USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 12
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ROY BEECHER COWDIN. Although Roy Beecher Cowdin is now one of the solid and substantial business men of Oxford, Oakland county, Michigan, the spirit of adventure was in him when he was younger, and he can tell many interesting tales of the three years he spent in Alaska. He covered the entire Yukon River district in that time, and had enough experiences to fill the life of any ordinary stay-at-home person.
Mr. Cowdin was born in Oakland county, Brandon township, Febru- ary 19, 1873, the son of George D. and Martha Frances Cowdin. His parents still live on the original one hundred and sixty acres which his grandparents, Addison and Bethiah (Douglas) Cowdin, took up from the government when they moved from New Hampshire, their native state, to Michigan. Mr. Cowdin, Sr., who was born in New York, was two years old at the time of his parents' arrival in Michigan, and he has re- mained on the farm all his life. His wife, Roy's mother, was a native of Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Cowdin had seven children : Edith, deceased; May, at home; Addison, at home; Roy, the subject of this review ; Mer- ton, who died in infancy ; Ernest of Portland, Oregon; and Frank, of Cin- cinnati, Ohio.
Roy Cowdin attended the district schools, and then for one year after he was twenty-one years old worked for his father on the farm. He then went to Oregon for a few months, and from there went on to Alaska. When he returned from the northwest he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Lapeer county, and after working it for three years Vol. II-6
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came on to Oxford and opened up a harness and implement business. Two years later, in July, 1908, he put into operation a store containing coal and lumber and a full line of building materials.
In March 1902, Mr. Cowdin was married to Emma G. Taylor, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Taylor, both natives of Michigan and now living in Brandon township. Mr. Taylor is a farmer and they have had six other children besides Emma: Louise, the wife of M. W. Campbell, of Oxford; Minnie, the wife of D. Bronson, of Brandon town- ship; John A., of Oakland county; Sarah, the wife of Jesse Gibson, of Oxford; Frank, deceased; and Hugh, of Brandon township. Mr. Cowdin is a Mason and a Gleaner, and belongs to the Republican party. He is now supervisor of Oxford township. Mrs. Cowdin belongs to the Congre- gational church.
ORSON E. GRANGER was born on the old homestead in section four- teen, Brandon township, Oakland county, Michigan, October 17, 1851, the son of Orson and Elizabeth (Sheldon) Granger. His parents were both natives of Wayne county, New York. His father died January 16, 1890, at the age of eighty-two years and his mother died when she was eighty-six years old, on October 7, 1903. His grandfather was Elisha Granger. His father came to Michigan in 1837 and took up land from the government. The original deed is preserved in the family. At his death he left one hundred and eighty acres of farm land. He was the father of eight children, namely: Serepta. Almira and John, who have passed away; Charlotte M., the wife of Andrew Church, of Wayne county, New York; Chauncey C., of McLean county, Illinois; Orson E .; Marshall S., of Oakland county ; and Austin B., of Oakland county.
At twenty years of age Orson E. Granger took up the occupation of agriculture. He rented a farm for one year, then he went home and bought eighty acres adjoining the old homestead, where he worked for seven years. Then he sold and worked his old home and with his sister bought that first eighty acres back. At present with his wife he owns two hundred and fifty acres, including the old homestead.
On July 1, 1890, Mr. Granger married Miss Kate McVean, the daugh- ter of Peter and Eleanore McVean, who settled in Oakland county, Michi- gan, about 1861. Her father was a native of New York, and her mother, who died August 20, 1900, was a native of Michigan. She has one sister, Flora, the wife of Albert Moule, of Ortonville. Mr. Granger has but one child. O. E. Granger, Jr .. born September 17, 1903, who lives at home with his parents. Albert Moule and his wife have two children : Albert A., born July 7, 1896, Genevieve E., born April 11, 1898.
In political matters, Mr. Granger is on the Republican side. He is a Methodist and a member of the Maccabees.
His forbears gave their services to their country in times of war, his grandfather, Elisha, being in the War of 1812, and his father in the war of the Revolution, was a despatch carrier. Of the McVean family, the grandfather, Daniel, came from Scotland and settled in New York.
CHARLES H. GLASPIE, of Oxford, Oakland county, Michigan, belongs to a family who have been prominent in that section of the country for many years. The farm of two hundred and forty acres which his parents, William and Deborah A. (Denison) Glaspie, bought when they came to Oakland county in 1852 is the land on which a large portion of the village
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of Oxford now stands. Aside from the local renown which his family achieved, Mr. Glaspie has made himself well known by the ability which he has shown in the various public offices he has held. Moreover, he is universally liked, and is one of the most popular members in all the vari- ous organizations to which he belongs.
Mr. and Mrs. Glaspie, Sr., were natives of New York, and when they first came to Michigan settled in Macomb county. Mr. Glaspie, who died in April, 1889, was a general farmer and stockraiser. Mrs. Glas- pie's death occurred November 14, 1883. They had seven children: Almyra, deceased; Lucy A., the widow of L. L. Parker, of Oxford ; Elizabeth, the widow of S. P. Hovey, of Detroit; William Denison, of Oakland county, Oxford township; Charles H .; Elva, who died in Sep- tember, 1900; and Eber D., of Oxford.
Charles H. Glaspie was born in Macomb county, March 12. 1851, and attended the district schools until he was eighteen years old. For the year after he was eighteen he worked in a hotel at Bay City, and then returned to Oxford to take up the mercantile business. He only remained a short time, however, leaving within a few months for Muskegon, where he worked in the postoffice for three years. He then returned again to Oxford and resumed the mercantile business. He thus continued for several years, and followed the business for two years, afterwards in Grand Rapids. After his stay in Grand Rapids he settled permanently in Oxford. He was in business for himself for eighteen years. His broth- er-in-law was engaged with him for the first seven years until Mr. Glaspie bought him out to take the whole responsibility upon himself. After he disposed of his business he took a position for six years with the Detroit Lake Onon and Romeo lines. In 1906 he was elected register of deeds, and after assuming the office in 1907 held it for two terms. He was also city clerk of Oxford for seven years and on the council for nine years.
On January 4, 1876, Mr. Glaspie's marriage to Minnie A. Snyder took place, and they became the parents of one child, a son, WV. Gillett, who was born September 13, 1882, and died March 17, 1908, while he was taking the law course at the University of Michigan. Mrs. Glaspie's parents were the Rev. Solomon and Prudence (Spencer ) Snyder, both natives of New York, who came to Michigan about 1868 and settled in Lapeer county. Their first location proved only temporary, however, and they soon afterward moved to Oxford, where they lived the rest of their lives with the exception of four years, Mr. Snyder dying in Detroit, November 22, 1907, and Mrs. Snyder, July, 1904, in Oxford. They had four children, Minnie; Rossman R., of Detroit; one who died in child- hood; and Orne M., of Maple Rapids, Michigan.
Mr. Glaspie votes the Republican ticket. He has been present at the Republican banquets for twenty-three years. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen, the I. O. O. F. and the Elks.
ALEXANDER R. BELLAIRE, of Oxford, Oakland county, Michigan, is one of the oldest established business men in Oxford. He came to the village in the spring of 1884 and started a grocery establishment. He has been here in business ever since, although fifteen years ago he gave up his first store, and gave his whole attention to his wholesale market for general produce, which he had been developing for some time before that.
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He is secretary, treasurer and manager of the Eusley-Bellaire Company Elevators in Oxford, Watrousville and Calling, Michigan.
Mr. Bellaire was born in New Jersey, January 19, 1853, the son of Frederick and Elizabeth (Batteson) Bellaire. Mr. Bellaire, Sr., was born in Germany, and when he came to America settled in Quakertown, New Jersey. He is still living, at eighty-four years of age. Mrs. Bellaire, who is now dead, was born in Massachusetts. They had four children, Alexander R., Emily, deceased; Louis, of Cadillac, Michigan; and Ella, the wife of Louis Hiner. Mr. and Mrs. Hiner are living on the old homestead in New Jersey.
Alexander R. Bellaire left home when he was twenty years old and came to Jackson, Michigan, where he took up farming for three years. The next six years he spent in Cadillac, and then came to Oxford, where he has been ever since. On August 7, 1876, he was married to Amorette Marsh, the daughter of John and Alvina (Wilson) Marsh, natives of Canada. The mother is still alive and residing in Detroit. Mr. Marsh is dead. They had three children, Amorette; Edgar, of Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania; and Catharine, the wife of Fred M. Aldrich, of Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. Bellaire have had two children, Vira M., the wife of Ernest E. Wemp, of Detroit, and Leah M., at home.
Mr. Bellaire is a Republican, and has served as city treasurer. He has been town clerk, a trustee on the school board and now president of the village of Oxford. He is a. Mason of the Blue Lodge and Chapter at Oxford, and of the Council No. 3, at Pontiac, and also a Forester. Mrs. Bellaire is a member of the Eastern Star. The family attends the Congre- gational church.
FRANKLIN KENT. One of the foremost agriculturists of Oakland county, and no one better known in its history, Franklin Kent is numbered among the enterprising and successful farmers of Oakland county who have a thorough knowledge of the vocation which they follow, and are pursuing it with both pleasure and advantage. He is a worthy represen- tative of the native-born citizens of Brandon township, his birth having occurred September 20, 1850.
His father, Charles E. Kent, a native of Syracuse, New York, came to Michigan with his father, Asel Kent, settling in section thirty, Brandon township, Oakland county, where Mr. Asel Kent took up a tract of land from the government. Succeeding to the ancestral occupation, Charles E. Kent spent his active life as a farmer, at his death, which occurred in Brandon township, in 1893, leaving a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres. His wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Jane Fosdick, was born in Syracuse, New York, and died in Brandon township, in 1894. Ten children blessed their union, as follows: Susan, deceased; Caroline A., wife of Harvey Oldfield, of Detroit; Franklin, with whom this brief sketch is principally concerned; Helen, widow of George Oldfield, late of Detroit; Charles Edwin, deceased, had charge for sometime of Criminal Hall, in the Pontiac Asylum, and was later for seventeen years superin- tendent of the Traverse City Asylum ; John Erskine, now living at Grand Blanc, Michigan, was for twenty-five years in partnership with the Simons Brothers, in East Saginaw; Louis Napoleon, of Ortonville; Rem- ber, head deputy sheriff of Oakland county; Dwight, deceased; and George, a farmer in Huron county.
On attaining his majority, Franklin Kent left home, and for two
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years worked in the lumber regions, being employed on the big boom in the Saginaw river. The following year he worked in a sawmill. Returning then to Brandon township, he bought twenty acres of land, and began his career as an independent farmer. Succeeding beyond his most sanguine expectations, he is now the owner of two hundred and thirty-five acres of land, and is still prosperously engaged in general farming, making a specialty of stock raising. A lover of animals, he is an expert horse trainer, and has gained an extended reputation for his skill in managing and subduing the most fiery and spirited of steeds.
A steadfast Democrat in politics, Mr. Kent is now serving as marshal of Ortonville. He has been school treasurer, and has rendered excellent service as deputy sheriff of Oakland county. While filling the last named office, he on one occasion found his skillful horsemanship of immense benefit to him, the wild gallop which he took on the railroad track while going from one farm to another rivalling in speed and danger the famous ride of Sheridan, which has been immortalized in verse. A clear account of the event was given two weeks later, on March 28, 1901, in the Pontiac Evening Express, from which we quote the following particulars :
"While going from one farm to another, Deputy Sheriff Kent of Ortonville, desirous of saving a part of the distance which it would be necessary to cover by the regular road, made a short cut down the railroad track, on horseback. The train schedule had that day been changed, and he was uncertain as to the time the train was due, a fact that probably led him to risk the ride down the track, all unconscious of his danger. Scarce had he covered half the distance to his farm when the shrill whistle of a locomotive rang out close behind him. Turning, he sawing the engine not five rods away, running him down at a tremendous speed. A realiza- tion of his danger caused Mr. Kent to force the horse into a mad gallop, just as the tender was on the animal. The horse became frightened and plunged wildly down the track, Kent urging the noble animal forward faster and faster, until the most thrilling race for life ever recorded in the history of this country was finished. With a roaring wind in his face, a death-dealing locomotive behind, and nearly blinded by huge snowflakes, Mr. Kent espied a sheet of glittering ice just ahead in his path.
"Knowing the danger of the running, maddened horse striking the ice while going full speed, the deputy sheriff guided the horse's head to the right, leaving the animal a target for the engine, it being his intention to have the engine hit the animal in such a manner as to throw both himself and the horse clear of the track. Just as the sheet of ice was reached, the collision came. Horse and rider were thrown into the air, and after turning several complete somersets fell many feet from the track. The horse alighted safely, and with set feet glided ninety feet over the ice field, and Mr. Kent escaped without an injury, a slight scratch on the horse's hip being the only accident to either the animal or its rider.
"The engineer, who said that he saw the horse and rider only at the first part of the race, claims to have reversed his engine without getting results. When Kent and the horse were thrown into the air, the train was brought to a stop as soon as possible, and a search was made for their supposed mangled forms by the conductor and passengers, but Kent was leading the horse towards the barn and could not be found." Mr. Kent says that he is convinced the engineer instead of reversing his engine when he saw the obstruction on the track followed the usual custom of putting
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on full steam in order to exert all possible force to throw it clear of the track, and thus save the train from being derailed.
Mr. Kent married, September 9, 1876, Ella Markham, a native of Brandon township, Oakland county, Michigan. Her father, Samuel Mark- ham, a native of Massachusetts, came to Michigan in 1838, bought land in this township, at Bald Eagle Lake, and in addition to clearing and improv- ing a farm added tavern keeping to his agricultural labors. He married Mrs. Thirza ( Pinkham) Murray, widow of William Murray, by whom she had two children, Jane, who has passed to the life beyond, and William, of Detroit. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Markham nine children were born, as follows: Louisa, wife of William Pinkham, of Durand, Michigan; John, living in Brandon township; Samuel, deceased; Horace, a well- known lawyer of Detroit; Thirza, wife of Thomas Tucker, of Ortonville; Melissa, deceased ; Mrs. Kent ; Sarah, deceased; Emma, wife of John Bar- ton, of Port Huron. Mr. and Mrs. Kent are the parents of three children, namely: Lulu, wife of William Strickland, of Pontiac; Thirza, wife of Robert Ervin, of Detroit; and Floyd, state manager of the F. B. Dickin- son Company, of Detroit. Mr. Kent is an active member of the local Grange, and both he and his wife attend the First Baptist church.
NELSON P. SMITHI. Laboring diligently and perseveringly in his chosen occupation, Nelson P. Smith is closely associated with the agricul- tural development of Oakland county, carrying on general farming in a prosperous manner, his farm being well located in Brandon township, where his birth occurred July 28, 1861.
His father, James N. Smith, was born in New York state, a son of Ezra and Nancy Smith. Succeeding to the pleasant calling by which his ancestors had lived, he embarked in agricultural pursuits when young, but not satisfied with his prospects for advancement in the Empire state came, in 1856, to Oakland county, Michigan, where he continued farming throughout his active life, his last days, however, being spent in Belding, Michigan, his death occurring there in April, 1901. His first wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth McGorman, was born in Canada, and died in Michigan, in February, 1892, leaving two children, namely. Helen, wife of Frank Pinckney, of Ionia county ; and Nelson P., the subject of this brief personal narrative. He subsequently married for his second wife Lucy Johnson, who bore him one child, Olive B., of Belding, Michigan.
Acquiring his elementary education in the district schools, Nelson P. Smith remained at home until twenty-one years of age, gleaning in the meantime an intimate knowledge of the different branches of agriculture. Selecting farming for an occupation, he has met with good success in his calling. He first became a landholder in 1907, when, on February 7, he purchased eighty acres of land in Brandon township, and here placed this land under an excellent state of tillage and is carrying on general farming and stock raising most ably and skillfully, his labors being well rewarded by the fine crops which he annually harvests.
Mr. Smith married, December 14, 1887, Annie L. DeBree, a daughter of John and Catherine (Huff) DeBree. Her father, who was born in Holland seventy-nine years ago, died July 30, 1912, his wife having passed to the life beyond in 1910, leaving three children, as follows : Mrs. Smith ; Nina, the wife of Arthur Kimball, of Waukesha, Wisconsin; and Emery A., of Montcalm county, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of three children, namely : L. Ruth, Florence A. and Gladys H.
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Socially Mr. Smith is a member of the local Grange, which he is serving as master. Politically he is actively identified with the Republican party, and has held several township offices. Religiously he is a Baptist.
JOHN MONTGOMERY. Among the successful and solid business men of Oakland county, John Montgomery, of Oxford, Michigan stands out prominently. Fair dealing and common sense have been the two guiding principles of his business life, and they have served him in good stead, not only to insure his own personal prosperity but to draw to him the respect and liking of the whole community. He is now running two coal yards, where lumber, cement and all building materials are handled in addition, one at Oxford and the other at Ortonville, Michigan. He also owns eighty acres of land in Macomb county. He has held several local public offices, among them that of assessor, and is now a trustee of the village. He was also on the board of review at one time.
Mr. Montgomery's father, John Montgomery, was born in Lynn, Ire- land, and came to Canada when he was about sixteen years old. He remained there until 1872, when he moved to Macomb county, Michigan. He was a farmer all his life. Mrs. Montgomery, nee Mary Ann Ward, was born in Canada, her parents coming from England. They were the parents of seven children : William, of Macomb county ; Milissa Jane, the wife of John Townsend, of Macomb county; Caroline, the wife of Henry Buckeidail, of Oakland county; Robert J., of Macomb county ; Ida, wife of Fred Weitter of Macomb county ; Mary A., deceased ; and John.
When John Montgomery was twenty-one years old he went south and remained in New Orleans a year. He then returned home and spent the next two years on the farm. Soon afterwards he started in the lumber business, and in 1900 came to Oxford, where he opened his coal yard. He was born in Canada, August 13, 1862. On July 10, 1890, he was married to Lydia M. Fuller, and they have had two children, Ethel Georgiana and John Lee, both of whom are at home. Mr. Montgomery has also adopted another child, Dorothy Lynes, whom he is raising with his own family. Mr. Montgomery is a Mason and a Gleaner, and is in sympathy with the Republican party. He and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal church.
BRUCE CHRISTOPHER SHEAR, although only twenty-two years old, has already had a varied career in business. He has now settled down, how- ever, into a progressive young merchant of New Hudson, Michigan, and promises to make a highly successful future for himself. Born at New Hudson, April 15, 1890, he is the son of Charles and Lena (Sheppo) Shear. His paternal grandfather was a veterinary surgeon of note in his lifetime, and for many years had charge of the horses on the stage line from Detroit to Grand Rapids. Bruce's father, Charles Shear, was born in Michigan but his mother was a native of Germany and was first brought to the United States by her parents who settled in Detroit. Bruce went to school in New Hudson until he was eighteen, when he left for Lansing to attend a business college there. He remained there three months, and in February, 1908, he entered the cheese-making department of the Agri- cultural College of Michigan, taking the full course and receiving a diploma.
Mr. Shear's first position after he left school was with the Pinckney Creamery Company. He made cheese for them for three months, and then
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changed to the Rice Cheese Manufacturers of New Hudson. On Decem- ber 15, 1908, he left this firm, and from then on until April, 1909, served as a fireman in Detroit. In April he went to Pontiac with the Oakland Auto Company and remained with them until August, when he returned to New Hudson. In September he took a position as cheesemaker with the Tower Creamery Company. He remained in New Hudson until September, 1911, when his employers sent him to Detroit to look after the cheese in stock there. In December of that year he decided that he would rather be inde- pendent and have a business of his own. The result of his decision was his return to New Hudson and his engaging in produce and poultry buying and selling. In February, 1912, he purchased the store and stock of Perry C. Miles, and is now engaged in extending and improving the business. With Mr. Miles' retirement from business the position of postmaster became vacant, and in a competitive examination which was held to find a succes- sor, Mrs. Shear, Bruce's mother, won the position. She then appointed her son a deputy postmaster. This postoffice maintains one rural route.
On April 19, 1911, Mr. Shear was married to Miss Leota Duncan, of New Hudson, the daughter of Bert and Estella (Fisher) Duncan. Mr. Duncan is a hotel man and farmer. Both Mr. Shears' wife and mother are members of the Maccabees and attend the Methodist Episcopal church.
PETER E. BACKER. Beautiful Meadow Brook Dairy Farm consists of one hundred and eighty-five acres of land located in section 3 of Royal Oak township, Oakland county, Michigan. On it are raised the finest specimens of Holstein cattle and a specialty is made of dairy work. The estate belongs to and is conducted by Peter E. Backer, a prominent and influential citizen of Royal Oak township, of which he is a member of the board of supervisors at the present time, in 1912. He is a citizen of in- trinsic loyalty and public spirit and is ever on the alert to do all in his power to advance the best interests of his community.
Peter E. Backer was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on the 3d of December, 1867, and he is a son of Andrew E. and Mary ( Peterson) Backer, the former of whom died in 1883 and the latter in 1907. Andrew E. Backer was a native of Germany and his wife was born and reared just across the boundary line in Denmark. He was engaged in farming during the greater part of his active career, and he passed his entire life in Ger- many. Mr. and Mrs. Backer became the parents of five children, concern- ing whom the following brief data are here incorporated,-Katherine is deceased ; Annie is the wife of Henry Christiansen, of Detroit; Peter E. is the immediate subject of this review; Mary is the wife of Stephen Jefsen, of Marlette, Douglas county, Michigan; and Christine is de- ceased.
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