USA > Michigan > Wexford County > History of Wexford County, Michigan, embracing a concise review of its early settlement, industrial development and present conditions > Part 64
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On leaving the service Mr. Averill re- turned to Allegan county, Michigan, where he engaged in farming and where he contin- ued to reside until about twelve years ago. May 28, 1868, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. Weaver, a daughter of Brad- ley C. and Sally M. ( Butler) Weaver. He
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IL'EXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
was a native of Connecticut, she of Pennsyl- vania. They settled in Genesee county, New York, where they remained a number of years, then moved to Kent county, Michigan, settling in Byron township. They were the parents of five children, of whom Mrs. Averill is the oklest. She was born in Byron township. Kent county, June 20. 1848, where she was reared, educated and grew to womanhood. After their marriage the sub- ject and wife settled on a farm in .Allegan county where they continued to reside until 1891. when they moved to Wexford county and settled on a tract of land in section 33, Liberty township. This they have improved and made a desirable, valuable farm, and there they have continued to reside ever since. They are the parents of two children, viz : Harry M. and Elias L. The farm upon which the family resides consists of eighty acres, sixty acres of which is well improved and under cultivation.
Although a resident of Wexford county only about twelve years, Mr. Averill has been honored by the voters of Liberty town- ship with the office of supervisor three years. justice of the peace one term and township treasurer two years. At present he holds a commission from the chief executive of the state as a notary public. He is a member of Oliver P. Morton Post No. 54, Grand Army of the Republic, at Manton, and has served as commander of the post. The Grand Army and the Grange are the only secret so- cieties to which he belongs. Hle is master of Rose Hill Grange No. 949. Patrons of Husbandry. In politics he has always acted with the Republican party, for he considered the success of its principles and policies most essential to the welfare of the country. In every movement for the benefit or develop-
ment of the township of his residence he is always in the forefront. He is a worthy man and an enterprising citizen, whose life in every place he has lived and every calling in which he engaged has been productive of much good, not only to his immediate family and friends but to the community and the state.
PORTER WHEELER.
Fifty or sixty years ago, in the region that had been known as the Northwest ter- ritory, out of which the five great states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wis- consin were carved. there was a very little other than farming for the average man of limited means to turn for employment and support. There were few shops, scarcely any railroads and no factories worthy of the name. Hence, the early settlers were all agriculturists. Of course they had to be woodmen first. for the clearing of the land was a prerequisite to the planting of a crop. The subject of this review, Porter Wheeler. was born in Ohio more than fifty-six years agro, was reared in that locality and therefore was bred to the calling of a tiller of the soil. It is an honorable and independent avocation and. although circumscribed in its opportuni- ties for amassing much material wealth, the securing of civic honors or the acquisition of fame, there is more genuine contentment and real happiness to the square inch in the rural districts of the country than there is to the square mile in the towns and cities of the land. The farmer has no occasion for envying any one, but people in other walks of life have many reasons and ample justifi- ettion for envying him.
Porter Wheeler is a native of Ohio. born
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WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
near Wellington, Lorain county, February 4. 1846. His parents . were Volorus and Charity ( Pomeroy ) Wheeler, both natives of Massachusetts, where they were reared and married. Early in wedded life they left the east, which was already showing signs of congestion, and came west to Ohio to better their condition. They settled near Welling- ton, Lorain county, on a tract of woodland. which by hard labor they converted into a farm. There they remained. rearing and educating a noble family of boys and girls, until each of his parents was visited by dleath. The mother was the first to pass to the great hereafter, expiring when a lit- tle more than seventy years old. Her hus- band survived her a few days, passing away when in the seventy-ninth year of his age. They were the parents of eight children, two sons and six daughters, four of whom grew to maturity and have acted well the part assigned to them upon the stage of life.
Porter Wheeler was the oldest child of the family. He was reared upon his father's farm in Lorain county, attending school in the winter seasons and devoting the other seasons of the year to the labor on the farm. Ilis industry was noticeable in both places and even at that early day he gave promise of the good and useful life he has since led and is now leiding, a life that has been most beneficial not only to himself and to his in- mediate family, but to every community in which he has resided.
Early in the summer of 1864. when not vet eighteen years of age. Porter Wheeler enlisted in Company E. One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment. Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Most of his war record was guard duty on Johnson's Island. He faith- fully performed his duty and was so fortun-
ate as to never be confined to hospital on ac- count of injury received in battle. He served until peace was declared, when he returned home to Lorain county, Ohio. One of the most commendable characteristics of the American is the ease and facility with which he turns from one avocation to an- other diametrically its opposite. In the case of Porter Wheeler, the dashing young soldier was transformed into the patient, plodding, contented agriculturist and during the next three years he devoted himself to that pursuit.
At Wellington, Lorain county, Ohio, October 8, 1868, Porter Wheeler was united in marriage to Miss Emma Breckenridge, a native of Ohio, born in Lorain county, Feb- ruary 17, 1851. She is a lady richly endowed by nature with many physical graces and much mental strength, which natural gifts have been supplemented by education and training. There are few among the early pioneers of any new country possessed of the grace and accomplishments of her who is the devoted wife of the subject of this re- view. Her parents were Lewis and Mary Ann ( Munson ) Breckenridge, he a native of Vermont and she of Canada. They were married in the east and sought the west to find a home and build up a fortune. They located in Lorain county, Ohio, where six children, one son and five daughters, were born to them, and there these offspring were reared to industry and schooled in morality and virtue as well as knowledge. Mrs. Wheeler was the fourth child of the family. At the time of his death Mr. Breckenridge was seventy years of age. His widow is now a resident of Wellington, aged seventy-eight years. She is a member of the Disciple church.
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IVEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Por-
born in the township. Porter Wheeler is ter Wheeler continued to reside in their na- now the owner of three hundred and twenty- eight acres, one hundred of which are well improved and under cultivation. Good. substantial buildings adorn and add to the comfort. convenience and value of the place. The home is a most pleasant one, all that could be desired, and the family is one of the happiest a person could desire to meet. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler. viz. : Edith Lillian, Minnie May. Fred Lewis, Arthur Earl and Etta Pearl. Edith Lillian became the wife of William Lynn. but her matrimonial career was sadly brief. she dying at the early age of eighteen years. Minnie May. is the wife of Merrick Stocking, as has been heretofore mentioned. She was for five years a successful teacher in Wexford county, and is now a member of the Congregational church at Cadillac.
tive county for the next three years. The high prices of the years of the war had greatly enhanced the value of land in the well-settled states. Ohio among that number. so that a desirable farm was beyond the reach of so slender a purse as that possessed by Porter Wheeler. People who had land to rent were independent and exacting. Like most landlords, they absorbed the most of the crop. To them the lion's share went. while to the man through whose sweat the plowing, planting. cultivating and gather- ing was done, only a paltry pittance went to remunerate him for his services. .. thoughtless, indolent man might have missed his grievances and made the best of these unfortunate conditions. Not so with Por- ter Wheeler. He knew that there is 110 wrong for which a remedy may not be found and he was not long in finding the true remedy for dear land.
Arranging his affairs in Ohio as speedily as possible and disposing of such belongings as he did not choose to take with him. he and his family came to Wexford county, Michi- gan, carly in the spring of 1871, and entered upon a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, in Cherry Grove township, a part of section 6, upon which he built a home and in- stalled his family, which then consisted of his wife and little daughter. There they lived until :883, when they transferred their residence to section 18, in the same town- ship. The family were not the earliest set . ters of Cherry Grove township, but they were the first settlers within its borders to own a team of horses, and their second lit- tle daughter. Minnie May, now the wife of Merrick Stocking, was the first white child
IRA JENKINS.
Many are under the impression that a term of service by a young man in the army or navy, covering a period of several years. unfits him for the ordinary duties devolving upon him as a citizen. In some instances there is little doubt that it does, but in the great majority of cases the ex-soklier or ex- sailor proves himself as worthy, capable and industrious as those who know nothing of life in the service of the government. In- deed it often happens that a few years of military or naval discipline has had a most salutary and beneficial effect upon the char- acter and disposition of the youth, and that he returns to his home, when his time has expired, much more of a man mentally and
F
IRA JENKINS.
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IVEXFORD COUNTY, MICIIIGAN.
physically than he was when he joined the service. The subject of this biography, Ira Jenkins, of Colfax township, spent the entire five years preceeding the attainment of his majority in the United States navy. He re- turned home just at the beginning of the Civil war, and although greviously tempted to re-enlist, his yearning for the life of a "land lubber" was such that it overcome any tendency he may have had to again re-enter the service.
Ira Jenkins is a native of New Hamp- shire, born in Manchester, September 30, 1840. Ilis parents were John and Eliza (Brown) Jenkins, natives of Massachusetts, both having been born in Townsend, Middle- sex county. For many years in his native town previous to his removal to New Hamp- shire the subject's father was an extensive dealer in fish. The latter years of the life of both were spent in New Hampshire and both died at West Thornton, the death of one following the other within a short time. She was seventy-seven years old at the time of her death and he eighty-one. They were the parents of ten children, of whom the sub- ject was the youngest.
In his native city of Manchester the first ten years of the life of Ira Jenkins were spent. From there he went to Lincoln, New Hamp- shire, where he remained until he was six- teen years okl, when he enlisted in the United States navy and served for a period of five years, completing his term of service at the beginning of the Civil war. On returning to his home in New Hampshire he engaged in farming, devoting himself with zeal and earnestness to the calling and with a suc- cess fully commensurate with the efforts put forth. February 2, 1863. Ira Jenkins was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Thayer.
a native of Franconia, Grafton county, New Hampshire, born AApril 27, 1843. Her par- ents were Zora and Johanna (Aklrich) Thayer, natives of New Hampshire. The father was by occupation a farmer, prosper- ons and financially in good circumstances. .At the early age of thirty-two years the mother passed into eternity, being survived by the father, who is still living, a venerable resident of Paw Paw, Michigan, where he is honored and respected for the blameless and exemplary life which he has led. They were the parents of seven children, of whom Mrs. Jenkins is the oldest. To Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins the following children were born, viz: George 1., Johanna .A., Joel B., Ira J., William .A. ; May is the wife of Dr. Al- fred Watson, a practicing physican and sur- geon of Cadillac, Michigan. Joel died when eighteen months old. Mr. and Mrs. Jen- kins have also an adopted child, named Will- iam A.
For five years after their marriage the subject and his wife continued to reside in their native state, then, desiring to improve their condition and that of their children, in 1808 they moved to Van Buren county, Michigan, where he engaged in farming for six years. In November, 1874. they came to Wexford county and in the spring of the succeeding year settled upon the farm which is now and has been from that time their home. When he located upon it the place was wholly unimproved, but, with the char- acteristic ardor of his nature, Mr. Jenkins set to work clearing the place and soon had the satisfaction of seeing it a fertile, well cultivated and productive farm. Upon it he has erected a neat residence, sufficiently large for all of the wants of the family, and it is tastefully, if not luxuriously, furnished.
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WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
The other farm buildlings accord nicely with the family home, being large, substantial and well constructed. The farm comprises only forty acres, but every foot of the land is im- der cultivation, and under the skillful man- agement of the owner the yearly product of the place exceeds many farms that are sev- eral times its size. Many times during his residence in Colfax township Ira Jenkins has been honored by his fellow citizens with their suffrage. He has been highway com- missioner of the township, justice of the peace, and during the greater part of the time a member of the school board. Mrs. Jenkins is a devout member of the Methodist chuch, and an active worker not only in re- ligious matters, but in every deserving. worthy cause. If his services for the govern- ment during the latter five years of his boy- hood have been in the least detrimental to Mr. Jenkins, neither himself, his family nor his neighbors have yet found it out.
GEORGE A. REYNOLDS.
Fulfilling all of life's requirements ac- cording to his highest ideal of right, aiding the spirit of enterprise and improvement. and using his influence for what benefits humanity and buildls up the community. it may be truly said of the worthy subject of this review "Ile has made the world better by having lived in it." He is an old resi- dent of Selma township. Wexford county. His life has been an active and busy one, but he is now living a somewhat retired life in the enjoyment of the fruits of his labors.
George A. Reynolds, the subject of this
review, resides on a part of section 11. Selma township. Wexford county. He was born in West Granville, Washington county, New York, August 27. 1817, and is there- fore at the present time in the eighty-sixth year of his age. When he was eight years old, in 1825, the family moved to Onondaga county, New York, where they resided some four years. They then removed to Alle- gany county, New York, where Mr. Rey- nolds grew to manhood and where he be- came skilled in the trade of a cooper, which business he followed for more than a quarter of a century.
In Allegany county, New York, on the 4th day of July, 1842, George .A. Reynolds was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Thorpe, who proved a most faithful and dutiful wife. She lived to the age of sixty - eight years, following the fortunes of the family from New York to Missouri, back again to New York and thence to Selma township. Wexford county, Michigan, where she died in September. 1885. ending a well- spent life in peace and contentment. They were the parents of three children, viz. : Orin was a solcher in the Federal army dur- ing the war of the Rebellion and was taken prisoner at Newbern, North Carolina ; he was one of the unfortunates incarcerated in An- dersonville prison and perished there from starvation and exposure: Cora is the wife of Monson De Bow : Nettie is the wife of Dr. John Sabin, a resident of Coner De Leon. Idaho.
Immediately after their marriage the subject of this review and his wife estab- lished themselves in a home of their own in Allegany county, New York, where they re- sided many years, he working at his business as a cooper, in which calling he was quite
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WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
prosperous. A desire to see more of the coun- try and to find a location where his services would receive better remuneration caused him to move his family to Newton county, Missouri, where for a time he was employed at his trade. It took but three years to gratify his taste for the southwest and the family again returned to New York, taking up their residence this time in Livingston county. There they lived until August, 1877, when he gave up his business of coopering, moved west to Wexford county, Michigan, located on a portion of section 11, Selma township, and became a farmer. There he has since lived, there his good and faithful wife died and there the evening of his life is being spent in that quiet content- ment and peace which he has so richly earned.
The early life of George A. Reynolds was spent in a Quaker settlement. His parents were of that faith and in it he was brought up. Though separated for many years from people of that faith he still ad- heres to a belief in the doctrines of that sect. They have guided and directed him throughout his long life and ruled and governed his conduct in his dealing with his fellow men, with the result that he is honored, respected and beloved wherever he is known, for the gentleness of his nature and the rigid moral principles which govern his life. Though now in the eighty-sixth year of his age, he is wonderfully well preserved and the mental and physical strength which he still possesses would do credit to a man twenty years younger. No one who en- joys his acquaintance and who is familiar with his good habits and mode of life doubts that he will easily reach the century mark as the measure of his existence. Indeed at
present there seems to be no reason apparent why it should not extend far beyond that time.
JOHN J. NICHOLS.
One of the attractive features of the landscape in Clan Lake township is the well improved farm of John J. Nichols, located on section 19. This is a fine farm, well equipped with all the accessories and con- veniences known to the model agricultural home of the twentieth century. The rich soil produces splendid crops and in the midst of the property stands a commodious and pleasant residence which is character- ized by an air of neatness and thrift and it is tastefully furnished, making one of the comfortable homes of this section of the state.
Mr. Nichols is a native of Ontario coun- ty, Canada, born on the 20th of September, 1839. His parents were John and Sophia ( DeBoyce ) Nichols and the former died in Ontario county, Canada, when about thirty years of age. The mother afterwards came to Wexford county and died at the home of one of her sons in Clam Lake township in the eighty-second year of her age. She had but two children, John J., of this review, and Isaac, who is a well-known and prominent agriculturist of Clam Lake township. The former was reared to farm life in Canada and the experiences of his early boyhood were those which usually fall to the lot of farmer lads. He lived in his native coun- try until 1873, but the previous year had come to Wexford county, Michigan, and en- tered a chiim comprising eighty acres of land in section 30, Clam Lake township.
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WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
In September, 1873, he returned with his family to Michigan and located upon the homestead which he had secured. He has since been a resident of the township and at the time of his arrival here he at once began the development of his eighty-acre tract, of which he still owns forty acres, while his brother, Isaac, is now the proprietor of the other forty acres. Mr. Nichols of this re- view likewise has thirty-nine acres on sec- tion 19 of the same township, so that his farm comprises altogether seventy-nine acres, of which seventy acres have been converted into rich fields, from which he annually har- vests good crops. On the other nine acres stand his farm buildings, including two good houses and substantial barns and outbuild- ings.
On the 15th of July, 1873. John J. Nichols was married, in Lambton county. Ontario, to Miss Sarah J. Van Natter, who was born in Haldeman county, Ontario, on the 21st of May, 1848, a daughter of James and Regina ( Miller) Van Natter. Her parents spent their entire lives in Can- ada and are now deceased. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nichols have been born two children : Regina J., now the wife of William Anway. and Philena S., the wife of M. E. Shippy. Mr. Nichols takes an active part in church work and is an evangelist. He is deeply interested in the moral development of the community and in the adoption of Christian principles, but he is not a believer in creeds or dogmas, being unsectarian in his re- ligious beliefs. Ile bases his belief merely upon Bible teachings, preferring to make his own interpretations of the scriptures rather than accepting something that has been evolved by religions leaders in former ages.
When Mr. Nichols and his brother
came to Wexford county in 1873 this was still a frontier region, the work of progress and improvement being scarcely begun. They built a log house upon the homestead and there lived together for sixteen years. during which time four children were born to Isaac Nichols and two children to John Nichols. They were all rocked in one era- dle. The two families lived together as one, having a common pocketbook, sharing alike in everything. At length when they de- cided to separate the division was made in a manner entirely satisfactory to each. The division was finally brought about because of an accident which occurred to Isaac Nichols, who was bitten by a black squirrel on the right hand. This caused blood poisoning and necessitated the amputation of the lit- tle finger. As the years passed the brothers watched the development of the county and took an active part in its growth and im- provement. Deeply interested in every- thing pretaining to public progress, John j. Nichols has labored effectively for the wel- fare of the county and for its intellectual and moral, as well as material advancement. He is a man of strong purpose, of marked individuality and keen intellectuality. He looks upon life from a broad humanitarian standpoint, realizing that this life is but a preparation for the life to come and that the preparation for a future existence is the buikling of an upright character.
VICTOR F. HUNTLEY, M. D.
Professional success results from merit. Frequently in commercial life one may come into the possession of a lucrative business through inheritance or gift, but in what are
VICTOR F. HUNTLEY.
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WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
known as the learned professions advance- ment is gained only through painstaking and long-continued effort. Prestige in the heal- ing art is the outcome of strong mentality, close application, thorough mastery of its great underlying principles and the ability to apply theory to practice in the treatment of diseases. Good intellectual training, thor- ough professional knowledge and the posses- sion and utilization of the qualities and attri- butes essential to success have made the sub- ject of this review eminent in his chosen calling, and he stands today among the schol- arly and enterprising physicians in a county noted for the high order of its professional talent.
Victor F. Huntley is a native of the old Empire state, having been born in Belmont, Franklin county, New York, on the 6th of June, 1854. He is descended from English ancestry, though his grandfather, Hiram Huntley, was born in Maine and died near Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1893. at the age of eighty-eight years. Frederick M. Hunt- ley, the father of the subject, was a pattern- maker by trade, and, while residing in the state of Wisconsin, also followed the occu- pation of carpentering for a number of years. In 1863 he removed to Michigan, accom- panied by his family, and settled at Grand Rapids. About the time of the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Company D. First Michigan Engineers, with which he served until the close of the struggle. He proved a brave and gallant soldier and par- ticipated in much arduous service and at the close of his service he received an honorable (lischarge. At the completion of his mili- tary service he returned to his Michigan home and again resumed the pursuits of peace. lle was the father of eight children,
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