USA > Michigan > Men of progress : embracing biographical sketches of representative Michigan men with an outline history of the state > Part 17
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March 28, 1888, Dr. Wilson became a bene- dict, marrying Miss Nellie Prindle, of Grand Rapids, and his son Will John Wilson, aged nine years, is now going to school in Mt. Clemens.
That Dr. Wilson was wise in his selection of a field is shown by the position he at present occupies, that of mayor of Mt. Clemens, to which office he was the first Republican elected. He was not a candidate for that office
WILLIAM DEAN WILSON, M. D.
and in fact did not know of his nomination, as he never attended a political convention or caucus. He was elected on the Republican ticket by a large majority although the city is strongly Democratic.
Dr. Wilson, besides attending to his exten- sive practice, has many business interests. He is vice-president of the Ullrich Savings Bank, of Mt. Clemens, a thriving institution; a stock- holder in the Detroit Crematory, of Detroit, and also in the Macomb County Bank, at Lenox, Michigan. Ile is a member of the school board in Mt. Clemens, of the Mt. Clem- ens Club, the Detroit and the Michigan Clubs, both of Detroit; the Michigan Medical Asso- ciation, the American Medical Association, the Mt. Clemens Chamber of Commerce, and several other social organizations. He owns nmch desirable real estate in Mt. Clemens, De- troit, Grand Rapids and Ionia, and is inter- ested in a large tract of Mississippi pine land. Dr. Wilson has been an active factor in push- ing Mr. Clemens to the front, and the city is indebted to his management and executive ability for many of the improvements that have made it one of the prettiest cities in the state.
104
MEN OF PROGRESS.
CHARLES HENRY MARR.
MARR, CHARLES HENRY. In 1898, Charles Henry Marr was made City Attorney of Wyandotte, Michigan, where he is looked upon as one of the brightest and most promis- ing young members of the bar of that city.
Born in the little town of Clinton, Michi- gan, September 5, 1865, Mr. Marr found him- self entering life very much handicapped. ITis father, who was a station agent on the L. S. & M. S. R. R., died when the boy was but three months old, leaving him nothing but an nndecided lawsuit.
When the boy was old enough to go to work he was given employment on a farm and dur- ing the winter months, allowed to attend the distriet school at Sand Lake, Lenawee County, Michigan. Ile was not a very strong boy, being extremely slender, and when fourteen years of age it was found that farm work was commeneing to tell upon his frail constitu- tion. He gave it up and seenred a position where he worked nights, and which gave him an opportunity during the day to study. At the age of sixteen he was sufficiently advanced in his studies to secure a teacher's certificate, and he commenced teaching in a district
school, saving a little money in the mean- time which enabled him in the following year to attend the Adrian High School, and later Brown's Business College at Adrian. A short trip to Chicago about this time intro- duced him to the hardware business, and he clerked in a store of this kind while in that city. Returning at the expiration of six months to Lenawee County he again resumed his old employment of working on a farm and teaching school. He also took a two years' course at the High School at Adrian, after which he was given the position of superintendent of the Springville village school.
It was not until 1892 that he commenced the study of law, in the law offices of James Pound. He boarded himself while engaged in his studies and when his money was ex- hausted returned once more to Lenawee County and sehool teaching.
Mr. Marr studied Blackstone under very peculiar eonditions. Taking advantage of the holiday afforded him by the arrival of Satur- day each week, he would place his Blackstone under his arm, swing a shotgun across his shoulder and make his way to the heart of the woods. Here seleeting a likely place for squirrels he would lay his gun on the log be- side him, and opening his book eommenee to read.
After accumulating sufficient money to carry him through another siege he returned to Pound's office and once more set about to master the intricate profession of law. In 1896 he was admitted to the bar.
This was a very happy day for the young attorney, and he was happier still when he saw his sign, painted by a friend, swinging over his office door in Wyandotte. He had a client the first week, and has succeeded since that time in establishing for himself a most lucrative practice.
Mr. Marr is a member of the Catholic Church, belongs to the Catholic Knights and Ladies of America, also to the C. M. B. A. and the I. O. O. F.
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HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
AVERY, M. D., AARON B. Aaron B. Avery, M. D., is a descendant of Christopher Avery, the first of the name who emigrated to this country in 1630, and whose only son, Capt. James, founded the well known family of "Groton Averys." His great-grandfather, Nathan Avery, was a soldier in the revolution- ary war and settled in 1817 at Palmyra, New York, from whence his son, Benjamin, emi- grated to Michigan with his family in 1838, locating in Dansville, Ingham county. Na- than Avery, Benjamin's oldest son, after his marriage in 1847 to Matilda Rockwell, daughter of Eli Roekwell, removed to Lyn- don, Washtenaw county, and resided there until his death in 1889, and here his third child and oldest son, Aaron B. Avery, was born, Angust 26, 1853. His boyhood was spent on his father's farm, attending the district school, until at the age of 16 years he entered the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, remaining two years. In 1874 he attended the Chelsea High School, from which he was graduated in 1875. For five years he was a successful teacher in the schools of Washtenaw and Livingston coun- ties, following this occupation between inter- vals of attending school and attending lectures at the Homeopathic College of the University of Michigan, where, in 1878, he received his degree of M. D. Shortly after he entered the practice of his profession in Farmington, Oakland County, where he soon became popular and was called upon to fill the position of health officer and superintendent of schools. October 22, 1879, Dr. Avery married Miss Lillian Drake, daughter of Francis Marion and Sarah Elizabeth Drake, of Farmington. Two daughters have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Avery, both of whom are now attending high school.
After eight years of successful practice in Farmington and vicinity, Dr. Avery removed to Pontiac, where his reputation had pre- ceeded him. Here he immediately entered upon an extensive practice and speedily took his place among the leading physicians.
A. B. AVERY, M. D.
He has been eleven years surgeon of the P., O. & N. R R. and has served four years as examiner on the United States pension board. He has also held the office of first vice-president of the State Homeopathie Medieal Society of this state, and chairman of the Bureau of Materia Medica. He was pre- sident of his graduating class at Ann Arbor and has been president of the Alumni Asso- ciation. In polities he is, and has always been, a Republican.
Dr. Avery stands high in the Masonie fra- ternity. Ile was raised in Farmington Lodge, No. 151, F. & A. M., in June, 1879, and is past-master of the same. At Pontiae he iden- tified himself with the fraternity and has the honor of being past-master of Pontiac Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M .; past high priest of Oak- land Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M., and past com- mander of Pontiac Commandery, No. 2, K. T. Ile is also a member of Moslem Temple, Detroit, Michigan.
Dr. Avery is president of the South Lyon Banking Co. and also of the Pontiac Wheel Co., and has a financial interest in other business enterprises of Pontiac.
106
MEN OF PROGRESS.
THOMAS WATSON.
WATSON, THOMAS. Vigorous, men- tally and physically, Thomas Watson, although fifty years of age, is still in what may be called the prime of life, and holding the trusted position of Great Record Keeper of the Knights of the Maccabees.
Mr. Watson is a Scotchman, and a fine type of that noble-hearted and generous race. ITe was born October 24, 1849, in the little town of Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and received his education in the common schools of that place. He connneneed life as a farm- er's boy. Hard working and industrious, he remained at this employment until he became of age, and then he drifted into the general store business. Later he tried journalism, after which he entered the grain business. In this he was most successful for a time, but losing his money through sudden business re- verses, he became disgusted with the keen competition he found in the commercial world of the old country and decided to come to America. This was an ambition he had been fostering for many years. He arrived in New York in 1884, and after remaining in
that city for only a short period, he went to Roscommon, Michigan, and entered the em- ploy of M. Wilson, the well known lumber- man of Muskegon. It was not long before Mr. Watson's merits became known to his employer and he quickly advanced him to the position of superintendent and manager of his business in Roscommon. In this posi- tion he continued until October, 1894, when he was appointed to his present office, Great Record Keeper, K. O. T. M., of the World.
Mr. Watson became identified with the Maccabees in 1890, and in 1891, at Jackson, Michigan, he was, by general acclamation, elected Great First Master of the Guards.
The following year, at Detroit, Michigan, he was made Great Sergeant, and in 1893, at the Grand Rapids convention, he was further advanced to Great Lieutenant-Commander. He was re-elected to this office at Lansing in 1894, but he resigned the position shortly after, and was appointed by the Great Com- mander to fill the vacancy in his present office.
Mr. Watson married Miss Mary Goodwin, the daughter of John Goodwin, of John Goodwin & Co., iron founders and bridge Imilders, of Motherwell, Scotland. They have four children.
Besides being a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, Mr. Watson is also associated with many other fraternal societies, namely : The F. and A. M., I. O. O. F., The Wood- men of the World and the Knights of Pythias.
No better man could be found to occupy the position he holds in the order of the Mac- cabees, for he is well fitted for it in every way. Every tent within the jurisdiction of Michigan knows and recognizes his just decisions in the matter of law, and hundreds have gratefully acknowledged his fairness and thoroughness in dealing with them. A true friend, a sturdy Scotchman and a whole- souled gentleman, "Tom" Watson is known and loved throughout the entire order and the State of Michigan.
107
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
STEVENS, HERMAN W. The parents of Herman W. Stevens came to Michigan from the western part of New York state in 1841 and settled in the little village of Romeo, where, two years later, he was born. Tu 1847 the family moved to Port Huron.
Mr. Stevens' education commeneed in the comnon schools of that city, after which hc entered the University of Michigan, gradu- ating from the literary department with the degree of 1. B., in 1866, and two years later, in 1868, finishing his legal studies and graduating from the law department.
Immediately after graduating he com- meneed the practice of law at Port Huron, and with the exception of the time he illed the position of eireuit judge he has been con- timously engaged in active practice in St. Clair and adjoining counties, occupying to- day a leading position in the legal profession.
Ile is a Republican and has been staunch and firm in upholding the tenets of Repub- licanism. He has been an active worker in the politics of his county and district, and at the state judicial convention of 1897 he re- ceived the vote of St. Clair County for the supreme judgeship nomination. Prior to this he held the office of supervisor of the first ward of Port Huron, in 1870, and from 1874 to 1878 was circuit court commissioner. From 1881 until 1887 he filled the position of circuit judge of St. Clair county.
After his term of service in the latter capacity, Mr. Stevens was not a candidate for renomination, and he did not hold office again until in the fall of 1897 he was elected mayor of Port Huron, which position he oc- cupies today.
As mayor of Port Huron, he is giving that city a conservative administration. He is not a man given to show or to the display of official frills, but he insists upon the eharter limitations governing expenditures being strictly observed. In his inaugural address he outlined this policy, adopting the unique watchword, "Pay as we go," and expressing himself as opposed to any increase of the
HERMAN W. STEVENS.
bonded indebtedness of the city. This plan he has been faithfully endeavoring to carry out during his term of office, as far as con- sistent with the promotion of needed perma- nent improvements.
Mayor Stevens loves his home, and when not engaged in professional duties or attend- ing to city affairs, he is to be found at home with his family.
He married, in 1869 Miss Elizabeth Bishop, of Flint, Mich. They have four children, two girls and two boys. One daughter, Miss Rose M. Stevens, lives at home, the other is the wife of J. D. Menish, of Port. Huron. The two boys, Walter and Le Roy, are following in their father's foot- steps, in his old Alma Mater, the University of Michigan.
Mr. Stevens is a director in the Port ITuron Engine and Thresher Co., and also in the Grand Trunk Elevator Co., besides being the president of the school board of Port Ilnron. Mr. Stevens' father, better known, perhaps, as Squire Stevens, was justice of the peace in Port Huron for thirty-six consecu- tive years up to the time of his death in 1883.
108
MEN OF PROGRESS.
NATHAN SMITH BOYNTON.
BOYNTON, MAJ. NATHAN SMITH. The life of Nathan S. Boynton, Port Huron's old and respected citizen, is more than inter- esting, inasmuch that in the sixty-two years of its course it has been brought in close contact with the history of this country, and has taken a part in the great system of its government.
Mr. Boynton was born in Port Huron, Michigan, June 23, 1837. Ile was the son of Granville F. Boynton, of Vermont, a car- penter by trade, and one of Michigan's early pioneers. Granville Boynton was a direct descendant of Sir Mathew Boynton, who, in the latter part of 1600, was knighted for in- troducing the first sheep and goats into America.
Nathan S. Boynton's early days were passed on a farm, about three miles below Marine City, Mich., on the St. Clair river. He attended the district school and worked as a farmer's boy until, at 16 years of age, he went to Wankegan, Ill., and graduated from the high school in that city.
In 1856-57 he was engaged in the mercan- tile business in Port Huron, but succumbed to the panic of the latter year, and at the age
of 20 he started south in search of employ- ment. After visiting Cincinnati and New Orleans he at last found himself in St. Louis with a capital of 25 cents with which to make a new business start. He found employ- ment cutting cordwood at 50 cents a cord, saved enough money to enable him to take a large contract, and afterwards to start him- self in business in Cincinnati, whither he now went. In that city he met and married Miss Annie Fielder, a German girl, who came to America when about 10 years of age. The marriage occurred June 20, 1859. Six chil- dren blessed that union, five of whom are living today.
An enthusiastic abolitionist, Mr. Boynton during the agitation of that question, wrote several articles for the abolitionist press while in Cincinnati, and in 1862 proved that he was willing to fight for his principles by enlisting as a private in Company C, Eighth Michigan Cavalry. He was appointed lientenant of Company L before the regi- ment left the state and in 1863 was made captain. In the winter of 1864-65 he re- ceived a commission as major of his regiment.
After an almost continuons service, Maj. Boynton retired from the army at the end of the war, following various professions for a time.
He has been active in polities and has held the offices of a member of the Michi- gan State Legislature in 1869, mayor of Port Huron, 1874-75, and recently he served two more terms as mayor of that city, from 1894 to 1898. Politically he has been for the most time a Republican.
His greatest life's work was the founding of the order of the Knights of the Maccabees. When, in 1881. he commenced as secretary of this order, there were only 700 names on the roll of membership. The three branches now mumber 400,000 members, 130,000 of which are in this state. He is popular with the membership throughout the country and affectionately referred to as the "Father of the Maccabees."
109
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
BAIRD, M. D., ROBERT BRUCE. Robert Bruce Baird, M. D., of Marine City, in taking an active part in the educational features of that city, has proven himself a progressive man and a zealous one. His poli- tical life began in 1881, when he was elected a member of the village council of Marine City, and the following year he was made president of the village. During his term as president, the new city hall and the fine water works system were built, despite the obstinate and prolonged opposition of the rabid cou- servative element, and Dr. Baird was largely instrumental in securing these much needed improvements. Later, the schools being in a demoralized and depleted condition, he was induced to accept a nomination for and was elected on the school board. He immedi- ately began to work toward the betterment of existing conditions. The progressive ele- ment of the city had elected him to the office, and working in behalf of that element, Dr. Baird secured to the public schools of Marine City a better standing than they had ever before had. Under his management bonds were issued and the new Third Ward School was purchased, and the Marine City High School was put on the University list.
Dr. Baird was elected mayor of Marine City in 1889, and proved an excellent execu- tive officer. He also served as supervisor 01 the township in 1882 and 1883, and as asses- sor of the village in 1883. For many years he has also been a health officer, in which capacity he has acted with great judgment.
Dr. Baird was born in East China, Michi gan, May 31, 1856, and was educated in the district and public schools of Marine City and St. Clair.
His early life was spent on a farm a short distance from Marine City, where during the planting, cultivating and harvesting seasons the greater part of his time was occupied. When the winter season arrived he attended the district schools and later the public schools of Marine City and St. Clair. He has never lost his love for his first occupa- tion, and still owns and manages two large
ROBERT BRUCE BAIRD, M. D.
farms near Marine City. He left the farm in 1873 and for one year worked in various capacities about a sawmill, returning to the farm in 1875. In September of that year he determined to start the study of the pro- fession he follows today, so he went to De- troit and entered the Detroit College of Medicine, from which institution he gradu- ated March 5, 1878. Returning to Marine City, he hung up his sign as a physician and started to practice.
April 12, 1882, Dr. Baird married Miss Feodore HI., daughter of Dr. George L. Cor- nell, of St. Clair. His three children, Bruce C., Eunice II. and Elizabeth Cornell, are now attending those schools for which their parent worked so hard and successfully.
Dr. Baird has an excellent practice in Ma - rine City, and has won the respect and esteen! of his fellow townsmen by his efforts to make that city's history one of progress. He is 9 member of the Masonic fraternity, the I. O. O. F., K. O. T. M. and Ancient Order of United Workmen, and he also belongs to the Michigan State Medical Society.
110
MEN OF PROGRESS.
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HON. AUGUSTUS CARPENTER BALDWIN.
BALDWIN, HON. AUGUSTUS CAR- PENTER. Hon. Augustus Carpenter Bald- win is the seventh lineal descendant of Henry Baldwin, of Woburn, Massachusetts, who came from Devonshire, England, prior to 1650. Ilis father, Jonathan Baldwin, was a native of Canterbury, Connectient, and was a successful merchant in Salina, New York. where he died in 1842.
Augustus Carpenter Baldwin was born De- cember 24, 1817, at Salina, New York. Learning the printers' trade, he started in life as a printer on the Buffalo Bulletin. Later he became a teacher. Ile came to Michigan in the antimmn of 1837 and settled in Oakland county, teaching for five years in different school districts, reading law. in the meantime, and fitting himself for the profession in which he now holds so honored a position. Hle commenced the technical study of law in the office of Hon. John P. Richardson, of Pontiac, in 1839, continuing with O. D. Richardson, and on May 14, 1842. was admitted to the bar. His first official ser- vice was as school inspector for the Township of Bloomfield, Oakland County, in 1840. In
the year 1844 he was elected to the State Legislature, and was re-elected in 1846. Dur- ing the latter year he was appointed Brigadier- General of the State Militia, in command of the Fifth Brigade, which position he held until 1862. In the years 1853 and 1854 Mr. Baldwin occupied the position of prose- enting attorney for Oakland County, and in 1862 he was elected to the Thirty-eighth Con- gress of the United States, from the then Fifth Congressional District, defeating the Republican candidate, R. E. Trowbridge. He was unanimously renominated in 1864, and received a majority of the votes cast in the dis- trict. The Legislature had passed an act au- thorizing the soldiers to vote in the field, ont- side the State. This law the Michigan Su- preme Court had declared unconstitutional and in the contest the soldier vote, thus given, was allowed to Mr. Trowbridge, and Congress gave the seat to him.
Mr. Baldwin was elected mayor of Pontiac in 1874, and the following year was made judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, from which position, after serving three years, he resigned. and returned to his law practice.
Mr. Baldwin was very active in securing the Eastern Michigan Asylum for the Insane at Pontiac, and has taken a great interest in the Pontiac schools, and the Michigan Mili- tary Academy at Orchard Lake. The latter contains Mr. Baldwin's fine library.
Hon. A. C. Baldwin has participated in nearly every capital case tried in Oakland and Lapeer counties. He is an active Democrat, and has been a member of that party for sixty years, having several times been a delegate to national conventions. He is an honored frater in the Masonic fraternity and a past eminent commander of Pontiac Commandery, No. 2, K. T. In 1842 Mr. Baldwin was married to Isabella Churchill, who died in June, 1894. Their daughter is now the wife of Dr. Chris- tian, medical superintendent of the Asylum for the Insane at Pontiac.
In 1895 he married Flora E., daughter of ITon. Friend Belding.
111
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
SMITH, THOMAS RUSSELL. Scotland has contributed many men to the state of Michigan, and with the sturdiness of the Scotch character these men have made their way to the front ranks of the commercial army and at the same time have been instru- mental in building up the state, and furnish- ing industries that employ many laborers.
Thomas Russell Smith was born in Glas- gow, Scotland, April 14, 1858. From his mother he inherits the royal blood of Mary Queen of Scots, for his mother, whose maiden name was Catherine McCallum, was a direct descendant of that unfortunate queen.
When Mr. Smith was but 10 years of age, his family left their native land and came to America, locating in Cleveland, Ohio, where the boy was sent to school and given a com- mon school education. Upon leaving school he commenced his life in the business world as a elerk in the large dry goods establish- ment of E. M. MeGillan & Co., of Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained for some time. De- cember 25, 1879, his first marriage occurred at Cleveland, when he wedded Miss Minnie B. Smith, of that city. Before going on his wedding tour, to oblige a fellow elerk, he put his name on the back of a note for $450, and when he returned he found that the clerk had left town, and the note must be met by the in- dorser. Thus he started his married life that much in debt. Mr. Smith does not re- gret the investment, for it has doubtless saved him many dollars since then, as he made up his mind at that time never to put his name on another note, and he has stood by that plan all through his business life. A few years after his marriage Mr. Smith moved to Chi- cago, Illinois, where, in 1882, he was time- keeper in the blast furnaces of the Union Iron & Steel Company, of that eity.
He remained in Chicago until three years later, in 1885, when he removed to Lawton, Michigan, and August 24 started in business for himself.
His first marriage brought him one child, Zadie Bell, who is living at the present time. She is 19 years of age, and is her father's sec-
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