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 47
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tinued the business with marked success for a number of years, and in addition to handling grain and coal at wholesale and retail, with a well equipped grain elevator in Monroe, the enterprise was amplified by the buying and shipping of dressed pork, the transactions of the firm at times aggregating from fifteen to twenty thousand dollars in a single day, and products being purchased over a territory averaging in radius from twenty-five to fifty miles. John A. Hurd, eldest of the three brothers, retired from the firm, and the two younger brothers thereafter conducted the business under the original title until 1904, when the G. R. Hurd Company was incorporated with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars. The functions of the business were commercially amplified under these conditions and the concern is one of the largest of the kind in this section of the state. The grain elevator in Monroe has a capacity of fifty thousand bushels and the coal bins of the company accommodate one hundred thousand tons, so that the facilities in both departments of the enterprise are adequate in all particulars. The offi- cers of the company are as here noted : William M. Hurd, president and treasurer ; George Bisel, vice-president ; and J. W. Mac Kinzel, secretary.
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Not only as a business man, but also as a loyal citizen has William M. Hurd stood exponent of progressive policies, and he has shown a specially lively interest in all that has touched the general welfare of his native city and county. The attractive and modern home of Mr. and Mrs. Hurd is located at 158 Tremont street. Mr. Hurd is affiliated with the following named Masonic bodies in his home city ; Monroe Lodge No. 27, Free and Accepted Masons; River Raisin chapter No. 22, Royal Arch Masons; and Monroe commandery No. 19, Knights Templars.
In 1902, Mr. Hurd was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Bisel, who was born and reared in Monroe county, where her father, the late Henry W. Bisel, was long a representative citizen. Mrs. Hurd was summoned to the life eternal on the 6th of June, 1908, and is survived by one son, George Robinson Hurd, named in honor of his paternal grandfather. On the 22d of January, 1910, Mr. Hurd contracted a sec- ond marriage, by his union with Miss Ruth Noble, who likewise was born in Monroe county and who is a daughter of the late William Noble, an honored resident of the county for many years prior to his death. Mrs. Hurd presides most graciously over her beautiful home and is a popular figure in the social activities of the community.
GEORGE R. HURD. A native son of Monroe county and a representa- tive of one of the sterling pioneer families of this section of the state, George Robinson Hurd here won large and worthy success through his own energy and well developed business powers and was long a promi- nent and influential factor in the industrial activities of the county, the while he ordered his course upon a lofty plane of integrity and honor and thereby retained the inviolable confidence and esteem of the com- munity in which his entire life was passed. His character and his achievement well entitle him to a specific tribute in this history of his native county. He was one of the leading business men of the city of Monroe at the time of his death, which here occurred in 1889.
George Robinson Hurd was born in Monroe county, Michigan, on the
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2d of January, 1832, and this date indicates that the family home was established in the county several years prior to the admission of Michi- gan to the Union. The father was born in the state of Vermont, on the 1st of September, 1791, and the mother, Agnes L. (Thompson) Hurd, was born in Ireland, on the 15th of August, 1795, both families having been founded in New England in the early pioneer days. The mother was reared in the Protestant faith and, like her parents, was a devout member of the Presbyterian church. She long survived her honored husband, whose death occurred on the 23d of March, 1855, and she con- tinued to maintain her home in Monroe county until she was summoned to eternal rest, on the 26th of January, 1886. Of the five sons all have now passed away except Horatio B. Morgan S., another of the brothers, was one of the argonauts of California, to which state he went in 1852. There he was identified with gold mining until 1866, when he entered the employ of the Central & Southern Pacific Railroad Company, with which he was identified in the capacity of claim adjuster at the time of his death, which occurred in 1889.
The father of the subject of this memoir was reared to maturity in his native state and was a valiant soldier in the War of 1812, in which he served as a private in a Vermont regiment. After the war he established his home in Orange county, New York, where he continued to be iden- tified with agricultural pursuits until 1831, when he came with his fam- ily to the territory of Michigan and settled in Frenchtown township, Monroe county, where he secured a tract of land and instituted the reclamation of a farm. On this old homestead he continued to reside until his death, and his name merits enduring place on the roll of the sturdy and honored pioneers of the county and state.
Reared on the old homestead farm, and under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days, George Robinson Hurd found but lim- ited educational advantages in his youth, his attendance in the primi- tive district school having been somewhat desultory, as he early began to contribute his quota to the work of the farm. He eventually became one of the independent and successful farmers of Frenchtown township, and there he continued to reside until 1871, when he removed with his family to the city of Monroe, having in the meanwhile been identified with the general merchandise business for a time in his home township. Upon coming to Monroe he became a dealer in agricultural implements, and he soon brought his splendid business acumen to bear in an effective way. In 1872 he began buying and shipping dressed hogs, and in the following year he expanded his enterprise by establishing an adjunct department for the handling of hard and soft coal. With the passing years he built up a most prosperous and extensive business, especially as a buyer and shipper of grain and as a dealer in coal, both at whole- sale and retail, and he was the founder of the splendid enterprise which is now conducted by the G. R. Hurd Company, and which in its title perpetuates his name, even as it stands as a monument to his energy, integrity and well directed efforts.
Mr. Hurd gained precedence as one of the most substantial and progressive business men of his native county, and also became an influ- ential factor in connection with public affairs of local order, as will be
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shown by statements in a later paragraph. From an article published prior to his death are taken the following statements, which are well worthy of preservation in this connection: "By clean work and honest dealing he secured a large and substantial trade, as well as the good will and respect of all with whom he came in contact, his trade even- tually covering a radius of thirty miles from Monroe. By persistency and close attention he brought his annual business up to an average of about $250,000 within a period of about fifteen years, and he eventually admitted his three sons to partnership. The grain business assumed such volume that in 1887, for the better handling of that commodity, Mr. Hurd erected a large elevator on Front street, near the tracks of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. During all this time he has never had his paper thrown out by the banks nor failed to meet promptly his bills when presented. In his entire business course he has always done what was fair and honorable, thus gaining the confi- dence of his fellow citizens, the while he was never known to betray any trust reposed in him." Mr. Hurd continued to be actively identi- fied with business affairs until the close of his long and useful life, and his broad-minded and progressive ideas also made him influential in publie matters, in connection with which he was called upon to serve in various offices of distinctive trust. During his residence in Frenchtown township he served in turn as constable, highway commissioner, town- ship treasurer, and finally township supervisor, which last named office he resigned at the time of his removal to Monroe, in 1871. While he never sought public office he was ready to give his services when demanded by the people, and the citizens of the county did not fail to mark their appreciation of his sterling character, his civic loyalty and his excellent ability. In 1876-7 he represented the Third ward of the city of Monroe as a member of the board of aldermen, and in 1887 there came further evidence of popular confidence and esteem, in that he was elected mayor of the city, his administration being so eminently satisfactory that he was chosen as his own successor in 1888, so that he was chief executive of the municipal government for two successive years, within which he did much to further the best interests of the city. He served for more than ten years as a member of the board of educa- tion, and in 1886 he was re-elected to this office while he was absent in California. Upon his return to his home city he was tendered a verit- able ovation by the citizens of Monroe. He was given a formal recep- tion, at which the mayor of the city welcomed him home and at which Mr. Hurd himself made a brief address in which he marked, with deep feeling, his appreciation of the sincere friendship manifested by the people of his home city and native county.
In politics Mr. Hurd ever gave a staunch allegiance to the Democratic party and he was admirably fortified in his convictions concerning mat- ters of public import. For more than a quarter of a century Mr. Hurd was actively and prominently affiliated with the time-honored Masonic fraternity as represented in Monroe county, and he was most apprecia- tive as a student of its history and teachings. On the 1st of March, 1864, he was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason, in Eureka Lodge No. 107, at Monroe, and he had the distinction of serving fifteen
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years in succession as worshipful master of this lodge, which he also represented as a delegate to the grand lodge of the state for twenty years. In the latter body he was elected grand sword-bearer in 1868, and he continued to serve as master of his home lodge until he finally declined any official preferment in the same, after long years of faithful and effective service. On the 8th of September, 1865, he was exalted in River Raisin Chapter No. 22, Royal Arch Masons, and he was high priest of this capitular body from 1879 to 1882, besides serving as its repre- sentative to the grand chapter of the state. In 1874 Mr. Hurd received the cryptic degrees in River Raisin council No. 4, Royal and Select Masters, of which he served as illustrious grand master from 1878 to 1882. He became a charter member of Monroe Commandery No. 19, Knights Templar, at the time of its institution, in December, 1867, and in this chivalric order he passed the various official chairs, his incum- bency of the office of eminent commander having continued during the years 1874-5. He was a most earnest and valued worker in the various Masonic bodies with which he was affiliated, and his funeral services were held under impressive Masonic auspices.
During the climacteric period of the Civil war Mr. Hurd found it virtually impossible to go to the front as a soldier of the Union, but it is altogether probable that he gave equally valuable service to his coun- try through his activities as a member of the enlistment committee in the township of Frenchtown, where he was most zealous in filling the required quota without resorting to draft. For two years he was treas- urer of the committee paying bounties to volunteers, and as all money for this purpose was raised by subscriptions he devoted much time and effort to raising the required funds, often at much personal sacrifice to his own business interests.
Mr. Hurd married Miss Rosetta Nowlen, a daughter of William R. and Betsey (Palmer) Nowlen, honored pioneers of the county. His loved and devoted wife survived him by nearly a decade and passed to the life eternal in 1906, secure in the affectionate regard of all who had come within compass of her gentle influence. Mr. and Mrs. Hurd became the parents of five sons and three daughters, and of the number three sons and one daughter are living : John A., who was born on the 7th of February, 1859, has long been a representative business man of Mon- roe ; Delia B., who was born on the 23d of October, 1865; Barton W., who was born October 30, 1868; and William Munson, who is now president and treasurer of the G. R. Hurd Company, of which his father was the virtual founder, is individually mentioned on other pages of this work, the sketch of his career giving further data concerning the great business enterprise with which the honored subject of this memoir was so long identified.
ALBERT L. GILHOUSE, the popular manufacturer and merchant and the clerk of Whiteford township, was born in this locality on March 28, 1874, his parents being John and Catherine (Holmey) Gilhouse, both of whom were born in Ohio and of German descent. Their children were three in number, of whom one died in infancy. The other two
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are Albert Gilhouse, the subject of this sketch, and his sister, Gertrude, who is now Mrs. Arthur O. Emerson of Whiteford township.
On the parental farm in Whiteford township, Albert Gilhouse grew to manhood, attending the rural school of the district until he had reached the age of nineteen. He remained on the farm as his father's assistant until he had attained his majority, after which he accepted a position in his father's store in Whiteford township. He subsequently took up the carpenter's trade, at which he continued for ten years. At the end of that time he and his brother-in-law, Mr. A. O. Emerson, purchased the Gert cheese factory, which they have ever since owned and supervised, turning out Michigan cream cheese of a superior qual- ity. He and Mr. Emerson also have became the owners of the Gert general store, of which they are the present efficient proprietors.
Mr. Gilhouse is a bachelor, who gives a due amount of attention to the fraternal organizations of which he is a valued member, being con- nected with the Ottawa Lake lodge No. 20, in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and being a past grand member of the Grand lodge of the state of Michigan. Politically he is a loyal Republican and is now ably serving his third term as clerk of the township.
BENJAMIN F. SIMMONS is now serving his fourth term as highway commissioner, a fact which eloquently indicates his wise and careful service in that office. Mr. Simmons was born in Birchville township, St. Clair county, Michigan, on August 16, 1858, and is the son of John and Mary ( Whiting) Simmons. The parents came to Monroe county, Michigan, in the spring of 1865 and settled in Raisinville township. where they passed the remainder of their quiet and uneventful lives. They were the parents of ten children, seven of that number being now living.
Benjamin F. was about seven years old when he accompanied his parents to Monroe county, and he was reared to farm life in Raisinville township, attending the village schools in winter and giving his sum- mers to the care and up-keep of the farm home. He continued thus until he was about twenty years old, after which all his time was given to the farm work, and he was thus occupied until he married, after which he entered upon farm life on his own responsibility, continuing until he became identified with the mercantile business in Raisinville. He was railroad agent and postmaster for about seven years, and gave up that work to assume the duties of highway commissioner, in which office he is now serving his third term. He is the owner of a sixty acre farm, and operates the farm in conjunction with his official duties. His farm is located in Dundee township.
Mr. Simmons was married to Miss Ida Waite of London township. They have three children: Edna, the wife of Orlo Belleville of Dundee township ; Mary, who married Earl Wiley of Davenport, Iowa; and Wes- ley, unmarried, who lives with his father. The wife and mother died on June 10, 1901.
Mr. Simmons is a Republican, and although a man of quiet manner and slow speech, he is known to be one of the influential men of the town. His good judgment is recognized by his fellow townsmen, and
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he is highly regarded by all as a good neighbor, an upright man and a worthy citizen in the community in which he has passed the greater part of his life.
JACKSON H. PICKARD. A genial, popular and successful man who is still proudly claimed by Bedford township, although he has retired and is living in Toledo, is Jackson H. Pickard, whose history is an interest- ing one. His parents were identified with the development of this region during the earlier half of the preceding century. In 1883 his mother's parents, Jackson and Phoebe (Brown) Hoag, came from New York state to Monroe county, where they located in Bedford township, where their daughter, Anna Hoag, was married to William Pickard. He had been an Englishman, born in 1813 in Addingham, England, but came to this country in 1840. By his first marriage he was the father of six children, of whom two are now living, Mrs. Anna Marden and her brother, the subject of this biography.
Jackson H. Pickard was born in Bedford township on March 4, 1847. On the parental farm and in the district school his youthful faculties were developed. Leaving school at fourteen, he assisted his father in his agricultural enterprises until sixteen years of age. He then took advantage of an opportunity to go to Illinois with an uncle for whom he worked, later going further west and acting as a buyer of cattle and hogs for his uncle who was largely interested as a dealer in stock. Returning to Monroe, he began farming for himself. In 1869 he was joined in wedlock to Sara A. Rawson, the daughter of Watson and Elizabeth Rawson, natives respectively of New York and Ohio.
After settling on his farm Mr. Pickard was largely engaged in the dairy business, which his experience and judgment taught him to man- age successfully. All that he did seemed to prosper and presently he was the owner of 220 acres of fine land, well stocked, and of a hand- some home.
The one misfortune that has come to Mr. and Mrs. Pickard has been in the death of their only daughter. But their friends are legion and their sympathies with all sorts and conditions of life is deep and broad. Mr. Pickard is a Republican and has been active in public service both as a resident of Bedford and since his removal to Toledo. He was a highly esteemed justice of the peace in Bedford township while a resi- dent there. Since his removal to Toledo in 1896, he has adequately served for nine years as a school trustee of Washington township in Lucas county, Ohio, and is now fulfilling the duties of a second term as treas- urer for the same township.
Living in peaceful retirement at his home, which is located at 160 Lewis avenue, Toledo, Ohio, "Judge Pickard" as his Bedford friends still like to call him, is looking forward to a comfortable and complacent old age.
JAMES J. KELLEY. Now serving his second term in the important office of county commissioner of schools of Monroe county, Mr. Kelley has given an administration that has proved fruitful in furthering the advancement and stability of the work of the public schools throughout
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the county, and his long retention of the office indicates the high esti- mate placed upon his services by the people of the county. He has had long and successful experience in direct pedagogic work, is a man of fine intellectual attainments and he has shown marked executive ability, as well as ability of a high administrative order in directing the manifold details of the office of which he is now the efficient and popular incum- bent. Further interest attaches to his labors in this capacity by reason of the fact that he is a native son of fine old Monroe county and a scion of one of its honored pioneer families. His grandfather, Owen Kelley, was born in Ireland. He early came to New York, and subsequently moved to Michigan in the pioneer days and established his home in Ash township, this county, where he reclaimed a farm and became a substantial citizen. Here he continued to reside until his death, as did also his wife, whose maiden name was Maloney, both having been of sterling Irish lineage and members of families early founded in the state of New York. They were numbered among the early pioneers of Ash township and their names merit enduring place on the roster of the honored pioneers of Monroe county.
James J. Kelley was born on the old family homestead in Ash town- ship, this county, and the date of his nativity was December 28, 1874. He was the fourth in order of birth in a family of seven children, and of the others two sons and one daughter are now living The parents, Patrick and Mary Ann (Queenan) Kelley, were natives of New York state and Monroe county, respectively, but the father was a child of four years at the time of the family removal to Monroe county, and he was here reared to maturity and here his entire active career was passed. His career was one of close and successful identification with the great basic industry of agriculture, of which he became one of the leading exponents in Ash township. There he purchased a tract of timber land which he cleared of its natural growth, as well as of debt, through his own untiring efforts, and there he continued to reside until his death in 1885, when he was fifty-four years of age. His cherished and devoted wife was summoned to the life eternal in 1906 when about seventy-four years of age. He was a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities.
The boyhood days of James J. Kelley were passed on the home farm and he early began to contribute his quota to the work of the place, the while he duly availed himself of the advantages afforded in the district school of the neighborhood. He later graduated from Carleton high school, and after leaving the same, he put his scholastic requirements to practical use by teaching in the district schools of his native county. His vacations were given to assisting with the work of the home farm. He taught four years in the district schools, three of them being spent in his home school, and he was principal of the Temperance school for two years, principal of South Rockwood school one year, and superin- tendent of Ida school for two years, from which position he was elected to the office of county commissioner of schools. His mother being a widow, Mr. Kelley was obliged to earn every dollar spent for his edu- cation, teaching one year and attending school the next. He studied one year in Detroit College and one year in Niagara University, New
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York. In 1892 he matriculated in the law department of the Univer- sity of Michigan, but later gave up the study of law at the urgent request of his mother, who was influenced by a too scrupulous pastor. He again turned his attention to the pedagogic profession and entered the Michigan Normal College in 1903, from which he was graduated with the degree of B. Pd. in 1905.
Having made excellent success in his chosen profession, Mr. Kelley became the Democratic candidate for the office of commissioner of schools of Monroe county, to which he was elected in the spring of 1907. At the expiration of his original term of four years he was re-elected, with- out opposition, the opposing party having put forward no other candi- date, and his present term will expire on the 1st of July, 1915. As com- missioner Mr. Kelley has been earnest and indefatigable in his efforts, has systematized and advanced the work of the schools in his jurisdic- tion and has gained the appreciative co-operation of the teachers of the county, as well as the unqualified approval of the general public. His circle of friends in his native county is coincident with that of his acquaintances, and he may well be satisfied with the service he has been able to offer here in connection with one of the most important of pub- lic activities. Mr. Kelley remains in the ranks of the bachelors, is a Democrat in his political allegiance and clings to the religious faith in which he was reared. He is a communicant of St. John's Catholic church in the city of Monroe, and here he has maintained his home from the time of assuming his present official position.
THORNTON DIXON. It is gratifying to be able to present within the pages of this work specific records concerning many of the native sons of Monroe county who have here found ample scope for effective effort along various lines of endeavor and who have honored their native county through their characters and services. Of this number is Thorn- ton Dixon, who is established in the successful practice of the legal pro- fession in the city of Monroe and who is recognized as one of the rep- resentative members of the bar of the county.
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