USA > Michigan > Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens > Part 68
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NORTHERN MICHIGAN.
court house, and was one of the most pro- gressive members of that body, in which he exerted much influence. He assumed the duties of the office of county treasurer on the Ist of January, 1897, and was chosen as his own successor two years later, thus continu- ing in office four consecutive years and giving a most able and saisfactory adminis- tration of the fiscal affairs of the county.
A short time prior to retiring from the office of county treasurer Mr. Goodwin pur- chased the furniture and undertaking busi- nes of L. D. Curtis and this enterprise he has since carried forward, controlling a large and representative trade and being recognized as one of the aggressive, reliable and public-spirited business men of Kal- kaska, where he is held in high regard by all who know him. He has a well appointed establishment and carries an excellent stock of furniture and undertaking goods, so that he is able to cater to the demands of a dis- criminating patronage. In 1902 he was again elected a member of the board of su- pervisors and was re-elected in the autumn of 1903, so that he is in tenure of this office at the time this article is written. In poli- tics he is an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and he is one of the leaders in its local ranks, fre- quently serving as delegate to state, con- gressional and county conventions. In a fra- ternal way our subject is identified with Kal- kaska Lodge, No. 332, Free and Accepted Masons.
In the year 1866, in Oakland county, this state, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Goodwin to Miss Elizabeth Urch, who proved a devoted wife and helpmate, having accompanied him to Kalkaska county in the pioneer days and having been prominent in
church and social affairs from the start, while she gained the affectionate regard of all who came within the sphere of her in- fluence. She was summoned into eternal rest on the 21st of May, 1899, and is sur- vived by four children, namely: William A., who now resides in the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Elwin C., who is bookkeeper for the Freeman Manufacturing Company, of Kalkaska; Etta L., who is the wife of Frederick Woodhams, of this county; and Alice, who remains at the parental home. In February, 1901, Mr. Goodwin was united in marriage to Mrs. Fanny (Free- man) Fly, who was born in the state of Illi- nois and who is a daughter of William C. Freeman, president of the Freeman Manu- facturing Company, of Kalkaska. Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin are members of the Baptist church.
JOHN W. CREIGHTON.
The subject of this sketch, who was re- cently the incumbent of the responsible office of sheriff of Kalkaska county, is to be indi- vidually considered as one of the represent- ative citizens of this section and in a more abstract sense as a member of a family whose history has been linked with that of Kalkaska county ever since the early pioneer epoch. though he is now the only representative of the family in the county. He owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and stands 'forth as a loyal and public-spirited citizen of the county in which he has lived ever since his boyhood days.
Mr. Creighton is a native of the province on Ontario, Canada, and is a scion of stanch English stock. The date of his nativity
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was February 28, 1863, and he is a son of Robert and Jane (Carson) Creighton, who came to Michigan a few years after his birth, first locating in Alpena and thence coming to Kalkaska county in 1869. The father, who is a blacksmith by trade, secured a homestead in Springfield township, two and one-half miles distant from the present vil- lage of Fife Lake, and there began clearing the place and preparing it for the uses of ag- riculture. He disposed of the timber and also did considerable lumber jobbing during the early years of his residence here, also working in the lumber woods for others. His wife was the second white woman to settle in the township mentioned, and their primitive forest lodge was one of the first in that now attractive and fruitful section of the county. The parents continued to re- side in this county until about 1888, when they removed to the state of Washington, where they repeated their pioneer experi- ences and where they make their home at the present time.
The future sheriff passed his youth on the old homestead, in the midst of the prac- tically unbroken forests of Kalkaska county, and he early became familiar with the se- crets and labors of woodcraft, assisting his father in the reclamation of the farm and in his varied lumbering operations and con- · tinuing to be thus associated during the ma- jor portion of the time until his parents re- moved to the Pacific coast. His educa- tional advantages were such as were af- forded in the public schools of the pioneer epoch, and he made good use of the oppor- tunities thus afforded him. He continued to give his attention to the work and manage- ment of the old farm until 1900, when he was elected to the office of sheriff, giving a
most capable and satisfactory administra- tion of the shrievalty and being chosen as his own successor at the expiration of his original term of two years. In politics he is a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, in whose cause he has been an active and valued worker in a local way. Upon the expiration of his term of sheriff Mr. Creighton pur- chased the Tyler livery and has since been successfully engaged in that enterprise. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Maccabees, being one of the sterling, generous-hearted and genial men whose portion is ever to win and retain strong friendships and unqualified popular- ity.
In 1884 Mr. Creighton was united in marriage to Miss Lavircia A. Richards, she being a granddaughter of James Patterson, who was one of the early and honored pio- neers of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Creigh- ton have no children.
ALLEN LANNIN.
One of the solid and substantial citizens of Rapid River township, Kalkaska county, Michigan, is he whose name appears above, and he is eminently worthy of a place in this volume. He is a native of the province of Quebec, Canada, where he was born on the 20th of August, 1831. His parents, Na- thaniel and Mary Ann (Abbott) Lanning, were both natives of Ireland. The subject lived in the province of Quebec until about the time he attained to his majority, when he went to Ontario, settling in the county of Lambton, where he made his home for
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seventeen years, engaged in farming. In May, 1869, he came to Michigan, settling in section 6, Rapid River township, Kalkaska county, where he has since made his home. He purchased eighty acres of timber land, nearly all of which was at that time cov- ered with timber, but sixty-five acres have been cleared and are in a high state of cul- tivation. He carried on a diversified system of agriculture and has erected substantial and tasty buildings, including a good resi- dence. He is methodical in his operations and a casual survey of the premises indicate the owner to be a man of good judgment and modern ideas.
In Middlesex county, Ontario, Mr. Lan- nin wedded Miss Rachel Ann McCracken, a native of the province of Quebec, whose death occurred in Rapid River township, · Kalkaska county, Michigan, on September 19, 1903, at the age of sixty-seven years. To this union were born the following chil- dren : Agnes is the wife of Harvey Fergu- son; Mary Ann is the wife of Joshua Hiatt; Christina is the wife of Harry Rose; Margaret E. is the wife of John Dodge; Ann is the wife of Peter C. Dora, and James ; two children are deceased, Emma J., who died in her fifteenth year, and Ida, who died in her third year. Mr. Lannin has been honored with election to the position of justice of the peace and highway com- missioner, holding the former position for several years. Mr. Lannin is a leader in his community. His judgment is clear and accurate, his integrity manifest in every re- lation of life, and the good sound sense which he is plentifully endowed with gives weight to his opinions and makes him an in- fluential factor among his neighbors and fel- low citizens.
PERLY W. PEARSALL, M. D.
Among the representative members of the medical profession in Kalkaska county is the subject of this sketch, who is estab- lished in practice in Kalkaska and who has gained distinctive precedence and success · in this field of endowment, being one of the leading and popular citizens of the town.
Dr. Pearsall is a native son of the state of Michigan and a representative of one of its pioneer families. He was born on the old homestead farm in Alpine township, Kent county, Michigan, on the 14th of May, 1863, and is a son of Sherman M. and Catherine R. Pearsall, the latter of whom died in 1894. Of the nine children the Doc- tor is the youngest, and of the number five are deceased, while a strange circumstance in the connection is that each of these met an accidental death. The father of our sub- ject removed from Oakland county to Kent county in the year 1841 and settled in Al- pine township, where he secured a tract of government land, heavily timbered and en- tirely unimproved, this entire section being at the time virtually an unbroken wilder- ness. He developed a good farm and con- tinued to be identified with its cultivation during the remainder of his active business career, while the old homestead still re- mains in the possession of the family. The venerable father died May 8, 1905, having retired to the city of Grand Rapids and re- mained there until the time of his death. He had the distinction of being the oldest living pioneer of Alpine township, that county, at the time of his death, being eighty- eight years of age.
Dr. Pearsall passed his boyhood days on the home farm, and his rudimentary educa- .
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tional training was secured in the district schools. At the age of fourteen years he entered the high school in the city of Grand Rapids, where he continued his studies for three years, supplementing this by a course in the Grand Rapids Business College. Af- ter leaving school he was for two years em- ployed as bookkeeper for the Cadillac Veneer & Panel Company at Cadillac, and in 1885 he was married, soon afterward removing to Larned, Kansas, where he remained one year, while during the ensuing fourteen months he was engaged as city salesman, in Kansas City, Missouri, for the Armour Packing & Provision Company. He then returned to Michigan, and in 1886 was ma- triculated in the Chicago Homeopathic Med- ical College, in the city of Chicago, where he was graduated in 1889, receiving his de- gree of Doctor of Medicine, and he supple- mented this course by special courses in Rush Medical College, in the same city, thus fortifying himself in the theory and prac- tice of both the "regular" and the homeo- pathic schools of medicine. During the summer of 1889 the Doctor was engaged in practice at Grand Ledge, Eaton county, and during the following three years he fol- lowed his profession in Wacousta, Clinton county, having there held the office of county coroner for two years., In Septem- ber, 1892. he removed to the city of Muske- gon, where he remained three years, building up a very satisfactory practice and serving two years as city physician. He then passed a few months in the city of Grand Rapids, whence he came to Kalkaska in August. 1895. Here he has attained to particularly gratifying success and prominence in his profession, retaining a representative sup- port and standing high in popular esteem
and in the regard of his professional con- freres. He is a member of the state and na- tional homeopathic medical societies, and is eclectic in his practice, utilizing the ap- proved methods and remedial agents of both schools and doing much in the way of orig- inal research and investigation. He has been a member of the board of United States pen- sion examining surgeons for Kalkaska county for the past three years, and is sec- retary of the board, while he has been health officer of the city from practically the time of his locating here up to the present. He is also local surgeon of the Pere Marquette Railroad. He has been alert, energetic and determined in his efforts to insure the best possible sanitary conditions in the city, and has been very successful in securing to the locality immunity from epidemic and con- tagious diseases, including smallpox, though this dread disease has been prevalent in this section of the state on a number of occasions during his regime as health officer. In poli- tics the Doctor is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Repub- lican party stands sponsor, and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of the Macca- bees and other social organizations. He is specially fond of hunting and fishing and through the same finds his chief means of recreation, while he has an attractive sum- mer cottage on Torch lake. He owns a fine modern residence in Kalkaska and has also invested in farm land in the county.
In Kalkaska, on the 24th of May, 1885, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Pearsall to Miss Adella J. Totten, a sister of Hon. William D. Totten, of this place. She was born in Monroe county, Michigan, and at
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the time of her marriage she was a success- ful and popular teacher in the Kalkaska pub- lic schools. She is a leader in the social af- fairs of her home city and the pleasant fam- . ily home is a center of gracious hospitality. Dr. and Mrs. Pearsall have four children, namely : Sheridan M., Vernon W., Helen C. and Perly W., Jr.
WILLIAM D. TOTTEN.
On the roster of the able and influential members of the bar of Kalkaska county is found the name of William D. Totten, who has here been engaged in practice for the past score of years, maintaining his home in the thriving little city of Kalkaska.
Mr. Totten claims the old Empire state as the place of his nativity, having been born in New London, Oneida county, New York, on the 17th of October, 1858, and being a son of Joseph and Nancy (Smith) Totten, both representatives of stanch New England stock and, more remotely, the lineage traces to Dutch, Scotch and Irish derivation. The subject of this review passed his boyhood days on the farm, assisting in the work of the same according to the measure of his powers, and in the meanwhile attending the district schools. He thus continued until he had attained the age of thirteen years, and thereafter he drove horses on the old Erie canal, in the state of New York, until he was nineteen years old. His ambition, however, was of no uncertain sort, and he devoted his leisure hours to careful study and reading, so that he became eligible for service as a teacher, having come to Michigan when nineteen years of age and having taught in
the district schools of the northern part of the state during the ensuing two years. At the expiration of this time he gave evidence of having well employed his time, since he was admitted to the bar of the state in 1879, when twenty-one years of age. He had thor- oughly grounded himself in the science of jurisprudence and through careful study and indefatigable application he soon gained pre- cedence in his chosen profession and a strong hold upon popular confidence and esteem, having initiated the practice of law in Kal- kaska, which has ever since been the field of his endeavors. In 1881 Mr. Totten served as circuit court commissioner of Kalkaska county, and from 1886 until 1890 he was in- cumbent of the office of prosecuting attorney, in which position he made a most excellent record. In 1900 and 1901 he was a repre- sentative of the district comprising the coun- ties of Antrim, Charlevoix and Kalkaska in the state legislature. He has been concerned in much of the important litigation in the courts of this section of the state during the past twenty years and is known not only as a representative member of the bar of Kal- kaska county but also as a liberal and loyal citizen. In political affiliation he is stanchly arrayed as an advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and fra- ternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees. He has attained the chivalric degrees in Masonry, being a member of Traverse City Commandery, No. 41, Knights Templar, in Traverse City.
Mr. Totten has been twice married. In 188I he wedded Miss Ida Boyd, who died in 1884, leaving a daughter, Florence, who was summoned to the life eternal in 1901, having
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF
been one of Kalkaska's most popular young ladies. In 1887 Mr. Totten married Miss Edith Phelps, and they have six children, namely : Joseph, Samuel, William, Morti- schools, having been graduated in the high mer, Morrell and Mabel. school as a member of the class of 1879, the first to be graduated after the syste- matic organization of the high school, the superintendent at the time having been Pro- LOUIS W. BEEBE. fessor George R. Catton, now of Petoskey. Our subject also continued his studies for one year in a high school. As a youth he showed his energy and resourcefulness by working at such odd jobs as he was able to securc, while finally he put his scholastic at- tainments to practical test by engaging to teach the school in the Barber district, this county, proving successful in his pedagogic endeavors, to which he devoted his attention for one year. He then secured a position in the office of the Freeman Manufacturing Company, of Kalkaska, becoming a
Although in an historic sense nothing in northern Michigan can be called old, as rep- resenting many years of substantial civili- zation in fixed status, for the pioneer epoch here is not of the remote past, many of the leading citizens of the present being those whose portion it was to lay the foundation of the prosperity and advanced citizenship which are today in so distinctive evidence. Still there is sufficient age to enable us to ' accord in this compilation specific mention of not a few enterprising and representative young men who are native sons of the lo- calities in which they live, and prominent among this number is Mr. Beebe, the pres- ent able and popular treasurer of Kalkaska county, where he has practically passed his entire life.
Mr. Beebe was born on the old home- stead farm in this county, on the 15th of October, 1870, and is a son of Amos C. and Ann Eliza Beebe, the latter of whom was summoned into eternal rest in 1894. The father is still living and is one of the promi- nent and influential citizens of Kalkaska county, being engaged in the milling busi- ness in the county-seat and also owning valuable farming property in the county. Louis W. Beebe passed the first three or four years of his life on the old farm on which he was born, and his parents then re-
moved to the city of Kalkaska, where he has ever since resided. Here he secured his early educational training in the public
stockholder in this concern and render- ing effective service in the capacity of secretary and treasurer. He still retains his financial interest in this com- pany, of which more definite mention is made on other pages of this work, in a sketch dedicated to the president, William C. Freeman. Mr. Beebe continued to fill the executive position noted until 1899, when he was elected county treasurer, enter- ing upon the discharge of his official duties in January of the following year. He gave a most able and discriminating administration of the fiscal affairs of the county, and the popular apprecia- tion of this fact was shown in his re- election for a second term of two years, while there is assurance that he will be re- tained in the position for a third term if he chooses to again become a candidate. He
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is a member of the directorate of the Free- man Manufacturing Company, has other capitalistic interests and is known as a pro- gressive and public-spirited citizen and able young business man. In his political alle- giance Mr. Beebe is identified with the Re- publican party, in whose cause he has been an active worker in a local way, serving as delegate to county, city, and district con- ventions. He is an appreciative member of the Masonic fraternity, and has filled vari- ous official chairs in the local lodge. He is fond of athletic sports and also of hunting and fishing, greatly enjoying the facilities and attractions afforded by Torch lake, while he has been a member of the Kalkaska base- ball team for several years. Both he and his wife are valued members of the Baptist church.
On the 27th of October, 1897, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Beebe to Miss Myra Landrum, daughter of James M. and Sarah (Freeman) Landrum, of Kalkaska, where she was reared and educated, being a graduate of the high school and having been a popular teacher prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Beebe have a fine little son, Raymond Landrum Beebe.
JOHN E. RAINBOW.
The able and popular register of deeds of Kalkaska county well merits representation in this compilation and accordingly fig- ures as the subject of this brief sketch. He is a native of the old Empire state, having been born on a farm in Cattaraugus county, New York, on the 26th of April, 1846, and being a son of William Rainbow. When he
was a child of eight years he accompanied his parents on their removal to the state of Michigan, and from that time forward be- came practically dependent upon his own re- sources, having thus been denied the early educational advantages which were secured by the average boy of the locality and period. It is needless to say that he has made good this early handicap, having learned val- uable lessons in the school of experience and also through well directed personal ap- plication. He passed five years in the home of one family, working for his board and clothing. At the age of fourteen years he went to Illinois, where he passed the ensuing years, being in that state at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. Though but six- teen years of age he tendered his services to the Union, enlisting, in 1862, as a mem- ber of Company I, Seventy-fifth Illinois Vounteer Infantry, which he joined at Sterling, that state. He proceeded to the front with his regiment, with which he was in active service until March, 1863, princi- pally in Kentucky and Tennessee, and he was an active participant in the battles of Perryville and Murfreesboro. While at the latter place he was attacked with the measles, and as he was considered unfitted for further service he was given an honorable discharge.
After the close of his military service Mr. Rainbow returned to Michigan, locating in Branch county, and in October, 1863, he again enlisted, becoming a member of the First Michigan Sharpshooters, and joining his command in the city of Chicago. In the spring of the following year this regiment joined General Grant in Virginia and served under him in the campaign carried forward by the Ninth Army Corps. The First Michi- gan Sharpshooters were attached to the Wil-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF
cox brigade. On the 6th day of May, 1864, while with his command in the Wilderness campaign, our subject was wounded by a rifle ball, which struck his left shoulder. The ball was fired by a Confederate sharpshooter, the two lines of special marksmen being se- creted in the thick pine forest and but a short distance apart. The severity of the wound compelled Mr. Rainbow to remain in the hospital, near Philadelphia, for four months, at the expiration of which he re- joined his command, remaining with his reg- iment in the field until Lee's surrender. Mr. Rainbow had been promoted to first sergeant of his company and as such received his hon- orable discharge at the close of the war.
After the close of the great struggle through which the Union was perpetuated Mr. Rainbow turned his attention to the vo- cations of the "piping times of peace," going to Iowa, where he remained five years, at the expiration of which, in 1873, he returned to Michigan and located in Kalkaska county, where he has ever since continued to make his home. He secured a homestead in Cold Spring township, and engaged in lumbering, operating a saw-mill and also manufacturing broom handles. He successfully continued operations along this line for ten years and thus laid the foundation for the competency which he now enjoys, while he still owns the homestead farm, which has been developed into one of the best in this section. He aided in the organization of Cold Spring town- ship and in the early days was specially prominent in public affairs of a local nature, having served in all township offices except that of clerk, and having been thus identified in an official way with township affairs until 1889. when he was elected sheriff of the county, as the nominee on the Republican
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