Past and present of Shiawassee County, Michigan, historically; with biographical sketches, Part 38

Author:
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Lansing, Mich. : Hist. Pub.
Number of Pages: 580

USA > Michigan > Shiawassee County > Past and present of Shiawassee County, Michigan, historically; with biographical sketches > Part 38

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Certain laws have been enacted by congress granting pensions to disabled soldiers and their dependents. The members of congress represent the people,-they are bone of their bone, flesh of their flesh, and blood of their blood ; they know what the people want, and they are held responsible by the people for what they do in congress. It was evidently intended by congress to render justice to whom justice is due. Therefore in the ad- ministration of those laws a generous and pa- triotic construction should be given and the laws administered in the spirit of justice and fairness in which they were enacted. Let hu- man justice reflect divine justice as the quiet lake the star.

For the first time on decoration day we dec- orate the graves of men who fought for their country in two wars. Some of the little lads whose hearts were almost broken when father went to war in the long ago are now sleeping in soldiers' graves near their fathers here under trees in Arlington, while the motli- er, old and gray, comes with two bunches of forget-me-nots,-one for the husband's grave, covered with sod ; the other for the son's new- made grave, as yet crowned only with clay.

The courage of these soldiers of both wars was the courage of conscience. It was not simply the love of war for itself. It would

not have hurried them to the foot of the Pyr- amids nor across the snow fields of Moscow to set the stars of glory upon the glowing brow of ambition. But it was courage that had the power to brace the spirit for the pa- triot's fight, to die, if need be, in the defense of the flag of the country wherein they had their homes.

Old veterans of the north and south, your cross has indeed been a double one; not only have you suffered the hardships of war, as ac- tive participants ; but in another war, in your old age, you have sent your sons to battle with a foreign foe. As the regiments returned from Cuba and the farmers were hastening to the village to greet them upon their return, many an old veteran stood at the old farm gate and to the query of the passing neighbor said :

"I don't think I'll go in to town to see the boys come back :

My being there would do no good in all that jam and pack :

There'll be enough to welcome them-to cheer them when they come

A'marching bravely to the time that's beat upon the drum-

They'll never miss me in the crowd, not one of em will care

If. when the cheers are ringing loud, I'm not among them there.

"I went to see them march away: I hollered with the rest.

And didn't they look fine that day. a'marchin' four abreast,

With my boy James up near the front, as handsome as could be.

And waving back a fond farewell to mother and to me.

1 vow my old knees trembled so, when they had all got by.

I had to jist set down upon the curbstone there and cry.

"And now they're comin' home agen! The record that they won

Was sich as shows we still have men when men's work's to be done !

There wasn't one of 'em that flinched ; each feller stood the test.

Wherever they were sent. they sailed right in and done their best :

They didn't go away to play-they knowed what was in store-

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But there's a grave somewhere, to-day, down on the Cuban shore ! .

"I guess that I'll not go to town to see the boys come in ;

I don't just feel like mixin' up in all that crusli and din!

There'll be enough to welcome 'em, to cheer 'em when they come,

A'marching bravely to the time that's beat upon the drum ;

And the boys'll never notice,-not a one of 'em will care,

For the soldier that would miss me ain't a'goin' to be there !"

Oh! how thankful we ought to be for the era of good feeling that prevails to-day be- tween the north and south. This alone is worth all the cost of the war with Spain. Somewhere to-day two old veterans, one who wore the blue, the other the gray, in the war of '61, will stand by the side of the new-made graves of their sons who fell in the war of '98, and as the tears roll down their wrinkled faces they will grasp hands, and as they are drawn together in sympathy, grief and friend- ship, they draw together the once divided sec- tions of an unhappy land.

All honor to the defenders of our country, on land and sea, living or dead, in all our wars. All honor to our president and his cab- inet, to all officers of the army and navy, to all sailors and private soldiers who are yet fight- ing in foreign climes.

As one people, with one country and one destiny, let us stand together and meet with courage and wisdom the problems of the fu- ture. Let loyalty and patriotism be the vir- tues that shall ever blossom in the hearts of our united people.

The young soldiers of the north went away, a few months ago, with the music which their fathers loved upon their lips:

"In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea ;

As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free."

And the boys left the sunny south marching to the music so dear to every Southern heart:

"Away down south in Dixie;

In Dixie's land we'll take our stand, To live and die in Dixie."

Thus they went away to Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines. Led by men who once commanded Union and Confederate armies, they marched, and in the same uniform of blue died in defense of the same flag. And on their return a united nation of patriots greeted them and joined with them in the mighty chorus which filled the republic with melody. It was heard in castles and on thrones in foreign lands, by people in the islands of the sea as we shouted our jubilee :

"The Union of lakes, the Union of lands, The Union of states, none can sever ;

The Union of hearts, the Union of hands, And the flag of the Union forever."

JOHN W. DEWEY

This gentleman was born in Erie county, New York, June 3, 1818. He is now a re- spected resident of section 32, Owosso town- ship. He is a son of Apollos Dewey, who was born in Vermont, September 20, 1775, and who died in 1857. Abigail (Wetmore) Dewey, who was born in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1770, was the mother of John W. Dewey, and she died in 1843. Mr. Dewey remained at home until he was twenty-four years old. Pre- viously to this he had bought eighty acres on section 32, for which he paid four dollars per acre. His father had given him one hundred and sixty acres across the road, on section 29. His mother advised him against building a house until such time as he could erect a per- manent one, and he acted upon her judgement, which was entirely right, as is the counsel of mothers generally. Of the two hundred and forty acres, he improved all but forty acres of timber.

When Mr. Dewey's parents located in Owosso township they brought plenty of sup- plies with them, so as to have sufficient until they could raise their own crops. This was in 1839, when Apollos Dewey, with his wife and all of his children, removed to Owosso town- ship, then part of Middlebury township. They walked through the woods, there being no roads. Our subject and his father helped to clear up most of the woods to their section of

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the country. The elder Dewey had, in 1835, taken up two hundred and forty acres of gov- ernment land. They built a row of shanties 60 feet in length and had to split lumber for floors and benches. Five years later Apollos Dewey built a brick house, with brick madle on the farm, and he handled every brick in the structure. He lived in this place until his death. He made his home with his son, John W., for seven years after the latter's mother died. This was during the time of wildcat money. Apollos Dewey deposited some mon- ey in a Pontiac bank, but the institution failed before he got around to draw it out. When the subject of this sketch came to Owosso township, Owosso consisted of a few small huts. The first grain grown by his father in Michigan had to be cut with a sickle, threshed with a flail and cleaned by the wind. When taken to the mill in Detroit the farmer was forced to wait for wind before it could be ground. Michigan was then stocked with horses and cattle brought from Ohio. In 1822 our subject's father came to Bloomfield town- ship, Oakland county, and bought 120 acres of government land and built a log house. Mr. Dewey has seen hundreds of Indians in a body, with Governor Cass negotiating a treaty with them. Then the Indians used to go through to Detroit on their trails once a year to receive their pay from the government. He has seen half a mile of them in a string. Our subject was the first of four children: Thos. D., who was born February 22, 1823, and whe lives in Owosso township, married first Phil- ena Gould, no children being born of this union, and his second wife was Elizabeth Car- mer, who is survived by one son, George C .; Mary Esther, who was born July 4, 1825. in Michigan, and who lives in Niles, is the widow of Horace Hall and had two children, Loric and Olin, the latter of whom is dead : Nancy B., who was born June 15, 1834, and who died in February, 1899, married Charles Nichols, and lived in Berrien county, their four children being Fremont D., Charles A., Jolin D. and Cora.

Mr. Dewey's parents were married Febru- ary 25, 1817, in North Chili, Monroe county, New York, and his father was in the war of 1812.

On May 30, 1844, Mr. Dewey married Fi- delia S. Mather, and. they had one child, which died in infancy. His first wife, who was born March 25, 1820, died June 27, 1845. For his second wife he married Mrs. Nancy M. Frink, widow of Harvey Frink. Her maiden name was Curtis and she was born October 12, 188; they had no children. She died Feb- ruary 22, 1899. Mr. Dewey has adopted four children, Burr L. Curtis, now deceased, mar- ried Susan McFarland, and they had three children,-Leora. Cora and Edwin: Geo. P. Jenkins, also deceased. married and had one child, which is dead : Ida M. Norris married Dr. A. M. Hume, of Owosso, and they have three children-Ethel. Arthur and a baby.

MI. Dewey does not believe in secret so- cieties. He was, originally, a Whig, but is now a Republican. He represented his district in the state legislature during 1881-2, and was present at every session. He has served as justice of the peace for eight years and high- way commissioner three times. He has never sought office, however, the office invariably seeking him. He was educated in the district schools of Oakland and Shiawassee counties. It may truthfully be said of this venerable pio- neer that he is one of the best and most worthy citizens of his township and county.

EDWARD G. DIPPY

Edward G. Dippy is a native of Antrim township, having been born on the farm on which he now lives and which he owns, on section 28. He is a son of Alonzo Dippy, who also was born in Michigan, and who passed to the great beyond on July 18, 1881, at the age of forty-two years ; his wife, Elizabeth (Law- rence) Dippy, was born in Canada, is now aged forty-nine years and lives in Dakota, having married a second husband. The par-

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cnts of our subject were married in Antrim township. His father belonged to a family of six children, only one of whom is now liv- ing, Mrs. Christian Howard of Clare county. The mother of our subject was one of seven children, all of whom are living but one, as follows : Charles Lawrence, ex-postmaster of Owosso; Richard, of Owosso; Mrs. Mary Chapman, of Owosso; Sarah Edgcomb, re- siding in Canada; James, a resident of Sagi- naw ; Robert, a resident of Antrim township.

Our subject was the first born of three chil- dren, the second being John L., who lives on a farm in Antrim, and who married Anna Flood. The third was Lila B., who lives with her mother in Dakota.

Mr. Dippy was educated in the district schools of his township. In fact, he never at- tended any other than the common schools, Despite this fact, however, he has acquired a good education, as he has always made use of every opportunity in the way of reading and gaining knowledge since leaving school. In the language of Wendell Phillips, he early learned that "education is the only interest worthy the deep, controlling anxiety of the thoughtful man." He has always lived at home. Two years ago he bought the interest of the other heirs in his father's old homestead, and now owns it all himself. It consists of one hundred and twenty acres well improved. The idea thus illustrated in our subject is a most laudable and praiseworthy one, that of cling- ing to the old homestead, the old birth-place.

I'll still stay, to have thee still forget, Forgetting any other home but this.

Mr. Dippy was married December 7, 1904, to Stella Decker, a native of Barry county, Mich- igan, where she was born December 5, 1881. She is a daughter of Lewis and Clara (Clay) Decker. Mrs. Dippy's father is dead and her mother lives with a bachelor brother, Wesley Clay, a resident of Antrim township. Mrs. Dippy was one of three children; the other two live with their mother.

Mr. Dippy has always trained with the

Democrats. Last year he was appointed super- visor of his township to fill a vacancy, and in the spring of 1905 was elected to the office by a good majority,-a notable mark of esteem and confidence, in view of the fact that he is the youngest member of the board of super- visors of Shiawassee county, if not the entire state. He was formerly an Odd Fellow and now belongs to the Gleaners.

Mr. Dippy is one of the rising young farm- ers of Shiawassee county, enjoying the confi- dence of his fellow citizens to a marked de- gree.

JOY DOUGLASS

No nobler tribute can be made a man in introducing his biographical sketch than to say that he or his ancestors have engaged in all the wars that have made and perpetuated our government.

Joy Douglass, of section 21, Hazleton town- ship, was born near Fredonia, Chautauqua county, New York. He is one of nine chil- dren of Zattue Douglass and Elizabeth (Frasier) Douglass. His father was born in Chautauqua county, January 7, 1796, and his mother in Otsego county, New York, in the same year. The father was a farmer in the county in which he was born and died. On the breaking out of the Mexican war he en- listed with the United States troops and fought under General Scott in that great war, in which the states of the south west were acquired. He was one of thirteen children.

Our subject's grandfather, Richard Doug- lass, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and came to this country in the year 1774. He enlisted with the patriots in the Revolutionary war, fighting under George Washington. He was in the battle at Lake Champlain, suffered with his comrades at Valley Forge, and fol- lowed his commander when he crossed the Delaware and braved the perils of freezing weather and floating ice. In this, his last march, he had the toes of his feet frozen off. The government, for his services in the war,

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granted him twelve hundred acres of land in Chautauqua county, New York, where he re- sided until his death, which occurred in the year 1845, at about the age of eighty-five. His wife Mary (Ferris) Douglass was born in England but married Mr. Douglass in Scot- land.

Joy Douglass started for himself at the age of thirteen years. He was bound out to his brother, somewhat under the fashion of the old country, but he had breathed the air of freedom in America, and ran away and com- menced working on a farm in Chautauqua county, New York, where he stayed until the breaking out of the civil war, when he en- listed to fight for the country which he loved. He was mustered in, at Jamestown, New York. September 11, 1862, a member of Com- pany G, One Hundred and Twelfth New York Volunteer Infantry. To give a history of each of the engagements in which he fought would practically be a history of much of that great war itself. We can therefore only name the battles, and when the details of each strug- gle are read elsewhere some estimation may be formed of the service he has done his country : Lawrence Plantation : Jonnie's Ford : Deserted House ; siege of Suffolk,. Vir- ginia, which lasted three weeks; Zoni, Vir- ginia ; Chapin's Farm; Drury's Bluff ; assault on Fort Fisher ; sent to Jacksonville ; Charles- ton, South Carolina: siege of Petersburg. He received a wound in the right leg at Charleston, South Carolina, and was sent to the hospital. As soon as he was able he joined his company. He continued his service until he was stricken down with typhoid fever. He was discharged from the hospital and service on June 9, 1865, by orders from the war de- partment.

Politically he is a Republican. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. Douglass married Rosa Graves, Sep- tember 8, 1868. She is the daughter of Elisha and Melissa ( Mayhew) Graves, formerly of Flushing township, Genesee county, Michi-

gan. Mr. Graves died in Kansas, in 1849, and Mrs. Graves died in Genesee county, in 1886. To subject and wife have been born four children : Devillo, born February 5, 1870, died November 24, 1890; Julia M., born December 28, 1872, died January 1, 1900; Daniel W., who was born June 25, 1874, married Bertha Dunster in 1896, and they have three children ; Clyde J. was born August 20, 1890.

Mr. Douglass came to the state of Michi- gan in the year 1867, and purchased seventy acres of wild land in Shiawassee county. A log house and barn had been erected on the land but none of it was cleared to speak of. In the log house subject and his wife lived for fourteen years, and in speaking of its com- forts subject says that he used to put washers on the children's legs to keep them from fall- ing through the cracks. Subject has cleared and improved the land, has purchased and sold other land, including forty acres which he gave his son. He has earned and richly de- serves the comforts which he now enjoys.

GEORGE DROUN

George Droun was born in Rush township. Shiawassee county, Michigan, May 7, 1860. His father, Cyrel Droun, was for many years a farmer of Rush township, but has retired and is now living in the village of Hender- son. He is seventy-six years of age. His mother, Margaret (Newman) Droun, was born in Ireland and came to America with her parents when a little girl. They first settled in the state of Massachusetts, but afterward settled in Rush township. Shiawassee county, Michigan, where the parents of our subject were married. To them were born seven children, the oldest being Mary, now Mrs. Love. of St. Louis, Michigan ; the second child is the subject of this sketch ; James lives in Owosso; Martin lives in South Dakota; Steven lives in Wisconsin: Ella is now Mrs. Sorter, of the village of Henderson; and Oscar died in infancy.

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George Droun was married to Emma Del- lamater September 18, 1884. She is the daughter of Noah D. and Parmella (Dean) Dellamater, her father being a substantial farmer in section 22, Rush township. Her mother died in 1902. Noah D. Dellamater was born in Delaware county, New York, on the 11th of December, 1835, and his wife was born in Canada, on the 11th of December, 1837. There were eight children of the family. the oldest being Willianı H., of Maple Rapids, Michigan ; George resides in Brady township, Saginaw county ; John lives in Rush town- ship; Emma is the wife of the subject of this sketch; Delia is the wife of John Hale, of Henderson, Michigan; Ida is the wife of Frank Tooker, of Rush township; Ed is a resident of New Haven township; and Peter lives with his father on the old farm, in Rush township.

George Droun has always been a resident of the township of his birth and has from an carly age relied upon his own resources. By good management and industry he has placed himself in such a financial condition that he can be truly designated as an independent farmer. He was educated in the district schools of Rush township, where he resided with his parents until he had reached the age of eighteen years. He then started for hin- self, working on a farm by the month for six years. He first purchased three acres of land in Rush township, upon which he lived for three years, after which he rented land about twelve years. He then became tired of work- ing for "the other fellow," and he purchased eighty acres of land where he now lives. The land when he purchased it was partly im- proved, but as compared with its present state could hardly be said to be improved at all. In 1902 he built a new dwelling house and in 1904 a fine large barn. He has fertilized the soil and constructed fences, and at the present writing has one of the finest eighties in Rush township.

Politically he is a Democrat, but he has never aspired to or held an office. He is a

member of the Knights of the Maccabees at Henderson in which he holds the office of guard. He is also a member of the Grange. Mr. and Mrs. Droun are members of the Dis -. ciples church. To them have been born three children, all remaining at the parental home : Floyd was born November 19, 1884; Lyman was born January 26, 1887; and Flossie was born August 10, 1890.

DAVIS DUTCHER

One of the most extensive landed proprie- tors and respected citizens of Shiawassee county, Davis Dutcher, comes from a stal- wart family of Michigan pioneers. He was. born in Salem, Washtenaw county, this state, on the 16th of February, 1831, a son of John and Philothey (Colf) Dutcher. Both his par- ents were natives of the Empire state, the father having been born in Cherry Valley, Otsego county, New York, December 1, 1797, and the mother in Gorham, Ontario county, on the 26th of September. 1805. The maternal grandfather of our subject, William Colf, be- came a settler of Bennington township in 1838, and in this county he resided until the time of his death, which occurred at the home of his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Sylvia Jubb, in Middlebury township. He was in his eighty- second year.

The parents of Mr. Dutcher were united in marriage, in Monroe county, New York, August 23, 1823. Upon coming to Michigan they located in Washtenaw county where, in the following February, our subject first com- menced to make an observation of the world. There, with his family, the father resided about twelve years, within which period he was the proprietor of several farms. In 1843 he removed to Bennington township, Shiawas- see county, where he purchased eighty acres of partially improved land, the former hav- ing already erected upon it a house and other buildings. This tract of land he in later years transformed into a comfortable homestead,

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which he enjoyed with his family until the time of his death, March 26, 1859.

The subject of this sketch was one of five children, the first born being Johiel, who died in infancy; Mary is the widow of Henry Punches and is a resident of Middlebury, Shiawassee county; Davis, subject of this sketch, was the third child; Seth, the fourth, was a soldier of the civil war, a member of Company G, Sixth Michigan Cavalry, and while in the service he contracted a disease which incapacitated him for military duty; he was brought home from Point Lookout, Maryland, to pass his last days, and he paid the debt of nature November 7, 1864, at the age of twenty-eight years; Sylvia, the fifth child, is now Mrs. Jubb, a widow, and re- sides in California.

Mr. Dutcher's early school advantages were limited. For about two months each year he enjoyed an irregular training in the public schools in his neighborhood, but his practical education was obtained from his faithful and intelligent labors upon the home farm and from the filial care and affection which he evinced toward his parents during the later years of their lives. At their death he inherited the old homestead and subsequently added other valuable tracts to his holdings, which now aggregate one hundred and sixty acres. He has given considerable land to his children.

July 4, 1860, Mr. Dutcher married Minerva Rathburn. The ceremony was performed at Stockbridge, Ingham county, Michigan. His wife, a daughter of Fernando C. and Eunice (Colf) Rathburn, was born April 23, 1840. The fruits of this union were eight children, as follows: Hiel S. married Catherine Car- rick and is now a farmer in Bennington ; John died before he was two years of age; Harry J. was born December 28, 1867, and died in 1903 ; Squire died December 25, 1890, at the age of eighteen years; Dolly passed away 011 the previous day, both dying of consumption and being buried in the same grave; Lucy is the wife of Leroy Smith, and lives at Flush-

ing; Ellen May died in infancy, in the spring of 1888 ; and Alice is under the paternal roof.

The mother passed out of this life on New Year's day, 1888. She was a lady with fine musical accomplishments, a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was a strong character, her demise causing gen- eral sorrow in the community in which she had so long resided.

Mr. Dutcher was united in marriage a sec- ond time to Mrs. DeLong, a native of Ma- comb county, Michigan, where she was born on the 13th of December, 1850. Mrs. Dutchei is of French extraction. Her father, Abram Lavene, was a native of Canada, born of French parents, and died at the age of seventy years, while her mother, Mrs. Clarissa (Blair) Lavene, who first saw the light in Paris, the capital of France, is still living, in the home of our subject, having reached the advanced age of one hundred and five years.

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Past and present of Shiawassee County, Michigan, historically; with biographical sketches, Part 38

Author: Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Lansing, Mich. : Hist. Pub. Number of Pages: 580

Author:
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Lansing, Mich. : Hist. Pub.
Number of Pages: 580