USA > Michigan > Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens > Part 87
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In January, 1856, Mr. Nowlin married, in Pulaski township, Jackson county, this state, Miss Eliza R. Thorne, who was born in Calhoun county, Michigan, May 31, 1840, the daughter of Samuel and Harriet (Sharp)
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Thorne. Her parents are both dead, the father dying in Calhoun county, at the age of sixty-six years, and the mother in Nor- wich township, Missaukee county, at an ad- vanced age. Mr. and Mrs. Nowlin are the parents of two children, Harriet A., who is the wife of C. B. French, and Alice J., who is the wife of Charles Nowlin. Mr. Nowlin has taken a deep interest in the welfare of his community and served efficiently as treas- urer of Norwich township. He is one of the most substantial citizens of Norwich town- ship, and one of the most honorable, and he and his wife enjoy the respect of the entire community.
OSCAR F. PARKER.
Among the public spirited and progres- sive citizens of northern Michigan, mention should properly be made of Oscar F. Parker, who conducts a finely improved farm in sec- tion 10, Norwich township, Missaukee county. He was born in Stafford, Genesee county, New York, on February 13, 1848, and is the son of William S. and Catherine (Powers) Parker, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Connecticut. The father was a soldier in the Civil war and died at the Soldiers' Home in Marion, Indi- ana, in the eighty-first year of his age. The mother's death occurred in Missaukee county, Michigan, in her fifty-ninth year. The subject was the eldest of their five chil- dren, and when he was three years old he accompanied the family on their removal to Wisconsin, locating at Byron township, Fond du Lac county, where they resided for eight years. In 1859 they came to Van-
Buren county, Michigan, and lived there un- til the fall of 1870, when he came to Mis- saukee county. At that time this county con- tained but six settlers and the subject was variously employed, working in the woods, driving team and at farm labor. He was the first settler in what is now Norwich township, his first location being in section 8. He has resided here continuously since that time, with the exception of nine years when he lived in West Branch township. He is the owner of eighty acres of fine land, of which he cultivates forty-four acres and carries on a diversified system of agriculture. He is painstaking and methodical in his work and has met with a gratifying degree of success in the enterprise.
On December II, 1872, in West Branch township, Missaukee county, Mr. Parker was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Thorne, and to them were born two chil- dren, Willie and Ella. Mr. Parker was divorced and on March II, 1883, he married Mrs. Mary A. Dowling, the widow of James Dowling, who died in Wayne county, this state. She was born on December 27, 1858, and is a daughter of Mark and Mary Jane (Wedge) Barrett, the former a native of England and the latter of Canada. Of their four children Mrs. Parker is the sec- ond born. To Mr. and Mrs. Parker have been born two children, Earl O. and Owen Franklin. By her union with Mr. Dowling she became the mother of two children, Lola and Harvey J., the former being now the wife of Guilford Bunce. Mr. Parker has always taken a healthy interest in the welfare of the township and his ability and integrity have been recognized in his election to the offices of township supervisor, township clerk and highway commissioner. Frater-
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nally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of Stittsville Grange, No. 924, Patrons of Husbandry. Mrs. Parker is a member of Willing Work- ers Hive, No. 836, Ladies of the Modern Maccabees, having been commander of the hive ever since its organization. Mr. Parker is a quiet, unassuming man, but im- presses all who come in contact with him with the strength of his individuality. He takes a keen interest in all that promises to benefit the people of his community and be- cause of his genuine worth is very highly thought of by all who know him.
GEORGE H. McBRIAN.
Canada has sent a large number of her citizens to the United States who have here entered into the full spirit of our institutions and have, while advancing their own inter- ests, at the same time promoted the welfare of the communities in which they have set- tled. Among this class may be mentioned the gentleman whose name appears above. Mr. McBrian was born in Northumberland county, province of Ontario, Canada, De- cember 17, 1863, and is the son of Robert and Matilda Leach (Hawthorne) McBrian, who were both natives of Ireland, but died in Ontario. They were the parents of three children, of whom the subject was the second in order of birth. The latter spent his boy- hood days on the parental homestead and secured a fair education in the public schools. In 1879 he came to Michigan and for about three years was employed in the lumber woods of Roscommon county. He then went to Wexford county, this state, and was
employed in a shingle mill for about two and a half years, and then in the woods and at farm labor in Missaukee county until 1889. In the spring of 1890 he settled on the farm which he now occupies and which is located on section 31, Pioneer township, Missaukee county. He first purchased six- ty-four acres, but added to this from time to time until he is now the owner of one hun- dred and twenty acres, about forty-seven acres of which are improved and on which he has erected a full set of good farm build- ings. He here carries on a diversified sys- tem of agriculture and has been rewarded with a well-merited success.
In Pioneer township, Missaukee county, Michigan, on December 24, 1889, Mr. Mc- Brian was married to Miss Carrie I. Lamb, who was born in Barry county, this state, on September 11, 1866, the daughter of Hi- ram S. and Amanda V. (Lindsea) Lamb. The father was a native of New York state and the mother of Ohio, and they came to Missaukee county in the spring of 1877 and settled in Bloomfield township, and later in Pioneer township, where they have since resided. Mrs. McBrian is the eldest of their five children. Mr. McBrian has taken a deep interest in public affairs and served as the clerk of Pioneer township, being now the efficient supervisor of the township, to which position he was elected in the spring of 1905. Mr. and Mrs. McBrian are mem- bers of Morey Center Grange, No. 1029, Patrons of Husbandry, and of the Ancient Order of Gleaners. Mrs. McBrian is a highly cultured lady, having prior to her marriage been a school teacher in this county for sixteen years. She and her husband are both highly respected and esteemed by all who have come in contact with them.
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FRANK INGERSOLL.
This volume would not be complete did it fail to make personal mention of Frank Ingersoll, who is successfully engaged in farming in section 36, Bloomfield township, Missaukee county, Michigan, and who has by a course of right living earned for him- self the respect and admiration of all who know him. Mr. Ingersoll is a native of this state, his birth having occurred in Coe town- ship, Isabella county, on the 26th of Oc- tober, 1858. His parents were Isaac and Jane (Tripp) Ingersoll, of whom the for- mer was born in Connecticut and the latter in New York state. They both died in Coe township. Isabella county, this state, the fa- ther's death occurring in 1887, at the age of about sixty years, while the mother died in the early part of September, 1871, upwards of forty years of age. They were the parents of twelve children, and of these Frank Inger- soll was the eighth in the order of birth. The latter was reared on his father's farm in Isabella county and received his elemen- tary education in the common schools. In December, 1874, he started out in the world on his own account and for four seasons was employed at farm work in Isabella and Ingham counties. In December, 1879, he came to Missaukee county and purchased eighty acres of state land in section 36, Bloomfield township, and in August, 1880, he made permanent settlement on the place and has resided here continuously since that date. His land was all heavily timbered at the time of purchase, but, nothing daunted, he went to work and cut the timber from sixty-five acres of the land and put it into shape for cultivation. He has made other purchases of adjoining tracts and is
now the owner of two hundred acres of good and productive land.
In Manton, Wexford county, Michigan, on September 22, 1884, Mr. Ingersoll was married to Miss Belle Norton, who was born near Mason, Ingham county, this state, on April 15, 1868. Her parents were Benjamin T. and Ellen (May) Norton, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Michigan. The father died near Mason, this state, at the age of thirty-nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Ingersoll are the par- ents of six children, Elsie I., Roy G., Floyd F., Alva O., Alta I. and Howard V. In local affairs Mr. Ingersoll has served his township in the capacity of supervisor two terms, highway commissioner five terms and justice of the peace for one term and school director for twelve years. Religiously they are members of the Church of Christ and fraternally are members of the Patrons of Husbandry.
GODFREY HIRZEL.
This gentleman, the present postmaster at Moorestown, Missaukee county, Michi- gan, and who is also successfully conducting a mercantile business at that point, is well entitled to distinction as one of the enter- prising and progressive citizens of northern Michigan. He is a native of Amherst, Erie county, New York, where he was born on January 28, 1863. He is the son of David and Mary (Stutz) Hirzel, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father died in Erie county, New York, at the age of fifty-nine years, and after his death the mother came to Clare county, Michigan,
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where her death occurred in the sixty-fourth year of her age. They were the parents of ten children, the subject being the fourth in order of birth. Godfrey Hirzel was reared under the parental roof until he was about eighteen years of age and received the ad- vantage of attendance at the common schools of the neighborhood. At the age mentioned he came to Clare county, Michigan, and until April, 1882, he was employed in the woods and at farm labor. On the date mentioned he came to Missaukee county and was em- ployed in the lumber woods until the fall of 1892, having also worked at agricultural pursuits during the summer months. In 1893 he engaged in the mercantile business in Moorestown, this county, and has since continued so engaged, a very satisfactory success attending his efforts in this line. He carries a large and complete stock of all com- modities required by the local trade and at all times endeavors to please his customers. He also devotes some attention to farming, being the owner of a fine farm of one hun- dred and twenty acres, of which sixty acres are improved and in a high state of cultiva- tion. Mr. Hirzel has met with a success in all his enterprises commensurate with his indefatigable efforts and is regarded as one of the leading citizens of Norwich township. In the fall of 1892 he was appointed post- master of Moorestown and has continued to act in this capacity since, his administration being entirely satisfactory to the patrons of the office.
Mr. Hirzel was married in this township on March 2, 1884, to Miss Mary Tuttle, who was born in St. Clair county, Michigan, and is a daughter of James G. and Margaret Tuttle. To the subject and his wife have been born four children, Fred, William,
Edna and Edith. The domestic fireside was darkened by the death of the faithful wife and loving mother, which event occurred on April 12, 1903, when she was thirty-seven years old. In local public matters Mr. Hirzel has at all times evinced a deep interest and his ability and integrity has been recognized by his fellow citizens who six times elected him to the responsible position of treasurer of Norwich township. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of the Modern Mac- cabees and the Modern Woodmen of America. A man of genial disposition, cour- teous manners and genuine worth, he stands high in the esteem of all who know him.
WILLIAM G. BIGELOW.
Among the representative citizens of northern Michigan who have through a series of years of earnest and indefatigable labor not only gained pecuniary independ- ence for themselves, but have also won the respect and confidence of their fellow citi- zens, may be mentioned William G. Bige- low, of Moorestown, Missaukee county. He is a native of this state, having been born in Oakland county, on June 28, 1846. His par- ents, William Warren and Lucinda (Tower) Bigelow, were natives of New York state, and after honorable lives, their deaths oc- curred at Grand Ledge, Eaton county, Michigan. The subject of this sketch was their only child and was about eight years old when his parents removed from Oak- land county, this state, to Eaton county, where he was reared and received his edu- cation in the common schools. He remained
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at home until February, 1863, when he en- listed in the defense of his country, joining the Second United States Sharpshooters (Berdan's Sharpshooters) and served with that command until the close of the conflict. He served valiantly and faithfully, having been wounded during one of the engage- ments in front of Petersburg, and was pres- ent at the surrender of General Lee at Ap- pomattox. At the close of his military service Mr. Bigelow returned to Eaton county, Michigan, and was employed for a short time as engineer in a saw-mill. He then went to Roscommon county, this state, and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. He resided there for twenty- five years, coming to Missaukee county in the early 'nineties and here taking a con- tract to carry the United States mails from Lake City to Moorestown. A year later, however, he sold out his contract. He then settled on a farm in Norwich township and was actively engaged in farming until 1903. He then settled in Moorestown, where he erected a neat and comfortable residence and a good barn and where he has since main- tained his home. He is also the owner of a saw-mill at Moorestown, which is operat- ing with success and profit. He owns about three hundred and twenty acres in this county, which annually returns him a nice income.
Mr. Bigelow was married in Alma, Michigan, to Miss Lucena Tower, a native of New York state, who has proved to him a true helpmate in the best sense of the word. While in Roscommon county he served as justice of the peace and as a school officer and has also held school offices in Norwich township. Fraternally he is a member of Stittsville Lodge, No. 317, Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and main- tains his old army associations through his membership in the Grand Army of the Re- public. No man stands higher than he in public esteem and he is well entitled to the appellations of an honorable man and an upright and worthy citizen.
ANTHONY ROGERS.
Though not a resident of Missaukee county, Michigan, as long as many of his neighbors, none stand higher in general es- teem than does the subject of this sketch. Mr. Rogers is a native of New Brunswick, Canada, where he was born on March 12, 1846. His parents, Anthony and Margaret (Sweet) Rogers, were New Englanders by nativity, and the subject's great-grandfather was an eye-witness to the throwing over- board of the tea in Boston harbor, being a very young man at the time. The subject's parents came from New Brunswick to Manistee, Michigan, in 1856, and remained there until their deaths, his occurring at the age of seventy-six years and the mother's at the age of eighty-six. The subject was the fourth born of their ten children and was but eight years old at the time of the family removal to Michigan. He has been from his sixteenth year engaged in the lum- bering business and is considered an expert in this line. In 1883 Mr. Rogers left Manistee and went to Mecosta county, this state, and four years later went to Clare county, this state, where he remained for nine years. In 1896 he came to Missaukee county and settled in Norwich township, where he has since resided with the excep-
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tion of four years in Lake City. He is the owner of eighty acres of good land in sec- tion 26, Norwich township, forty acres of which he has improved and on which he grows abundant crops of all the products suited to the soil and climate. He is pro- gressive in his methods and has achieved a distinctive success in his operations. In the fall of 1901 Mr. Rogers was elected to the responsible office of treasurer of Missaukee county, and so satisfactory were his services that in the fall of 1903 he was re-elected to the position. He also held the office of su- pervisor of Norwich township for two terms.
Mr. Rogers was married at Manistee, Michigan, on January 25, 1872, to Miss Jane Elizabeth Miller, a native of that county and the daughter of Oliver and Jane (Humphrey) Miller, natives of New York state. To Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have been born seven children, namely: Margaret L., who was the wife of William Mooney, died in Norwich township, this county, at the age of twenty-nine years ; Martha C. is the wife of Frank Morrisy; Jennie, who was the wife of Austin Richardson, died in Harrison, Clare county, this state, on April 29, 1898, at the age of twenty-three years ; Adelaide C. is the wife of Paullus Lux; Charles : Jessie M. died September 18, 1885, and Joy. Fra- ternally Mr. Rogers is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, Knights of Pythias, Knights of the Modern Maccabees and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while religiously he is, with his wife, a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church. All move- ments looking to the betterment of the com- munity along moral, social or educational lines find warm supporters in Mr. and Mrs. Rogers and because of their many eminent personal qualities they have won and retain the friendship of all who know them.
JOSEPH E. KING.
Another of those sterling citizens of Mis- saukee county, Michigan, who, in both war and peace, has been a stanch supporter of his country's integrity and best interests, and who, in the humble walk of a private citizen, has endeavored to live up to his highest ideals, Joseph E. King deserves specific men- tion, though necessarily brief within the limits prescribed here. Mr. King was born in Amherst, Lorain county, Ohio, April 8, 1848, and is the son of Nathan and Belinda (Gleason) King. The parents both died in Amherst, Ohio, having been the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the fourth born. Joseph King made his home with his parents until he had attained his majority. In 1864 he en- listed in the military service of his country, joining Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, and served faithfully until the close of the conflict. Upon his discharge from the army he returned to Amherst and about four years later he engaged in the mercan- tile business, in partnership with a cousin, at Richfield, Lucas county, Ohio, which as- sociation lasted about two years. He then engaged as clerk in a store at Lorain, Ohio, for some two years, when he returned to Lucas county and for most of the time dur- ing two or three years he was employed at carpenter work. Going then to Cleveland, Ohio, he operated a grocery store and meat market for about two years, after which he again spent a year in Lucas county. In February, 1884, he came to Missaukee county, Michigan, and about two years later bought forty acres of land in section 16, . Pioneer township, which he improved and on which he carried on general farming
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operations, in connection with lumbering. He now owns eighty acres of land, of which forty acres are under the plow, and the place is otherwise well improved in the way of buildings and fences. In 1901 he engaged in the mercantile business at Pioneer and has since been so engaged, meeting with a gratifying success in the undertaking. He has also since the year last mentioned been the efficient postmaster at Pioneer.
Mr. King was married in Richfield, Lucas county, Ohio, on August 25, 1878, to Miss Alice White, a native of that county and the daughter of Greenup and Hester (Woolfinger) White, and to them have been born three children, Clayton G. and Nathan H. and Benjamin L., twins. In the public affairs of the township Mr. King has taken a deep interest and has served his fellow citizens as township supervisor, township clerk, justice of the peace and highway com- missioner, giving effective and satisfactory service in all of these responsible positions. He is recognized as a man of sterling in- tegrity and of strong convictions as to all matters affecting the best interests of the community and is always found on the right side of every moral issue.
ORVILLE DAVID HILTON.
The late Orville David Hilton, for many years an esteemed citizen of Norwood town- ship, Charlevoix county, was a native of Michigan, born in the county of Oakland, on September 10, 1830. His father, Samuel Hilton, a New Yorker by birth and of Eng- lish ancestry, was a relative of Judge Hilton. one of the distinguished jurists of New
York state, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Morrill, was born in Vermont, which state her cousin, the Hon. Mr. Morrill, represented for many years in the United States senate. These parents were among the early pioneers of Oakland county, Michigan, where they settled about the year 1825, and it was on the old family homestead which they purchased from the government that Orville D. spent the first sixteen years of his life, receiving in the meantime a rudimentary education in such indifferent schools as the country afforded. Leaving home at the above age, the subject went to Detroit, where he found employ- ment in the railroad shops, and after work- ing for some time in that capacity became fireman on a locomotive, which position he held until being promoted engineer a few years later. He served eighteen years as an engineer, a part of the time on tugs and transports during the Civil war, but the greater part of the period noted he was in the employ of the Rock Island, Illinois Cen- tral and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads, resigning his position with the last named company in 1866. Mr. Hilton was induced to quit railroading through the per- suasion of his mother, whose constant fear of some fatality befalling him finally led him to accede to her wishes and turn his atten- tion to other and safer pursuits. When the lands of northern Michigan were opened for settlement his father secured a homestead of sixty-six acres in Norwood township, Charlevoix county, and to this Mr. Hilton and his wife moved although he had little taste for farming, while life in a wild and undeveloped country was to him anything but an alluring inducement. In due time he filed on the land, which cost the sum of one
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ORVILLE D. HILTON.
MISS CARRIE F. HILTON.
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NORTHERN MICHIGAN.
hundred and twenty-five dollars, and after erecting a small log cabin brought his family to the new home, traveling by boat as far as Antrim City, thence by wagon over an old trail, much of which was so overgrown that a new road had to be cut through the wild and almost impenetrable forest before the destination was reached. As already indi- cated, Mr. Hilton was by no means pleased with the prospect which the country at that time presented, but his wife on the contrary expressed herself well satisfied with the con- dition of affairs and by her optimism did much to render the situation tolerable. The free, independent life, if difficult and hard at first, was not without its pleasing fea- tures and so strongly did it appeal to the good wife that she determined to remain and keep the land, in which decision she was op- posed by her husband who from the begin- ning looked upon it as little better than a prison and favored the selling of the prop- erty at the first favorable opportunity. Through the influence of his parents, who frequently visited him and supplied the fam- ily with provisions and other commodities, Mr. Hilton finally overcame much of his dis- like to the community, although he never be- came a successful farmer, his former voca- tion totally unfitting him for the mode of life which the tiller of the soil in a new coun- try was obliged to lead. By means of hired help, however, and the able counsel and co- operation of his wife, who assumed the greater part of the responsibility of manage- ment, the farm was finally cleared, good orchards were set out, substantial improve- ments made their appearance and in due time everything was in a prosperous condi- tion with the future looking bright and promising.
While not given to agricultural labor, Mr. Hilton manifested great interest in hor- ticulture and became not only an enthusias- tic but quite a successful fruit raiser, espe- cially in the growing of plums, of which from his orchard he gathered in a single season over seven hundred bushels. He gradually became reconciled to the farm life, and in the course of a few years rose to a position of prominence in the community, becoming one of the local leaders of the Democratic party and an influential factor in the public affairs of his township and county. He served with much acceptance as school di- rector, was active in all matters relating to public education and for a period of twelve consecutive years held the office of justice of the peace, discharging the duties of the same with such ability and fairness as to win much more than local repute as a dispenser of justice. Mr. Hilton was made a Mason at Rochester, Michigan, when twenty-one years of age and from that time until his death he continued an active and enthusias- tic member of the lodge at Charlevoix and at intervals filled nearly every important position in the same, besides rising to the Royal Arch degree, in which he was also honored with high official station. Relig- iously he subscribed to the Baptist creed and for many years was a regular attendant and liberal supporter of the church and a zealous worker in the Sunday school.
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