USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume II > Part 67
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William J. Leach remained on the home farm until his marriage at the age of twenty-one, when he bought an eighty-acre farm in Gaines town- ship and there established his home. That farm was merely a woods clearing and the task of ridding it of stumps and bringing it under cultivation was no small one. Seven years later he sold the place to advantage and bought a farm in Davison township, four miles south of the village of Davison and there made his home until the spring of 1907, when he bought a com- fortable modern home on South State street, Davison, where he moved and is now living. He also bought a farm of sixty-six acres one mile south of Davison the same spring. In 1910 he bought another small farm of forty- five acres inside the corporation of the village and has since given his attention to the cultivation and development of the two farms and has them well improved. In the spring of 1912 he sold the farm four miles south of town.
Mr. Leach has been twice married. It was in 1881 that he was united in marriage to Arvilla Hill, who was born in Davison township, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Hill and a sister of Philip P. Hill, a biographical
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sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume. She died in June, 1897, without issue, and in 1900 Mr. Leach married his deceased wife's niece, Edith Hill, who was born and reared in Davison township, daughter of Philip P. and Eliza (Mann) Hill, and to this union one child has been born, a son, Bernard, born on October 9, 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Leach have a very pleasant home in Davison and take a proper part in the various social and cultural activities of their home town. .
IRA W. COLE.
Ira W. Cole, supervisor of Davison township, former treasurer of that township; former member of the village council at Davison and for some time a resident of that village; a well-known and well-to-do farmer of that township, proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and forty acres on rural route No. 3, out of Davison, and for years actively identified with the best interests of that community, is a native son of Genesee county, and has lived here all his life. He was born on the farm where he now lives, one mile east of the village of Davison, February 19, 1868, son of Nathaniel and Mary E. (Potter) Cole, both natives of the state of New York and early settlers in this part of Michigan, where their last days were spent.
Nathaniel Cole was born in Monroe county, New York, October 31, 1824, son of Nathaniel White and Mary (Peters) Cole, both natives of that same state, the former born in Watertown, Jefferson county, and the latter in Wayne county, who came to Michigan in early days and settled in Lenawee county, where the wife died in 1832, leaving the husband with several small children. These children were sent back to New York to make their home with kinsfolk, but about 1840 Nathaniel W. Cole came over into Genesee county and bought a farm in Davison township. He then gathered his children about him again, established his home in this county and here spent the remainder of his life. Nathaniel Cole was about sixteen years old when he joined his father in this county and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Davison township. On March 2, 1851, he married Mary E. Potter, who was born in New York, a daughter of Ira and Clarissa (Train) Potter, natives of that same state, the former of whom was born on May 16, 1792, and the latter, February 22, 1793, who came to Michi- gan in 1836 and settled at Black River, where they- lived for two years, at the end of which time they moved to Kearsley Mills, in Genesee county.
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After spending a year there, Ira Potter cut his way through the woods to the lake in the northeast part of Davison township, the toilsome journey requiring two days of arduous labor, and there established his home, that lake bearing to this day the name of Potters Lake, in his honor. His sons cleared a lot of land in that part of the county and became a numbered among the best-known citizens of Genesee county.
After his marriage, Nathaniel Cole located on a quarter of a section of land near where his son, Ira W. Cole, now lives, east of Davison, and there established his home. A part of that land he later sold, but on the remainder spent the rest of his life, a well-known and influential pioneer farmer. Though not particularly active in politics, Nathaniel Cole took an earnest interest in local civic affairs and for some time served as treasurer of the township. His wife was a member of the Baptist church and both were active in local good works. He died on August 10, 1891, and she survived him nearly three years, her death occurring on July 1I, 1894. They were the parents of three children, Ira, who died in early childhood ; Ira W., the subject of this review, who lives on the old home farm, and Mercy Ann, wife of John F. Cartwright, of Davison.
Ira W. Cole was reared on the farm on which he was born, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood school, and remained there until his marriage in 1889, a valued assistant to his father in the labor of develop- ing and improving the home place. After his marriage he and J. F. Cart- wright, his brother-in-law, formed a partnership and were engaged in oper- ating a grain elevator at Davison until 1908, in which year they sold the elevator, Mr. Cole remaining for some time in the employ of the new con- cern. In the spring of 1915 he returned to his farm and since then has devoted his attention to farming and the general development and improve- ment of his place, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation, the same being reckoned as one of the best farms in that part of the county. Mr. Cole is a Republican and in 1911 was elected supervisor of Davison township and in 1916 was again elected to that office. He also served two two-year terms as township treasurer, his first term of service in that office beginning in 1899 and the second in 1914. He has always taken an active part in the affairs of his party in this county and during his residence in the village served as a member of the council and for one year as presi- dent of the village.
Mr. Cole has been twice married. It was in 1889 that he was married to Alice Dillenbeck, who was reared in Goodrich, this county. Her parents came here from New York and settled in Goodrich, where Mr. Dillen-
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beck died, and where his widow, Mrs. Hattie Cheney Dillenbeck, later married a Mr. Henderson, who died some years ago, and she is still living at Goodrich. To Ira W. and Alice (Dillenbeck) Cole three children were born, Ray and Roy (twins) and Ida, all of whom died in childhood. The mother of these children died in August, 1909, and on March 10, 1915, Mr. Cole married Ruby E. Wadsworth, who was born at Lapeer, this state, daughter of Albert and Martha ( Ruby) Wadsworth, the former a native of New York, and the latter of Michigan. Albert Wadsworth came to Michigan when a young man and settled at Lapeer, where he married Martha Ruby. who was born at Utica, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth still live at Lapeer, where the former is successfully engaged in the plumbing business. Before her marriage, Mrs. Cole was a printer, a compositor in newspaper offices at Lapeer, Imlay and Davison. Mr. Cole is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Daughters of Rebekah, and Mrs. Cole is a member of the Lady Maccabees, both taking an active part in the general social affairs of the neighborhood in which they live.
FRED HOVEY.
Fred Hovey, a well-known and substantial farmer of Genesee township, owner of a fine farin of three hundred and twenty acres in the northern part of that township and for many years one of the most active factors in the development of the interests of that part of the county, is a native son of Genesee county and has lived here all his life. He was born, February 18, 1851, on a pioneer farm in section 2 of Genesee township, the farm on which he now lives and where he has spent all his life. He is the son of George W. and Lucinda (Snyder) Hovey, both natives of Genesee county, New York, who came to Michigan in the middle forties and spent the rest of their lives in this county, useful and influential residents of the Genesee neighborhood.
George W. Hovey was born on January 19, 1814, and grew to man- hood on a farm in Genesee county, New York, where he was born. There he married, in 1842, Lucinda Snyder, who was born in that same county on March 14, 1815, of German descent, and in 1844 came to Michigan and . located in this county. Upon coming here, George W. Hovey bought four hundred acres of timber land in sections 1, 2 and 12 of Genesee township and on his tract in section 2 he established his home, erecting a house of
MR. AND MRS. FRED HOVEY.
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planks and logs, held together by wooden pegs, nails hereabout not only being very scarce but expensive in those days. He bought his land front George Dewey, who at that time owned a large tract of land in this county, for the purpose of lumbering, and immediately after getting settled on his place erected a saw-mill on Butternut creek, running through his tract in section 1, and for twenty years ran that mill, until he not only had exhausted his available supply of timber, but had worn the mill completely out. As the pioneer lumber man in that district, George W. Hovey furnished prac- tically all the lumber that entered into the construction of the old houses in that part of the county, many of which houses are still standing and in excellent condition. Upon closing his mill on the Butternut, Mr. Hovey went over to the village of Genesee or Geneseeville, as it was called in those days, where his eldest son, William Hovey, had started a saw-mill, and remained with his son, as a sort of mill supervisor, until the latter's death in 1871, after which he returned to his old home and there spent the rest of his life. He was a Republican, ever took an earnest part in local political affairs and for years was the director of the school in his district. He helped build the old Congregational church in that neighborhood, of which he and his wife were faithful attendants, and was ever helpful in all neigh- borhood good works. Mrs. Hovey died in 1889 and Mr. Hovey survived her ten years, his death occurring in May, 1899. They were the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last-born, the others being as follow: William, born in April, 1843, for years a well-known lumberman at Geneseeville, who died in 1871; Martha, 1845, who married David Flynn, now a retired farmer living at Lafayette; Charles M., 1847. who is engaged in the insurance business at Detroit, and Emily C., 1849. now living in California, who married N. M. Richardson, who died in 1914.
Fred Hovey was reared on the old home farni, following the course of schooling in the district school in the neighborhood of his home by a year in the high school at Flint, after which he engaged in farming on his own account and cleared practically all of the tract of three hundred and twenty acres which he has owned for years, a part of the old home tract. He has lived there all his life, a period of sixty-five years, during which time he has witnessed the wonderful development that has marked this region since his boyhood days. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Hovey has given considerable attention to the raising of live stock and has done very well, for many years having been regarded as one of the most substantial farmers (43a)
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in that part of the county. In his political views Mr. Hovey holds himself independent of party and has never been an aspirant for public office.
On December 8, 1872, when he was twenty-one years old, Fred Hovey was united in marriage to Stella Snell, who was born in Genesee county. New York, March 16, 1852, daughter of Edward and Mary (Wicking) Snell, natives of England, who came to the United States and for a short time lived in Genesee county, New York, later, about 1853, coming to Mich- igan and settling in Shiawassee county, where Mrs. Snell died in 1865. Later Edward Snell went to California, where he spent the rest of his life. He and his wife were the parents of four children, of whom Mrs. Hovey was the first-born, the others being, William, of California; George, also of California, and Edwin, a carpenter at Flint, this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hovey, the latter of whom died on January 8, 1908, eight children were born, namely : Lena, born on May 1, 1874, who married Clarence Williams, of Flint, and died on January 13, 1914; Roy, December 15, 1875, now liv- ing in California ; William, April 25, 1877. a well-known farmer of Forest township, this county; Floyd, November 27, 1880, a mechanic, living at Lansing; Rex, July 23, 1882, who died on September 2 of that same year ; Nellie A., August 14, 1884, who married Albert Young, a mechanic, living at Flint; Josephine, February 1, 1887, who married Dale Rhoades and is living on the old home farm with her father, and Morey K., April 26, 1890, a mechanic and foreman of a manufacturing plant at Flint.
ALBERT J. BRABAZON.
Among the farmers of Thetford township, this county, who is pro- gressive in his ideas, and in connection with his sound judgment and fore- sight has the proper industry and perseverance to make his chosen life work a success, is Albert J. Brabazon, who was born in the above-named town- ship and county, March 25, 1853. on the farm settled by his parents, John and Wealthy (Skinner) Brabazon. The father was born in Cheshire, Eng- land, where he lived until he was about twenty-four years old, then went to London, where he studied medicine four years, but not liking the profession he came to America and bought a farm in Oakland county, Michigan, where he married Wealthy Skinner. They moved to Thetford township, this county, in 1838, thus being among the early pioneers, and bought eighty acres, which Mr. Brabazon cleared and farmed, remaining there until his
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death in the spring of 1864, at the age of fifty-three years, his son, Albert J., being eleven years old at the time. He was one of six children, five of whom grew to maturity, but he is the only survivor. They were named as follow: Lois Ann, deceased, who was the wife of Gilbert Perry; Mary Grace, deceased, who was the wife of John Woolfitt; Thomas Edward, who was a soldier in Company I, Tenth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War who died in the service; Charlotte M., deceased, who was the wife of Charles Rathbone; Joseph William, who died when fifteen years of age, and Albert J., the subject of this sketch.
Albert J. Brabazon grew up on the home farm and attended the dis- trict schools. He was married on March II, 1878, to Alvira Coolidge, daughter and only child of Moses D. and Mary (Veach) Coolidge, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts, where he lived until he was twenty- one years old, when he came to Michigan, locating in Davison township, Genesee county, where he met and married Mary Veach. In 1862 he enlisted in an infantry regiment of Michigan volunteers and served for some time in the Civil War, was taken prisoner and died at Andersonville prison. His widow married W. O. Boughton, and they lived on her farm one year, then moved to Thetford township, where she spent the rest of her life, but his death occurred in Mt. Morris. Six children were born to them, namely : WV. W., who lives in Detroit; Hattie, the wife of Arthur Miller, of Flint; Lewis, who lives in Flint; Claire, who lives in Detroit; Albert, who died after reaching manhood, and Mattie, wife of Earl May, of Sandusky, Mich- igan.
After his marriage Albert J. Brabazon lived on the old home place fifteen years, then, in 1893, sold out and bought his present farm of eighty acres, known as "Cloverleaf Farm," in Thetford township, where he has since resided. His family consists of six children, namely: Edward W., born on July 26, 1880, who completed his schooling in the Michigan Agricul- tural College, married Jennie Johnson, and is now a farmer of Thetford township; Eva May, September 17, 1882, the wife of Roy Brown, of Flint; Byron M .. May 11, 1885, who married Eva Smith, and now lives in South Dakota; Linnie A., April 9, 1888, a nurse, who lives at Flint; Mabel A., March 1I, 1890, wife of Neal Galbraith, of Thetford township, and Clinton A., March 20, 1894, who married Cleta French.
Mr. Brabazon is a Democrat and is an active worker in his party. He served two years as township treasurer and was elected township super- visor for thirteen consecutive terms, serving from 1888 to 1901. He has
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also served as school director for a number of years and as a member of the board of review. He is a member of the Methodist church at Clio and of the local arbor of Gleaners, of the Grange and of Vienna Lodge No. 205, Free and Accepted Masons, at Clio.
MYRON HARRIS.
One of the oldest citizens of Genesee county is Myron Harris, a pioneer of this section of the state and for many years a leading business man of Linden, in which town he is now living retired, spending the December of his years quietly and in the midst of plenty, on his small farm. He is widely known in this locality and bears a reputation that is unassailable.
Myron Harris was born near Pontiac, Michigan, January 22, 1830, and is therefore now in his eighty-seventh year, but is well preserved, having lived a clean and careful life and kept a good conscience. He is a son of Heman and Lucy (Bancroft) Harris. Joseph Harris, the grandfather. came to Michigan in a very early day from the state of New York, and homesteaded land in Oakland county, which he cleared and on which he farmed the rest of his life. He married Esther Ives. Joseph Bancroft. the maternal grandfather, was a native of New England, and he also came to, Michigan in pioneer days, locating on a farm near Pontiac, where he and his wife, whose maiden name was Warner, spent the rest of their lives. She died first and he married a second time.
Heman Harris grew up on the farm and attended school in a log school house in Oakland county. He devoted most of his active life to farming. owning seventy acres near Linden, Genesee county, having come to this locality when young and when it was sparsely settled. He finally rented his farm and moved to the village of Linden. His wife, Lucy Bancroft, was a native of the state of New York. To these parents the following children were born: Myron, the subject of this sketch; Abigail, deceased ; Esther, deceased; Warner, deceased, and Lucy, the youngest. Heman Har- ris was twice married, his last wife having been known in her maidenhood as Mary Carter. That union was without issue. The death of Heman Har- ris occurred in October, 1850. He had settled in Genesee county in 1836.
Myron Harris grew up on the home farm, amid a pioneer environment, and he received a common-school education in Linden. He engaged in farming for a time in his earlier career, but sold his farm and now owns
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only twenty acres, which join the village of Linden. He has a patent from the government for the old home place in Oakland county. He engaged in the general hardware business in Linden for a period of twenty years, then was burned out. Front 1884 to 1900 he engaged in the manufacture of wagons under the firm name of the Linden Wagon Company, enjoying a large business, owing to the excellent quality and workmanship of his wagons, which found a very ready market all over this part of the country. He was also in the furnace business five or six years. He has been very successful in a business way, having been energetic, a good manager and dealt honestly with his fellow-men. He has lived in his present house since 1845, over seventy years. It is one of the oldest houses now standing in Linden and vicinity and he is the oldest citizen in that locality. Mrs. Sarah M. Judson is his housekeeper. He has never married. He was formerly a Republican, but is now a Prohibitionist. He is highly respected by all who know him.
GEORGE M. GAYLORD.
George M. Gaylord, a well-known and substantial retired farmer of Davison township, this county, now living at Davison, where for the past nine or ten years he has been engaged as local field man for the Owosso Sugar Beet Company, is a native of Massachusetts, but has been a resident of Michigan since he was sixteen years of age. He was born at North Had- ley, Massachusetts, August 2, 1861, son of George and Electa (Morton) Boice, but was adopted, after the death of his parents, by Charles Gaylord and wife, hence his present name of Gaylord.
Both George Boice and his wife were natives of Massachusetts, of old New England stock, George Boice having been born at North Hadley, of Scottish descent, the founder of his family in this country having settled in New England in Colonial days. Electa Morton was of French ancestry, the founder of her family having come over with the Pilgrims in the very early days of the New England settlement. In 1861 George Boice enlisted for service during the Civil War in the Twenty-seventh Regiment, Massachu- setts Volunteer Infantry, and served for three years, at the end of which period of enlistment he re-enlisted, was taken prisoner by the enemy and died in Andersonville prison in 1864. A month or two later, on September 26. 1864, his widow died at her home in North Hadley, leaving five chil- dren, four daughters and the little son, George, the last-born, who was but
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three years old. In the following April George M. Boice was adopted by Charles and Jane (Cook) Gaylord, of Old Hadley, Massachusetts, who came to Michigan about the year 1877, and located in the vicinity of Lapeer. Mr. Gaylord rented a farm there, the tract on which the Michigan state school for the feeble-minded is now located, and there he made his home for several years, at the end of which time he moved back to Massachusetts. George M. Gaylord, however, remained at Lapeer, where he was working in a sash, door and blind factory, and where he married in 1883. Six years after his marriage he and his family came to Genesee county, locating in Davison county, where for several years Mr. Gaylord was engaged in farm- ing on a rented farm. In 1896 he bought a farm of eighty acres in section 16 of that township, and there established his home. As his operations prospered he bought other land adjoining and now is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and twenty acres in sections 16 and 22. In 1911 Mr. Gaylord retired from the active labors of the farm, turning the manage- ment of the same over to his younger son, and moved to Davison, where he and his wife have since made their home. In 1914 he built a fine, mod- ern brick residence in the village and he and his wife are very pleasantly located there. Since 1907 Mr. Gaylord has been local field man for the Owosso Sugar Beet Company, and since retiring from the farm has given practically all his attention to the affairs of that company. He is a Mason. an Odd Fellow and a member of the Order of Gleaners, and takes a warm interest in the affairs of these organizations.
On February 8, 1883, George W. Gaylord was married to Martha Pat- tison, who was born in Wayne county, this state, in the vicinity of Detroit. daughter of Thomas and Mary (Seabury) Pattison, natives of the north of Ireland, of Scottish descent, who came to the United States, residing for a time in the vicinity of the city of Albany, New York, after which, during the days of the Civil War, they came to Michigan and settled near Detroit. Thomas Pattison sought enlistment in the Union army during the war, but was rejected on account of an asthmatic affection. He had brothers, however, who gave their services to their adopted country during that struggle. About 1878 the Pattison family settled in the near vicinity of Lapeer, Mr. Pattison renting a farm that is now within the city limits of Lapeer and were living there at the time of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord. Not long afterward the Pattisons came to this county and Mr. Pattison engaged in farming in Davison township, where he died on August 22, 1889. His widow survived him but two years, her death occurring in August, 1891. They were members of the Episcopal church and were
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charter members of the church of that denomination at Lapeer. To Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord two sons have been born: George B., born in October, 1884, who is now engaged in the automobile business at Minneapolis, Min- nesota, manager of the branch office there of the Elcar Motor Company, of Elkhart, Indiana, and Thomas M., born in March, 1887, who is now engaged . in operating his father's farm in Davison township. Thomas M. Gaylord married Myrtle Kitchen, and they have three children, Howard W., Dora M. and Marian.
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