USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > Compendium of history and biography of Hillsdale County, Michigan > Part 75
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of that county, and they are the parents of four sons, Carl P., Clifton H., Harold O. and Victor W. Looked up to as a progressive farmer and a most serviceable public official, Mr. Lane en- joys in an unusual degree the cordial esteem and regard of the people of all southern Michigan.
LORENZO D. WEAVER.
The restless spirit of independence and self- reliance that brought the Pilgrim fathers across the stormy ocean and planted them on the rocky shores of New England, and that enabled them to there build up a new dominion of freedom and power in the wilds of this western world has been ever present and ever potential in their descendants. It colonized that portion of our country and made it effective in winning and es- tablishing American liberty, by founding new states among the nations of the earth, and giving to mankind a new political system, wherein the citizen is sovereign and the common sense of the whole people is the governing power. And then it pushed on to other fields of conquest in the boundless domain of the farther West, repeating in the wild woods and on the virgin prairies of this section the same process of settlement, devel- opment, harmonious assimilation and established dominion it had successfully worked on the coast of the Atlantic, pushing on its beneficent ad -- vance until it has linked the Pacific to the Atlan- tic by a continuous chain of mighty common- wealths and all-daring, all-conquering civiliza- tions.
In the very van of this triumphant army were four brothers named Weaver, emigrants from the old England to the New England, who upon their arrival made the cause of humanity here their own, devoting themselves with zeal and loyalty to the interests of this land, fighting val- iantly in its struggle for independence, and work- ing with ardor and intelligence in building up its commercial, industrial and political supremacy. From one of these is descended Lorenzo D. Weaver, now of Somerset township, Mich., one of the venerated and few remaining members of that fast-fading band of heroes that laid the foun-
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dations of this state deep, broad and enduring, and established Hillsdale county on a sound ba- sis among the political entities of this part of the country.' Mr. Weaver was born on March 24, 1817, at Cambria, Niagara county, N. Y., where his parents, Russell and Lydia (Dowell) Weav- er, settled in early life. The former was a native of Vermont and the latter of Connecticut. They became residents of New York in 1808, and in that state passed the rest of their lives. The fa- ther was a farmer and a minister of the Chris- tian church, and his family consisted of five sons and nine daughters, all now deceased but his son, Lorenzo, and two of his daughters. He was also a soldier in the War of 1812 and fought for the cause of his country on the field of military con- flict as earnestly and as effectively as he did for that of his Master on the battlegrounds of the church. His father was Thomas Weaver, a na- tive of Rhode Island, who moved from that state to Vermont and later to New York, where he ended his days.
Lorenzo D. Weaver was reared and educated at his New York home, and in his early boyhood began life by working on the farm. He remained with his parents until he was eighteen years of age, then, in 1835, in company with an elder brother, Hiram Weaver, he came to Hillsdale county by way of Canada and Detroit and from there along the Chicago road. He settled near the present site of the village of Cambria on 160 acres of land which he took up from the govern- ment. He soon took rank among the leading citizens of the region, and, when the new town- ship of Cambria was formed, he gave it the name it bears, thus memorializing the pleasant recol- lections of his old New York home. A few years later he sold this tract, returned to New York. where he remained until 1850, then again became a resident of this state, purchasing and locating on the farm where he now lives, in the develop- ment and improvement of which he has success- fully expended the strength and energy of all his subsequent years.
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In 1840 Mr. Weaver married with Miss Laura A. Moore, of Delaware county, Ohio, a native of Palmyra, N. Y. They have six chil-
dren, Celia, wife of C. A. Price, of Hudson; Al- ice A., wife of Loyal Hinkley, of Somerset town- ship; Adelia, wife of Judge Sidney Keith, of Rochester, Ind .; Grace, wife of Nathan Norris, of Jackson, Mich .; Georgiana, wife of Homer Strong, also of Jackson ; Forest L., a successful farmer of Somerset township. After sixty-two years of happy wedded life, Mrs. Weaver died on March 26, 1902. In politics Mr. Weaver was first a Whig, but assisted in organizing the Re- publican party and has since given that organiza- tion his unwavering allegiance, but he has never held or desired public office, but during the Civil War he served as an enrolling commissioner. For many years he has been a devoted attendant before the altars of Freemasonry, and has also for a long time been a faithful and active member of the Free Will Baptist church. He has en- dured the trials of frontier life at a time when bears and wolves were a constant menace to hu- man safety, he was more than once chased by them ; and it is fit that he should now enjoy the triumphs of the civilization he helped to found.
THOMAS J. LOWERY.
A farmer, lawyer, promoter and manufac- turer, and with a creditable record in each of these lines of enterprise, Thomas J. Lowery is one of the leading and most representative citi- zens of Jerome, in Somerset township, Hillsdale county, and he has exemplified in his active and productive life not only the benefits of well ap- plied industry, but also the versatility and re- sourcefulness of the American mind, which can successfullly conduct a number of occupations of widely different natures at the same time, without the interference of one with the other, or with detriment to any.
Mr. Lowery was born on September 3, 1837, in Livingston county, N. Y., the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Johnson) Lowery, natives and prosperous farmers of New York state, where the father died soon after the birth of his son. When Thomas was two years old, his mother, in 1839, brought the family to Michigan, and set- tled on a small tract of uncultivated wood land,
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where she began to make for herself and her off- spring a new home in the wilderness. It was a task of magnitude and difficulty for a widow with the cares of a growing household upon her, and the unpromising conditions of the situation around her. But she was possessed of a strong and determined nature, and entered upon her onerous labors with spirit and resolution. Under her management and with her active personal aid the land was cleared, cultivated and improved with comfortable buildings, in the course of time being made to smile and blossom with the prod- ucts of good taste and refined sensibilities.
The progress of the work was slow for a time, the appointments of the home were crude and primitive, the conveniences of life were few and high in price, but it is doubtful if all the blandishments of cultivated life would have given this noble one the keen and wholesome pleasure she had in seeing the wilds of nature gradually yielding and becoming docile under her persuasive diligence, her children at the same time imbibing the spirit of the independent and self-reliant existence of the region and growing into the resolute, strong-natured, broad-minded and firm-fibered manhood and womanhood of the frontier into which they developed. She lived and worked upon this land until her death in 1867 at an advanced age, passing from earth mourned and beloved by the entire community in which so many years of her beneficent activity had been passed.
With the rest of the family Thomas grew to years of maturity on this little homestead, shar- ing with other children of the neighborhood in the limited ministrations of the district schools, near by for that time, although perhaps miles distant from the maternal home. He was able, however, as many were not, to supplement the insufficient advantages they afforded by a course in a more advanced school at Tecumseh and an- other at Hillsdale College. After finishing his education he engaged solely in farming for a time and to this vocation he has adhered through life with a considerable degree of loyalty and de- votion. But his mind was too logical and re- sourceful, his spirit too restless to find full scope for its powers in agriculture, and so he studied
law, and for the past twenty-five years he has been actively engaged in legal practice. He has also given attention to industrial and mercantile pursuits, being active in founding the' Jerome Brick & Tile Co. in 1902 with a capital stock of $25,000, and serving as its president from its or- ganization. This company owns very large and valuable beds of fine clay lying adjacent to the town of Jerome, from which it is making the best qualities of brick. The output of the yards is so superior in character and workmanship, and has so high a rank in the markets, that the com- pany has been unable to fully supply the demand, and has recently enlarged its plant to such an extent as will enable it to produce 30,000 brick a day, which it can readily dispose of without any danger of becoming overstocked. Mr. Low- ery married in 1860 a Miss Eliza J. McGregor, a daughter of Robert McGregor, one of the highly respected pioneers of Hillsdale county. Their only child died in infancy, and Mrs. Lowery also died on April 27, 1899.
Mr. Lowery has been always deeply interest- ed in the welfare of his country, and has shown his interest by active participation in public af- fairs throughout the years of his maturity, wheth- er the gauge of battle was the supremacy of his political principles in the peaceful contests at the polls, or the integrity of the Union on the en- sanguined field of military conflict, for on Au- gust 18, 1864, he enlisted in defense of the Fed- eral cause in the Civil War as a member of Co. A, Fourth Michigan Infantry, and served to the end of the war, coming out of the service with the rank of sergeant. His command took a prominent part in the campaigns against Hood around Atlanta and in Alabama and Tennessee. In politics a Republican, Mr. Lowery has never held or desired political office. He belongs to the order of Odd Fellows and to the Grand, Army of the Republic. He has been a successful farm- er and a progressive manufacturer, but it is his professional success and standing that form his strongest title to the public esteem which he en- joys, and which, by ability and conscientious de- votion to his large and representative practice, he has justly earned.
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NELSON R. ROWLEY.
The early life of Nelson R. Rowley, of Wheat- land township in this county, where he lived from the time when he was twenty-five years old until death called him to his final rest at a serene old age, was clouded by the loss of his parents when he was but eight years of age, and was filled with struggle and privation. But he met his misfor- tunes and the often almost unsurmountable diffi- culties in his path with fortitude, force of charac- ter, successful enterprise and an unconquerable will. He was born in Otsego county, N. Y., on March 20, 1810, and, after the death of his parents, he lived three years with an uncle, then went to Seneca county in that state and hired out by the year to work on a farm. During the win- ter months he attended the district school and made such good use of his limited opportunities that he became a well-educated man in all of the elementary branches of knowledge and also in the common-sense and practical wisdom of life.
When he reached the age of twenty-five years he turned to what was then the wilderness of southern Michigan, there to found a home and ac- quire an estate. He came to Wheatland township in this county and bought of the U. S. government the northwest quarter of section 25, which he maintained as his home during the residue of his life. This was in 1835. All around him was the unbroken forest which was still the home of the Red Man and the haunt of wild beasts. Every foot of the land was in a state of the wildest prim- itive nature and required the arduous, strenuous efforts, for which the early pioneers were re- nowned, to bring it into subjection and fruitful- ness. But he was one of a hardy breed and his discipline in his early privations and toils had given him grreat strength of sinew and firmness of spirit. In due time the wilderness bloomed around him and the rude log cabin to which he brought his bride from her more luxurious home in Williamsport, Pa., gave place to a commodious and comfortable residence filled with and sur- rounded by the usual concomitants of civilized life. This marriage occurred on October 17, 1843, when he was united with Miss Phoebe Hall, a cul-
tivated lady, who had been for six years a highly popular and successful teacher in the high schools at Williamsport, and who was a native of Geneva, New York. They became the parents of four chil- dren, Stephen N., Ella Jane, Anna Russ and Har- riet H.
In 1876 Mrs. Rowley was attacked by a fatal disease, from the effects of which she died on July 24, 1877. Two years later Mr. Rowley married a second wife, Mrs. Isabella Reed, a native of Ge- neva, Pa., who came to Michigan in11851. as the wife of Howard Reed, and settled in Pittsford township, Hillsdale county, where she is still liv- ing. Mr. Rowley was for many years a member of the church and did much to advance the cause of religion in his township. He was one of, the organizers of the first church society in Bean Creek Valley, and for years held his membership in that organization. Upon the organization of the Congregational church at Wheatland he joined it and remained a member until his death, serving for a long time as one of its deacons and trustees. In politics he was a steadfast Republican, but never an office-seeker, although during his early days in the county he was for a number of years a justice of the peace.
CLARENCE W. TERWILLIGER.
Among the well-known and representative business men of Hillsdale, Michigan, is Alderman Clarence W. Terwilliger, who represents the First Ward in the city council. He was born on Feb- ruary 16, 1850, being the son of Annis W. and B. Jane (Robinson) Terwilliger, both natives of the state of New York. The parents removed their residence from their native state to Ohio in 1837, and located in the city of Toledo, where they re- mained until 1843, when they removed to Hills- dale, Mich., and there established their perma- nent home. The father for many years followed the dual occupations of contracting and building, and was one of the pioneer builders of this section of the state. For some years he has now been re- tired from active business pursuits, and is en- joying the leisure which he has so well earned by his long life of activity and usefulness. The
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mother was called from the activities of life to her eternal rest from the family home at Hillsdale. Two children were born to these worthy citizens, Clarence W., and a daughter, who is now dead.
Clarence W. Terwilliger received his early education in the public schools of Hillsdale, be- ing duly graduated from the high school. Since that time he has been closely identified with the educational interests of the community, taking an active and leading interest in Hillsdale College, especially in the athletic sports connected with that institution. He assisted in organizing the first rowing team of the college, and this for three years subsequently held the championship of the United States. When Mr. Terwilliger was the captain of the team, in 1882, they were sent to London, and they there rowed against a crack team which was selected from leading colleges of England. In this contest they met with defeat, which, however, was not front their inferior skill, being largely due to an accident sustained on the course. He continued to row with this team dur- ing 1886 and 1887, in which season they won many victories. After the completion of his cdu- cation, Mr. Terwilliger accepted a clerkship in a hardware store, and was not long thereafter pro- moted to the distinction of bookkeeper, in which he continued until 1880, when he accepted the re- sponsible position of teller and assistant cashier of the Second National Bank of Hillsdale, where he continued up to the year of 1883, then resign- ing it to embark in the business of painting and decorating, in which he met with a marked suc- cess, and in which he has prosperously continued since that time.
Politically, Mr. Terwilliger is a stanch adhe- rent of the Republican party, one of its active and trusted leaders in Hillsdale county. He is always foremost in all matters connected with the public welfare, and for a period of eight years he has served the city as a member of the city council, and, since the year 1896, he has been the secretary of the County Agricultural Society, and is still serving in that capacity. In all of the various public positions which he has held he has rendered valuable and unselfish public service to the com- munity and to the state. In the year 1882 he was
united in marriage to Miss Callie W. Webb, a na- tive of the city of Brooklyn, New York, and to their union has been born one child, C. Maud. Fraternally, Mr. Terwilliger is affiliated with the Masonic Order, being a member of the chapter, and he is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is well known in his resi- dence section of the state, and no man in Hillsdale county is held in higher esteem.
JOSIAH SHANEOUR.
Having come to Hillsdale county to live when he was but eighteen months old and since pass- ing the whole of his life within its limits, being actively engaged in farming from the age of eighteen and earnestly serviceable to all the local interests of the section in which he lives, Josiah Shancour, now of Wright township, may be said to be a full product of the county and thoroughly identified with its peopic in every way. He was born on November 26, 1855, in Stark county, Ohio, a son of David and Lydia (Goodenber- ger) Shaneour, the former a native of Pennsyl- vania and the latter of Maryland. Both parents moved with their parents to Ohio in carly life, and were there married when they reached ma- turity. They settled down to pioneer farming life and remained in that state until the spring of 1857, when they came to Hillsdale county in this state and located in Wright township on the farm now owned by Thomas Taylor. The father here took up eighty acres of land which was par- tially cleared, and there the family lived until the death of both parents, the mother passing away in 1877 and the father in February, 1896. Dur- ing his lifetime, David Shaneour succeeded in clearing his land and making it into an excellent farm, improving it with good buildings and cul- tivating it with industry and skill. He and his wife were in sympathy with the creed of the German Lutheran church, and lived in accord- ance with its teachings.
Their son, Josiah Shaneour, attained man- hood on the homestead, attending the public schools in the neighborhood until he was eigh- teen years of age, and when he reached maturity
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began to work for himself, carrying on his fa- ther's farm. On January 8, 1876, he married Miss Clementine Willson, a daughter of M. H. Willson, an old settler of Wright township. Aft- er his marriage Mr. Shaneour rented a house nearby, still continuing to farm the home place. A year later he built a house on the land, in in which he lived for three years, then moved in with his father and lived with hiin three years, his mother having died. At the end of that time, he bought eighty acres for himself in section 30, on which he remained eight years, but as he did not prosper as he wished, he moved back to his father's house and traded his eighty acres for fif- ty acres of the homestead. He then remained with his father until the death of the latter, when he purchased seventy-nine acres adjoining his.
Mr. Shaneour now Qwns 129 acres of as good land as can be found in the township, all of which he has in prime condition, well drained, highly cultivated and enriched with good improvements. At times he rents out portions of his land. His mature life has all of it been passed on the farm, and with the free life of the independent farmer he is well pleased. He and his estimable wife are the parents of four children. The oldest, My- ron, is in the West; Lena, Clarence and Vernie are living at home. The father belongs to the Knights of Pythias at Waldron, and has always been a Republican in politics, but never partisan. He has taken an active part in the cause of public education and has served as a school assessor tivo terms. He is one of the highly respected farmers and influential citizens of the township, and has the confidence and esteem of all classes.
WILLIAM W. BOWER, M. D.
Dr. William W. Bower, of Camden, is a native of Michigan, born at Detroit on October 26, 1865, and is the son of Livingston and Margaret (Nich- olson) Bower. His father was a native of New York and his mother of Scotland, from whence she came to this country in infancy with her par- ents. The Doctor's father was a prosperous farmer, and both his parents are now deceased. Their family comprised nine children, of whom
he was the first born. He was reared on a farm near Detroit and educated at the public schools, completing his course at an excellent high school at Wayne, Michigan, where he was graduated in due time. He entered the Michigan College of Medicine and Surgery in 1891, was graduated therefrom, with the degree of M.D., after a thorough course of study, in 1895. He began practicing at Ecorse, in this state, and remained there until 1900, when he removed to Camden, where he has since lived and built up a large gen- eral practice, which numbers among its patrons many of the leading families of the township and the surrounding country. Just after his re- moval to Camden he entered Emergency Hos- pital at Detroit as house surgeon, and remained there a year occupied in that capacity. He was also connected with that institution for a year just after his graduation.
Doctor Bower is a member of the county and state medical societies and of the Tri-State Med- ical Society. In these organizations his value has been frequently recognized, and he has been high- ly commended for the discriminating judgment he has shown in the investigation and discussion of interesting questions of medical scence, per- plexing problems in practice and peculiar phases of professional ethics. He is a diligent and an ob- serving student, a thoughtful and reflective reader, and a very judicious and observant practitioner. He has a presence and manner in the sick room which impresses and inspires confidence in a pa- tient and assists nature in the effort to overcome disease. One of the genial and entertaining men of the township in companionship, he is also one of the most popular in his profession, being one of the most esteemed in his citizenship. He is a Republican in politics, but he never been an active partisan, nor has he sought or desired office of any kind.
Doctor Bower is deeply and intelligently in- terested in the welfare of his community, and is always ready to do his part to advance its pros- perity in every manner. He holds memberships in the Masonic order, the Knights of the Macca- bees and the Modern Woodmen of America, his society homes being in the lodges of these orders
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at Camden. On July 1, 1886, the Doctor married with Miss Grace Prouty, a native of Wayne count- ty. Mich., a daughter of Daniel G. and Margaret Prouty, leading farmers of that county, where they are now living. Mrs. Bower dicd in 1900, leaving two children, Forrest and Hazel. In 1901 the Doctor married with Miss Catherine Powers, a native of Hillsdale, and a daughter of John and Catherine (Holmes) Powers, the former of whom is now deccased and the latter living at Hillsdale.
SANFORD D. HOPKINS.
The late Sanford D. Hopkins, whosc useful and inspiring life ended on August 7, 1897, at the advanced age of eighty ycars, was a native of Gencsee county, New York, born on January 9, 1817. He was the cldest child of Joseph and Clo- enda (Blair) Hopkins, the former born and reared in New Hampshire and the latter in Ver- mont, where her marriage occurred, from whence, also, soon afterward they migrated to Gencsce county, New York, where the mother died in 1825, leaving three children, all now deccascd, ex- cept a daughter who lives in California. Their son, Sanford D. Hopkins, passed his boyhood on the farm where he carly began to acquire habits of useful industry and thrift. His education was secured at the country schools during the winter months, and, when he reached his majority, he be- gan to look toward the far West, as it then cx- isted, as the place of his future home and oppor- tunity for a career. Soon afterward he came to Michigan, arriving in Hillsdale county in the fall of 1838. He entered a tract of government land, which remained in his possession until his death, and, in 1839, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Moore, the youngest child of Aaron and Hannah (Carney) Moore, who was born on De- cember 16, 1820, near Palmyra, New York. Be- fore their marriage her father was a widower and her mother a widow, each having seven children when their wedding occurred. Their union re- sulted in three more, so that there was no dearth of either companionship or work in the paternal household, the atmosphere surrounding Mrs .. Hopkins from her childhood being evcr one of
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