USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens > Part 53
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president of the national organization, and was the one who drafted its constitution. This notable body of Christian workers has in- creased from 26 to more than 160 societies, with a membership of 10,000 and has a repre- sentation in 21 States.
ILLIAM L. HINMAN, a general merchant of Bentley, Michigan, is one of the entrprising men of the northern section of Bay County. He was born at Ensley, Newaygo County, Michigan, February 21, 1869, and is a son of Charles and Susan (Dennison) Hinman.
Charles Hinman was born in Kent County, Michigan, where his father was a pioneer, com- ing from New York. In 1880, Charles Hin- man and wife moved to St. Louis, Michigan, where our subject enjoyed the advantages of a high school training.
In 1889, William L. Hinman went to Thompson's Station, Ogemaw County, Michi- gan, as a clerk in a general mercantile store, and remained there two years and then accom- panied his employer when the business was re- moved to Pinconning, in the summer of 1891. In the fall of this year Mr. Hinman opened a branch store for his employer at Bentley, it being practically the only store at that time in the village. Ox-teams were almost the only means of conveyance in the section, as there was only one team of horses in the township. The surrounding country was settling up rap- idly and Mr. Hinman saw that the time was rapidly approaching when a first-class general store at this point would be a necessity, and in 1895 he purchased from the estate of his former employer the stock of the store he was managing, and embarked in business for him- self. In 1901 he had the misfortune to lose
stock and store by a bad fire. He was partially insured and immediately went to work to re- build and in a few months had larger quarters and a more complete stock ready. The business has continued to prosper until the present time, Mr. Hinman being an excellent manager and an accommodating merchant.
In 1893, Mr. Hinman was married to Abbie Harvey, who is a daughter of Enoch and Permelia (Shaw) Harvey, who came to Bay County from Canada in 1881. Mr. Har- vey is now the rural mail carrier out of Bent- ley and also owns a farm in the vicinity. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have five children : Abbie, wife of Mr. Hinman; Maud, wife of Charles Ross; Jennie, wife of Charles Buby; Leander and Roy. Mr. and Mrs. Hinman have two interesting little ones : Charles H., born Feb- ruary 3, 1895; and Mildred B., born Septem- ber 21, 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Hinman belong to the Methodist Church at Bentley.
Politically, our subject is identified with the Republican party. Fraternally, he is a Mason, a member of Standish Lodge; and a member of the Knights of the Modern Macca- bees and of the Knights of the Maccabees of the World.
ORACE D. BLODGETT, who is post- 50 master and proprietor of a general store at Munger, in Merritt town- ship, Bay County, Michigan, was born in Orleans County, New York, April 2, 1835. He is a son of Stephen L. and Hulda (Munger) Blodgett.
The Blodgett family was established in America by three brothers, who came from England during the colonial days and located in Massachusetts. The paternal grandfather of our subject served in the Revolutionary War with Ethan Allen and was taken prisoner
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at Ticonderoga. He had six sons who were Masons and by reason of this fact he regained his liberty after nine months of imprisonment.
Stephen L. Blodgett, father of our subject, was born in Middlebury, Vermont, August 20, 1800, and in Middlebury College was prepared for the ministry. He became a local preacher of the Methodist Church and followed farming throughout life. He remained in Vermont until he was 30 years old, then moved to Or- leans County, New York, where he resided until he moved to Genesee County, Michigan. He died there in 1881. Politically, he was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party, when he became one of its stanch sup- porters. He was united in marriage with Hulday Munger, who was born in Connecticut, near Long Island Sound, October 20, 1810. She had four brothers, namely: Lansing, Horace, Curtis and Algernon S. The town of Munger was named in honor of the two last named, who located in Bay City (then known as Lower Saginaw) in 1850, and re- sided here the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Blodgett died at the age of 85 years, after hav- ing given birth to five children, as follows: Horace D .; Elvira (Molbey), deceased; Je- rome, deceased, who served in the 23rd Regi- ment, Michigan Vol. Inf., under Captain Ray- mond, in the Civil War; Martha (Auton) de- ceased; and Laura (Smith) deceased.
Horace D. Blodgett lived in his native county until he was 10 years old, then accom- panied his parents to Richfield, Genesee County, Michigan, where he lived for 15 years, attend- ing school and working on the home farm until he was 20, then engaging at lumbering. In 1860, he moved to Bay City with his wife, and for two years worked in a sawmill. He then sailed on the river and bay during the open seasons for two years, clerking in a store dur- ing the winter months. He next went to Chilli-
cothe, Missouri, and for three and a half years worked in a flour mill there as engineer. Re- turning to Bay City, he was then for a time employed as engineer in a flour mill, after which he engaged in sailing one year on the river and bay. In the fall of 1875, he came to the town of Munger, in Merritt township, and took up 40 acres of swamp and timber land, which he cleared with much difficulty and put under cultivation. On this place he has built three dwellings, barns, a store and post office building, and at the present time rents two dwellings. He conducts a general store which enjoys a liberal patronage and is postmaster at Munger, which is an office of the fourth class and has two rural routes. Mr. Blodgett sold lots for the township hall, a blacksmith shop and dwelling on the home farm, a dwell- ing, creamery and barn for D. Graham, also a dwelling for E. A. Howell. At the present time he is giving his entire attention to his store and his duties as postmaster.
In 1859, Mr. Blodgett was united in mar- riage with Lydia Mather, who was born in Middlebury, Vermont, in September, 1835, and was a daughter of Isaac Mather. She died in 1883. They became the parents of three children : Willoughby, who was killed at Bay City in 1883 ; aged 23 years ; Arthur J., of West Bay City; and Edward, who died in infancy. Our subject's second marriage was with Louisa E. Ward, who was born in Bay City and is a daughter of James and Ann ( Ritchey) Ward, the former a native of England and the latter, of Scotland. Her parents were married in England in 1849, and upon coming to the United States in 1859 located at Bay City, Michigan. Mr. Ward died here at the age of 82 years, and Mrs. Ward is now living with our subject and his wife, being strong and active at the age of 84 years. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blodgett :
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Mary W .; Jessie; and Clair. Mr. Blodgett cast his first vote for Gen. John C. Fremont for President, and has been unswerving in his support of the Republican party ever since. In 1900 he was appointed by President Mc- Kinley as postmaster at Munger. He is one of the charter members of the Presbyterian Church at Munger, and is one of its trustees. He donated to the church a half-acre tract of ground and assisted in the construction of the church edifice.
OHN A. STEWART, whose life has been devoted to educational work, is superintendent of the city schools of Bay City, Michigan, and is well- known in the educational circles of the State. He was born in Centerville, St. Joseph County, Michigan, and is a son of Alexander and Maria (Cummings) Stewart, both natives of New York State.
Mr. Stewart is of Scotch-English descent, his paternal grandparents coming to this coun- try from Scotland. Maternally, he is descended of good old Puritan stock. His great-grand- father Allen was a private in the Continental Army during the Revolution and participated in the battle of Concord. Alexander Stewart was a lumberman during the greater part of his active life; both he and his wife have passed into the Unknown Beyond.
John A. Stewart was the fifth of eight children born to his parents, of which number four are now living. His early education was acquired in the village school of Wyandotte and was supplemented by a course in the Ann Arbor High School, from which he was grad- uated in 1871. He then attended the Univer- sity of Michigan, from which he was graduated with the class of 1875. Immediately there-
after, his life work as an instructor began in the grammar grade in Saginaw. He taught in a private school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, until 1881, in which year he became superintendent of schools at Monroe, Michi- gan. In 1888, he moved to Port Huron, where he served as superintendent of schools until 1894, in which year he came to Bay City, Mich- igan. He is now serving his 1 1th year as super- intendent of the schools of Bay City, and the success attending his efforts has firmly estab- lished him in the confidence and good-will of the people. The duties of his office are onerous, there being 127 teachers, exclusive of supply teachers, under his direction, and an enrollment of 4,279 pupils. There are 21 teachers in the Bay City High School, with an enrollment of 540 pupils. There have been many changes for the better effected under his management, and it has been amply evidenced that he is "the right man in the right place." He has been a constant student during these years of labor, is a well-informed and broad-minded man, and has given his duties that conscientious applica- tion of his mind and energies, which never fails in the accomplishment of success. He is a member of the National Educational Asso- ciation, the State Educational Association, the Superintendents of Schools' Association, and the School Masters' Club, keeping in touch with every organization working along educa- tional lines.
Mr. Stewart was united in marriage with Margaret MacDonald, a daughter of John N. and Mary (McDowell) MacDonald. Her father, now deceased, owned and operated a flouring mill many years and was a prominent man in Bay County. To this union have been born two children, namely: John A., named after his father; and Mary Jeannette, who is named after her grandmother. Mr. Stweart resides in his pleasant home at No. 908 Van
MR. AND MRS. GERARDUS VENNIX
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Buren street. Fraternally, he is a 32nd degree Mason, being a member of the Port Huron Blue Lodge, F. & A. M .; Bay City Command- ery, No. 26, K. T .; Bay City Council, No. 53, R. & S. M .; Bay City Council, Princes of Jeru- salem; Saginaw Valley Chapter of Rose Croix at Bay City; Michigan Sovereign Consistory, S. P. R. S., at Detroit; and Moslem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at Detroit. He is a devout Christian and a faithful church worker, being an elder of the Presbyterian Church and super- intendent of the Sunday-school
ERARDUS VENNIX, one of the well-known farmers and fruit- growers of Hampton township, Bay County, Michigan, owning 56 acres of rich land in section 13, township 14; range 5, was born in the city of Oostel Beers, Province of North Brabant, the Netherlands, April 14, 1830, and is a son of Adrian and Anna Katherine (Van Vuct) Vennix.
The parents of Mr. Vennix lived and died in their native land, and our subject and a brother were the only members of the family to come to America. The home farm of 15 acres in the Netherlands has been in the family for generations, now being owned by an aunt of Mr. Vennix.
Bereft of his parents when very young, Ge- rardus Vennix went to live with an uncle for a time. The home estate he and his brother Jacob inherited from their father. When 18 years old he was drafted into the army and served in the infantry for five years, not taking part in war as the country was at peace. After his discharge in 1855, he joined his brother Jacob who had come to the United States in the previous year, leaving his native land on the day of his marriage, May 20, 1855. He and
his wife came directly to Bay City, then known as Lower Saginaw, where Mr. Vennix soon secured work at dock loading and lumbering, teaming and assisting in the making of the first turnpike roads in this section. It was all hard labor, but his rearing had been such as to make him strong and hardy, and by the time he was ready to take up a small tract of gov- ernment land, he had learned enough English to enable him to successfully transact business.
This land, the same rich, mellow, product- ive land of his present farm, was then all swamp and he bought it for $1.25 an acre. It could not now be purchased for $100 an acre and is not on the market for that. Mr. Vennix has a good, comfortable dwelling here, a sub- stantial barn and all necessary outbuildings and improvements of all kinds and raises sugar beets, garden truck and small fruits, and for- merly raised considerable grain.
Mr. Vennix was married first to Ida Rooze, who was born in the Netherlands three miles distant from her husband's birthplace, July 18, 1822, and died July 18, 1863, the mother of six children, three of whom survive, namely : Jacob, of Hampton township; Mrs. Kate Gunn, of Chicago; and Mary, wife of Theodore Jacobs, of Hampton township. His second marriage was to Mary Slattery, a native of Ireland, who died February 14, 1868, leaving one daughter,-Mrs. Johanna Vanden Hurk. On May 20, 1873, Mr. Vennix was married to Jacoba Jacobs, who was born in the Province of Gelderland, the Netherlands, October 21, 1850, and came to Michigan with her father in April, 1873. A family of eight children were born to this union, the four survivors being: Adrian, born in 1875, a resident of Hampton township; Ida, born November 28, 1882; Clara, born May 19, 1885, and Eliza- beth, born August 24, 1887. Mr. Vennix has 29 grandchildren, all of them residents of
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Hampton township except one who lives in Chicago.
Some 14 years ago, Mr. Vennix accompa- nied Father Rocht on a trip through Belgium and the Netherlands. His absence of 36 years had obliterated almost every trace of his old home and he found scarcely a familiar face. His brother Jacob never married and died at his home in 1858, a victim of typhoid fever.
Politically, Mr. Vennix is a Democrat. He has held the office of highway commissioner, serving when he was the only member of the board and when it consisted of three members. He has also served as school inspector and three terms as township treasurer. A Catholic in religious faith, he has served on the Essex- ville Parochial School Board for the past 20 years. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Vennox accompany this sketch.
ILLIAM NITSCHKA, who has been treasurer of the public schools of Kawkawlin township, Bay County, Michigan, for the past seven years, is one of the township's represen- tative farmers, owning a well-improved farm of 120 acres in sections 8 and 17, his handsome residence being situated in the latter section. Mr. Nitschka was born in Germany in 1851, and is a son of Frederick and Anna (Adam) Nitschka.
The parents of Mr. Nitschka were also natives of Germany. In 1866 they moved to Canada with their seven sons, four of whom still reside in the Dominion. The father was born in 1802 and died in 1895, at the age of 93 years. His was a remarkable case in that he never experienced any serious illness until the day prior to his decease. The mother, born in 1816, still survives, making her home with her son Henry, in Canada.
As our subject was 15 years of age when his parents settled in Canada, his education had already been secured in his native land. In 1871 he made his first visit to Michigan, as. one of the construction gang of the first rail- road which was built from Detroit to Grand Haven, and called the Northern Railroad. This. gave him his first opportunity to save money, which he invested in farming land upon his return to Canada. He secured 100 acres and continued to farm his land there for the fol- lowing 13 years. During this time he succeeded in saving the sum of $2,400, and in 1885, after selling his Canadian farm, he returned to Mich- igan and purchased 80 acres of heavily wooded land in section 8, Kawkawlin township, Bay County, paying $1,000 for this tract. In 1892 he added 40 acres located in section 17, where he subsequently erected one of the finest resi- dences in the locality. Mr. Nitschka had much to contend with in clearing his land and in placing it under cultivation. Only 20 acres is still in timber. He carries on general farming, raises considerable stock and grows fine fruit. His success is that which comes to those who persevere and lead industrious, temperate and upright lives.
Mr. Nitschka was married in Canada to Anna Bronka, who was a daughter of Gottlieb Bronka, who died aged 76 years. They had a family of 14 children, namely : Matilda, de- ceased; Ada, born December 3, 1873. who married John Hetz and has six children ; Oscar, born in 1874; Henry, born in 1876; Anna, born in 1879; Emma, born in 1881, who married Michael Gerringer and has three children ; Au- gust, born in 1883; Emil, born in 1885: Ru- dolph, born in 1888; Lena, deceased; Minnie, born in 1891; Mary, born in 1893, deceased; Max, deceased; and Ceolina, born in 1896. Mr. Nitschka and family belong to the Luth- eran Church. Politically, he is a Republican
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and has always taken a deep interest in public matters in his township. He is universally respected and the confidence shown him by his fellow-citizens has been especially demonstrated in his reelection to one of the most responsible of the township offices.
J AMES E. BROCKWAY, a popular attorney of Bay City, Michigan, with offices in the Shearer. Block, was born on a farm near Brockway, in St. Clair County, Michigan, in 1872. In early boyhood he was taken to Port Huron by his parents, who were pioneer settlers, of German deriva- tion. He was a resolute and ambitious lad and, after enjoying the advantages of the pub- lic school at home until he was 13 years old, went forth into the world to earn his own liv -. ing. He worked at lumber tallying during the summers, and in the winter intervals still pur- sued his school studies. For several seasons he was thus employed at Au Sable and Oscoda, until he earned a sufficient amount of money to take a course in the Northern Indiana Normal University. Here he applied himself to law and afterward acquired a knowledge of stenog- raphy, while clerking in various law offices. He was admitted to the Bay County bar, and became the law partner of Devere Hall. He served four years as Circuit Court commis- sioner, being elected to that office on the Re- publican ticket.
In 1897, Mr. Brockway became a member of Company C, of the "Peninsulars," and dur- ing the Spanish-American War he served as a corporal of that company in Cuba. He was also clerk, by appointment, to Brigadier-Gen- eral Duffield until that officer succumbed to yellow fever and was sent to the hospital.
During his term of service as Circuit Court
commissioner, Mr. Brockway manifested that degree of diligence, discretion and integrity, essential in a position of such responsibility, and won the merited commendation of his fel- low citizens. In the fall of 1904 he was elected Representative to the State Legislature on the Republican ticket. He is one of the most earn- est advocates of a more comprehensive pri- mary election law, and unless the promise of his early manhood fails of fulfillment, he will yet win recognition in higher fields of endeavor.
Mr. Brockway is a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Detroit ; also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of the Modern Maccabees, the Knights of the Loyal Guard, the National League of Veterans and Sons and Spanish War Veterans.
D AVID F. STONE, M. D., a leading physician of Bay City, Michigan, prominent in his profession and en- joying a reputation as a practitioner second to none all through Bay and neighbor- ing counties, was born March 19, 1843, at Parishville, St. Lawrence County, New York, and is a son of James and Surviah (Elithorp) Stone.
James Stone was born in Queens County, Ireland, and was a farmer by occupation. His wife was a native of Vermont, belonging to the old colonial family of Elithorp, one well- known in the annals of New England.
The boyhood of Dr. Stone was passed on his father's farm in St. Lawrence County and he attended the country schools and then entered the grammar school at Milton, Halton Dis- trict, Ontario, Canada, where he was graduated in 1864. Under Dr. Freeman, a well-known medical practitioner at Milton, he read medicine.
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until he was prepared to accept the position of assistant surgeon to the Toronto General Hos- pital. There he remained for three years, gain- ing practical knowledge of his profession, and during this time he took lectures at Toronto University, where he was graduated in 1870. In the same year he received his medical diploma from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of Kingston, Ontario. Very soon thereafter, with his brother, George W. Stone, who had graduated in medicine in 1876 from the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, of New York City, he came to Michigan and located at Metamora, Lapeer County. Neither had much capital, but they possessed a thorough knowl- edge of their profession and our subject re- mained in Lapeer County for 23 years ; during this time he and his brother answered calls coming from all over the county and from points which could only be reached by riding or driving horses, because of the lack of railroad facilities at that early day. To his readiness to respond to all calls for his services, no matter what hardships were involved, and to the pains- taking care manifested in the treatment of every case, must be attributed the success he achieved. Some of the land he acquired during his residence in Lapeer County, he has disposed of to good advantage, but is still quite a holder of farm property.
On June 1, 1889, Dr. Stone settled perma- nently in Bay City, purchasing a fine residence and four lots on the corner of Center avenue and Johnson street. He established his office on this property just west of his residence. He devoted his entire time to his well-estab- lished general practice. His skill as a surgeon and his knowledge as a physician have become as valued in Bay as in other counties and his professional services are always in demand, frequently as a consultant.
On March 21, 1877, Dr. Stone was married
to Frances Elizabeth Griswold, who is a daugh- ter of Harry Griswold, a pioneer of Bay City, whose biography and portrait appear elsewhere in this work. Dr. and Mrs. Stone have two children : Anna R., who is attending the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston, Massachusetts ; and Albert F., who is a student at Yale, where he has a fine standing.
Dr. Stone is identified with the Republican party, but has never taken a very active interest in politics, the engrossing demands of his pro- fession always absorbing his time and attention. At the same time he is recognized as a very public-spirited citizen. He belongs to the lead- ing associations pertaining to his profession, and is very highly considered in the American Medical Association, Michigan State Medical Society and Bay County Medical Society. Fra- ternally, he is a Mason.
A LBERT McCLATCHEY, a well- known member of the bar of Bay County, Michigan, and a very suc- cessful attorney at Bay City, with offices in the Phoenix Block, is a native of this State, born in Oakland County, July 31, 1869. He is a son of Robert and Nancy ( Noyes) McClatchey.
The mother of Mr. McClatchey is deceased. She was born in Detroit and that city was the family home until 1881, the father being a merchant there for a number of years. He now lives retired, at Harrisville, Michigan.
Albert McClatchey was educated in the schools of Detroit and was educated in the law, under a well-known attorney's direction, through the Sprague Correspondence School, and was admitted to practice at Bay City, in 1895. He has had encouraging professional success and is well-known in all the courts of the city and county.
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Politically, he has been very active in the Republican party but has never sought office for himself. For the past two years he has been secretary of the Republican County Committee and did much hard work in the campaign of 1904, which resulted in so great a Republican triumph.
Mr. McClatchey is prominent in the Ma- sonic fraternity, being a 32nd degree Mason and a member of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Detroit. He is past grand master of the McCormick Grand Lodge of Perfection at Bay City, and has filled all the chairs in Bay City Lodge, No. 23, Knights of Pythias. He belongs also to social organizations and has served in many civic bodies.
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