USA > Michigan > Men of progress : embracing biographical sketches of representative Michigan men with an outline history of the state > Part 33
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GEORGE HENRY ORR.
Mr. Orr is also superintendent of The Wes- ton Lumber Company's lumbering operations at Manistique.
His success has been due to his own personal efforts, his perseverance and energy. He has not lost during the past twenty-eight years over forty days for vacations and illness.
Mr. Orr is president of the State Bank at Manistique, vice-president of the White Mar- ble Lime Company, manager of the Manis- tique & Northwestern Railroad and a director in the Chicago Lumbering Company. He is also vice-president and director in the Manis- tique Electric Light & Power Company. He was first president of the village of Manis- tique, county treasurer for four years and director of schools for ten years. In politics he is a Republican.
Mr. Orr married Miss Ellen S. Eddy at Greene, N. Y., in 1863, and his only surviving child, Charles Orr, is a druggist at Manistique. Ile is a Royal Arch Mason, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Presbyterian Church at Manistique.
234
MEN OF PROGRESS.
NORRIS OSCAR GRISWOLD.
GRISWOLD, NORRIS OSCAR. No elass of men has contributed more to the poli- tical, military, industrial and intellectual his- tory of the country than the so-called Scotch- Irish. They gave tone to the early settle- ments in portions of Pennsylvania, in Virginia and the Carolinas, and their descendants are found in the States to the west of those named. Their energy is well exemplified in the sub- ject of the present sketch. Mr. Griswold was born on a farm at West Mecea, Trumbull County, Ohio, in 1850, and is of Scotch-Irish extraction. Ile was one of ten children and his education up to the age of fourteen was acquired at the country school, with a few terms at a select school at Baconsburg, Ohio. At the age of fifteen (1865) he quitted home and started out to make his own way in the world. His first halt was at Niles, O., where he worked for a time as a carpenter's appren- tice. Later he was employed in a lumber yard at Bloomfield, O). The newer portions of Michigan seemed then an inviting field, and with a companion he landed at Greenville, March 19th, 1869, at once securing employ- ment as a farm hand on the oak openings in
Eureka township. Not satisfied with his lim- ited education he went to Greenville and se- cured a place to work for his board, while at- tending the village school. With no means, and no opportunity to earn any, he acted as janitor for the school, and built the sidewalks around the school house to pay his tuition. During the summer vacation he worked with the fence gang along the newly built railroad, and earned money enough to carry him through the fall term of school. The next summer found him in the harvest field, and at the age of twenty-one he was employed to teach a district school four miles from Green- ville. He attended the ensuing spring term of school at Greenville, and the same year was appointed superintendent of schools at Stan- ton, which position he held one year. His ambition being the law, he pursued a course of private study while at Stanton, and in 1872 he returned to Greenville and entered the law office of Ellsworth & Lewis. In the fall of 1874 he was admitted to practice, and coup- ling the insurance business with that of law, he hung out his shingle at Greenville. He soon quit insurance, however, and gave his whole time to practice, and from that time on has been a successful and well-known prac- titioner in all the state courts.
Mr. Griswold served three consecutive terms as circuit court commissioner for Mont- cahn county, having been first elected in 1874. From this position he was directly advanced to the more responsible office of judge of pro- bate. He was for several years city attorney of the city of Stanton, and has held that office in Greenville as well as served on the com- mon council of the city, and was for many years a member of the Board of Education. Ile is a Mason of the Royal Arch Chapter and of the Auxiliary Order of the Eastern Star, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of the Maccabees.
He is a Republican in politics, but quit his party in 1896 upon the money question.
Mrs. Griswold was formerly Miss Franc A. Gooding, to whom Mr. Griswold was mar- ried May 11, 1875. She is a native of West Henrietta, N. Y., and a graduate of Fairfield Seminary, in the class of 1872. They have three children, Harper H., a law student; Hudson B. and Helen, aged respectively 19, 16 and 7 years.
235
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
GARFIELD, CHARLES WILLIAM. Charles William Garfield was born in Wau- watosa, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 14, 1848. Ilis father, Sammel M. Garfield, having emigrated from Genesee County, New York, about 1840. His mother, Harriet E. Brown, was born in New Hampshire, very near the original home of the Garfield family. The Garfields moved from Wisconsin to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1858, settling upon Burton Farm, just south of the city.
The subject of our sketch worked upon the farm summers, attended school during the winters, practically completing the High School course when he had reached the age of 18. He taught school several years in his own and adjoining districts, and entered the State Agricultural College as a sophomore in 1868. He paid his expenses in College largely by teaching school, completing the course in 1870.
Owing to greatly impaired health, his plan of life was entirely changed, and he entered horticulture as an occupation, spending a year as an apprentice with the firm of Storrs & Harrison, Painesville, Ohio. His first busi- ness enterprise was in growing nursery stock, which proved to be a disaster, owing to the unprecedented severity of the winter of 1872-3, which practically destroyed his stock, leaving him in debt for quite a large amount. HIe was offered a position of foreman of the gardens at the Agricultural College, on a small salary, which he accepted, and soon thereafter was elected secretary of the State Horticultural Society. To these two branches of labor was added a third, the management of the Farm Department of the Detroit Free Press. These positions he held until the death of his father, after which he returned to the old homestead in the autumn of 1877, which he made his permanent home. He continued as secretary of the State Horticultural Society until 1885, when failing health compelled him to retire from this work. During these years many temptations to enter the educational field were presented, but he was loyal to his chosen occupation of horticulture, and be- came an authority upon matters of fruit grow- ing and gardening. He was secretary of the American Pomological Society for some years, but was compelled to retire from this work ou account of his health. He is still chairman of the executive committee of this organization. For twelve years he was a mem- ber of the governing board of the State Agri- cultural College, and has been prominently identificd with many organizations devoted to
CHARLES WILLIAM GARFIELD.
rural affairs in his own state, and in the na- tion. At the date of this writing he is presi- dent of the Grand Rapids Savings Bank, and director in a number of business organiza- tions at Grand Rapids. He was identified with the movement which resulted in the magnificent organization of Farmers' Insti- tutes in the state. He was one of the leading spirits in the organization of the American Park and Outdoor Art Association. Under a recent enactment of the Michigan Legisla- ture he was appointed a member of the Michi- gan Forestry Commission, and was subse- quently elected president of the Commission. As a member of the Legislature of 1881 he rendered valuable service in connection with enactments in the interests of rural affairs, and was the originator of Arbor Day, as now celebrated in this state.
Ilis wife is of Scotch parentage, and was the daughter of Mr. Thomas Smith, who in- stalled the gas system in Grand Rapids at an early day, and was identified with the devel- opment of the city as a prominent factor.
Burton Farm, the home of Mr. Garfield, is one of the most attractive places in the suburbs of Grand Rapids, and is especially noted for its wide range of tree growth. It is a successful fruit and truck farm. Mr. Gar- field's tastes do not run to making money, but rather to the development of conditions that add to the pleasure of rural life, and the at- tractiveness of his city.
236
MEN OF PROGRESS.
WILLIAM GEORGE HOWARD.
HOWARD, WILLIAM GEORGE. Mr. Howard is a native of Michigan, having been born near Edwardsburg, in Cass county, in 1846. He is a contradiction of the adage that a prophet is without honor in his own coun- try, as a high measure of professional suceess has attended him in the near neighborhood of the place of his birth. Ile attended the neigh- borhood sehool until 15 years old, and then the village school at Edwardsburg for one year. Was a student at Olivet College in 1863-65, entering Kalamazoo College in the spring of 1865 and graduating in 1867, hav- ing taken the course. He entered the law office of Balch, Smiley & Baleh, of Kalama- zoo, where he read law for two years, in eon- nection with a term in the Law Department of the University, and was admitted to prac- tiee in Kalamazoo, October, 1869. His first active practice was in Dowagiac, where he formed a connection with James Sullivan, as Sullivan & Howard, in February, 1870, so continuing for three years. In the Fall of 1870 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Cass County and was elected City Treasurer of Dowagiac in 1871. The field at Dowagiae not proving as promising as he had hoped, he
returned to Kalamazoo in June, 1873, becom- ing a partner in the newly-formed law firm of Balch, Howard & Baleh. This connec- tion continued until 1878, when the firm be- came Brown, Howard & Roos. The senior of the firm, Arthur S. Brown, withdrew a year later, and from 1879 to 1897 the firm was Howard & Roos, and in the latter year became Howard, Roos & Howard, by the ad- mission of Henry C., a son of William G.
Mr. Howard stands at the head of the bar in Western Michigan and enjoys a national reputation as a patent lawyer. He was for years the successful attorney in the celebrated Spring Tooth Harrow litigation, which led him to a close study of the patent laws, by which he acquired a special aptness in the handling of patent litigation. He owns the farm in Cass county on which he was born, and attends to its management, spending his vacations there. Ile is the present mayor of the city of Kalamazoo, and was a member of the Kalamazoo Board of Education for six years, and was for four years its treasurer. He is one of the executors of the Beckwith estate, manufacturers of Round Oak stoves and ranges at Dowagiac; vice-president and director of the Ilome Savings Bank of Kala- mazoo, a director in the South Side Improve- ment Company, and a stockholder in the Kala- mazoo Corset Company and the Kalamazoo Ice Company. He has been attorney for and trustee of Kalamazoo College sinee 1888, and is the general attorney for the "International Congress," a seeret fraternal society, with headquarters at Dowagiac, of which he is a member. He is also a member of the Odd- fellows, of the United Workmen, of the Na- tional Union and has been president of the Kalamazoo Club. In 1897 he was presented and urged by the delegates to the Democratic State Convention from Southwestern Michi- gan, for nomination as Judge of the Supreme Court. His father, George T., was from Delaware, as was also his mother, whose maiden name was Eliza Parsons. They set- tled in Cass county in 1845. Mr. Howard was married in 1870 to Miss Lizzie F. Cooper, daughter of Charles Cooper, of White Pigeon, Michigan. They have two sons, Henry C., previously mentioned, and John A., travelling salesman for the Round Oak Stove Company.
237
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
JUDD, GEORGE EDWIN. Mr. Judd was born March 23rd, 1838, at South Hadley, Mass. His father, Samuel, and all the family on his father's side, were thoroughbred Yan- kees and were born on one spot in the old Bay State. His mother, who was Julia Ann Swaine, is also of the old Yankee families of that state. In 1852 the parents of George E. emigrated to Michigan, settling in Grand Rapids. The young man remained at the old place until they could locate a home in the then almost unexplored Northwest Territory, and he did the best he could, working on a farm at eight dollars per month. He followed his parents to Michigan late in the year and found employment as drayman with the old firm of Martin Bros. He then went to Lamont as clerk in a general store, remaining two years. Returning to Grand Rapids, he en- tered the store of Fox & Company, as clerk, but sickness compelled him to leave this posi- tion, and later he went with Church, Judd & Co., butchers. At the age of nineteen he en- gaged in business with Thomas Martin, this partnership being subsequently merged in the firm of Judd Brothers, which continued until the war broke out. The firm then closed their establishment, the partners enlisting in Co. A, Third Michigan Infantry, of which one brother, S. A. Judd, was captain. George E. was elected sargeant, and the 10th of June, 1861, was mustered into service and left for Potomac. In October, 1861, he was commis- sioned first lieutenant, and at the Battle of Fair Oaks, May 31st, 1862, his brother was killed and he himself had his left arm shat- tered, and it was later amputated at the shoulder. He was brought to Washington, and in four weeks he returned to Grand Rap- ids, having been made a captain, and put on recruiting service. Ile was made inspector in 1863 on the provost marshal staff, where he remained one year. He was then relieved from the third regiment and sent to Daven- port, Ia., in charge of the Sioux Indians, held as prisoners of war for the Sioux massaere of 1862. In January, 1866, he was ordered south. He served during the days of the re-
MICH
GEORGE EDWIN JUDD.
construction, and in 1869 was placed on special duty in Michigan. In August, 1868, Col. Judd was mustered out of the volimteer ser- vice, with the rank of captain, and was mus- tered into the Forty-fifth Infantry of the regu- lar army, as second lientenant, serving until 1869. In May, 1870, he retired on full pay, with the rank of captain, and has since resided in Grand Rapids. March 1st, 1898, he was elected commandant of the Michigan Soldiers' Home, with the rank of colonel.
On September 25th, 1858, Col. Judd mar- ried Lucinda, daughter of Henry Leach, of Grand Rapids, and a son, George H., aged 39, is the result of this marriage. The first Mrs. Judd died on June 25th, 1887. In 1889, Miss Nellie Post, of Grand Rapids, became Mrs. Judd, and one son, Edwin, aged ten years, has been born to them.
Col. Judd was Deputy United States Mar- shal for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1890-94, he was a member of the Michi- gan House of Representatives in 1888-9, dur- ing which time he was chairman of the com- mittee of the Soldiers' Home, and exerted much energy to build up that institution. He is a member of Custer Post, No. 5, G. A. R., and has been its commander. He is also a member of the Loyal Legion and Pythians.
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238
MEN OF PROGRESS.
HON. ANDREW CHARLES STEPHENSON.
STEPHENSON, HON. ANDREW CHARLES. Menominee boasts of the best connty system of roads in the state of Michi- gan, in the 60 miles of stone road now ex- tending out from the city of Menominee. Andrew Charles Stephenson was the chair- man of the road committee when on the Board of County Commissioners of Menom- inee county, and superintended the building of this beautiful road. He is a Republican and was Mayor of the city of Menominee, where he now lives, in 1884 and 1885, and since 1885 has been alderman.
Andrew Charles Stephenson was born in Charleton county, New Brunswick, April 10, 1843. When he was old enough to go to school he attended those in the district until he was large enough to go to work, and then he was given a job driving a team. He had one winter term at school when he was 14 years of age, and that completed his educa- tion. During the summer months, the boy worked on the farm and during the winter as- sisted his father, Robert Stephenson, in his logging operations. He was not paid anything for his services until he was 22 years old, when his father gave him just enough money
to pay his fare to Menominee, Michigan, where some of his relatives were then engaged in the lumber business. Hle arrived at Menom- inee April 15, 1865, and later joined an uncle in that town. He secured work driving a team in a logging camp at $40 a month dur- ing the fall for Ludington, Wells & Van Schaick Company, of Menominee, and he has been with that company ever since. In 1868 he was made a foreman, and later in the same year he was placed in charge of the company's logging interests in the woods. In 1871 he was made superintendent of logging opera- tions for the Ludington, Wells, Van Schaik Company, and he is still in that position to- day. He has not lost one day through sick- ness, and has made a valuable superintendent. Since he has been connected with this com- pany over eight hundred million feet of lum- ber have been cut, and a force of from 300 to 700 men are employed under Mr. Stephenson in his department.
For the past twelve years Mr. Stephenson has held a one-third interest in the firm of F. M. Stephenson, engaged in very extensive logging operations.
In 1867 he married his first wife, Miss Rhoda Parent, in New Brunswick, and her death occurred in 1872. In 1874 he married Mrs. Philina Armstrong, of Houlton, Maine.
He has four children, Sarah is the wife of John Stevens, humber inspector at Menom- inee, Mich .; and Mand, Mamie and Ferdinand are attending school in that city.
Mr. Stephenson is well known and liked throughout the county in which he has taken such an active part as a progressive factor, and his friends know him better as "Andy." He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and belongs to Menominee Commandery, No. 35, of the Knights Templar, and the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Ahmed Temple, Mar- quette, Michigan. He is also a member of that big insurance order, the Knights of the Maccabees.
Robert Stephenson, his father, came to America from the north of Ireland in 1808 and settled in New Brunswick, where he pur- chased a small farm and engaged in the lum- ber business.
239
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
MCCURDY, HUGHI. One of the most prominent members of the Masonic fraternity in America, both in rank of office and knowl- edge of Masonic jurisprudence, is Hugh MeCurdy, of Corunna, Mich., past eminent grand master of the Grand Encampment, Knights Templar.
He was born in Hamilton, Scotland, December 22, 1828, and came to the New World with his father ten years later, locat- ing in London, Ontario. When he was 14 years of age he left home and went to Birm- ingham, Mich., where he learned the trade of a cooper. He traveled about as a journey- man cooper the next year, visiting several cities. Returning to Michigan, he again entered the employ of his old employers, and while working read and studied with his books fastened up above his bench. Dr. Ebenezer Raynale took an interest in the young Scot, gave him a home and advised him to stick to his books and study law. Attending school the lad worked at his trade early and late, learning Latin while working, and a mer- chant in town, Charles Brownell, heard his lessons after business hours at night. Hav- ing saved a little money, young MeCurdy invested it in a course at the academy in Romeo, and in the winter of 1848-49 taught school at Royal Oak.
Mr. MeCurdy commenced to read law in the office of Judge A. C. Baldwin, of Pontiac. Mich., and was admitted to the bar in July. 1854. February 24, 1855, he began his practice in Corunna, met with success, and has since resided in that city.
Mr. MeCurdy became a Mason August 5, 1850, by joining Birmingham Lodge No. 44. He is Commander-in-chief and Deputy for Michigan of the Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors; General, 33d Degree, A. A. S. R., Northern Masonic Juris- diction, U. S. A .; Illustrious Commander-in- chief, Michigan Council of Deliberation; Past M. E. Grand Master of the Grand Encamp- ment of Knights Templar for the United States; Past R. E. Grand Commander of Grand Commandery, Knights Templar of
HUGH MCCURDY.
Michigan; Past M. Illustrious Grand Master Grand Council, R. and S. M. of Michigan; Past M. E. Grand High Priest, Grand Chap- ter, R. A. M., of Michigan; and Past M. W. Grand Master, Grand Lodge, F. and A. M., of Michigan.
Mr. MeCurdy has been married twice. His present wife was Miss Emma J. Good- rich, of Charlotte, Mich. He has two chil- dren, Spencer H., who is a farmer near .Corunna, and John T., an attorney of Corunna.
In his earlier days Mr. McCurdy was prominent as a jurist, farmer and banker, and he still continues his legal practice with un- diminished vigor. He has held the office of judge of probate, prosecuting attorney and state senator, all as a Democrat. Ile is a shrewd business man, and organized the First National Bank of Corunna, of which he was the first president.
All over the United States Mr. McCurdy is held in the highest respect by the mem- bers of the Masonic fraternity. He has not forgotten his own early struggles, and is always ready to quietly assist any deserving young man to obtain an education. Last Christmas (1899) he made his city a gift of a park of 34 acres in the heart of the town, valued at $25,000.
240
MEN OF PROGRESS.
WILLIAM FRANCIS STEWART.
STEWART, WILLIAM FRANCIS. William Francis Stewart started in life at the lowest rung of the ladder and has made a financial success by his own perseverance and nnaided efforts. He is a descendant of the Stewart Clan of Scotland. His father, a small farmer, came from Scotland to Canada in 1828 and located on a farm near London, On- tario, where William Francis was born, on July 22, 1816. Ile received a limited educa- tion in the district school near his home, and when 12 years of age, was loaned ont to an adjoining farmer, where for three years he worked for his board and clothes. When 15 years old he was apprenticed for four years to John Campbell, of London, Ont., to learn the carriage woodwork trade. The first year he received $25 and his board, and his salary was advanced $5 a year for the balance of his apprenticeship. After learning his trade in a thorough manner, he went directly to New York, arriving in that city with $2 in his pocket. He remained there, working at his trade until 1868, when he came west and found work at Pontiac, Michigan, with the firm of Parsons & Page. A year later he went to Flint, to work for his brother, in the
firm of Roosvelt & Stewart, carriage builders. After one year in his brother's employ, he re- turned to Pontiac and worked for Charles Parsons until the spring of 1871, when he went baek to Flint and entered the employ of W. A. Patterson, carriage manufacturer. He worked for Mr. Patterson, as a carriage body maker, for ten years, and in 1881 started in for himself, building carriage bodies for the trade. He rented the upper floor of a small factory and his force consisted of himself and one small boy. Most of Mr. Stewart's output was taken by W. A. Patterson, and as the money commenced to come in, Mr. Stewart increased his force by one man, and began soliciting trade in Saginaw and Bay City. He met with good suecess and in 1883 moved his operations to Pontiac, where the demand seemed better. Business thrived there and he increased his force to eight men, and in 1886 had twenty-four men engaged in build- ing carriage bodies. That Fall he returned to Flint, rented a factory equipped for the manu- facture of carriage woodwork, and began operations under the name of W. F. Stewart. In 1893 he built a factory of his own, which burned the next year. It was immediately rebuilt, and in 1897 he purchased the build- ings he had previously rented, remodeled them, thus increasing his capacity 50 per eent. In 1898 he incorporated the company under the name of The W. F. Stewart Co., of which he is president and majority. The output of the factory in 1899 was over 100,000 bodies, giving employment to over 200 men. Mr. Stewart is also a direetor in the Union Trust & Savings Bank, a stockholder in the Citizens' Commercial and Savings Bank, both of Flint, and president of the Genesee County Agri- cultural Society.
He is a lover of choice stoek, making a spe- eialty of breeding fine shorthorn eattle and Oxford Down sheep on his farm, a short dis- tance from the city.
In 1872 Mr. Stewart and Miss Olive Wy- rick were married at Flint. Of their two sons, William E. is secretary and manager of the W. F. Stewart Company, and S. Sidney is bookkeeper with the W. A. Patterson Com- pany.
241
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
GROSVENOR, EBENEZER OLIVER. If Diogenes with his lamp in his search for an honest man, should meet Mr. Grosvenor, he would take out his memorandum book and make an entry. Mr. Grosvenor has been for sixty-three years a resident of Michigan, and for the past sixty years, of the village of Jones- ville. But in point of character and public service, he belongs to the state and not to any partieular locality. The first representatives of the Grosvenor family in America settled in Pomfret. Conn., in 1650. Mr. Grosvenor's father, Ebenezer O., and mother, Mary A. (Livermore). Grosvenor, moved from Massa- chusetts to Stillwater, N. Y., where the pres- ent Mr. Grosvenor was born Jannary 26th, 1820. His paternal grandfather was a Presby- terian clergyman (to which faith Mr. Gros- venor adheres), and was a chaplain in the Army of the Revolution. On his mother's side, his grandfather was a soldier at the Bat- tle of Bunker Hill.
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