USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 3
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Benjamin Gates' parents died, when he was an infant and he was reared by Mr. and Mrs. Busch as if he were their own son. He has made a specialty of horticulture and will no doubt follow this as an oc- cupation. He married Alma Fralick on December 21, 1911. She is a daughter of James and Nellie (Wing) Fralick, both of whom came from Canada and now reside in Rochester. Mr. Fralick is a paper hanger and decorator. He and his wife had but the one child. Mr. Gates is an Episcopalian. He votes the Republican ticket and has membership in the Foresters of America.
HARRY S. GARDNER, register of deeds in Oakland county, is one of the more popular and prominent men in Pontiac, as well as one of the busiest. He is a native son of Oakland county, born in Oxford, Oxford township, on February 26, 1875, and is a son of Harper and Lorena (Osmun) Gardner and grandson of Solomon Gardner.
Solomon Gardner, who was a native of New York state, came to . Michigan in 1850. in common with a great number of other New York- ers, and settled in Oakland county, Oxford township, where he became identified with the active farming interests of the community. His son, Harper Gardner, the father of Harry S. Gardner, of this review, was born in Oxford in 1851, and there he passed his life up to the age of fifty years, engaged in the same business to which his father had de- voted himself. He experienced a high degree of success in his farm- ing operations, and was known for one of the more prominent breed- ers of fine stock in Oakland county. His farming activities gained him a competence, and when he was about fifty years of age he retired from his farm and took up his residence in the village of Oxford, where he has since lived, and where he expects to spend the remainder of his days. His wife, Lorena Osmun, was born in Elba, Lapeer county, Michigan, on January 3, 1855, and was a daughter of Zebadiah Osmun. She died in Oxford township in 1894, when she was thirty- nine years of age, leaving one child, Harry S. Gardner.
The schools of Oxford township afforded to Mr. Gardner his early education, and sufficiently advanced him that while yet in his teens he began to teach in the district schools of his vicinity during the winter months, giving his summers to the farm work. In 1896 Mr. Gardner had so far advanced in the teaching profession that he went to Royal Oak as principal of the schools, and he remained in that position for something like ten years, during which time the status of the schools assumed a tone consistent with the advanced methods and splendid ef- forts of their principal. It was through the interest and enthusiasm which his labors in the village produced that Royal Oak became the possessor of the splendid school building which has for some years graced the town, erected at a cost of about $12,000. The merging of Mr. Gardner's interests in affairs political in Oakland county gave to that district a most valuable official, but robbed it of one of the most capable educators it has ever possessed, although he served for some Vol. II-2
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time as a member of the board of county school examiners, in which he gave excellent service to the county.
In 1895 Mr. Gardner was married to Miss Mabel Jones, a daughter of Edward and Jennie ( Walker) Jones. She was born in Waterford township, Oakland county, in 1868. They have one child, Ferris, who was born on October 3, 1902.
In addition to his duties as register of deeds, Mr. Gardner holds the office of secretary and treasurer of the Columbia Casualty Company of Pontiac. He is affiliated with various fraternal organizations, hold- ing membership in the Masons, the Independent Order of Foresters and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which latter so- ciety he is exalted ruler of the local lodge. Mrs. Gardner is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Royal Oak.
EDWARD BRAID. On Rural Route No. 2, leading out of Orion, Mich- igan, there are few country places as pretty and well laid out as "Sunny- side," the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Braid. The broad acres, care- fully tilled with a rotation of crops that insures their bountiful yields, and at the same time affords a guarantee against depreciation, are im- proved with all necessary buildings, fences, etc., so that the whole when viewed by the delighted eye of the observer seems to typify admirably the perfect country place.
Edward Braid, its fortunate owner, and whose thrift and wise man- agement have made possible its perfections, was born in Macomb on October 9, 1862, a son of John and Elizabeth (Leece) Braid, both of whom were natives of the Isle of Man. They came to Canada about 1855, and soon thereafter crossed into Michigan, where the senior Braid lived until about 1863, located pleasantly in Oakland township. At his death he was the owner of 220 acres in this township. There were six children in their family: Frances, wife of Oscar J. Snyder, of Addison township; Earl W., who is deceased; Edward; Eva, wife of George Lewis, of Addison township; Emma, wife of Harry Smith, and who re- sides in the same township; and John, of Oakland township. Eva and Emma are twins.
Until he was thirty-one years of age, Edward Braid remained with his father. Beginning for himself as a renter, he was soon enabled to purchase forty acres. Then he bought one hundred and then one hun- dred and forty, all in section 8 of Oakland township. He finds stock raising a profitable departure from the general farming that is carried on at "Sunny-side."
Miss Veda Laird and Mr. Braid were married December 28, 1892. She was a daughter of Alva and Mary (Cook) Laird, the former from Vermont and the latter a native of Michigan. Mrs. Laird is deceased, but her husband is still living, his home being in Orion. He was a farmer by occupation. The Laird family comprised four children: Veda, who married Edward Braid; Hattie, now deceased; Josephine, of Oxford; and Nettie, wife of C. L. Anderson, of Orion, Michigan. Four children are also the descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Braid, three still living. Donna, the second child, is deceased. The others are : Bird Earl, born April 30, 1885; Alva C., born April 8, 1898; and Rena M., born June 8, 1904.
Mr. Braid, who is a believer in democratic principles, has been hon- ored with office by his fellow citizens. He is now justice of the peace, and was a member of the school board for fifteen years. He belongs to the Methodist church.
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HON. THOMAS L. PATTERSON. One of the distinguished, yet unas- suming members of the Oakland county bar, Hon. Thomas L. Patterson is noted as one of the oldest and most successful attorneys of Holly, his position as a man and a lawyer eminently entitling him to representation in this biographical volume. A son of James Patterson, he was born March 22, 1836, at Clarkson, Monroe county, New York, coming from thrifty Scotch-Irish stock.
James Patterson was a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having oc- curred in Rock Bottom valley, York county, not far from Gettysburg. He was of Revolutionary ancestry, his father, James Patterson, Sr., hav- ing served, it is said, in the Revolutionary war. As a young man he learned the trade of a blacksmith, but after his marriage removed to Monroe county, New York, where he was for a time engaged in business as a lumber manufacturer and dealer. In 1836 he migrated to Michigan, which was then a territory, and in 1839 took up a homestead claim in Oakland county, one mile north and half a mile west of what is now Holly. In 1857 the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad was constructed, passing through much land which he owned, including the present site of the village of Holly, in which he immediately took up his residence. Becoming very active in public matters, he served in many offices of trust and responsibility. He was a member of the first state legislature that convened in Lansing, being one of the five chosen to represent Oakland county in that deliberative body, and for many years served as justice of the peace, an office which he was filling at the time of his death, which occurred in 1865, at the age of sixty-nine years.
The maiden name of the wife of James Patterson was Elizabeth Patton. She was born in Rock Bottom valley, York county, Pennsyl- vania, and died in Holly. Michigan, at the age of sixty-nine years. Nine children were born of their union, as follows: James C., a successful merchant, spent the closing days of his long life in Holly, Michigan, passing away in the ninety-first year of his age; Andrew J., a farmer, died in Romeo, Michigan, in 1908; Simeon B., who served in the Civil war as sergeant in Company C. Eighth Michigan Cavalry, and was after- wards engaged in agricultural pursuits, died in Holly, aged fifty-six years ; William F., also a farmer, died at Caro, Michigan, at the age of sixty-four years : Sarah S., who married William G. Sherwood, died in Rose township, Oakland county, Michigan, at the advanced age of eighty- nine years ; Eliza J., wife of Harrison Smith, died in Detroit, at the age of eighty-two years; Theresa, wife of Oscar Holmes, of Holly, passed away at the age of three score and ten years; Silvane, who married James W. Keath, died in middle life ; and Thomas L .; the subject of this sketch, and the only survivor of the parental household.
A lad of ten years when he joined his parents in Michigan, Thomas L. Patterson continued his early studies in the old slab school house, his first instructor having been David A. Elliott, who died in Greenville, Michigan, in 1910, at a venerable age. Returning to New York in 1851, he was graduated in 1855, from what was then the Brockport Collegiate Institute, but is now a normal school. He read law some time in New York, and after his return to Michigan was admitted, in 1863, to the bar. Prior to that time, however, he had taught one or more terms in the Patterson school building, which replaced the old slab school house of his earlier days, and also in the village of Holly. Mr. Patterson ap- plied himself diligently to his profession, and through his legal ability and knowledge has achieved a splendid success as a lawyer. In 1884 he was
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elected judge or probate for Oakland county, a position which he held for sixteen consecutive years, a period of great importance in the history of the county. Previous to his election as judge he had been engaged in the practice of law with the late James K. Patterson, who was prosecut- ing attorney from 1874 until 1879. During the Civil war Mr. Patterson raised the full quota of troops required from his township, while his father, who was then serving as supervisor, also assisted in raising troops in the county.
Although not a strong partisan, Mr. Patterson uniformly supports the principles of the Democratic party, and has filled various local offices most acceptably, for seventeen years having been supervisor. Frater- nally he belongs to the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, in which he has taken the Knights Templar degrees.
Mr. Patterson married, in 1865, Eunice A. Hadley, who was born in Rose township, Oakland county, Michigan, a daughter of John and Eunice Hadley. She passed to the life beyond, in Holly, August 5, 1902. Mr. Patterson married for his second wife, in 1904, Alice I. Allen, who was born in Holly, Michigan, a daughter of Ira Allen, who came to Oakland county in 1836, and a granddaughter of Jonathan T. Allen, a native of New Jersey, who migrated to Michigan in territorial days. Mr. Patterson has three sons, namely: John H., an attorney at Pontiac, William F. and Stuart D. William F. Patterson, the second child, who completed his early studies at the university of Michigan, which he attended two years, is now engaged in general farming and stock feeding on the old Patterson homestead. He married Florence Donovan, who was born in Holly, and they are the parents of three sons, Donovan, Sam and Stuart. Stuart Patterson, the youngest son, also engaged in agricultural pursuits, married Etta Addis, and they have two daughters, Gladys and Margaret.
JAMES W. HENDRYX and his wife, who are modestly well-to-do, ex- ponents of successful Michigan agriculture, hold a high place in the respect and good-will of their fellow-townsmen in Farmington and their wide acquaintance in its vicinity. The ancestral generations of Mr. Hendryx's family line run back to colonial days and are recorded as having been connected with the Revolutionary struggle for inde- pendence. His parents, William W. and Prudence (Adams) Hendryx, were residents of Steuben county, New York, where William Hendryx was a blacksmith. The birth of the subject of this sketch occurred on March 16, 1829. When he was six years of age his parents changed the location of their home, coming to Michigan, where they settled in Bedford center. There the father pursued his vocation and here he and his wife spent the rest of their lives. There too the son was edu- cated, receiving the advantages of the public schools until his ambi- tious young manhood led him to enter upon lucrative activity. The life- work which from his earliest thoughtful years had appealed to the in- terest of James Hendryx was the wholesome, honorable and depend- able vocation of farming. This work he began in the way that is for the beginner always the most practical. Engaging himself as a farm- assistant, he worked by the month on various farms in the locality, until he understood all the profitable features of farming as practiced in this part of Michigan. He was then ready to share his life with his chosen companion on property of which he should be master.
The lady referred to was then Miss Lovina Lee, a daughter of John
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and Martha Lee, both parents being natives of New Jersey, where their marriage had taken place and where the daughter who later became Mrs. Hendryx was born on June 22, 1831. She was twenty-one years of age when her parents effected the transplanting of their home to Bed- ford, where Mr. Lee followed both farming and the carpenter's trade. He later lived in Detroit until the close of his life, on December 28, 1872, eleven years before the demise of his wife. Both were members of the Baptist church. It was on December 14, 1853, that Lovina Lee and James Hendryx united their lives for all the subsequent years of earthly life. Their first home was in Livonia, in Wayne county, where they lived for one year. In 1877 Mr. Hendryx concluded the pur- chase of a farm two miles west of Farmington. On this property of 160 acres they lived for nearly a score of years, developing its remun- erative possibilities and improving them until it was recognized by every one in the community as a particularly fine farm and its owner widely known as one of the leading agriculturists of the community. Mean- while their family gradually increased in numbers, receiving such wise
training as would make them worthy citizens. When their children were fairly well grown and the family financial status gratifyingly com- fortable, James Hendryx and his wife decided to leave the farm they had managed so successfully by means of continued and strenuous ef- fort, and to spend their latter years in the village. Their Farmington home is a very attractive one, with extensive grounds of several acres, a comfortable and attractive home, all convenient outbuilding and such agreeable accessories as the owners' tastes and preferences require.
Of the nine children the years brought to the Hendryx home, eight grew to the years of maturity. The eldest, William R., is a farmer of Farmington township. The next in line, a daughter named Sarah, died in infancy. Zoett is now Mrs. Nathan Power, of Detroit. Hattie S. is Mrs. George Francis, of Farmington. J. M., the second son, is now deceased. Martha is Mrs. John Power, of Farmington. Frank L. Hendryx is a farmer of Wayne county, Michigan. George W. Hendryx is a carpenter of Farmington. The youngest member of the family, Jennie T., became Mrs. Adelbert McDermott ; her death occurred on June 27, 1908.
With their surviving sons and daughters creditably settled in life and within convenient distance of their present home; with their ex- cellent farm in satisfactory hands; with church interests to appeal to their activity; with political affairs to absorb much thought from such a loyal Democrat as Mr. Hendryx has ever been; and with the deserved esteem of all who know them, no elderly pair deserves or should ex- pect a happier close to a long and useful existence than James Hendryx and his worthy wife.
HARRY L. DOTY. Owning and occupying a valuable farming estate in the northeastern part of Highland township, Harry L. Doty has dur- ing his entire life been associated with the agricultural interests of Oak- land county. He is the descendant of an honored pioneer of this sec- tion of Michigan, his grandfather, Enos Doty, having been one of the earlier settlers of the county. He was born in Highland township, about half a mile west of his present home, in September, 1877, a son of the late Charles Doty.
Leaving New York, his native state, in the early thirties, Enos Doty, accompanied by three of his brothers, Elias Doty, Tobias Doty
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and Silas Doty, traveled across the country to Michigan, locating first in Hillsdale, where Silas Doty took up land and continued his residence. The other three brothers subsequently came to Oakland county, and all settled in the southeastern corner of Rose township, Enos Doty lo- cating one-half mile northeast of the farm on which his grandson, Harry L. Doty, now lives. He later traded farms with his brother Elias, who lived a mile farther west, and was there prosperously en- gaged in tilling the soil until his death, November 2, 1870.
Enos Doty's wife, Betsey, was born in New York state, and died in Oakland county, Michigan, September 18, 1869. They were the parents of four children, as follows: Andrew, Reuben, Charles and Mary. Andrew, the first-born, whose birth occurred February 15, 1836, was a life-long farmer. He was twice married, and reared one child, Charles W. Doty. The maiden name of his first wife was Au- gusta Ingersoll, and she died October 9, 1868. His second wife, whose maiden name was Alice Jones, now lives in Eugene, Oregon. Reuben Doty, the second child, born September 13, 1838, died in 1889, on his home farm, which was located in Highland township, west of Clyde. He acquired considerable wealth. Mary Doty, the youngest child of her parents, was born September 21, 1846, and died June 27, 1870. She married Zephaniah Sexton, and they reared one child, Mrs. Carrie Chaffee, of Ovid.
Charles Doty, the third child of Enos and Betsey Doty, was born on the homestead in Rose township, September 4, 1840. As a boy and youth he assisted in the pioneer labor of felling trees and helping to improve a farm, remaining beneath the parental roof until after his marriage. In 1868 he bought one hundred and fifty-five acres of land in the northeastern part of Highland township, and continued his career as an agriculturist. Laboring with characteristic energy and diligence, he met with good success in his operations, and subsequently bought other land, becoming owner of a highly improved farm of one hun- dred and seventy-six acres, lying three miles east of Clyde. He died September 13, 1911, an honored and highly respected citizen, his death being a loss to the community in which he had resided for so many years.
Charles Doty married, November 26, 1868, Mary Goodell, a native of Highland township. She died at Holly, Michigan, March 4, 1894, not having strength to rally from a surgical operation which she was forced to undergo, leaving one child, Harry L. Doty, whose name ap- pears at the head of this sketch.
Brought up on the home farm, Harry L. Doty gleaned his early education in the district schools, supplementing it by an attendance at Ferris Institute, Big Rapids, and at Cleary's Business College, in Ypsi- lanti. He has always resided on the old homestead, which has come to him through inheritance, and in its management is meeting with good results. The larger part of his farm is under tillage, although forty acres are still in timber.
Fraternally Mr. Doty belongs to Austin Lodge, No. 48, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, at Davisburg.
A. L. Ross, a particularly capable farmer owning nearly two hun- dred acres in sections 5 and 8 of Avon township, has been a resident of this locality for more than thirty years, during which time he has won a high degree of respect from his neighbors and his acquaintance
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in general. He is, however, a native of Pennsylvaia, his family hav- ing been located at the time of his birth and boyhood at Northampton county, Pennsylvania. His parents were Joseph G. and Sarah A. (Lockard) Ross, the father being a mechanic who made a specialty of stair-building. In the Pennsylvaia home of Mr. Ross' childhood there were seven children, of whom he was the fourth in line and the second son. His brothers and sisters were the following: Sarah, deceased ; Emma E., who is Mrs. Edward Radcliffe, of Hackensack, New York; and Cyrus G., of Brooklyn, New York.
A. L. Ross was born on September 25, 1858, and after a general education obtained from the public schools he began farming at the early age of fifteen. After three years of this work he determined upon a change of location and on March 4, 1878, he came to Rochester, Michigan, with the inconsiderable sum of two dollars. He had, how- ever, the adequate fortune of a strong heart, two capable hands and a clear, purposive mind. After ten years of work for other agricultur- ists he purchased his first property of one hundred acres in Avon town- ship, to which he has since added eight-five acres. In the meantime his parents had come to Michigan and had been established in the home he had made ready for them. He had also been united to his life's com- panion and had prospered materially. Mr. Ross has developed his land for the purposes of general farming, with specialties of dairy work and of potato growing. He is also bringing his orchards to a high state of productivity.
An interesting family has been reared by Mr. and Mrs. Ross dur- ing the years of their life together. The estimable helpmate of A. L. Ross was before her marriage Miss Anna Tienken, a daughter of Henry and Meta Tienken, natives of the German Fatherland. Her brothers and sisters who are now living are the following: Etta, Mrs. W. J. Luisen, of Denver, Colorado; John Tienken, of Oakland county ; William Tienken, of Rochester ; and Henry Tienken, of Oakland county. The marriage of Anna Tienken and Mr. Ross took place on April 25, 1885, and the children who were born to them and who have lived to maturity are these: Henry Ross, who assists his father at home; Anna C., now Mrs. Albert Schults, of Avon township; Nettie B. Ross, of Pon- tiac; Meta, of Pontiac; and Laura E., at home. The Ross home is an attractive and spacious structure, in harmony with all the excellent buildings with which the up-to-date farmer has improved his property. The homestead is roofed with slate which Mr. Ross had secured for this express purpose from his old home in Pennsylvania.
Interested in all public matters which concern the general good of the community, Mr. Ross has been much appreciated by all those who know how to estimate real worth. For ten years he has been incumbent of the office of supervisor of Avon township and had before that time been a member of the board of review. The Monitor Insurance Com- pany of Oakland county is fortunate in having A. L. Ross as a mem- ber of its directorate ; he and the two other directors having charge of this work supervising its operations in no less than eight townships. Frater- nal societies have sought his membership and have accorded him hon- orable place; he is connected with the Grange, the Independent Order of Foresters, the Maccabees of the World and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the last named organization ranking him in its Blue Lodge. Mr. Ross's political activity has always been in harmony with the tenets of the Republican party. His religious predilections are of
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the practical sort, conforming more nearly to the body of theory char- acterizing the Congregational church.
FRED S. MAETROTT who was born in Oakland county, on January 16, 1889, is a son of John and Fanny (Carey) Maetrott. He attended the district schools until sixteen years old, when he took up farming for a livelihood and has followed it ever since. He is now renting one hundred seventy acres in Bond township, located in section 21. Pre- vious to this he was in Troy township for six years and was also lo- cated west of Rochester for two years. The present is his second year on the large place in Avon township.
Mr. Maetrott married Anna Macklem in September, 1902, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Macklem, both of whom are now deceased. Their home has been blessed with four children, Doris Mildred, Stan-' ley, Harold and Elton LeRoy.
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