USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 27
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Carl S. Voorheis, after receiving a common school education, was married on June 29, 1897, to Millie Teeples, the adopted daughter of James and Emily Teeples, of White Lake township. The two children of their marriage, Clare G. and Helen M., are still in school. Mr. Voor- heis votes the Republican ticket, although politics has never been one of his most vital interests. The whole family attends the Presbyterian church of which Mr. Voorheis has been an elder for several years and he was elected a commissioner from the Detroit Presbytery to the Gen- eral Assembly of the Presbyterian church which met at Atlantic City, New Jersey, on May 18, 1911. He owns two hundred and thirty acres of land in sections eight and nine of White Lake township.
The name Voorheis is an inheritance from Dutch ancestors.
BURDICK J. FULLER. Beginning life for himself as a soldier during the Civil war in the Union army, which he entered when he was less than twenty years old; suffering wounds and captivity as well as all the hardships and privations of military service in a state of conflict; facing danger on many a bloody battle field during the strife; and after it was all over, returning to the pursuits of peaceful industry, in which he was engaged for many years, Burdick J. Fuller, of Pontiac, in his long, varied and useful career has fully demonstrated the worth and high character of his manhood and the loyalty and progressiveness of his citizenship.
Mr. Fuller is a native of North White Creek township, Washington county, New York, where his life began on December 28, 1842. His parents, Daniel N. and Charlotte D. ( Moore) Fuller, were also natives of New York state, the father a descendant of old Connecticut families, and his father born in that state. The maternal grandfather was born in Ireland and came to this country at an early age. Daniel N. Fuller the father of Burdick J., was a farmer. He came to Michigan in 1869 and located in Avon township, Oakland county, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of good land and thereon conducted general farming operations and stock-raising until his death, which occurred on
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July 8, 1887. The mother died on May 12, 1894. They had three chil- dren, Jane, Burdick J. and Freeman A. Jane is the widow of the late Andrew Kenyon, and lives in Detroit, and Freeman A. is deceased.
Burdick J. Fuller remained at home with his parents until August 8, 1862, when he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Twenty- third New York Volunteer Infantry, in which he served three years. After taking part in a number of skirmishes and minor engagements he was taken prisoner, but made his escape. He was wounded, however, at the battle of Dallas, Georgia, but the wound did not incapacitate him for the service for any considerable length of time. He took part in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and afterward marched under General Hooker from Nashville to Atlanta, where he participated in all the engagements around that city. He was discharged from the army on June 8, 1865, near Washington, D. C., and then returned to his former home in New York and became a farmer. Taking advan- tage of the soldiers' land grant act, he entered one hundred and sixty acres of farming land in Crawford county, this state, and afterward bought forty acres more. He lived on this land two years, then sold it and came back to Oakland county, where he first bought fifty-seven acres in Avon township, and later purchased the old homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, and within the same year sold the tract of fifty-seven acres which he had previously bought.
From that time until 1903 Mr. Fuller lived on and cultivated the home place, farming it successfully and profitably, keeping its improve- ments up to a high standard, and carrying on all the time a flourishing business in raising and feeding live stock for the markets. In the year last named he bought the residence in which he now lives in Pontiac at No. 63 Matthews street, and moved into it, having decided to retire from arduous labor and pass the remainder of his days in some degree of leisure. He also owns a lot on Seneca street, but has sold all his farming property.
On February 28, 1866, Mr. Fuller was married to Miss Adelia Nalty, who was born in county Galway, Ireland, a daughter of Michael and Jane Nalty, and was brought to the United States in her infancy by her parents. They never became residents of Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller became the parents of two children : Charles F., who is now a commission merchant in Detroit, and Frederick B., who was born on August 27, 1868, and died on June 22, 1908. Charles F. Fuller married Miss Ellen Louise Thompson. They have no children of their own, but have an adopted daughter, whom they took into their house- hold when she was six years old, and who is now fifteen. The elder Mr. Fuller, Burdick J., is a Republican in his political allegiance, but, while he is zealous and effective in the service of his party, he has never sought or desired a political office of any kind, although he served as deputy clerk for four years. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic in fraternal relations, and in religious affiliation is a Bap- tist. The sect he favors may not improperly be said to be his family church. One of his mother's brothers was a Baptist clergyman and did ministerial work throughout Wisconsin and Michigan in his days of activity in the church. Mr. Fuller is a good man and an excellent citizen, and is universally respected by the people of all classes. His wife died on November 11, 19II.
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WILLARD M. BROWN, who is now past sixty-two is the youngest rep- resentative of one of the largest families in Oakland county, there being eleven brothers and sisters in his old home. Mr. Brown resides in Pontiac and is regarded as one of its leading citizens. He is a native of Oakland county, born March 23, 1850, a son of James F. and Sally Ann (Swaze) Brown. They were both from New Jersey, and were among the pioneers of Michigan, locating in the state in 1832, their home being thenceforward in Oakland county. The senior Mr. Brown farmed all his life. Their eleven children were as follows: Alphis, who now resides in Greenville, Michigan; James F. and George, who are deceased ; Sarah, widow of Charles Kent, of Nebraska; two babes who died in infancy; Catherine, widow of Seymour Close, of Orion; Harnett, de- ceased; Alexander, of Six Lakes, Michigan; John W. K., of Independ- ence township, and Willard M., of Pontiac.
Willard M. Brown remained at home until twenty-three years of age, then bought one hundred acres in section thirty-one of Oakland township, which he has splendidly improved in every way. Here he raises a varied succession of crops and breeds stock of exceptionally good strains.
Christmas Day, 1872, Mr. Brown was married to Jennie Gingell, a daughter of James and Eliza (Walt) Gingell. They came from Eng- land direct to Oakland county, many years ago, and engaged in farming, both being now deceased. Six children blessed their home: Elizabeth, deceased; Elizabeth, wife of Frank Porritt, of Orion township; James, who also lives in Orion; Robert, deceased; Jennie, wife of Mr. Brown; and an infant who died. After the death of her husband Mrs. Gingell married again, her second husband being Job Hadrill. By that union she had one child, Martha, who is making her home with Mr. Brown. Mr. and Mrs. Brown had three children, two of whom are living. The youngest, Bert W., who was born August 6, 1888, was killed in a rail- road accident on December 21, 1906. Lena May, the first born, became the wife of Arthur W. Spencer, of Oakland township, and they have two children: Myrtle Grace, born March 21, 1906, and Leah May, born April 23, 1908. The third child in the Brown family is Cora V., wife of Lewis Carleton, of Orion.
Fraternally Mr. Brown affiliates with the Maccabees and the Glean- ers, and in his religious belief he is a consistant member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a Republican and has held several township offices. His pretty home place is situated on Rural Route No. I out of Pontiac.
GEORGE FENWICK BRONDIGE. The city of Pontiac has no firmer admirer or supporter than one of its native born residents, George F. Brondige, a man whose activities are of a constructive order which add to and develop a community. Both in his public and private life Mr. Brondige has been known as a citizen who might always be depended upon to support and cooperate in any movement which promised well for his home town. Mr. Brondige served a number of years in the office of register of deeds, since which time he has given his attention to a well developed insurance, real estate and abstract business.
Mr. Brondige was born in Springfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, on October 15, 1855, a. son of Eli and Margaret A. (Fen- wick) Brondige. His paternal ancestors were of Holland origin. Eli Vol. II-13
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Brondige, his father, was born in or near to Lockport, New York, on February 2, 1828, and died June 21, 1895. When three years of age Eli Brondige's mother died and he was taken to the home of an uncle, Eli H. Day, whom he accompanied to Michigan in 1838. Reaching man's estate, he engaged in farming, and in 1854 he settled on the farm in sections 5 and 8, Springfield township, there residing until death claimed him. He married, on July 4, 1850, Margaret A. Fenwick, of Rose township, who was born July 8, 1831, in the village of Clyde, and who came to Michigan in her childhood days from the Empire state. Her parents were natives of England, who located first in Se- neca county, New York, coming to Michigan in 1836. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brondige : Eugene E., born May 1, 1852, of Pontiac, married Alice Foster, a sister of Mrs. George F. Brondige, and she died on December 12, 1908; George F .; Mary E., the wife of Rev. Eugene Yager, of Midland, Michigan; and John E., an attorney in Pontiac. The mother died on January 5, 1912, having survived her husband for almost twenty years.
George Fenwick Brondige received a fair education, passing through the schools of Oakland county and later completing a thorough course in business training in the Detroit Business College. When he was eighteen years old he taught school, that being his first independent work, and he continued thus engaged for a number of years. He then became interested in the operations of a party of Detroit financiers, and took employment with them as their traveling representative, purchas- ing lands in western Iowa and other sections, returning to Michigan in 1881. The following spring he engaged in farming, following the pur- chase of a farm of eighty-five acres in Rose township, about three miles east of Holly village, to which he later added forty acres from the John Fenwick farm in section 36, Holly township. Mr. Brondige during the years that he devoted to farming proved himself as thorough in that line of industry as he had in previous matters, building up a reputation for the most progressive of methods and winning splendid success in the breeding of thoroughbred livestock. He continued his farming operations until 1903, in which year he moved his family to Holly and accepted a position with a mercantile firm in Detroit, in which he continued for a number of years. In 1897 he removed to the city of Pontiac, that year marking the beginning of his connection with the public affairs of Oakland county.
In January, 1899, Mr. Brondige accepted a position as deputy regis- ter of deeds under Albert G. Griggs, and while thus occupied he showed himself to be a capable and progressive man in the matter of handling the affairs of the office, and so excellent was the showing he made in that capacity that he was elected to fill the office in the fall of 1902, assuming the duties of the position on January 2, 1903. Among other things which marked his service in that office was the inauguration of a new system of record keeping, which proved highly successful, as well as making suggestions of a valuable nature that extended to other departments of the public work. Following the close of his service as register of deeds, Mr. Brondige turned his attention to matters of another nature, and became identified with the insurance and real estate business, also dealing in abstracts of title. He is now conducting one of the most thriving offices in this section of the country, and is con- stantly increasing his operations in the field. He is also secretary of the
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Columbia Casualty Company, is secretary and treasurer of the Pontiac Land and Home Building Company and trustee of the Long Lake Land Company.
On October 5, 1881, Mr. Brondige was married to Miss Letitia Fos- ter, who was born June 19, 1859, the daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Parker) Foster. Her mother died on November 20, 1910, at the age of almost ninety-two years. She was the descendant of a distinguished fam- ily, and the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Yeomans) Parker, na- tives of England. Records exist today showing that the first William Parker was a general under Alfred the Great, and that he was rewarded for bravery in action by the gift of Alfred's sister, and a valuable estate, known as Warwich estate. Sarah (Parker) Foster was born in Lei- cestershire, England, on January 15, 1819, and her husband was born in county Kent, England, on April 17, 1820; he died June 12, 1878. He came to America in 1828 and settled in Oneida county, New York, removing in 1836 to Michigan. It was in 1845 that he married Sarah Parker. They were the parents of seven children: Samuel, born Sep- tember 20, 1847, and for the past twenty years a resident of Chicago, engaged in the insurance and real estate business, died July 8, 1912; Sarah A., the wife of Nolton Bigelow, of Cass City, Michigan; Charles T., of Rose, Michigan; Alice, who is deceased; Horatio, of Midland, Michigan; Letitia, the wife of George F. Brondige, of this review; and a seventh child who died in infancy. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brondige: Mabel Letitia, is employed in the register of deeds office, Georgina Margaret is assistant in her father's office, and twin daughters, Gladys Foster and Glennie Fenwick.
Mr. Brondige maintains various fraternal affiliations, being a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias, Maccabees and Modern Woodmen. He is a Republican, like his father before him, and is an attendant of the Baptist church with his family.
BERT A. ODELL has kept to his original occupation of engineer and electrician throughout his life, but he has worked for many different companies and in several towns. Always alert to seize every oppor- tunity that presented itself, and ready to take a chance, he has thus been able to climb steadily in his profession. An alert, capable man, who can originate ideas as well as carry them out, he has been eagerly sought after by many firms in his business.
Mr. Odell was born on a prairie farm in Carr county, Missouri, January 13, 1871, a son of John and Mary Odell. His father was born in Michigan, and in 1861 enlisted in Company D, Third Michigan, and served in the army for over four years. When his discharge came he returned to Michigan and was married to Mary Manypeny. At first they made their home in Missouri, but nine years later decided that their home state was better, and came back to Michigan. Bert A. received his education at South Lyon and worked at various odd jobs until in 1887 he started in as an engineer in the Case Feed Mill of South Lyon. After four years there, and three years with the Lamson Town Bending Works as assistant engineer he took full charge in 1895 of the engine room. In 1899 he went to Pontiac as machinist for O. J. Brandetts & Company. During his three years' work there he took up the study of electricity, continuing it after he went to Kalamazoo to engage in carpenter work. His next position was with the Sturges
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Sanitary Works, of Sturgis, Michigan, where he had charge of the finishing room. He then returned to South Lyon and opened a bicycle repair shop. The village soon afterward engaged him to look after their interests in the matter of electric lighting. At that time the vil- lage was getting its power from James Blackwood, but later they purchased his plant and put Mr. Odell in full charge of it, a position which he still holds.
In 1901 Mr. Odell and Jenny Neidy, daughter of John and Mary Neidy of Sturges, Michigan, were married, and they have had one child, Harry, born November 21, 1906. Mrs. Odell was born in Kalamazoo, and her father was a comb maker. Mr. Odell is a member of the Wood- men and of the Maccabees, and with his family attends the Presby- terian church. He is independent in politics.
JUDGE JOSEPH C. POWELL. Success is in its mundane sense usually measured according to two well-established standards, the attainment of wealth or the attainment of high esteem among ones fellowmen. Happy is he in these days who achieves to the pinnacle of either laudable am- bition, but doubly blessed is the one whose declining years are not only crowned with affluence, but warmed with the friendship of those who surround him. Such was the fortune of Joseph C. Powell, a late resi- dent of Pontiac, Michigan, who was born at Fishkill, New York, on January 22, 1823, and who passed from this life at Pontiac, March 9, 1901.
William H. and Hettie (Vought) Powell, both natives of New York state, were the immediate ancestors of our subject. The senior Powell was a hotel man, who came to Michigan in the early '30s, locating in Oxford, where he conducted until the time of his death a hostelry that was noted for its hospitality and general air of attractiveness. There were five children in his family, the eldest being the subject of this sketch. The others were; Thomas, who followed farming; Samuel, who became a prominent railroad men in Chicago; Francis and George. All of these are now deceased and all repose in Oxford, being brought back from the varied scenes of their activity to be laid to rest in the old home town.
Joseph with more than the ordinary feeling of filial duty, remained with his father until the latter's demise, then took up farming, hav- ing long esteemed agriculture as the fundamental and foremost occu- pation of man. In 1874 he came to Pontiac and was elected judge of probate, which highly responsible office he held for two terrms, ad- ministering with the greatest care the important duties, which included careful overseeing of estates and the safeguarding the welfare of the widow and the orphan.
The judge evidenced in a practical way his faith in the soil, and in- vested extensively in lands. His estate was valued at about $100,000 at the time of his death. He had a fine home in Pontiac, which is now occupied by his widow, who is esteemed and looked up to as one of the senior residents of the community. In addition to the judgeship several minor township offices were held by Mr. Powell during earlier years. He was a stalwart Republican, and in his religious affiliation belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church.
The marriage of Joseph C. Powell and Sybil Maria Toms occurred on October 13, 1854. She was born October 27, 1824, a daughter of
J. G. Powell
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Alvin and Minerva (Phelps) Toms, both natives of New York. The father died December 21, 1867, and the mother January 18, 1885. Their marriage occurred on June 20, 1813. Seven children formed the home circle of Mr. and Mrs. Toms: Olive, Joel P., Robert (who died in infancy), Sarah Amanda and Robert P., all of whom are deceased; Sybil Maria, widow of Joseph C. Powell, and Justice Webster, of Pon- tiac.
From a former marriage of Judge Joseph C. Powell to Mary Hovey, there were two sons: George W., deceased, and Horatio W. who lived to be over forty years of age. His was a successful career and he left a large estate. He was a prominent member of the Methodist Epis- copal church.
Of the William H. Powell family there was one son, Francis, the fourth child, who dedicated his sword to his country's cause and at- tained to an undying name in the Civil war. Francis was born at Peekskill, New York, October 2, 1833, and died October 15, 1868. He enlisted with the Seventh Michigan Infantry on August 6, 1861, as- sisting in raising his company, and was appointed an orderly sergeant. The company was afterwards recalled and merged with the Fourteenth Regiment. On November 18, 1861, Mr. Powell was promoted to Cap- tain. He raised Company I, which was mustered into service at Ypsil- anti on February 15, 1862, under his command. After being detailed to command a company of independent scouts he was raised to the rank of colonel.
Near Stone River on Decembrr 11, 1862, he was taken prisoner, and he claimed that it was the famous John Morgan himself who per- sonally captured him. He was incarcerated in the celebrated Libby prison, and remained a prisoner until May 5, 1863. On being released he returned to the service. He was with Sherman on the march to the sea, and was mustered out February 28, 1865, at the expiration of the truce at Sisters Island.
Returning to Michigan, Mr. Powell went into the mercantile busi- ness at La Crosse, Wisconsin, within a short time. He married Harriet Amelia Toms on February 27, 1867. She was a daughter of Joel Phelps and Harriet Newell (Sprague) Toms, the latter a daughter of Silas Sprague, who came to Michigan in 1824. Both these forebears were from New York . Their issue consisted of four children: Edward Henley, who died from exposure in the army ; Harriet Amelia, who mar- ried Francis Powell; Ella Jane, deceased; and Frank Phelps, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Powell had one son, Frank, who is a civil engineer at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father was a Republican and a Knight Templar Mason.
JOSEPH P. DAVIS. This gentleman, one of the most popular and influential citizens of South Lyon, Michigan, where he acts in the ca- pacity of salesman for William C. Moore & Company and caretaker of the Union Trust Company's cemetery lot, and where he has been identified with various movements of a progressive nature, was born in Salem township, Michigan, April 2, 1872, a son of John J. and Adella (Parks) Davis, natives of New York state, whence Mr. Davis' paternal grandparents came from Wales.
At an early day the family was founded in Michigan, their pioneer home in Ionia county being one of the first in the wilds of northern
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Michigan, and Mr. Davis' grandfather often walked as far as Detroit to secure carpenter work. His mother became a great favorite with the Indians of the section and learned to speak their language fluently. The education of Joseph P. Davis was secured in the district school at Base Line, and subsequently he became a student at South Lyon. During his boyhood days he remained on the home farm, but his mind turned more to work of a mechanical nature, and as a youth he built, with Dr. J. H. Bennett and W. H. Corbin, the first telegraph line in Salem township, a private line made of binding wire, with door knobs as insu- lators, and stretching over a mile in length, including three farms. Their instruments were gifts, and the first message sent over the line was a checker match between Asher Bennett and Grant Ovenshire. Later the family moved to Salem for one year while a home was being erected in South Lyon, and after working for one year in the South Lyon Milling Company, Joseph P. Davis learned the stone and brick laying trade and then went into the lumber yard as a sorter. Subse- quently he became a section hand on the Grand Trunk Railroad, in the employ of which company he remained for twenty-four years, seven- teen years of which time were spent as section foreman. During five years he was at Walled Lake, and two years at Pontiac as yard switch- man, while the remainder of the time he was at the South Lyon section. On leaving the service of the railroad company he formed a partner- ship with his brother in the undertaking business at South Lyon, but sold his interest to become a salesman of nursery. stock for William C. Moore & Company, in addition to which he acts in the capacity of caretaker for the Union Trust Company cemetery lot at this place. Ever since boyhood, when as a lad of seven years he drove a large team behind that of his father throughout one whole winter, hauling cord wood to Ann Arbor, and thereby causing much wondering comment among the neighbors, Mr. Davis has been of an exceedingly industrious nature. Progressive movements have always found in him a stanch supporter, and he presented the first petition for a rural free delivery from South Lyon, had the honor of working out the first rural route from this point, and now acts as a sub-carrier. He is a member of Sea Breeze Home, of New York city, where he established a free bed, is a member of the Masons, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen, belongs also to the Lincoln Club of Pontiac, and was connected with the first fire department in South Lyon. In his political views he is a Republican, but a good citi- zen's interest is all that he has taken in matters of a public nature. Like other members of his family, he belongs to the Presbyterian church.
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