemical Works. In the early days the family se- cured provisions principally from Petoskey, 26
sixteen miles distant, and the goods were usually "packed" to their destination on the backs of Mr. Miller and his sons. For six weeks after locating in the cabin the family did not see a single person aside from their own number. For a few days John Miller found employment with Andrew Porter, Indian missionary at Bear creek, the site of the present city of Petoskey, receiving sev- enty-five cents per day and his board in recompense for his services. The Millers had been in their cabin home for six weeks before they learned of the comparatively near residence of Mr. Porter, the informa- tion having been given them by two In- dians, who chanced to be in the vicinity. John Miller and the subject at once took the trail and made the trip to the home of Mr. Porter, utilizing snowshoes for the journey. In the spring of 1857 the Millers put in one- half bushel of seed corn and some potatoes on their place, while they also planted two bushels of spring wheat on the clearing made by the Mormons, utilizing a hoe for the planting. All of these crops turned out well, twenty-nine bushels of wheat being se- cured, and four bushels of the same being retained for seed. During the first winter the family utilized potatoes which the Mor- mon settlers had planted, the same being covered with a foot of snow, while so ex- cellent was the crop that two persons could dig five bushels an hour.
On the 17th of June, 1857, Hugh R. Miller entered the employ of Andrew Por- ter, securing one hundred and fifty dollars the first year and one hundred and seventy- five the second, while he applied his entire earnings to the general fund of his family, his father also being employed by Mr. Por- ter during a portion of the time, while dur-
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ing the remainder, with the assistance of his younger son, continued the work of clearing their land and placing it under cultivation. The family resided in the Mormon cabin until the fall of 1862, when they erected a more commodious log house, near the old cabin. The father had originally secured his land by pre-emption, but when the homestead law went into effect, in January, 1863, he took advantage of the same, filing a homestead claim on the 14th of February, for a tract of eighty acres. Our subject cel- ebrated his twenty-first birthday on the same date, and in honor of his new dignity filed entry on a homestead claim the same day, making a trip on foot to Traverse City for the purpose. He crossed the south arm of Pine lake to Antrim City, on Lake Michi- gan, and thence made his way down the coast, in company with David Parish, of East Jordan. Theirs were the first filings on land at the upper end of either arm of Pine lake, and the Miller family was the first to come to extreme head of the lake, Hugh R. secured land adjoining that of his father, and up to this time he had been in the employ of Mr. Porter much of the time, while he and his brother passed the winters in trapping mink and martin, from which source they secured a nice income each sea- son1. John Miller, the father of the subject and one of the sterling pioneers of this sec- tion, lived to witness the development of the county with which he so early identified himself, and he was summoned to the life eternal on the 8th day of May, 1896, hav- ing been a resident of Charlevoix county for thirty-nine years and having been eighty- five years of age at the time of his death. His cherished and devoted wife passed away on the 31st of January, 1898, at the
age of seventy years. John Miller became one of the prominent and successful farmers of the county, and in 1869 he was made postmaster of Boyne, three-fourths of a mile cast of the present postoffice of Boyne City. This was at the time of the establish- ing of the office here, and the mail was brought from Traverse City to Petoskey, and thence by way of Central lake and the south arm of Pine lake to its destination, while the carriers were principally Indians, who made their trips principally on foot. One of the earliest of these faithful carriers was an Indian named Mitchell LeCroix, and he is now living in the vicinity of the village of Advance. Mr. Miller served as post- master about ten years and he also remained incumbent of the office of treasurer of Evangeline township for a number of years commanding the high regard of all who knew him. He was a Republican in his political proclivities but was not a very active party worker. Both he and his wife were reared in the faith and practice of the Presbyterian church, of which the latter was a member. Of their two children the subject of this sketch was the elder. His brother, James R., was drowned in Pine lake, near Boyne City. while skating, his death occurring in 1869. at which time he was twenty-six years and thirteen days old. He never married and continued to reside with his parents until his death, though for a time he gave his at- tention principally to the running of a sail- boat, the "Union Jack," on Pine lake.
Hugh R. Miller, to whom this sketch is dedicated, secured a good common-school education and, as before stated, was fifteen years of age at the time of the family re- moval to Charlevoix county. For two years
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he conducted a small general store at Bay Springs, about one-half mile distant from his home, but he devoted his attention prin- cipally to the development and cultivation of his farm. He cleared about eighty acres of land and also built several miles of state roads through his home county,-notably three miles of the Charlevoix and Petoskey road. In 1868 he was elected the first su- pervisor of Evangeline township, in which but twelve votes were cast at the time. By consecutive re-election he continued incum- bent of this office about ten years. The first township clerk was George W. Biggs and the first treasurer was Isaac Willis, Sr., while the township as originally constituted was of much greater area than at present. Mr. Miller gives a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, but for the past several years he has not been active in its work. His father platted the original village of Bay Springs and the subject still retains the ownership of a portion of the plat. He has also platted an addition of about thirty acres to Bay Springs, and in the same are most attractive residence properties, while a num- ber of fine lots are still on the market, offer- ing desirable investments. On the addition are also located several of the principal man- ufacturing plants of the town. Mr. Miller also owns a well-improved farm of eighty- two acres in Wilson township, on the south side of the lake and within sight of his pres- ent attractive home place.
On the 16th of August, 1876, Mr. Mil- ler was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe J. Cady, who was born in Ingham county, Michigan, being a daughter of George A. Cady, who was one of the early settlers of Evangeline township, where he took up his residence about 1871, becoming one of the
influential citizens of Charlevoix county. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have one daughter, Harriet A., who remains at the parental home, being the wife of Edward Lorch, to whom she has borne a daughter, Vera, who was born on June 1, 1903.
WILLIAM J. PEARSON.
Sheriff of Charlevoix county and one of the representative business men of northern Michigan, William J. Pearson is a native of Ontario and a son of James and Esther (Demary) Pearson, the father born in Eng- land, the mother in the state of New York. By occupation James Pearson was a farmer, which calling he followed in Canada until 1870, when he moved his family to Oakland county, Michigan. After a few years' resi- dence in that part of the state he changed his abode to Barry county, thence about 1883 came to the county of Charlevoix and set- tled on a tract of unimproved land in Chan- dler township, where in due time he de- veloped a good farm on which he spent the remainder of his days and which is still owned and occupied by his widow and two sons. Mr. Pearson devoted all of his life to agricultural pursuits, provided comfort- ably for his family and at the time of his death, May 29, 1904, owned two hundred acres of valuable land, the greater part of which is in cultivation and otherwise well improved. He was a quiet, law-abiding citi- zen, stood high in the esteem and confidence of his neighbors and friends and for a num- ber of years ranked among the successful farmers and progressive men of his adopted county.
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William J. Pearson was born May 10, pated, he disposed of his interests at the 1860, near the city of London, Ontario, and spent the first ten years of his life on the family homestead in that country. In 1870 he accompanied his parents upon their re- moval to Oakland county, Michigan, and for several years following worked on the farm and attended the public schools, a part of the time being devoted to study in a select school where his advancement was in every re- spect rapid and commendable. Later he went to Barry county, where he still further prosecuted his education and in 1881 came to the county of Charlevoix, where he spent the ensuing three winters teaching in the public schools, devoting the other months to farm labor on the home place. While thus engaged he was elected treasurer of Chan- dler township and about the same time the office of township supervisor was thrust upon him, the two positions in connection with his work of teaching making the burden of his public duties anything but easy or at- tractive. Mr. Pearson held the office of supervisor during the county seat struggle and was the youngest member of the board that took part in the settlement of the con- troversy. He discharged his official func- tions very efficiently and, notwithstanding his youth, soon won the esteem and con- ficence of the people of his jurisdiction so that they have ever since regarded him fa- vorably as a custodian for important public interests.
At the expiration of the time noted, Mr. Pearson engaged in merchandising at Boyne Falls and during the seven years following gave his attention to that and other lines of business, among which the lumbering in- terest was by no means overlooked. Fail- ing to realize the success which he antici-
above place and became traveling salesman for an agricultural implement company, in which capacity he traversed the northern part of the state, establishing a large and lucrative trade for the firm. He soon won the confidence of his employers, the result being his promotion to a higher and more responsible position, which in addition to his own duties as salesman included the over- sight of fifty other men, scattered through- out an extensive territory, to visit all of whom required not only extraordinary energy, but a familiarity with every detail of the implement business and tact in the management of subordinates such as few possess. With a steady position at a liberal salary, Mr. Pearson might have done well, but like so many traveling men, all "hale fellows well met," he formed associations whose influence was by no means helpful, but on the contrary detrimental in that they led him into certain excesses of appetite which not only had a bad moral effect, but drained his purse as well. Realizing in what such a mode of life would eventually result unless checked in time, he finally broke away from his questionable associates and evil sur- roundings and, turning over a new leaf, started on the sure way which leads to up- right manhood and material prosperity. After the death of his wife, which occurred while he was on the road, he resigned his position and returned to Chandler township, where he went to work with redoubled dili- gence to recuperate from the financial dif- ficulties into which he had unfortunately fallen. In 1896 he embarked in the lumber business, purchasing a tract of land in the eastern part of the county from which he cut the timber, realizing a handsome profit
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on the investment. Later he bought other tracts which when denuded of timber were sold at liberal margins and in this way he continued lumbering until his business as- sumed large proportions and compared fa- vorably with that of any other lumber man or firm in the county of Charlevoix. With- out narrating in detail the growth of Mr. Pearson's operations and the remarkable success which he achieved in all of his under- takings suffice it to say that a large amount of valuable land passed through his hands and that his mill at Boyne Falls was operated at its full capacity for a number of years, his business in all of its phases finally re- sulting in the accumulation of an ample for- tune and placing him among the financially strong and reliable men of his part of the state. At this time he owns a fine three- hundred-acre farm at Boyne Falls, and valu- able real estate in other parts of the county, in addition to which he has large business interests at the above place, being president of the Northern Brick Company, besides dealing quite extensively in wood, lime, ce- ment and all kinds of building material in the city of Charlevoix. His lumber business, which is still of large magnitude, takes in a wide range, extending to the north shore, and is being conducted at this time under the name of Pearson & See, a firm whose reputation for honorable dealing as well as for successful operations is widely and favorably known among the business circles of Michigan and other states.
Reference has already been made to Mr. Pearson's interest in politics and his activity and influence as a public official. In 1897 he was re-elected supervisor of Chandler township and made chairman of the board and the next year he was again chosen his own successor, to be followed the ensuing
fall by the higher and more responsible posi- tion of register of deeds, to which he was elected by an overwhelming majority and the duties of which he discharged in an able and satisfactory manner for a period of two years. In 1899 Mr. Pearson was further honored by being elected sheriff of Charle- voix county, which office he is now filling with credit and satisfaction, demonstrating a high order of ability in the discharge of his functions and by an earnest and sincere regard for the public welfare he is daily win- ning a deeper and more lasting place 'in the confidence of his fellow citizens. As a politician Mr. Pearson is eminently honored and as an organizer and leader his methods, though skillful, shrewd and far-reaching in their influence and results, have ever been above those of the mere professional partisan. He is now serving on his sixth year as chairman of the Republican central committee, during which time the party's af- fairs have been so ably conducted as to pre- clude the possibility of any Democratic candidate in the county being elected, his record as a successful campaigner earning for him a conspicuous place among the best Republican chairmen of the state. He is a practical politician in the broadest and best sense of the term, being familiar with the history and policies of the different parties, thoroughly conversant with the leading questions and issues of the day and by keep- ing in close touch with the leading Repub- licans of his county and state he has exerted an influence in political circles second to that of few of his contemporaries. While zealous in the defense of his principles and convictions and an indefatigable and uncom- promising fighter, Mr. Pearson, as already indicated, never stoops to low or disreputable practices, which fact has made him an
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