USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 14
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they have been associated for more than twenty-five years. They all reside in Marine City except Henry M., the interesting subject of this brief memoir, who, as has been noted, resides in Pontiac, although his present duties are located mainly in Detroit.
Henry M. Zimmermann obtained his academic education in the pub- lic schools. After completing their course of instruction he pursued a course of special training for business at the Detroit Business Univer- sity. At the age of twenty-one he was elected city clerk of Marine City and served two terms. At the end of the second term he accepted a position as bookkeeper in the Marine Savings Bank of that city, and after holding this position a short time became assistant cashier of the bank. Some years later he severed his connection with the bank to take up the study of law at the University of Michigan. From the law de- partment of that institution he was graduated with the degree of LL. B. in June, 1895, and was immediately admitted to practice in this state.
Prior to this, however, he was admitted to practice in the state of Ohio on examination as to his qualifications by the Supreme court. Mr. Zimmermann next pursued a post-graduate course in the study of law at Yale University, and was graduated from that institution with the degree of LL. M. in June, 1896. He first practiced his profession in Marine City.
Mr. Zimmermann has always taken an earnest interest in public affairs. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and as its candidate he was elected to the state legislature as representative from the Second district of St. Clair county in the fall of 1896. He served through a regular and a special session, the latter being called by Governor Hazen S. Pingree to pass his "Equal Taxation" meas- ures. In 1898 he moved to Pontiac, where he has since resided, and where he continues to practice law.
In 1901 Mr. Zimmermann was appointed secretary to the state ad- visory board of pardons by Governor Bliss. This office he resigned after a tenure of about one year. He then formed a partnership with Judge K. P. Rockwell for the practice of law, and for more than ten years practiced his profession in Pontiac and Oakland county as a member of the firm of Rockwell & Zimmermann. In 1902 he was ap- pointed city attorney of Pontiac, and at the end of his term was re- appointed, remaining in the office three years and successfully conduct- ing much important litigation for the city. Governor Warner in 1907 appointed him commissioner of the state banking department, which office he held for nearly four years, then gave it up to be free to accept the position of vice president of the Detroit United Bank of Detroit. Michigan. This position requires his almost daily presence in Detroit, but he still maintains his home in Pontiac, the city of his adoption.
On March 30, 1898, Mr. Zimmermann was married to Miss Lucile Carver, of Marine City. They have one child, their son Bradley May- nard, who was born in Pontiac and is now twelve years of age. The father has taken a warm and serviceable interest in the social and fraternal life of his community and state for a number of years. He belongs to the Masonic Order, the Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and other organizations of the kind. He is also a member of the De- troit Club, the Bankers Club of Detroit and the Oakland County Bar Association. He is esteemed in all parts of the state as one of Michi-
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Edward RFarmer
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gan's representative and useful citizens, and as a man of the highest character.
MICHAEL GRIFFIN. Among the enterprising citizens of Oakland county who owe their success and advancement in life to their own in- dustry and well-directed efforts is Michael Griffin, the present efficient city assessor and the incumbent of the office for the past eleven years. As is clearly indicated in his name, Mr. Griffin is of Irish extraction, both of his parents having hailed from the Emerald Isle, and in his own charcter is apparent that enterprise, energy and resourcefulness which has made the Irish-American element one of the most prominent and successful in American life. Mr. Griffin was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, October 17, 1855, the son of Michael and Mary (O'Con- nor) Griffin, both of whom, as mentioned, were Irish by nativity. The year of their arrival on American shores was 1852, and they first located in Lowell, where the birth of the subject occurred. Michael, who was the only child of the union, was posthumous, his father dying pre- vious to his birth, but his mother survived for many years, the death of this brave and able woman occurring October 1, 1897. He was reared by his mother, who brought him to Pontiac when he was but two years old.
Mr. Griffin received his preliminary education in the public schools and also received the advantages of a high school education, his gradu- ation from the same occurring at about the age of seventeen years. He then became an employe in the woolen mills, where he remained for two years. He then learned the cooperage trade and followed this suc- cessfully for many years, or until 1901, with the exception of three years when he was in the mail service during the administration of President Grover Cleveland. He was elected city assessor and in this capacity has given splendid service for eleven years. Mr. Griffin is a good citizen and all who know him speak of him in terms of praise and honor for his integrity, blameless reputation and general worth. His interest in public matters naturally led him to make choice of one of the two great political parties; when old enough to exercise the right of franchise he became a Democrat and the policies and principles of the party he upholds from conviction and not at the behest of party leaders.
Mr. Griffin was united in marriage to Miss Ella Eagan, daughter of John Eagan, both of Mrs. Griffin's parents being now deceased. She was the eldest of five children, the others being : George L., of Berkeley, California ; John J., a resident of the same western city; Catherine, of Chicago; Nora, of Boston, Massachusetts. Mrs. Griffin has proved a true helpmate and discreet advisor and has presented her husband with the following four children: Frank, deceased; George L., now of De- troit ; Mabel E. : and Fred C., born July 13, 1890.
Mr. Griffin is a Forester and an Elk and is prominent and popular in fraternal circles. He and his family are communicants of the Cath- olic church.
EDWARD R. FARMER, of Rochester, is one of the large land owners of Oakland county, and although he resides in the city he still follows the occupation that his name expresses and actively farms the 318 acres of land that he owns in section 14 of Oakland township. He is conservative in his position on various subjects, yet consistently progressive. This Vol. II-7
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policy has resulted in gradually adding to his property and at the same time raising him in the estimation of those about him, who consider him one of the most substantial and dependable residents of the neighborhood.
Mr. Farmer was born in Lorain county, Ohio, on October 28, 1849, but his parents, Thomas M., and Nancy A. (Rowley) Farmer, who were themselves from New York, came to Michigan in 1852, so that Edward R. is practically a lifelong resident of the state. The family located in Reily in Huron county, where the senior Mr. Farmer followed agriculture un- til his death in 1898. His wife is still living at Mt. Vernon, Michigan, at the advanced age of ninety-two. Eleven children constituted the family of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Farmer ; Dolly, wife of Jacob Lown, of Mem- phis, Michigan; John, who died in Libby prison during the Civil war ; Sarah, wife of P. Conger, of Memphis, Michigan; Jane, deceased ; Ange- line, who married Porter Conger and is now deceased; Emeline, wife of George Vinton, of Mt. Vernon, and who is the twin sister of the subject of this article ; Nancy, wife of James Andrus, of Huron county ; Emerson, of Mt. Vernon ; and the last, an infant who failed to survive.
Edward R. remained with his father until he was twenty-seven years of age, then rented for nine years, after which he bought 250 acres in Oak- land township. When his wife's father died he left fifty-eight acres to her, making 318 acres which they now control and operate in Oakland township.
On November 24, 1874, Mr. Farmer was married to Sarah Cole, a daughter of Charles and Sarah (Mann) Cole, both nativ'es of New Jersey. They located in Macomb county. Mr. Cole was a blacksmith and a skilled artisan at working in metal. He died on February 2, 1892, his wife hav- ing preceded him in death on January 20, 1876. Mr. Cole was born March 30, 1812, and Sarah O. Mann was born August 19, of the same year. Their children were: Elizabeth, who is now deceased, and who was born March 26, 1837; Philip Miller Cole, of Oakland county, born December 20, 1838; Rebecca, deceased, born December 9, 1840; Lanah, wife of John Major, of McComb, born October 31, 1842; Katherine, deceased, born April 29, 1843 ; George, of Mt. Vernon, born August 16, 1847; Margaret, widow of M. L. McClure, born August 23, 1848, and residing in Rochester ; Sarah, wife of Edward R. Farmer, born May 23, 1853.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Edward R. Farmer was productive of two descendants: May, wife of Mark Axford, of Bad Axe, Michigan, and Lulu, wife of Charles P. Newman, of Rochester. In the third gen- eration there are two children. Mr. and Mrs. Axford have a son, Lee Grant, born May 27, 1901, and Mr. and Mrs. Newman have a son, Cole L., born October 7, 1909, Mr. Farmer is a Democrat but has never felt any desire to hold office.
MARTHA BALDWIN. Too much cannot be said in praise of the good and persistent work done by Miss Baldwin in the development of her home community along all lines-both of material, intellectual and moral betterment. She is also known and honored throughout the state for her advanced and positive views on the rights and destined province of women. As enthusiastically said by a leading banker and public man of the county, who is classed as a real conservative in his general views: "Miss Baldwin-Martha Baldwin ! has done more for Birmingham and to make it a fine community than any dozen men." The writer adds from personal knowledge: "Martha Baldwin is an intellectual, earnest,
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strong, good woman, doing practical things in the world from high motives."
Born near Birmingham, Miss Baldwin has passed a good share of her years in the town. She is a daughter of Edwin and Aurilla (Patrick) Baldwin, the former born at Virgennes, Vermont, in 1802, and the latter in Lyons, New York in 1815. The father died in Birmingham in 1889, the mother passing away eleven years later in that place. Both were descended from Revolutionary stock, Edwin Baldwin's ancestors being officers in the Continental army during the struggle for independence, and the grandfather of Aurilla Patrick Baldwin was killed in the Wyoming massacre in July, 1778.
Martha Baldwin has been a teacher for more than thirty years, many of these being passed as principal of the Norvell school in Detroit. Her life in Birmingham has been one of most praiseworthy activity in the interests of the communal life of the community. She is a member of the Ladies' Library Society, which she was instrumental in organizing, and the village board has recently named the splendid library which has come into existence as the result of the efforts of the society the Baldwin Memorial Library, a most fitting tribute to one who has done so much in its interests. She is president of the library board. She was a prime mover in the Birmingham Cemetery Association, and is yet a member of the organization. She is president of the Village Improvement Society, a member of the Detroit Women's Press Club and a member of the Michigan State Women's Press Club. She has always been a supporter of the equal suffrage cause and is a member of the Detroit Equal Suffrage Club and the Michigan State Suffrage Association, and has done telling work for the cause since her interest was first enlisted.
Miss Baldwin is independent in her religious beliefs, as in all the relations of life, the ability to stand alone in an opinion being one of the marked characteristics of her sturdy nature.
JAMES W. COBB. A man of rare business ability and tact, James W. Cobb is actively identified with the promotion of the mercantile pros- perity of Oakland county, and is known far and wide as a prominent merchant and druggist of Birmingham, being president and manager of the Cobb, Stanley, Harris Company. A native of Oakland county, Michigan, he was born in Troy, December 9, 1874, of English ancestry.
William H. Cobb, his father, was born and educated in England. A man of decided ambition, anxious to improve his financial condition, he left home when young, immigrating to Canada in 1870. Immediately after his marriage, which took place about four years after his arrival in America, he came to Oakland county, Michigan, where he has since been actively and successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits, now residing on a farm in Bloomfield township. He is active in fraternal circles, belonging to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the Knights of Pythias and to the Masonic order. He married, January I, 1874, in Canada, Mary A. Harris, who was born in England, and in 1855, when a small child, was taken by her parents to Canada, where she was brought up and educated.
The oldest child of the parental household, James W. Cobb received his early education in Birmingham, being graduated from the high school with the class of 1895. Entering then the University of Michigan, he was graduated from its School of Pharmacy in 1897, with the degree of
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Ph. C. The ensuing four years Mr. Cobb was prescription clerk for a drug firm in Ann Arbor, from there coming in 1901 to Birmingham, bringing a stock of drugs and groceries and establishing the firm of Cobb & Cobb, which continued in existence until 1908, when the name was changed to J. W. Cobb. Two years later, in 1910, Mr. Cobb be- came associated in business with Mr. J. F. Worster, and was made head of the firm of the Cobb, Stanley, Harris Company, incorporated, and has since been president of the organization and manager of the store, which is well equipped and finely stocked.
Mr. Cobb is a stanch Republican in politics, is township clerk at the present time and was for five years president of the Birmingham board of education. Fraternally he is a member of Birmingham Lodge, No. 44, A. F. & A. M .; of Birmingham Chapter, No. 93, Royal Arch Masons ; and is a member and a past chancellor of Birmingham Lodge, No. 149, Knights of Pythias. Religiously he is a member and a vestryman of the Episcopal church.
On July 11, 1900, Mr. Cobb married Miss Grace Houghton, who was born in Troy, Michigan, and after her graduation from the State Nor- mal School, in Ypsilanti, taught school two years. Mr. and Mrs. Cobb have two children, namely : Elsie, born May 4, 1902; and Stewart, born October 22, 1905.
GEORGE E. DAINES. One of the leading furnishing undertakers and furniture dealers of Oakland county, George E. Daines occupies a place of prominence and influence in the village of Birmingham, ranking high among its substantial business men, and standing at the head of its adminstrative board. He is a native-born citizen of this county, his birth having occurred October 30, 1850, in Bloomfield township.
John Daines, his father, was born, bred and educated in Yates county, New York. Shortly after his marriage he came with his bride to Michi- gan, locating at Circle, Oakland county. Following his trade of a potter, he built up a remunerative business as a maker of earthenware. At the end of seventeen years he started an almost entirely new industry, be- ginning the manufacture of drain tile, being the second man in the United States to make tile for that purpose. Succeeding well, he enlarged his plant from time to time, as the demand for tile increased, having been liberally patronized. Retiring from that business, he moved to Bir- mingham, where he conducted a hotel until his death, May 30, 1873. A Democrat in politics, he held all the offices in the township, being popular with all parties. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Alice A. Watkins, five children were born, as follows: Flora, widow of James Beatty ; Rose, wife of Frank Hagerman; George E .; Minnie, widow of Herman A. Castle; and Addie, wife of Elmer Brown, of Pontiac.
Born on a farm, George E. Daines gleaned the rudiments of his education in the public schools, later being graduated from the Detroit Business College. Subsequently, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Mr. Hagerman, he was for awhile engaged in the drug business at Birmingham, but at the death of his father assumed charge of his hotel. Finding the occupation of "mine host" being congenial, and one for which he' was well adapted, Mr. Daines subsequently purchased the National Hotel, which he conducted successfully for twenty-seven years, much to the gratification of the traveling public. Selling out, he, in com-
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pany with his brother-in-law, James O. Beatty, who had taken a full course in the art of embalming, bought out a furniture store and under- taking business, with which he has since been identified.
A Democrat by birth and inheritance, Mr. Daines is an earnest sup- porter of the principles of his party, and for twenty-seven years has been officially connected with the village board of Birmingham, at the present time, in 1912, being its president, or, in other words, mayor of the village. Fraternally he is a member and a past chancellor of Birmingham Lodge, No. 149, K. of P., and of the Grand Lodge; and also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 547.
Mr. Daines married, in March, 1874, Harriet Hoffman, a native of Mount Clemens, Michigan. The only child born of their union is not living.
NIELS J. HANSEN. Having begun life for himself on a low rung of the ladder of attainments, Niels J. Hansen, a well-known and prosperous miller of Birmingham, has been in truth the architect of his own fortune, having by untiring energy and diligent use of his opportunities gained an assured position among the successful and esteemed citizens of Oak- land county. He was born December 20, 1856, in Denmark, which was also the birthplace of his parents, Hans J. and Mary Robinson. His father was for many years a prominent miller in Denmark, before his retirement from active pursuits, about 1871, having built and operated four different mills.
Immigrating to America when twenty years old, Niels J. Hansen left the ship in which he crossed the Atlantic at Boston, and during the fol- lowing year worked on a dairy farm in Concord, Massachusetts. Com- ing then to Michigan, he was for a time similarly employed in the vicinity of Detroit. Saving his earnings, he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Sanilac county, Michigan, and began the improvement of a farm. Subsequently disposing of that, he was for five years superin- tendent of a farm of one hundred and forty-eight acres located on Wood- ward avenue, Greenfield township. Wayne county, after which he was for twenty years prosperously engaged in the milk business at High- land Park. Retiring from agricultural pursuits, Mr. Hansen located in Oakland county, and having purchased the Birmingham Mills, situated just outside the village limits, has since carried on a large and profitable business as a miller. He is a sound Republican in politics, and is held in high respect as a man and a citizen.
Mr. Hansen married in March, 1887. Sarah Clark, who was born in Canada, coming on her father's side of Scotch ancestry, while on the mother's side of the house she was of Irish descent, her maternal grand- father having been of Irish birth. Five children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hansen, namely: Augusta, living with her parents; George, an orange grower in California; Raymond, at home; Sarah, attending the Birmingham high school; and William, a school boy.
CHARLES E. LOVEJOY. Conspicuous among the foremost citizens of Milford is Charles E. Lovejoy, who has spent his entire life in Oakland county, aiding in every possible manner its growth and development, whether relating to its agricultural, mercantile or financial prosperity. He has been identified with various important interests in Milford, at the present time being a justice of the peace, a dealer in realty. an
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insurance agent, and a representative of the Standard Savings and Loan Association. A son of the late Matthew Lovejoy, he was born, March 20, 1852, in Milford township, on a farm which he now owns.
Born in New York, Matthew Lovejoy as a child was brought by his parents to Genesee county, Michigan, where he grew to manhood. Be- coming a farmer from choice, he bought land when ready to establish himself as a householder in Milford township, Oakland county, on sec- tion 3, his land bordering on Highland township. Clearing and improv- ing a good farm, he lived upon it until 1871, when he embarked in mer- cantile pursuits, opening a grocery and crockeryware store in Milford. Building up a good trade, he maintained it until his death, in 1881, at the age of fifty-seven years. He was twice married. He married first Ann McCall, a daughter of Duncan McCall, a pioneer settler of High- land township. She died in 1854, leaving one child, Charles E., of this biography. The second wife of Matthew McCall, whose maiden name was Betsey Eddy, survived him, marrying for her second husband, a Mr. Phillips, of Fenton. At the death of her second husband, Mrs. Phillips returned to Milford, and spent her last days with Charles E. Lovejoy, dying at his home in 1906.
Succeeding to the mercantile business established by his father in 1871, Charles E. Lovejoy conducted it successfully until January, 1910, confining his trade strictly to the sale of groceries and crockery. His son, W. Scott Lovejoy, then assumed charge of the store, which he is managing with characteristic ability, having a large and lucrative pat- ronage. This is one of the longest-established industries of Milford, only one firm having been in business a longer period of time. Mr. Lovejoy is a director of the First State Bank of Milford, and still owns the parental farm of one hundred and forty-four acres, on which he keeps up the repairs and adds improvements, it being one of the most attractive and valuable estates in the locality.
A leading member of the Democratic party, Mr. Lovejoy was first made justice of the peace when Judge Smith was elected prosecuting attorney of Oakland county, and, with the exception of two years, has held the position ever since. He was a member of the Village Council twenty-six years; president of the village three terms; and is now presi- dent of the Milford Board of Education, of which he has been for nine years the president.
Fraternally Mr. Lovejoy is a member of Milford Lodge, No. 160, Ancient Free and Acepted Order of Masons, of which he has been secretary twenty years ; of Milford Chapter, No. 71, Royal Arch Masons ; of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; of the Royal Arcanum; and of the Independent Order of Foresters.
Mr. Lovejoy married, in 1873, Mary J. Greig, a daughter of William Greig, a carpenter and contractor, now living retired in Milford. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lovejoy, namely: Arthur, who was for some time in business with his father, died at the age of twenty-seven years; W. Scott, who has succeeded to the business for- merly carried on by his father and grandfather; Mathew, living in Mil- ford; Earl, who was graduated from the University of Michigan, was admitted to the bar in Oakland county, and is now engaged in the prac- tice of law at Detroit; Bessie, living with her parents; Beulah, who was graduated in music at the University of Michigan, is now teaching music and drawing at Hartford, Michigan; and Ruth, attending the Milford High School.
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DENNIS BOYLE, a leading citizen of Milford Village; a dealer in farm produce, seeds and coal, and a farmer of means, is a native of Michigan and a son of Irish parentage.
His father, Tobias Boyle, was born in Ireland and in 1848 came to the United States. He was then a vigorous young man of about twenty- one years of age and he immediately turned his energies to account by working at day labor. After a few years he married Miss Hannah Callen, whose mother was a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and whose father had come to Michigan at an early period, taking up government land. At the time of the marriage of Tobias Boyle and Hannah Callen, the former bought one hundred acres from his father-in-law, later adding to it another tract of forty acres. To the Callen-Boyle marriage seven children were born. The oldest of these was Martin Boyle, who as a young man went to Chicago to engage in the produce business, but later was obliged by failing health to retire; he died in 1888. The second son was Dennis Boyle, who is the special subject of the present article. His sister, Johannah Boyle, died at the age of twenty-five. John lived to the age of thirty-one. Ellen became Mrs. Earl Van Lewen and resides in Milford. William passed to the spirit life at the age of thirty-one. Mary is now Mrs. Dashiel, a resident of Chicago, Illinois.
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