USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > Illustrated history and biographical record of Lenawee County, Mich. > Part 36
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
became necessary to install a faster press. So on June 10, 1903, The Telegram was printed on a new Duplex Perfecting press, print- ing from a roll, and capable of printing both sides, cutting, pasting and folding as high as 6,000 perfect four, six or eight page papers per hour, as the occasion demanded. As The Telegram had been the first to install nearly all new features in the printing business in Lenawee County, it was fitting that it should be the first to estab- lish an up-to-date press of this character. Mr. Grandon is a man of honor and strong principles, and has won many friends by his straightforward expressions of affairs as he sees them. Throughout his whole course he has held to his belief that temperance was the best thing for the people and has aided the cause in many ways. He has associated himself with numerous fraternal orders, being a member of Adrian Lodge, No. 19, F. & A. M., Maple City Lodge, No. 39, Knights of Pythias, Adrian Lodge, No. 429, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Adrian Tent, No. 145, K. O. T. M. M., Court Adrian, 1078, I. O. F., Adrian Lodge, No. 137, A. O. U. W., and Adrian Temple, No. 26, Rathbone Sisters. At Weston, W. Va., March 5, 1882, Mr. Grandon was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Dakan. Six children were born of this union, all of whom are living. The children are George Gordon, born at Wes- ton, W. Va., July 12, 1883; Eliza Delphia, at Weston, W. Va., De- cember 1, 1885; Preston Finch, at Charleston, W. Va., February 6, 1888; Jennie Lind, at Adrian, January 4, 1890; Lizzie May, at Adrian, October 21, 1891, and Dessa Marguerite, at Adrian, June 21, 1894.
WILLIAM PAYNE was born in Adrian, Mich., June 2, 1848. His father, George F. Payne, was born in Knook, County of Wilt- shire, England, November 3, 1821. He was the son of Robert K. Payne, who was born at Crockerton, in the Parish of Long Bridge, Deverill, England, in 1796. All of the family back to 1680 lie buried in Long Bridge church yard. R. K. Payne emigrated with his fam- ily to America in 1831. They settled in Little York (now Toronto), where his wife Mrs. Ann Payne, mother of George F. Payne, died September 4, 1834. He married Mrs. Sarah Crown and removed. to Toledo in 1836. In 1838 he removed to Chatham, County of Kent, Ontario. He was the first governor of Kent County Jail, and held that office for seventeen years, when he retired to private life. He was also a member of the school board of the town of Chatham for twenty-five years. The Payne School of Chatham is named after him. George F. Payne, when his father left Toronto, was learning the book-binding and blank book business. He lived in that place until 1847, when he removed to Detroit and formed a co-partnership with A. Richmond. In 1848 he sold his interest to Mr. Richmond
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
and removed to Adrian. In 1848 he established the Adrian Blank Book manufactory and book-bindery. October 25, 1842, he married Caroline Bartley, daughter of William and Mary Ann Bartley, by whom he had eight children. He died in Adrian, April 14, 1887. Mrs. Caroline (Bartley) Payne, who still resides in Adrian, (1904), was born in Newport, Isle of Wight, October 25, 1826. Her father, William Bartley, was born in Motcomb, County of Dorset, England, July 6, 1794. Her mother, Mary Ann Bartley, was born in Newport, Isle of Wight, February 4, 1799, and died at her son's, in Butler, Mo., January 9, 1873. William Payne, subject of this sketch, was reared and educated in Adrian, and after learning the trade of book-binder and blank book maker with his father, he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he resided, following his trade for nearly nineteen years. In 1882 he sold out his business in Cleveland, and soon after entered the U. S. postal ser- vice as postal clerk between Chicago and Syracuse, N. Y., but when President Cleveland came in, being a busy Repub- lican worker, he was asked to step down and out. He then went to Youngstown, Ohio, and took charge of the book- binding department of the Youngstown publishing com- pany. He remained there until 1887, when, upon his resigna- tion, he was presented with numerous tokens of regard. William Payne. Mr. Payne returned to his old home in Adrian at the death of his father in 1887, and pur- chased the book bindery and business so long and successfully oper- ated by him, and has proved himself a competent business man and good citizen. During his residence in Cleveland Mr. Payne became a member of the gallant and popular military company so long and favorably known as the Cleveland Greys. At the inauguration of President Garfield this company went to Washington as his body guard, Mr. Payne being present. He was also one of the four men detailed as the special guard over the remains during the funeral at Cleveland. Mr. Payne is an active, energetic citizen, and is inter- ested in the growth and progress of his native city. He has been elected four successive times a member of the common council of
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Adrian. For two years he has served as chairman of the claims and finance committee, and also championed the proposition to bond the city for $50,000 for sewers and paving. The measure was carried at a special election. Mr. Payne is also the originator and promoter of the resolution passed by the Adrian city common council to curb and boulevard the streets of the city. He is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church and several societies, among which are the following: Adrian Commandery, Knights Templar; Adrian Chap- ter, R. A. M .; Adrian Lodge, F. & A. M .; Adrian Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star; Adrian Tent, Knights of Maccabees, of which he is a past commander, and upon retiring from the office he was presented with a past commander's jewel by the Tent. He is also a member of the Knights and Ladies of Security. February 24, 1868, William Payne married Miss Emily Bowen Oles, of Morenci, Mich., and three chilren were born to them, as follows: Cora Adelaide, born at Cleveland, Ohio, August 12, 1872, married Carl J. Parish, of Adrian, May 16, 1899, and resides in Toledo; Willie Colgate, born same place, September 16, 1874, and died July 6, 1875; Minnie Emily, born same place, July 8, 1877, married Ozro Lee Curtis, Sep- tember 22, 1897, has one child, Kenneth J., born November 8, 1898. Mr Curtis was killed by lightning at his home in Rome, this county, July 13, 1899. Mrs. Curtis is a teacher in the Adrian public schools. Mrs. Emily B. (Oles) Payne was born in Toledo, Ohio, January 18, 1847, and died at Cleveland, Ohio, February, 6, 1879. August 15, 1881, William Payne married Miss Ella I. Shorten, of Cleveland, Ohio, and they became the parents of three sons, all of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Ella I. Payne was born at Saratoga, N. Y., January 15, 1855.
JAMES H. MAY was born in York, Sandusky County, Ohio, April 19, 1827. His father, Rev. Isaac May, was born in Strafford, Vermont, in October, 1796, and when a boy moved with his parents to Livingston County, N. Y., where a farm was purchased, and a hotel was kept for many years. In 1824 Isaac May removed to Sandusky County, Ohio, and soon after purchased a farm. He became con- verted and for many years preached for the new settlers, first in the Christian denomination, then becoming a Methodist, but finally be- came a Free Will Baptist, and until the end of his life affiliated with that church. He took up 80 acres of government land in Townsend township, Sandusky County, which he improved and lived upon for fifty years. He added 80 acres to his first purchase, which he im- proved and never encumbered. At his death December 5, 1874, it was found the deed had never been recorded in the county. In 1815 he married Miss Rachel McMillan, and five children were born to
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
to them, James H. being the fourth. In 1829 Rachel May died, and the following year he married Nancy McMillan, a sister of Rachel, and they had seven children. James H. May, subject of this sketch, lived with his father until he was about nineteen years old, when he purchased his time and went for himself. He then went to the Geauga Seminary for two years, being a student at the same time with James A. Garfield and his wife. During the next three years Mr. May taught school in Sandusky County. In 1848 his health failed him, caused by over study, and he went West in hope of recovering and returning to school. He went to Chicago, and from thence to Green Bay and into the Wisconsin lumber woods. He made several trips down the Mississippi river as far as St. Louis with lumber rafts, and was quite successful financially. He was taken ill with fever and returned home, where, after some six months, he recovered, and purchased a small farm in Sandusky County, where he resided until 1861. That spring he came to Michigan and purchased a farm on Section 3 in Fairfield, this county. When the first call for troops came in 1861, Mr. May assisted in raising a company of three months' men, but did not succeed in getting them accepted by the Governor, as the quota was filled before his company was reported. Afterwards most of the men went into the army under the first three years call. Since 1861 Mr. May has resided on his farm in Fairfield. He was active in filling Fairfield's quota of soldiers in the great
Residence of James H. May, Fairfield.
3
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Rebellion, and has been active in all public matters ever since. He was for ten years the Fairfield Director of the Lenawee County Ag- ricultural Society, and has been a strong church adherent. For many years he was superintendent of the Free Will Baptist Sunday school. July 21, 1853, James H. May married Miss Olive W. George, daughter of Joseph and Sarah George, of Townsend, San- dusky County, Ohio, and they became the parents of three children, as follows: Lois A., born September 10, 1855, married James Crego, March 4, 1888 ; Cora E., born June 29, 1868, died in infancy ; William F., born September 23, 1858, married Miss Minnie White, October 18, 1876, and they had one son, Carlton W., born December 7, 1878, resides in Hudson. Mrs. Olive W. (George) May was born in Townsend, Ohio, May 4, 1834, and died April 1, 1893. Her father, Joseph George, was a native of Vermont, born in 1795, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was the son of a revolutionary soldier. Her mother was Sarah McMillan, a native of New Hampshire.
THE LESH & YOUNG COMPANY, engaged in the manu- facture of hardwood lumber, located in Adrian in January, 1899. The members of this company have been engaged in this line of bus- iness for about twenty years, and are familiar with all the markets and the probable demand for their product throughout the country. Joseph H. Lesh, president of the company, is a son of John H. Lesh, who was engaged in the lumber business at Goshen, Ind., for a quarter of a century, and was one of the largest manufacturers of hardwood lumber in the United States, having mills throughout In- diana and Illinois, and handled the product of other mills. The mill at Adrian is up-to-date in all its details, being supplied with band saws and all the best modern machinery. It is un- der the immediate charge of Mr. J. F. Young, treasurer and general man- ager, who resides in Adrian and is fully identified with the city's inter- Joseph H. Lesh, President. ests and business prosperity. For many years Mr. Young was identified with John H. Lesh, as timber buyer in Indiana, and afterwards operated a band mill at Milford, Ind., until 1899 when he removed to Adrian. Mr. H. G. Young is
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
the secretary of the Lesh & Young Company, and also resides in Adrian, devoting all his time to the lumber business. He is a son of the general manager, and divides his time in looking after other mills and in traveling in the company's interest. The Adrian mill
J. F. Young, Treasurer and Manager.
H. G. Young, Secretary.
is operated to its full capacity, the logs being gathered from the sur- rounding country, within a radius of fifteen miles. The product of the mill is about 3,000,000 feet per year, and a ready market is found both East and West.
HON. LEWIS C. BAKER was born in the township of Adrian, Lenawee County, Mich., February 18, 1844, and has always lived on the farm he now owns. His father, Norton Baker, was born in Manchester, Ontario County, N. Y., December 9, 1802. He was the son of Joseph M. Baker, who was born in Massachusetts, February 19, 1780, but soon after his parents moved to Rutland, Vt. He lived in Rutland until he was about nineteen years old, when he went to Ontario County, N. Y., and soon after purchased a new farm in what was then the town of Farmington. He lived there until the spring of 1833, when he emigrated to Michigan and finally purchased land from the government in the town of Rome, this county, where he settled. He cleared the farm and lived upon it until the last few years of his life, and died in Rome, May 27, 1872. About the year 1800, he married Miss Sally Cruthers, of Phelps, Ontario County, N.
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Y., by whom he had eleven children, six sons and five daugh- ters, Norton being the oldest. Mrs. Sally Baker was born in Half Moon, New York, in 1778, and died in Rome, this county, Septem- ber 15, 1851. Norton Baker never had much school advantages, his father being a pioneer in Ontario County, N. Y., where schools were very "few and far be- tween" in those days. He spent most of his time on his father's farm and in a distil- lery, until he was about twenty-eight years old. He came to Michigan in the spring of 1833, with his father, and took up the w 12 of the s.w. 12, and e. part of the s. w. frac'l 14 of section 7, in Adrian (then Logan). Sep- tember 12, 1830, he married Miss Almeda Howland, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Howland, of Manches- ter, Ontario County, N. Y., by whom he has had ten children, as follows : Sarah M., born in Manchester, N. Y., July 10, 1831, now the wife of Dr. Willard Perkins, of Franklin, this county ; Isaac H., born in Man- chester, N. Y., Sep- tember 20, 1833, died in Adrian, April 3,
Hon. Lewis C. Baker.
Mrs. Mary Jane Baker.
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
1852; Ellen L., born in Adrian, October 2, 1835, now the wife of George Gambee, of Adrian; Lois A., born in Adrian, October 24, 1837, died March 12, 1852; Mary E., born in Adrian, October 23, 1839, now the wife of George Hunt, of Rome, this county ; Roxanna I., born in Adrian, June, 8, 1841, died April 2, 1852; Lewis C., born in Adrian, February 18, 1844, a farmer, and owns the home farm; Frank I., born in Adrian, October 29, 1845, died June 2, 1862 ; Almeda A., born in Adrian, January 3, 1848, died February 16, 1852; Ava E., born in Adrian, October 25, 1854. Norton Baker died March 15, 1880. Mrs. Almeda Baker was born December 6, 1812, and came to Michigan with her husband in 1833. Her father was born in Adams, Massachusetts, in 1789, and was a pioneer of Ontario County, New York. He came to Michigan in 1846, and pur- chased a farm in Adrian township, where he died in 1871. Her mother was born in Gloucester, Rhode Island, in 1786, and died in Adrian, in September, 1846. Mrs. Baker died February 26, 1897, in Adrian. Lewis C. Baker, subject of this sketch, was born in the house where he now resides, on Section 7, in Adrian township. He was educated in the district schools and about two school years in Adrian College. He was brought up a farmer and has always fol- lowed it. He commenced for himself when about twenty years old, and carried on his father's farm for several years, or until the death of his father, March 15, 1880. He then rented the place of his mother, and paid his four sisters for their interest in the homestead, which consisted of 160 acres on Section 7, in Adrian. At the time of his mother's death, February 26, 1897, he had paid all claims and came into possession. His farm now consists of 340 acres, with two sets of buildings. Many of the best buildings he has erected during the past few years. Mr. Baker was elected Justice of the Peace in 1878, Supervisor of the township in 1880, and served seven successive years. In 1890 he was elected to the House of Representatives in the Michigan Legislature. In 1893 he was elected a director in the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company of Lenawee County, serving nine years, and was elected president in October, 1892, which office holds two years. January 9, 1868, Lewis C. Baker married Miss Mary Jane Thomas, daughter of Henry and Louisa Thomas, of Adrian, and three children have been born to them, as follows: Kate I., born February 7, 1874, a teacher in Chicago public schools; Nor- ton, born April 23, 1877, married Miss Mattie Starin, November 12, 1896, has one child, Ruth, born June 26, 1898, and resides on the farm; Maude Ione, born May 18, 1879, married Edward Kohler, August 22, 1901, has one child, Lewis E., born April 21, 1903. Mrs. Mary Jane (Thomas) Baker was born in Adrian township, February 20, 1850. Her parents were natives of Orleans County, N. Y., and came to Michigan when children. Her father was born March 24, 1825, came to Michigan when he was eight years old. Her mother was born March 30, 1827, and died September 28, 1895.
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
MAJOR JAMES M. HOLLOWAY was born in Adrian, Mich., March 20, 1867. His father, Martin Holloway, a native of England, was born near Bristol, August 25, 1810. He learned the carpenter's trade in his native place, and followed that business until 1840, when he came to the United States and settled in Adrian. He resided there the balance his life, and was an active, honorable and enterprising citizen. He died Au-
gust 21, 1895. He was
three times married,
and was the father of six children. His first marriages were in England, but the last occurred in Tecumseh, this county, in 1857, when he married Mar-
garet Stevens, who be- came the mother of two sons, Charles M. and James M. Mrs. Margaret (Stevens) Holloway was a native of the State of New York, was born in
1826, and came to
Michigan with her parents, Charles D. and Theodocia Stevens, in 1828. They settled in the present township of Franklin, this county. She died in
Adrian, June 9, 1885.
Major James M. Hollo-
Major James M. Holloway.
way, subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools and Brown's Business College of Adrian. At the age of about seventeen years he went to learn the iron moulders trade at the Adrian Brick and Tile Machine Company's foundry. He remained with this com- pany until 1895, when he was elected collector of taxes for the city of Adrian, and served as collector and treasurer for three years, re- fusing to continue in the office longer. In the spring of 1898 he was in the employ of the Page Fence Company, when the call for troops for the Spanish-American War came out. He had been captain of of the Adrian Light Guard, known as Company B., First Michigan Infantry, for some years. The company at once responded to the call for troops. On the 26th day of April it left Adrian and was mustered in at Island Lake, as Company B, 31st Michigan Infantry. The command was immediately sent forward to Chickamauga Park,
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
Ga. After remaining there four or five months they were ordered to Knoxville, remaining about three months. They were then or- dered to Savannah, Ga., where the regiment sailed for Cuba about January 1, 1899. The regiment remained in Cuba until the end of the war, and returned home in May, 1899, after a service of some thirteen months. During his career in Cuba Captain Holloway was promoted to Major of the 31st Michigan Infantry. Soon after his return from Cuba Major Holloway was engaged as superintendent of construction of the Coldwater Cement Works. In July he received a dispatch from the Adjutant General of Michigan that he had been recommended as Captain in the 30th U. S. Infantry, for foreign service, which was declined "with thanks." In the fall of 1900 he became a salesman for the Page Fence Company, where he remained until Jan- uary 1, 1902, when he engaged with the American Steel and Wire Company, of Chicago, with headquarters in Chicago. July 24, 1889, James M. Holloway married Miss Jennie Garrity, daughter of Patrick Garrity, of Ann Arbor, and they have three children, as follows: May, born April 24, 1890; Clarabelle, born March 14, 1892 ; Genevieve, born January 10, 1895. Mrs. Jennie Holloway was born July 24, 1865. Her mother died in her infancy and she has very little knowledge of her ancestry.
CAPTAIN HENRY N. KING was born in Bridgewater, Wash- tenaw County, Mich., March 26, 1839. His father, Rufus S. King, was a native of the State of New York, and was born in the town of Augusta, Rockland County, where he was married to Miss Mary E. Nichols, daughter of Solomon Nichols, in 1830. Shortly after his marriage he came to Michigan and located in Adrian township, this county. After a short residence here they returned to their old home in New York, but subsequently returned and located on a farm in Bridgewater, Washtenaw County. They became the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters, our subject being the sec- ond. Here the family resided and the parents died. Henry N. King, subject of this sketch, was educated in his native township, in a log school house, with common slabs for seats. When he was sixteen years old he left home and went to work on the construction of the Jackson branch of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. In 1855 he went to Clinton, this county, where he learned the trade of millwright, including that of pattern-making and carpenter and joiner work. After completing his apprenticeship, he engaged in business on his own account in Washtenaw County. In 1859 he went to Adrian, where he followed his trade until 1861. June 15, 1861, he enlisted as a volunteer soldier and assisted in raising a company for the Union Army. He was assigned to Company F, 47th Ohio Infantry, and was commissioned First Lieutenant, first rendezvouing at Camp Clay, and then at Camp Dennison, Ohio, being ordered to
-
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
the field in West Virginia, August 28, 1861, under general Rose- crans. The war record of the 47th O. V. V. I. is a most honorable one, and Captain King participated in nearly every action in which the regiment was engaged during its nearly four years' service. He was badly wounded at Resaca, Ga., on May 14, 1864. Following is a fairly correct list of the battles, skirmishes and incidents the 47th engaged in from 1861 to 1865:
Battle of Carnifex Ferry, W. Va., Sept. 10, 1861.
Skirmish at Sewall Mountain, W. Va. Skirmish at Miller's Ferry, W. Va. Battle of Louisburg, W. Va., May 12, 1862. Skirmish at Cotton Mountain, Sept. 11, 1862. Skirmish at Camp Piatt, W. Va., Sept. 12, 1862. Battle of Charleston, W. Va., Sept. 13, 1862. Skirmish at Steel's Bayou, Miss., March 24, 1863. Siege of Vicksburg, May 18, 1863, to July 4, 1863. Siege of Vicksburg, assault of May 19, 1863.
Siege of Vicksburg, assault of May 22, 1863. Siege of Jackson, Miss., July 9-16, 1863. Battle of Mission Ridge, Tenn., Nov. 24-25, 1863. Skirmish at Snake Creek Gap, Ga., May 10, 1864.
Battle of Resaca, Ga., May 13-16, 1864. Assault of Resaca, Ga., May 15, 1864. Skirmish of Pumpkin Vine Creek, May 26, 1864. Battle of Dallas, Ga., May 27-29, 1864. Skirmish at New Hope Church, Ga., June 1-3, 1864.
Skirmish at Big Shanty, Ga., June 7-8, 1864. Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Ga .. June 9-26, 1864. Assault of Kennesaw Mountain, Ga., June 27, 1864.
Battle of Nickajack Creek, July 3-4, 1864. Skirmishing at Chattahoochee River, July 5-10, 1864. Skirmish at Decatur, Ga., July 18-21, 1864.
Battle of Atlanta-Gen. Hood's first sortie, July 22, 1864.
Battle of Atlanta-(Ezra Chapel) Gen. Hood's second sortie, July 28, 1864. Siege of Atlanta, July 29 to August 30, 1864.
*Battle of Jonesboro, Ga., August 31 to Sept. 2, 1864.
*September 1st, 1864, Capt. King had command of the regiment, and continued in command until after the battle of Jonesboro.
After a service of three years and nine months in the army, he returned to Adrian, November 8, 1864, and at once engaged in con- tracting and building, which he followed until 1868, when he de- voted his entire time to stair-building and wood carving, being very successful in that line of work, and finding ready employment in Michigan, Ohio, and as far west as Omaha, Nebraska, where he ex- ecuted the carved work in the court house. He followed this work until 1888, when he accepted the proffered position of superin- tendent of construction by the American Water Works Company.
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
He went to Omaha December 24, 1888, and took charge of the con- struction of the water works system there under contract, and built the pumping station at Florence, six miles north of the city. He also erected nearly four thousand feet of river work on the Old Muddy, which stands today as a monument to his skill in engineering. This entire plant cost $4,000,000. He superintended the construction of the Alton, Ill., water works, and the Denver, Colorado, works, which cost $2,000,000. Captain King made the plans for the Fort Worth,
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