USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. II > Part 38
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Earl W. Munshaw, junior member of the firm of Maynard, Free- land & Munshaw, is one of the young attorneys of Grand Rapids who, through industry and perseverance, united with professional skill and ability, has attained a high position in his profession and at the same time has gained and retained the respect and esteem of his professional colleagues and the public at large. Mr. Munshaw be- longs to one of the families which through long residence and help- ful participation in the progress of the community have become widely and favorably known in Kent county. He was born at Grand Rapids, Dec. 7, 1886, a son of David E. and Clara (Vanden Berg) Munshaw, his parents being natives respectively of Canada and the Netherlands. On coming to the United States, in 1870, David E. Mun- shaw settled in Paris township, Kent county, and there took up the implements and assumed the vocation of the agriculturist, a vocation which he followed with honorable success for some years. Later he took up his residence at Grand Rapids, where he followed various lines of business industry until his retirement several years
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ago. He is now in comfortable circumstances and is living quietly, he and Mrs. Munshaw enjoying the fruits of the early years of labor. There were three children in the family: Gilbert and Ward, who are both deceased, and Earl W. After attending the graded schools of Grand Rapids, where he had a creditable record for scholarship, Earl W. Munshaw entered the Grand Rapids high school, which he at- tended and graduated there in 1905, following which he spent two years at the Ann Arbor high school and was graduated there in 1907. Having decided upon a career in the law, he next entered the Uni- versity of Michigan, and in 1910 was graduated with his degree of Bachelor of Laws, after a splendid college course. Admitted to the bar in the same year, he began his professional experience as assis- tant prosecuting attorney, under Judge Brown, and was later the incumbent of the same position under Earl F. Phelps for six months. In December, 1912, Mr. Munshaw became associated with Homer H. Freeland, under the style of Freeland & Munshaw, and this continued until Jan. 1, 1917, when Fred A. Maynard was admitted to partnership, the firm at that time becoming, as now, Maynard, Freeland & Mun- shaw. Mr. Munshaw has been eminently successful in taking care of the share of the business of the firm for which he is responsible, and bears a high reputation for careful preparation, skillful handling and entirely conscientious treatment of every case. He is a member of the Kent County Bar association and of the Grand Rapids Asso- ciation of Commerce, and takes an active part in various civic move- ments which interest all public-spirited citizens. His fraternal con- nections are with the Masons, including the Scottish Rite and Shrine, Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America camp, in all of which he is deservedly popular. As regards politics, he has given his unswerving support to the Republican party, but has been too engrossed with his law practice to enter into the arena as a candidate for public office. With the members of his family, he attends the Westminster Presbyterian church. Mr. Munshaw was married, Sept. 15, 1908, to Miss Merry Morgan, daughter of William H. and Emma (Wood) Morgan, of Grand Rapids, but formerly of Macon, Mich., and they have had three children: Lynn, born May 3, 1911; Dorothy, born April 22, 1914; and Jean Caroline, who is deceased.
Thomas Murray .- One of the well-cultivated farms of Kent county, which reflects in its general air of prosperity the agricultural ability and good management of its owner, is that belonging to Thomas Murray, a tract of 120 acres lying in section 36, Caledonia township. This property, which has changed hands only once since the time when it was owned by the United States Government, has been accumulated by Mr. Murray solely through the medium of his own efforts, for when he started upon his career he had only ordinary advantages and was not assisted by financial help or family influence. Thomas Murray was born in Canada, Aug. 12, 1858, son of Thomas and Anne (Egan) Murray, natives of Ireland. His father was a youth of nineteen years when he came to America, and after working for others for some years managed to accumulate the means where- with to buy a farm of his own. This was a property which had as yet been untouched by the lumberman's axe or the farmer's plow, and the elder Murray's first efforts were directed toward clearing away the timber in Victoria county, Canada. After he was married
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he lived in a small log cabin, where his son Thomas was born, but he was an ambitious and industrious man and in later life acquired a good property. After farming for several years in Canada, he came to the United States and took up eighty acres of land in Caledonia township, where Thomas now resides, and there he cleared a small space, upon which he erected a log cabin which still stands as a memento of the early days of this region. He put his land under cultivation, added to it from time to time, and became one of the sub- stantial men of the community, and rounded out a long and honorable career as an agriculturist, dying Jan. 7, 1917, when he had reached the advanced age of ninety-two years. Mr. Murray was reared in the Catholic church and remained true to his faith throughout his life. Politically he was a Democrat, but his political activities were con- fined to his casting his vote in behalf of good measures and the candi- dates of his party. He was the father of seven children: Mary, wife of John Sullivan, of Grand Rapids ; Michael, who follows farming in Bowne township, Kent county; Thomas; John, also a farmer in Bowne township; Will, a resident of Grand Rapids, in the employ of the Pere Marquette railroad; and James and Anna, who are de- ceased. The education of Thomas Murray, the younger, was secured in the primitive log schoolhouse which was to be found in this dis- trict during the early days, and his time in his boyhood was divided between his studies, which he prosecuted during the short winter terms, and his work on the home farm, where he assisted his father in the manifold and arduous duties which the early settlers were called upon to perform. Later, he worked by the day at wages, having five "eighty's" to clear, and for a number of years operated a threshing machine for seven seasons, and thus was able to secure enough money to buy his first eighty acres. To this original purchase he has since added forty acres to the west, and the whole property is now in a good state of cultivation, paying Mr. Murray handsome returns for the labor which he expends upon it. Included in the features of this farm is an orchard, the trees for which were carried by his father by hand over many miles of country, and these bore heavily until 1916. Mr. Murray has always been an ardent admirer of good orchards, but he now devotes himself to general farming. Like his father he is a Democrat, although only a voter. He is a member of the Catho- lic church. The moderation of his life, the practical quality of his efforts and the good will and honesty which have characterized all of his dealings with his fellow-men, have won for him an established place among the agriculturists of Caledonia township. He is un- married.
James Hervey Neeland, vice-president of the Dean-Hicks Com- pany of Grand Rapids, is a representative business man here and has been identified with large interests in this city and at other points since entering the business world. He was born at Grand Rapids, Mich., May 6, 1868. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Smith) Neeland. John Neeland was born in Scotland and was brought to Canada when seven years old and grew up there and married Elizabeth Smith, a native of Canada. Both are now de- ceased, but their four children survive: Catherine, widow of O. A. Willyard, of Grand Rapids; Florence E., wife of E. H. Stafford, of Chicago; James Hervey, and Marvin A., a resident of Montclair,
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Essex county, New Jersey. The father of this family was a merchant in Canada for many years, during which time he resided at St. Mary's, St. Catherines and London. In 1866 he came to Grand Rapids and for a time was associated in business with Julius A. Berkey and later became a traveling salesman. He was a man of upright character and possessed great business capacity. James Hervey Neeland attended the public schools of Grand Rapids, and when the time came for him to decide upon a vocation he determined to learn the art of engraving, a natural taste that amounted to talent in that direction having much to do with his choice. He learned the business under W. Y. Fuller in the Tradesman Company and then went to Pittsburgh, where he worked as an engraver for two years, at that time accepting a position as an engraver with a large firm in Hartford, Conn. From there he went for a time to New York City, then back to Pittsburgh, and in 1900 returned to Grand Rapids. He took charge of the Bain Company engraving plant and later was connected with the Record Engraving Company, and finally accepted the responsible office of vice-president of the Dean-Hicks Company. His experience in the business has been wide and his opportunities for keeping thoroughly abreast with the discoveries that have seem- ingly brought this fine art to perfection, have been exceptional. Mr. Neeland was married, June 28, 1894, to Miss Minnie I. Davis, daugh- ter of John Davis, of Boston, Mass., and they have two children: Gerald Kent and Herma Josephine, both of whom reside at home. Mr. Neeland and his family belong to the First Methodist Episcopal church at Grand Rapids. Politically he is a Republican. He is an earnest citizen and is a member of the Association of Commerce.
Harley W. Nelson .- One of the most important departments in the government of any large city is that which has to do with the safety of its citizens and the preservation of their property. At Grand Rapids this important work is in the hands of the Department of Public Safety, the secretary of which, Harley W. Nelson, has been the incumbent of his present responsible position for a period of eleven years. During this time he has discharged his duties in a manner that has left no doubt as to his ability and fidelity, so that today he is accounted one of the city's most valued and valuable public officials. Mr. Nelson was born at Muskegon, Mich., March 10, 1861, son of Charles D. and Caroline (Wason) Nelson, both now deceased, who were natives of Vermont. Charles D. Nelson was for many years extensively engaged in lumbering, at various points in Michigan and other states, and after his retirement came to Grand Rapids to make his home with his son, where he died. Harley W. Nelson was reared at Muskegon, where he attended the graded and high schools, and after leaving the latter had some experience in the lumber business, in the clerical end as a bookkeeper for his father, and in the mechanical branch as the operator of a saw-mill. This experience gave him the necessary knowledge for active participa- tion in the business, which he followed at Menominee, Mich., as the secretary of a lumber company. Coming to Grand Rapids, in 1888, he became secretary of the Columbian Transfer Company and re- mained with this concern for the greater part of twenty years, re- signing in 1907 to assume the serious duties of secretary of the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners. His service, as has been
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noted, has been of a fine and high character, and the credit for much of the splendid equipment and personnel, as well as morale, of Grand Rapids' police and fire departments and their excellent systems must be given to him for his energetic and conscientious work. Secretary Nelson is a Republican. He was married, Feb. 20, 1894, to Miss Jessie, daughter of Thomas H. and Mary (Mosley) Barstow, of Grand Rapids.
J. Newton Nind was born at St. Charles, Ill., March 11, 1854, and in the schools of that place he received his rudimentary educa- tion. In 1865 the family removed to Winona, Minn., and there J. Newton began his life work in the journalistic field. With three other boys, who invested seven dollars each in a second-hand font of bourgeois type and enough rule to get out a paper, he was instru- mental in starting the publication of the North Star, the first num- ber of which appeared Feb. 13, 1869. Mr. Nind's nominal connection with this publication was that of subscription agent, but he set type, carried and sold papers, and went to school when jobs of bill posting did not prevent. It was thus that he began to learn the printer's trade, and the knowledge then acquired served him well during the succeeding years. At the end of six months he became the sole proprietor of the business and continued the publication of the North Star until July, 1871. He then worked in the job room of the Winona Republican for a time, but upon the opening of an academy at Red Wing, Minn., he enrolled as a student and resurrected the North Star as an adjunct to the school, publishing it there during the first school year. He then accepted an offer to help report the session of the Minnesota legislature for the St. Paul Pioneer, and thus his career as a daily newspaper man commenced; and it was continued for a number of years, mainly in connection with St. Paul, Minneapolis and Chicago papers. The lumber interest at that time was a considerable one in the Northwest, and the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, with which Mr. Nind was employed, was assigned to study that industry. He was so successful that the Northwestern Lumberman asked him to become the correspondent of that paper, and he made plans to get into trade journalism. He began to write about furniture in 1889, and in October, 1891, became the accredited editor of the Furniture News, published at Minneapolis. He was thus employed until April, 1893, when he became editor of the St. Paul Trade and also acted as special writer for the Northwestern Lumberman until February, 1894. For several months then he was special trade newspaper correspondent for the Timberman and other trade papers, and also editorial writer on the Minneapolis Tribune. In April, 1894, he be- came editor of the Rockford Furniture Journal, and in July of the same year he secured complete control of the Furniture News. These two papers were thereafter issued as twin publications, one issued from Rockford and the other from Minneapolis, until January, 1900, when they were merged into one paper and published from Chicago. The Embalmers' Monthly was acquired in May, 1895, and Mr. Nind was the editor of all of these publications. In 1900 Mr. Nind came to Grand Rapids and established the Grand Rapids Furniture Record, which is a leading furniture journal of the country, published monthly, and maintains a high-grade artistic standard. He also became asso- ciated with the publication of the Michigan Artisan, which is now
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published as a daily, during the months of July and January, under the name of the Daily Artisan Record. In addition to these he is editor of the Furniture Manufacturer and Artisan, published monthly, and the American Funeral Director, also published monthly. Mr. Nind is a member of the Park Congregational church, and of the Advertising Council club and the Association of Commerce. On Dec. 12, 1878, Mr. Nind was married to Miss Agnes Williams, of Red Wing, Minn., and of this union have been born three children: Helen, wife of Dudley K. French, of Winnetka, Ill .; J. Newton, Jr., of Grand Rapids, and Marjorie E., a student in the Grand Rapids high school. Mark Norris .- For thirty-six years a practitioner at the Michi- gan bar and generally recognized as one of the most deeply read lawyers of Grand Rapids, Mark Norris has placed his name high on the roster of his profession in Kent county. In the selection of their counsel the great financial institutions and business industries of the country employ the utmost caution and careful judgment, the requisites for such identification being substantial legal ability, abso- lute rectitude of character and a broad experience of the world and men. All of these qualities are found in the personality of Mr. Norris, who, among others, is general counsel of the Blodgett Com- pany, Ltd., and its allied industries. Mr. Norris was born at Ypsilanti, Mich., July 28, 1857, a son of Lyman Decatur and Lucy (Whittelsey) Norris. His paternal grandparents were Mark and Roccena B. Norris, pioneers from New York to Michigan, in 1827, who settled at Ypsi- lanti and there passed the remainder of their lives, the grandfather dying in 1862 and the grandmother surviving until 1876. Lyman Decatur Norris was born, May 4, 1823, at Covington, Genesee (now Wyoming) county, New York, and was given a good education by his parents, who sent him to the University of Michigan and to Yale, in which latter institution he was graduated in 1845. Two years later he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice at Ypsilanti, subsequently removing to St. Louis, then returning to Ypsilanti, and finally coming to Grand Rapids, where he had an exceptionally bril- liant and successful career at the bar and rose to be one of the city's most substantial and highly honored citizens, filling numerous posi- tions with distinction and always holding the entire confidence and respect of his fellow-practitioners and the public in general. He died, Jan. 6, 1894. Mr. Norris was married, Nov. 22, 1854, to Lucy Alsop, daughter of Gen. Chauncey Whittelsey, of Middletown, Conn., and of this union there were born two children: Maria W. and Mark. Mark Norris attended the public schools of Ypsilanti until he reached the age of fourteen years. He attended school at Yonkers Military Institute in 1871-3 and DeVeaux College, Suspension Bridge, N. Y., in 1873-5, where he finished his preparation for the University and received two gold medals for scholarship. Returning to Michigan, he entered the State university, where, in 1879, he was graduated as Ph. B. For fifteen months thereafter he read law in the office of Norris & Uhl, the first named his father and the latter the late Hon. Edwin F. Uhl. In the fall of 1880 he re-entered the University of Michigan, this time as a student of the law department, and in 1882 received his degree of Bachelor of Laws. Mr. Norris began practice in April, 1882, with Norris & Uhl, and in 1885 became a member of the firm. Mr. Uhl leaving the firm, Jan. 1, 1887, it became
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Norris & Norris, and this style continued until the death of the elder man, in 1894, following which, for about three years, Mark Norris practiced alone. In 1897 was formed the law firm of Crane, Norris & Stevens, which remained unchanged until 1900, when Mr. Stevens withdrew and Walter W. Drew was admitted, the firm thus becoming Crane, Norris & Drew. Mr. Drew retired in 1903 and the firm then became Crane & Norris. Mr. Crane retired from practice and moved to California in February, 1911. Mr. Norris then organized the firm of Norris & McPherson, which finally became, as now, Norris, Mc- Pherson, Harrington & Waer. The firm is engaged in a general practice and has offices in the Grand Rapids Savings Bank building. From 1895 to 1899 Mr. Norris was a member of the State Board of Law Examiners. For the past twelve years he has been a member of the Grand Rapids Board of Education. He was re-elected for three years in the spring of 1918. While he has been absolutely devoted to the cause of his clients in whatever field he has worked, he has never forgotten the ethics of his profession or stooped to unworthy means to gain an advantage. By close study and through his famil- iarity with legal lore, he usually fortifies his positions with so many facts and precedents that only the leading practitioners can success- fully cope with him. Mr. Norris is a member of the city, county, state and national bar associations, and of the Grand Rapids Associa- tion of Commerce. While in college he joined the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, and his standing in Masonry is high, he being a past master of York Lodge No. 410, a member of the Chapter and Council, past commander of De Molai Commandery No. 5, commander-in-chief of DeWitt Clinton Consistory, and grand commander of the state. His social connections are numerous and he belongs to the Peninsular, O-wash-ta-nong, Kent Country and Boat and Canoe clubs. Mr. Norris' religious connection is with the New Jerusalem church. Mr. Norris was married, Sept. 3, 1885, to Cornella E., daughter of Rev. Larmon W. Abbott, of Ridgefield, Conn. She died, Jan. 26, 1913, the mother of three children: Margaret Abbott, who resides with her father; Abbott Lyman, of Grand Rapids; and Cornella, who is the wife of Howell Gilbert, of this city.
Harmon Olthouse .- In the not so far distant past there was a time when the calling of the agriculturist was but indifferently con- sidered by the thoughtless and by those who had successfully bent their energies toward other vocations in the villages, towns and cities. His arduous labor did not seem in many cases to be sufficiently appreciated, and often because of the lack of proper transportation facilities he could not adequately market his products or hope to secure a fair price for them. However, the time has come when the man who tills the soil is one of the most important factors in our national existence, and more and more is the agriculturist coming into his own. This has led to encouragement and to intense activity among the farming fraternity, particularly among the younger ele- ment, and in this direction Gaines township has been no exception. A worthy and capable representative of the younger generation of farmers here, and one who has already attained a large measure of success, is Harmon Olthouse, whose successful general farming and stock-raising operations are being prosecuted on section 11. Mr. Olthouse was born at Grand Haven, Mich., July 27, 1882, son of
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Haike and Florence (Vanderwood) Olthouse, both now deceased. His parents were natives of Badum, Netherlands, where they were reared, educated and married, and shortly after their union emigrated to the United States. In 1880 they located at Grand Haven, Mich., where they lived for some time, the father being variously employed, but in 1884 removed to Kent county and bought ten acres of green land just south of the city of Grand Rapids. This was cultivated, improved and made attractive, and sold at a large advance, so that the father was able to purchase 200 acres of land in Gaines township, a part of which had already been improved. Here he continued to very suc- cessfully follow agricultural pursuits during the remainder of an honorable and active life. He was a Republican in his political inclinations, and in addition to holding school offices was generally active in township affairs and a man of influence to whom his fellow- citizens frequently looked for guidance and leadership. He and Mrs. Olthouse were members of the Christian Reformed church and the parents of the following children: John, a resident of Grand Rapids ; Henry, a farmer in Gaines township; Jacob, deceased; Dora, wife of C. K. Blaine, of Kalamazoo, Mich .; William, who lives at Freeport, Mich .; Martin, captain of veterinary corps, now in France; Cor- nelius, deceased; Anna, wife of John Middlebush, of Gaines town- ship; and Harmon. Harmon Olthouse was educated in the district schools and was reared to the pursuits of agriculture, which have de- manded his attention ever since he entered upon his active independent career. He continued to be associated with his father until the elder man's death, at which time he bought 120 acres from his widowed mother and since then has continued to add to his success each year. He now has one of the handsome and attractive farms of the town- ship, lying in section 11, not far from the village of Caledonia, an excellent location and a most convenient one. The improvements on the property are new and substantial, and Mr. Olthouse has erected a modern residence of commodious proportions and a splendid new barn with the latest equipment. He has engaged in general farming and makes somewhat of a specialty of graded Short Horn cattle. Mr. Olthouse is a Republican, and the high esteem in which he is held is shown in the fact that he has been school treasurer for six years and has also held school offices. His public record, like that he has made in private life and as a farmer, is clear of any blemish and is characterized by hard and efficient work for his community in the discharge of his official duties. With Mrs. Olthouse he attends the United Brethren church and is liberal in his contributions to its move- ments. Mr. Olthouse was united in marriage, June 24, 1909, with Miss Alta E. Geib, daughter of Valentine Geib, a well known farmer of Gaines township, and of this union have been born a son and a daughter : Paul Nicholas, who died in infancy, and Elizabeth Louise. H. Fred Oltman .- While it is assuredly true that a large city such as Grand Rapids offers many and widely diversified opportunities for advancement along every line of personal endeavor, yet it is just as true that only a percentage attain distinction and a large number fail of even attaining a competency. It requires something more than mere opportunity to raise a man from the common level of every- day accomplishments, for unless he has within him the inherent ability, all the chances and fortuitous advantages in the world cannot
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