USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 51
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On May 11, 1868, Mr. Webb was joined in wedlock with Mrs. Har- riet (Plank) Green, the widow of John E. Green and a daughter of John and Sarah (Nash) Plank, natives of England and all their lives residents of "the bright little, tight little isle" in which they were born. Mrs. Webb, who was their only child, died May 3, 1912. She and her husband were the parents of four children: Alfred Giles, who was born on April 3, 1869, and is now in business in Pontiac: Charles Edwin, who came into being on October 31, 1870, and died in infancy : Edith H., whose life began on December 11, 1872, and who is now the wife of F. Whitfield of Pontiac; and William Plank, the date of whose birth was March 18, 1876, and who is also a business man in Pontiac.
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Mr. Webb's death brought to a close a very exemplary, stimulat- ing and useful life. His advance in prosperity was steady and con- tinued, and his growth in the favor and good will of the people kept pace with it, for, although always attentive to his business, he was always also zealous in behalf of the best interests of the community and its residents. He gave the people of Pontiac and Oakland county an example of elevated manhood devoted to elevated and productive citizenship of the best quality.
WILLIAM S. HAGERMAN has been identified with the agricultural in- terests of Oxford since 1873, although he has practically lived a retired life since 1900, owing to ill health which has reduced him to a state of invalidism. In the years when abundant health and strength were his, however, he was known as one of the most active and progressive farmers of the township, and from a comparatively small beginning has added gradually to his holdings until at the time of his retirement he was the owner of four hundred acres of some of the finest farm lands in Oakland county, two hundred and eighty of which he still holds.
Mr. Hagerman was born in Addison township, Oakland county, on March 20, 1840, and is the son of William and Sarah (DeWitt) Hager- man, both natives of Pennsylvania. They are now deceased, the death of the father occurring on March 19, 1883, one month following his eighty-first birthday anniversary, and the mother passed away Septem- ber 14, 1844, leaving her five young sons to the care of the bereaved husband and father. The children were: Alfred, born November 6, 1826, and died January 1, 1910; John, born January 6, 1828, and died March 9, 1907; Frank, born July 2, 1831, and died January 30, 1890; Cornelius, born January 17, 1834, and died April 24, 1883 ; and William S., the youngest of the five and the subject of this brief review, born March 20, 1840.
William S. Hagerman received the usual advantages of the coun- try school and also graduated from Business College in Detroit, but de- voted himself to the work of the home farm until his marriage in 1873, when he moved to Oxford and there began to farm on his own re- sponsibility. He has enjoyed a success in his business worthy of the name, and with the passing years has became firmly established in the good will and confidence of his fellow townsmen.
On May 10, 1873, Mr. Hagerman was united in marriage with Miss Nancy B. Wallace, daughter of Edward B. and Valeria (Stewart) Wal- lace, both natives of New York state, where the father was engaged in farming. He was born May 24, 1829, and died February 20, 1906, while the mother passed away July 26, 1899. Mr. Wallace's grandfather, Na- thaniel Wallace. was a soldier in the Continental army and fought throughout the Revolutionary war as a member of Colonel Peter Yates' Regiment of New York Militia. Mr. and Mrs. Wallace had three chil- dren : Delos, now deceased; Flora, the wife of William C. Pierce, of Prattsburg, New York, and Nancy B., now Mrs. Hagerman. One child has been born to them, Lulu Valeria, who remains with her parents.
Mr. Hagerman is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is a Democrat in his political faith, but was never active in party work beyond the demands of good citizenship.
The Hagerman family, originally from Holland, is an old and a
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distinguished one in the annals of the Netherlands. The coat-of-arms has been discovered, and officially verified.
ESIDOR JOSSMAN. In the life of the late Esidor Jossman there is presented a lesson worthy of emulation by the youth of any land, and a record of his career may disclose something of a nature encouraging to the young aspirant who, without friends or fortune, is struggling to overcome obstacles in his efforts to acquire fortune and position. Born October 28, 1838, in the city of Berlin, Germany, the son of Jewish parents, he early recognized that in his own country the only future that lay before him was to always work hard, with but little chance of securing a competence, and when only fifteen years of age turned his face towards the new world. Although he possessed no trade and only enough money to pay his passage, he desired to escape the com- pulsory army service of Germany and had the confidence in his own ability to succeed in America, and accordingly the year 1855 saw his arrival in New York.
Mr. Jossman's first employment in his adopted country was a peel- ing slippery elm bark at meager wages, and when he had amassed a capital of five dollars, fitted himself out with a pack of odds and ends, small trifles dear to the heart of the housewife and similar articles, and during the next two years travelled all over the state of New York. Seeing great opportunities further west, he then came to Michigan, where he soon was able to purchase a horse and wagon, and by 1859 had accumulated enough money to establish himself in a tailoring busi- ness in Holly. That town was the scene of his operations until 1862, when he engaged in a general store business at Goodrichville, Genesee county, Michigan, and in 1864 made his advent in Clarkston, purchas- ing the general store and produce business of Captain John Knox. For a long period Mr. Jossman continued to follow this line, handling anything that the farmers of the vicinity had to sell, and doing a large exchange business, but in 1884 sold out and went to Davisburg, where he was the proprietor of a general store for one year. In 1885 he re- turned to Clarskton, and in company with J. C. Bird organized the Clarkston Exchange Bank, a private institution, of which he ultimately became sole owner, and with which he was connected until his death, October 6, 1902, at the home of his son and daughter at Devils Lake, North Dakota. He was buried by the Masonic Lodge in Detroit, having been a member of that society for many years. Few men in Oakland county have been possessed of greater business or financial ability than Mr. Jossman. His death, which occurred most unexpectedly, found his affairs in excellent shape, his estate having been kept in the best of or- der by him. He was the owner of five valuable farms, identified him- self with various enterprises of a business nature, and during his en- tire career lost but $300 in bad debts. although he never brought a suit in court nor foreclosed a mortgage. A kindly man, enjoying the success of others because he had himself succeeded, his charities were many, but his gifts to worthy objects were given in such a quiet, un- ostentatious manner that their full extent will probably never be known. He adhered strictly to the faith of the church of his forefathers: in political matters he had no inclination for public preferment, but called himself a Democrat, and supported that party's principles and candi- dates. Something more than passing mention is due the memory of
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the poor immigrant boy that came to a strange land with naught but ambition and inherent ability to aid him, for it is to such men that this country owes its present greatness, and it was to honor and keep green the memory of Mr. Jossman that immediately after his death steps were taken to form the E. Jossman State Bank of Clarkston. This institution, incorporated November 28, 1902, with A. K. Edgar as president, C. J. Sutherland, M. D., as vice-president, and R. E. Joss- man as cashier, has a capital of $20,000, deposits of $130,000, and sur- plus and undivided profits of $15,000, and is known as one of the solid, substantial banking concerns, of Oakland county. It has the fullest con- fidence of the people, has paid yearly dividends, and in 1912 erected a handsome stone building, furnished in modern style, with all equip- ments for the comfort, convenience and safety of its depositors.
In 1860 Mr. Jossman was married to Sarah Lehman, born in Wur- temberg, Germany, of Jewish parentage, and to this union there were born the following children: Joseph A., a retired produce merchant of Oxford, Michigan; Henry R., connected with the Oakland Motor Com- pany, of Pontiac; Samuel, formerly chief of police of Devils Lake, North Dakota, for two years, and now a commercial salesman of De- troit ; Martha, who married Hon. J. F. Henry, of Devils Lake, judge of the probate court of Ramsey county, North Dakota; Ralph E., cashier of the E. Jossman State Bank, married Amelia Wallace, of Augusta, Georgia, and has two children, Ralph E., Jr., and Albert Wallace; Caroline I., a graduate of the Monroe Convent and the Ypsilanti Nor- mal school, and now a teacher at Detroit, Michigan; Albert L .; Wil- liam E., who died at the age of fifteen years; and two daughters who died in childhood. Albert L. Jossman was graduated from the Mich- igan University, at Ann Arbor, having completed a course in electrical engineering. He enlisted in the Thirty-fifth Michigan . Volunteers dur- ing the Spanish-American War, subsequently re-enlisted in the Twenty- seventh regiment, and was then transferred to the Twenty-second United States Regulars. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant for merit and bravery, and was severely wounded in a battle with the Moros in the Philippines. His death occurred July 28, 1902, at Manila, while he was returning home on a furlough, and Camp Jossman, a United States Army camp in the Philippines bears his name, being the only camp that has been named for a soldier who bore a rank beneath that of captain. His funeral was also in charge of the military, and burial by officers of Ft. Wayne was made in Detroit.
JOHN HICKEY. Numbered among the active and industrious men who are associated with the advancement of the agricultural inter- ests of Oakland county is John Hickey, who is successfully carrying on general farming on Orion township. He was born February 20, 1847, in Waterford township, Oakland county, Michigan, and was there educated in the district schools.
His father, Michael Hickey, was born and reared in New York state, and there married Jemima Annis, a native of the same state. Coming to Oakland county in 1834, he located at Waterford Center, and there both he and his wife spent their remaining days, his death occurring in May, 1867, and hers in 1883. They were the parents of eight children, of whom but two are now living, as follows: John, the subject of this brief sketch, and Nathan, a resident of Pontiac.
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When about seventeen years old John Hickey enlisted as a soldier in Company M, Third Michigan Cavalry, at Pontiac, and under com- mand of Captain Parsons went to the front. He took part in many engagements, and was twice wounded, both times while on foraging expeditions. After serving for two years and two months he was honorably discharged at Jackson, Michigan.
Returning to Waterford township, Mr. Hickey took up farming as his vocation. Subsequently selling his interest in his father's farm, he was for three years connected with the police force of Detroit. Going then to the lumber regions of Michigan, he worked in the woods fifteen winters. Marrying in 1892, Mr. Hickey bought a half interest in a hundred acres of land at Mount Morris, Genesee county, where he continued as a tiller of the soil for nine years. In 1892 he purchased forty acres of land in Vienna township, that county, and to that added by purchase, a short time later, thirty-nine acres more. He met with good results in the management of his little farm, remaining there until 1911. Coming back in that year to Oakland county, Mr. Hickey bought one hundred and twenty acres of rich and fertile land in section three, Orion township, and is here successfully devoting his time and energies to general farming and fruit growing, both profitable industries, for which this section of the county is well adapted.
Mr. Hickey married, at Mount Morris, Michigan, June 23, 1892, the widow of Andrew Rae and a daughter, of Robert and Mary Wallace. She is of pioneer stock, her grandfather having been one of the early Methodist ministers of the state. Robert Wallace was born in Mary- land, and his wife was a native of Connecticut, but spent her last years in Michigan. Of the nine children born of their marriage but two are now living namely : Mrs. Hickey and Melissa, the latter the widow of George DeLong, of LaPorte county, Indiana. Politically Mr. Hickey is identified with the Republican party, and has served in numerous minor township offices. Socially he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and takes great interest in its welfare.
JOHN J. MCWHORTER is a man who can undertake anything and do it well. On and off for twenty years, in addition to his other work, he taught school, and made a success of it. He has also held several im- portant positions in other lines of work, and was connected with both the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893, and that in St. Louis in 1904. He is now the directing superintendent of the seating department of Hey- wood Brothers and Wakefield, of Buffalo, New York. Although his work keeps him in the east for the greater part of his time, he never- theless finds time to visit frequently South Lyon, Michigan, his fa- vorite town.
Mr. McWhorter was born in Commerce, Oakland county, Michigan, November 16, 1847, the son of James and Mary (Demara) McWhorter, both natives of Orleans county, New York. John J. was the fourth in a family of seven children: Mary E., the eldest became the wife of James A. Hall, of Commerce; Sarah Augusta, the wife of John Moore, of Medina, New York; James A., who left home when a young man ; John J., the subject of this review; Seymour C., who was born in 1850, and died in 1874; Viola A., born in 1852, married George Ensley, of Oxford, Michigan; and Cornelia C., born in 1856, married Adelbert E. Perry, of East Shelby, New York. After his marriage James Mc.
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Whorter brought his wife to Michigan, in 1842, to a farm he had pre- viously purchased. Mrs. McWhorter died in Commerce, Michigan, and Mr. McWhorter in Barriton, Michigan.
John J. McWhorter began his schooling in the district schools in 1854, and although through the moving of his family to Pontiac, and then to a farm in Handy, Livingston county, and finally to Howell, he was forced to change his school several times, he nevertheless made an excellent record for himself and graduated from the high school in Howell. In the spring of 1868 he came to Salem to work for the De- troit, Lansing and Northern Railroad. He did not like this work, however, and spent the next six years in farming on the Sayre farm during the summer and teaching school in the winter. On March 12, 1874, his marriage took place to Miss Mary Alice Sayre, of Lyon, Michigan. She was born in Flushing, Michigan, the daughter of Thomas A. Sayre, a native of Trumansburg, New York, and Jane ( Blackwood) Sayre, a native of New York.
In 1877 Mr. McWhorter purchased a farm near Bloomer, Mont- calm county, Michigan, and he and his wife lived here for three years. He still kept up his teaching during the winter months. At the end of the three years he sold the farm and came to South Lyon to live. After a year's residence in the village he built a house on his father- in-law's farm and moved there. At this time he was spending his sum- mers on the farm and his winters in his old occupation of school teach- ing. He remained on the farm for ten years. In 1890 he became a traveling salesman for the South Lyon Church and Office Furniture Company, but with the closing out of the company the next year he became a salesman for a church and school furniture company of Man- itowas, Wisconsin. He remained with the latter company for one year, and then returned to South Lyon, where he engaged in painting to help pass the time. In 1892 he went to Greenville, Michigan, and taught school during the winter at Wolverton Plains.
This last date was practically the end of his teaching. He now took up a different type of work and has followed it more or less consist- ently ever since. In March, 1893, he accepted a position in the Art building at the World's Fair, and worked there until the next Feb- ruary, when the Chicago Art Institute employed him. In November. 1894, he went to St. Louis to become the custodian of the Museum of Fine Arts. He held this position for eleven years, and in 1904 had full charge of the hanging and installing of all the pictures in the American section of the World's-Fair at St. Louis. He resigned in October, 1905, to accept a position with the Western Land company, which was di- recting emigration to Texas and Kansas. In the fall of 1906 he went to Buffalo, New York, where he accepted a position with the Albright Art Gallery of Buffalo, New York, doing the work for one year. At the end of that time he took up the work he is now doing with the Hey- wood Brothers and Wakefield company.
Mr. McWhorter was for ten years a trustee of the Presbyterian church in South Lyon and has contributed liberally to its building. In South Lyon as in nearly all other towns where he has lived he has been school inspector.
ELMER E. MAITROTT. So far as enterprise and self-reliance is con- cerned the young men of the present day might study with some degree
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of profit to themselves the activities of Elmer E. Maitrott, pathmaster at Troy, who, like his father before him, started early to make for him- self a useful career. The senior Maitrott was only nineteen years old when he left Germany and came to the newer country to cast his lot among strangers. His son, the subject of this sketch, was only sixteen when he in turn left the parental fireside to shift for himself.
Born in Oakland county, July II, 1865, Elmer E. Maitrott is a son of John and Fanny (Carey) Maitrott. The father was a native of Ger- many, while the mother was born in Oakland county. It was in 1844, when he was still two years short of his majority, that John Maitrott located in Pennsylvania, whence he came in short order to Mt. Vernon, Michigan. After living there for fourteen years he came to Oakland county, which was his residence until his death on December 8, 1911. Besides Elmer, who was the eldest descendant, there were five chil- dren in the Maitrott family: William F., who is now living at Frank- lin, in Oakland county ; Emory E., of Flint, Michigan; Jesse F., of Pon- tiac township; Fred S., of Avon township; and George H., who also resides in Avon.
Endowed with strength, vigor and determination Elmer E. Maitrott took up farming for a livelihood at the age of sixteen. After three years on the farm he went to the Eastern Michigan Hospital for a similar period. Twenty-three years ago he went to his father-in-law's farm, where his abundant energy and skill proved extremely valuable.
Mr. Maitrott married Rena Belle Durant on November 25, 1888. She was a daughter of Samuel and Mary Jane James (Smith) Durant. the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of New York. Samuel Durant's parents were Gabriel Bell and Elizabeth (Smith) Du- rant, both of whom were natives of England. Mary Jane James Smith's father was John Smith and her mother was Mary James Smith. John Smith came from England, and he chose as his wife a lassie from Wales. Mr. Smith located in New York when he crossed the Atlantic in 1843, and did not come to Michigan until 1859. His home was at Amy, which was at that time called Auburn. He was a miller by trade and died in 1872. His wife passed away on October 5, 1882. Six children were born to them, all of whom have passed away with the exception of Mrs. Durant and one sister, Sarah Catherine, widow of Judd Etchel, of Seattle. Through the union of Mr. Maitrott and his wife there is one child, Charles E. D., who was born April 25, 1894.
Mr. Maitrott is a Republican and belongs to the Baptist church. His residence is on Rural Route No. I out of Troy.
DANIEL DOBAT, who makes a specialty of dairying in Oakland county, and who is still active although seventy-seven years of age, is a native of Germany, where he was born April II, 1835. With his parents, David and Esther (Lepedise) Dobat, he came to this country in 1873, the family living at Detroit for about eighteen years. In 1891 they came to Avon township and bought 160 acres of land in section 35. This tract is admirably adapted to dairying and on it graze several fine herds of Jersey and Holstein cattle.
Mr. Dobat's wife was before her marriage Mary Isdorenoth, and their union took place in April 1865. Ten children came to their home, of whom but three are now living. These are: Christopher, who is on the home place; August; and Annie, wife of Adolph Lutermoser, of
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Detroit. Mr. Dobat holds his church membership in the German Luth- eran faith, and is a Republican in politics. His country place is lo- cated on Rochester Rural Route No. Three.
AUGUST F. DOBAT, who lives in section 36 of Avon township, is independent in politics, and as he owns a fine farm he is independent in other particulars. He was a native of Germany, born September 27, 1869, a son of Daniel and Mary Dobat, and he remained at the old home until thirty-five years old, when he purchased a farm of 160 acres, mentioned above. His home has been there ever since, and he follows stock raising in addition to general farming.
His wife, Caroline Grimm, to whom he was married on February 16, 1905, is a daughter of Fred and Louisa (Prisell) Grimm. Her father was a native of Germany, but her mother was born in Michigan. The latter died on August 4, 1908, but Mr. Grimm is still living in Troy township of Oakland county. To their union five children were born: Henry, of Oakland county ; Annie, deceased; Caroline, wife of August F. Dobat ; John, deceased; and Edward, who is at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Dobat are the proud parents of two daughters and two sons: Theresa Clara, born January 30, 1906; Emma Louise, born February 6, 1907; Adolph Peter, born July 29, 1908; and Carl William, born April 11, 1910. Mr. Dobat belongs to the Lutheran Evangelical church.
HENRY KEMP. Although born in a foreign country, Henry Kemp, one of the sterling citizens of Pontiac township, where he owns an ex- cellent farm in section 15, can consistently claim Oakland county, Mich- igan, as his home, for he has resided here during more than sixty years, and in this time has established himself firmly in the confidence of the people of his community, whom he has represented in various posi- tions of honor and trust, ever acquitting himself in a highly creditable manner. Mr. Kemp was born August 11, 1848, in England, and is a son of John and Henrietta (Mepham) Kemp, who also claimed the British Isles as their place of birth. The family was founded in the United States in 1849, when John Kemp, a mason brought his family to Avon township, Michigan. He had followed farming at different intervals, and in addition to working at his trade engaged for a num- ber of years in agricultural pursuits in Pontiac township, whence he had removed in 1851, and where he was living at the time of his demise, in February, 1902. His wife passed away many years before, in 1868. Their six children were: John, who is deceased; Hannah, who is the widow of George H. McDonald and resides in Pontiac; Henry ; Mary, who is deceased ; Caroline, the wife of Marion Powell, residing in this state ; and Frederick, a resident of Pontiac.
After he had completed the curriculum of the public schools Henry Kemp gave his time and attention to assisting his father, remaining under the parental roof until he had reached the age of nineteen years. At that time he decided to embark in business on his own account, and accordingly took up a tract of land and engaged in farming, but re- tired from that occupation to give his attention to the restaurant busi- ness. In this he met with a satisfactory measure of success, and dur- ing the next eighteen years followed the same line of business in Pon- tiac. He then listened to the call of the soil and traded his restaurant
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for a farm of eighty acres in section 15, where he has made numerous fine improvements. He does general farming and stock raising, produc- ing large, flourishing crops and the finest breeds of cattle, sheep and swine. He has ever had a deep respect for the dignity of honest toil, and has won success by his own efforts, and yet has never neglected the duties of citizenship, being public-spirited and progressive in his attitude and giving his aid and influence in support of worthy causes. His political proclivities are indicated in the allegiance which he ac- cords to the Democratic party, and he has served as treasurer of Pon- tiac township for two years, as justice of the peace one term, and as a member of the school board for ten years, and while a resident of the city of Pontiac served as treasurer two terms.
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