USA > Michigan > Wexford County > History of Wexford County, Michigan, embracing a concise review of its early settlement, industrial development and present conditions > Part 68
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correct ideals. Politically Mr. Kellogg gives his support to the Democratic party, but aside from defending his convictions and voting his principles, he can hardly be called a politician, having no desire for public dis- tinction nor any aspirations as an office seeker. Content to spend his days as an humble though honorable tiller of the soil and to be known simply as a private citizen, he lives a life of quiet usefulness, respected by friends'and neighbors for his many esti- mable qualities of head and heart and by upright conduct and manly deportment prov- ing himself worthy of the confidence and es- teem in which he has so long been held.
HANS OSTENSEN.
.An enumeration of the citizens of Cadil- lac who have won honor and public recog- nition in the past and who now occupy prom- inent positions in the social and business cir- cles of the city, would be incomplete without due notice of the enterprising gentleman whose brief biography is herewith presented. Hans Ostensen is an American by adoption, being a native of Scandinavia and inheriting in a marked degree the sterling characteris- ties which from time immemorial have dis tinguished this sturdy nationality from other European peoples. Still a young man, in the prime of his physical and mental powers, he has forged to the front in various capacities, overcoming many obstacles in the way of his advancement, filling worthily positions of trust, until he stands today one of the lead- ing spirits in a city long noted for the enter- prise and talent of its business men. Mr. Ostensen was born April 8, 1871, in Ber- known until March 23, 1903, when Mr. Os-
gen, Norway, and spent his childhood and youth in that city. He enjoyed excellent educational advantages, receiving a thorough mental training in the Cathedral School of Bergen, from which he was graduated in 1887 when but sixteen years of age.
The year following his graduation, young Ostensen bade adieu to his native land and came to the United States, his objective point being Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he proposed further prosecuting his studies. When en route to that city he stopped at Cadillac, Michigan, and being favorably im- pressed with the latter place and the advant- ages it afforded to a young man with ambi- tion to rise in the world, he wisely decided to make it the terminus of his journey. His first employment here was in the capacity of assistant cook on the Blodgett farm, but after four months' service there he obtained through the kindness of an influential friend a position in the postoffice, first as a general delivery clerk, and later as chief clerk of the mailing department. After three years of faithful service in the postoffice, Mr. Os- tensen resigned his position and accepted a clerkship in the clothing house of HI. E. . \1- drich & Company, with whom he remained until the spring of 1895, meantime by dili- gent application becoming familiar with the fundamental principles of business, besides developing great efficiency as a salesman. When the above firm moved to another city. the subject entered the employ of P. O. Klint & Company, merchant tailors and clothiers. and later, on the 2d of July. 1895, he pur- chased an interest in the business, succeed- ing the senior partner, and, with Oluf John- son. establishing the new firm of Johnson & Ostensen, the name by which the house was
HANS OSTENSEN.
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tensen became sole proprietor, having pur- chased Mr. Johnson's interest.
The large acquaintance acquired by Mr. Ostensen while in the postoffice and in the employ of Aldrich & Company proved a ma- terial help in advancing the business of the firm with which he is now proprietor, a business which steadily grew in volume until a building of enlarged proportions became necessary. In .August, 1897, the firm re- moved to the present quarters in the Granite block, one of the best located and most de- sirable business places in the city, and here the trade has steadily increased with a far- reaching patronage, the Granite Block Cloth- ing Store now standing at the head in the lines of business which it represents.
Mr. Ostensen has a laudable ambition as a merchant and seeks by every means within his power to make his business worthy the large and constantly increasing patronage which it now commands. His relations with the public are most pleasant and cordial and. possessing a keen insight into human nature and the happy faculty of winning friends, it is not strange that his patrons include the best people of the city and surrounding coun- try. He has labored earnestly and faithfully to promote his interests, subordinating every other consideration to this one object, and it is conceded that much of the success with which the business has met is directly at- tributable to his energy, systematic methods and superior executive ability.
An ardent Republican and an influential party worker, Mr. Ostensen is not a politi- cian in the sense the term is usually under- stood, neither is he an office seeker, although frequently importuned to stand for impor- tant public positions. Hle twice declined the
nomination for eity treasurer, but in the spring of 1800, contrary to his wishes, he was elected to that office and discharged the (luties of the same for a period of two years, proving a capable and popular public servant and a safe custodian of the public funds. Mr. Ostensen has unbounded confidence in the future of Cadallic, and is a zealous advocate of and influential worker for all worthy enterprises for the city's material advance- ment. He is just completing, for his own occupancy, one of the finest residences in northern Michigan. He also manifests a lively interest in the moral welfare of the community, being a friend of churches, schools and other agencies for the general welfare of his kind. As a member of the board of education he has done much for the public schools of Cadillac. Fraternally Mr. Ostensen belongs to Lodge No. 46, Knights of Pythias, and he is also an influential mem- ber and past president of the Gotha Aid and Benefit Society. Ile is a believer in re- vealed religion, and as a member of the Swedish Baptist church of Cadillac demon- strates by his daily walk and conversation the beauty and value of Christianity when practically applied. He is a leading men- ber of the above congregation, a liberal con- tributor to its charitable and benevolent work and for several years past has been the efficient superintendent of the Sunday school, a post for which he seems peculiarly fitted.
Referring to the domestic life of Mr. Ostensen, it is learned that he was happily married on the 17th day of August, 1898, to Miss Elvira Johnson, a native of Sweden, who was brought to this country by her par- ents when five years old. Two children add sunshine to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Os-
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tensen, Harold B. and Floyd C., both bright and promising. and in them are centered many fond hopes for the future.
Thus in a brief and cursory way have been set forth the leading facts and some of the more prominent characteristics in the career of one of Cadillac's representative men of affairs. To the best of his ability Mr. Ostensen has aided the progress and ad- vancement of the city of his residence, faith- fully performed the duties of citizenship. and discharging with commendable fidelity every trust reposed in him by his fellow men. His position in the esteem and friendship of the community has long been assured and he does honor to the county and city which claim him as an adopted son and in which the greater part of his life work thus far has been accomplished.
RICHARD C. NORRIS.
Richard C. Norris is a native of the state of Vermont, born at West Derby. March 30. 1843. Ilis parents were Ele- phalet S. and Susan A. (Alexander ) Nor- ris, both natives of the Green Mountain state, where the years of their lives were spent and from whence the spirit of each took its flight into the life hereafter. They were the parents of six children. the young- est of whom is the subject of this review. At the early age of thirty years death claimed the young mother. when her young- est child was a mere infant. The father lived more than the Biblical alottment of three score and ten. being seventy-four years old at the time of his death.
passed in the state of Vermont. The time he spent in the school room was brief, in- deed, but inspired with a laudable ambition and imbued with a thirst for knowledge. he availed himself of every opportunity to gain information. Before he attained his majority he had as good a general knowledge of the common branches of education as many a youth who had spent the greater part of the years of his life in the school room. This was done, too, without any of his duties on his father's farm being neglect- ed by him.
In September. 1862, Richard C. Norris. realizing that his country needed his ser- vices in the suppression of the great Rebel- lion, enlisted in Company H. Fifteenth Reg- mment Vermont Volunteer Infantry, this be- ing the regiment of which Senator Proctor was colonel. The term of enlistment was only nine months, and after seeing much service in the battle fields of the South, it was mustered out in June. 1863. Many of its members re-enlisted immediately and continued in the difficult and hazardous task of putting down the rebellion. The sub- ject of this review. however, returned home for much-needed rest. In the summer of 1864 he again enlisted, this time in Com- pany I. First Vermont Cavalry, in which regiment he served until the close of the war. After receiving an honorable dis- charge, he betook himself again to his native state and devoted himself for the next four years to agriculture pursuits.
In the summer of 1869 he started out on a tour of the west, with a view of finding a location more congenial and remunerative for the labor expended than the bleak hills of northern Vermont. He traveled through
The early life of Richard C. Norris was | Kansas, Nebraska, lowa, Illinois and In-
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diana, stopping some time at various points in those states, but finding no place which suited him in all particulars. In Indiana he accepted employment on a farm and re- mained there a few months, then came to Allegan county, Michigan, where he secured employment cutting wood for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. Ile was thus employed for about a year when, in the autumn of 1870. he came to Wexford county, settled on a homestead, part of sec- tion 28, Selma township.
July 3, 1873. in Watson township. Alle- gan county, Michigan, Richard C. Norris was united in marriage to Miss Sarah .1. Alexander, a native of Michigan, born in AAllegan county, February 12, 1850. She is a lady of good education. re- fined and possessed of many, accomplish- ments. Her parents were David and Paulina ( Rose ) Alexander, natives of Ver- mont who had moved to Michigan soon after their marriage and resided in Allegan county until their deaths. He died at the early age of twenty-seven years, while she survived him many years, being upwards of sixty years of age when she entered eternity. They were the parents of two children, Mrs. Norris being the youngest child of the family. She was reared to womanhood. educated and married in her native county of Allegan. To her and her husband three intelligent, winsome children have been born, viz : Estella P., a most promising girl, who (lied at the age of thirteen years ; Fannie E. is the wife of R. T. Montgomery: Ray C. residles with his parents.
After marriage Richard and Sarah Nor- ris took up their abode on his farm in Selma township, where they continued to reside for three years. In 1876 he purchased
eighty acres of land in section 23, the same township, to which they moved, and that has been their home up to the present time. Later he purchased eighty acres more, which makes the farm a comfortable one of one hundred and sixty acres. It is nearly all cleared, improved and well cultivated. It was reclaimed from the wilderness almost entirely by the industry of its energetic owner.
Notwithstanding the busy life that he has led and the number of matters constant- ly demanding his attention, Mr. Norris has found a good deal of time to devote to civic affairs. He served nine years as superin- tendent of the poor of Wexford county, was deputy sheriff two years, was highway com- missioner of Selma township five years, served as justice of the peace, township treas- urer and was president of the Pioneer So- ciety of the townships of Selma, Haring, Boon, Colfax, Clam Lake and the city of Cadillac. Only three other settlers pre- ceded him in taking up their abode in Selma township. He is a member of Washington Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Cadil- lac, is also a member of the Patrons of Hus- bandry, master of Wexford County Po- mona Grange and president of the Patrons' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Wex- ford, Osceola and Missaukee counties. He is a man whose kindly smile and genial man- ners readily win friends in any gathering in which he may be found. There are few men in any community more comfortably situated than he is. Possessed of enough of this world's goods to supply every want, blessed with health and strength, with a true and noble wife at his side and surround- ed by children who were always noted for their obedience and morality, why need a
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man seek further for that paradise of which we hear, but of which we know noth- ing ?
JACOB DISCHER.
Jacob Discher is a native of Ohio, born in Putnam county, March 15. 1847. and there he was reared until sixteen years of age. llis parents were John and Maria ( Hed- rick) Discher, both natives of Germany. They emigrated to America in the early part of the last century and located in Ohio. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom the subject was the youngest. He received his education in the public schools of his native county and, although leaving school when quite young. had managed to acquire a fair knowledge of all the common school branches. At the age of sixteen years, accompanied by his elder brother. William Discher, he went to southern Mich- igan, and located in Branch county, where he remained about eighteen months, em- ployed at such labor as he could find to do. St. Joseph county next became his residence and later Osceola county, where he was em- ployed in a saw-mill. in the woods on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. These various occupations he followed until 1869, when he came to Wexford county and set- tled on a farm in Clam Lake township which is now his home and where he has since re- sided. He is one of the very oldest settlers in Wexford county. On this farm, which consists of one hundred and twenty acres, he erected a large barn in 1898, besides other necessary farm buildings, substantial. con- venient and commodious. Eighty acres of the place are cleared and in a fine state of cultivation.
On the 13th day of September. 1875. in (lam Lake township. Jacob Discher was tinited in marriage to Miss Sophronia Hoff- man, a native of Calhoun county, Michigan. born November 27. 1858. Her parents are the late Hugh and Mary ( Fritz ) Hoffman. natives of Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs. Discher four children have been born, viz: Burt. Edward. Minnie and Kittie. Minnie is the wife of Gustave Brehm, and they have one child. Gladys. Burt wedded Miss Ger- trude Mead and they have two daughters. Alpha May and Blanche Kittie. The family is most estimable and highly respected throughout the county.
In politics Mr. Discher is a consistent and thorough-going Democrat, who not only be- lieves in the principles of the party but who is willing to make some sacrifices in its be- half. The family are members of the Ger- man Lutheran church, regular attendants upon its services and devout worshippers.
NORMAN A. REYNOLDS.
The two most strongly marked charac- teristics of the east and the west are com- bined in the residents of the section of coun- try of which this volume treats. The en- thusiastic enterprise which overleaps all obstacles and makes possible almost any undertaking in the comparatively new and vigorous western states, is here tempered by the stable and more conservative policy that we borrow from our eastern neighbors and the combination is one of peculiar force and power. It has been the means of placing this section of country on a par with the oldest est. at the same time producing a re-
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liability and certainty in business affairs which is frequently lacking in the west. This happy combination of characteristics is possessed in a marked degree by the sub- ject of this review, Norman A. Reynolds, of Cedar Creek township, present member of the county board of supervisors.
In Wellsville, Allegany county, New York, on the 23rd of February, 1851, Nor- man A. Reynolds was born. He was the oldest of two children born to his parents. Norman and Phoebe .\. ( Abbott ) Reynolds, whose life of domestic tranquility was re- markable only for its brevity, the young mother dying in 1853, when the subject was only two years old. The care and rearing of the child being thus left to strangers, it may well be imagined that the life of the boy was by no means a happy one. Up to the time that he was eighteen years old he lived mostly in Steuben county, though a portion of the time was spent in Wayne county. Had he been a boy with little apti- tude or taste for learning he might have grown up in ignorance of letters and books, but the natural tendency of the youth was toward the acquisition of knowledge, to which he is indebted for the satisfactory common school education which he received. His father was by occupation a cabinet- maker and followed his calling until the breaking out of the Rebellion, when he en- listed in the Eighty-sixth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. He is still living. a resident of Steuben county, New York, where the greater part of his long and useful life has been spent.
In April. 1860. Norman .A. Reynolds left his native state and went into northern Michigan. He remained for a time in Wex-
ford county, before it was organized, then sought and secured employment in various sections of the northern part of the state, continuing at such work as he was able to procure until 1872, when he returned to Wexford county. Having attained his majority about the time of his return to Wexford county, he took up a homestead in Greenwood township, upon which he erected a residence, established his home, resided upon and cultivated the place until 1895. when he settled in Manton to take charge of and manage the store of the Patrons' Busi- ness Association. While living in Greenwood he represented that township on the county board of supervisors for ten years, served a number of years as justice of the peace and was much of the time one of the school officers of the district. When the township was organized he was one of those who voted at the first election ever held in the township. in the spring of 1873, being then less than twenty-two years oldl.
July 4, 1877, Norman A. Reynolds was united in marriage to Miss Linda K. Wood, a native of Michigan, born in Alle- gan county in 1857. Iler parents were William W. and Phoeba A. ( Richey) Wood. old settlers of Antioch township, Wexford county. Both are now deceased. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Reynokls one son, Estavan D., has been born, who is now in the twenty-first year of his age. The po- litical affiliations of Mr. Reynolds are with the Republican party and he is a man of recognized ability and influence in the party in the locality where he resides. He is at present supervisor of Cedar Creek township and is also justice of the peace, filling each position to the satisfaction of his constit- uents. Ile is a member of Cedar Creek
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Lodge No. 147. Knights of Pythias. For about a year after serving his connection with the Patrons' Business Association, which closed up its affairs and quit business, he suffered from ill health, but has since fully recovered. He takes an active inter- est in all public matters, and his opinions on various questions arising in the community are frequently sought. He is a typical man of the people, the unselfishness of whose nature is the secret of his popularity.
WILLIAM MONITT.
A young man never devoted the years of his early manhood to a more noble or worthy cause than in the defense of his native land and the protection of her institutions. For- tunate indeed was he who survived to see the dark shadow of civil war swept from the face of the land that gave him birth and to see the one blot upon its fair name, human slavery, wiped out forever. The subject of this review, William McNitt, is one of the aggressive and enthusiastic youths of 1861. who went to the front, offering their lives that the free institutions of their country might live.
William MeNitt is a native of Ohio. He was born October 26. 1840, and spent the first two years of his life in and near the place of his birth. His parents were Sidney and Madula MeNitt, natives of Ohio and carly pioneers of Kent county, Michigan. In 1842 the family moved to DuPage county. Illinois, where they continued to reside un til 1849. when they moved to Kent county. Michigan, where they continued to reside until their death, a number of years ago.
At the time of his death his father was sev- enty-one years old. They were the parents of five children, of whom William was the oldest.
In the public schools of Du Page county. Illinois, and of Kent county, Michigan, the education of William McNitt was procured. In August, 186t, just before attaining his majority, he enlisted as a private soklier in a company raised in Kent county that was later assigned to the First Regiment. New York Lincoln Cavalry. He took part with his regiment in many of the important bat- tles of the war and was slightly wounded in an engagement that took place between Mar- tinsburg and Bunker Hill, West Virginia. Later he was taken prisoner, at Morefield. West Virginia, but fortunately made his es- cape and reached his regiment before being recaptured. He served until after the close of the war, being mustered out of the service in July, 1865.
Returning to Kent county, Michigan, Mr. McNitt engaged there in farming a number of years, then went to southern Illi- nois and remained there two years, when, in October. 1872, he moved to Wexford county and located on one hundred and sixty acres of land, part of section 14. Boon township. This land he has cleared and improved and splendidly fitted it up for a farm. One hun- dred and ten of its fertile acres are now un- der cultivation. Outside of the four years spent in the service of his country farming has been his life work.
On the 7th day of December, 1865. in Kent county, Michigan, William McNitt was united in marriage to Miss Maria Saur. a native of Sweden, born March 3. 1846. a lady possessed of many signal virtues and endearing qualities. Four handsome and in-
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telligent children have been born to bless their union. They are Nora, Gussie, Claude and William. Both the girls are married. Nora being the wife of W. B. Watkins, and Gusie is married to Henry Mansfield, both gentlemen being worthy and prosperous farmers of Wexford county.
Every intelligent community loves to honor its prudent, capable, upright citizens with public place. This is doubtless the rea- son why the subject of this review has been called by the voters of Boon township, at various times, to fill the office of supervisor, township treasurer and a member of the school board. The affairs of the township have always commanded a good deal of his time and attention. In every movement for the general good, without any desire to make himself conspicuous, he has always taken a prominent part. He and his wife are members of the Boon Baptist church and both are actively interested in church and charitable work. Their contributions to every good cause are always liberal and timely and without ostentation. If there is one trait more than another in the char- acter of William MeNitt which has com- manded the attention and respect of his neighbors it is his honesty and integrity. He has the reputation of being the soul of honor, a man whose word can be relied upon as implicitly as his note or bond.
EZRA HAARGER.
The history of the representative citizens of Wexford county, Michigan, woukl not be complete shouki the name that heads this review be omitted. When the fierce fire of the Rebellion was raging throughout the
Southland, threatening to destroy the Union, he responded with patriotic fervor to the call for volunteers and in some of the blood- iest battles for which that great war was noted he proved his loyalty to the govern- ment he loved so well. During a useful life in the region where he lived he labored dili- gently to promote the interests of the people, working earnestly and with little regard for his personal advancement or ease. Hle was devoted to the public welfare and in all of his relations his highest ambition was to benefit the community and advance its stan- dard of citizenship.
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