USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 17
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Elmore and Aaron Higby attended the common schools of West Bloomfield township until eighteen years of age, after which they studied for two years in Adrian, Michigan, receiving a practical business edu- cation. Returning then to the home farm, Elmore Higby assisted his father in its management until about 1878. Since then he and his brother have lived together in West Bloomfield township, and have car- ried on general farming most successfully, having eighty acres of well improved land in section 30, Bloomfield township, and one hundred and twenty acres in section 25, West Bloomfield township.
Elmore Higby married, February 1, 1876, Sarah A. Pickering, a daughter of Cooper Pickering, of Southfield township. She died Feb- ruary 23, 1911. Five children were born of their union, one of whom died in infancy; Matie, wife of Edward R. Haggerman, a farmer of Bloomfield township, living one-half mile east of Circle, has one child, Florence Haggerman; Ida, who died at the age of twenty-four years, was a very successful teacher for four years, having charge of schools in Bloomfield and West Bloomfield townships, and in Pontiac; Aurilla C., wife of Floyd Beardsley, of Pontiac; and Clarence, born twenty- three years ago, was educated at a business college in Pontiac, and is now ably assisting in the care of the home farm, being active, enterpris- ing and a hustler.
Politically Mr. Higby is identified with the Republican party, and is prominent in public affairs, having served several terms as assessor, and being now justice of the peace, an office which he has held for a longer time than any other one man. He is an efficient and active worker in the Franklin Methodist Protestant church, with which he united forty-five years ago, and of which his wife was also a valued member.
HERBERT J. BROUGHTON. The active and prosperous agriculturists of Oakland county have no more worthy representative than Herbert J. Broughton, who owns and occupies a finely improved farm in Bloom- field township, of which he is now the supervisor. A son of Daniel Broughton, he was born September 9, 1867, in Southfield township, Oakland county, of English ancestry.
Born and brought up in England, Daniel Broughton immigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-three years, and came directly to Michigan, locating in Oakland county. A carriage maker by trade, he followed his occupation in Clarkston, first as a journeyman and later being in business for himself, remaining there about eight years. Moving then to Franklin, he was there engaged in the manufacture of wagons, carriages, surreys and vehicles of all descriptions for twenty- seven years, building up an extensive trade and shipping the productions
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of his factory to many parts of the state. Moving then to Bloomfield township, he lived on the farm now ocupied by his son Herbert until his death, which occurred May 16, 1904, at the age of sixty-eight years. He married Susan Bailey, also a native of England, and of their two children Herbert J. is the only one living, Edward having died at the age of twenty-one years.
Acquiring his rudimentary education in the district schools, Her- bert J. Broughton completed his early studies in the Birmingham high school, after which he came with his parents to the farm which he now owns. It contains one hundred and ninety acres of rich and productive land, and in its management he is meeting with signal success, carrying on general farming with excellent results. He has acquired consider- able property, and is numbered among the stockholders of the First State Savings Bank of Birmingham.
Mr. Broughton is a Republican in politics, and in addition to hav- ing served eight years as justice of the peace has been supervisor of Bloomfield township for the past four years. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons and of the Knights of the Maccabees. He and his wife united with the Metho- dist church at Franklin, and are among its most valued members.
Mr. Broughton married, January 19, 1886, Elizabeth Pickering, a daughter of Joseph Pickering, a well-known farmer and drover of Southfield township, and to them two children have been born, namely : Turner V. and Tracy V. Turner V., a graduate of the Birmingham high school, is now taking a course of four years at the Michigan Agri- cultural College in Lansing. He possesses marked musical talent, and is a member of the college band. Tracy V., who is also a musician, is a stu- dent at the Pontiac Business College.
SAMUEL G. FORMAN. One of the foremost agriculturists of Bloom- field township, Samuel G. Forman holds a position of note among the extensive landholders and fruit growers of Oakland county, as a gen- eral farmer being exceedingly prosperous. He is a native and to the "manner born," his birth having occurred on the farm where he now lives, September 15, 1858. His parents, William and Harriet (Thomp- son) Forman, were both born in Lincolnshire, England, his birth oc- curring July 6, 1819, and hers, August 3, 1821. They were married in May, 1841, and fourteen years later, in 1854, started with their six children for the United States. While they were crossing the At- lantic cholera broke out on shipboard, and many of the passengers, in- cluding four of their little children, died of the dread disease and were buried at sea. After reaching the American shore he proceeded with his wife and two children to the home of his sister in Iowa. Two years later he came to Oakland county, Michigan, and after spending one day in Royal Oak township settled in Bloomfield township, renting the farm on which Bob Allen now lives. The ensuing fall he purchased the homestead property now owned and occupied by his son Samuel, and there both he and his wife spent their remaining days, her death occurring in 1898 and his in 1905. Of their twelve children four are now living, as follows: Minnie, wife of Robert Allen, of Bloomfield; Samuel G .; Lottie, wife of George Pickering; and Sarah, wife of Frank Crawford, of West Bloomfield township.
Acquiring a practical education in the district schools, Samuel G.
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Forman was early initiated into the labors incidental to farm life, and throughout his active career has been engaged in agricultural pur- suits on the parental homestead. He has added to the original size of his farm, and now has title to three hundred acres of productive land, it being located in sections 19, 20, 29 and 30, Bloomfield township. En- terprising and progressive, Mr. Forman devotes his time to general farming, making a specialty of raising fruit, a branch of industry which he finds profitable.
Mr. Forman invariably supports the principles of the Democratic party by voice and vote. He has served in the various school offices of his township, and was one of the highway commissioners when the first stone road was built in Oakland county. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of Lodge, No. 44, Free and Accepted Order of Masons, at Birming- ham, and of Birmingham Chapter, No. 93, Royal Arch Masons.
On August 31, 1881, Mr. Forman was united in marriage with Jen- nie Pickering, who was born August 15, 1859, in Southfield township, Oakland county, Michigan. Her parents, Cooper and Elizabeth (Turner) Pickering, natives of Lincolnshire, England, were reared and married there, their union being solemnized in 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Picker- ing were the parents of six children, as follows: Joseph, who died in 1895; Sarah, who died in 1911; George Pickering, of Bloomfield; Jen- nie, wife of Mr. Forman; Ida, who died in 1871; and Viola, who died in 1902. Mrs. Pickering passed to the life beyond in 1888, and Mr. Pickering died in 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Forman have three children, namely : William C .; born November 3, 1886, lives on his father's farm in Bloomfield township, and he and his wife, whose maiden name was Adeline Beattie, have one son, Gaylord L .; Bertram G., born Decem- ber II, 1888, lives with his parents; and Leland T., born June 30, 1895.
HENRY C. BEARDSLEE. A highly intelligent and prosperous farmer of Bloomfield township, Henry C. Beardslee is distinguished not only for the honored ancestry from which he is descended, but as a native- born citizen of Oakland county, his birth having occurred August 28, 1846, in Independence township, just north of Pontiac. His father, John W. Beardslee, was born in New Jersey, which was likewise the birthplace of his parents. In 1825, soon after his marriage, he came to the wilds of Michigan with his young wife, stopping first at Detroit. Starting from there with ox teams, he journeyed slowly to Pontiac, spending one night in Royal Oak township and one at Hadsell's farm. He immediately entered from the government one hundred and sixty acres of land in Independence township, at the same time becoming owner of forty acres in Shawneetown. Erecting a small shanty, ten by twelve feet, in the midst of the dense wilderness, he occupied it for one winter. He had no neighbors excepting the Indians, who were plentiful and oftentimes quite annoying to the newcomers. He labored heroically in his efforts to eliminate a farm from the wilderness, be- ing ably assisted in all of his work by by energetic wife, who built, it is said, the first hay stack in Independence township. He continued on his farm until long past the allotted three score and ten years of man's life, removing to Pontiac about three months before his death, which occurred in 1883, at the age of eighty-four years.
The maiden name of the wife of John W. Beardslee was Elizabeth Carpenter. She was born in Orange county, New York, about 1810,
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and died in Oakland county, Michigan, in 1892. They were the parents of seven children, of whom Henry C., the subject of this sketch, and his brother, Robert Beardslee, of Pontiac, are the only survivors. Three of the sons, Townsend C., Noah C. and Robert, served as soldiers in the Civil war. Townsend C. Beardslee, who was the first white child born in Independence township, enlisted for service just after the break- ing out of the war, being commissioned captain of Company D, Twenty- second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and died while in service, at Nash- ville, Tennessee, of typhoid fever. Noah C. served in the Fourteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry from the time of his enlistment, in 1864, until the close of the war. Robert served during the last five months of the conflict in the Fifth Michigan Cavalry, leaving college to enlist, and is now a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Pontiac.
Brought up and educated in Independence township, Henry C. Beardslee began farming for himself in that township, living there a few years after his marriage. In 1879 he moved to Bloomfield town- ship, and having purchased eighty-eight acres of land in section 9 has since been actively and successfully engaged in general farming, making a specialty of dairying, a branch of industry which he finds pleasant and profitable, his Jersey cows, fifteen of the herd which he is now milking, yielding him large quantities of milk of a superior quality. He keeps thoroughbred cattle and hogs, raising considerable stock.
Mr. Beardslee married, June 1, 1876, Harriet Lonsberry, who was born in Independence township, Oakland county. Her father, Daniel Lonsberry, was born and reared in New York state. As a young man he made his way across the country to Oakland county, Michigan, in search of cheap land. Taking up land in Independence township, he re- claimed a homestead from the dense wilderness, and on the farm which he improved spent the remainder of his days, passing away in 1872. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Hander, came from her native state, New Jersey, to Michigan with her parents when but six years old, and died on the home farm in 1893.
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Beardslee, namely : Elizabeth, who died in childhood; Cora, living with her parents; El- mer, residing north of Pontiac, a successful agriculturist; Floyd, a farmer, married Aurilla Higby, daughter of Elmer Higby, a dairyman and farmer in Bloomfield township; and Cassius, attending the Pon- tiac high school, is a very clever student. Mr. Beardslee is a Repub- lican in politics, but not an office seeker.
JAMES H. ROCKWELL. Distinguished not only for the honored pi- oneer stock from which he is descended, but as one of the practical and prosperous agriculturists of Oakland county James H. Rockwell, of Bloomfield township, is eminently deserving of special mention in this biographical work. A son of James M. Rockwell, he was born in Bloomfield township, April 16, 1845, the descendant of one of the very early settlers of this part of the state. His paternal grandfather, John Rockwell, was born and reared in Connecticut, coming from colonial stock. He spent a part of his early life in Monroe county, New York, coming from there in 1827 to Oakland county, and while looking about for a favorable location boarded for one season in West Bloomfield township, his son, James M., accompanying him. He then lived for awhile in Bloomfield township, on what is now the Arts farm, being
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there joined by his wife and his remaining children. He subsequently bought a farm near Pontiac, becoming owner of what is now the Wil- liam Williamson estate, and there he and his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Leet, spent the remainder of their days.
One of a family of ten children, James M. Rockwell was born at Lima, Monroe county, New York, in 1809. He came with his father to West Bloomfield township, Michigan, in 1827, and subsequently re- mained with his parents until his marriage, when he moved to the farm now owned and occupied by William Williamson. He was for many years a government contractor for public highways, and in that ca- pacity built many roads, then called turnpikes, among others having been the Fort Gratiot and the Grand River roads. He was active in local affairs, and served as captain of a military company during the contention between the states of Ohio and Michigan.
James M. Rockwell was twice married. He married first Eliza E. Haff, who was born in Rensselaer county, New York, a daughter of Jacob and Susan (Newton) Haff, who came to Michigan with their parents when young and were here married. She died in 1848, when their only child, James H. Rockwell, was but three years of age. He married for his second wife Zada A. Adams, a daughter of Hiol and Mary (Newton) Adams, of Rensselaer county, New York, and to them four children were born, as follows: Zada M., wife of Walter Fosdick, of Bloomfield township; Sarah E., wife of R. A. Henney; Al- fred A., deceased; and Charles L., a farmer, living near Pontiac.
After the death of his father James H. Rockwell continued the management of the parental acres for ten years, and then assumed pos- session of the farm where he now lives, on section 9, Bloomfield town- ship. He owns one hundred and thirty-five acres of good land, his farm in its improvements and equipments ranking among the best in the neighborhood.
A Republican in his political affiliations, Mr. Rockwell has served as justice of the peace for upwards of a quarter of a century. Frater- nally he belongs to Pontiac Lodge, No. 47, Knights of the Maccabees, at Pontiac. Religiously both he and his wife are members of the Bap- tist church at Pontiac.
Mr. Rockwell married first Emma E. Waterbury, daughter of John Deuell and Emma (Adams) Waterbury. She passed to the life beyond May 8, 1887, leaving one son, Hiol Deuell Rockwell, who was born January 15, 1879, and died January 31, 1899, while a law student at Ann Arbor. Mr. Rockwell married for his second wife Mary E. Water- bury Lamb.
CHARLES J. SHAIN. Active, industrious and enterprising, Charles J. Shain, who as a druggist and groceryman is intimately associated with the mercantile interests of Birmingham, is a fine representative of the native-born citizens of Bloomfield township, where his birth occurred July 3, 1882.
His father, James J. Shain, the son of a farmer, was born in Gen- esee county, Michigan, and while young became familiar with the va- rious branches of agriculture. Being left fatherless when eighteen years of age, he assumed the management of the parental acres, living with his widowed mother until his own marriage. After his marriage he lived for four years in Bloomfield township, and then removed to Birming-
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ham, establishing himself in the plumbing business, which he is still carrying on with profit. He married Fanny Pardee, and they reared but one child, Charles J.
Brought up and educated in Birmingham, Charles J. Shain was graduated from the high school, after which he was for three and one- half years employed in the drug and grocery store which he now owns and operates. Desirous then of further advancing his knowledge of drugs and their uses, he took a course of study in the Ferris Institute, at Big Rapids. Locating then in Pontiac, Michigan, Mr. Shain had charge of the South Side Pharmacy for three years, gaining while there both knowledge and experience. He returned from there to Birm- ingham, and a year later bought the drug and grocery business with which he has since been successfully identified, having gained the con- fidence and good will of the people and built up a remunerative trade in both drugs and groceries. He is known as a young man of financial ability, and is a director of the First National Bank of Birmingham.
Fraternally Mr. Shain is a member of Birmingham Lodge, No. 44, Free and Accepted Masons; of Birmingham Chapter, No. 93, Royal Arch Masons; of Pontiac Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar ; and of Birmingham Lodge, No. 149, Knights of Pythias.
JOHN L. CAMPBELL, M. D. Prominent among Oakland county's best known and most successful physicians and surgeons is John L. Campbell, M. D., of Birmingham, who for upwards of thirty years has been actively identified with one of the most important and useful professions to which a man may devote his time and energies. He was born in Oakwood, Michigan, May 20, 1857, and comes from a long line of honored Scotch ancestry, being a direct descendant in the sixth generation from the immigrant ancestor, Robert Campbell, Sr., his line- age being thus traced: Robert Campbell, Sr., Robert Campbell, Jr., Wil- liam Campbell, Roswell Campbell, Welcome Campbell and John L. Campbell.
Robert Campbell was born and reared in Argyleshire, Scotland, going from there to the north of Ireland in 1718. In 1719 he immigrated to America, settling in Voluntown, Connecticut, which was the home of his descendants for two hundred years. Robert Campbell, Jr., was a life-long resident of Voluntown. William Campbell, born in Connecti- cut in 1743, served for six days as a minute man during the Revolu- tionary war, and on December 16, 1773, was a member of the famous Boston Tea Party. He was later appointed sergeant of Company 3, Regiment 3, of the Colony of Connecticut. Subsequently moving to New York, he spent his last years in Utica, Oneida county, passing away in 1820. Born in Connecticut, in 1773, Roswell Campbell accom- panied the family to Oneida county, New York, in 1800, and in 1830 moved to Rochester, New York. He subsequently came to Oakland county, Michigan, and died in Oakwood, in 1843.
Welcome Campbell, born in the township of Paris, Oneida county, New York, July 20, 1810, came with three of his brothers to Oakland county Michigan, in pioneer days, settling in Oakwood. His father, stepmother and an older sister were dependent upon him for a living, and when he was well located he found that he had but five dollars in cash left of his scanty hoard. Immediately clearing five acres of the tim- bered land which he bought from the government, he raised enough
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vegetables to last the family through the long winter, which was spent in the log cabin he had built in the woods. He continued as a farmer until 1850, when he embarked in mercantile pursuits, opening a store in Oakwood, and also working some at his trade of a cooper. Suc- ceeding well, he also became owner of a store at Pontiac, it being located near the present site of Hotel Hodges. In 1859 he traded his stores and land for one hundred and sixty acres of land in Royal Oak town- ship, and in addition to clearing and improving a homestead bought other land, becoming owner of eight hundred acres, which were ul- timately divided among his children. He lived on his farm until his death, November II, 1888. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Jane Cheney, survived him more than twenty years, passing away Feb- ruary 19, 1911. They were the parents of ten children, of whom five are now living, as follows: Mary J., widow of John Felker, resides in Royal Oak township; Lurinda, wife of Joseph B. Grow, of the same township; David L., also of that place; Albert W., of Oakland county ; and John L., the special subject of this sketch.
Turning, as is natural to one of his mental caliber, toward a pro- fessional career, John L. Campbell began the study of medicine when young, in October, 1877, entering the medical department of the Univer- sity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated July 1, 1880, with the degree of M. D. Beginning his practice in Ohio, Dr. Camp- bell spent a year and a half at Wabash City, Mercer county. Returning to Michigan, he was located for a year and a half in Royal Oak town- ship and a year in Genesee county. In December, 1883, the doctor began the practice of his profession in Birmingham, where he has since built up a large and remunerative patronage, his professional skill and knowl- edge having gained him the confidence and esteem of the people for miles around. He has always been much interested in local affairs, in his political views being a liberal Republican. He was for twenty years pension examiner at Pontiac; for twenty-eight years he has been health officer in Birmingham; and for the past six years has been a member of the Board of Registration in Medicine for the state of Michigan.
Fraternally Dr. Campbell is a member of Birmingham Lodge, No. 44, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of Birmingham Chap- ter, No. 146, Royal Arch Masons; and has taken the thirty-second de- gree of Masonry and belongs to the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a member and was the first chancellor of Birm- ingham Lodge, of Knights of Pythias. The present Mrs. Campbell be- longs to the Pythian Sisters and to the Ladies of the Modern Macca- bees. She is a daughter of George McQuater, who was a native of Scotland and died in 1910.
Dr. Campbell married, November 25, 1880, Josephine V. Gully, who died May 1, 1897. She was a daughter of Alexander and Caroline Gully, who immigrated to the United States from France, where they were born, reared and married. Two children blessed their union, namely : Carrie Maud, wife of Dr. Hilty, who is associated with Dr. Campbell in the practice of medicine; and Lloyd G., who received the degree of M. D. at the University of Michigan with the class of 1908, and has since been second assistant surgeon in the Soldiers' National Home at Marion, Indiana.
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JOHN B. AUSTIN. Deprived of a father's care in his infancy, and thenceforth dependent wholly on his mother for support until he could do something for himself, the boyhood and youth of John B. Austin, chief of the Pontiac fire department, were passed under privations and difficulties, which, however, only stimulated him to greater exertions when he took up the battle for himself, which he did at an early age. His mother did the best she could for her two children, but her un- aided efforts were insufficient to make the kind and extent of provision she wished for them, and as soon as he was able the son began making his own way in the world.
He was born in Guelph, province of Ontario, Canada, on August 17, 1859, and is a son of Alexander and Violet ( Prentice) Austin, na- tives of Scotland. The father was a railroad engineer, and died, as has been noted, during the infancy of his son. The mother is now living in Pontiac. They had two children, their son John and their daughter Ellen, who is now the wife of Frank Gibbons, of Rochester, Michigan. Some time after the death of their father the mother married a sec- ond husband, uniting herself with John Mason, of Pontiac, who has been dead several years. By this union she became the mother of four additional children: William P., who resides in Rochester, Michigan ; Thomas P. and Margaret, who are residents of Pontiac; and Belle, who is the wife of S. Guelick and dwells in Detroit.
John B. Austin attended the public school kept for many years in the basement of the old Episcopal church in Pontiac, and after leaving it started to learn the trade of a brick mason, working at it several months. He then abandoned the trade and joined his uncle, John Pren- tice, in the dray and trucking business, with which he was actively con- nected for a period of ten years, during which, in September, 1881, he was made a member of the Pontiac fire department. In November, 1890, he entered the employ of the American Express Company, and with this company he was connected nineteen years, first as a driver, next as a clerk, then as a messenger, running on all railroads in Mich- igan and keeping up his activity in this department of the service until 1903. In that year he was appointed agent at the office of the com- pany in Pontiac, and continued to serve in that capacity until 1908. but through all this time he held on to his interest in the trucking busi- ness and gave it as much attention as he could.
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