USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume II > Part 27
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JOHN G. NICHOLS. The years of John G. Nichols' residence in Raisin- ville as a representative of the farming industry have been sufficient to establish him on a solid ground with the native residents of the town- ship, so worthy has been his life among them, and so typical of the best citizenship and other admirable qualities with which men of his blood are frequently endowed.
Mr. Nichols was born in Germany on February 24, 1839, the son of Conrad and Gertrude (Knauf) Nichols, both of whom were born, reared and educated there. They married in their native land and came to the United States in December, 1855, making their first stop of any duration in Sandusky, Ohio, where they lived for two years. They then moved to a farm in Erie county, Ohio, where Mr. Nichols purchased a farm, which represented his home and the center of his activities until his death in 1895. He was the father of five children, two of that number being living now (1912) ; John G. of this review, and Charles, who is a farmer in Ohio.
John G. Nichols was reared in Erie county, Ohio, and when he came
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to years of manhood he was occupied in running a farm for its owner for a number of years. In 1877 he came to Monroe county, Michigan, there buying a farm of one hundred acres, and he has since devoted himself to the management of that place.
In May, 1879, Mr. Nichols married Miss Sarah Cowans of Erie county, Ohio, the marriage taking place at the Park Hotel in Monroe, Michigan. No children were born to them, but they adopted a girl who is now married and living in Ohio. Mrs. Nichols died on December 27, 1911. She and her husband were charter members of the Raisin- ville Grange No. 410, and both were prominent in the work of the society. Mr. Nichols was first master of the Grange and his wife was first secretary, serving for eight years. Mrs. Nichols was one of the honored and respected women of her community and her passing was deeply felt in the circles where she had been known.
Mr. Nichols has always taken an active and prominent part in the various affairs of his township politically and otherwise. He is a stanch Republican politically. Although confirmed in, the German Lutheran church, he has departed from the faith and is now a firm be- liever in Spiritualism.
SHERMAN P. HENDERSHOT, a well-to-do farmer of Raisinville township, was born in Monroe county and township of the same name on June 17, 1862. He is the son of Robert and Sarah (Plues) Hendershot. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1816, and he came to Michigan in 1831, locating in Lenawee county, coming later to Monroe county. He was engaged as a stage driver between Monroe and Toledo, Ohio, for some years. He married in Monroe county, Michigan, and settled on the farm in Monroe township. His son, the subject of this review, now lives on the Plues homestead. Six children were born to Robert and Sarah Hen- dershot, of which number five are living now (1912).
Sherman P. Hendershot was reared on his father's farm and was a regular attendant at the district schools of his community in his boyhood days. After he was sixteen years old he left school and thereafter gave his undivided time and attention to the work of the farm. He came on his present estate ere his father died. His farm is one hundred acres in extent, and Mr. Hendershot has the papers by which the government granted it to the original owner in 1812. Under his management it has continued to prosper as in former years, newer and modern methods now being in operation on the farm as compared with the regime of his father. At the death of Thos. Plues, Mr. Hendershot's uncle, Mr. Hendershot had an inheritance, and then purchased the shares of the other heirs in 1891. He erected a modern residence. Mr. Hendershot has in his possession the original parchment deed executed by President James Madison, one of the rare heirlooms of Monroe county.
April 30, 1891, Mr. Hendershot married Miss Blanch Dunbar, a daughter of A. E. Dunbar. She was reared in Bedford township, edu- cated in the Union school of Monroe, and previous to her marriage was clerk of the probate court during the time when her father was judge of probate. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hendershot :
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Ralph, now in California; Grace, deceased about thirteen years of age; Adelaide is in the second year of Monroe high school, and Edwin D.
Mr. Hendershot is a member of Monroe Lodge No. 19, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he is a Republican in his political affiliations. He is a stockholder in the Monroe Butter & Cheese Company, one of the thriving business concerns of the place. Mrs. Hendershot is a Rebekah and also a member of the Eastern Star of Monroe.
DAVID WEILNAU is one of the prominent farmers and business men of Raisinville township, of which he has been a resident since he was four years old. He is the son of Fred W. and Mary (Speck) Weilnau, and was born on August 3, 1860, in Huron county, Ohio, where his parents had settled soon after their arrival in the United States. They were of German nativity, and came to the states in their early years; they were married in New York soon after landing and made their way to Ohio at once, where they located on a farm; they came to Mon- roe county in 1864, and passed the remainder of their lives within the confines of the county. They were the parents of the following named children : Louise, the wife of Daniel Miller; Fred W., a farmer in Bed- ford township; David, of this review; Mary, the wife of Philip Weilnau, of Ohio; Lydia, who married C. Spohr, of Dundee township ; Maggie, married to John Spohr, also of Dundee township; John, a farmer in Raisinville township; Kate, who married William Clime; George A., a farmer of Dundee township; Emma, the wife of Robert Studer of Toledo, Ohio; Carrie, who married Henry Rambow, of Ridgeway, Lena- wee county, Michigan, and Charles, a farmer of Raisinville.
David Weilnau was four years of age when he came to Raisinville township with his parents. Here he attended the district schools which were afforded in that time and worked on the farm with his father in the intervals when he might. His attendance at the primitive school continued until he was in his eighteenth year, after which he gave his time exclusively to the farm work, up to the time he was twenty-six years old. In that year he married, and thereafter was independently engaged in farming the piece of land which he bought. His farm consists of sixty-eight acres, and is one of the best kept and cultivated spots in the township. His wife was Carrie E. Miller, a native of Huron county, and she became the mother of five children: Lizzie, the wife of William Domling of Raisinville township; Jennie E., who is unmarried; Emma, Walter and Frank. In March, 1906, the wife and mother died, and on May 30, 1909, Mr. Weilnau married Miss Mary Lehr, of Ida township. The family are members of the Presbyterian church of Ida. Mr. Weil- nau is a member of the Raisinville Grange and is secretary of the lodge, as well as being secretary of the Patrons Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany of Monroe county. He was one of the organizers and has been president of the Ida Telephone Company since its organization in Ida township, its officers being: David Weilnau, president; F. W. Schafer, secretary and manager ; John S. Knapp, treasurer; H. E. Kelley, vice- president; Charles Yelch and Henry Freidenberg, directors.
Mr. Weilnau is a Democrat and has served several terms as super- visor of Raisinville township, and was one year chairman of the board of supervisors of Monroe county.
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DR. JOHN B. HAYNES. One of the leading physicians and surgeons of Monroe county, Michigan, who has not only made a splendid record as a medical practitioner and business man, but has also had considerable military experience is Dr. John B. Haynes, who has been established in the successful practice of his profession at Dundee for nearly thirty years.
Dr. Haynes is a native to the soil of southern Michigan, having been born in Ridgeway, Lenawee county, Michigan, on November 8, 1848. His father was Levi Haynes, a farmer, and his mother was Miss Cathar- ine Lynn prior to her marriage. His youth to the age of eighteen was spent on a farm and he received the rudiments of his education in the public schools of his native county. At the age of nineteen he entered the United States army, enlisting at Chicago, and remained in the serv- ice five years, during which time he served in the Modoc war in Oregon and California and had charge of General Wheaton's body guard and also that of General Edward Canby until the latter was treacherously shot while negotiating for the removal of the Modoc Indians from northern California. After his discharge from the army in 1873, Dr. Haynes came to Dundee, Michigan, where he was united in marriage to Nellie J. Dickerson. They located first in Tecumseh, Michigan, but later he took up the study of medicine in the Detroit Medical College and after his graduation in 1884 as a doctor of medicine he removed to Dundee, where he has since conducted his professional labors. In 1898 he again entered military service as captain of Company D, Thirty- fifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry and served throughout the Spanish- American war. Upon his return to Dundee he resumed his medical practice and is one of the best known and most successful practitioners of the county. Dr. and Mrs. Haynes have two daughters, both of whom are now married and are residents of Detroit, Michigan.
Dr. Haynes is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally is affiliated with the Masonic order and with several other fraternal organizations. In politics he is a Democrat. He has served as a member of the town council and of the school board of Dundee and is president of the business men's organization of that town. In fact, any project that has for its purpose the advancement of Dundee or of Monroe county receives his prompt and cordial support. He owns a drug store at Dundee and a fine farm in Dundee township. He is much interested in agriculture and is a prominent member of the local grange. As physician, soldier and citizen his services have always been of the highest order and no one in this community enjoys a higher stand- ing than Dr. Haynes.
JERRY L. KEMMERLING. In the various lines of activity to which Jerry L. Kemmerling has devoted himself since he became of independ- ent years, he has met with unqualified success in all, as the logical se- quence of the application of the splendid qualities of energy, persever- ance and high personal integrity which he has been liberally endowed with. As teacher, lawyer, real estate dealer and farmer, he has been more than ordinarily successful, and the history of Monroe county would be incomplete in its biographical feature without some mention of the life and work of this son of Michigan.
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Born in Raisinville township, Monroe county, on October 19, 1868, Mr. Kemmerling is the son of John and Sofia (Loose) Kemmerling. He is the eldest child of his parents. As a boy he attended the district schools of the township and later attended Monroe high school and the state normal at Ypsilanti, after which he turned his attention to teaching. For ten years he continued in that profession, and was principal of the Maybee schools for two years. While he was teaching he gave his spare moments to study, and planned to identify himself with the profession of the law in due time. After he gave up his pedagogic labors Mr. Kem- merling was for a time engaged as a traveling salesman, and in 1904 he gave that up and having completed his law studies, was regularly admitted to the bar in that year. He located in Louisville, Kentucky, and engaged in private practice, making a name for himself in that place by reason of his sterling qualities, and in addition to his legal practice, gave some attention to real estate matters, in which he enjoyed a pleasing degree of success. His combined law and real estate busi- ness have brought him a financial independence which is especially creditable, considering that he began life without any capital other than his courage and determination to succeed in the world.
The neighborhood in which Mr. Kemmerling was reared was always an attractive spot to him, and as he prospered in business, he turned his attention to the old home and eventually bought a fine farm in Rainsinville township. It is a tract of 175 acres in the finest farming region in the state, and Mr. Kemmerling has given up his business for a time in order to personally supervise the improvements on the place. He believes in modern and scientific methods in farm life, and his place is an example of applied scientifics in agriculture.
Mr. Kemmerling is a Republican, but he has never had any leanings toward political favoritism, and has never been a candidate for office. He is a citizen of merit and takes a praiseworthy interest in whatever community he finds himself. Fraternally, he is a member of Monroe Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M. He is unmarried.
HON. C. WESLEY KEMMERLING, representative of Monroe county in the state legislature since the fall of 1908, and one of the most highly esteemed citizens of the county, is a native son of Michigan, born on the farm in Raisinville township which he now owns and occupies. He was born on February 15, 1872, the son of John and Sofia (Loose) Kemmerling, and was one of their five children. He received his early education in the district school of Raisinville township, the Mon- roe high school and the Michigan state normal at Ypsilanti, Michigan. His schooling completed, he returned to the farm, where he was occu- pied in the work of the home place for two years, after which he went to the Ohio oil fields, remaining there for eighteen months. After re- turning to his Michigan home he devoted himself to farming until he became engrossed in politics and in 1908 was elected to the state legislature. He has served two terms, and has been active in the in- terests of the county during that time. He has served on numerous com- mittees and was chairman of the industrial committee for girls. He is the author of the county drain bill and succeeded in putting it
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through the house, and was instrumental in retaining the Custer monu- ment at Monroe. He has taken active measures with regard to other bills effecting his district, and has in various ways shown that his en- deavors have been for the best interests of his constituents. He was also active in framing the game laws of the state. IIe is a Republican, and at one time was highway commissioner of Raisinville township. Fraternally, Mr. Kemmerling is a member of the Monroe Lodge No. 19, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Encampment of Mon- roe, Michigan.
In the autumn of 1896 Mr. Kemmerling was united in marriage with Miss Ethel F. Lautenslager, born in LaSalle township. Three sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kemmerling: Kenneth D., aged fifteen years; Bliss H., thirteen years old, and Delbert I., aged seven.
Mr. Kemmerling owns a fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres and in former years gave himself up to the fuller cultivation of the place. In these times, his political duties and enforced lengthy ab- sences from home make it impossible to personally manage the work of the farm, but he supervises its operations at long distance, and thus keeps it well under cultivation, despite his many other duties.
He was candidate of the Republican party for state senator in the fall of 1912, and made a formidable canvass in the two counties Lenawee and Monroe and was defeated by 107 votes against both parties.
HARRY CONANT BULKLEY. Son of John McClelland and Mary Cole Bulkley, was born in Monroe, Michigan, March 7, 1870. He received his early education in the schools of Monroe, and entered the University of Michigan, graduating with the class of 1892. Three years later he was graduated from the law department of the university, and went to Detroit, where he has since resided. In 1895 he entered the law offices of Russel & Campbell. Five years later he was ad- mitted a member of that firm, the form of which was changed to Russel, Campbell & Bulkley. In 1912, Henry Russel withdrew from active membership, but retaining his connection, as counsel. At this time the firm name was again changed, and became Campbell, Bulkley and Ledyard.
In August, 1899, Mr. Bulkley married Cora Strong Flint, daughter of Hon. John Strong of South Rockwood, Michigan. Their children are : Leavitt James, John McClelland, II, Mary Disbrow and Helen Chauncy. The family residence is at 165 Seminole avenue, Detroit.
In April, 1911, Mr. Bulkley was appointed a Regent of the Uni- versity of Michigan, to succeed Hon. George P. Codd, who was appointed a judge of the circuit court for Wayne county.
Mr. Bulkley is a member of the American Bar Association, Michi- gan Bar Association, Detroit Bar Association, the D. K. E. Fraternity, and the following clubs: Detroit Club, Yondotega Club, University Club, Country Club, University of Michigan Club of Detroit and Prismatic Club.
JAMES EDWARD KEEGAN was born in Monroe, Michigan, May 5, 1850, and is one of those of humble parentage who belongs in that successful
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self-made-man class, in whom Monroe has especial pride. Poor's "Biog- raphy of Railway Officials" gives this brief sketch of Mr. Keegan's serv- ice with the Pennsylvania System, but it does not tell the whole story of his associations with his birth place, nor of his public services in the sec- ond city of Michigan, where with his family he now resides: "Mr. Keegan received a common school education in district and union schools; he entered the service of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway at Fort Wayne, Indiana, March 20, 1868, as machinist apprentice ; from March, 1871 to January, 1882, he was employed as a machinist and assistant foreman of the Fort Wayne shops of that company; from January 1, 1882 to March 1892, was general foreman of shops of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway Company at Grand Rapids, Mich- igan; from March, 1892 to April, 1906, was master mechanic of the above railway; from April, 1906 to date, he has been superintendent of motive power of the same company."
This record of his railway service shows an uninterrupted connec- tion and continued advancement through a period of forty-four years with the corporation with which he originally became employed-an unusual experience to say the least, briefly recorded in the official biog- raphy of railway officials.
Mr. Keegan has reluctantly consented to the author's addition to this record of something of his early life in Monroe and his recollection of the place where he was born, which naturally involves personal ex- periences and associations of interest.
His parents were James and Ann Keegan; the former of Irish descent and the latter a daughter of John and Ann Hanson of English antecedents, who settled in Monroe county about the year 1845, on land located on the edge of the present city of Monroe-a district known at the time as Waterloo, and their residence being built on what is about the present site of the Pere Marquette Railroad station. The property consisted of 160 acres, extending from First street south to Plum creek. His father's parents moved from New York City in 1844 to Monroe county and located on land three miles west of Monroe on Plum creek and spent the remainder of their lives in the home thus established, both reaching a very advanced age, the grandfather and grandmother of the subject being respectively 103 and 100 years of age at the time of their death.
The parents of Mr. Keegan were married in 1846 and their home was established in Monroe on the corner of Cass and Third streets, oppo- site the grounds of Boyd's Young Ladies' Seminary, now the high school, and here the subject was born. His father was largely engaged in cooperage business operating one shop on the corner of Monroe and Third streets where the church of Trinity Episcopal parish now stands, and another on Marine street. His death occurred in Monroe during the cholera epidemic of 1854, when he was but twenty-nine years old. Mr. Keegan said in the course of a recent interview: "My recollections of school extend back to the days of Mrs. Keiser's Juvenile School which she established in her own home, located on Elm avenue (at that time called River street) on the lot now occupied by Mr. Boyez Dan- sard's fine residence. It was a good children's home school and I think
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almost all of the boys and girls of my own age were enrolled there at one time or another. Mrs. Keiser was a good, motherly woman, and maintained good government, so that the children learned many things besides those that were gleaned from their books. I afterwards attended a well-known school conducted by Miss Ada Crumps at her home and later, the district schools, taught at times by men and women, alter- nately. I recall Miss Dusenberry and a man named Stewart; the latter evidently was no believer in the theory of 'moral suasion' as the boys had ample demonstration of the opposite fact, and he faithfully and practically proved that he had no intention of 'sparing the rod and spoiling the child.' With the completion of the Union school at Sixth and Washington streets, district schools were mostly abandoned and I attended the new Union school. I afterward attended a night school conducted by Mr. John Davies. I remember the names of my school mates and boy chums in those early days as Bill and Joe Stirling; the Strong boys; Hon. H. A. Conant; Henry Landon; "Gunlock" Bailey ; John Bulkley, who is now writing these annals of Monroe county, and others. My first employment was in the delivery of the Monroe Com- mercial, a weekly paper published by M. D. Hamilton. My work in this capacity consisted in delivering the paper to subscribers on Thurs- day afternoons after school hours. I received for this responsible ser- vice the weekly stipend of thirty cents. My devotion to this duty and my success as a distributor resulted in my securing a similar service with the Monroe Monitor, increasing my earning capacity to sixty cents a week. Upon relinquishing this lucrative position there were about twenty boys waiting for the job.
"With the breaking out of the Civil war a demand for the daily papers published in Detroit and Toledo sprung up and I was actively employed in the delivery of these papers to subscribers during the morning hours before school. The news agency was operated by Joseph Cole and later by Mrs. F. M. Winans, the widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Winans of the Seventh Michigan Infantry, who lost his life in one of the engagements of the regiment in Virginia. The proclamation of President Lincoln and the preparations for war impressed me wonder- fully. I knew personally about all the young men of Monroe who en- listed in Company A (Smith Guards) Fourth Regiment of Michigan Infantry and in Company D of the Seventh Infantry; especially do I recall Will and Con Paulding, who were among the first to enlist from Monroe and among the first who lost their lives in the service. Also Sherman Plues who was shot through the face by a ball which nearly cut off his tongue; and George Spalding, "Vene" Curtis, the Clark boys and others; George Maxwell, the daredevil cavalryman, who took for his model Kilpatrick, the great Michigan cavalryman who fought with Custer and reached a lieutenant-colonel's commission. Maxwell had some of Custer's qualities as a fearless soldier and won his shoulder straps for great personal bravery.
"But General Custer was the great hero, the real thing! And the proudest day of my life, I think, was when he selected me to take sole care and charge of his favorite charger, Don Juan, who enjoyed the reputation of being a 'man killer.' It was a wonderful big stallion, the
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horse that the general rode at the Grand Review at Washington when the sensational incident occurred that drew all of the thousands of eyes to the wild 'runaway' of the horse with his rider as they flew down Pennsylvania avenue at a terrific pace. The Custer family were neigh- bors of my people, and 'Colonel Tom' and his brother Boston were my chums in Monroe, all of whom lost their lives with General Custer's command on the Rosebud at the terrible massacre by the Indians in June, 1876. I also remember Mrs. Custer very well, as also her father, Judge Bacon, who had a particular liking for boys.
"My first regular employment, later, was with Joseph M. Stirling in 1865, which was secured by his son, William C., as the result of associ- ation and friendship formed while hunting ducks and musk rats in the Monroe marshes. I continued in the employ of Mr. Stirling for two years, when I secured a position with the Reynolds & Lewis Nursery Company and remained in it until 1868, when I began my railroad career." (Quoted above from Poor's Biography.)
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