USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 45
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Dr. Anderson was reared to maturity on the old home farm in Ca- nada his educational training including a course in the Simcoe high school, and after its completion he was engaged teaching school for a period of five years. In 1888 he was matriculated as a student in the Michigan Medical College, at Detroit, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1891, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He initiated the active practice of his profession at Big Beaver, Michigan, where he remained for the ensuing ten years, at the expiration of which he went west to the Rockies, in order to recuperate his health, which had become seriously impaired. He re- mained in the west for some three years and in 1904 returned to Mich- igan, locating at Royal Oak, in Oakland county, where he has since re- sided and where he now controls a large and lucrative medical prac- tice. In connection with his life work he is local surgeon for the Grand Trunk Line and for the Eastern Michigan Edison Company, division surgeon of the Flint Division, D. U. R., and is also local medical examiner for the United States Marine Corps. In politics he accords an unswerving allegiance to the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, and while he has neither time nor de- sire for the honors of political office in the broad sense of the term he has been health officer at Royal Oak for years. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the time-honored Masonic order, in which he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Order of the Eastern Star, his wife being likewise connected with the latter organization. He is also a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and the Independent Order of Foresters. In connection with his profession he is a valued
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and appreciative member of the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
On December 22, 1885, Dr. Anderson was united in marriage to Miss Minnie B. Bennett, a daughter of Colburn and Mary Bennett, of Scotch- Irish descent. Dr. and Mrs. Anderson are popular and well beloved citizens in Royal Oak, where their atractive home is a center of refine- ment and most generous hospitality.
JOSEPH BROOKS, of section 9, Southfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, a farmer and a supervisor of his township, is a man who has never shirked any duty that has come to him, and has always ably dis- charged his obligations as citizen, husband and father. He has been super- visor of his township for the last eight years, and for four years before that was clerk of the township. He has also held several school offices. He is the proud father of four children, all of whom unite in pronounc- ing him the best father any one ever had.
Mr. Brooks was born in Southfield township, section 16, on March 10, 1861, the son of Cornelius and Mary Ann (Stewart) Brooks. Cor- nelius Brooks was born in Berkshire, England, near Reading, on Octo- ber 24, 1823, and remained on his father's farm there in Berkshire until he was sixteen years of age. He then went to London to learn the trade of a carpenter. He served as an apprentice for two years, or until 1841, when he came to the United States. For the first two years he worked in Jersey City, New Jersey, and for an equal length of time after that in Lapeer county, Michigan. His next move took him to Southfield township, Oakland county, in 1846, where he bought a farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres. In November, 1847, he was married to Mary Ann Stewart, born in Orange county, New York, April 11, 1821, the daugh- ter of James and Mary (Stewart) Robb. Her mother died when she was only two years old, so that she was raised by an uncle and aunt, David and Ann (Porter) Stewart, and took their name. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brooks lived in the log cabin, eighteen by twenty- four feet, which he had built when he first settled on the farm, and re- mained in it for twenty-seven years. They both loved it so that they hated to leave it, and it was not until 1873 that a new house was built. The house where they died and in which Joseph Brooks now lives was built in 1885. They were the parents of six children; William, who died when he was six years old; John, deceased; David, a carpenter of Southfield township; Sarah Jane, a teacher in the district schools ; James R., in the real estate business in Detroit; and Joseph, the subject of this sketch. Cornelius Brooks belonged to the Republican party, and was also a zealous church worker.
Mr. Joseph Brooks has lived on his father's farm all his life, eighty acres of which, called the Edgeriver Farm, he is now the owner. He was educated in the district schools until he was of an age to begin work. He and his brother James, now in Detroit, then rented their father's farm, and worked it from 1885 to 1893. Since the latter date Joseph has farmed it alone. He was married on March 5, 1895, to May Kel- cher, of Bloomfield township, Oakland county, and from their union five children have been born, one of whom is dead. Gladys, who is now a student at the Birmingham high school, and with a pronounced talent for music, was born November 13, 1897; Florence Lucile, born August 29, 1900. Harry Joseph, born December 2, 1902: and Blanche Mae, born
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May 1, 1905, are all attending the district school. Mrs. Brooks is a member of the Presbyterian church at Smithfield. Mr. Brooks is a Republican and a member of the Masonic and Knights of Pythias fra- ternities at Birmingham.
GEORGE BINGHAM. The career of George Bingham is a noble illus- tration of what independence, self-faith and persistency can accomplish in America. He is a self-made man in the most significant sense of the word, for no one helped him in a financial way and he is practically self- educated. For a number of years he conducted a general store at Frank- lin, in Oakland county, and since 1909 he has been most successfully en- gaged in farming and stock-raising on his fine estate of one hundred acres in Southfield township.
A native of Oakland county, Michigan, George Bingham was born in Bloomfield township, the date of his birth being the 25th of December, 1865. His father, David Bingham, was born in Lincolnshire, England, March 19, 1839, and in his native land he grew to maturity and was educated, immigrating to the United States at the age of eighteen years, in 1857. Landing in New York City, he remained in that metropolis for some three months and then came west to Michigan, locating in Pontiac, where he remained until 1862 and where he was variously engaged, working for a time in the R. B. Morris hardware store. For a short period he was employed on Crowfoot Farm, now within the city limits of Pontiac, and from there he came to Bloomfield township, bringing with him his wife and one son. He settled on a farm of forty acres and resided thereon until 1872, after which he moved to a farm of fifty acres in West Bloomfield township where he remained until 1880, and then locating in Southfield township, he remained there until his de- mise in 1898. David Bingham was twice married, his first union having been to Eliza Forman, a native of Lincolnshire, England, and a daughter of William Forman. She died in 1868, the mother of five children, as follows,-William D., who died in 1881; Lorenzo D. is a resident of Southfield township; George is the immediate subject of this review ; Addie is the wife of Ezra C. Bristol ; and Ida is deceased. On January 25, 1871, was solemnized the marriage of David Bingham to Miss Mary E. Simpson, a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Patten) Simpson, of New York City. This union was prolific of two children, namely,- Charles A., of Southfield township, and Floy E., who died at the age of about two years.
George Bingham was reared to adult age on the home farm, in the work and management of which he early became associated with his father, and he was educated in the district schools of Bloomfield and Southfield townships. He remained at home until he had reached his twenty-fourth year, when he went to Franklin and began to clerk in the store of A. A. Rust. Three years later, in 1892, he purchased a half interest in the store and the business was conducted under the firm name of A. A. Rust & Bingham. In 1898 he became sole owner of the store and in 1904 removed his stock of merchandise to a new building, the one now occupied by John Currin. Mr. Bingham was assistant postmaster until 1903, when he was appointed postmaster, by President Roosevelt. In March, 1909, he disposed of his store to John Currin, Jr., and since that time he has devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits in Southfield township, where he is the owner of a fine estate of one
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hundred acres, located in section 5. He has achieved remarkable suc- cess both as merchant and farmer and ranks as one of the substantial citizens of Oakland county.
In politics Mr. Bingham is a stalwart Republican and he has been incumbent of a number of important offices of a local nature. He was township treasurer in 1891-2; was postmaster at Franklin for six years; and was township supervisor in 1894, 1897, 1900, 1901, 1902 and 1903. Fraternally he is affiliated with Birmingham Lodge, No. 44, Free and Accepted Masons; Birmingham Chapter, No. 97, Royal Arch Masons; and Pontiac Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar, at Pontiac. He and his wife are valued members of the Gleaners and they are likewise connected with the Methodist Protestant church at Franklin.
On November 26, 1891, Mr. Bingham married Alice G. Rust, a daughter of A. A. Rust, who died in 1904 and with whom Mr. Bing- ham was formerly associated in business at Franklin. She died Septem- ber 8, 1901. On January 14, 1903, Mr. Bingham was united in marriage to Miss Clara M. Cox, a daughter of James Cox, of Southfield town- ship. Three children have been born to the latter union, namely,- George A., Florence E. and James Howard. The two older children are pupils in the Southfield school.
WILLIAM A. BRISTOL is now living retired on his splendid farm of two hundred and five acres in sections 4 and 9, Southfield township, Oakland county, Michigan. He is a citizen of prominence in this sec- tion of the state and one who has ever given freely of his aid and in- fluence in support of all measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community in which he lives. He has held a number of local offices of public trust and responsibility and has ac- quitted himself with all of honor and distinction in discharging the duties connected therewith.
A native of the Empire state of the Union, Wiliam A. Bristol was born in Livingston county, New York, July 21, 1830, and he is a son of Eli H. and Lucy (Sterling) Bristol, both of whom were likewise born in Livingston county, New York, where they grew up and were married. In regard to the early ancestry of the Bristol family, it is said that in the colonial days three brothers came to America from Bris- tol, England, and after settling in this country assumed the name of Bristol, their old home. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this review was Miles Bristol, who passed his entire life time in the east. Lucy Sterling was the daughter of James and Mabel Sterling, both rep- resentatives of old eastern families, probably of English descent. After their mariage Mr. and Mrs. Eli H. Bristol lived in New York for five years, at the expiration of which they removed to Michigan, locating at Three Rivers, in St. Joseph county, where they resided from 1835 to 1846. In the latter year they removed to Commerce township, Oakland county, settling on a farm for which they had traded their old home in St. Joseph county. In the spring of 1852 they moved to Avon town- ship, this county and five or six years later they settled in Pontiac, where he died July 29, 1871, and she passed away at the home of her son in Southfield township in 1900. They were the parents of six children, concerning whom the following data are here entered,-William A. is the immediate subject of this review; James S. is a farmer in New Hamp- shire ; Melancton B. was killed in St. Louis by a collision of cars; Mary
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C. died at the age of ten years; Mabel C. died in New York as the wife of George McMillan; and Maria C. died in Pontiac, Michigan, as the wife of Samuel F. Street.
William A. Bristol resided on his father's farm until he had reached his legal majority and he was educated in the district schools in the various places where the family home was maintained. He also at- tended Genesee Wesleyan Seminary and the Michigan State Normal. For a number of years he taught school during the winter terms and after his marriage in 1856, he was engaged in farming and teaching until he settled on his present estate, which now comprises two hundred and five acres of some of the most fertile land in Oakland county. He is a Republican in politics and has been incumbent of the following of- fices : Supervisor of Southfield township for two years, town treasurer for eight years, justice of the peace for two terms and school inspector for a number of years. He and his wife are devout Presbyterians in their religious faith. As Mr. Bristol has now reached the venerable age of eighty-two years, he contents himself with giving his farm a general supervision, his son Ezra really having the management of the place.
On November 11, 1856, Mr. Bristol was united in marriage to Miss Clarissa Daniels, a daughter of John and Julia (Clark) Daniels, the former of whom was born in Vermont and the latter in Massachusetts. After reaching young manhood John Daniels moved to New York, where he met Julia Clark, who had been brought thither by her parents when a mere child. They were married in New York, in 1824, and im- mediately after that event came to Michigan and settled in a shanty in Southfield which he had erected a short time before coming here wih his wife. Later they erected a more comfortable dwelling, where they resided until their respective deaths, in 1861 and 1895. They had seven children,-Samuel, deceased; Clarissa, who is Mrs. Bristol; John and Ezra B., both deceased; Lycurgus L., living on a farm in Southfield township; Mary, who was the wife of Daniel Bassett at the time of her death in Birmingham, Michigan; and Edwin E., who died as a small child. Mr. and Mrs. Bristol have one child, Ezra, who manages the farm for his father and who is the owner of a tract of forty acres of land adjoining the parental estate.
HOSEA D. BEEBE, a prominent farmer, dairyman and fruitgrower on his fine estate of eighty acres in section 7, Southfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, is an influential citizen of this section of the state, where he has resided during practically his entire lifetime thus far. Mr. Beebe was born on the farm on which he now resides, the date of his nativity being the 10th of February, 1854. He is a son of David and Cornelia (DeBree) Beebe, the former of whom was summoned to the life eternal in 1885 and the latter of whom passed away in 1895. David Beebe was born in Monroe county, New York, in 1824, and was a son of David Beebe, Sr., who was likewise a native of the Empire state of the Union. The senior Beebe lived in New York until 1831, when he came west, settling in Southfield township and purchasing the farm of one hundred and sixty acres on which he resided during the remainder of his life. Here David Beebe, Jr., was reared to maturity and here he married Cornelia DeBree, who was born near The Hague, in Holland, in 1829, and who was a daughter of Anthony DeBree. She was reared to the age of sixteen years in her native land and in 1845
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accompanied her parents to America. The DeBree family located in Southfield township, in Oakland county, and here resided for a period of ten years, at the expiration of which they removed to Greenville, Montcalm county, Michigan, where they lived the remainder of their days. Mr. and Mrs. David Beebe became the parents of seven children, three of whom are living, in 1912, namely,-Anna, wife of John Bell, of Birmingham, Michigan; Justina, wife of William Bell, of Birming- ham; and Hosea D., whose name forms the caption for this article:
To the public schools of Southfield township Hosea D. Beebe is in- debted for his preliminary educational training, which he has since supplemented with extensive reading and home study. As a young man he settled in the village of Franklin, where he was engaged in the mercantile business for one year, at the end of which he went to Wixom, there engaging in the manufacturing of cheese, which line of enterprise he followed for the ensuing three years. In 1891 he settled on a farm in Bloomfield township and one year later he made his home on his present estate, which he inherited from his father. He devotes his attention to general farming, dairy work and the raising of fruit, and his beautiful estate of eighty acres is one of the most prosperous look- ing places in the county. In politics Mr. Beebe supports the principles of the Republican party and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees at Franklin.
In 1885 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Beebe to Miss Nellie G. Cox, a daughter of Dr. Henry S. Cox, of Franklin. Mrs. Beebe passed away March 23, 1906, mourned by a large circle of loving and admiring friends. Five children were born to this union, as follows: Albert Henry, who married Caroline Jacobs, resides at Southfield; Grace C. is the wife of Mortimer Voorhees, of Pontiac; George M. resides in the city of Detroit; Howard D. is attending business college at Pon- tiac ; and Harrol is a pupil in the Southfield school.
ORION H. EVERETT. An able and representative agriculturist who has done much to advance progress and conserve prosperity in Oakland county, Michigan, is Orion H. Everett, who owns and operates a fine farm of one hundred and thirty-two acres in sections 19 and 20, South- field township. He is deeply and sincerely interested in community affairs and has served his township on the school board and in the capacity of justice of the peace. He devotes his attention to general farming and the breeding of Holstein cattle.
A native of Oakland county, Michigan, Orion H. Everett was born on the farm on which he now resides, the date of his nativity being the 18th of June, 1869. He is a son of William H. and Ann Janette (Lapham) Everett. The mother is deceased and the father now re- sides with his son, Orion. He was a farmer during the greater part of his active career. They were the parents of two children, one of whom was drowned when a mere child.
Orion H. Everett was reared to adult age under the invigorating dis- cipline of the old home farm, in the work and management of which he early became associated with his father. His preliminary educational training was obtained in the district schools of Southfield township and later he attended the Birmingham high school, in which he was graduated. He was likewise a student in the normal school at Ypsi- lanti, where he studied for one year. In the fall of 1888 he began to
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teach school, following that occupation during the winters and working on his father's farm during the summer seasons. He continued in that manner for about six years and he also taught school for two years after his marriage. In 1895 he took full charge of the farm and since that time has given his attention to diversified agriculture, the raising of high-grade cattle and dairy work. This farm comprises one hundred and sixty acres of most arable land and is eligibly located in Southfield township, five miles distant from Farmington. Mr. Everett has another farm of one hundred and thirty acres, making his holdings in all two hundred and ninety acres. He makes a specialty of breeding Hol- stein cattle, his herd being one of the best in the entire county.
Mr. Everett's interest in political questions is deep and sincere and he gives an earnest support to Republican principles, believing that the platform of that party contains the best elements of good government. He has been school inspector and for the past ten or twelve years has been the popular and efficient incumbent of the office of justice of the peace in Southfield township. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with Farmington Lodge, No. 151, Free and Accepted Masons, and he is a member of the American Insurance Union and the Gleaners. He is a citizen whose sterling worth and strict honesty have won him the high regard of all with whom he has had dealings.
On October 18, 1893, Mr. Everett was united in marriage to Miss Hattie I. Steele, a daughter of Carlos and Ella G. Steele, of Farming- ton township. Mr. and Mrs. Everett are the parents of seven children, of whom Clarence is a junior in the Pontiac high school, where he is doing unusually well in his studies; Mathew Lynley is a freshman in the Pontiac high school; Ann Janette is attending the district school, as are also Roy H. and Leslie V .; and Geraldine M. and Harriet I. are at home.
CHARLES SIMMONS. Among the sterling old residents of Southfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, Charles Simmons holds prestige as one who has ever been loyal and public-spirited in his civic attitude. He has ever supported such measures and enterprises as are calculated to benefit humanity and during practically the entire period of his active career he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He is the owner of a fine estate of one hundred and seventy acres in section 21, South- field township and devotes his attention to general farming and the rais- ing of high-grade stock.
Charles Simmons was born in Columbia county, New York, Octo- ber 7, 1836, and he is a son of Henry and Salia Eliza (Beebe) Simmons, both of whom were likewise born in Columbia county, New York, where they were reared to maturity and where was solemnized their marriage. They resided in the Empire state until 1840, when removal was made to Michigan, the family settling in Southfield township, Oakland county. Henry Simmons was of German descent and his wife was of a stanch Yankee ancestry. For some years prior to his leaving New York Henry Simmons was engaged in the general merchandise business. After his arrival in Michigan he taught school off and on for some twenty years and he farmed on an estate of eighty acres in Southfield township, later increasing his landed estate to one hundred and sixty acres. He passed the remainder of his life time in Southfield township, and here died on October 8, 1879. His cherished and devoted wife, who survived her
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honored husband, passed away January 22, 1884. They became the parents of seven children, six of whom are living, in 1912, namely,- Salie, widow of Porter A. Sheppard, of Southfield; Catherine, wife of John Pettibone, of Farmington township, this county; Charles, the im- mediate subject of this review ; George, engaged in farming in Southfield township; Ellen, wife of Calvin Dingman, of Saginaw, Michigan; and Nathan, an agriculturist in Southfield township.
On the old homestead farm in Southfield township Charles Simmons was reared to adult age and he was brought hither in 1840, at the age of four years. He remained at home, working for his father, until he had reached his twenty-second year, when he married and began to farm on his own account. Since 1858-for more than half a century-Mr. and Mrs. Simmons have resided on their fine farm of one hundred and seventy acres in Southfield township. He has always been interested in farming and the raising of high-grade stock and has been remark- ably successful along those lines of enterprise. He is independent in his political views and fraternally is a member of Redford Lodge, No. 152, Free and Accepted Masons, and Peninsula Chapter, No. 52, Royal Arch Masons. In religious matters he and his wife are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Southfield.
On December 26, 1857, Mr. Simmons was united in marriage to Miss Laura Hodge, daughter of Ezra D. and Phila ( Rhodes) Hodge, the former of whom was born in Vermont and the latter in New York, of English descent. Mr. and Mrs. Hodge were married at Troy, New York, and were among the early pioneers of Southfield township. They both passed away in this township. Mr. and Mrs. Simmons have no children.
Mr. Simmons is the oldest resident of Southfield township at this writing, 1912, but he still carries on his farming and other business in- terests and is one of the best known men in the township. He has lived a life of usefulness such as few men know. God-fearing, law-abiding, progressive, his life is as truly that of a Christian gentleman as any man's can well be. Unwaveringly he has done the right as he has in- terpreted it. His life history is certainly worthy of commendation and of emulation, for along honorable and straightforward lines he has won the success which crowns his efforts and which makes him one of the substantial residents of Oakland county.
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