USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. II > Part 7
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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY, MICHIGAN
Watts, the noted English lecturer, but he gave liberally to the sup- port of churches and upon one occasion paid the existing debts of each of the three colored churches in the city of Grand Rapids. He was a liberal contributor to all worthy charitable movements and gave to the city the Blodgett Children's Home, the cost of which was $150,000. Mr. Blodgett was married Sept. 9, 1859, to Miss Jennie S. Wood, of Woodstock, Ill., and she died in 1890, the mother of two children-John W. and Mrs. Edward Lowe, both residents of Grand Rapids. On June 3, 1893, Mr. Blodgett married Miss Daisy Peck, daughter of Prof. William H. Peck, of Atlanta, Ga., and she sur- vives him, as do also the three children born of this union-Helen, Delos A., and Mona P. John W. Blodgett, whose name introduces this review, was born in Osceola county, Michigan, July 26, 1860. He received his preliminary education in the country schools and later attended the Highlands Military Academy at Worcester, Mass. He also attended a boys' boarding school near Chicago, Ill., and took a course in Swensburg's Business College in Grand Rapids. He com- menced his business career in 1878, in the office of a saw-mill at Mus- kegon, continuing there until 1890, when he took charge of his fa- ther's business in Grand Rapids. About. 1885 he became president of the Muskegon Booming Company, which concern was the most extensive dealer in saw logs in the world, handling from 400,000,000 to 600,000,000 feet of logs per year. This business was continued un- til 1893, when the timber in that district became exhausted. About 1905 the Blodgett Company, Ltd., was organized. Mr. Blodgett is a
Republican in his political affiliations and for twelve years has served as the Michigan member of the Republican National Committee. He is a personal friend of ex-President William H. Taft. He is a mem- ber of the Peninsular, Kent County, Chicago and the Grand Rapids Curling clubs, and also of the Grand Rapids Association of Com- merce. Among his many civic and charitable acts was the giving of $250,000 to the United Benevolent Association of Grand Rapids for the construction of the Blodgett Memorial Hospital, in memory of his mother, The hospital was completed in 1916, at a cost of $750,000, and it is an institution in which every citizen of Grand Rap- ids has a commendable pride. Mr. Blodgett was married Jan. 16, 1895, to Miss Minnie A. Cumnock, of Lowell, Mass., and of this union there are two children-Katherine, who is a student at Vassar College, and John W., Jr., a student in St. Mark's school at Boston, Mass.
Eugene Boise, M. D .- For forty-six years Dr. Eugene Boise has engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Grand Rapids, and through this period his skill and ability have been so marked as to win him recognition as one of the most careful and conscientious representatives of the profession in Kent county. There is no calling or business which imposes greater responsibility upon its followers, for life and death are in the hands of the physician, and that Dr. Boise enjoys the complete and unquestioned confidence of his large practice and has so held it during such a long period of years is a fact indicative of the standing which he enjoys in the community as well as in the ranks of his calling. Dr. Boise was born at Wellington, Lorain county, Ohio, Nov. 29, 1846. He received his early education in the public schools of his native place, and when a young man de-
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EUGENE BOISE, M.D.
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BIOGRAPHICAL
termined upon the medical profession as the calling to which he was to devote his life's activities. After some further preparation, he entered Oberlin College, which famous institution he attended from 1863 to 1867, taking a complete classical course, and then took up his medical studies in earnest in the medical department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and was graduated with the class of 1869 and the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Still not satisfied with his training, he went to New York, where he attended the medical de- partment of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, complet- ing a one-year course in 1870, and immediately thereafter began gain- ing his practical experience at the New York Charity Hospital, where he spent twelve months as interne. This was followed by six months of work in the same capacity and as head of the Fever Hos- pital, another charitable institution of New York City, but in 1871 he resumed his studies, leaving this country and going to Vienna, Austria, where he took post-graduate work in the medical depart- ment of the University of Vienna. Returning to this country in 1872, in that year Dr. Boise located at Grand Rapids, where he began prac- tice in association with Dr. G. K. Johnson. This professional part- nership proved so satisfactory and mutually agreeable that it contin- ued to exist for a period of thirty-three years, and was then only ter- minated by the retirement of the elder man. Since 1905, Dr. Boise has been engaged in practice alone and the size and importance of his . clientele has grown apace. He belongs to the Kent County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Med- ical Association, and is a fellow of the Gynecological College and a member of the Gynecological Society. With his family, he attends the Park Congregational church, and among his social connections is membership in the Kent Country club. Dr. Boise is possessed of more than passing literary talent, has written a number of authorita- tive papers upon subjects in the line of his profession, and is advisory editor on the medical profession of Kent county as included in this work. To comment more fully upon his work seems unnecessary, for he is as well known to the people of Grand Rapids and of Kent coun- ty as any other of their prominent men, and to his profession as one of its most able exponents. A man of broad ideas, comprehensive knowledge and varied ability, he has put to good use the talents he has possessed and given to the world gifts of skill and scientific re- search not easily requited. Dr. Boise was married Nov. 30, 1875, to Miss Eva Lamont, daughter of Emmet Lamont, of Grand Rapids, and they have one son, Edward B., who is a successful attorney-at- law in New York City.
Hon. Lucius Manlius Boltwood, son of Lucius and Fanny Has- kins (Shepard) Boltwood, was born in Amherst, Mass., June 8, 1825. His studies preparatory to college were from 1834 to 1839, at Am- herst Academy. He graduated at Amherst College in 1843, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1847. From 1852 to 1863 he was librarian of Amherst College; from 1861 to 1865, postmaster at Am- herst; from 1867 to 1868, assistant librarian in the Congressional Li- brary at Washington, D. C .; from 1868 to 1875, librarian of the Young Men's Institute at Hartford, Conn. In 1859-60 he was a mem- ber of the Massachusetts Senate from the Hampshire and Franklin district. In 1879 Mr. Boltwood removed to New Haven, in order to
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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY, MICHIGAN
give his sons a classical and legal education in Yale College. In 1895 Mr. Boltwood removed with his family to Grand Rapids, where he resided until his death, Feb. 28, 1905. He was chosen, in 1846, a corresponding member of the New England Historical and Genealog- ical Society ; in 1852 a corresponding member of the New York His- torical Society ; in 1856 a corresponding member of the Connecticut Historical Society ; in 1868 a resident member of the same society, of which, from 1868 to 1872, he was recording secretary ; in 1858 an honorary member of the Vermont Historical Society ; in 1859 an hon- orary member of the New Hampshire Historical Society ; and he was invited, in 1876, to become a fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain. In 1900 he was elected a corresponding member of the Old Colony Historical Society. In 1863 he prepared and pub- lished the genealogical portion of Judd's History of Hadley, Mass. In 1878 he published his most notable work, the "History and Gene- alogy of the Noble Family in America," a volume of 870 pages. Mr. Boltwood was married June 6, 1860, to Clarinda Boardman Williams, daughter of Hinckley and Elvira Armenius (Wright) Williams, of Goshen, Mass. Their children were as follows: George Shepard, Lucius, Charles Wright, Fanny Haskins, and Elvira Wright.
Lewis J. Boulard .- To those who have never had the opportunity of visiting a modern Michigan farm and watching its industries being carefully and methodically carried on, it would be a decidedly inter- esting and enlightening experience to take a vacation trip through the rich farming districts of Kent county. They would find no better proof of intelligent, scientific cultivation of the soil and its marvelous effects in any section better demonstrated than in Bowne township, where, on section 9, is located the finely improved and highly culti- vated farm of Lewis J. Boulard, who is one of the township's repre- sentative citizens and skilled agriculturists. Mr. Boulard has passed his entire life in the township of Bowne, having been born here on his father's farm, Feb. 10, 1854, a son of Martin and Louisa (Par- rott) Boulard, the former a native of Belgium and the latter of France. Like others of his countrymen, Mr. Boulard, the elder, loved his native land passionately, but his ambition to make a success in life led him to emigrate to the United States as a youth of eighteen years, and at Detroit he secured a position in a drug store, where he worked for eight years. Following this, he began renting land in Lowell township, and after several years was able to purchase sixty acres of wild land in Bowne township, where he cleared a sufficient space upon which to build a small log cabin, and then settled down to the hard and monotonous work of making his land ready for crops. He was persevering and industrious, developed a good farm, to which he later added forty acres, and became one of the substantial men of his locality, living retired for a number of years prior to his demise. He was a Democrat politically and a faithful member of the Catholic church, regularly attending services at Caledonia. He and his wife were the parents of the following children: Emil J., of Mancelona, Mich .; Matilda, deceased; Lewis J., of this review ; Lou- isa, who is his twin and resides at Lowell, in charge of the household duties in the home of Mrs. Jarvis Train; Sylvester, of Bowne town- ship; Clamonsie, deceased; and Charley, who died at the age of four years. Lewis J. Boulard received a district school education and be-
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BIOGRAPHICAL
gan his work as a farmer on the home place, assisting his father. At the time of the elder man's death he bought the interest of the other heirs to the estate and subsequently added 100 acres to the property, of which he has since sold off sixty acres. He has devoted himself to general farming, a field in which he has won a very satisfying suc- cess. Since taking over this property he has made numerous im- provements, adding to the equipment, etc., and has shown himself a disciple of modern methods when found to be at the same time prac- tical. He is a Democrat, and belongs to the Alto lodges of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of Ameri- ca. Mr. Boulard's business dealings have always been straightfor- ward and above-board and for this reason his name is an honored one on commercial paper. He was married Feb. 22, 1874, to Edith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Warner, of Bowne township, both now deceased. Three children have been born of this union: Percy L., train dispatcher for the G. R. & I. railroad at Grand Rapids, who married Jessie Soules and has one son, Richard; Ethel, who resides at home ; and Jesse W., who is his father's assistant on the home farm. He married Alla Woods and has a daughter, Thelma.
Elias Clemens Bowman .- Gaines township boasts of some of the most productive soil to be found within the borders of Kent county, but its agricultural prowess has not relied alone upon the fertility of the land, for equally due to the credit are the progressive, practical and energetic men who are tilling properties here. One of the old and honored farmers belonging to this class, who has developed one of the handsome tracts of the township, lying in section 27, is Elias Clemens Bowman, whose long connection with agricultural affairs has made him widely known to the people of his section. Mr. Bow- man was born in the township of Waterloo, County Waterloo, Onta- rio, Canada, Jan. 1, 1847, and is a son of Elias and Mary (Clemens) Bowman. The family of which he is a member traces its ancestry back to one Wendell Bowman, who emigrated from Switzerland to America in 1729 and, settling in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, took up 530 acres of land. In 1731 he took up 300 acres additional, and in 1735 'letters of administration were granted to Benjamin Bowman, who, in 1738, distributed the land among the heirs. The farm of Benjamin Bowman has been in the family name for 128 years. The descendants of Benjamin Bowman were seven sons, of whom three removed to Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and the branch of the family of which Elias C. Bowman is a member is descended from the Rev. Christian Bowman, a Mennonite minister, who was the posses- sor of a Bible in which many old family records were kept. This val- uable old religious volume is now in the possession of Israel Bowman, a cousin of Elias C. Elias Bowman, father of Elias C., was born May 28, 1809, in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and was seven years of age when he accompanied his parents to Canada. There he was reared and educated, grew to manhood on a farm, and as a youth engaged in the vocation of his forefathers, that of the husbandman. When he felt that he had obtained a start, he was married to Mary Clemens, who was born July 12, 1811, and they settled down on a farm and there their children were born. Mr. and Mrs. Bowman came to Michigan in 1863, on Feb. 26 of which year they purchased 120 acres of land in Caledonia township, Kent county. This was cov-
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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY, MICHIGAN
ered with timber and brush, but soon was cleared under the energetic management of this worthy couple and their industrious children, and later 120 acres and 220 acres were added to the home property. These were also cleared and cultivated, but later some of this land was sold off, and at the time of his death the father was the owner of 360 acres, represented by three tracts of 120 acres each. Mr. Bowman was one of the substantial and influential citizens of his community, who was held in high regard and esteem, was a Republican in his political views, and a faithful member of the Mennonite church. In his sixty-sixth year, after a full and successful life, he suffered a stroke of apoplexy, and his death followed soon thereafter, Aug. 1, 1875. Mrs. Bowman, also a member of the Mennonite church and a woman of many worthy Christian virtues, survived him until May 28, 1886, and was nearly seventy-five years old when she died. The fam- ily was an exceptionally healthy one, and the first death therein oc- curred when their youngest son was fourteen years old. The chil- dren were: Joseph C., Jacob C., Susanna, Wendell C. and Aaron C., all of whom are deceased; Mrs. Maria Kolb, a resident of Canada ; Leah, Isaac and Owen C., all deceased; Elias C., of this notice; Sa- lome and Catherine, deceased; Nancy, who is the wife of Owen Dodge and resides in Kent county ; and Simon, a resident of Everett, Wash. Elias C. Bowman was educated in the district schools of his native locality and as a youth farmed for his father, both in Canada and in Michigan. When he was ready to engage in activities on his own account he located on a farm of 120 acres, on which no im- provements had been made, situated in Gaines township. Here he has continued to carry on general farming to the present time, and what was once an undeveloped tract of non-producing land is now one of the valuable and highly useful producing properties of the township. Mr. Bowman has kept pace with the advancements made in agriculture and is accounted one of the progressive men of his vocation, but he is also highly practical by nature and adopts inno- vations only when they have proved worthy. He is a member of the Caledonia Creamery & Shippers' Company and is interested in the various movements that make for mutual benefit and community welfare. A Republican in politics, he is not a politician or office seeker, but has served acceptably in the position of pathmaster. Mr. Bowman was married Aug. 20, 1879, to Henrietta Stengel, born June 9, 1857, in Canada, daughter of George and Margaret (Guggenmos) Stengel. Mr. Stengel, who was born in Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, emigrated in young manhood to County Ontario, Canada, where he engaged in farming and hotel keeping during the remainder of his life, never coming to the United States. He was married in Canada to Margaret Guggenmos, who was born at Durshel, Alsace, and came to Canada with her parents as a young woman. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stengel are deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Bowman there were born four children: Alton S., born July 7, 1880, is manager of the City Telephone Company, of Caledonia, married Grace Howard, who was born in Ohio; Audie, born June 1, 1882, married Allen E. Roberts, who was born in Ohio, and they live near Oberlin, Mich .; Randall B., born April 6, 1886, is engaged in farming for his father; and Ar- thur V., born Aug. 29, 1891, is also farming for his father, married Hazel Brewer, of Gaines township.
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BIOGRAPHICAL
Jonathan Boyce .- While the late Jonathan Boyce did not come to Grand Rapids to make his home until 1880, after he had attained a substantial and recognized position in the world of successful busi- ness men, when he did come he took his place among the honored and useful citizens of the city and during the remainder of his life did much to foster and promulgate his adopted community's growth and welfare. He was the type of man who makes his own way and asks no assistance from others, yet of his own favors and help he was ex- tremely liberal, not alone as an individual looking to aid those less fortunate than himself, but also as one who felt a certain duty to the locality in which he lived. Mr. Boyce was born at Tivetshall, St. Mary's, County Norfolk, England, Sept. 28, 1827, son of Edward and Esther (Champlin) Boyce. His education was that received by Eng- lish boys of his day and station in life, and when he was eighteen years of age he decided to try his fortunes in the United States, of the opportunities in which country he had received such glowing re- ports. For the first five years after his arrival Mr. Boyce was vari- ously employed in different communities, but in 1845 located at Mus- kegon, Mich., which city was to be his home for some time and was to be the scene of his first success. His entrance was not auspicious nor was his start, for he had little or no capital and his first employment was in a lumber mill. There he learned the business, saved his money and acquired a small working account, and eventually, in company with Mathew Wilson, erected a mill of his own. After several years of successful business partnership, the association was dissolved, Mr. Boyce disposing of his interest to Mr. Wilson. His next venture was the erection of a large mill at Michigan City, Ind., in the erection of which he showed his initiative and resource; and when he found that he would have trouble in getting his product marketed, he did not al- low it to worry him, but set about building his own freighters, with which to ship his lumber to Chicago. He had large timber holdings in Roscommon county, Michigan, upon which he depended for a long period for his supply, not only for his mill at Michigan City, but for another large enterprise of the same kind which he operated at Bay City, Mich. In his various dealings with his fellow-men Mr. Boyce was scrupulously honest. Nothing could tempt him to take an un- fair advantage, nor would he allow himself to profit by the misfor- tunes of others. Coming to Grand Rapids to make his home, in 1880, from that time until his death he lived more or less quietly, although he still kept in close touch with business affairs and never allowed himself to get wholly out of accord with the activities of his fellows. He was a Democrat, and while not an office seeker, was thoroughly informed on all leading topics, political or civic. With his family, he belonged to the Episcopal church and was a consistent attendant and generous supporter. In Masonry he advanced to the Knights Temp- lar rank. Mr. Boyce was first married in 1847 to Miss Ann Smith, of London, England, and three children were born of this union: Esther Ann, wife of Robert Hitchcock, of Trinity, Tex., and Cecelia and Edward J., who are deceased. After the death of his first wife Mr. Boyce was again married, being united with Miss Isabella J. McCulloch, daughter of Cathrine (Rose) and Archibald McCulloch, of Eldon, Ontario; and four children blessed this union: Archibald A. and George J., residents of Bay City, Mich., where they are con-
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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY, MICHIGAN
tinuing the lumber operations inaugurated by their father, and Jessie L. and Isabella J., who reside with their widowed mother, at 333 Sheldon avenue, Grand Rapids. Mr. Boyce passed away in the place. of his nativity, March 13, 1902.
Adolph H. Brandt .- In studying the lives and characters of suc- cessful men of business, it is but natural to inquire as to the contrib- uting sources of their success and the motives which actuated them. Success in business is not a matter of genius, but the result of experi- ence, industry and sound judgment, in the majority of cases, and the careers of those who stand highest in position and public esteem prove that in nearly every circumstance they are those who have de- voted their lives to .effective study and close application to business, and have risen gradually, fighting their way against all opposition. Thorough training in the school of practical financial experience, hard and constant endeavor, and the following out of honorable policies have placed Adolph H. Brandt among the leading business men of Grand Rapids, where he is now vice-president of the Grand Rapids Savings Bank and connected prominently with a number of other in- stitutions which contribute to the prestige of the Furniture City. He entered upon his career in a humble capacity, and the success which he has won has been attained without outside aid or adventi- tious circumstances. Mr. Brandt is a native son of Grand Rapids, and was born July 8, 1870, his parents being George and Elizabeth (Florey) Brandt, natives of Germany. His father came to the United States as a lad of sixteen years, locating shortly thereafter in Grand Rapids, where he was employed for a time and later entered business on his own account. He was an industrious and capable man, but did not live to see prosperity crown his efforts, as his death occurred in 1879, when he was but forty-nine years of age. Mrs. Brandt died in Switzerland, about 1912, in the faith of the German Lutheran church, of which her husband had also been a member. They were the par- ents of the following children: George W., who is now deceased ; Adolph H .; Ernest J. and Frank W., residents of Grand Rapids; and Caroline, who is the wife of Henry Herpolsheimer, of this city. Adolph H. Brandt secured his early education in the parochial schools of the German Lutheran Evangelical church, later attended the public schools, and completed his preparation for his career by taking a commercial course at the Swensberg Business College. After one year in that institution he secured employment with the Grand Rap- ids Paper Box Company, with which concern he remained three years, then becoming associated with Mr. Rosenthale, in the Tower Clothing Company, for one year. At the end of this period Mr. Brandt became office boy under J. A. S. Verdier, in the Kent County Savings Bank, and during twenty-five years remained with that as- sociation. He was quick to learn as a youth and soon won promotion to bookkeeper, where his fidelity and industry made him a favorite with his employers and gained him further advancement. He was duly made assistant cashier, and at Mr. Verdier's death assumed the duties of cashier, which he discharged with ability until 1912, when he resigned his position to become vice-president of the Grand Rapids Savings Bank. He has been identified with a number of other im- portant business institutions, and at present is treasurer of the Grand Rapids Trust Company, secretary and treasurer of the Investment
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