USA > Michigan > Gratiot County > Biographical memoirs of Gratiot County, Michigan : compendium of biography of celebrated Americans > Part 23
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The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Jesse Parling was William C. Young, a sturdy blacksmith of New York State, while her grandfather on the maternal side was Hor- ace Hart, a farmer of the Empire State. Her father, Thomas R. Young, was a sailor in his early manhood, from 1836 to 1839, but in the latter year located on the farm in Shiawassee on which he lived continu- ously for sixty years. He died November 3, 1899, at the age of eighty-five ; his good wife had preceded him, November 15, 1889, at the age of sixty-six years. To the union of this esteemed and respected couple were born these children: William, who died young ; Albert, now a farmer living in Shia- wassee county, Michigan; Lucinda, who died in 1889, the wife of Edward Vail; Malinda, wife of Ira Angus, of Shiawassee county ; Sarah M., who died at the age of twenty-three; Mary J., wife of Jesse Parl- ing; and Adelia A., who lived to be but six years of age.
C HRISS D. BOBZIEN, a substantial farmer and prominent citizen of Gratiot county, residing on his fine eighty- acre farm in Bethany township, was born August 1, 1849, in Prussia, Germany, son of John and Hannah (Buck) Bobzien, na- tives of Prussia who died in Niagara county, New York. The father, a farmer, was born in 1804, as was his wife, the family locat- ing in that county in 1863, and there they
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both died in the year 1888. Six children were born to them, viz .: Fred, deceased; Mary, widow of John Albright and a resi- dent of Niagara county, New York; Wil- liam, also of that county; Lena, deceased, who married William Kreuger; John, de- ceased, and Chriss D.
Mr. Bobzien was thirteen years old when he came with his parents from Prussia to America, and they settled north of Lock- port, Niagara county, New York, in the town of Newfane. He received a common- school education. At the age of sixteen years he started for Saginaw county, Michi- gan, going soon afterward to Oakland coun- ty. He had but a ten-dollar bill as capital, and later discovered that it was a counter- feit, but soon found work at lumbering, fol- lowing that occupation in the winter and farming during the summer season. He continued at these occupations until 1877, when he settled on the farm he now oc- cupies, having accumulated enough to war- rant its purchase, although the changes he has made in his twenty-nine years of oc- cupancy have completely transformed it. He has engaged in general farming and brought his land to a condition where it pro- duces some of the finest crops in the town- ship. His orchards compare favorably with others, and his fruit is excellent.
Mr. Bobzien was married September 6, 1874, to Miss Frances Reed, who was born in Pine River township, Gratiot county, October 29, 1857, daughter of Watson P. and Elizabeth (Caldwell) Reed, of New York and Ohio, respectively. Her parents were among the earliest settlers of Pine River township, where they were married. To Mr. and Mrs. Bobzien was born June 17, 1875, a daughter Lillie, the wife of Adolph
Greening (a farmer of Bethany township) and the mother of Carl and Bernice; in the year 1876, May 7th, was born Elizabeth, and in the year 1877 was born Robert, now a farmer of Midland county, Michigan, who married Alta Zimmerman and is the father of Chris, Clarence and Edith Irene; and in the year 1880 was born John.
Mr. Bobzien is fraternally connected with the Knights of Pythias. As has been seen, he has won his own way in the world, and has not only acquired much property, but also the respect and esteem of all his associates. He is now the owner of two fine farms-the one in Gratiot county upon which he resides, and which he has the sat- isfaction of having reclaimed from the wild- erness, and the tract in Midland county oc- cupied by his son Robert.
C LINTON SAWVEL. While the quiet routine of country life seems to many a man only a hard, monotonous round of toil, to others it offers the surest road to contentment and a peaceful happi- ness that accompanies home life. Among the many residents of Gratiot county who have deliberately chosen an agricultural career is Clinton Sawvel. He was born in DeKalb county, Indiana, June 20, 1849, son of George Sawvel.
George Sawvel passed the earlier por- tion of his life in Ohio and was there united in matrimony to Miss Anna Clark. Mrs. Sawvel became the mother of six children, of whom Clinton was the eldest. The happy wedded life of this couple was cut short by the untimely death of the wife in 1859, when she was still a young woman, having reached the age of only thirty-two years. After her death Mr. Sawvel remained in his
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home for some years longer, but finally in 1865 he broke away from the scene of his earlier associations and, moving to Michi- gan, selected Gratiot county as his future abode. He settled down there in Bethany township, which was then sparsely settled and has ever since been identified with that locality.
Clinton Sawvel spent his boyhood in Indiana, which in those early days offered only limited opportunities for an education. Some time too was passed in Steuben county and when he joined his father in Gratiot county, Michigan, he was eighteen years old. From that date, 1867, to the present, he has continued to be a resident of Bethany township. For some years after his arrival, in order to become sufficiently independent to start out for himself, he worked for others, and either on the farms near his home, in the lumber woods or on the river Tillibowassee and its tributaries, he earned the means to establish himself later in his own home. He ivas also en- gaged by the day or month to work on vari- ous farms in Clinton and Midland counties as well as in Gratiot. His perseverance and industry reaped their due reward and about 1870 he attained the goal toward which he had been working, and was able to buy a farm of his own. His first purchase was a tract of forty acres, situated in Section 25 of Bethany township, and he has added to this at different times till he is now the pos- sessor of some one hundred and twenty acres, and of these he has seventy acres im- proved and under cultivation. The soil is rich and productive, and Mr. Sawvel has been successful in his operations, as is indi- cated by the good buildings which he has put up on his property.
While engaged in Arcada township at one period Mr. Sawvel met the young lady who was to become his wife, and the attrac- tion between them soon led to their mar- riage. Her maiden name was Phoebe J. Graham and she was born in Canada, the daughter of Robert and Mary M. (Grass) Graham. The parents were among those who had settled in Gratiot county in an early day, and there the rest of their lives was spent. Mr. Graham died in Arcada town- ship at the age of sixty-five years. The union of Clinton Sawvel and Miss Phoebe J. Graham was celebrated September 26, 1869, about a year before they settled down in their own home. Two children have been born to them, Robert and Olive Ann, but the little daughter lived less than two years, being taken from them when only nineteen months old. Mr. Sawvel and his wife are both members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. They are simple, unostentatious people, as indeed their creed demands, and have many admirable traits of character which have made them warm friends among those with whom they have been associated.
W ILLIAM OLIVER WATSON, one of the most energetic, versatile and able business men of Gratiot county, as well as a prominent Republican for two de- cades, is at present a farmer and druggist of Breckenridge. He has been a member, of the Republican County Committee almost continuously for the past twenty years, and its treasurer for eight years. From 1884 until 1896 he was engaged in a prosperous grain commission business. He has also been active in the management of several of the banking institutions of the county, has been identified with the township govern-
WWatson
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ment, is a leading Mason, and a liberal sup- porter of the churches, and in a number of other ways has evinced a broad and remark- able activity-physical, executive, intel- lectual, moral and religious.
Mr. Watson's physical and mental traits of vigorous persistency are derived from his Scottish ancestry, his paternal grandparents having both been natives of Scotland. About the year 1743 his great- grandfather emigrated with his two sisters and settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylva- nia. In the year 1753 he married Rebecca, daughter of Aaron Torrence, of Mt. Pleas- ant, Adams county, Pennsylvania, and to them were born six sons and five daughters, all of whom lived to maturity.
John Watson, son of William Watson, was born October 15, 1755, the year of the defeat of Braddock, on account of which the settlement was exposed to the depreda- tions of the Indians. In 1775 he volun- teered in defense of his country and served as an officer in the army during the years of 1776 and 1777. In 1791 he married his cousin, Jennie, daughter of William Tor- rence. They had six children, of whom John T. Watson was the youngest.
John T. Watson was born July 31, 1808, and in 1834 married Harriet Lavinia Wilcox, daughter of Colonel Wilcox, of Batavia, New York, where she was born January 17, 1817. Shortly after their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. John T. Watson mi- grated westward and located at the little settlement of Howell, Livingston county, Michigan, they being among the pioneers of that region. The husband at once opened a general store, which he conducted for about four years; but being a college graduate, and far above the community in education
and general intelligence, his services as a "teacher were in demand for many years and he had also the honor of serving as the first superintendent of the Livingston county schools. Later he purchased a hotel at Fowlerville, that county, which after operat- ing for two years he exchanged for the farm in Oakland county, Michigan, upon which he died July 13, 1864. In whatever locality he settled he came into prominence, holding many township offices and continually serv- ing on the school board. His widow sur- vived until April 21, 1894, her death oc- curring in Breckenridge, Gratiot county, whither she had removed in 1876.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. John T. Watson were born the following chil- dren : David B., who died aged twenty-six years; John A., a soldier in the Union army, who died a prisoner at Florence, South Carolina, at the age of twenty-six; R. Franklin, deceased at nine years of age; Jennie, wife of George Richardson, a re- tired druggist of Ithaca, Michigan; Mary E., deceased, who married Thomas Craw- ford; Cora F., deceased aged four years ; William Oliver; Sarah, widow of the late G. T. Brown, attorney of Ithaca, Michigan ; Charles S., M. D., mentioned elsewhere ; Belle, deceased, aged twenty-two; and Ada, wife of Irvin S. Phipney, a general mer- chant of Manistique, Michigan.
William Oliver Watson was born in Livingston county, Michigan, December 15, 1848. He was educated in the district schools, and locating at Ithaca when he was twenty-one years of age, held various clerk- ships in that village. On December 31, 1874. at Ithaca, he was united in marriage with Ella F., daughter of Dewitt C. and Ella F. (Utley) Chapin, both natives of New York
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State. The former was a lawyer, as was his father before him, being admitted to the bar in New York State before he was twenty-one years old. Shortly afterward he located in Cass county, Michigan, and after a residence of several years in south- ern Illinois returned to the Wolverine State to remain the balance of his life. Prior to 1864 he had served as clerk of Clinton county and prosecuting attorney and judge of probate of Allegan county, and in De- cember of that year became a resident of Alma, Gratiot county, where he con- tinued to practice his profession. In the fall of 1870 he was elected register of deeds, locating then at Ithaca, and he continued to fill that position until his death, January 29, 1873. During the balance of that year, and 1874, his daughter, Ella F. Chapin (now Mrs. Watson), performed the duties of the position with marked effi- ciency, being the first woman to hold a county office in the State of Michigan. She had been a school teacher from the age of fifteen to twenty-seven, and was then, as now, a lady of remarkable intelligence and executive force. Mrs. Watson has been prominent in the social activities of the place, as well as in the work of the secret and benevolent societies in which her sex is allowed a membership. She is past worthy matron of the Eastern Star Chap- ter, and past noble grand of the Rebekahs, also being associated with the Maccabees and the Grangers.
Mrs. Watson was born in Allegan, Michigan, April 10, 1851 ; moved to De- witt, Clinton county, three years later, and. at the age of thirteen came with her parents to Alma, Gratiot county. After attending the common schools there she trained her-
self for her educational career by a course of study at the State Normal School, at Ypsilanti, Michigan.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Watson located on a farm in Pine River township, removing four years later to Ar- cada township, and purchasing an eighty- acre farm in Sections 7 and 8. In March, 1884, he removed to Breckenridge, Wheeler township, where he has since engaged in various lines of business-mercantile, grain and drug-as well as cultivated an exten- sive farm. The latter now consists of one hundred and seventy acres adjoining Breck- enridge, about one hundred and thirty-five acres being under cultivation. In connec- tion with his drug business Mr. Watson also carries a line of wall paper, paints, oils and furniture, and is doing considerable in the way of undertaking. In 1896 he dis- posed of his grain business. It should also be added that he is vice-president of the First State Savings Bank, of Breckenridge, and one of the directors and stockholders of the Gratiot County Bank, of St. Louis, Michigan.
To Mr. Watson and his wife these children have been born: John C., register of deeds of Gratiot county and mentioned elsewhere; Fred, who died in infancy ; Charles E., a business partner of his father, who married Madie Bodfish, a former school teacher; Byron S., postmaster at Breckenridge, living at home; Edna B., a school teacher; Laura Bess, Dewitt C. and H. Lawrence, all residing with their parents.
Since his location in Breckenridge, in 1884, Mr. Watson has held the office of township treasurer for three terms, and has been a member of the school board of Breckenridge for a period of twenty years.
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In politics he is a Republican. For nine years he was master of the local Masonic lodge, and he is a member of Ithaca Com- mandery, Detroit Consistory and Moslem Temple, as well as the Order of the Eastern Star; he is also affiliated with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows at Breckenridge.
H ARVEY R. MUNSON. "A little farm, well tilled" makes an ideal home in the opinion of most men, and where good judgment and industry combine to make the most of its resources, as comfort- able a competency can be gained as from a larger estate where less business like methods prevail. Such has been the exper- ience of Harvey B. Munson, a man who has gained the esteem and confidence of the community by his success in business, sound judgment as to men and affairs, and hearty sympathy with all forms of progress.
Mr. Munson was born on a farm in Medina county, Ohio, February 10, 1859, son of Erastus R. and Caroline ( Poorman) Munson, both natives of the Buckeye State. The family came to Gratiot county in the spring of 1866 and settled in Newark town- ship, where they made a permanent home. Erastus R. Munson died there October 30, 1891, aged sixty-five years, and his wife June 6, 1900, at the age of seventy-one. Of their seven children the following five reached maturity: Lewis K., who died in Newark township in March, 1903; J. Frank, of Ithaca; Susan D., Mrs. James C. Lepley, of Newark township; Harvey R .; and Orange W., a farmer in Hamilton township. Harvey R. Munson was seven years of age when, with the family, he settled in Gratiot county, and his education was acquired in its public schools. Growing up on his
father's farm, his youth differed little in es- sential respects from that of the other farmers' sons around him and, as he reached maturity, an agricultural life offered to him the greatest and most permanent advan- tages. In it, therefore, his main efforts centered, although he also learned the car- penter's trade and for a time followed that occupation. He spent the first five years after his marriage on a farm in Section 18, owned by his father-in-law, Jacob Eyer, and he displayed the same qualities in his work there that have ever characterized him. Mr. Munson moved to his present home in 1888. It is not a large farm, comprising only about forty acres, of which some twenty-five have been improved, and it is located near the line of Section 21.
Mr. Munson was a young man of only twenty-four years of age when he assumed the responsibilities of domestic life ; the part- ner of his joys and sorrows was Miss Lydia A. Eyer, to whom he was united September 26, 1883. Mrs. Munson was a native of Newark township, born November 18, 1858, the daughter of Jacob and Maud (Beck) Eyer. On the paternal side she was of German descent, as her father was born in Baden, Germany. Her mother was a native of Ohio and there met her future husband. The family transferred their homestead from Fulton county, Ohio, to Gratiot county, Michigan, about the year 1854, and settled in Newark township, where Jacob Eyer still lives. His wife was called from this world in August, 1889, at the age of fifty- six years. Mrs. Munson was the third child in a family of eleven. She is a lady of many estimable qualities and has been a true help- mate to her husband. She is a member of the United Brethren Church and one of the
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most active, faithful and efficient of its workers, being very capable and practical, with much executive ability.
Mr. Munson has always been a promi- nent man in his locality, as he takes a keen interest in township and county affairs and is foremost in the promotion of movements of real utility. He is well informed, pro- gressive and modern in his ideas and a citi- zen from whom many lessons may be learned. Always a supporter of Republican principles, Mr. Munson has been a member of the Republican County Committee for the past ten years, and has frequently been an office holder, filling positions on the school board for several years, and being township clerk for one year. In February, 1903, he was appointed township supervisor, to complete an unexpired term, and at the following election was chosen by his follow townsmen as the regular incumbent. In 1903, 1904 and 1905 he was re-elected and deservedly so, for his services on the board have been untiring, disinterested, ably per- formed and most satisfactory to his consti- tuents.
W TILLIAM A. SEAMON. For the successful discharge of the duties of certain positions a peculiar combination of qualities seems required, and while the work may be accomplished in a fashion by men not specially adapted to it, yet the happy union of the man and the place re- sults in an economy of time, effort and money, together with an absence of friction, that secures most gratifying results, not otherwise attainable. This truth is forcibly illustrated in the case of William A. Sea- mon, the overseer of the Gratiot County Home, who seems to be naturally fitted for.
the office which he holds. The poor farm which he superintends comprises one hun- dred and ninety acres of land, and the build- ing for the inmates is a two-story brick structure of fifty-two rooms, accommodat- ing an average of forty persons. Although he has been in charge of the home for less than two years his care and thoughtfulness are manifest in the considerable improve- men't which he has brought about. He has already laid over three miles of drain tiling on the farm, has erected about five hundred and fifty rods of wire fencing, and plans are under way, to take effect during the next building season, for enlarging the building to accommodate twenty more people. Both building and grounds have an elegant ap- pearance, fully up to the best standard of such institutions, and Mr. Seamon is justly praised for his creditable work and man- agement.
William A. Seamon was born in Darke county, Ohio, January 20, 1861, son of Ru- dolph and Huldah (Supinger) Seamon, the father a native of Germany, while the mother was born in Pennsylvania. For a time they lived in Darke county, but after- ward removed to Plainfield township, Kent county, Michigan, where they are still resid- ing. William A. was the second child in a family of six, the other members being : George A., a farmer of Kent county, Mich- igan; Elizabeth, wife of Frank Fowler, and Rachel, Mrs. John Cady, both husbands being Kent county farmers ; Isaac, of Grand Rapids, Michigan ; and Maggie, married to John Cross, a Grand Rapids machinist.
The parents of William A. Seamon were in straitened circumstances and he had few opportunities for enjoying any of the advantages that fall to so many boys.
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M. A. Seamon
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During one period of two and a half years he was "bound out" in order to assist the fam- ily at home. His youth was passed in Darke county and he had reached the age of twenty-six when, in 1887, he removed to Gratiot county. By his unaided efforts through years of labor he had at length ac- cumulated enough to buy a farm of his own, located in Emerson township, and this con- tinued to be his home until 1901, when he sold the property and removed to Ithaca. In one way and another, Mr. Seamon had acquired a good working knowledge of the carpenter's trade, and during his residence in Ithaca devoted most of his attention to that line of work. But farming has been his main occupation thus far, and his oper- ations have been out of the beaten track. He has bought and improved several farms since coming to Michigan, with the purpose of selling them again at an advanced figure after he had brought the properties into good shape. Two of these tracts in partic- ular proved to be especially favorable for his purposes, and were transformed by Mr. Seamon into highly productive farms. The appointment to his present position in charge of the County Home was made in the spring of 1904, and he has already dem- onstrated in a number of specified ways that he is the proper man for the place.
On September 18, 1881, in Darke county, Mr. Seamon was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Horner, who was born in that county July 4, 1862, and was a daughter of Mack and Elizabeth (Reck) Horner, of Pennsylvania.
Politically Mr. Seamon is a Republican, and during his years of residence in Emer- son township he took an active part in local affairs, becoming one of the prominent men
of that part of the county. Fraternally he is a member of Emerson Lodge, No. 375. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Ithaca Encampment, No. 187; he also be- longs to Grange No. 185, of Ithaca. An- other organization with which he has been identified for some time, and of which he is a popular member, is the Ancient Order of Gleaners. Finally, as his industry, honesty and ability go hand in hand with his popu- larity, it is fair to prophesy that his future will be marked by the same honorable pro- gress which has signalized his past.
W OODBURY H. BOVEE, a represen- tative and substantial farmer, re- siding on Section 27, North Star township, Gratiot county, where he owns a thoroughly cultivated and intelligently improved tract of one hundred and sixty acres, was born October 15, 1859, on the farm which he now owns and upon which he resides. He is a son of the late Hiram and Adaline A. (Austin) Bovee, the former of whom was born in New York State, October 27, 1831, the latter September 30, 1832, in Vermont. The parents came to Gratiot county March 4, 1857, and settled on Sec- tion 27, North Star township, where they spent their days, with the exception of one year in Lenawee county. Hiram Bovee had visited Gratiot county, Michigan, some time before bringing his family, and was em- ployed by the late W. W. Palmer. He was so pleased with the country that he pur- chased eighty acres from the government on Section 27, where he became very pros- perous, and died in his seventy-first year, owning at the time of his death, in January, 1902, one hundred and sixty acres of valu- able land, upon which he had erected the
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best of buildings. There, also, his wife had died in 1899, aged sixty-seven years. Their children were: Woodbury H .; and Clara A., who married Calvin A. Crandell, a farmer, and resides in Washington town- ship.
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