USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens > Part 73
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the position of gang sawyer and continued in that work for some 10 years, after which he operated a salt-block for a like period and for the same company, and cleared the mill of lum- ber and refuse. During this time he was also engaged in farming, carrying on extensive operations for some nine years on the Watson farm, which he had rented. He raised wheat, oats and hay and had 20 head of stock, mainly horses. Mr. Reid then returned to lumber- ing during the winter seasons, working for Butman & Rusk, his former employers, having been two years engaged in clearing E. Y. Williams' mill. In his lumbering operations he was associated with John Redy, the firm style being Reid & Redy, and the partnership con- tinued for two years. In 1893 Mr. Reid bought the wood business of Smalley & Woodruff, ad- mitted Samuel Mapes to a partnership and the business was conducted under the firm name of Mapes & Reid, for six years. Then W. H. Reed bought the partner's interest, and the firm became Reid & Reed, one year later our subject becoming the sole owner.
When the Union Ice Company was organ- ized in 1899, Mr. Reid became its manager and it is the oldest and best equipped ice concern in the city, doing the major part of the ice busi- ness. The company cuts its own ice, consist- ing of about 35,000 tons annually, and sells both wholesale and retail. H. H. Aplin is pres- ident and Robert Beutel is secretary and treas- urer of this company, both being well-known capitalists.
Mr. Reid married Jessie Foote, who is a daughter of John Foote, of Huron District, Ontaria, Canada, and they have four children : James L., Mabel May, William H. and Jessie T. The family belong to the Memorial Pres- byterian Church, in which Mr. Reid has been a trustee for about 10 years.
Politically he is a stanch Republican and
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has served two terms as alderman from the Fifth Ward. His fraternal ties include mem- bership with the Maccabees and with Bay City Lodge, No. 129, F. & A. M.
ILLIAM GEORGE KELLY, M. D., C. M., a well-known physician of Bay City, was born at Kingston, Ontario, February 5, 1874. He is a son of Isaac and Susan ( Faucett) Kelly, and a grandson of William and Mary Kelly. Will- iam Kelly, the grandfather, came from the North of Ireland and settled in Kingston, where he followed the trade of a carpenter.
Isaac Kelly was born at Kingston, Ontario, March 17, 1847. When a boy he learned the trade of a pattern maker, which occupation he followed until the very day of his death,- August 5, 1904. He was a stanch Liberal. During the Fenian raid, he did military duty and received a grant of land for his services. He was an active member of the Presbyterian Church, in which he officiated as an elder. Fra- ternally, he belonged to the A. O. U. W. The wife of Isaac Kelly was born in Ireland and landed in Canada, after a three months' voyage, when she was about seven years of age. She is now 55 years old, and is in the enjoyment of ex- cellent health. In religious faith she is a Pres- byterian, and a consistent member of the church. Isaac Kelly and his wife had four chil- dren, namely : Henry J., who lives in St. Louis, Missouri; William George; Isaac John, of To- ledo, Ohio; and Nettie Louise.
The subject of this sketch received his early mental training in the public schools of. Kings- ton, and afterward entered the medical depart- ment of the Queen's University in that city, where he was graduated in 1897 with the de- grees before mentioned. In the same year he
came to Bay City, an utter stranger, and since then has built up an extended and successful practice.
Doctor Kelly married Florence Ethel Lan- deryon, a daughter of John C. Landeryon, of Kingston, Ontario, and they have one daugh- ter,-Dorothy May. The Doctor is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Professionally, he belongs to the Michigan State Medical Society, and the Bay County Medical Society. Fra- ternally, he is a member of Bay City Lodge, No. 129, F. & A. M., of which he is senior warden ; Blanchard Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M., and Bay City Commandery, No. 26, K. T. In politics, the Doctor is a Republican.
AMUEL F. WAIT, a prominent citizen and postmaster of Auburn, in Will- iams township, was born September 12, 1852, at Ogdensburg, New York. He is a son of Ebenezer and Caroline ( Pierce) Wait, and is a descendant of Thomas Wayte, who was one of the signers of the death war- rant of King Charles I, of England.
Ebenezer Wait was a native of New York State, and was one of several children born to his parents, among them being: Calvin, a farmer and real estate dealer who died and was buried at Malone, New York; and Lucy, wife of Daniel O. Files, of St. Regis Falls, New York. Ebenezer Wait became a machinist and engineer on lake boats, and was the first to put a walking beam on a propeller, putting it on the "B. F. Wade." He went to Chicago and for several years worked for Savage Brothers, machinists, and later was manager of a large sugar refinery in that city. In 1891, he retired from business and came to Bay County to live with our subject, dying here November 23, 1902. He was buried in Pine Grove Ceme- tery in Williams township. He married Caro-
,
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line Pierce, a native of New Hampshire and a daughter of Daniel Pierce, and they became parents of three children : Daniel Edward, of Chicago, who was an engineer on the Great Lakes and was drowned, it is thought, in the sinking of the steamship "Oconto;" Charles, a farmer of Tuscola County, Michigan; and Samuel F.
Samuel F. Wait was seven years of age when his mother died and thereafter shifted for himself. At the age of 10 years, Thomas WVolverton, a shipbuilder, saw and was at- tracted to the boy and persuaded the latter to go with him to his farm on the St. Clair River. There Samuel attended the district school at Robertson Landing, working before and after school hours on the farm. The farm was sold two years and a half after, and he accompan- ied the family of his benefactor to Belle River Mills. Michigan, where he worked on a farm for a daughter of Mr. Wolverton. In Septem- ber of the same year he moved with this fam- ily to what was then Portsmouth, now South Bay City, and attended school that winter, be- ing then 14 years old. The following spring he went to work in Watrous Brothers' shingle- mill. He attended school in Portsmouth whenever he could until he was 19. He worked in the lumber camps during the winter months and was scaler for Watrous Brothers until he was 24 years old. He then accompanied Mr. Wolverton to a farm of 134 acres in section 19, Monitor township, which the latter had purchased, and for six years worked at clearing and cultivating the land. He purchased 40 acres of this tract and engaged in farming it, in the meantime con- tinuing to live with Mr. Wolverton, whose house and barn he helped to build. At the end of six years he left the home of that gentle- man and became clerk for Ira E. Swart in the latter's furnishing store at Auburn, continu-
ing 12 years, serving as deputy postmaster to Mr. Swart for the same period.
After leaving the employ of Mr. Swart, Mr. Wait engaged in the grocery business for himself one year, then returned to his farm and remained until he was appointed postmaster of Auburn, July 29, 1897. He took charge on September 15 of that year and has since served most creditably in that capacity. He has been unswerving in his support of the Republican party, and has held numerous township offices. He was elected township clerk in 1883 and served 12 years in the office and a like period on the School Board. He is progressive and public-spirited and it was largely through his efforts that the Town Hall was built in 1894. He was also instrumental in securing the new, modern school at Auburn. The business of the Auburn post office has been more than doubled under his administration, and there are now three rural delivery routes running from his office. He has served 20 years as a notary public.
On January 28, 1884, Mr. Wait was joined in marriage with Mary A. Hershey, who was born in Ritchfield, Ohio, and is a daughter of Abraham and Mary (Shoemaker) Hershey of Bath, Ohio. She is one of seven children, as follows: Samuel J., a farmer and wholesale butcher of Williams township; Irving B., an attorney of Cleveland, Ohio; Elmer G., a farmer and wholesale butcher of Williams township; Mary A., wife of our subject; Ma- tilda, wife of Linus W. Oviatt, supervisor of Williams township, a stock breeder and State speaker for the Farmer's Institute; Ella M., wife of George R. Beattie, a farmer and whole- sale butcher of Williams township; and Sarah J., widow of T. D. Oviatt, who was a lawyer of Warren, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Wait have five children : Iva Glenn, Ralph H., Clyde F., Charles E. and Myron R. Fraternally, our sub-
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ject has been a member of the Independent Or- der of Foresters since March 12, 1891, has filled the offices of financial secretary and court deputy and is now treasurer of Court Auburn, No. 758. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
EORGE A. NUFFER, one of the en- terprising business men of Amelith, Frankenlust township, who controls a number of successful enterprises and industries here, was born March 30, 1872, at Amelith, Bay County, Michigan, and is a son of William and Mary ( Kranzlein) Nuffer.
The parents of Mr. Nuffer were born in Germany, but came to America before mar- riage. William Nuffer came to Bay County in 1860, and died at the age of 38 years. The mother of our subject lived to be 58 years of age. They had six children : Margaret, wife of Michael Uhlrich, of Saginaw; Barbara, de- ceased, who was the wife. of Adolph Wirth; John M., of Auburn; William, deceased; George A .; and Henry, of Frankenlust town- ship. Mrs. Nuffer married again after her husband's decease, and reared eight more children.
Until he was 14 years old Mr. Nuffer at- tended German and American schools, and then devoted himself to assisting on his father's farm until he embarked in the general mercan- tile and cheese business some 12 years ago. This venture was joined in by his brother and the firm name was Nuffer Brothers, and the busi- ness continued until last fall when it was dis- solved. John M. Nuffer took the cheese fac- tory and store, used in their joint business, to Auburn where the output of his cheese factory is about 8,000 pounds a day. The one our sub- ject conducts on his place at Amelith turns out
5,000 pounds a day, the quality being su- perior and meeting with ready sale. Mr. Nuffer has an acre of land on which all his plants are located,-cheese factory, cider mill and store building. The last named building is 30 by 46 feet in dimensions and is well stocked with seasonable goods. He also deals in farm im- plements. These buildings were all put up by our subject and his brother, with the exception of the cheese factory, and are in section 15, Frankenlust township.
Mr. Nuffer was married February 16, 1896, to Maggie Bauer, who was born in Frankenlust township, Bay County, and is a daughter of George Bauer who was born in Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Nuffer have three bright, interesting children : Adolph, John and Eleanor.
Mr. Nuffer is a Republican and has fre- quently been put forward by his party for re- sponsible offices, being a man well-qualified for the same. He is one of the leading members of St. John's German Lutheran Church at Amelith and a liberal supporter of its enter- prises.
OHN ANDREW FEINAUER, one of the representative citizens of Monitor township, and the owner of a well- improved farm of 80 acres, situated in section 29, was born February 29, 1856, at Bay City, and is a son of those well-known pioneers, John M. and Margaret B. (Sex- linger) Feinauer.
John M. owned a farm in Bavaria, Germany, but felt that he could do better in the United States and, with two sisters, took passage in a sailing vessel in 1846. The ship was almost wrecked and its supplies ran out before land was reached, and this three months of danger was never forgotten by those
NELSON NELLES
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who endured it. The party came directly to Bay City, Michigan, by way of Buffalo. Two years later Margaret B. Sexlinger came to Bay City, and soon after her arrival she and Mr. Feinauer were married. Our subject's father easily secured work as sawyer and millwright and the ruins of the first mill in which he worked, dismantled some two years ago, can still be seen in Bay City. He subsequently pur- chased a tract of 80 acres of land, where the Michigan coal mine was recently opened, tak- ing charge in the fall of 1856. About three years later he added 40 acres to the original purchase and continued to operate this farm of 120 acres until 1898, when he retired and went to live with his son, John C. Feinauer, in Mon- itor township. Here he died in March, 1900, a man respected by all who knew him. He was a stanch supporter of the principles of the Re- publican party and was frequently selected for responsible offices. For seven years he served as a justice of the peace and was also elected township treasurer and highway commissioner. His aged widow still survives and is an honored and beloved member of the household of her youngest daughter, who lives in Frankenlust township.
Our subject is the second member of the family of 10 children born to his parents, the others being: John G., of Frankenlust town- ship; George M. and John C., both of Monitor township; John Leonard, deceased; Christina B .. wife of A. Schwab; Louisa W., wife of Charles F. Engelhardt, of Hampton township; Mary B., wife of F. Smith, of Monitor town- ship; Anna M., wife of George Richard; and Mary M., wife of John Lutz, of Frankenlust township.
After completing his education, our subject worked for his father for four years and then learned the milling trade and later that of butchering, and followed the latter for three
years prior to settling on his farm of 80 acres, which he had bought in 1877. At that time it was in its native state, all covered with forest and brush. He did all the clearing himself and made use of the fine timber in building his own handsome residence and large barn. Mr. Feinauer has an exceptionally fine house which he built in 1899 at a cost, for construction, of $1,200. He carries on general farming and stock-raising, his land being well adapted to both industries.
John A. Feinauer was married on Septem- ber 3, 1879, to Margaret E. Schmitt, who is a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Webber) Schmitt, and they have had seven children : Christina B., who died aged 18 years; Lizzie L. W., who is the wife of Leonard Uhlman, of Garfield township; John F., of Monitor town- ship; Annie M., wife of Charles Geiser; and George M., Minnie W. and Martilla M., the last three living at home. The family belong to the German Lutheran Church, of which Mr. Feinauer has been a trustee for six years. In politics he is a Republican and is moderator of the School Board, a position he has held for three years past.
ELSON NELLES. For many years the late Nelson Nelles, whose portrait is shown on the opposite page, was one of Bay City's prominent and suc- cessful business men, closely identified with her lumber interests. Mr. Nelles was born March 2, 1830, in York, Canada, and died at Bay City, April 22, 1901. He was a son of Col. William and Margaret Sophia (Clements) Nelles.
The family is one of considerable political and military distinction in the Dominion of Canada, being well represented in the Upper
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House of Parliament. The late Colonel Nelles was a man of prominence in his locality, a magistrate and during the rebellion of 1837- 38 he was captain of a company there, later becoming colonel in the militia. He was a member of the Church of England. His wife was born at Niagara, Canada, and died in York, aged 50 years, and was survived by her husband 15 years. They had II children and IO of these grew to maturity.
The late Nelson Nelles was reared on his father's farm and remained at home until the age of 22 years, his education being secured in the district schools. His inclinations did not lead him to adopt an agricultural life, turn- ing rather to business. Several years after he had started out for himself, he accepted employ- ment in a lumber yard at Vienna, Canada. During his residence there he advanced from the position of tally-boy to that of manager, his employers being a firm, whose headquarters were in Albany, New York. Mr. Nelles was employed by this firm for five years at Vienna, Canada, inspecting and shipping lumber, and then he went into the business on his own ac- count, and successfully pursued it for the next five years. Attracted by the great development of the lumber interests at Bay City, he came here in 1870. He inspected lumber here for a large firm during the first year and shipped millions of feet and then went into the business for himself, continuing his extensive opera- tions. In 1888 he admitted his son, J. Alex- ander Nelles, to partnership and they continued the business until 1896, when our subject re- tired. During his long and successful business life he was known for sturdy honesty as well as commercial ability, while he had few equals in this section as a lumber expert.
In 1865, Mr. Nelles was married at Shelby, Ohio, to Jennie E. Alexander, who was born at St. Thomas, Ontario. Mrs. Nelles still sur-
vives with five children, viz: Margaret, who is the wife of Lieut. H. G. Gates, United States Navy ; J. Alexander, of North Hampton street, Bay City ; Helen E., a graduate of the Bay City High School and the University of Michigan, who is the wife of L. L. Axford, of Detroit; Frederick N., of Chicago, a civil engineer, class of 1900, University of Michigan; and Charles A., of Bay City.
Mr. Nelles always took a prominent part in civic life but he neither sought nor held polit- ical office. His large business operations made him well-known all through this section.
R USSELL WARNER BROWN, M. D., physician and surgeon, whose office is located at No. 207 North Walnut street, Bay City, West Side, was born at Summerfield, Monroe County, Michigan, March 27, 1864, and is a son of George R. and Mary (Hunter) Brown.
The father of Dr. Brown was born in Mass- achusetts in 1829, and died at Deerfield, Mich- igan, September 20, 1904, aged 75 years. He came West with his father, Doctor Jonas Brown, in boyhood, and spent his whole subse- quent life in Michigan, mainly engaged in ag- ricultural pursuits. His wife Mary was a daughter of Benjamin and Ann Hunter.
Dr. Brown was educated in the common and high schools of Petersburg and Deerfield, Michigan, where his parents resided during dif- ferent periods of his boyhood and youth, and began to read medicine under the careful pre- ceptorship of Dr. Dayton Parker, of Blissfield, Michigan. He thus prepared for entrance to the Michigan College of Medicine at Detroit, from which he was creditably graduated in 1889. After one year of practice at Republic, Marquette County, he removed to Meredith,
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Clare County, where he practiced for four years and made many friends. In 1894 he came to West Bay City, where he has been in practice ever since. He is well equipped natur- ally for his noble profession, and he keeps well posted concerning its scientific advancement, be- longing to both county and State medical or- ganizations.
Dr. Brown was united in marriage with Victoria A. McIntosh, who is a daughter of Joseph McIntosh, a native of Ontario. They have two children : Mary Evangeline and Fred- erick M. Dr. Brown and wife belong to Grace Protestant Episcopal Church, of which he is a vestryman.
For a number of years Dr. Brown has been prominent in various fraternal organizations. He is a member of Wenona Lodge, No. 296, F. & A. M .; Othello Lodge, No. 116, K. P .; and Wenona Lodge, No. 221, I. O. O. F., all of Bay City, West Side, and is past grand of the Odd Fellows lodge at Meredith, Michigan. He is also a member of Salzburg Tent, No. 909, Knights of the Modern Maccabees; Michigan Tent. No. 2, Knights of the Maccabees of the World; John A. Logan Post, No. 8, Union Life Guards; and Perfect Primary, No. 23, Prudent Patricians of Pompeii, all of Bay City, West Side.
R ICHARD PADLEY. Among the many prominent men whose business ability and public spirit have contrib- uted to the material prosperity of Bay City, the late Richard Padley occupied a lead- ing place. Mr. Padley was born April 25, 1824, near Boston, Lincolnshire, England, and passed away in the fall of 1903, in his 80th year.
Mr. Padley was a younger son of a gentle- man farmer in England. In 1852 he immi- grated to America with the determination of
making a career for himself. Circumstances led to his locating at Bay City, Bay County, Michigan. Here he entered into the industries of the section, working in the lumber districts, in sawmills and even on a pile-driver, finding excitement and adventure in this far Western country which made him resolve to remain here permanently. In 1857 he purchased his first farm, located on the Tuscola plank road. This land he cleared and cultivated but never re- sided upon it, later selling it and going into the shingle business. For five years he was associated with the late Theodore Walker, and then he resumed farming, buying tracts of land in Bangor township. He also followed con- tracting at Bay City and built many houses both on his own and other property.
Mr. Padley also was the maker or construc- tor of the early macadamized roads about Bay City and not two years before his death he re- ceived a letter from the mayor of Detroit, ask- ing him to undertake a contract to construct many miles of such roads in and about Detroit. As he had retired from business over 30 years before, he wrote and declined the work.
Mr. Padley was prominent in civic affairs and accepted public office when called upon by his fellow-citizens to do so, serving as super- visor, as a member of the School Board and as alderman. His business interests were numer- ous and he was financially connected with many of the city's most successful enterprises. Mr. Padley was one of the founders of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, of Bay City.
By his first marriage, with Mary Barton, Mr. Padley had two daughters,-Charlotte (Mrs. Henry W. Weber), of West Bay City, and Eliza, who died in infancy. On July 18, 1891, in London, England, he was married to the talented lady who still survives him,- Phillis Donnison, who is a daughter of the late Frederick Donnison, of the Stock Exchange,
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and of Angel Park Gardens, Southwest Lon- don. Since the death of Mr. Padley, Mrs. Padley has admirably managed his large inter- ests. She occupies one of the most elegant homes in Bay City and many of the exquisite paintings, which adorn this perfect home, are the works of this artistic lady's brush. Her standing among artists in London is very high. She has exhibited a number of fine landscapes in the London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester and Newcastle-on-Tyne an- nual exhibitions. Mrs. Padley is a charter member of the Bay City Woman's Club and has prepared many interesting papers of literary excellence for this society.
ILLIAM WAGNER, supervisor of Portsmouth township, one of the old and respected residents, resides on his well-cultivated farm of 80 acres, situated in section 7. Mr. Wagner was born in Nassau, Prussia, Germany, May 12, 1843, and is a son of Carl and Elizabeth ( Her- bert) Wagner.
The Wagners were people of intelligence and respectability in the community in Ger- many from which they came to America in search of better agricultural conditions. In the fall of 1856 Carl Wagner, with his family, sailed from the port of Havre for New York. proceeded to Detroit by rail and started for Bay City, but the season was too far advanced for navigation and the steamer was ice-bound, the passengers not reaching their destination until the following April. Mr. Wagner first rented a 40-acre farm which he operated one year and then bought 40 acres in Hampton township, Bay County. Here he lived until the close of his useful life. He was born in Ger- many in 1819, and died in 1884, aged 65 years.
He served 18 years on the township board, was a justice of the peace for a long period, and was one of the leading men of his community. He married Elizabeth Herbert, who was born in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, in 1820, and who still survives, making her home with her son, Philip Wagner. They had seven children, one of whom was born on the ocean. The record is as follows : Frederick, of Portsmouth township; William, of this sketch; Mrs. Amelia Ramm, of Bay City; Philip, a sketch of whom will be found in this work; Mrs. Gertrude Shultz, deceased; Mrs. Louisa Flues, deceased ; and Elizabeth, of Bay City.
Soon after reaching Bay City, our subject found employment with Thomas Stevenson, with whom he remained for two years. He then worked at home and in sawmills for the next seven years. He assisted in building and keeping in repair the old plank toll road in Hampton township, being thus employed for six years. He also conducted a meat market in Bay City for 18 months, his store being on the site of the present Federal Building on Third street. After his marriage he came to his present farm, which he had purchased in 1863, about 10 acres of the 80 having been pre- viously cleared. The remainder he cleared and placed under cultivation himself, and in 1890 he erected his comfortable dwelling and two substantial barns. He has carried on general farming, has done some raising of sugar beets, keeps 10 cows and cares for an orchard which covers three acres.
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