USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 38
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William H. Lamb remained with his father until the age of thirty years, being associated with the elder gentleman in many of his enter- prises. He early displayed good business ability, together with the ad- mirable traits of industry and thrift, and now, scarcely yet arrived at middle life, is a man of character, standing and of substance. In the legitimate channels of trade he has won the success which always crowns well directed labor, sound judgment and untiring perseverance, and at the same time has concerned himself with the affairs of the community in an admirably public-spirited fashion. In addition to his up-to-date mercantile business he owns his comfortable home and business room. On April 4, 1905, he received the appointment to the postmastership and in this important capacity has well served the interests of "Uncle Sam" and the people.
On March 16, 1905, Mr. Lamb laid the foundations of a happy married life by his union with Harriet E. Hawthorne, daughter of Robert Hawthorne, of Troy township, whose homestead is situated one mile east and one mile south of Big Beaver. The birth of two inter- esting little daughters has blessed their union,-Marian A., aged five years, and Helen M., aged three years.
Fraternally Mr. Lamb is a member of the Knights of the Macca- bees and his wife is affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star. The subject is one of Oakland county's many citizens who pay allegiance to the party of Lincoln, Mckinley and Taft.
CHARLES BAKER is a man of unusual enterprise and initiative and he has met with unusual good fortune in his farming and business pro- jects. Self-made and self-educated in the most significant sense of the words, he has progressed steadily toward the goal of success until he is recognized as one of the foremost business men and citizens of Royal Oak township, where he has resided during the past two years. He now conducts a store at Clawson, Michigan, and he is the present popular incumbent of the office of postmaster of that place. He has held a number of other important offices of public trust and responsibility and is ever on the alert to forward all measures advanced for the good of the general welfare.
JOHN ELLENWOOD
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In Oxfordshire, England, January 1, 1868, occurred the birth of Charles Baker, who is a son of George and Harriet (Long) Baker, both of whom were likewise born in Oxfordshire and both of whom repre- sent ancient English families. In 1882 Mr. and Mrs. Baker with their children came to the United States, proceeding directly to Oakland county, Michigan, and settling on a rented farm in Troy township. He continued to rent his farm for two years and at the expiration of that period he turned his attention to his old trade, that of gardener, which he followed until his death, in 1901. His widow still survives him and now maintains her home at Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Of the ten chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Baker nine grew to maturity. Emma and Harry are deceased, and concerning those living the following brief data are here incorporated: Helen is the wife of Charles Juengel, of Utica, Michigan ; Gertrude is Mrs. David Atkins and resides at Roch- ester, Michigan ; Charles is the immediate subject of this review ; Mary Ann is the wife of J. E. Mooney, of Clawson; Eliza married Frank Veriden and they reside at Grosse Pointe, Michigan; Ada is the wife of George Ladd and they are residents of Utica, Michigan; Fred J. is engaged in the garden business at Grosse Pointe; and Flora is the wife of August Devroy, of Grosse Pointe.
Charles Baker, of this sketch, was a lad of fourteen years of age at the time of his parents' immigration to the United States. He had re- ceived a fair educational training in the public schools of Oxfordshire prior to coming to America and after his arrival in this country he at- tended the district schools of Oakland county for a short period. He remained on his father's farm until he had reached his sixteenth year and then began to work by the month for various farmers, continuing in that manner until he had reached his twenty-fourth year. After his marriage, in 1892, he settled on a farm in Troy township and resided there for about a score of years. He was decidedly successful as a farmer, but in 1910 he gave up agricultural operations in order to en- gage in the general merchandise business at Clawson, Michigan, in Royal Oak township. He carries a fine stock of goods and commands the patronage of all the neighboring farmers. In 1910 he was ap- pointed postmaster of Clawson, by President Taft, and he retains that incumbency in 1912. He was township treasurer of Troy township for two years and for seven years was highway commissioner. He is a stalwart Republican in politics and in a fraternal way is affiliated with Royal Oak Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, at Royal Oak.
On April 3, 1892, Mr. Baker married Miss Harriet Phillips, a daughter of Eli Phillips, who was born and reared in Canada and is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are the fond parents of two children. Lyle E., born in 1897. is attending school at Royal Oak, and Mildred J., born in 1904. is a pupil in the district school of Royal Oak town- ship.
JOHN ELLENWOOD, SR. After spending long years in the hard and unceasing work of the agriculturist and accumulating competencies suffi- cient that they may relinquish active labor, many of the citizens of Oak- land county have turned over their property to the care of others and are spending their declining years in nearby towns and cities, retired from activities and enjoying the fruits of their early labors. One of the highly esteemed retired citizens of Novi who carried on agricultural operations Vol. II-18
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in Commerce township for many years is John Ellenwood. He is a na- tive of Oakland county, having been born in West Bloomfield, January 17, 1833, a son of Calvin and Electa Ann ( Barron) Ellenwood, natives of New York.
John Ellenwood, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this re- view, brought his family to Michigan during the early 'thirties, settling on the west bank of Pine Lake, where he took up government land, be- came one of the foremost farmers and influential citizens of his day, and was a framer of the constitution of the state of Michigan. Later Calvin Ellenwood removed to White Lake township, where he laid out the first roads, being the surveyor in charge of the first work done in the town- ship and one of its first supervisors, a position which he held for eleven years. It was in that township that John Ellenwood received his educa- tion, attending the primitive log schoolhouse of his district, and at the age of twelve years began to be employed by the day on the homesteads ot the neighboring farmers. He continued to be so occupied until he was twenty-one years of age, and then went to Pontiac and engaged himself with Charles Parsons, a carriage builder, as an employe of the black- smith department. After three years, however, he returned to the farm.
In 1861 Mr. Ellenwood was married to Miss Mahala Cooper, of Springfield township, Michigan, who was born in the state of New York, her parents being Jacob and Samantha (Arnold) Cooper, farming peo- ple. About three years after his marriage, March 31, 1864, Mr. Ellen- wood enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a member of Com- pany B, Second Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, from which organization he received his honorable discharge July 28, 1865, at De- laney House, D. C. Returning to Commerce township, Oakland county, he worked on shares for a few years, but subsequently went to Mont- calm county and for a short time followed lumbering. On again return- ing to Commerce township he took charge of the farm of his father-in- law, and later bought a farm of his own, on which he carried on opera- tions until 1906, after which he resided at Walled Lake about two and one-half years, then in Wixom until 1911. when he came to Novi. At the present time he is living a retired life, his activities being confined to looking after the handling of his one hundred and twenty acres of land in section 23 and forty acres in section 15, Commerce township.
Mrs. Mahala (Cooper) Ellenwood died June 25, 1905, having been the mother of nine children: Emma Jane, wife of Frank J. Rossman. rural carrier at Lake View, Michigan; Annie, who died at the age of four years; Sarah, wife of Bert Cole, a farmer of Clarkston, Michigan ; John C., who is carrying on operations on the old farm in Commerce township, married Edith Baulmer, of Detroit; Effie May, who died at the age of seven years; Frank, who died at the age of four years ; Bert, a farmer at Wixom, Oakland county ; Phoebe, wife of Lucius Barren, a farmer of Groveland, Michigan ; and Fred, the proprietor of a sawmill. On December 14, 1906, Mr. Ellenwood was married to Mrs. Mary (In- gersoll) Pierce, widow of Jerome Pierce, of Walled Lake. She was born at Brunson, Illinois, daughter of Orson and Harriet (Smith) Inger- soll, New Yorkers, the Ingersoll family tracing its ancestry back to the year 1629, when they accompanied the Winthrops to America. By her first marriage Mrs. Ellenwood had three children: One who died in infancy ; Helen, who died at the age of two years; and Willie, who died when twenty-seven years of age. Her first husband, Jerome Pierce, en-
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listed March 20, 1865, for one year, but was discharged June 30, 1865, the Civil war having closed. A number of years ago Mrs. Ellenwood adopted Charles Austin, at that time six years old, and he became a rail- road engineer and lived at Cleveland, Ohio. He was there married to Miss Madeline Nettnay, who died in 1909, and Mr. Austin is now in Detroit.
Mr. Ellenwood is a valued comrade of the Grand Army of the Re- public post of Northville. In his political views he is a Republican, but he has been essentially a farmer and business man and has not given much attention to public matters, outside that taken by a public-spirited citizen. He and Mrs. Ellenwood are members of the Baptist church, and they are well known in church work and highly esteemed in social circles, their home being the scene of many pleasant gatherings, where they extend to their many friends the liberal hospitality for which they are noted.
FRANK D. CUTTING. The history of a nation is nothing more than a history of the individuals comprising it, and as they are characterized by loftier or lower ideals, actuated by the spirit of ambition or indif- ference, so it is with a state, county or town. Success along any line of endeavor would never be properly appreciated if it came with a single effort and unaccompanied by some hardships, for it is the knocks and bruises in life that make success taste so sweet. The failures ac- centuate the successes, thus making recollections of the former as dear as those of the latter for having been the stepping-stones to achieve- ment. The career of Frank D. Cutting but accentuates the fact that success is bound to come to those who join brains with ambition and are willing to work. He is the owner of a fine farm of seventy acres in Troy township, Oakland county, and also owns and conducts the general store at Troy Corners, in Troy township.
Frank D. Cutting was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, July 22, 1838, and he is a son of Parker and Sarah Ann (Smith) Cutting, both of whom were natives of Wyoming county, New York. Jonas Cutting was the father of Parker, and he was born and reared in Vermont, of German and English ancestry. When the subject of this review was a child of but four years of age his father was killed by a falling tree while clearing his farm in Michigan. After that sad occurrence his widow, with her children, returned to New York, where she again mar- ried. Three years later the family was again located in Troy town- ship, Oakland county, Michigan, and here the young Frank D. grew to maturity. The mother died at the age of seventy-seven years, at the home of her daughter Julia E., in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Up to the age of sixteen years Frank D. Cutting was a pupil in the district schools of Troy township and when he had reached his six- teenth year he entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the blacksmith's trade, which he followed continuously until the outbreak of the Civil war. In 1861 he enlisted for service in Loomis Battery. First Mich- igan Artillery, and he was a Union soldier for the ensuing three years, at the expiration of which he returned to Michigan, locating at Troy Corners. where he followed his trade until he purchased his present store, in 1882. For the past quarter of a century Mr. Cutting has been the popular and efficient incumbent of the office of postmaster. He con- trols the trade of his neighbors in Troy township and has built up a
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good business. In addition to his store he is the owner of a finely im- proved farm of seventy acres in section 9 of this township. In politics he is a stalwart Republican and he cast his first vote for President Lin- coln. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with Birmingham Lodge, No. 144, Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Cutting is unusually loyal and public-spirited in his civic attitude and he commands the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow men by reason of his sterling in- tegrity of character and fair and honorable business methods.
On December 25, 1863, Mr. Cutting was united in marriage to Miss Lucy M. Goodman, the ceremony having been performed while he was home from the war on recruiting service. Mrs. Cutting is a daughter of Rev. Stephen and Jane ( Balrow) Goodman, both natives of Eng- land, whence they came to Michigan in 1820. Rev. Goodman was a Baptist minister and was long pastor of a church in the city of De- troit. Mr. and Mrs. Cutting have two children: Katie V., who is the wife of Charles Leonard, of Troy Corners, and they have one son, Frank C. Leonard; and Park, who is agent for the National Insurance Company. He married Ella Blount, who died in 1907, and they became the parents of two children, Maxwell B., who is attending high school at Rochester, and Frank C., a pupil in the district school.
JACOB STUMPF. In the old countries of the world, particularly in those governed by kings or emperors, there is a sharp contrast drawn between persons of rank and the laboring classes. The aristocratic members of these countries, from time immemorial, tried to make it appear that the kings or emperors ruled by divine authority and the families of the nobility attempted to establish their own superiority over the working classes on much the same basis. As a consequence labor has always been looked upon in those countries as degrading, instead of as being the highest employment to which man can turn his hand. In our country, on the contrary, it has been largely the tendency to ennoble labor, and this tendency has been largely successful, because, aside from the weak-minded aristocrats of the cities, all of us regard labor as wholly dignified and honorable. Even the president himself may have descended from the pioneer farmer. Among those who have added to the dignity and respectability of labor by fair and honorable conduct is the subject of this notice.
Jacob Stumpf, blacksmith and engaged in the selling of farming implements, was born on the farm upon which he now lives and comes of stalwart German stock. This farm is situated in Royal Oak town- ship and the date upon which his eyes opened to the light of day was January 18, 1870. He is the son of Jacob and Magdalena (Kosman) Stumpf. The father was born in Baden, Germany, and the mother in Wurtemberg. The former 'resided in his native country until the age of seventeen years, previous to that time learning the smithy trade. When he had arrived at the dignity of journeyman blacksmith, he came to the United States and located first at Albany, New York, working in shops in that city for a time. He was an employe for a period of about seven years and for an equal length of time was in business there for himself. After that he traveled from place to place in the southern states and then came to Michigan. The advantages of Oakland county appealed to him and he settled on the farm which was to be the scene of the birth of the immediate subject, and which is his home at the present
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time. He owned a very small farm, of about fifteen acres, upon which he maintained his blacksmith shop. He was a most industrious man and remained actively at work until 1909, when he retired, but he had little time for the leisure of retirement, for he passed to the great beyond on December 3, 1910. His widow survives and makes her home with the subject. These worthy people were the parents of seven sons and daughters, five of whom are living at present, and concerning the chil- dren the following data is herewith entered: Katherine, the eldest born, is deceased; Conrad M., resides in Troy township; Jacob is next in order of birth; Hannah is still living at the old home; Mary is the wife of Robert McBride, of Royal Oak township; Louise is at home; and the youngest died in infancy.
Jacob Stumpf enjoys the unusual fate of living on the old home- stead upon which he was born, and every inch of the fine old place is dear to him with memories and associations. He was educated in the district schools and learned from his father the trade which the older man had followed. He cultivates his small place scientifically, bringing it to its highest point of productiveness and in connection with his flour- ishing blacksmith business he sells farming implements.
Mr. Stumpf laid one of the most important stones in the foundation of his success by his marriage, on June 1, 1906 to Augusta Stroh, of Detroit.
Mr. Stumpf is an enthusiastic Mason and exemplifies in his own living the ideals of moral and social justice and brotherly love for which the order stands. In the matter of politics he is independent and makes every effort to discover and support the best man and the best measure and is, all in all, a good citizen.
WILLIAM D. LAKIE. A citizen of note in Troy township, Oakland county, Michigan, William D. Lakie is here engaged in general farming and stock-raising on his fine estate of one hundred acres. He is deeply interested in all that affects the welfare of the community in which he resides and in politics is a stanch supporter of the Republican party. He has been a member of the board of reviews of the township, has held various school offices and for the past two years has been highway commissioner of Troy township.
William D. Lakie was born in Niagara Falls, Canada, March 30, 1855, and he is a son of David and Esther (Sowersby) Lakie. David Lakie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and his wife was a native of Canada, her parents having been natives of Scotland. David Lakie was left an orphan at an early age and he grew up in the home of friends. After he had reached his legal majority he decided to immigrate to America, and accordingly went to Canada, where he engaged in farming and where he . met and married his wife. He spent seven weeks and three days on the sailing vessel in which he crossed the ocean. In 1864, with his wife and family of four children, he removed to Michigan, settling first on the old John R. Martin farm in Avon township, where he remained for one year, at the expiration of which he came to Troy township. The family lived in Troy township until 1877, when Mrs. Lakie died. After that sad occurrence Mr. Lakie decided to settle in St. Clair county. He accordingly purchased a farm in Greenwood township, that county, and there passed the remainder of his days, his demise having occurred Feb- ruary 25, 1893. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, con-
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cerning whom the following facts are here inserted,-Margeory, born in Canada, is the wife of C. A. Spears, a lumber dealer in Grand Rapids, Michigan ; William D. is the immediate subject of this review ; James E. is a machinist in Grand Rapids; Annie E. is the wife of Otto Egert and they reside in Greenwood township, St. Clair county, Michigan; Milton J. likewise maintains his home in Greenwood township, St. Clair county ; Frank D. devotes his attention to the machinist business at Grand Rap- ids; and Maud B. is the wife of Maurice Mericle, of Greenwood town- ship.
To the public schools of his native place in Canada and to the district schools of Troy township William D. Lakie is indebted for his prelim- inary educational training. He was but ten years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Michigan and he had reached his twenty-second year when his father and brothers and sisters removed to St. Clair county, in 1877. He remained in Troy township, where he was married the following year and where he engaged in farming on his own account. In 1912 he and his family settled on the farm on which they now reside. This estate consists of one hundred acres and is situated in the exact center of Troy township. It is in a high state of cultivation and in addition to diversified agriculture Mr. Lakie devotes a portion of his attention to the raising of high-grade stock; having over thirty head of thoroughbred Holsteins. He is a Republican in politics, as already noted, and is incumbent of the office of highway commissioner at the present time, in 1912. He served for three years on the township board of reviews and has held different offices on the school board. Frater- nally he is a valued and appreciative member of Birmingham Lodge, No. 44, Free and Accepted Masons. He was reared in the faith of the Baptist church and his wife is a devout Methodist.
On May 25, 1878, Mr. Lakie was united in marriage to Miss Esta Minerva Niles, a daughter of Orange and Marietta (Hickey) Niles, both of whom were of Irish and Dutch descent.' The former was born at Painted Post, New York, and the latter at Elmira, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Niles came to Michigan in 1822, when this part of the country was a howling wilderness, inhabited by wild animals and Indians. Mr. and Mrs. Lakie have five children,-Julia Anne is a proficient musician and resides at home; William O. is employed by an automobile concern at Detroit; Allen D., George W. and Jennie Esther all remain at the parental home, Jennie Esther being a student in the high school at Royal Oak. The Lakie home is the center of many attractive social gatherings and is renowned for its generous hospitality.
JOSEPH B. GROW. It is always pleasing to the biographist or student of human nature to enter into an analysis of the character and career of a successful tiller of the soil. Of the many citizens gaining their own livelihood, he alone stands pre-eminent as a totally independent factor, in short, "Monarch of all he surveys." His rugged honesty and sterling worth are the outcome of a close association with nature and in all the relations of life he manifests that generous hospitality and kindly human sympathy, which beget comradeship and which cement to him the friend- ship of all with whom he comes in contact. Successfully engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade cattle, Mr. Grow is decidedly a prominent and popular citizen of Royal Oak township, Oak- land county, Michigan, where he has resided since the late '60's.
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Joseph B. Grow was born in Waterford township, Oakland county, Michigan, December 19, 1844. He is a son of Edwin and Percy (Hoyt) Grow, the former of whom was born in New York state, where he resided with his parents until he was ten years of age. Elijah Grow, father of Edwin, was a native of Connecticut and he removed to Michi- gan with his family about the year 1834. He located in Waterford township, Oakland county, where he purchased a farm, on which he re- sided during the remainder of his life time. Edwin Grow passed his youth on his father's farm and at the age of twenty-one years he pur- chased a farm in Waterford township. About that time he was married and he and his wife lived on the above farm until the latter's death, in 1864, when Mr. Grow removed to Highland, whence he later went to Vernon, Michigan. His demise occurred at Vernon about the year 1892. He and his wife became parents of nine children, six of whom grew to maturity and five of whom are living, in 1912, namely,-Joseph, the im- mediate subject of this review; Briggs T., residing in the west; Sarah, wife of John Paton, of Commerce township, this county; Hurbert, of Otsego county, Michigan; and William, who resides at Vernon, Michi- gan. Ida passed to the life eternal when about twenty-three years old, the wife of James Lockwood.
To the public schools of Waterford township Joseph B. Grow is indebted for his educational training, the same including one year's attendance in the public schools at Clarkston. In the winter of 1864 he joined the Union army, enlisting for service in Company F, Twenty-sec- ond Michigan Volunteer Infantry. His regiment was a part of the Army of the Cumberland and he served until the close of the war, participating in a number of important engagements marking the progress of the conflict. After the close of the war and when peace had again been established Mr. Grow returned to Michigan, sojourning for about one year in Highland township, whence he came to Royal Oak township, here purchasing a farm and engaging in diversified agriculture. He has resided on his present fine estate of one hundred and sixty acres for the past twenty-five years and the same is in a high state of cultivation. It is located in section 26 and lies four miles southeast from Royal Oak.
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