USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume II > Part 8
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taught him the correct use of the bow and arrow and taught him much accur- ate wood lore. He was nine years old when the first school was organized in that section, his father having donated a corner of his farm for the pur- pose and erected thereon a small log school house. Matthew Davison was but fourteen years old when his father died and, as the eldest son, much of the labor of the further development of the home place devolved upon him. He remained with his mother until the other children were well grown, after which he spent some time working in the lumber woods, and at the age of twenty-five years went to Flint, where he began clerking in a general store and was thus occupied until his marriage, about five years later, after which he entered the mercantile business on his own account. He had saved his money and was able to start a small clothing store in a room, half of which he sub-let in order to reduce the expense of rent. He prospered from the very beginning of his venture and presently was compelled to seek larger quarters. About 1873 he erected a store building on the west side of Sagi- naw street, near First street, and there continued in business until failing health compelled him to seek relief in the open. He closed out his business, renting the store and engaged in the buying and selling of property, which gave him wider opportunity for being outdoors, and he ever since has been engaged in that business.
In 1894 Matthew Davison was called on to take charge of the Union Trust and Savings Bank of Flint, as cashier of the same, and for twenty- one years he continued as active manager of the bank, or until his resigna- tion as cashier and manager on January 1, 1915, after which he was elected chairman of the board of directors of the bank, which position he now holds. The Union Trust and Savings Bank was established with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars, which Mr. Davison and the directors presently reduced to one hundred thousand dollars. The business of the bank has constantly grown until today its footings are about three million two hundred thousand dollars. In addition to his extensive banking interests, Mr. Davison is the owner of a number of farms in Genesee county and of considerable valuable real estate in the city of Flint. He is independent in his political views and has for many years given thoughtful attention to civic affairs hereabout, at one time serving as mayor of Flint, having been elected to that office on the Democratic ticket.
On February 9, 1869, Matthew Davison was united in marriage to Helen M. Richmond, who was born at White Lake, Oakland county, Michi- gan, daughter of John and Ann (Loop) Richmond, pioneers of that county, who were the parents of four children, Margaret, Helen, Loida and Diana.
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Mrs. Davison died on April 28, 1913, leaving four children, namely : Arthur M., one of the leading clothiers of Flint, who married Harriet Cummings, a granddaughter of former Governor Begole, and has three children, Mary, Virginia and Elizabeth; Matthew, a well-known automobile dealer at Flint, who married Catherine McCreery and has three children, Matthew, Gene- vieve and Fenton McCreery; Ellen, now deceased, who married H. L. Bridg- man and left two children, Charles and Helen; and William H., in the lum- ber business at Flint, who married Virginia Fenton and has two children, Mary Thayer and Eliza R .; the mother died in 1915. Mr. Davison is a member of the Methodist church and a thirty-second-degree Mason, affiliated with the consistory of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, at Detroit, as well as a noble of the Moslem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in that city. He is a member of Flint Lodge No. 23, Free and Accepted Masons; Flint Chapter No. 15, Royal Arch Masons, and Genesee Valley Commandery No. 15, Knights Templar, in the affairs of all of which branches of Masonry he takes a warm interest.
HOMER J. McBRIDE.
Homer J. McBride, city attorney of Flint, this county, is a native son of Michigan, born on a farm in Caledonia township, in the neighboring county of Shiawassee, April 8, 1879, son of James and Caroline (Ferris) McBride, the former a native of that same county and the latter of the state of New York. To them were born two sons, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Frank, who is still living on the old home place in Shia- wassee county.
James McBride's parents, Robert McBride and wife, the latter of whom was a Davids, were born and reared in Canada, where they were married. Robert McBride was a wagon-maker by trade, but later became a farmer and after his marriage came to Michigan and settled in Shiawassee county, where he cleared and improved a farm and there reared his family. He was sixty-five years old at the time of his death and his wife died at the age of fifty. They were the parents of nine children, James, Albert R., Robert, John, Sarah, Martha, Caroline, Emma and Mary. James McBride was reared on the pioneer farm and upon reaching manhood's estate bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which he cleared and improved. He married Caroline Ferris, who was born in New York state, daughter of
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Schuyler and Amanda ( Hobart) Ferris, both natives of that same state, who moved to Michigan in the early sixties and settled in Shiawassee county. Schuyler Ferris was a brick- and tile-maker and later became a farmer. He lived to the age of seventy-four and his widow is still living, at the age of seventy-six. To them eight children were born, Caroline, Christina, Charles, Lura, Emma S., Theda, Ella and May. James McBride died on his home farm in 1905, aged sixty-two years. His widow still survives him. She is a member of the Methodist church and for years has been active in good works in her home neighborhood.
Homer J. McBride's elementary education was received in the district school in the neighborhood of his home, and he supplemented the same by a course in the high school at Corunna, from which he was graduated in 1898. He then entered the law department of the University of Michigan and was graduated from the same in 1902, being admitted to the bar that same year. Previous to his graduation, however, he had been serving as deputy county clerk of Shiawassee county and he remained in that position until September I, 1903, when he moved over to Flint and opened a law office in partnership with Clifford A. Bishop, now prosecuting attorney of Genesee county, who was a classmate of his at Ann Arbor. Upon the dissolution of that partner- ship, Mr. McBride located in his present offices, No. 300 Dryden building. In 1908 he was elected city attorney and has held that position ever since. Mr. McBride has taken an active interest in the development of Flint during the days of its recent "boom" and has erected a number of houses there. He is a Republican and takes a more or less active part in local political affairs. He was a member of the Flint board of health for several years and for three years served as a member of the Michigan National Guard.
On June 27, 1911, Homer J. McBride was united in marriage to Blanche Edith Cotharin, who was born in Richfield township, this county. August 1, 1884, daughter of George A. and Emma (Golden) Cotharin, both natives of this state. George A. Cotharin formerly was engaged in the coal and ice business, but is now living retired. To him and his wife four chil- dren were born, of whom Mrs. McBride is the youngest, the others being Arthur B., Jessie and George. Mr. and Mrs. McBride are members of the Episcopal church and take an earnest interest in the various beneficences of the same. Mr. McBride is past master of Genesee Lodge No. 174, Free and Accepted Masons ; a member of Corunna Chapter No. 33. Royal Arch Masons, and of Genesee Valley Commandery No. 15, Knights Templar. He also is a member of Flint I.odge No. 222. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. and in the affairs of these various organizations takes a warm interest.
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CLIFFORD A. BISHOP.
Clifford A. Bishop, prosecuting attorney for Genesee county, member of the law firm of Bishop & Blackney, with offices in the Dryden building at Flint, is a native of this county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in Argentine township, this county, August 3, 1877, son of Henry L. and Charlotte M. (Chambers) Bishop, both natives of Michigan, who were the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last-born, the others being as follow: George, of Williamstown, this state; Minnie, who is at home with her mother at Byron, this state; Charles, of Imperial, Oregon, and Tela, wife of Jeptha Skinner, of Argentine township. this county.
Henry L. Bishop was reared on a farm near Highland, this state, his parents, natives of New York state, having been early settlers in that vicinity. He was the second youngest of four children born to his parents, the others being William, Fred and Mrs. Amanda Tenny. When the Civil War broke out, Henry L. Bishop enlisted for service as a private in one of the Michigan regiments and served as a soldier until the close of the war, at the end of which service he became a farmer on his own account. He married and presently moved to Argentine, this county, where he opened a blacksmith shop and in the vicinity of which village he also engaged in farming for many years. Upon his retirement from the farm he moved to Byron, where he died in May, 1912, at the age of seventy-three years, and where his widow, now in her seventy-seventh year, is still living. She is a daughter of Frank and Mary (Hyde) Chambers, both natives of London, England. who were married in that city and shortly afterward emigrated to the United States, settling in the neighborhood of Commerce, this state, where they spent the remainder of their lives, both living to good old ages. They were the parents of seven children, of whom Mrs. Bishop was the fourth in order of birth, the others being Charles, Frank, George, Mrs. Eliza Sullivan, Mrs. Sarah Goodspeed, and Maria, who died in her youth.
Clifford A. Bishop was reared on the paternal farm in Argentine town- ship and was graduated from the Williamston high school in 1896. He then entered the law department of the University of Michigan and was graduated from the same in 1902. In that same year he was admitted to the bar and in 1903 began practicing his profession in Flint, as a partner of Homer J. McBride. This connection continued for four or five years, after which Mr. Bishop practiced alone until 1912, in which year he formed his present part-
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nership with William W. Blackney, former county clerk, who is also a gradu- ate of the law department of the State University. In 1912 Mr. Bishop was elected prosecuting attorney for Genesee county and took office on the first of the year following, appointing his partner as his assistant. Mr. Bishop is a Republican and has from his youth given close attention to local political affairs. He and Mr. Blackney are the organizers of the Paterson Auto Sales Company.
On July 19, 1902, Clifford A. Bishop was united in marriage to Agnes R. Sears, who was born in Canada, daughter of John and Mary (O'Neil) Sears, natives of the Dominion, who were the parents of eight children, Charles Edward (deceased), Mrs. Anna Weissinger, Mrs. Bishop, Mrs. Aileen Vermilya, Margaret, Mrs. Nora Kane, Maud, who died in young womanhood, and Donald, who died in early childhood. John Sears was a blacksmith. He came to Michigan about thirty years ago and located at Saline, in Washtenaw county, where he spent the rest of his life. His widow's last days were spent in Flint. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop are members of the Baptist church. Mr. Bishop is a Royal Arch Mason and he and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. He also is an Odd Fellow and a member of the encampment of that order; likewise a member of the Elks, the Modern Woodmen, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Loyal Guard and the Moose.
ALVIN NELSON CODY.
Alvin Nelson Cody, one of the prominent and successful educators of Michigan, was born in Mayville, Tuscola county, being the son of Nelson and Emily (Swift) Cody, the former of whom was a native of New Market, Canada, and the latter of Lapeer, Michigan.
Nelson Cody and wife were the parents of the following children: Emma F., the widow of Charles Mills, near Mayville, Michigan; Walter E., who resides on the home farm near Mayville; Hattie S., the wife of Ben- jamin Cody, of Ingersoll, Canada; Alvin N., superintendent of the city schools, Flint; Alice E., wife of John Paul, of Fremont, Michigan; Ernest E., superintendent of schools at Fenton, and Arthur N., who died when but two years of age.
Nelson Cody was reared on a farm in Canada and when about eighteen years of age came to Michigan and settled near Lapeer, where he followed the trades of carpenter and millwright. He and Horace Fox built the first
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grist-, saw- and shingle-mill in Mayville, which was operated for several years. Later the health of Mr. Cody caused him to engage in farming, and he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he cleared and partly improved. In connection with his farm work, he grew and cultivated much fruit. He died in 1903, his wife surviving him until 1907. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cody were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Cody held several township offices.
The paternal grandparents of Alvin N. Cody, John and Anna (Richards) Cody, were natives of Canada, where Mr. Cody was a teacher. In 1849 he went overland to California in search of gold, but he never returned. The wife and mother lived on the home farm near Mayville, where she died at the age of eighty-four. They were the parents of two children, Nelson and John J.
The maternal grandparents were Joseph and Harriet (Young) Swift, natives of Connecticut. They were pioneers of Lapeer county, where Mr. Swift engaged in farming and the lumber business. Mrs. Swift died in early life, after which the husband retired from the farm and devoted his life to the real estate business. They were the parents of the following children : Emily, William, John and George.
Alvin Nelson Cody was reared on his father's farm and attended the district school and later the village school at Mayville, graduating from the high school. After teaching for one year in the rural schools, he was principal of the schools at Fostoria for three years and superintendent of schools at Laingsburg for four years, after which he entered Albion College and received his Bachelor of Science degree. In 1902 he received his mas- ter's degree at the University of Michigan. At this time he came to Flint as principal of the high school, serving as such for two years, and in 1904 was elected superintendent of the city schools.
Alvin N. Cody was united in marriage to Bertha Watters, the daughter of Whitfield and Mary Elizabeth (Davis) Watters. To this union one child has been born, Elizabeth. Mrs. Cody is a native of Hackettstown, New Jersey, this being the native state of her parents, who came to Mich- igan when she was but a little girl and settled near Ann Arbor. The family later moved to a farm near Mayville and here she attended school and gradu- ated in the same class from the high school as her husband. She later attended Albion College and the University of Michigan with him. Mrs. Cody has one brother, Andrew D. Watters.
The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Cody were Ephraim and Elizabeth (Antone) Watters, both of whom were natives of New Jersey, where they
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lived and died. They had three sons who grew to maturity, Whitfield. Jacob and John. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Cody were Henry and Catherine (Nun) Davis, who were natives of New Jersey, where Mr. Davis was engaged in farming and the lumber business. They had the fol- lowing children who grew to maturity: Mary Elizabeth, Andrew, Jane and Almira. Mrs. Cody is eligible to become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
CAPT. DAMON STEWART.
The late Capt. Damon Stewart, an honored veteran of the Civil War and for many years one of the best-known and most influential residents of the city of Flint, was a native son of Genesee county and lived there all his life. He was born on a pioneer farin on the present site of the town of Flint, February 5, 1834, son of Addison and Lucy (Tilden ) Stewart, natives of New York state, who were among the earliest settlers in the Flint neigh- borhood, where they spent their last days.
Addison Stewart was of Revolutionary stock. his father, Charles Ste- wart, from Ashfield, Massachusetts, having been a "minute man" at the age of seventeen, and the latter's father. John Stewart, who was in the French and Indian wars, was also a lieutenant in the patriot army. Addison Stewart was born at Truxton, New York, May 29. 1811, and was married, April 23, 1833, to Lucy Tilden, who was born in Avon, Genesee county, New York, September 28, 1811. She was the daughter of Thomas Stillman and Lucy Catherine ( Kingsbury) Tilden, the former born at Sandisfield, Massa- chusetts, May 10, 1782, and the latter at Sandisfield, Massachusetts, on May 10, 1789, the daughter of Lemuel and Lucy ( Crittenden) Kingsbury. Lem- utel Kingsbury served in the Revolutionary War, being a member of the Eighteenth Connecticut Militia Regiment, Capt. Benjamin Hutchins' con- pany, in the New York campaign in 1776. Lucy C. Kingsbury, his first wife, died in 1803. and in 1816 he married Mrs. Louise (Hutchins) Smith, daughter of Colonel Hutchins. He moved to Ohio, where his death oc- curred on December 20, 1844. Thomas S. Tilden came from Knowlesville. New York, to Michigan in 1822 and settled on a farm in the vicinity of Ann Arbor, where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on August 25. 1859. His widow then made her home with her son, Sylves- ter, until the death of the latter, after which she lived with her other chil- dren, spending the last years of her life in Flint, though her death occurred
Damon
Stewart
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at Linden in 1870, while on a visit to her son, Lemuel, at that place. Thomas S. Tilden and wife were the parents of six children, Lemuel, Lovisa, Laura, Lucy, Eliza and Sylvester.
Following their marriage, in .April, 1833, .Addison Stewart and his wife came to Michigan, arriving at Flint on May I following. They began housekeeping in a part of Judge Stowe's house, but presently, when they secured their farm adjoining the village on the north, they erected a log cabin there and established their home. The tract of land that Addison Stewart homesteaded was partly cleared, thirty acres of it having formerly been used from time immemorial as corn land by the Indians. He thus gained an early start in his farming operations and soon came to be recog- nized as one of the most substantial farmers in that section. He and his wife were early members of the Presbyterian church at Flint and in all ways were helpful and useful in the new community. Addison Stewart died in 1848. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, those besides the immediate subject of this review being, Harriet; Laura E .; Lieut. Will- iam Charles, who was killed at Resaca, Georgia, during the Civil War; Ann; Richard A., who was killed at Jonesboro, Georgia, while serving his country during the Civil War, and Catherine.
Damon Stewart's youth was spent on the pioneer paternal farm on the outskirts of Flint. In 1843 the family moved into Flint, where young Damon began clerking in "The Old Scotch Store," which occupied the site now occupied by the Copeman stove store, on the corner of North Saginaw street and Second avenue. He grew to manhood here and became identified actively with the growing city's business interests. Upon the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted, on April 19, 1861, for the three-months service in Company F, Second Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, being mus- tered in on May 25, 1861, having left for Fentonville and Detroit on April 30th. Upon the termination of that term of enlistment, he re-enlisted and rose from the rank of private to corporal and then to sergeant. On May 5. 1862, he was wounded in the hand during an engagement at Williamsburg, Virginia, and was honorably discharged on August 6, 1862, being mustered out as adjutant of the Twenty-third Infantry. In the meantime, he had been very active in recruiting for this regiment, and on the above date he was commissioned first as lieutenant and adjutant of that regiment, and mustered in as captain on September 11, 1862. Captain Stewart served with his regiment until his final discharge on March 6, 1865, and upon the completion of his military service returned to Flint, where he engaged in the dry-goods and wool-mill business. He married in the fall of 1867, and
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later came into possession of his father's old homestead farm on the edge of Flint. which he began to operate, though continuing to make his home in Flint. He later devoted his whole attention to his farm and was thus engaged at the time of his death, on December 4, 1905, he then being at the age of seventy-one years and ten months. Captain Stewart was one of the original Republicans in Michigan, but in later life devoted his political alleg- iance to the Prohibition party, being one of the most ardent advocates of the temperance cause in this section of the state. He and his wife were orig- inally Presbyterians, but later united with the Congregational church, and for years Captain Stewart was active in the Sunday schools of both churches.
On October 23, 1867, Capt. Damon Stewart was married to Frances McQuigg, who was born at Barton, Tioga county, New York, on January 25, 1841. the daughter of Edmund Hobart and Eliza Jane ( Hall) McQuigg. natives of that same state, who were the parents of two children, Mrs. Stewart having had a sister, who married William Moore, of Los Angeles. California The mother of these children died in California, and Edmund H. McQuigg later married again and in 1856 came to Michigan, locating in Flint, where he engaged in the Inmber business, owning and operating the lumber-mill afterwards owned by Mr. Crapo. He made his home in a house that stood on the site of the present postoffice, and there his death occurred in 1887, being then past eighty years of age. Edmund H. McQuigg was the fourth in order of birth of the ten children born to his parents, Daniel and Charlotte (Hobart) McQuigg, the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of Connecticut, whose last days were spent in Spencer, New York. The other children of the family were Daniel, Charles, John, Jesse, Esther. Mindwell, Eliza, Charlotte and George. The senior Daniel McQuigg was a son of John McQuigg, a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolutionary War. Eliza Jane ( Hall) McQuigg was a daugh- ter of Lewis and Mary (Corey) Hall, residents of Orange county, New York, who moved to Caynga county, same state, where they spent their last days, and who also were the parents of ten children, Jonathan, Hervey S .. Mary Ann. Eliza Jane, Phoebe Elmira, Frances Augusta, Hannah Rosemond, Susan Emily, Margaret Antoinette and Gilbert Lewis. Mrs. Mary (Corey) Hall was a daughter of Jonathan Corey, who was a soldier in the patriot army during the War of the Revolution. Lewis Hall was a son of James Hall, who also was a soldier in the patriot army.
To Capt. Damon and Frances (McQuigg) Stewart six children were born, namely: Hobart A., born on December 6, 1868, who, on May 18, 1904. married Mary C. Dewey, and died on October 22, 1915; Mabel, born
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December 28, 1870, a teacher in the kindergarten schools of Flint; Lucy Tilden, born December IS, 1873, who is living in Flint; William C., born March 10, 1876, a well known attorney of Flint, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Bertha, born April 18, 1879, became the wife of Dr. Frederick D. Striker, and is now living at Grant's Pass, Oregon, and Frances E., boru January 13. 1882, a teacher of domestic science in the schools of Chicago. Mrs. Frances M. Stewart is still living at her pleasant home in Flint, where she enjoys many evidences of the high regard in which she is held by the entire community.
EDMUND A. BRANCH.
One of the leading educators of Genesee county is Edmund A. Branch, superintendent of the Otisville schools for a decade. Faithfulness to duty and a strict adherence to a fixed purpose, which always do more to advance a man's interest than wealth and advantageous circumstances, have been dominating factors in his life, which has been replete with honor and suc- cess worthily attained. He was born in Forest township, Genesee county, November 9, 1868, and is a son of James Andrew and Julia (Hayward) Branch. The father was born in the state of New York, and when a small boy his parents brought him to Genesee county, Michigan. The father fol- lowed his trade of stone-mason in Flint, but later returned to New York, where he died, the mother then coming back to Genesee county, where she spent the rest of her life with her son, James Andrew. Three of her sons enlisted for service in the Union army. James Andrew upon reaching maturity, married Julia Hayward, who was born in Ontario, Canada, from which province she came with her parents, when ten years of age, to Forest township, Genesee county, Michigan. Her father was a millwright by trade. Mr. and Mrs. Branch located on a farm in Forest township, where they are still living. They are the parents of nine children, namely: Edmund A., of this sketch; Harry lives in Flint; William makes his home in Bay City. Michigan; Ruby lives in Battle Creek; Julian D. is deceased; Roy is at home; Josephine is the wife of Bruce Ferguson, of Battle Creek; Lula is the wife of Jay Fox, of Flint: Lee lives in Flint.
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