USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 33
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When Mr. Gage returned to Oakland county he took charge of the home farm and operated it for one year. In 1867 he purchased a farm in Lyon township, on which he lived for a time and then sold, after- ward buying a farm in Commerce township, near Walled Lake, and this property he still owns, although in 1876 he moved to Walled Lake, where he embarked in a general mercantile business, in partnership with Charles Woodman. Three months later Mr. Gage became sole propri- etor and remained alone in the business for a time, and afterward his father became his partner and the store was carried on by them until the death of the father in 1885. Mr. Gage admitted no other partner. but continued the business by himself until October, 1911, when he sold to the firm of Parmalee & Hoyt. As a merchant he had been equally as successful as a farmer, and in business circles his name has contin- uously stood for honesty, uprightness and true justice. In 1889 Mr. Gage was appointed postmaster at Walled Lake, and has continued to serve in this office, even under Democratic administrations. Through his efforts in 1902 he secured two rural mail deliveries from this point.
During the closing year of the Civil war, while his regiment was stationed at New York, he secured a furlough home and during this period, on April 10, 1865, he was united in marriage with Miss Jennie A. Wilson, who was born at Salem, Michigan, and is a daughter of George M. and Maria ( Neives) Wilson, who were born in New York. where the father was a farmer and drover. Two daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Gage, namely : Minnie Alice and Helen F. The former
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is the wife of John B. Strong, who is in the employ of the Riverside Water Company, of Riverside, California, and they have five children : Stephen F., Harold A., Jennie H., Amy H. and Helen G. The second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gage, Helen F., is the wife of Albert J. Church, who is a contracting plumber, in business at Pontiac, Michigan. They have one son, Benjamin C.
Mr. Gage has always been an interested citizen wherever he has re- sided and has frequently been called upon to accept public responsibil- ities. For three years he served as township treasurer of Lyon town- ship, for twelve years was township clerk of Commerce township, dur- ing one year was supervisor of Commerce township and for twenty- five years was a notary public, his seal appearing on many very im- portant documents. He is numbered with the substantial and repre- sentative men of Oakland county.
ABRAHAM MOSHER. Every part and period of life this venerable and venerated citizen of Novi, Oakland county, Michigan, is interesting and worthy of record, but the most tragic part of his history is perhaps the most interesting in incident and fruitful in suggestiveness. This was the time he passed in the Union army at the beginning of the Civil war. When the disastrous sectional strife began in this country he was living at Highland, this county, where he had purchased a farm a few years before. His experience in the army is interesting in incident, be- cause, although short, it was crowded with events of the most trying character. And it is fruitful in suggestiveness because it gives such strong proofs of his force of character and faithful devotion to duty.
Enjoying as he was the life of peaceful industry to which he had decided to devote himself, at almost the first sound of war's alarms he left all, home, family and material interests, to hurry to his country's defense, enlisting on June 6, 1861, in Company H, Fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Funk, in whose command he was enrolled at Adrian and credited to White Lake township, Oakland county. With his regiment he was early on the field of carnage, taking part in the first battle of Bull Run, one of the earliest engagements of the war. He also participated in the battles of Fairfax Court House and Mine Run, and remained with his regiment until June 5, 1862, bearing a val- iant and worthy share in all its marches, battles and skirmishes.
On the date last mentioned he was placed in a field hospital at White House Landing, Virginia, ill with a serious attack of typhoid fever. When he had so far recovered as to make his removal safe he was transferred to a regular hospital in Detroit, in which he remained until July 7, 1862, and was then pronounced by the doctors at that in- stitution unfit for further service, and was discharged. He paid dearly for his military service, however, short as it was, for the ravages of the fever lingered in his system and enfeebled his health for many years afterward.
On his discharge from the army he returned to his farm at High- land which he had left with such patriotic fervor and high hopes of usefulness, and perhaps some commingling of ambition for military glory, a strong man in the very prime of his maturity, and to which he came back almost a physical wreck. He has passed the rest of his years to this time on farms, as actively engaged in farming as his health would permit, and with as much prosperity and progress as he was able to win in the years of his weakened activity.
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Mr. Mosher was born at Hillsdale, Columbia county, New York, on September 3, 1833, a son of Asa and Orlantha Jane (Ford) Mosher, who also were farmers in a comfortable state of wordly establish- ment. But the parents seem to have had a longing for the west and its greater opportunities, and when their son Abraham was three years old they moved to Lockport, New York, then located in almost as much of a wilderness as they found Michigan to be when they moved to this state in 1854. Mr. Mosher began and completed his education at Lock- port, and remained with his parents until he reached the age of twenty- one, when he came with the rest of the family to Michigan, and soon afterward located at Highland.
He bought the farm of eighty acres here of which mention has been made, and remained on it until 1875. He then sold that farm and moved to another which he bought near Hazelton in Shiawassee county. His health was still poor from the effects of the fever he had in the army, and finding the work of farming too laborious for his strength he sold his farm in 1880 and bought a home at Montrose, Genesee county, which he occupied until 1886, when he sold this and changed his residence to Gladwin, Gladwin county, where he lived two years. At the end of that period he changed again, locating at Fenton, and a little later came to Novi, where he and one of his brothers purchased a small farm, and where he has lived ever since.
On March 27, 1856, Mr. Mosher was united in marriage with Miss Amanda Cornwell, of Highland, who also was born in Columbia county, New York, and is the daughter of Wilbur and Sylvia (Mosher) Corn- well. They came to Michigan in 1843 and took up their residence at Highland, where they passed the remainder of their days zealously en- gaged in farming. Mr. and Mrs. Mosher became the parents of four children. Cornelia, the first born, married John Dunham, a farmer at Highland, where both died a number of years ago. Harriet Elsie is the wife of John Eno, a farmer from Milford. They have one child, their son Charles, and now live in Owosso. Susan Amanda is the wife of Schuyler Rouge, who lived at Durand at the time of his marriage. They now have a large farm in Midland county and a family of six children. The last born of the Mosher children, May Elizabeth, never married, and died at the age of thirty years.
As a further proof of the patriotism of the Mosher family it should be stated that Mr. Mosher had three brothers in the Union army dur- ing the Civil war: James, who served four years: Nathaniel, who served in the army six years in all, and William, who served during the last year of the war. Mr. Mosher has kept alive the memories of the war, without any of the bitterness that characterized its progress, by active membership in Allen M. Harmon Post, No. 318, Grand Army of the Republic, at Northville. He is also a member of the Union Veteran Legion and the National League of Veterans and Sons. In politics he has always belonged to the Republican party, and in church matters he is independent. His worth as a man, his usefulness and high char- acter as a citizen, his fidelity to every duty and his enterprise and pro- gressiveness in regard to the welfare of his community and all the in- terests of its residents have endeared him to the people around him, and made him an example to all in sterling and sturdy American man- hood of an elevated type.
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MRS. JANE MCCRUMB HEWITT, whose maiden name was Jane Wil- liams, and one of the lovable devoted women of Novi, Michigan, who for many years has stood high in the affections of a wide circle of friends, was born at Royal Oak, Oakland county, Michigan, in 1837, and is a daughter of John and Mary Ann (McGraw) Williams.
Mrs. Hewitt's father was born in the Dominion of Canada and her mother in New York, and they came to Michigan in 1835, locating in Detroit. John Williams was a carpenter and builder by vocation, and in 1837 erected for the Grand Trunk Railway its first depot at Royal Oak, also putting up the first frame house at that place during the same year. In 1854 Jane Williams was married to Josiah McCrumb, of Novi, and they began keeping house in a log home, Mr. McCrumb starting to clear the land he had purchased. To this union there were born six children, as follows: Delphine, now the wife of William W. Brown, a tinsmith of Detroit, by whom she has two children, Arthur and Lee ; Augusta, who died at the age of five years; Helen, who died at the age of two and one-half years; Ida, who passed away at the age of thirteen months, dying, like her sisters, of diphtheria, which swept through this section at that time ; Bert L., a wagon maker and blacksmith of Tuscola, and one of Tuscola county's prominent politicians and business men, who married Ella Dean, of Tuscola, and has three children, Gerald J., Iva and Preston; and Myron B., born August 6, 1870, educated at Novi, learned his trade here and has always resided in this place, where he married Lizzie Abby, of Novi, and has had one child, Frederick, born in 1893 and educated at Novi and now making his home with his grandmother. The father of the foregoing children died in 1896, at the age of sixty-seven years, and in 1899 Mrs. McCrumb was married to Theodore Hewitt, an artist and painter, who survived only until 1902.
Ever since beginning housekeeping Mrs. Hewitt has not been obliged to move, and still owns a part of the original farm, her son Myron B. making his home with her and managing the old homestead. He is a valued member of the Gleaners and the Foresters of America, and holds a first-class license as a stationary engineer, in addition to having suc- cessfully passed a mechanic's examination. He has taken an active interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of his community, is well posted on matters of general public importance, and has served his county as deputy sheriff. This is one of the old and honored families of this section of the state, Mr. McCrumb's great-uncle, Thomas Mc- Graw, being one of the first merchants of Novi, where he located in 1847. Subsequently he became identified with the wool industry, and at one time, through successful manipulation, cornered the wool mar- ket and earned the title of "Wool King of Michigan."
Too much praise cannot be accorded this pioneer mother, Mrs. Jane Hewitt, who has lived through so much and to whom many owe count- less deeds of kindness and loving sympathy. In sickness or other trou- ble, she has always been in the front rank of those who minister, and as long as she lives she will be honored and loved.
CHARLES E. HOLMES. One of the leading business establishments of Novi, Oakland county, which has carried on successful operations in groceries, meats and fruits, and also in the buying and shipping of live- stock, during the past fifteen years, is that of Edward C. Holmes & Son, the members of which have been long and favorably known to the peo-
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ple of this part of the state. The senior partner, Edward C. Holmes, has for thirty years been engaged in buying and shipping stock, prior to which he was engaged in taking droves of cattle over the road to De- troit. Prior to Michigan's admission to statehood the Holmes family was founded within its borders by the parents of Edward C. Holmes, who came from New York and took up land from the government. Edward C. Holmes married Maria Chase, whose parents were also na- tives of the Empire state and came from Buffalo, New York, in a sail- ing vessel to Detroit, and thence by ox team to what is now Walled Lake, there settling on land secured from the government. The fam- ily was for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits and in cattle dealing, and some of its members were called on at different times to fill public office.
Charles E. Holmes, son of Edward C. and Maria (Chase) Holmes, and junior member of the firm, was born in Commerce township, Oak- land county, Michigan, July 15, 1882. He gained what educational ad- vantages were to be derived from the course of study in the district schools, this training having since been supplemented by close observa- tion, much experience and beneficial reading. On completing his school course he at once engaged in business with his father, and in 1897 was organized the firm of Edward C. Holmes & Son, which has continued in business to the present time, controlling a large share of the trade in Novi and the surrounding country in groceries, meats and fruits, and also doing a large business in the Detroit markets in shipping cat- tle. Mr. Holmes is a member of the Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs, and is also the incumbent of the office of captain general in the Loyal Guards. In political matters he is a Republican, but up to this time public life has held out no attractions for him, and he has been satisfied to devote his time and attention to his business.
In 1900 Mr. Holmes was united in marriage with Miss Alydia Smith, of Novi, born in this city, daughter of Augustus A. and Mabel (Woodworth ) Smith, natives of Michigan. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, namely : Oril May, born in February, 1904; Hiram H., born in October, 1906; C. Elmer, born in September, 1908; and Edward A., born in February, 1910. Mr. Holmes possesses a marked degree of ability, and his success in life may be attributed to this and to the fact that he has never shirked hard work, but has been willing and glad to do his full duty. Any movements which have been promoted with the purpose of bringing about better conditions in his community have always been sure of his support, and he is justly con- ceded to be one of his section's progressive young business men.
CHARLES M. McLAREN. Some men are distinguished by their strict integrity and the honorable methods they use in the conduct of their business affairs, and for these reasons are respected by all who come in contact with them, for their associates know they can be trusted to give every one a square deal. Charles M. McLaren is one of the young business men of Novi, where he is a member of the firm of J. D. Mc- Laren & Company, leading merchants and dealers in all kinds of farm- ers' produce, grain and wool. Mr. McLaren was born on a farm in Plymouth township, Oakland county, Michigan, February 23, 1881, his parents being J. D and Amy (Van Fleet) McLaren.
The McLaren family, as its name suggests, is of pure Scotch an-
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cestry, the great-grandfather of Charles M. McLaren coming to America from that country at an early day and settling at Lima Center, Mich- igan, where his son, the grandfather of Charles M., was born. He be- came greatly interested in real estate investments, and at one time owned every fifth section of Isabella county, Michigan, including the land on which is located the county seat, Mount Pleasant. Charles M. McLaren received his education in the district schools and the high school at Plymouth, and on completing his education joined the firm of J. D. McLaren & Sons, this company consisting of the father, J. D. McLaren, and Charles M., James W., John J. and George H. Mc- Laren. The firm owns and operates elevators at Plymouth, South Lyon, Novi, Wixom, Romulus, Clare, Ionia, Collins, Charlotte, Olivet, Oxford, Waterville and Salem. The elevator in Novi was built by David McGill, J. D. McLaren becoming the owner in 1897, and four years later Charles M. McLaren took charge at this place. For the year 19II he purchased 17,000 bushels of wheat, 25,000 pounds of wool and 30,000 bushels of potatoes, in addition to which he carries a large stock of cement, tile, fertilizer and seed grains, this giving some idea of the amount of business carried on here. The elevator of Plymouth is man- aged by J. D., John J. and George H. McLaren, that at Wixom by James W. McLaren, and the one at South Lyon by Ed Kennedy, a son-in-law. All enjoy enviable reputations in the business world, being known as men of ability integrity and good judgment.
Charles M. McLaren was married to Miss Mattie Erwin, of Novi, Michigan, daughter of William and Augusta (Coleman) Erwin, pros- perous farming people and natives of Michigan. Mrs. McLaren was born in Novi and attended high school at Northville.
It has always been the aim of the McLarens to keep out of politics, and Charles M. has positively declined to accept public preferment of any kind. His father, however, has been compelled to serve as council- man of Plymouth on several occasions, having been nominated and elected without his knowledge while away from home looking after his chain of elevators. A young man of much more than ordinary ability, Charles M. McLaren is making rapid headway in his chosen field of endeavor, and his many friends are predicting, not without cause, a successful career for him in the world of business and finance. He is progressive and enterprising in all matters, and takes a public-spirited interest in all matters that affect his community or its citizens.
L. E. CHAMBERLIN is recognized throughout Oakland county and Orion, where he has made his home for the past quarter century, as one of the leading men of the district. In an agricultural way he has long held a prominent place in the ranks of farming men, and he has accomplished much for the county in the way of development and has added something to the agricultural wealth of the district as a result of his years of labor in that direction.
Born in Tiffin, Ohio, March 4, 1852, Mr. Chamberlin is the son of Jeremiah and Martha (Baker) Chamberlin. The father was a native of New York state and the mother of Ohio. In 1860 Jeremiah Chamber- lin came to Grand Rapids, returning to Tiffin, Ohio, in 1864, and in 1871 he moved to Romeo, where he engaged in the practice of his profession, that of medicine, until death removed him from his labors in Septem- ber, 1888. The mother died on April 2, 1911. Dr. and Mrs. Chamberlin
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A. P. Glaspic
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became the parents of five children, of which number L. E. Chamberlin of this review was the eldest. Mary became the wife of A. D. Skeels and is living in Detroit. Wellington, William and Jerry are deceased.
The schooling which Mr. Chamberlin received as a boy was of a limited order, but continued until he was eighteen years of age, when he took up farming on his own responsibility. He continued in that work, and when he was twenty-five years of age he bought a farm of eighty acres, eventually adding to it until he had become the owner of the original tract of two hundred and forty acres. He now owns three hundred and forty-five acres of the most fertile and valuable land in the county, and he is busily engaged in carrying on the general farming for which Oakland county is noted. Mr. Chamberlin is a most success- ful stock-raiser as well as making a specialty of peaches and apples, having about thirty acres in orchard, and he is regarded as one of the most prosperous men of his township today.
On February 21, 1877, Mr. Chamberlin married Julia Oxford, the daughter of Ogden S. and Diana (Sessen) Oxford, who were the parents of five children. Besides Mrs. Chamberlin there were: Ellen, the wife of Judd King, of Orion; Grant M., also of Orion; Bert A., of Detroit ; and Oda, the wife of Fred K. Miller, of Detroit. The mother passed away on July 7, 1894, and the father died on March 20, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlin became the parents of seven children. They are named as follows: Mattie D., the wife of John Braid; Grant A., who lives at home ; Vernet L., of Pontiac, Michigan; Nellie J., the wife of Howard A. Hagerman, of Macomb county ; Leola, the wife of G. Gill- espie, of Pontiac, Michigan; Ogden, living at home, as is also Marion.
Mr. Chamberlin is an independent with relation to his political views, and is without political ambition. He has held various minor township offices, and is never lax in fulfilling the duties of a good citizen. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
ANDREW P. GLASPIE. The blood of patriots courses in the veins of Andrew P. Glaspie, of Oxford, and for three generations his people have contributed to sustaining the integrity of their country. His grand- father, his father and he, himself, saw service in the army, and each one possesses a record unblemished for devoted and conscientious serv- ice. When on Memorial Day the files go past, the members of the Glaspie family may hearken back, not alone to the days of the Civil war, but to the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary war.
Henry Glaspie, father of Andrew, was in the War of 1812; his father before him saw service in 1776, and his son, Andrew B., served in the Spanish-American war. Andrew enlisted in June, 1861, in Com- pany H, the Seventh Michigan Infantry, and was sworn in on August 22. He served three years and two days, became corporal and was sergeant when mustered out. He was wounded at Antietam by a shell and was also wounded at Fredericksburg, being one of the 142 soldiers who crossed the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg. Besides Mr. Glas- pie there were twenty-five men who enlisted from Oxford. He was wounded at Chancellorsville, and was sent to the Turner Lane Hospital in Philadelphia. At the conclusion of his term of service he was mus- tered out at Detroit.
On resuming his civilian status Mr. Glaspie returned to Oxford and engaged in the fur and wool business, which he has followed ever Vol. II-16
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since. He was also in the grocery business for five years and for ten years in the gentlemen's furnishings line. With this latter business he started a knitting factory, which he conducted for ten years, after- wards engaging in the clothing line.
Mr. Glaspie was born in Macomb county, March 18, 1842, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Glaspie. His mother's name was Harnett ( Bab- cock) Glaspie, and she was the widow of William Dennison, of New York. Both she and Mr. Glaspie were natives of the Empire state. The senior Glaspie died when the subject of this sketch was but four years old. His mother died in 1876. On coming to Michigan in 1835 they located in Macomb county, coming to Oxford after Mr. Glaspie's death. There were two children, Andrew being the elder. His sister, Amanda Jane, who became the wife of S. R. Stanton, is now deceased. Mr. Stanton is a resident of Oxford. It was in 1853 that the family moved to Oxford. Andrew Glaspie was adopted by his half brother, William Glaspie, when four years old, at the time of his father's death, and he remained with the latter until at the age of eighteen years he departed to join the Union forces.
In addition to his business activities Mr. Glaspie has served as post- master of Oxford. He received his appointment under President Ben- jamin Harrison, but the choice was left to the residents of the com- munity, as there were seven people who figured as aspirants for the place. Strangely enough, that was the lucky figure for Mr. Glaspie, for he carried the election by seven votes. He held the office for five years, and built the new furnishings for the place. On leaving the of- fice he resumed the clothing business, which he had still retained during the time that he was a federal appointee. He sold the business in 1903 and is now retired from active life. He owns the building in which his store was conducted, his residence and another house.
Amy E. Bird, daughter of William S., and Amy (Lundy) Bird, be- came the bride of Mr. Glaspie on January 9, 1870. Her parents were New Jersey people who came to Michigan in 1832 and located in La- peer county. They had ten children, now all deceased with the excep- tion of the wife of the subject. Her father was a miller by trade. The three children who came to gladden the home of Mr. and Mrs. Glaspie are all living. They are: A. B., who is postmaster at Oxford; Harriet L., wife of C. E. Martin, of Detroit; and Philo B., of Detroit. The latter is engaged extensively in the coal business.
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