USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume II > Part 59
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Thomas Oliff was married to Emily Woodhams, a native of England, and they have had five children: Ezra, who died in infancy; Lillian, deceased; Mabel, who married J. D. Lawrence, of Ypsilanti, Michigan; Minnie, who married E. J. Macomber, of Flint, and Edith, who married Charles G. Matzen, of Clio. Mr. Oliff is a member of the Presbyterian church, is independent in politics, regardless of his party affiliations, and was a member of the village board of Clio for years.
JOHN E. McCANDLISH.
John E. McCandlish, one of the best-known and most representative citizens of the village of Goodrich, this county, a substantial retired farmer of Atlas township, the present highway commissioner of that township and in other ways actively identified with the common interests of his home community and of the county at large, is a native son of this county and has lived here all his life, thus having been a witness to and a participant in the wonderful development that has marked this region during the past half cen- tury or more. He was born on a pioneer farm in Atlas township, January 6, 1855, son of John McCandlish and wife, prominent residents of that cont- munity, a general biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume, and grew to manhood on the home farm, from the days of his boy- hood an able assistant in the work of developing the same.
In 1880 John E. McCandlish, in partnership with his three brothers, Allan, Colin and Stephen, began farming for themselves, the brothers buy- ing a farm of eighty acres in section 19 of their home township, adjoining that of their father. In addition to that place they farmed the home farni, two other "eighties" and a "forty" nearby and did well from the very begin- ning of their operations, soon coming to be recognized as among the most energetic and progressive farmers of the neighborhood. In 1881, the year after beginning these operations, John E. McCandlish married. He con- tinued his partnership arrangement with his brothers for about fourteen years, at the end of which time the brothers divided their holdings and he bought eighty acres in the northeast quarter of section 20 and forty acres in
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the southeast quarter of section 19, made his home on the "eighty" and con- tinued living there until January, 1908, a period of about twenty-seven years, at the end of which time he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to the village of Goodrich, where he has lived ever since and where he and his wife are quite comfortably and very pleasantly situated. Mr. McCandlish is a Democrat and in April, 1916, was elected to the office of highway commissioner for his home township, being the only Democrat elected at that election in that township, which has a large Republican majority.
It was in 1881 that John E. McCandlish was united in marriage to Sarah Burts, who was born in Hadley township, in the neighboring county of Lapeer, a daughter of Peter M. and Sarah ( Fifield) Burts, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Michigan, for many years well-known and influential residents of Goodrich, both now deceased. Peter M. Burts was born at Clarence, in Erie county, New York, October 28, 1834, and when eight years old came to Michigan with his parents, John and Sarah ( Updegraff) Burts, the family settling in Atlas township, this county, where John Burts bought a farm north of the village of Goodrich. After some years there he moved to Saginaw, but in his old age came back to Genesee county and spent his last years in the home of his son, Peter M., at Goodrich. Peter Burts grew to manhood in this county and became a very proficient blacksmith. He married Sarah Fifield, who was born at Troy, near Detroit, this state, a daughter of the Rev. Joseph and Polly ( Plato). Fifield, who later moved to Hadley township, Lapeer county, and bought a farm there, later selling the same and moving to a number of places, following his calling as a minister of the Christian church. For some time after his marriage Peter M. Burts lived in Hadley township, but when his daughter, Sarah, was about six years old moved to Goodrich, where he bought a home, established a blacksmith shop and followed his trade there until old age. After some time he sold the house he first built and erected the house in which Mr. and Mrs. McCandlish now live and there he and his wife spent their last days, her death occurring on October 20, 1905, and his, March 21, 1910.
To Mr. and Mrs. McCandlish one child was born, a daughter, Margaret S., born on September 16, 1882, who married Homer W. Day, a well-known merchant of Goodrich, and who died on March 30, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. McCandlish are bothi members of the Grange, in the affairs of which organ- ization they take a warm interest, and Mrs. McCandlish is treasurer of the Ladies Library Association of Goodrich, an organization of which she has
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been an active member almost from the time of its organization in 1877. She also is treasurer of the Womens' Christian Temperance Union and of the Ladies of the Maccabees.
CHARLES CHAMBERS.
Some people seem to forget that a fertile soil is a living, breathing thing, fed by nature or by the hand of man, with the natural mineral ele- ments and the organic matter necessary for the use of the soil bacteria in the manufacture of plant food, and for a delightful environment in which they can live and work. Charles Chambers, the energetic and able manager of the widely known Crapo farm in Gaines township, Genesee county. has not overlooked this and other vital facts necessary to success in modern agricul- ture and has therefore advanced himself to a position in the front rank of twentieth-century agriculturists.
Mr. Chambers was born in Burton township, Genesee county, December IS. 1856, and is a son of Robert and Emily (Wolverton) Chambers. The father was born in Jefferson county, New York, and when a boy was brought to Burton township, Genesee county, Michigan, by his father, Joseph Chambers, locating on forty acres where the grandparents of the subject of this sketch spent the rest of their lives, this land being first secured by Jere- miah Chambers, one of the earliest pioneers in this locality. When Robert Chambers married he located on his farm of two hundred acres. His young wife died on December 25, 1856, and he married Agnes Boughten. He con- tinued to live on his farm until about 1884, when he sold out and nioved to Virginia, locating near the city of Richmond, purchasing five hundred and forty-five acres and there he spent the rest of his life. One child was born of his first marriage, Charles, of this sketch. A daughter was born to his second marriage, Mattie, who married a Mr. Armstrong, lives in Richmond, Virginia.
Charles Chambers grew up on the home farm and received his education in the public schools of Burton township and the city of Flint. He re- mained at home until he was twenty-one years old, then entered the lumber woods in Tuscola county, Michigan, for Thomas Foster, in whose employ he remained for a period of twelve years, continuing at the lumber camps. He then accepted a position as foreman of a gang of men, continuing in this capacity until May 27, 1889, when he took the management of the W. W. Crapo farm, located two miles southwest of Swartz Creek in Gaines town-
(har Chambers)
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ship, which position he has held for a period of twenty-six years continu- ously, his long retention being evidence of his ability not only as an up-to- date and progressive farmer, but also as a man of executive mind and one who understands well the handling of men. He has kept this farm of one thousand and forty-five acres well tilled and well improved, carrying on general farming and stock raising on a vast scale.
Mr. Chambers was married, on May 1, 1887, to Lydia A. Templeton, a daughter of John and Eliza (Kennedy) Templeton, and to this union two children have been born, namely: Essie E., now deceased, was the wife of John Lawrence; Harold R .. who is assisting his father with the management of the farm, has attended the Ferris Institute.
Politically, Mr. Chambers is a Republican. He is a member of the Gleaners, the Modern Woodmen of America and Goodwill Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, at Swartz Creek.
FRED E. BLACKMORE.
Fred E. Blackmore, a well-known farmer and saw-mill man, of Davison, this county, is a native son of Genesee county, born on a farm in the south- west part of Davison township, October 14, 1871, son of Charles and Mary (Gillette) Blackmore, the former a native of England and the latter of this county, prominent and influential residents of Davison township, whose last days werc spent there.
Charles Blackmore, born in Devonshire, son of William and Charity Blackmore, was abont eighteen years old when he came to this country with his father, the other members of the family coming over from England later. After a short stay in New York state, the Blackmore family came to Michigan in the early fifties and settled in Genesee county. William Blackmore bought a tract of land in Davison township, a farm now owned by his grandson, Fred E. Blackinore, the subject of this sketch, and there established his home. The country thereabout at that time was an unbroken wilderness of deep woods and William Blackmore was compelled first of all to clear off a bit of land upon which to erect a humble home for his family. On that farm Charles Blackmore reached manhood and in due time married Mary Gillette, who was born in Burton township, this county, daughter of David and Elizabeth ( Anabel) Gillette, pioneer settlers of that
(38a)
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part of the county, and established his home on the Blackmore place, eventu- ally succeeding his father as the owner of the same. Charles Blackmore became a prosperous farmer and also for some time was engaged in oper- ating a threshing-rig during the seasons. As his affairs prospered he added to his holdings until he became the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and twenty acres, which he presently sold off to his sons and late in life moved to the village of Davison where he spent his last days, his death occurring on June 29, 1909. He was an energetic, public-spirited citizen and took a proper part in local civic affairs, for years serving as a member of the village board of trustees. He was a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and took a warm interest in the affairs of that organ- ization. His widow survived him about five years, her death occurring at the home of her son-in-law, Fred Knapp, of Davison township, in March, 1914. Charles Blackmore and wife were the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being as follow: Jennie S., who married Fred Knapp, a prominent citizen of Davison township, a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume; Lizzie M., wife of John E. Hillier, also a well-known resi- dent of Davison township; William C., of Davison village, and Eddie D., of the same village.
Fred E. Blackmore was reared on the home farm, receiving his school- ing in the neighboring school, and remained on the farm, a valuable assistant to his father in the labor of developing and improving the same, until after his marriage in 1894, when he made his home in Davison, but a year later returned to the farm where he was born and engaged in the active work of farming the same, and was thus engaged until his retirement from the farm and removed to Davison in April, 1916. About 1910 Mr. Blackmore pro- cured a threshing-rig and lias since then, during the seasons, been engaged in threshing. He also set up a saw-mill at Davison and is now giving the greater part of his attention to the flourishing business he has built up along that line, though he continues actively to superintend the operation of his farm and is regarded as a very successful farmer. He has a fine farm of one hundred acres, which was well improved, even in his father's time, and which he has further improved until it is one of the best farms in that part of the county.
It was in March, 1894. that Fred E. Blackmore was united in marriage to Ida Verrell, who was born in Davison township, this county, daughter of Edwin and. Theode ( Keslar) Verrell, who are now living retired in the
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village of Grand Blanc. To Mr. and Mrs. Blackmore six children have been born, Horace G., Sadie M., Olive M., Luella B., Cleo M. and Charles Edwin. The Blackmores have a very pleasant home at Davison and take a proper part in the various social activities of their home town.
WILLIAM N. MONROE.
This gentleman is another of the old soldiers whom it is a delight to honor. They are getting fewer and fewer in number and their steps are not as quick and full of meaning as they were fifty years ago when they were fighting for the supremacy of the Union, but it gives us a sense of gratification to see them in their uniforms of blue or wearing the medals of the "grand army," and so we accord them due respect.
William N. Monroe, merchant of Davison, was born on February 24, 1842, in Boston township, Erie county, New York, and is a son of Aaron and Marcena (Streeter) Monroe. His parents moved to Livingston county from the old Empire state when he was less than two years old and were thus among the early pioneers of that section of Michigan and there the . mother died when William N. Monroe was nine years of age.
William N. Monroe was reared on the farm where he worked hard when a boy and he received a meager schooling in the primitive district schools. When eighteen years of age he left home and went to Illinois, where he enlisted in Company F, Forty-second Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was in the Central Department, in Tennessee and Mississippi, most of the time. The date of his enlistment was August 5, 1861, and he remained in the service four years, five months and five days, being honor- ably discharged in January, 1866. He saw much hard service and proved to be a faithful and gallant soldier. He was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga, one of the greatest of the war, and was in the hospital about one month. He was promoted from private to first sergeant for bravery and at the close of the war was brevetted second lieutenant.
After the war William N. Monroe returned to Illinois, and in the spring of 1866 located in Davison township, this county, just fifty years ago, buy- . ing a farm two and one-half miles southwest of the village of Davison, which he improved and there engaged in general farming for twenty years. About thirty years ago he went to Milligan and farmed about four years, then returned to Davison and was elected president of the co-operative store,
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owned by the Patrons of Industry. He was president of the store two years and secretary ten years, the business experiencing a steady and satis- factory growth during the period that he was connected with the store. After severing his relations with the same he went into business for him- self, starting a new store at Davison and has been a successful merchant there ever since, having been engaged in general mercantile pursuits in Davison longer than any other man. He carries a large and well-selected stock and is dealing fairly with all his customers.
Politically, Mr. Monroe is a Prohibitionist. In his younger days he served as township treasurer. He and his wife are members of the Bap- tist church and he is a deacon in the same. It was in 1888 that William N. Monroe was married to Didama Rogers, who was born in the state of New York, a daughter of Charles and Caroline (Hill) Rogers, who came to this county when she was a child, the family locating in Davison township, where Mr. Rogers farmed the rest of his life. He served as justice of the peace for many years. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Monroe. namely: Charles A., of Flint, who married Frances Stokes and has three children, Walter, Kirk and Bill; Arthur W., who married Ethel Hall and lives in Davison, and Sophia, the widow of John Raizon, now living in Flint. She has four children, Paul, Ernest, Muriel and Mildred. Mr. Monroe has lived to see this locality transformed from practically a wilderness to its present high state of development and he has played well his part in the momentous changes.
DR. AMOS S. WHEELOCK.
Dr. Amos S. Wheelock, of Goodrich, was born on December 7, 1861, at Bridgewater, Michigan, a son of Emmons H. and Polly (Wilson) Wheelock, both natives of the vicinity of Batavia, New York. Emmons H. Wheelock came to this county in 1831 with his father, who entered land from the government, which he cleared and developed into the Wheelock homestead, on which the Doctor was born and reared. After attending school at Man- chester, Amos S. Wheelock entered the State University at Ann Arbor, spending one year in the literary department, then took the medical course, from which he was graduated in 1888 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Soon thereafter he took up the practice of his profession at Goodrich, where he has since remained, enjoying a large and lucrative practice as a general
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practitioner, his name long since having become a household word through- out that section of the county. In 1902 and 1903 Doctor Wheelock took a post-graduate course in surgery at Ann Arbor and another in 1904 in the Medical School of Chicago, again specializing in the study of surgery, doing a large amount of hospital and clinical work, and has been very successful as a surgeon.
Many years ago Doctor Wheelock became a member of the American Congress of Surgeons, which holds annual meetings and provides clinical work and lectures by the most advanced surgeons of the large cities wherever the congress is held. In 1914 he attended the session of this body in Lon- don, England, the members going there on invitation of the Royal College of Surgeons. The same year Doctor Wheelock was made a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, an honor that is extended only to surgeons of high professional standing and who seek continually to improve in knowl- edge and skill in their profession, and who are pledged to the highest standard of conduct in the practice.
Doctor Wheelock is now (1916) erecting a well-appointed and up-to- date hospital at Goodrich, where he can provide better facilities for operating on and caring for patients. It will be a general hospital, to which any reputable physician may bring his patients, and will accommodate twenty- four patients at one time.
In 1909 Doctor Wheelock was made a director of the Bank of Good- rich, at the time of its organization, and he is still a director as well as presi- dent of the institution, which latter position he has held from the first. Its rapid growth and pronounced success has been due very largely to his efforts and his influence.
In 1887, Doctor Wheelock was married to Etta F. Baker, who was born on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from which she came to Michigan when young, with her mother, settling at Saline. Her father, Hiram Baker, was a cap- tain on a coasting vessel and was lost in a storm at sea during the Civil War, after which his widow, who was Sarah Hall before her marriage, removed to Saline, Michigan, where she married Chauncey Fosdick and there spent the rest of her life. Mrs. Wheelock grew to womanhood at Saline and was educated in the common schools and at the Normal School at Ypsilanti, from which latter institution she was graduated in 1884, after which she taught one year at Sand Beach, one year in the Goodrich high school, and was a member of the board of county school examiners for Genesee county for two years.
Three children have been born to Doctor and Mrs. Wheelock, namely:
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Ruth, who was graduated from the University of Michigan, with the degree of Master of Arts, and is now teaching mathematics in the East Side high school at Saginaw; Ruby, who was graduated from the Ann Arbor high school and later studied at the Ypsilanti Normal, married Stewart Cheney, of Grand Blanc, and has one son, Grant, and Rhea, who died in 1902, when sixteen months of age. At the time of her marriage Mrs. Cheney was in training as a professional nurse at Harper Hospital in Detroit, where she had spent one year.
Doctor Wheelock is a member of the Masonic order. Politically, he is "Independent." He is one of the influential men of his locality, is well informed on all subjects of current importance, cultured and progressive, and enjoys an enviable reputation as a physician and surgeon.
ALFRED FAIRCHILD.
Alfred Fairchild, one of the most enterprising and energetic merchants of the village of Davison, this county. is a native son of Genesee county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in Flint township, November 6, 1876, son of Richard and Susan (Branton) Fairchild, natives of England, born in Devonshire, who came to the United States about the year 1874 and proceeded directly to Michigan, locating for a time at Flint and moving thence to the farm in the vicinity of Flushing, this county, where they are still living, having made their home there ever since.
It was on the home farm in the vicinity of Flushing that Alfred Fair- child grew to manhood, receiving his schooling in the neighboring school, supplementing the same by a course in the Flint Business College, after which he was engaged as a clerk in Hubbard's hardware store at Flint, remaining there for more than six years. He then, in 1904, formed a part- nership with his brother-in-law, Menno F. Downer, who also had had a long experience in the hardware business, and bought the store at Davison, which he and his partner ever since have been very successfully conducting. In addition to a general line of hardware, agricultural implements and gen- eral farm supplies, the firm also deals in paints and oils and in 1915 opened a five- and ten-cent store in a room adjoining their old established store and have made a success also of this latter enterprise. Mr. Fairchild takes an active interest in the general civic affairs of his home town and for the past two years has been serving as treasurer of Davison township and of
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the village of Davison. He is a member of the local lodge of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
In 1915 Alfred Fairchild was united in marriage to Edith M. Rice, who was born in Richfield township, this county, daughter of Charles E. and Molly Rice, who came to this county from Ohio and farmed in Rich- field township until about 1912, when they moved to the village of Davison, where they now reside.
PERRY WILDER GALE.
Perry Wilder Gale, of the firm of Gale Brothers, tile manufacturers at Atlas, this county, justice of the peace in and for Atlas township, former supervisor of that township, for many years director of schools at Atlas and from the days of his boyhood actively identified with the work of pro- moting the best interests of that part of the county, is a native son of Genesee county and has lived here all his life. He was born on the old Gale homestead at the edge of the village of Atlas, July 5, 1859, son of Adrian and Helen (Wilder) Gale, prominent residents of that community, further details regarding whose history and the genealogy of the Gale family, together with a history of Dr. Elbridge G. Gale, father of Adrian Gale, are set out elsewhere in this volunie.
Perry W. Gale grew up on the old home farm at the south edge of Atlas, receiving his schooling in the Atlas schools, and remained at honte until his marriage when twenty-five years old. In 1882 he and his brother, Fred Gale, started a tile factory on the home farm, a splendid deposit of clay having been uncovered there, and for five or six years the brothers con- tinued operating the factory in partnership. Then Perry W. Gale bought his brother's interest in the plant and operated it alone until the spring of 1910, when Fred Gale again became a partner and this mutually agreeable arrangement still continues, the brothers continuing to manufacture a fine grade of drain tile from the clay deposits on the old Gale homestead farm. In addition to his extensive manufacturing interests, Mr. Gale is also the owner of a fine farm in the vicinity of Atlas, to which he devotes consider- able attention, and has long been regarded as one of the most substantial citizens of that part of the county. Mr. Gale is a Republican and for years has given close and thoughtful attention to local civic affairs. For eighteen
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or twenty years he served as justice of the peace in and for Atlas township and is now serving in that official capacity, filling the unexpired term of the recent incumbent. For four years Mr. Gale was supervisor of Atlas town- ship and for eighteen years was director of the schools at Atlas, during which period he employed but three teachers, securing good teachers who would stay "on the job." He is an active member of Davison Lodge No. 236, Free and Accepted Masons, having been made a Mason at the age of twenty- one years, and for two years was master of the lodge.
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