USA > Michigan > Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens > Part 53
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honorable foe and gained him the good will of his political adversaries. By a straight- forward, manly course he has won the re- spect of the people of the county irrespective of party affiliation and the ability and faith- fulness which he has displayed in positions of honor and trust bespeak for him wider recognition and brighter public laurels in years to come than have characterized his career in the past.
At the age of twenty-four Mr. Pearson contracted a matrimonial alliance with Miss Emily A. Barner, of Boyne Falls, who de- parted this life just four months after the marriage ceremony was solemnized. Later he married Miss Nellie Cameron, of Boyne Falls, who died after a happy wedded ex- perience of eight years, leaving three chil- dren whose names are Tatie, Alex and Nina. Mr. Pearson's present wife was formerly Miss Florence Dillon, of Detroit, the union being blessed with one child, a daughter by the name of Helen. Fraternally Mr. Pear- son is a member of the Masonic brotherhood, in which he has risen to the Royal Arch de- gree and in which he has been elected to high official positions at different times. He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Pythian fraternity and the Knights of the Maccabees, in all of which he is not only an active worker, but a living exemplification of the principles for which they stand.
LISLE SHANAHAN.
Among the able young members of the legal profession in the county and city of Charlevoix is the subject of this brief sketch,
who has here proven himself worthy of precedence and who has gained a represent- ative clientage.
Mr. Shanahan is a native of the Wolver- ine state, having been born on a farm in Ontwa township, Cass county, Michigan, on the 28th of September, 1875, and being a son of Kim and Alice (Jacks) Shanahan, who still maintain their home there, the father being a prosperous and influential farmer of that section. Our subject was reared to the grateful and sturdy discipline of the farm and secured his preliminary edu- cational training in the district schools, while at the age of nineteen years he was graduated in the high school at Edwards- burg, Michigan. He put his scholastic at- tainments to practical test by engaging in teaching in the schools of Cass county, con- tinuing to be thus actively identified with the pedagogic profession until 1896, in the autumn of which year he was matriculated in the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he com- pleted the prescribed course and was gradu- ated as a member of the class of 1899, re- ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws and being simultaneously admitted to the bar of his native state. In the meanwhile he con- tinued to teach school, having thus gained the funds which enabled him to prosecute his law studies, and after leaving the university he taught for one year in the village schools of Edwardsburg, Cass county, finding it necessary to thus fortify his financial re- sources before entering upon the active prac- tice of his profession. In the summer of 1900 he came to Elk Rapids, Antrim county, intending to locate there, but through the kindly interest and advice of Fitch R. Wil- liams he was induced to come to Charlevoix,
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where he entered the office vacated by Judge Mayne, and served his brief professional novitiate.
He located in Charlevoix on the 9th of June, 1900, and has built up a good practice and made an excellent record as a trial law- yer as well as counselor, while he has won a wide circle of friends here, being well satis- fied with his field of labor, both in a profes- sional and social way. He has been con- cerned in important litigations and among the specially notable cases in which he has appeared may be mentioned that when the village council decided to demand electric meters to be used by private consumers he appeared for the citizens and enjoined the council, securing an injunction and duly winning the case. The next council ap- pointed him to the office of city attorney, of which he is incumbent at the time of this writing, while he has given excellent service in the connection, adding materially to his professional prestige. He prepared the reso- lution providing for the installing of the sewerage system and for street paving. Mr. Shanahan is also attorney for the township and is township clerk for Charlevoix town- ship. As township attorney he recently won a noteworthy victory for the township in securing a decision that the operators of tugs must use due vigilance in avoiding contact with the Pine river bridge. In politics our subject accords an unqualified allegiance to the Republican party, and he has served as delegate to state and local conventions, tak- ing a deep interest in the furthering of the party cause. In a fraternal way he is af- filiated with the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of the World and the Knights of the Maccabees. He has been af- flicted with rheumatic difficulties from the
age of fourteen years and when he came to Charlevoix was compelled to utilize crutches, but he is now able to use two canes instead.
In the village of Petersburg, on the 28th of November, 1901, Mr. Shanahan was united in marriage to Miss Mary Dunham, who was at the time a successful and popu- lar teacher in the Charlevoix schools, being a graduate of the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti. She is a member of the Congregational church and also of the Bay View Literary Society, and is prominent in the social circles of Charlevoix.
JOHN H. F. LETHERBY.
There is no calling, however humble, in which enterprise and industry, coupled with a well-directed purpose, will not be produc- tive of some measure of success and in the pursuit of agriculture the qualities men- tioned are especially essential. Under cer- tain circumstances a farmer lacking them may eke out an existence, but he who would be eminently successful must possess a definite aim and must persevere in the pur- suit of his purpose. John H. F. Letherby. of section 32, Clearwater township, Kal- kaska county, Michigan, in a successful career as a husbandman, has clearly dem- onstrated what an enterprising and in- dustrious man can accomplish. He was born in North Devon, England, on November 30. 1835, and lived there until he was sixteen years old, when, in 1851, he accompanied his parents, John and Mary (Hunt) Letherby, to Canada. The subject located in Oxford county, where he was engaged in working at masonry and building until the
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autumn of 1865, when he came to Elk Rapids, Michigan, and during one winter engaged in trapping and hunting. In 1866 he took up the homestead on which he now resides and has continuously made this his home. The place originally comprised eighty acres, but has been added to until it now aggregates one hundred and twenty acres, of which about fifty acres are under cultivation. In 1892 Mr. Letherby lost his farm buildings by fire, but rebuilt in a more substantial manner than before. Besides carrying on farming operations, Mr. Leth- erby has found both pleasure and profit in trapping, having secured a vast number of fine furs and pelts. He is up-to-date and progressive in everything to which he turns his hand and has justly earned the title of "enterprising."
In Woodstock. Ontario, Canada, Mr. Letherby was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Lloyd, whose death occurred in Clearwater township on May 13, 1886. To this union were born eight children, namely : John W .; Mary E. is the wife of E. Perrin ; James R. : Emma, who is the wife of John Funk; Rebecca is the wife of James Wood; Irene is the wife of Nelson Treat; Leslie F. and George H. On June 26, 1896, Mr. Letherby was again married, this time to Miss Eliza M. Fox, a native of Ontario. Mr. Letherby has taken an active part in the public affairs of the community in which he lives and has been honored by election to offices of responsibility, having been county coroner, county surveyor, clerk of Clear- water township, justice of the peace for several years, a member of the board of review and township superintendent of schools. His fraternal relationship is with the Free and Accepted Masons, of which he
is a valued member. Mr. Letherby is very generally recognized as a man of good judg- ment and much ability, and the family stands high in popular regard and esteem.
GEORGE KINNEY.
Independence of spirit, enterprise, in- dustry and determination, so essential to a successful career in connection with any vocation, are possessed in an eminent de- gree by the subject of this review, who is a member of and manager for the St. Louis Hoop and Stave Company, at Rapid City, Kalkaska county, Michigan, and who is honored as one of the sterling citizens and representative business men of the place. Mr. Kinney was born in Chatham, province of Ontario, Canada, on the 25th of Janu- ary, 1861, and was reared to manhood in his home neighborhood. He received such an education as could be secured in the dis- trict schools, and upon attaining mature years labored at various occupations. In 1888 he came to St. Louis, Michigan, and entered the employ of the St. Louis Hoop and Stave Company, rising to the position of foreman and remaining with the concern there for ten years. At the end of that time he came to Rapid City in the capacity of general manager of the company's interests here, having become a member of the firm in September, 1898. The hoop and stave industry here is a large one, necessitating the employment of one hundred and ten men when running at full capacity, and the plant is considered one of the leading industries of the town. Mr. Kinney long ago dem- onstrated his capacity as an executive officer
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and the company has made no mistake in A compilation of this nature exercises im- keeping him for so long a period in these responsible positions.
Mr. Kinney was united in marriage, at Ypsilanti, Michigan, to Miss Sybil House- man, a native of this state, and their union, which has proven a most happy and felicitous one, has been blessed by the birth of four children, namely : Lewis C., Arthur A., John F. and Mendana. In politics Mr. Kinney is an ardent Republican, though he is not a seeker after official position. De- spite this fact, his fellow citizens have seen fit to place him in several responsible posi- tions, he having served as school director, a member for three terms of the board of re- view and a school inspector. His fraternal relationship is with the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, retaining his mem- bership in the lodge at Traverse City. Mr. Kinney has ever retained the unequivocal confidence and esteem of his fellow men and is today one of the popular men of his community, while he stands as a worthy example of what is possible of accomplish- ment on the part of one who will apply his best energies and abilities in facing the prob- lems of life.
GEORGE H. KIRKPATRICK.
All are workers in the great vineyard of achievement if they but live up to their po- tentialities, and all such contribute to the progress of our intellectual or industrial life. In view of this fact it cannot be denied that a distinctive value attaches to contemporary biography, for the history of every com- munity is written in the lives of its citizens.
portant functions in that it touches those who have made definite accomplishment in all fields of endeavor, while no record is entered that does not bear its quota of les- son and incentive. He to whom this brief sketch is dedicated is numbered among the successful men of Kalkaska county, Michi- gan, and has acquired a reputation as an apiarist, or keeper of bees. He is a native of Genesee, Henry county, Illinois, where he was born August 21, 1849. His parents were D. L. and Elizabeth (Reid) Kirk- patrick, who were natives of Ohio. Of their four children the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth. When George Kirkpatrick was about three years old the family removed to Preble county, Ohio, and subsequently to Wayne county, Indiana. After his removal to Ohio Mr. Kirkpatrick secured a good practical education in the common schools and was early put to work on the home farm. Soon after his marriage. in 1879, he settled in Preble county, Ohio, and for eight years he followed the business of bee keeping and also engaged in the manufacture of bee-keepers' supplies. He then removed to Randolph county, Indiana; and for eight years was similarly engaged. From Randolph county, Mr. Kirkpatrick came to Kalkaska county, Michigan, in the spring of 1897 and settled in section 21, Clearwater township, where he owns fifty acres of land and carries on general farm- ing in connection with his favorite pursuit. that of an apiarist. He has been very suc- cessful, especially in the latter enterprise, and is now considered one of the leading bee keeps in northern Michigan. His apiaries comprise three hundred colonies of bees, from whose product he has derived a very
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satisfactory income. Of his real estate, forty acres are improved and devoted to the rais- ing of the products usually raised in this sec- tion of the state. Mr. Kirkpatrick has erected a tasty and commodious house on the place and has surrounded himself with all the conveniences to be found in a modern country home. His success as a raiser of bees has given him more than a mere local reputation and he is now president of the Northern Michigan Bee Keepers' Associ- ation and a member of the State Bee Keep- ers' Association and of the National Bee Keepers' Association.
While living in Wayne county, Indiana, Mr. Kirkpatrick was, on December 25, 1879, married to Miss Ellen McClure, a native of Darke county, Ohio, and to them have been born the following children: Vernon H., Odry, Earl, Emery, Reba, Ernest and Ells- worth; one, Cloyd, died in infancy. Fra- ternally, Mr. Kirkpatrick is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry and takes a deep interest in everything affecting the welfare of the agricultural interests of his com- munity. He is progressive in all his under- takings, exceedingly careful and methodical in his business affairs, and in the social world he occupies a deservedly honorable place.
URIAH REYNOLDS.
One of the influential citizens of Kal- kaska township, Kalkaska county, Michi- gan, is the gentleman to whose career at- tention is now directed and it may be said that the agriculturists of the county have no more able representatives. A man of
excellent mental endowments and upright character, he has been a valued factor in local affairs and has ever commanded un- equivocal confidence and esteem. He was born in Wiltshire, England, April 17, 1830, and when he was about eight years old he accompanied a brother and sister to Canada. They located in Ontario, where they re- mained for several years, and then the sub- ject went to Susquehanna county, Pennsyl- vania, where he resided for several years. He then returned to Canada, where he mar- ried and remained until he came to Michi- gan, in the autumn of 1883. At that time he settled on the farm on which he now lives and on which he has since continu- ously resided. He is now the owner of two hundred and forty acres, of which one hun- dred and fifteen are under the plow and in an excellent state of cultivation.
Mr. Reynolds has been twice married. He first married, in Canada, Miss Melissa Woodward, a native of Ontario and of English descent. She died in Canada, and he was subsequently married to Miss Jane Hammond, the ceremony taking place in Norfolk county, Ontario, on September 5, 1882. Mrs. Reynolds was born in Norfolk county on November 30, 1853, and was reared and educated there. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds have three children, namely: R. Morley, A. Herbert and Jennie H. Mr. Reynolds is influential in the public affairs of his township and has held the offices of township treasurer, township clerk and justice of the peace. Fraternally Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are members of the Rapid River Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, while their religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal church. Among their neighbors they are held in high esteem and
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their relations with their neighbors have been such as win and retain the confidence and regard of all with whom they come in contact.
JAMES G. GETTY.
The subject of this review is a gentleman of high standing to whom has not been de- nied a fair measure of success. He is dis- tinctively one of the representative citizens of Clearwater township, Kalkaska county, Michigan, and has long been a recognized factor of importance in connection with the agricultural interests of the county, having been closely identified with the material growth and prosperity.
James G. Getty is a native of the state of Michigan, having been born in Central Lake township, Antrim county, on August 7, 1870. His parents are James and Elizabeth (Willis) Getty, who now reside in Clearwater township, Kalkaska county. They are the parents of three children, of whom the subject is the youngest. When James G. Getty was nine years of age his parents removed to Kalkaska, where they resided four years and then removed to their present home in section 32, Clearwater town- ship. In consequence of these changes the subject's education was obtained in different public schools, but, though in a measure in- terrupted, he acquired a good practical knowledge of the branches constituting the common-school course. The home place comprises one hundred and twenty-seven acres, of which about sixty acres are im- proved and under the plow. Mr. Getty has given close and conscientious attention to the latest theories and practices applying to
improved methods of agriculture, with the result that he has attained the maximum results from the labor expended. Thought- ful attention to details is as essential in soil cultivation as in any other line of activity, and in these things the subject has not been found wanting. His highly cultivated fields and well-kept fences and buildings indicate him to be a man of thrift and good judg- ment.
In politics Mr. Getty is a strong and ardent Republican, taking a deep interest in the success of that party, and in the spring election of 1905 he was elected to the office of supervisor of Clearwater township, which office he is now filling in an efficient and satisfactory manner. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Patrons of Husbandry. Because of his genial disposition and sterling worth, he has gained and retains a host of warm personal friends.
SIMEON WAY.
Any compendium of Kalkaska county's representative citizens would be incomplete without reference to the life and charac- ter of the successful farmer and lumberman of Clearwater township whose name appears at the head of this review. Simeon Way is a native of McGilvery township, Mid- dlesex county, province of Ontario, Canada, his natal day being November 12, 1854. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Wade) Way, the former a native of England and the latter of Canada. They removed from Canada to St. Clair county, Michigan, and in 1870 came to Kalkaska county, Michigan, settling in Clearwater township, where the
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father died, on October 28, 1896, at the age of seventy-six years. The mother died in Benzie county, Michigan, in March, 1900. They had ten children, the subject of this sketch being the third born of this number. Simeon Way came from Canada to St. Clair county with his parents when he was about nine years old, and in October, 1870, came to Clearwater township, Kalkaska county, which has since been his home. He has followed the occupations of farming and lumbering exclusively since coming here, and has been an eye witness of all the wonderful transformation which has taken place in conditions here since his arrival. It may be consistently stated too, that he has been a participant in the work of developing this region, not being content to be merely a spectator. His farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres of good arable land, of which he has improved seventy-two acres. The place contains all the improvements essential to successful agriculture and to every department of his business Mr. Way gives a thoughtful and careful attention.
In Whitewater township, Grand Trav- erse county, this state, on February 25. 1880, Mr. Way wedded Miss Hattie M. Dean, who was born in that township on July 25. 1860, the daughter of James and Mary (Horton) Dean. Her father died in Whitewater township, Grand Traverse county, January 21, 1897, aged seventy-six years. To Mr. and Mrs. Way have been born nine children, of whom five are living, namely : Mary E., Arthur H., Charles F., George M. and Ella M. Of the deceased children, all died in early life excepting James R., who died July 15, 1902, at the age of twenty years. Mr. Way has taken a live interest in local public affairs and has
held the school offices and those of con- stable and highway commissioner. Mr. and Mrs. Way are both interested in all religious and charitable organizations and movements, lending their aid to any policy that tends to the upbuilding of the best interests of the community. Mr. Way is one of the repre- sentative farmers of Clearwater township and it may be said to his further credit and honor that he has been the architect of his own fortune and that he has won success by indefatigable effort, and has had an able coadjutor in his devoted wife, to whose aid and counsel he attributes much of the pros- perity which is his today.
LEGRAND E. SLUSSAR.
In the past ages the history of a country was comprised chiefly in a history of its wars and conquests. Today history is largely a record of commercial activity, and those whose names are foremost in the annals of the nation are those who have become lead- ers in business circles. The conquests now made are those of mind over matter, and the victor is he who can most successfully es- tablish, control and operate commercial in- terests. Mr. Slussar is unquestionably today one of the leading and most progressive business men of Antrim county, Michigan, and this volume would be incomplete were there failure to mention him and the enter- prise with which he is so closely identified. Tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose, genius for devising and executing the right thing at the right time, are the chief characteristics of the man. These. combined with everyday common sense and
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guided by strong will power, are concomi- The engines are built largely for marine pur- tants which will insure success in any under- taking.
LeGrand E. Slussar was born Septem- ber 14, 1860, at Albion, New York, and is the son of Martin and Frances (Edwards) Slussar, natives also of the same state. In 1868 Martin Slussar removed from the Em- pire state to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he died two years later, having in his later years lived a retired life, after a strenuous and successful agricultural career. He was the father of three children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only survivor, the other two having passed away in 1870.
L. E. Slussar secured his early education in the public schools at Albion, New York, and Kalamazoo, Michigan, and, through faithful application to his studies, made rapid progress. In 1878 he came to Mancelona, and, in partnership with an uncle, C. S. Ed- wards, established the Herald, which they together conducted successfully for three years, at the end of which time the subject purchased his uncle's interest and thereafter conducted the paper alone until 1904, when he sold the plant. Under Mr. Slussar's management the Herald took high rank among the papers of its class in this section of the state and at all times wielded a strong influence for the highest and best interests of the community.
However, Mr. Slussar possesses a natural inclination towards things mechani- cal and about 1902 he became interested in the manufacture of gasoline engines and or- ganized the Eclipse Motor Company, for the manufacture of the Eclipse gasoline engine, a machine possessing many excellent and superior qualities and embracing several original and much-needed improvements.
poses and are sold not only throughout the United States and Canada, but numerous orders are constantly received from the South American republics and from Wales and Denmark. The engine is its own best advertiser and such is the demand created for them that the shops are far behind the orders.
Mr. Slussar has found time, even amid his heavy business duties, to lend his voice and influence to all those things which go to the upbuilding and development of the community along moral, educational and civic lines. Politically he has always been a stanch Republican and under Harrison's administration he served as postmaster of Mancelona, giving the public a wise, care- ful and efficient administration of the office. He has also been probate judge for the past eight years. In June, 1882, Mr. Slussar was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Freeman and they have one child, Freida.
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