USA > Michigan > Gratiot County > Biographical memoirs of Gratiot County, Michigan : compendium of biography of celebrated Americans > Part 24
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Woodbury H. Bovee was educated in the common schools of his district, and as- sisted his father on the farm upon which he has always lived. He was married in Ithaca, Michigan, February 6, 1887, to Miss Nettie Vedder, daughter of Clark and Sarah (Deline) Vedder, mentioned elsewhere. Mrs. Boveei was born February 6, 1868, and to her and her husband these children have been born: Agnes (who died in in- fancy), Florence A., Lois L., Cecil W., Glenn H., Hiram C. and Royal O.
Mr. Bovee is prominent in township af- fairs, and for two terms has held the office of township treasurer on the Republican ticket, which party he has always zealously supported. He and his wife are members of Liberty Grange, No. 391, Patrons of Husbandry, and he is also connected with the Ancient Order of Gleaners. Mr. Bovee is a broad-minded, practical farmer, his build- ings exhibiting both taste and thrift, and the entire homestead is admirably arranged and improved. Mr. Bovee engages in a general line of farming and his efforts have met with much success, placing him with the really substantial men of his township.
A BRAHAM L. GILES, one of the most successful farmers and a well-known citizen of Bethany township, Gratiot county, Michigan, where he owns a well improved farm of one hundred acres, was born Feb- ruary 8, 1861, in Jefferson county, Pennsyl- vania. His paternal grandfather, Palmer
Giles, originally a farmer of New York State, died in Ohio.
The parents of Mr. Giles, Ray and Marilla (Clark) Giles, came to Gratiot county in 1883 and settled in Bethany town- ship, where the father died in April, 1889, aged sixty-eight years. His widow, born March 4, 1829, resides in St. Louis, Michi- gan. Their children were as follows: Alice M. is the widow of Isaac M. Anderson and lives in St. Louis, Michigan; Cynthia L. died in infancy; Isabel, Mrs. Amlo Waterman, is deceased; Henry A. and Wellington R. died in infancy; Frances, of St. Louis, is the widow of F. A. Morse; Minnie E. married Enos Bacon, of Kane, Pennsylvania; Abraham L .; Nellie G., un- married, lives in St. Louis with her mother ; Jennie L. married Claud Salisbury, of St. Louis, Michigan.
Of the family of ten children, Abraham L. Giles was the eighth member, and he was. quite young when his parents removed from Pennsylvania and settled in Ashtabula county, Ohio. In the latter place he grew to manhood and received a common-school. education, coming to Gratiot county in De- cember, 1883. Here he has since resided. With the exception of one year when he taught school in Ashtabula county, Ohio, Mr. Giles' interests have been centered in farming all his life, and he is familiar with every branch of that occupation. He owns one hundred acres of land, and of this tract ninety acres are improved. He is one of the honorable and upright citizens of the. township, in whom trust is placed, and is- held in general esteem.
Mr. Giles was married, in St. Louis, Michigan, September 8, 1896, to Miss Susie Donnan, born May 17, 1869, daughter of
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William and Margaret Donnan. Mrs. Giles is a native of Clinton county, Michi- gan. Politically Mr. Giles is a Republican, and has been identified with the success of his party in this section.
B URTON I. GEE, one of the extensive farmers, stock raisers and prominent citizens of Gratiot county, Michigan, is serving his third term as highway commis- sioner of Sumner township, where he was born September 1I, 1862, son of Isaac and Orpha R. (Gargett) Gee. The latter was of English descent, but the Gee family is of German extraction, father and paternal grandparents, Joseph and Eleanor (Seaton) Gee, however, being natives of New York State. The grandfather died in New York.
Isaac Gee and his wife were pioneers of Sumner township, locating in Gratiot county early in the fifties on half of Section 15, Sumner township. When he first came to the county Isaac Gee was accompanied by his brother, the late George Gee, and they cut their way through the timber, crossing the Pine River April 1, 1855, at a time when the snow was two and one-half feet deep, covered with a crust thick enough to sus- tain a man. Isaac Gee improved a farm in Section 15, where he spent the remainder of his life, engaging in mercantile business in addition to looking after his agricultural interests. He died on his farm in June, 1886, while his widow still survives, making her home in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. They were the parents of two children : Burton I., mentioned below; and Zua, born April 10, 1869, who married Joseph Wilson, of Sagi- naw. Isaac Gee was chosen supervisor in 1859, and also held the offices of justice of
the peace and highway commissioner. Polit- ically Mr. Gee was a firm Republican.
Burton I. Gee was reared in Sumner township, where he received his education in the common schools. His whole life has been spent in agricultural pursuits, and he is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of good farm land, one hundred and twenty acres of which he has improved. His build- ings are modern and substantial, and his farm is equipped with the latest agricultural machinery. Mr. Gee is also largely engaged in stock, hog and sheep raising, and he has sold as high as $1, 100 worth of hogs in one year. He is a practical, progressive and prosperous farmer, and has succeeded far above the average in his operations. But he had not always been in such comfortable circumstances, for he is a self-made man. For fifteen years he lived on a rented farm for share rent and when he commenced on his own account his worldly possessions con- sisted of a pair of horses and a few house- hold goods.
Burton I. Gee was married in Alma, Michigan, December 3, 1883, to Miss Jennie M. Losey, born in Wayne county, Michigan, October 9, 1865, daughter of Asa and Eliza (Van Houten) Losey, the latter of whom died in Arcada township, April 14, 1891. Mr. Losey resides in Grand Rapids, Michi- gan, and is a veteran of the Civil war. Mrs. Gee was the sixth of eleven children, her brothers and sisters, in the order of birth, being as follows: Frank, living in Bellaire, Michigan; Edward, a resident of Thomp- sonville, Michigan; Minnie, Mrs. George Clark, of Sumner township; Fred and Wil- liam, both deceased; Charles and George, both living in Bellaire, Michigan; Robert,
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of Sumner township; Isabell, wife of Charles Brown, of Perry, Michigan; and Fred, of Sumner township. Through the Atchinsons Mrs. Gee is able to trace the ancestors of her family to the Revolutionary heroes of Valley Forge. She accompanied her parents to Gratiot county when she was three years old, the family settling in Ar- cada township. Mr. and Mrs. Gee have had these children: Leo I., Sarah B., Clifford J., Lynn B., Orpha E., Tressell Z., Laurel, Hubert and Buhl.
Mr. Gee held the office of township treasurer for two terms, and has also been school director. He is at present serving his third term as highway commissioner, and has always taken an active interest in the progress of the Republican party. He is a member of Alma Lodge of the Masonic fraternity.
O ZRO H. TENNEY, justice of the peace of Lafayette township, Gra- tiot county, Michigan, was born in Living- ston county, August 16, 1866, son of Henry M. and Auselia J. (Carson) Tenney, the former a native of New York, and the latter of Michigan. They came to Gratiot county in 1887 and settled in Lafayette township, where they lived for several years. They then removed to St. Louis, Michigan, where they still reside. They were the parents of three children, of which family our subject was the second member.
Ozro H. Tenney has been a resident of Lafayette township since 1887. He was married in Ithaca, October 10, 1894, to Miss Alice E. Powell, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Salter) Powell, natives of Eng- land. Mr. and Mrs. Tenney have had four children : Lynton H., Laura E., Irene A.
and Marjorie J. Mr. Tenney has held the office of township clerk for three years. In the spring of 1904 he was elected justice of the peace, on the Republican ticket, which office he has held ever since. His estimable wife is a consistent member of the Presby- terian Church. Judge Tenney is a valued member of Edgewood Lodge No. 257, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and Rising Star Lodge, Ancient Order of Gleaners. He is a man representative of the highest type of citizenship, and has many friends throughout Lafayette township.
F FRANCIS HENRY HOWES, who owns and occupies a fertile, well-cul- tivated farm of eighty acres in North Star township, was born May I, 1835, in Onon- daga county, New York. His parents were Francis and Betsey E. (Bogardus) Howes, the former a native of New England, and the latter of New York. They died in Gran- by, New York, leaving five children, of whom Francis Henry was the fourth.
Mr. Howes was reared in Oswego coun- ty, New York, where he was living at the time of his enlistment, in April, 1861, in Company E, Twenty-fourth New York In- fantry. He remained two years in his coun- try's service and as a soldier always did his duty promptly and cheerfully, making a war record of which anyone might well be proud. After the war he returned to Os- wego county, and followed farming. He was married in that county in April, 1864, to Mrs. Jerusha Amelia (Neal) Morton, the widow of Lewis Morton and about a year and a half after marriage left his native State and located in Gratiot county, Michigan, settling in North Star township, on a farm which he had previous-
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ly purchased, and upon which he has re- sided ever since. His interests have been centered in farming all of his life, and he has been very successful, being one of the prominent agriculturists of his section. When he settled on his farm the land was all wild and had to be cleared before culti- vation could be undertaken, a task which meant years of incessant labor. Mr. Howes has been a tireless worker and a practical man of business, acquiring a handsome competency during his long and active career. He is a man of the highest type and has many stanch friends in the commu- nity, where he is regarded as a leading citizen.
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To Mr. Howes and his first wife two children, Lewis A. and Frank R., were born. Mrs. Jerusha A. Howes died June 7, 1888, in her fiftieth year. Mr. Howes married (second) June 30, 1889. Mrs. Ida E. (Harmon) Cooper, a native of New York, the widow of Harold D. Cooper, of Jackson county, by whom she had one child, Hallie Emily.
Mr. Howes has been a member of the Adventist Church for about thirty years and has served for some time as deacon and treasurer of the church.
D AVID E. WELLING, who is success- fully engaged in the cultivation of his farm of forty acres in Bethany town- ship, was born in Richfield, Genesee county, Michigan, April 22, 1846, son of John and Lepha (Hunt) Welling. The parents were natives of Vermont and New York, respec- tively, and the father died in Richfield township in his seventy-fifth year, while the mother died in Oregon township, Lapeer county, Michigan, aged forty years. They
had five children, of whom David E. was the eldest.
David E. Welling was reared on his father's farm and was educated in the schools of his district. In 1869 he came to Gratiot county, and settled on Section I, Bethany township, where for about three years he worked at lumbering in the woods. In the spring of 1872 he removed to Section II, Bethany township, where he has since resided. For a number of years he engaged in the sawmill business, but since 1901 has. devoted his time and attention to working his forty-acre farm.
Mr. Welling was married, in St. Louis. Michigan, October 1, 1871, to Miss Eliza- beth Frary, who was born in Braceville, Trumbull county, Ohio, July 24. 1847. daughter of Joseph L. and Hannah (Brooks) Frary, the former at native of Massachusetts and the latter of Ohio. They came from the latter State and settled in Gratiot county, locating in Pine River township. Mrs. Frary died in St. Louis aged about sixty years, while Mr. Frary died at the home of Mr. Welling, when eighty-three years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Welling have had children as follows : Arthur E., Marcellus J., Lloyd B. and Lepha M.
Mr. Welling has held the office of high- way commissioner of Bethany township for two years, and has also held school offices. Fraternally he affiliates with the K. O. T. M. M.
H JON. JOHN W. HOLMES. One of the most prominent men connected with the public, business and agricultural interests of Gratiot county, and a leader in the Republican politics of the State of Mich-
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igan, John W. Holmes is accorded a fore- most place in these annals. He represents the Gratiot district in the State Legislature, is engaged in farming, is proprietor, of a flourishing depot where he has a line of car- riages and agricultural implements and machinery, and is, in all respects, a citizen of whom Alma and Michigan are proud.
John W. Holmes was born on a farm in Spring Water township, Livingston county, New York, on January 21, 1840, son of Milton and Maria (Chesebro) Holmes, of Massachusetts. Their marriage occurred June 17, 1825, in that State, and five years later the couple removed to Livingston county, where, in the pursuits of agricult- ure, they passed the balance of their days. Milton Holmes was not only a good farmer, but a Democrat prominent in township af- fairs. He was born April 22, 1805, and died October 20, 1849; his wife, born Feb- ruary 29, 1808, died December 27, 1885. They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Milton Holmes were as follows : Daniel C., a farmer of Jackson county, Michigan ; Myron, who died October 22, 1850; Nancy, deceased wife of Frank Rathbun ; Sarah A., Mrs. Edwin Brown, of Syracuse, New York; Warner I., who died November 9, 1869; Harriet M., who died in 1901; John W .; Lucy, Mrs. Norman Gibbs, living on the old homestead; Emily I., who married Frank Root, and died in 1902; William E., a farmer of Steuben county, New York; Frances E., widow of William Jones, resid- ing in Indiana.
John W. Holmes remained on the fam- ily homestead until he was seventeen years of age, when he had acquired a fair educa-
tion in the district schools. Entering the high school at Jonesville, Hillsdale county, Michigan, he remained there until his en- listment, June 9, 1861, in the Seventh Regi- ment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry. After serving with his regiment for one year he was honorably discharged at Camp Benton, Maryland, being at the time in hospital, in- capacitated because of sickness. It
was while participating in the engagement at Ball's Bluff that he was taken ill and sent to the hospital. After his discharge and return home he continued his course in the Jonesville high school, from which he grad- uated, subsequently teaching ten years in the schools of Jackson and Hillsdale coun- ties. The last four years of his career as an educator were spent in Mosherville and Horton, two years being passed in each place. He then removed to Mosherville and for six years engaged in mercantile pur4 suits, and passed the same period in similar lines at Horton. Disposing of his business at the latter point he removed to Remus, Michigan, where for one year he operated a general store. At Alma he next estab- lished a produce trade, purchasing also a farm of 120 acres, which he operated in connection with his business. Three years later he sold his produce business and founded his agricultural machinery and car- riage depository, which he still conducts in connection with his farm.
On December 24, 1874, in Horton, Michigan, Mr. Holmes was united in mar- riage to Miss Eva E. Ayres, born on a farm in Jackson county, July 29, 1854, daughter of Albert I. and Harriet Ayres, of New York State. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, viz .: Lena, who died aged sixteen years : Milton A., in part-
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nership with John W., who married Ada Patterson and has two children, Elizabeth and John W .; and Bessie L. and Conway, both living at home.
Mr. Holmes has been president and treasurer of the village board of trustees for twe terms each, and for several years both president of the board of education and of the board of trustees of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. Since its organization he has also been a member of the cemetery board, having at different times served as president of that body. Since 1901 he has been a representative of the State Legisla- ture, now serving his third term.
JOHN E. SCHICK, one of the substan-
tial farmers and self-made men of Pine River township, Gratiot county, was born in Monroeville, Huron county, Ohio, July 9, 1862, son of Emil and Elizabeth (Swabley) Schick, natives of Germany. He was reared on his father's farm in that county, and remained at home until he was thirteen years of age, when he started out in life for himself. He worked at farm labor for two years in his native county, and then came to Gratiot county, Michigan, locating in St. Louis, which city he reached with one trade dollar in his pocket. Natur- ally he sought employment at once, and, after a season of "doing odd jobs" he se- cured regular work of C. H. Stanton, on his stock farm in Isabella county, where he was engaged one month before being made foreman. He continued in Mr. Stanton's employ for a little over two years. In November, 1884. Mr. Schick was united in marriage to Miss Estella D. Frost, and rented a farm in Coe township for three years, at the end of that time purchasing
eighty acres in the same township, where he lived for one year. He rented this farm and bought fifty-four and one-half acres on Section 2, Pine River township, Gratiot county, where he has since resided. He has convenient substantial buildings on his farm, and he utilizes all modern improve- ments in machinery. His farm has in- creased considerably under his careful man- agement and he now owns ninety-seven acres of land, all of which is improved. Mr. Schick, by his first marriage, was the father of three children-Floy, Delta and Lela. His second wife, to whom he was united July 21, 1900, was Mrs. Addie (Baugham) Sperry, by whom he has one child, Mildred.
Mr. Schick is a Republican, has served as chairman of the township commissioners and declined other offices. He keeps well abreast of the times, and may be justly regarded as a representative citizen of an important section of Gratiot county, being honorable, able and public-spirited. He is a member of Tent No. 526, Knights of the Modern Maccabees, of Forest Hill.
John E. Schick is the eldest of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Emil Schick, the others being: Mina, deceased, Mrs. Joe Pfeiffer: George, a resident of Denver, Col- orado: Mary, in Chicago; Cecelia. wife of Samuel Gill, of Toledo, Ohio; Tracy, of Chicago: Frank, of Toledo; Rose, who married Louie Ball. of Toledo: Robert, of Colorado: and Lane, wife of a Mr. Beery, of Chicago.
JOHN WESLEY SMITH. postmaster of Wheeler, treasurer of Wheeler township, and one of the substantial and representative farmers of Gratiot county. was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, Jan-
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uary 25, 1846, son of Noah and Lucinda (Hudson) Smith, natives, respectively, of New York and Ohio. Both parents are de- ceased-the father dying while living with John W., on November 25, 1890, aged sev- enty years, and the mother, in May, 1885, at the age of sixty, while residing in Trum- bull county, Ohio. Noah Smith was a car- penter, and after the death of his wife lived with his son. The couple were lifelong members of the Methodist Church, and to them were born the following children : Charles R., a jeweler of Marinette, Wiscon- sin ; John W .; Edwin, who died in Leroy, consin; Frank, a machinist living in Leroy, Michigan; Julia, widow of James Ells- worth, of Wheeler, Michigan; and Aman- da, deceased wife of John Coleman.
John W. Smith was reared in Trumbull county, Ohio, and lived there until his en- listment in June, 1862, in the Trumbull Guards, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving three years in Ohio, and West Virginia. After the close of the war Mr. Smith re- turned to Michigan, locating in Ionia county, where for a few months he engaged in farming, and in the fall of 1865 he took up a tract of forty acres of land in Wheeler township, Gratiot county. There on Sec- tion 28 he has lived ever since, with the ex- ception of a few months. Mr. Smith is the owner of seventy acres, all of which is im- proved, and his farm is well-located, his land fertile and productive, and his build- ings large and substantial.
Since 1897 Mr. Smith has been post- master of Wheeler. He has also served as highway commissioner, school inspector, and townhip treasurer, and has held other offices of his township, in the discharge of the duties of which he has been careful and
efficient. He is now in his third term as township treasurer, having served in 1892 and 1893, and being elected for his present term in 1905.
Mr. Smith was married in Canfield, Mahoning county, Ohio, January 16, 1864, to Miss Charlotte A. Pickett, a native of the Buckeye State, daughter of Peter and Re- becca (Rohrer) Pickett, of Ohio, who both died in Michigan. Mr. Smith and his wife have no children of their own, but have adopted and reared Wesley O. Smith (now a farmer of Pine River township, married to Maud Bailey) and Jennie Smith (wife of B. T. Muscott, a Wheeler township farmer). Mr. Smith has never deviated from the principles of the Republican party, and is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
A RLAN W. STONE, junior member of
the widely known firm of Stone Brothers, dealers in agricultural imple- ments and musical instruments (organs, pianos, etc.) at Breckenridge, Michigan, was born in Lebanon township, Clinton county, Michigan, December 29, 1869, son of Warren H. and Susan (Murwin) Stone, the father being born near Rochester, New York, and the mother in Lenawee county, Michigan.
Warren H. Stone, who is now a resident of Breckenridge, was born February 23, 1825, and few have had a more diversified life, or shown greater versatility. Soon after graduating from the Rochester (New York) schools he commenced the study of medicine. He was licensed to practice but decided that he would rather preach, and preach for a time he did. Then for a sea- son he was a farmer, and, having a mechani-
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Culan H Stones
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cal gift, conducted a wagon and cooper shop for a few years. In the meantime his ac- tive mind had been wrestling with the law, and he relinquished the tools of his shop for the legal profession, in which practice he was engaged for ten years. When the cru- sade against slavery was at its height, he was among the most ardent of the Aboli- tionists, and became a politician as well as a lawyer. During the Civil war he was a deputy provost marshal, although as a rule he refused offers of public preferment. He did, however, hold a number of township offices in Clinton county. He finally disposed of a large law practice and returned to farming. In 1879 Mr. Stone sold his farm in Clinton county, Michigan, and purchased a large tract of land in Wheeler township, bringing his family to live upon the new homestead, and continuing to operate the farm until 1905, when he retired and located at Breckenridge. He is a member of the United Brethren Church. Four children were born to him and his wife: Herbert, who is deceased; Arthur H., senior member of Stone Brothers; Arlan W. ; and Alice E., Mrs. Alvin C. Wyant, of Breckenridge. The mother died in Wheeler township, Gra- tiot county, March 27, 1892, at the age of fifty-eight years.
Until he was ten years of age Arlan W. Stone lived upon his father's farm in Leb- anon township, Clinton county, in 1879 be- ing brought by his parents to Wheeler town- ship, Gratiot county, where he grew to man- hood. He was educated in the common schools and by private tuition. He con- tinued to live on the home farm in Wheeler township until March, 1901, when he re- moved to Breckenridge and engaged in the implement business with his brother,
Arthur H. Stone. The brothers were very successful in their enterprise, and in 1904 they broadened its scope by adding musical instruments to the implement business al- ready established. Arlan W. Stone is also the owner of one hundred and forty-six acres of land, one hundred and thirty-four acres of which are improved, and his agri- cultural ventures have proved as successful as his business enterprise.
On September 4, 1894, in Wheeler township, Mr. Stone was married to Miss Lillie A. Clemens, a native of Park Hill, Ontario, where she was born October 3, 1877, daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth A. (Williamson) Clemens, and the second of three children. She was two years old when brought from Canada to Midland county, Michigan, by her parents, who settled in Porter township, where she developed to womanhood. To Mrs. Stone and her hus- band have been born these children: Olive M., Lulu V., Herbert F. (who died when about fifteen months old) and Ruth.
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