USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens > Part 66
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85
The next in line of descent to our subject was Shubael Wentworth, who was a farmer and blacksmith at Stoughton, Massachusetts, where he served as clerk of the precinct. He was first married April II. 1717. to Damaris Hawes. who died at Stoughton December 7,
.
1739. He died in 1759. They were parents of Sion Wentworth, great-grandfather of our sub- ject, who was born at Stoughton, Massachu- setts, March 31, 1725. He was a blacksmith at Weston, Massachusetts, and was the owner of considerable land. He married Hannah Pet- tingill, who died of consumption, January 29, 1780. He died of consumption, November 9, 1776, and his widow subsequently was married to Joshua Whittemore of Sharon, Massachu- setts. Sion Wentworth, grandfather of our subject, was born in Sharon, Massachusetts, May 30, 1769, and died in Hope, Maine, Feb- ruary 18, 1842. He was married at Warren, Maine, March 19, 1794, to Mary Morgan, who was born April 13, 1776, and of the children born to them Leonard was the oldest.
Leonard Wentworth was born in Hope. Knox County, Maine, February 22, 1796, and engaged in farming and lumbering throughout his active life. He was a Whig and Republican in politics, and although taking an active inter- est in public affairs was never a politician. He served some years as a member of the School Board. He was a very vigorous man physi- cally, was of a retiring disposition and had the courage to maintain his stand for what he con- sidered right. He was of benevolent inclina- tions, and was much respected wherever known. On January 21, 1827, he married Mary Arnold, who was born in Appleton township, Knox County, Maine, on July 6, 1806, and was a daughter of William Arnold. They were parents of the following children : Elizabeth, wife of Lerkin Safford, of Kelso, North Dakota: Augustus L., of Kelso, North Dakota: Delphina, deceased, who was the wife of Elisha Safford, of Hope, Maine, also deceased : Justin, whose name heads this sketch: Veranus, of Newtonville, Massa- chusetts : Mary A., deceased wife of James Trowbridge: William A., a member of a Maine
556
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY
regiment during the Civil War, who was killed at the battle of Thatcher's Run, February 6, 1865; George K., of Chicago, Illinois, who is in partnership with his brother, Justin; Sion R., of Portland, Oregon; and Nelson L., of Sanilac County, Michigan. Mrs. Wentworth died in 1851.
Justin Wentworth remained on the home farm until he reached the age of 20 years. On September 1, 1855, he started West for Michi- gan. After a stay of a couple of weeks at De- troit, he proceeded to Tuscola County and worked in the woods by the month for one firm for four years. He then took a farm and engaged in farming in that county for five years, after which he sold out and purchased a farm, which is now in the village of Vassar. He has 325 acres, which are under a high state of cultivation and devoted to general farming and stock-raising. He has made a specialty of thor- oughbred Durham and Polled Durham cattle (a large number of them being registered) and of thoroughbred Berkshire hogs. He also has raised fine poultry, his favorites being the thor- oughbred Buff Plymouth Rocks. He raised grain extensively for years, feeding all except the wheat to his stock, and has what is consid- ered the best wheat farm in that section of the State.
His farming has been done in connection with other business enterprises. As early as 1860 he began lumbering on his own account, doing an extensive business at buying and sell- ing logs. In 1868 he formed a partnership with his brother, George K. Wentworth, and the firm of J. & G. K. Wentworth has since existed. They had headquarters at Vassar un- til 1870, when they opened an office in Bay City. From that time on they have manu- factured all kinds of lumber as well as dealt in logs, and have timber lands in all parts of Mich- igan and in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon,
Washington and Alabama. They also main- tain an office in Chicago, of which George K. Wentworth has charge.
The subject of this sketch is vice-president of the German-American Sugar Company, vice- president of the Bay City Bank and a director and vice-president of the Bank of Vassar.
Justin Wentworth was united in marriage with Sophronia Merrill, of Brewer, Maine, who died leaving four sons. The two oldest- George W. and William A .- died at the age of 21 years. The two sons now living are : Norris R., of the firm of Ross & Wentworth, Bay City, who married Martha Agnew of Grand Rapids and has a son, John Justin; and Lloyd J., manager of the Portland Lumber Company, of Portland, Oregon. This company succeeded the Portland Lumber Manufacturing Company in 1901, and has for its president George K. Wentworth. Lloyd J. Wentworth is vice-president and general manager. Our subject formed a second union with Susie L. Teller, of Vassar, by whom he has two chil- dren : Hazel and Harold. The family attend the First Presbyterian Church of Bay City. Mr. Wentworth has consistently supported the Republican party since reaching man's estate.
HATFORD A. HOWELL, who is one of the most prominent farmers of Merritt township, Bay County, Michigan, is the owner of much property in that township and resides on a homestead of 86 acres in section 14. He was born in Porter township, Niagara County, New York, November 21, 1841, and is a son of John and Phoebe ( Vrooman) Howell.
The paternal grandparents of our subject were natives of Holland, and removed with their family at an early date to the old Holland
557
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
Purchase in New York State. With the excep- tion of three years spent in Eaton County, Michigan, John Howell lived in New York State throughout his entire life and followed farming, dying at the age of 62 years. He married Phoebe Vrooman, who was born in Niagara County, New York, and was a daugh- ter of Tunis Vrooman, who was a native of Holland. Mrs. Howell died at the age of 50 years, leaving the following children : Henry S., a prosperous citizen of Independence, Mis- souri ; S. J., an instructor in the Oswego (New York) High School; Phoebe J. (Kinney), who died in New York; Jackson, who died in Tus- cola County, Michigan; Chatford A .; Agnes, who died in New York; Ella (Moore), of California; and Frank H., of Tuscola County, Michigan.
Chatford A. Howell was reared on a farm in Niagara County, New York, and in April, 1864, enlisted in Company G, 179th Reg., New York Vol. Inf., under Col. William N. Craig, of Elmira. The regiment was sent to Elmira, New York for drill and three months later was sent to City Point, Virginia. The first en- gagement was in the fight and mine explosion at Petersburg, after which occurred skirmishes in an attempt to cut off Lee's army in its re- treat to Richmond. Mr. Howell was then de- tailed as commissary sergeant to see that the guards at Alexandria received their rations. Our subject next returned to Elmira with his regiment, where both officers and men were given a grand reception and banquet by their colonel. They were there honorably discharged in July, 1865. In September of that year, Mr. Howell moved to Saginaw County, Michigan. He soon acquired by purchase a tract of 80 acres of woodland in section 13, township 13, range 6, in what is now Merritt township (then a part of Portsmouth). Bay County. Upon his arrival he had but $5 in money. and he lived
in a log house, 18 by 26 feet in dimensions for a number of years. He cleared and cultivated about 40 acres of this tract, and lived upon it for 16 years. He then sold the property and purchased three acres at Munger, where he conducted a general store for a period of 10 years. During this time he had purchased 165 acres in section 14, Merritt township, upon which he located after selling his store. He built a dwelling and barns and set out a fine orchard, and has since made this his home- stead. Of the home farm, which had grown through several purchases, in recent years he gave a 40-acre tract to each of two sons. He now owns 86 acres in section 14 and 160 acres in section 1, Merritt township, and 105 acres in Gibson township. He has made extensive im- provements, successfully engaged in general farming and stock-raising and has become one of the most prosperous citizens of the town- ship.
Mr. Howell has taken an earnest part in the development of the community and has served during the past nine years as supervisor. He was township clerk two years, justice of the peace 12 years, drain commissioner two terms, and school director 16 years. While a member of the Board of Supervisors, he was chairman of the board for three years and set in motion a suit against Tuscola County, in- volving water rights, which is now pending in the Supreme Court. Mr. Howell cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln while serving in the army, and has been a Republican ever since, frequently serving as a delegate to county con- ventions.
Chatford A. Howell was united in marriage at Bridgeport, Saginaw County, Michigan, in 1866, with Mary Bell Whitney, who was born in Wayne County, Ohio, January 6, 1845. and is a daughter of John P. and Hannah ( Robin- son) Whitney, natives of Ohio and Indiana, re-
558
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY
spectively. Her mother died when she was II years old, and she accompanied her father to Bridgeport, Saginaw County, Michigan, in 1857. Four children have blessed this union, as follows: Percy W., who married Myrtle D. Young and lives on a farm near his father; Sidney J., who married Margaret Whiteside, of Bay City, and has three children; Edward A., who married Rose Young, of Munger,- he is mail carrier on Route No. 1, R. F. D., from Bay City, and owns a farm adjoining that of his father ; and George L. D., who resides at home. Mr. Howell is a member of the Na- tional League of Veterans and Sons, of Bay City, and is the oldest past commander of the K. O. T. M. tent in Merritt township.
ILLIAM PEOPLES, supervisor of Beaver township, Bay County, Michigan, and one of the active politicians of the neighborhood, was born October 22, 1854, in Jefferson County, New York, and is a son of Henry and Adaline (Doty) Peoples.
In 1866 the parents of Mr. Peoples came to what is now Beaver township, Bay County, Michigan, which was then included in Will- iams township. Here the father preempted 80 acres of land, 40 of which is the old homestead on which our subject resides, in addition to which he owns a tract of 48 acres just across the road from his home farm. The other 40 acres of the original preemption is owned by our subject's mother and brother. The father died in September, 1903, in his 73d year. The mother is still living at the age of 71 years.
William Peoples attended the district schools of Beaver township, spent a year in the West Bay City High School and then went to work in the lumber camps in the woods, and
was employed five seasons by the Ballou Lum- ber Company.
On October 8, 1879, Mr. Peoples was mar- ried to Catherine Farquharson, who is a daugh- ter of John and Catherine (Forbes) Farqu- harson, who were born in Scotland. Mrs. Peoples was born after her parents removed to Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Peoples have seven chil- dren : Grace, born August 5, 1881 ; Edith, born February 15, 1882, who married Charles Berg- told; John, born December 31, 1883; Henry, born November 28, 1885; Roy, born December 20, 1887; Alice, born November 28, 1889, and William Forbes, born November 25, 1893.
Mr. Peoples has always been more or less prominent in public affairs in his township. He was township clerk for eight terms, township treasurer for eight years and is now serving his fourth year as township supervisor. For some IO years he served as school moderator and has always been interested in school development. He is somewhat independent in his religious views, but has a strong leaning to the Methodist Church. He belongs to the Maccabees. In political faith he is a Democrat.
E WILSON CRESSEY, a leading busi- ness citizen of Bay City, Michigan, secretary of the German-American Sugar Company, one of the city's largest and most successful enterprises, was born at Detroit, Michigan, May 5, 1866, and is a son of Col. Edward Potter and Caroline Frances ( Brooks) Cressey.
Col. Edward P. Cressey, father of our sub- ject, was born at Delhi, Delaware County, New York, May 19, 1836. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, May 1, 1854, and was graduated and appointed brevet 2d lieutenant in the regiment
559
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
of mounted rifles, July 1, 1858. On May 14, 1861, he was promoted to the rank of lieuten- ant; was commissioned Ist lieutenant of the Third United States Cavalry, on August 3, 1861 and was made captain on July 17, 1862. From 1858 to 1861 he served with his regi- ment in New Mexico and participated in skirm- ishes with the Indians at Canon de Muerto on February 18, 1860, and an active engagement with the Confederates at Mesilla on July 25, 1861, being taken prisoner at San Augustine Springs, New Mexico, July 27, 1861. He was on garrison duty at Fort Wayne, Michigan, as a paroled prisoned until he was exchanged Au- gust 27, 1862. Rejoining his regiment in July, 1863, at Memphis, Tennessee, he marched with it to Huntsville, Alabama, and participated in the battle of Cherokee Station, October 21, 1863. In the spring of 1864 he was ordered to St. Louis with his regiment; was sick in the hospital during the winter of 1864-65 and upon his recovery was placed on mustering and dispersing duty until the close of the war. For faithful and meritorious service during the war, he received brevets as major and lieutenant- colonel to date from March 13, 1865.
After the close of the war, Colonel Cressey continued on frontier duty until he was hon- orably mustered out of the service January I, 1871. For several years after he left the army, Colonel Cressey was engaged in business in China, Japan and among the South Sea Islands. In 1874 he entered into the service of the Pa- cific Mail Steam Ship Company, with which he continued until his death, at which time he was occupying a very responsible and impor- tant position in the San Francisco offices of the company.
Colonel Cressey was a prominent Mason and Knight Templar and he was a comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was elected a companion of the first class (No.
968), Commandery of California, Military Order of the Loal Legion of the United States, March 30, 1892, insignia number 9405. He was a splendid specimen of manhood, an educated and efficient soldier, a genial and hon- orable gentleman and a true friend, respected by all who knew him. He died at Altruria, California, June 21, 1899.
The mother of our subject was a lady whose old and honorable ancestry is clearly traced through many generations. She was a sweet and gracious lady who passed out of life while her son was but a child. She was married to Colonel Cressey on April 20, 1864, and they had two children : Frances, of Detroit, who was born March 23, 1865, and E. Wilson, of this sketch. Mrs. Cressey was born November 26, 1841 and died September 27, 1867. Both Col- onel Cressey and his wife were members of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
The Brooks family, of which the mother of our subject was a member, was founded in America by one Thomas Brooks who crossed from England in the ship "William," in 1635, when he was 21 years of age. He was at York, Maine, according to the historian, Savage, in 1640 and purchased land there from Sir Fer- dinand Georges. He died May 21, 1667, and his wife, Grace, born in May, 1622, died the same year. He was a deputy to the General Court at Boston, in 1642.
John Brooks, son of Thomas and Grace Brooks, married Mary Martyn. She was a daughter of Richard and Margaret (Trelaw- ney) Martyn and a granddaughter of Sir Rob- ert Trelawney.
Caleb Brooks, son of John and Mary (Mar- tyn) Brooks, married Mary Fogg, daughter of Daniel Fogg, of Kittery, Maine.
John Brooks, son of Caleb and Mary (Fogg) Brooks, married Annah or Hannah Staples.
560
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY
John Martyn Brooks, son of John and Han- nah (Staples) Brooks, was born March II, 1736 and died .in 1825. He married Mary Hoare, who was probably born August II, 1736 and died December 23, 1832.
John Brooks, son of John Martyn and Mary (Hoare) Brooks, was born at Lincoln- ville, Maine, June 13, 1785, and died at Colum- bus, Ohio, February 19, 1869. He married Phoebe Perkins, a daughter of Joseph and Phœbe (Weare) Perkins. She was born at Castine, Maine, April 18, 1787, and died in December, 1864. They were the great-grand- parents of our subject.
Nathaniel Wilson Brooks, our subject's grandfather, was born at Castine, Maine, Au- gust 27, 1808, and died at Detroit, Michigan, September 30, 1872. He was an early pio- need in Michigan, lived at Detroit and for years operated a sawmill at Salzburg, Bay County. On March 21, 1838, he married Car- oline Frances Jeffords, at Columbus, Ohio, where she was born May 12, 1818. She died in Detroit, October 25, 1885.
Through our subject's grandmother Brooks, his ancestry is traced to distinguished fore- bears. The mother of Mrs. Brooks was Sarah Elliott Leavenworth. She was born May 10, 1780, and married John Jeffords, who died in 1842, aged 34 years. She was a daughter of Maj. Eli and Sarah (Elliott) Leavenworth. The mother was born November 30, 1750, at New Haven, Connecticut, and was a daugh- ter of John and Lydia (Atwater) Elliott and a granddaughter of John and Mary (Wolcott) Elliott; a great-granddaughter of John and Elizabeth (Gookin) Elliott, and a great-great- granddaughter of Rev. John Elliot and Ann Mumfourd, the former of whom was the noted apostle to the Indians.
Maj. Eli Leavenworth was born December 10, 1748, and was married December 23, 1778,
to Sarah Elliott, daughter of John and Lydia (Atwater) Elliott. Major Leavenworth was first appointed by the Legislature, captain of the 10th Company of the Second Regiment of New Haven, July 1, 1775 and was honorably discharged December 10th of the same year. He reentered the service in 1776 as captain in Colonel Webb's regiment of Continentals and marched from New York to Boston with Wash- ington, under whose order he engaged in forti- fying Brooklyn, August 27, 1776. He was not a participant in the battle of Long Island, but did take part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, which followed soon after. At the request of Washington he remained with his regiment six weeks after its term of enlistment had expired. On May 27, 1777, he was com- missioned major in the Sixth Continental Line Regiment, Col. Charles Webb's, which went into camp at Peekskill. He retired in the spring of 1781 and was breveted colonel, and he be- came a member of the Connecticut Society of the Order of the Cincinnati.
The parents of Major Leavenworth were Rev. Mark and Ruth (Peck) Leavenworth. The former was born August 27, 171I, at Strat- ford, Connecticut, and died at Waterbury, Con- necticut, August 27, 1799. He graduated at Yale College in 1737 and was ordained and settled as pastor of the church at Waterbury, where he continued until his decease. On Feb- ruary 6, 1740, he married Ruth Peck, a daugh- ter of Jeremiah Peck of Waterbury.
The father of Rev. Mark Leavenworth was Dr. Thomas Leavenworth, who in 1699 mar- ried Mary Jenkins, daughter of David Jenkins and settled at Stratford, Connecticut. His father, Edmund Leavenworth, emigrated from Germany to America and settled at Hunting- ton, then a part of Waterbury, prior to 1680.
The early childhood of our subject was spent at Detroit, but the early death of his
1
PATRICK KEATING, SR.
563
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
mother and the enforced absence of his father broke up the home and he went to live with his grandparents, with whom he remained as their own son until their decease. After completing the common school course, he attended the University of Michigan and upon his return began to learn the lumber business. He began at the bottom of the ladder and worked his way up through the various positions until he be- came secretary of the company whose employ he had entered in the humblest position. In 1895 he became president of the Kern Manu- facturing Company and filled that position until 1898 when he entered the employ of the Michi- gan Sugar Company. He continued with this company until its combination with the Bay City Sugar Company, at which time he accepted his present responsible place as secretary of the German-American Sugar Company.
This company was incorporated February 18, 1901, with these officers : Rasmus Hanson, of Grayling, Michigan, president; Justin Went- worth, vice-president ; E. Wilson Cressey, sec- retary ; and John C. Ross, treasurer. The first campaign of this company was in 1901-02. The factory was originally planned for a capacity of 400 tons, but its capaciti has been increased to 600 tons. The season of 1904-05 produced over 8,000,000 pounds of sugar. It is an in- corporated company and a large amount of its stock is held by producers of sugar beets.
On October 13, 1891, Mr. Cressey was married to Cornelia William Buckley, who is a daughter of Henry J. Buckley, of Detroit. They have one child, Cornelia M., who was born August 20, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Cressey are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Detroit and they attend the Presbyterian Church in Bay City.
Mr. Cressey is interested in public affairs but is in no way a politician. He is identified with the Republican party. He has many
pleasant social connections, being a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Bay City Club, and of his university society, the Chi Psi. For five years he served as presi- dent of the Bay City Boat Club and still con- tinues a member of its directing board.
P ATRICK KEATING, SR, one of the representative citizens of Merritt township, Bay County, Michigan, whose portrait is shown on the oppo- site page, has a fine farm of 140 acres in section 22. He has successfully engaged in general farming, stock-raising and fruit-growing, but his greatest success has been as an apiarist.
Mr. Keating was born near Cahersiveen, County Kerry, Ireland, March 10, 1852, is a son of James and Norah (Hollahan) Keating, and grandson of Daniel Keating, who was a pilot in early life and aided American privateers during the War of 1812. James Keating and his wife were natives of County Kerry, Ireland, where they lived until 1854, the former being engaged in farming and fishing. In that year he came to America, settling in Pennsylvania, where he engaged in railroad work. In 1858 he moved to Canada and continued in railroad work during the remainder of the active portion of his life. He died at Clinton, Ontario, at the age of 87 years, and his wife is now liv- ing at London, Ontario, at the age of 75 years. Mrs. Keating had a brother, Daniel, and two cousins who were killed in the Civil War, and two other brothers, Michael and John, who went to Australia and made large fortunes in the gold fields. John Keating, a brother of James, served three years in the Union Army during the Civil War, and had a son, John, who was a lieutenant during that war. Mr. and Mrs. Keating had six children, as follows :
564
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY
Ellen (Blake), of New South Wales, Aus- tralia; Patrick; Mary, of New South Wales, Australia; Jennie (Dean), of Edmonton, Al- berta District, Northwest Territories, Canada; Daniel, of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; and Michael, a lumberman of Minnesota.
Patrick Keating was nearly six years old when his mother came to America, and joined her husband, who was then living in the oil region of Pennsylvania. They remained there one year and then located near London, On- tario. In 1869 our subject went to Pennsyl- vania, and in 1870 came to Bay City, Michigan, alone. For four seasons he worked on square timbers, an occupation he had previously fol- lowed on the Allegheny River. He then re- moved to Munger, Bay County, when the surrounding country was heavily wooded, and sparsely settled, and here he cleared land for various parties. He then worked on the rail- road for three years. He again engaged in clearing land, including a tract of 40 acres which he had purchased. This he later sold and then continued in clearing for others until he embarked in the bee business. He continued this exclusively for seven years and steadily increased his business until his apiary contained 150 hives and produced annually from 4,000 to 7,500 pounds of honey. With the proceeds of this business he was enabled to buy his pres- ent farm of 140 acres in Merritt township in 1896, and in 1900 he moved upon it. He has placed it in a high state of cultivation, has set out an orchard, and erected a dwelling, barns and a honey house. He also follows general farming and stock-raising.
Mr. Keating was married in Ontario, Can- ada, in 1871, to Elizabeth Tighe, by whom he has the following children : Daniel, who went to Central America and after four years was never heard from again, presumably having lost his life in the revolution of 1892; James, of
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.