USA > Michigan > Wexford County > History of Wexford County, Michigan, embracing a concise review of its early settlement, industrial development and present conditions > Part 54
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honorably discharged from the service and, returning home at once, resumed farming on the home place, devoting the winters as for- merly to school work. When sixteen years old he severed home ties and started out to make his own way, engaging first as a saw- mill hand in his own county, where he labored during the ensning three years. . \t the expiration of that time he entered the employ of a lumber manufacturer at Saginaw where he worked in the mills during the summer of 1871, and the following year went to Coleman where he was similarly en- gaged until the latter part of 1872. Mr. Manning's next engagement was at Evart where, with the exception of spending one y car as superintendent of the shingle mill in the city of Farwell, he worked from the spring of 1873 to the fall of 1878. Leav- ing Evart, he accepted the superintendency of a large saw-mill at Farwell and after serving in that capacity until April, 1884, resigned his position and entered into part- nership, at Hersy, with Robert Hall, the company thus constituted becoming the largest lumber firm in that town. After lasting about three years and doing a very flourishing business, the firm of Hall & Man- ning was dissolved, the latter disposing of his interest in the concern in 1888. In February of that year Mr. Manning came to Cadillac and entered the employ of Dig- gins Brothers as superintendent of their large lumber mills, the duties of which re- sponsible position he discharged in an able and satisfactory manner until September, 1895, when he resigned for the purpose of becoming superintendent of the Cadillac Handle Company, being still manager of this large and flourishing enterprise.
From the foregoing outline of a very ac-
tive and successful career it will be seen that Mr. Manning has filled worthily several important trusts, in all of which he demon- strated business and executive ability of a high order, discharging every duty credit- ably and fully meriting the confidence re- posed in him by his employers. His ad- vancements from an humble station to the commanding position he now holds as prac- tical manager of one of the leading indus- trial enterprises in this part of the state have been continuous, each successive change leading to something higher and more re- sponsible, the firms which he left parting re- luctantly with his services, others eagerly accepting him as the one best qualified to bring their industries to the highest possible standard of efficiency.
On the 13th day of September, 1876, at Mt. Morris, Genesee county, Michigan, Mr. Manning was united in marriage with Miss Ida E. Mann, daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Van Natten) Mann. Mrs. Manning is a native of Branch county, Michigan, and has borne her husband children as follows : Myrtle, wife of William Hoag : Lee, Bessie, John. Leo, Erma and Daniel. Mr. Man- ning has been a member of the board of pub- lic works at Cadillac since 1890 and while a resident of Evart he served two years in the common council of that city. Fraternally he belongs to Cadillac Lodge, Knights of Pythias, to Lodge No. 181, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and he is also an active worker and leading spirit in the Royal Cir- cle of this city. He enjoys the high respect and warm admiration of the people of his adopted city, is a forceful factor in all mat- ters pertaining to its general welfare and stands today one of the leading and influen- tial business men in a community where
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talent and genuine worth have ever been recognized and appreciated at their true value. Mr. Manning's lite has been one of great activity, attended, as already stated, by remarkable business advancements and not a little of financial prosperity. He is essen- tially progressive in all he undertakes and endowed with the ability and taet to mould circumstances to his will. His success in over-riding adverse conditions and rising to lis present influential and honorable station in the world of affairs is such as few attain. Of strong convictions, positive character and incorruptible integrity, he is deservedly classed with the most intelligent and ener- getic of Cadillac's representative men and holds a permanent place in the hearts of his fellow citizens.
HENRY HANSEN.
The men of force and capacity who take strong hold of the rugged conditions of life and mokdl them to their will are entitled to all honor among their fellow men, not only for the individual triumphs they win but also for the fruitful potencies awakened and inspired by their examples. To the complex fabrics of our American social life nearly every civilized nation on the face of the globe has contributed its quota, and here we have many of the sturdy sons of the far Norscland who have come to our hospitable shores and by personal effort won for them- selves success and prestige. One of this number is Mr. Hansen, who is an honored citizen of Cadillac, and who is at the present time incumbent of the office of register of deeds of Wexford county.
Henry Hansen is a native of Denmark, where he was born on the 17th of September. 1848. being a son of Hans and Johanna M. Rassmussen, representatives of staunch old Danish stock. He was reared to the age of seventeen years in his native land. where he received his early education- al discipline, and he then severed the home ties and valiantly set forth to seek his fortunes in America, whither he came alone and as a veritable stranger in a strange land. Mr. Hansen disembarked in the port of New York city in the month of April, 1867, and thence made liis way westward to Champaign county, Illinois, where he se- cured employment on a farm, and to this line of work he continued to devote his at- tention, in different counties of that state, for a period of five years, while he also work- ed at mining for two years, having a deep respect for honest toil and never hesitating to turn his attention to any honest employ- ment he could secure, while he spared no ef- fort to advance himself in the knowledge of the English language and the customs of the country which he had adopted as a home. From Illinois he went to Denver, Colorado, where he was employed as a lumber in- spector for one and a half years, in the meanwhile passing six months in the mining districts of the state. . After leaving Colo- rado Mr. Hansen returned to Denmark, where he continued to reside for the ensu- ing seven years, at the expiration of which he came again to the United States, locating in Wexford county in 1881 and here secur- ing employment as a common laborer in the lumber woods, where he remained about six months, after which he was in the en- ploy of the Cummer Lumber Company for about the same length of time. . At the ex-
H. HANSEN.
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piration of this incumbency he secured a clerkship in the law and insurance office of Rosevelt & Christensen, in Cadillac, remain- ing with this firm about two years and gain- ing valuable experience and knowledge. Thereafter he was in the employ of E. E. Haskins for six months and then passed two years as a clerical assistant in the law and insurance office of Hon. Clyde C. Chittenden. Mr. Ilansen then resumed work in connec- tion with the lumbering industry, securing employment in a sawmill at Grayling, where he remained about six months, at the expiration of which he returned to Cadillac and secured the position of assistant post- master, of which he remained incumbent for two years, after which he was variously em- ployed until 1890, when he was appointed deputy county clerk and deputy register of ‹leeds for Wexford county, under Samuel J. Wall, with whom he remained about six years.
In the autumn of 1896 Mr. Hansen was elected to the office of county clerk. on the Republican ticket, and gave so capable and satisfactory an administration that at the expiration of his term of four years he was made the candidate of his party for the office of register of deeds, being elected by a gratifying majority in the autumn of 1900 and being now in tenure of the office, while he has proved him- self well worthy of the confidence and trust reposed in him by the people of the county. Mr. Hansen has given a staunch allegiance to the Republican party and has been an ac- tive and influential factor in its local ranks, while as an official and a citizen he enjoys unqualified confidence and esteem in the com- munity in which he has won prestige and success through well directed and honor-
able effort, being essentially the architect of his own fortunes. Fraternally he is iden- tified with the Gotha Lodge No. 5, of the Swedish United Sons of America, and with Cadillac Tent No. 232, Knights of the Maccabees.
In the city of Cadillac, on the ist of August, 1885, Mr. Hansen was united in marriage to Miss Johanna Eng, who was born in Norway, and they are the parents of three children. Ingeborg M., H. Paul and Donald E.
JOHN KLUSS.
There have come to America from other countries many men of limited financial re- sources, but who were imbued with a sturdy independence and a laudable ambition to succeed. They have taken advantage of the wonderful possibilities afforded here and gradually, step by step, have accumulated property and risen to places of prominence in business circles. The career of the sub- ject of this review, John Kluss, of Haring township, illustrates most forcibly the pos- sibilities that are open to a man who pos- sesses intelligence and integrity. It proves that success is not a thing to be inherited, but to be won by sheer force of energy, di- rected and controlled by correct moral principles. It also proves that neither wealth or social position, nor the assistance of influential friends, are always requisite to placing an individual on the high road to prosperity and honorable station.
John Kluss, whose farm is part of sec- tion 34. Ilaring township, is a native of Germany. He was born August 7. 1847. and was reared and educated in his na-
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tive land. Ilaving grown to manhood there. military duty was required of him, as it is from all other German youths, without re- gard to rank or station, who have the phys- ical strength to be received into the service. Three years of his early manhood were spent in the German army, which period included the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71, in which he served during the greater part of the war. After the conclusion of his mili- tary service he returned to his home in Ger- many and engaged in farming until 1883. when he migrated to America. He first set foot on American soil in the city of New York and came direct to Wexford county. Michigan, where he was not long in secur- ing employment with the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway Company and for thirteen years faithfully served them in various capacities. From a portion of the savings of those years he purchased twenty acres of land, a part of section 34. Haring town- ship. Another purchased increased the size of his realty holdings in that township to sixty acres, thirty-eight acres of which is well improved. tillable. with good buildings and other necessary appurtenances. On severing his connection with the railroad company, he established his home on this land, where he has resided since.
Before leaving Germany for America, on the 5th day of November, 1871, John Kluss was united in marriage to Miss Mary Wink- elman, a girl who was noted for good judg- ment and many sterling virtues. On the voyage to America she accompanied him and in all the labor in which he has engaged since locating here she has been to him all that a good, true and noble wife should be. Especially in the making of the home and the care of their children has she shown
those matronly qualities which make womanhood and motherhood so worthy of admiration. A good wife is one of the best gifts God ever bestowed upon a poor man and the full truth of this saying has many times been realized by John Kluss. With his well-known industry and untiring energy has been coupled her thrift and economy, qualities which when combined in one household neutralizes even the gravest misfortunes. They are the parents of three children, August, Fred and Mary. August makes his home with his parents, and is a farmer. Fred, who is a carpenter and joiner, married Miss Grace Rudolph and they reside in Oakland, California. Mary is at home.
While by no means aspiring to be a politi- cian and too busy with his labors on his farm to give politics much attention. Mlr. Kluss has been honored by the voters of his township with a number of official positions in the municipal government. The success which has attended his labors in America clearly indicates what may be acomplished by any one possessed of industry, economy and integrity, whether they be natives of this republic or citizens by adoption.
WARREN SEAMAN.
Wexford county is characterized by her full share of the honored pioneer element. who have done so much for the develop- ment of this country and the establishment of the institutions of civilization in this fertile and well favored section. The bio- graphical sketches in this volume are largely of this class of useful citizens and it is not in the least too early to record in print the principal items in the lives of these hard-
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working and honest people, giving honor to whom honor is due. They will soon be gone and the past can have no better history or memento than these records.,
Warren Seaman, the subject of this re- view, was born in Cattaraugus county, New York, on a farm. May 16, 1834. His parents were John and Lucretia ( Wyllys) Seaman, the former a native of Ulster county, New York, while the latter was born in Massachusetts. They came to Michigan in 1842, located in Hillsdale coun- ty, and ten years later, in 1852, moved to Muskegon county, locating at Casnovia. where they remained until their deaths. she at eighty-eight years of age, and he at the age of ninety-three years. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom Warren, the subject of this review, was the fifth.
When Warren Seaman first viewed the pine-clad hills of Michigan he was only eight years old. During the ten years of the family's residence in Hillsdale county he was occupied most of the time in the woods. the clearing and on the farm. \ portion of the time he attended such schools as the commonwealth afforded in the locality, and · managed, through persistent efforts, to se- cure a fair education. In 1855. about the time that he attained his majority, he moved to a farm near Big Rapids where he engaged in agricultural pursuits and lumbering. This he continued until May, 1869, when he came to Wexford county and settled on the farm in Cedar Creek township where he now re- sides and which has been his residence con- tinuously for thirty-four years. He entered the land as a homestead, eighty acres in ex- tent, and upon it built a log house. Later he purchased forty acres contiguous to his
homestead, which gives him a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in one body. Since then the log house has been replaced by a neat, commodious frame house and the other tarm buildings have been improved in accordance therewith. Lighty acres of the tract have been cleared, are well cultivated and exceedingly productive. A fine, bear- ing orchard of ten acres in extent, containing over five hundred trees, adds largely to the receipts of the place. There are about two hundred peach trees, one hundred plum trees and one hundred pear trees, the remainder being apple trees. The fruit is all of the finest and most desirable varieties.
At Casnovia, Muskegon county, Michi- gan, September 16, 1855. Warren Seaman was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Moore, a native of Ohio, born October 7. 1838. She is the daughter of Drayton H. and Zilpha S. ( Loumis) Moore, both na- tives of Massachusetts. lle died at Cas- novia when seventy-three years of age, while she is still a resident of that place, be- ing aged about eighty-seven years. To Mr. and Mrs. Seaman five children have been born, viz .: Zelpha L., Judd J., Sylvester R., Drayton W. and Mary Ella. Zelpha died in infancy and Mary Ella is the wife John W. Hubbell.
The people of Cedar Creek township have honored Warren Seaman with various local offices. Hle has served as supervisor seven years. justice of the peace four years and highway commissioner several terms. Public matters of all kinds, but particularly those relating to the locality in which he resides, always conunand his attention. In politics he is disposed to be independent, but generally acts with the Republican party. lle and his wife are adherents of the Methio-
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dist Episcopal church and in his younger days he was quite active in the cause of re- ligion. He has a happy home, a noble fam- ily and one of the finest farms in the county. Contentment reigns over his house- hold and domestic peace is a constant guest. The day of trial is past and in its place has come rest and enjoyment, a most welcome change. Many other changes also have been brought about since the country's carly settlement. One in particular com- mands especial notice. When Warren Sea- man first located in Cedar Creek township, thirty-four years ago, the nearest postoffice was Sherman, seventeen miles away. At the present time rural delivery is an estab- lished fact in Wexford county and mail is delivered each day at the expense of the government, at the door of the family resi- ‹lence. Time works wonderful changes everywhere, but nowhere so much as in the new countries, settled up within the last fifty or sixty years.
GEORGE ALLEN.
Success in this life comes to the desery- ing. It is an axiom demonstrated by all human experience, that a man gets out of this life what he puts into it, plus a reason- able interest on the investment. The individ- ual who inherits a large estate and adds nothing to his fortune cannot be called a sue- cessful man. He that falls heir to a large fortune and increases its value is successful in proportion to the amount he adds to his possession. But the man who starts in the world unaided and by sheer force of will. controlled by correct principles, forges ahead
and at length reaches a position of honor among his fellow citizens achieves success such as representatives of the two former classes can neither understand nor appre- ciate. To a considerable extent the sub- ject of this sketch is a creditable representa- tive of the class last named. a class which has furnished much of the bone and sinew of the country and added to the stability of the government and its institutions.
George Allen, the popular and accommo- dating proprietor of one of the leading livery stables of Cadillac, Wextord county, Michi- gan, was born in the township of Etibocoke. county of York, province of Ontario. Canada, the date of his birth being the 9th of January, 1848. His parents were Thomas and Margaret Allen, the father a native of Nova Scotia and the mother of Yorkshire, England. The subject of this sketch was reared upon the parental farm- stead and was early inured to the hard toil and labor incident to the life of an agricultur- ist. He attended the schools of his neigh- borhood and received a fair education. remaining at home until he reached his twenty-second year. At that age he left his native country and came to the United States, locating at Cedar Springs, Kent county, Michigan, where for about a year he was employed in a lumber yard. Removing at the end of that time to Morley, Mecosta county, this state, he entered the employ of Cummer & Son, the extensive lun- ber manufacturing firm. He remained at Morley for several years and then. about 1878, was transferred to Cadillac. where he remained in the employ of the same firm in- til November, 1898, the long period of thirty years' employment by one firm testi- fying to his faithfulness and efficiency as an
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employee. Upon leaving the employ of the Cummers. Mr. Allen engaged in business on his own account, opening a livery stable in Cadillac, which he has since conducted. Ilis enterprise at once met with the approval of the general public, which has given him its patronage to a gratifying extent. Mr. Allen has a well equipped stable, containing stylish. up-to-date turn-outs of every descrip- tion, as well as the heavier style of vehicles for transportation, and his stalls are occu- pied by a number of fine horses. Mr. Allen's evident desire to please his customers and his ability to provide any accommoda- tions desired in his line have brought to him a well-deserved patronage and he has ac- quired a splendid reputation throughout this section of the county.
George Allen was married at Sutton. Ontario, Canada, on the 19th of May. 1875. to Miss Mary Ann Mossington, a native of that province, born in 1840, and the daugh- ter of Mark and Elizabeth ( Comer) Moss- ington. This union has been blessed by the birth of one daughter. Ada M., who is now the wife of Walter Kysor. Mrs. Allen is a pleasant, intelligent lady, possessed of strong traits of character, and has proven to her husband a helpmate in the truest sense of the terin. Politically Mr. Ailen is a Republi- can and has ever taken a keen interest in the success of his party and in the advancement of all movements having for their object the advancement of the interests of his city and county. For six consecutive years he served as a member of the city council and in that body won an enviable reputation for his earnest and untiring efforts to elevate the standing of his city along all lines. Mrs. AAllen and her daughter are faithful and con- sistent members of the Congregational
church, to which the subject contributes liberally. Fraternally Mr. Allen is a Mason, holding membership in Big Rapids Lodge No. 171 and also in the chapter at Cadillac. He also belongs to Cadillac Lodge No. 249. Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Allen has in all the relations of life proven himself equal to the responsibilities which have been thrown upon him and because of his many sterling qualities he has won the regard of the entire community. His career has been one of unceasing activity and it presents much that is pleasing as well as profitable to young men just starting out in life.
W. E. SOUTHWICK.
This enterprising farmer and representa- tive citizen is a native of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, born on a farm in Wakeshma township, March 9. 1861. His father was Elijah B. Southwick, and his mother before her marriage bore the maiden name of Har- riett Brown. These parents lived for many years in the above county, but in the spring of 1884 disposed of their possessions there and moved to the county of Wexford, set- tling in Wexford township, where they spent the remainder of their days, the father dying at the age of eighty-two and the moth- er when sixty-eight years old. W. E. Southwick was reared to agricultural pur- suits, received a fair education in the public schools, and with the exception of about two years spent in the county of St. Joseph. this state, lived in Kalamazoo county until his removal, in January. 1884, to the county of Wexford. On coming to this county he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in
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section 27. Wexford township, and on this he has since lived with the exception of one year, devoting his time and energies to the improvement of his land, being now the pos- sessor of one of the most productive as well as one of the most valuable farms in his part of the country. He has good buildings and has spared no labor or pains in surrounding himself with comforts and conveniences, his home being beautiful and attractive, and he is now well situated to enjoy the many material blessings which his labors have earned.
Mr. Southwick was married in Wexford township, April 25. 1897. to Miss Bertha L. . Hill, who was born June 14, 1877, in St. Joseph county, Michigan, the daughter of Henry C. and Luella A. (Smalley ) Hill. Mrs. Southwick is the oldlest of a family of three children. her parents still living in Wexford township where they settled in 1897. moving here from Grand Traverse county.
Mr. Southwick has taken an active in- terest in the affairs of his community, having been honored by his fellow citizens with sev- cral positions of trust, including that of township supervisor and school inspector. Some years ago he made a trip to the far west and spent considerable time in the state of Washington, besides traveling over other states and territories and visiting many places of natural and historic interest. He is a man of broad views and progressive ideas, highly esteemed by his neighbors and fellow citi- zens, being always ready to grant any favors within his power to bestow and showing a willingness to assist any worthy enterprise for the material advancement or moral good of the community. Fraternally he is a member of the order of Free and Accepted
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