USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 46
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DAVID WARD. A long American ancestry stretches behind Mr. David Ward, he being a descendant of Andrew Ward, of Connecticut. His grandfather, also named David Ward, served as a soldier during the whole Revolutionary war. This David Ward was originally a resident of Connecticut, but moved to Wells, Rutland county, Vermont, where he resided until his death. Nathan Ward, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a soldier in the War of 1812. He had married in 1786 and was the father of eight children. In 1834, when David was twelve years old, the family moved to Newport, Michigan, where his earlier manhood was spent as schoolmaster and surveyor. He also early began the study of medicine by himself and at length entered the medical school of the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1851.
Mr. Ward soon abandoned the practice of medicine for the business of looking up and dealing in pine lands, for which his long experience as a surveyor eminently fitted him. The pine land and lumber interests
ELIZABETH P. WARD
DAVID WARD
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finally superseded all others and continued to engross his attention throughout the remainder of his life.
When twenty-nine years of age Mr. Ward married Miss Elizabeth Perkins, of Richmond, Macomb county, Michigan. Mr. Ward died at Orchard Lake, which had long been one of his homes, May 29, 1900, leaving a widow and six sons and daughters.
GEORGE H. PICKERING. Ranking high among the substantial farm- ers of Oakland county, a record of whose lives fills an important place in this biographical volume, is George H. Pickering, who is living in section thirty-one, Bloomfield township, on the very farm on which his birth occurred, December 31, 1856.
Cooper Pickering, his father, was born, reared and married in Lin- colnshire, England, the maiden name of his wife having been Elizabeth Turner. Both were children of farmers, and while in his native land Cooper Pickering was a shepherd, having charge of large flocks of sheep. On landing in America with his young wife he found himself almost penniless, but they were both energetic and courageous, and in order to increase their finances both sought employment, he working for one season by the day as a farm hand, while she drew weekly wages as a domestic. The following year they rented a farm in Southfield township, and afterwards spent three years in Bloomfield township, on the farm now occupied by their son, George H. Pickering. Moving then to Southfield township, they purchased the old Pickering home- stead, and there resided until retiring from active pursuits. He then settled in Birmingham, about 1886, and there both spent their remain- ing days, his death occurring in 1894, and hers in 1889. They were the parents of six children, as follows : Joseph, who died in 1895; Sarah, who married E. G. Higby, died in 1911; George H., the subject of this sketch; Jennie, wife of Samuel G. Forman; Ida, who died in 1871; and Viola died in 1902.
Owning and occupying a farm that formerly belonged to his father, George H. Pickering is an important factor in advancing the agricul- tural interests of Bloomfield township, his fine farm of one hundred and sixty-six acres, advantageously located in section thirty-one, being under a good state of culture and amply repaying him for the time and labor he has bestowed upon it, yielding him abundant harvests each year. He is an exceedingly skillful agriculturist, and is in all respects a valuable citizen, fulfilling his duties and obligations as such with fidel- ity. He is a Democrat in politics, and has held all of the school offices of his township.
Mr. Pickering married, December 11, 1880, Lottie Forman, who was born in Bloomfield township, a daughter of William and Harriet (Thompson) Forman, both of whom were born and reared in Lincoln- shire, England, her father's birth occurring July 6, 1819, and her moth- er's August 3, 1821. In 1854, fourteen years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Forman sailed for America with their six children, four of whom died of cholera ere reaching shore. They lived in Ohio for two years, and then came to Oakland county, Michigan, where for a few months they rented the farm now owned and occupied by Robert Allen, their son-in-law. Buying then the homestead on which their son, Sam- uel G. Forman, lives, they lived there the remainder of their days, Mrs. Forman dying in 1898 and Mr. Forman in 1905. They were the parents
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of twelve children, four of whom are living, as follows: Minnie, wife of Robert Allen, of Bloomfield township; Samuel G .; Lottie, now Mrs. Pickering; and Sarah, wife of Frank Crawford, of West Bloomfield township. Mr. and Mrs. Pickering have four children, namely: Elsie E., wife of John Curran, of Franklin, has one son, Norman G. Curran, born in 1911; Edna H., twin sister of Elsie E .; Ralph George; and Russell W. C.
MRS. EFFIE G. PICKERING, is the widow of Joseph C. Pickering, who was a prominent farmer in Southfield township, Oakland county, Michi- gan, up to the time of his death, in 1895. She resides in Franklin, in Southfield township and is a woman who commands the unalloyed con- fidence and esteem of all with whom she comes in contact.
In Oakland county, on the 13th of April, 1862, occurred the birth of Mrs. Effie G. Pickering, who is a daughter of Nelson and Angeline (Grace) Coleman, the former of whom was born in Morristown, Mor- ris county, New Jersey ,and the latter of whom was born in the state of New York. Nelson Coleman was a son of John Coleman, who was likewise born in New Jersey and who came to Michigan in the early 3os, settling on a farm in Farmington township, Oakland county. An- geline (Grace) Coleman is the daughter of John and Milly Grace, who were married in New York, whence they came to Michigan when Angeline was a small girl. They also became residents of Farmington township. After Angeline's marriage to Mr. Coleman they settled on his father's old homestead and there they continued to reside until three years before the birth of Mrs. Pickering. They then removed to the place on which Mrs. Angeline Coleman now lives and which has repre- sented her home for the past fifty years. Mr. Coleman died January 28, 1898. They became the parents of the following children : Orson B., who is a resident of Farmington township; Augusta A., the wife of William Erwin, of Oakland county; Alice N. was the wife of Wallace B. Grace at the time of her demise; Effie G. is the immediate subject of this review; Emmer M. is a resident of Redford, Michigan.
Mrs. Pickering resided in the home of her parents until her mar- riage, in 1884, and she was educated in the neighboring district schools. Mr. and Mrs. Pickering lived on their farm in Southfield township for a period of eleven years, in fact until his death, November 16, 1895.
Mr. Joseph C. Pickering was a son of Cooper and Eliza Pickering, both of whom were natives of Lincolnshire, England, where they grew up and were married and came to America the same year in which their wedding occurred. They were very poor on their arrival in the United States, but through hard work and economy they managed to become very prosperous before their deaths. They came directly to Michigan and acquired considerable land in Southfield and Bloomfield townships, Oakland county.
Mr. and Mrs. Pickering became the parents of two children, of whom Josephine died in 1906, at the age of ten years and Orley L. re- sides with his mother. After the death of her husband Mrs. Pickering returned to the home of her father, where she resided for the ensuing fourteen years, at the expiration of which she removed to her present residence. The estate comprises one hundred and fifty acres, is finely improved and represents one of the finest farms in the entire county. Mrs. Pickering also owns real estate in the village of Franklin. She
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is a devout member of the Mehtodist Episcopal church in her religious faith and is a woman of the most gracious personality, being deeply be- loved by all who come within the sphere of her gentle influence.
JOHN CURRIN, JR. Since 1909 John Currin, Jr., has owned and con- ducted a general store at Franklin, in Southfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, and he has been the popular and efficient incumbent of the office of postmaster of Franklin for the past three years. His citizen- ship has ever been characterized by intrinsic loyalty and public spirit and as a business man he is well liked in the neighborhood in which he resides.
John Currin, Jr., was born on a farm a mile and half southeast of Franklin, in Oakland county, Michigan, February 25, 1876, and he is a son of John, Sr., and Hannah ( Briggs) Currin, both of whom were born and reared in North Hamptonshire, England, where was solemnized their marriage and from whence they immigrated to the United States in 1872. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this review was James Currin, who was a native of England, where he passed his entire life time. Three children were born to John and Hannah Currin in England, and after their arrival in this country the family proceeded directly to Oakland county, Michigan. For the next thirteen years John Currin, Sr., worked by the day at farm labor and in 1885 he rented a farm in Southfield township, which he cultivated for the ensuing nine- teen years, at the expiration of which, in 1904. he purchased an estate of eighty acres about two miles southwest of Franklin, in Southfield township. Mrs. Currin was summoned to the life eternal August 15, 1899. She was a woman of most gracious personality and was deeply beloved by all who came within the sphere of her gentle influence. Mr. and Mrs. Currin became the parents of ten children, nine of whom are living, in 1912, and three of whom were born in England, as already stated: George E., of Birmingham, Michigan: Mary, is the wife of Wellington Johnston, of Detroit ; Anna is the wife of Robert McCrumb, of Farmington, Michigan ; William is a resident of Fenton, Michigan ; Alfred is a farmer in Southfield township; John is the immediate sub- ject of this review ; Clara is the widow of George Robertson, and resides in Franklin ; Grace is the wife of Milo Rayner, of Franklin ; and LeRoy remains at home with his father. John Currin, Sr., started life prac- tically penniless and inasmuch as the splendid success which he has achieved as a farmer in this county is entirely the result of his own well directed endeavors it is the more gratifying to contemplate. He is hon- ored for his sterling integrity of character and his broad-minded attitude toward his fellow men.
To the sturdy and invigorating discipline of farm life, John Currin. Jr., grew to maturity. He received a fair educational training in the public schools of Southfield township and he stayed at home and worked for his father until he had reached his twenty-sixth year. In 1902 he came to Franklin, where he began to clerk in the store which he now owns. It was then the property of George Bingham. As the result of long association in the store business Mr. Currin became well equipped to run an establishment of his own and he purchased his present place in 1909. His store is well stocked with dry-goods and groceries and a fine patronage is controlled in Franklin and the territory normally tributary thereto. Just after becoming proprietor of his present store Mr. Currin
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was appointed postmaster .at Franklin, by President Taft, and he is fill- ing that office with the utmost efficiency. In politics he is a stalwart Republican.
On March 28, 1906, Mr. Currin married Miss Elsie E. Pickering, a daughter of George H. and Lottie (Forman) Pickering, of Bloomfield township, Oakland county. Mrs. Currin's great-grandfather, Cooper Pickering, was a native of Lincolnshire, England. Mr. and Mrs. Currin have one son, Norman George, whose birth occurred on the 25th of January, 19II.
HENRY G. KYLE. After several excursions into other lines of work Henry G. Kyle, of section 29, West Bloomfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, has returned to his original occupation, and is now living on his own farm in West Bloomfield township, although he busies himself part of the time with his former occupation of auctioneering. His return to the country after living for several years in a large city marks him out as an unusual man. Few people, once they have tasted the excitement of the constant strain and pressure of the city life, can stand the sense of unfulfillment that comes each evening in the country when the nervous energy the city-bred man has generated, according to his habit, to carry him over the constant demands on his attention, is left undisturbed by any demands the smaller community might have made upon him. Thus there must be some rare philosophy in Mr. Kyle, a philosophy which the whole nation when it senses the results of the present urban rush, will grasp eagerly, that drew him back to the peace of the country.
Joseph Kyle, Henry Kyle's father, was born in Derry county, Ireland, and lived there until he was twenty-five years old, when he came to the United States. His first stopping place was Philadelphia, where he stayed a few months, or until the July of 1855. He was working by the day at this time and finding that the old country legend that gold lay in the streets in America-was a myth. When he started west he came directly to West Bloomfield township, Michigan, where he worked for the first two years for William Brown at farm labor for twelve dollars a month. For a month after leaving this first employer he worked for T. A. Armstrong, and then hired out by the year to Jacob Hosmer on the farm now owned by Almon Hosmer. He was with Mr. Hosmer for two years and received thirteen dollars a month. His next position was with Balden Conley at North Farmington on the Armstrong farm, where he remained three months. All this time, although he had been receiving such small wages, he had been thriftily saving his money so that he was then able to rent the Phillip DeConick farm for a period of five years, and as soon as his lease expired there he bought eighty acres of land on section 32, West Bloomfield township, where he lived until his death, on August 25, 1889. By this time too his farm had increased until it extended over two hundred and forty acres. Elizabeth Robert- son, who became his wife, was born in Ireland in 1835 and remained in her native land until she was twenty years old, when she left for the United States in the same steamer by which Joseph Kyle was crossing. Six weeks were required to make the trip. She also, like Mr. Kyle, first settled in Philadelphia, and remained there working until 1860. By that time Mr. Kyle was in a position to be married, so that she left the east and came on to Michigan. Their marriage took place at the home of
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Robert Beattie on May 22, 1860, and they started housekeeping on the farm he had rented from Phillip DeConick. She died September 10, 1908. They were the parents of five children, all of whom are still living, Henry G., the oldest and the subject of the sketch; Mary J., Anna and Libby, all three living on the old homestead; and William J., a resident of Kansas City, Missouri.
Henry Kyle was born in West Bloomfield township June 29, 1863. He remained on the farm with his parents until he was twenty-one years old when he started out for himself. In the winter of 1891 he began the study of medicine at the Detroit College of Medicine. He soon gave this up, however, and for a year traveled for the Parke-Davis Com- pany. His next connection was the McCormick Harvester Company, and he then became sales manager for the Guilford Extract Company of Boston. After a year with the last named firm he took up auction work and followed that occupation until January 1, 1898, when he entered into the employ of the Gaulolfo, Gio Company of St. Louis, Missouri. After a year with them he came back to the farm and has remained here ever since. On April 26, 1911, he was married to Rachael L. Newman, of Orchard Lake. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows at Pontiac, lodge No. 3. His sympathies are with the Republican party. He is the owner of eighty acres of land.
ARTHUR GREEN, a farmer of section 31, West Bloomfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, belongs to a family whose ancestry can be traced back in English history to the wife of King John of England. His progenitors came to this country in 1635, however, so that he be- longs to one of the oldest American families, and can consider himself an owner of that most rare and prized possession, a pure American line- age. In this year, so soon after the landing of the Pilgrim fathers, three John Greene's, all cousins, left England for the colonies. One became the ancestor of General Nathaniel Green, another established only a small branch of the family tree, and the third founded the line of which Arthur Green is a descendant. This last one was John Greene, of Quid- nessitt, and was the twenty-fifth in descent from Robert Stagg.
Levi Green, the great-grandfather of Arthur Green, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His son, Zephaniah Green, was born in New York, August 6, 1801, but moved to Michigan in 1832. He had been married in 1826, and on his journey westward he left his family in Springfield, Michigan, until he could decide on their permanent abode. He finally bought land in West Bloomfield township, getting eighty acres from John Coe, and eighty from the government. He had eight chil- dren : Addis Emmett, who married Cordelia Adeline South, a pioneer resident of Oakland, and who is now dead : Mary Almeda, wife of Louis Severance, now dead: Adeleza Luthera, the deceased wife of Leonard Garfield : Emma Maria, the wife of George Helliken; Horace Alfonzo, the father of Arthur Green; Sophonia, who died in infancy; Lucy Ordiba, the wife of Charles Seeley, of Garden City, South Dakota; and Betty Louisa, the deceased wife of Byron Phelps. Zephaniah Green lived on this farm he had purchased in West Bloomfield town- ship until his death, February 1, 1879.
Horace Green, the son of Zephaniah, was born in a log cabin on the farm. He spent his childhood there, receiving his education in the dis- trict schools, and until he was thirty years old, when he married, he
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taught school. He was united to Mary Seeley, born in Novi township, Oakland county, Michigan, the daughter of Edward and Calista Seeley, who had come from New York. After his marriage he settled in Farm- ington and bought a farm there, where they lived for forty-seven years, or until the fall of 1911, when they moved to their son's farm, near which they also own eighty acres.
Arthur Green was born in Farmington township, August 19, 1875, and lived there with his parents until a few months after his marriage to Nellie McCracken, daughter of William J. McCracken, which took place October 7, 1903. They now own and are living on the farm of eighty acres, where his father was born. They have had one child, Arthur Wendell, now a boy of about five years old. Mr. Green is in sympathy with the Republican party.
COLONEL E. BENJAMIN. Numbered among the industrious, prac- tical and prosperous agriculturists of Oakland county is Colonel E. Ben- jamin, who has a well-improved and well-managed farm in section thirty- five, West Bloomfield township. He is a native and to the manner born, his birth having occurred November 12, 1862, on the farm which he now owns and occupies, and on which his father, George W. Benjamin, settled at the time of his marriage. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Benjamin, who was of Dutch ancestry, came from New York state to Michigan in 1830, and was one of the pioneer settlers of West Bloom- field township, of which he was the first supervisor.
George W. Benjamin was born November 20, 1830, in Mendon, Ontario county, New York, and when but a year old was brought by his parents, Daniel and Elizabeth Benjamin, to West Bloomfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, where he was brought up in true pioneer style, attending the primitive schools of his day and helping his father to hew a farm from the wilderness. After his marriage he bought land in section thirty-five, and for a number of years was busily employed in adding to its improvement. Moving with his family to Pontiac in 1872, he resided there until 1883, when he returned to his old homestead, on which he is still living, an honored and respected man. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Cox, was born in Somersetshire, England, near Bristol, where her parents, Peter and Anna Cox, spent their entire lives, passing away when she was a girl of ten years. At the age of twenty years she and a younger brother, James Cox, immigrated to the United States, coming directly to Franklin, Oakland county, Michigan, where she soon found employment as a domestic, and continued to work until her marriage, four years later. She died on the home farm in 1907, leaving three children, namely: Ella, wife of Frank L. Millis, of Pon- tiac; Ida, living on the old homestead, twenty acres of which she owns : and Colonel E., the subject of this brief sketch.
Succeeding to the independent occupation to which he was reared. Colonel E. Benjamin has met with eminent success as a general farmer, and is now the owner of two hundred and twenty acres of rich and pro- ductive land, a part of it lying in Farmington and the remainder in West Bloomfield township. Politically Mr. Benjamin supports the principles of the Republican party, but has never been an office seeker.
JOHN BENJAMIN. Oakland county, Michigan, figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the state, justly
John Benjamin
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claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive development and marked advancement in the material upbuilding of this section. The county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have contributed to its develop- ment along commercial and agricultural lines, and in the latter connec- tion the subject of this review demands recognition, as he has been actively engaged in farming operations during practically his entire life thus far. He has long been known as a prosperous and enterprising agriculturist and one whose business methods demonstrate the power of activity and honesty in the business world. He has held a number of township offices, including those of constable, supervisor of the township for seven years, treasurer for several years of the board of review and school inspector for some time. He is also an old Civil war veteran.
John Benjamin III was born on the farm on which he now resides, in Royal Oak township, Oakland county, Michigan, December 24, 1842. He is the son of John II and Ruth Ann (Warner) Benjamin, both of whom were born in New York, the former in Monroe county, in 1809, and the latter in Niagara county, in 1819. The grandfather of the sub- ject was John Benjamin I, likewise a native of the state of New York. John Benjamin II left home at an early age and for a number of years was a driver on the Erie Canal. When he reached his twenty-second year he came to Michigan, locating at Bloomfield, in this county, where he worked at cabinet-making, and also learned the trade of making grain cradles. The manufacture of the "Old Muley" cradle made him famous throughout the state. After his marriage, in 1835, he settled in Royal Oak township, where he bought a tract of eighty acres of govern- ment land, in addition to which he purchased another eighty acres adjoining. Here he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, their deaths having occurred in 1878 and 1911, respectively. Ruth Ann (Warner) Benjamin was a daughter of Levi B. and Mary (Stoughton) Warner, both natives of New York and descendants of Scotch, German and English ancestry. John Benjamin I was a gallant soldier in the War of 1812 and his demise occurred in 1814, as a result of wounds received while in battle. Only two of the five children born to John II and Ruth Ann Benjamin are now living, namely,-Julia H., wife of D. L. Camp- bell, of Royal Oak township, and John III, of this notice.
To the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the old homestead farm John Benjamin was reared to maturity. His educational training was received in the neighboring district schools. In 1864 he enlisted as a soldier in Company C, Thirtieth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and he served with the utmost valor and faithfulness until the close of the war. After his return to Michigan, in 1865, he began to farm on the old estate which belonged to his father, a part of which he now owns. This farm is located in section 8, Royal Oak township, and lies two miles distant from the village of Royal Oak. Fine buildings situated in the midst of well cultivated fields are the best indication of the owner's thrift and ability as an agriculturist. His farm comprised at one time one hundred and sixty acres.
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