USA > Michigan > Shiawassee County > Past and present of Shiawassee County, Michigan, historically; with biographical sketches > Part 39
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In the order of nature, being now in his seventy-fifth year, Mr. Dutcher has entered the decline of life. Surrounded by the com- forts earned by his own industry and frugal- ity, nurtured by the love of wife and children, and enjoying the confidence and esteem of his neighbors, his declining years must constitute an almost ideal period of existence. He has retired from activities of life, renting his farm, a portion of it being the home of his son, Hiel. For one of his years, however, he is remarkably vigorous, attributing his good health largely to his temperate habits and for- mer indulgence in the sports of the huntsman. In his earlier years he made frequent trips to the northern part of the state; and he did not confine his hunting excursions to wild turkeys, foxes and deer -wild cats and bears were no terrors for him in those days.
Our subject was a trustee of the Methodist church of Bennington at the time of its erec- tion, and has always been an active worker in that denomination. He has been not only a church worker, but also a doer of good deeds, being a citizen of whom the community has
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reason to feel proud. He has never aspired to public position, and consequently has never held office ; he has been a Republican in poli- tics from the casting of his first ballot. Mr. Dutcher enjoys, to a marked degree, the con- fidence and esteem -of his neighbors.
WILLIAM D. DYER
It is true that the early settlers suffered many hardships in developing the country. ' Their incomes were small but society made but small demands upon them and their methods of farming required but little outlay for machinery. Their sacrifices were great but young men of to-day are making as great sacrifices as their parents, although not of the same kind. Many a young man has given up a career that would have been more to his lik- ing, for the purpose of keeping the family together, and is using his brain as well as his muscle to keep up with the advancement of the present day. This is undoubtedly the age of the educated farmer. He has long been known for his independence, but he has added to this the acquirement of knowl- edge.
William D. Dyer was born in the township of Burns, Shiawassee county, Michigan, on the 26th of December, 1867. He is a son of John and Rhoda (Davis) Dyer, both of whom were born in England,-the father, October 10. 1835, and the mother June 28, 1844. John Dyer came to this country in the year 1855, locating in the state of New York. He later spent two years, as a miner, in California, where he got a start in life. He afterward returned to England, where he was married, and he came at once, with his young bride, to America, this time permanently locating in the state of Michigan, upon land where the family now reside, in section 14, Burns township. He early became crippled with rheumatism and was able to do but very little manual labor. The clearing and improving of the land de-
volved largely upon his eldest son, William D., who has proven himself equal to the task. April 16, 1886, the father died, leaving the responsibility of rearing and caring for the family upon the mother and son. Mrs. Dyer was not only a lady of culture and refinement but was also ambitious, and she met the duties of life bravely. Her name, with that of the father, is greatly revered by the children in the home to-day. She died August 28, 1905. Her parents were members of the Church of England, which is the same as the Episcopal church in America.
To Mr. and Mrs. John Dyer were born five children. Mary E., who was born December 10, 1865, is a teacher of many years of suc- cessful 'experience. She is now engaged in teaching in the city schools of St. Louis, Mich- igan ; William D. is the subject of this sketch ; Elizabeth A., born January 2, 1870, is now the wife of J. K. Courtney, of Detroit; Edith R., born January 28, 1822, married Mr. Frank Guston, and is now deceased; Clifton, born September 3, 1885, is now a student of the University of Michigan, preparing for the practice of the profession of law. He is tak- ing a six year's course.
Our subject received his early education in the high school at Byron. He was greatly handicapped in his efforts for an education on account of labors upon the farm, which re- quired much of his time and attention. He is a man, however, not easily discouraged and has succeeded in surmounting many difficul- ties and has acquired a liberal education. Our subject's father was politically allied with the Republican party, and the son adheres to the same political faith. William Dyer has denied himself many privileges for the sake of sav- ing the homestead and keeping the family together. He is a young man of good ad- dress, is uniformly respected, and his word is as good as a government bond. He is now "out of the woods" financially and has one of the many pleasant farms in the township, with good prospects for success in life.
JOHN DYER
MRS. RHODA DYER
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JOHN W. EPTON
Although a native of Rush township, Shia- wassee county, where he was born February 22, 1880, John W. Epton comes from English stock, his father and mother being natives of England. The former is William Epton, who is now fifty-six years old, while the maiden name of the mother was Elizabeth Dennis. She is sixty-one years old. They came to this country thirty-three years ago, having been married in their native country. They first settled in Owosso township, where they lived about three years. They then removed to Rush township, where they bought eighty acres of wild land, built a log house on the same and lived there for sixteen years. They have since built a modern frame house, two large barns and own a splendid farm of two hundred and forty acres.
John W. Epton was educated in the dis- trict schools of Rush township. Later he at- tended the Owosso high school and spent nine month's in the Owosso Business College. The latter experience has proven a valuable one for him, as it does for any young man, properly fitting him for attending to his own business affairs. For some nine months he was im- bued with a desire "To go with a locomotive- to hear the hiss of steam, the merry shriek, the steam whistle, the laughing locomotive !" Dur ing this time he was employed as a fireman on the Ann Arbor Railroad. On March 27, 1902, he bought a general merchandizing business in Henderson, in company with James Agnew, Jr. In June, 1903, the latter gentleman died. since which time Mr. Epton has conducted the business alone. The stock consists of boots and shoes, dry goods and groceries. He enjoys a fine trade, has telephone connections and employs a young lady to assist him in the store.
Mr. Epton is the youngest of two children. -- the other being a sister, Anna, who is now the wife of C. H. Barnes ; she lives in Owosso and her husband is a fireman on the Ann Ar- bor Railroad. They have no children. Mr.
Epton was married April 8, 1903, to Minnie Peters, who is aged twenty-three years and who is a native of Indiana. She is a daughter of A. C. Peters, a Methodist Episcopal minis- ter. Mrs. Epton is one of four children, the others being Perry, Alfred, deceased, and Ephraim.
Mr. Epton acts with the Democratic party and was township clerk in 1903-4. He is now township treasurer; he is a member of the Masonic lodge No. 81, of Owosso; of the Odd Fellows lodge, No. 153; and of the Hender- son Modern Woodmen of America lodge, No. 10851. By force of character, close attention to business and square dealing, he has ob- tained for himself a good name and a com- petency.
DAVID M. ESTEY
This gentleman died in New Haven, Con- necticut, September 27, 1903, aged sixty-two years, of rheumatic fever, after an illness of nine weeks. He was buried at Owosso. Of the latter. event an Owosso paper said :
"The funeral of David M. Estey was held at 2 o'clock this afternoon from his late home on Park street. Rev. E. L. Little, of Alpena, a former pastor of the Baptist church of - ficiated. There was a large attendance at the services, the large home being filled with! friends and old acquaintances of Mr. Estey. Floral pieces from old friends, from men who were formerly in Mr. Estey's employ in the furniture factory, from fraternity friends and from the family graced the casket containing the departed man's remains. The funeral services were in charge of Owosso Lodge, No. 81, Free and Accepted Masons, of which Mr. Estey had been a member for many years. A large representation from the Masonic lodge, Mayor Arnold and city officials, and work- men from the Estey factories accompanied the remains to Oak Hill cemetery, where ·Worshipful Master W. E. Aten and the ward- ens of Owosso Lodge administered the beau- tiful burial rites of their order. The funeral was one of the largest in Owosso in a long
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time. During the hours of the funeral many of the business places suspended work and drew their window shades out of respect to Mr. Estey, who was for many years one of Owosso's most prominent business men."
The Michigan Encyclopedia, in 1900, said of Mr. Estey: "He was born at Hinsdale, Che- shire county, New Hampshire, on February 9, 1842 ; when he was four years old his parents removed to Massachusetts and from there to the state of Vermont. At an early age he en- gaged in the lumbering business in a small way for his father, his father taking his wages until he had nearly reached his majority. In the winter of 1861 he commenced for himself by taking a logging contract. This winter he swung an ax weighing five pounds and two ounces, losing but one-half day of the entire season of three and a half months, and from the wood cut during this time be became quite famous with the ax and saw, on several oc- casions cutting one cord of four-foot oak, beech and maple wood in two hours and twenty-five to twenty-seven minutes. This winter's work was done on a contract, from which he cleared one hundred and seventy- five dollars, with which he purchased a large tract of land in Windham county, Vermont, with his brother, Hon. S. W. Estey, incurring an indebtedness of nearly six thousand dol- lars. This investment proved a great success. But now the country was torn with civil war, and he patiently laid aside his business and served six months in the Federal army. Soon after the close of that war he engaged in the manufacture of furniture. He bought a fac- tory and a tract of timber, cutting the timber himself, drawing it to the factory mill with four oxen, and sawing out the logs with an old fashioned sash, up-and-down sawmill, so common in Vermont, doing this work person- ally. This enterprise which was also very successful, he continued until he was twenty- seven years of age, accumulating somewhat over twenty-five thousand dollars. About this time he came west, and settled at West Haven, Shiawassee county, Michigan, and
here laid the foundation of one of the largest furniture manufacturing establishments in the country, although for the last five years of the business at West Haven, he was not very successful, meeting with great losses both by fire and water. The ice gorge of 1875 com- pletely carried away the dam across the Shia- wassee river that furnished power for mill and furniture factory. Rebuilding this dam at once, during the great freshet, Mr. Estey con- siders one of his greatest accomplishments. This was built about two hundred and forty feet long across the river, averaging over eight feet high, and in four days, so that teams or horses and wagons were driven across on top of the dam the fourth day, and the factory machinery was put in motion again. Several acres of timber and brush as well as great quantities of straw, stone and gravel were used in its construction. The work was all done under Mr. Estey's personal supervision, he taking an active part in the very worst and most difficult of the work. It was said to be one of the strongest dams on the river. In 1879 he moved to Owosso, and formed the Estey Manufacturing Company, consisting of Jacob Estey, the renowned organ builder, of Brattleboro, Vermont, Charles E. Rigley and himself, with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, and with his energy and skill it has grown to be one of the most extensive of its kind in the world, and through his faculty and genius his goods have found their way into every state and territory, as well as many foreign countries. His products are not excelled by any, and the business has con- tinued to grow almost yearly, until the surplus has largely exceeded the capital stock. Mr. Estey has taken a very active part in the en- terprises of Owosso, as well as other parts of the state. He has filled many important places of trust, such as mayor of the city ; president of the Estey Manufacturing Com- pany ; president of the Second National Bank of Owosso; and president of the Shiawassee Savings Society, which was originated by hin, with a subscribed capital of over four hundred
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thousand dollars. He was president of the Owosso city water board ; also had large lum- ber interests, and has been a very large opera- tor in timber lands. He has also large inter- ests in several other companies. During the great depression and panic of 1892 and 1893, he met with heavy losses by decline in values and by great fires."
David M. Estey was married August 10, 1862, to Mary J. Norcross. There were three children. Orison B. is now superintendent of the six-day furniture factory, being a hand
marked mentality and is in every way fitted for the position which he occupies.
Erwin Eveleth is a native of the Empire state, having been born in Darien, Genesee county, New York, on the 6th of November, 1842, and being a son of Charles and Eliza- beth (Jones) Eveleth, the father a native of Massachusetts and the mother of New York. The father died six years ago, at the age of eighty-four years, and the mother died when our subject was but a small boy.
Charles Eveleth was a farmer and came to
ERWIN EVELETH
carver and designer by trade. He has learned nearly all the branches of the furniture busi- ness. His designs are meeting with praise for their beauty and cheapness. Dora E. is the wife of J. M. Bryson, of Battle Creek, and Florence D. died at the age of five years.
ERWIN EVELETH
This honored citizen who "Uncle Sam" has seen fit and proper to place at the head of postal affairs in the city of Corunna, Shia- wassee county, is a man of integrity and
Michigan in 1852, making his first Michigan home at Grand Blanc, Genesee county, where he lived for five years. He then moved to Flushing, where he bought one hundred acres of wild land, securing the same from a man named Perry, who had bought the land from the government. Here he made his home, improving his farm and erecting all the build- ings, and here died December 2, 1894. He was first a Whig, then a Republican and finally a Prohibitionist, though never an of- fice-holder. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church. Of their three chil- dren our subject was the oldest, the other two
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being Julius B., a farmer living in Caledonia township, and Augusta, who died many years ago.
Erwin Eveleth acquired his early education in the district schools of New York and after- ward continued his studies at Grand Blanc. He graduated in a commercial college at De- troit in the class of 1865. He began business for himself at the age of twenty years, spend- ing five years in a warehouse at Saginaw, and most of the time since that he has been en- gaged in estimating lumber. Mr. Eveleth has been a resident of Corunna since 1871.
He was married in 1866 to Jennie E. Black, who was born in September, 1846, being a daughter of John Black, an early settler of Michigan. This union has been blessed with ten children: Lizzie, born December 4, 1867, is the wife of F. J. Northway, of Van, Michi- gan, and they have three children: Juanita, Reginald and Emerson; Florence, born in 1867, is the wife of John Drake, of Corunna. and they are the parents of eight children : Ralph, Harold, Tom, Kenneth, Jennie, De- Nett, Harry LeRoy and Elizabeth; Charles, born in 1868, married Mary Frane; William S., who was born in 1871 and who married Leah Corlin, lives in Caledonia township, is a farmer and they have seven 'children : Lucretia, Doris, Leo, Grace, Laura, Kyle and Charley. Grace died at the age of twenty- one; Nettie, born February 23, 1875, is a trained nurse, residing at home ; Burr D., born June 24, 1876, married Eva Edwards and they have one child, Nina, born September 22, 1904; Ralph Julius, born August 17, 1877, married Hattie Rolfe and they live in Mon- tana, having two children, Ralph and Percy ; Nina Ethel, aged twenty-six, married F. L. Stone, of Denver, Colorado, and they have one daughter, Margaret; Erwin, Jr., born February 9, 1889, lives at home.
Our subject is affiliated with the Republican party and in 1894 was mayor of Corunna. He served as alderman for several years and has occupied his present position of trust for the past three years. Both our subject and his
wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are among its most active work- ers. Socially Mr. Eveleth is allied with the Masonic fraternity, including the Knights Templar and Shrine. He is also identified with the Maccabees, and takes a deep interest in each of these orders.
In every sphere of life this gentleman is useful and efficient and his example and in- fluence are well adapted to benefit the rising generations.
JULIUS B. EVELETH
Julius B. Eveleth, son of a Michigan pioneer of the early '50s, is the proprietor of a fine farm in section 10, Caledonia township. and besides being widely known as a success- ful agriculturist he has made a marked record as an executive and judicial official in local mat- ters. He was born in the Empire state, on the 26th of October, 1844, being a son of Charles and Mary (Jones) Eveleth.
Charles Eveleth, the father of our subject, removed from his native state of Massachu- setts to New York when a young man. He was married in Genesee county, New York, his wife dying in 1847, leaving, to his care two sons and one daughter. In 1849 he started for Michigan, driving overland from Buffalo ' to Detroit, thence proceeding by rail to Pon- tiac and by team to Grand Blanc. At the place last named he leased a farm for a period of five years, and after operating it for that period located near Flushing. After a time, however, he retired from active farm life, making his home with his elder son, Erwin. who had settled at Corunna as a lumberman and a merchant. There he died December 2, 1894, at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
The subject of this article was educated in the schools of Grand Blanc, Genesee county, Michigan, and while still a young boy assisted his father on the family homestead. Later, he worked hard and faithfully on the Flush-
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ing farm. At the age of twenty-one he be- came his own master in reality, as in name, spending the first season after he had attained his majority in the arduous occupation of driving logs on the river. He again com- menced work on his father's farm, continuing to be thus employed until 1870, when he was married to Miss Emma Palmer, a Corunna girl, who was born November 20, 1853.
Mrs. Eveleth was only seventeen years of age at the time of her marriage, being the daughter of David and Phoebe (Brown) Pal- mer. Her father, born October 8, 1827, died at the age of thirty-six, sacrificing his life in the civil war; his widow, who was born on Christinas of 1828, is still living. The wife of our subject is the second of three children. Her elder brother, Benjamin, resides in Cor- unna, while her younger brother, Charles Pal- mer, is a farmer at Durand.
Mr. and Mrs. Eveleth are the parents of three children, named below in order of their birth : Fred, who is thirty years of age, mar- ried Louise Pease and lives upon a portion of the family homestead ; Augusta is now Mrs. Walter Derr, of Corunna; and Erwina, aged fifteen, lives with her parents. «
Mr. Eveleth's fine farm, which is the mate- rial basis of a contented domestic circle, orig- inated in the purchase of eighty acres of land by our subject in 1869, the year before his marriage. He has resided there since 1872, although he has added forty acres to the orig- inal purchase, and has continually improved the estate and raised it in value, by suppylug it with late conveniences and inventions.
Mr. Eveleth is progressive aside from the vocation which he chose for life. He has been justice of the peace for a number of terms, has also served as township clerk and highway commissioner and all the official duties which he has performed have been undertaken with a spirit of uniform faithfulness and unassum- ing honesty. In his society connections he has been honored with membership in the Masonic lodge of Corunna and in the local organiza -. tion of the Knights of the Maccabees.
JAMES FEE
The neighboring province of Ontario has furnished Michigan many of her best and, most sturdy farmers. Among these is num- bered the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. He was born in Halton county, Canada, May 30, 1851. He comes from good old Irish stock, his father, John Fee, having been a native of the county of Cavan, Ireland, where he was born, March 9, 1816, and he died in Hazelton township, Shiawassee county, February 7, 1891. His wife also first saw the light of day in the same county as did her husband, and was born in 1823. Her maiden name was Arabella Johnson. This couple were married on their native heath, in 1836. In 1839 John Fee removed to Canada, and the same year enlisted in the First Provincial Regiment, for the Mckenzie rebellion, serv- ing until the close of that war. His wife journeyed to Canada four years later. The great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch was also named James, was an old soldier and participated in the battle of Waterloo. He lived and died in the county of Cavan, Ire- land. All of Mr. Fee's relatives on the frater- nal side were fighters, and several of them died in India while in the army. His father, John Fee, spent seven years as an apprentice, learning the cabinet-maker's trade in Ireland. He also worked at that business in Stewar- town, Canada, until the spring of 1870, when he removed to Flushing, Michigan, where he spent three years working at his trade and that of a carpenter. He then bought eighty acres of wild land, on section 1, Hazelton township, on which he built a log house. He and his son George kept "batch" and cleared the land. The old gentleman lived there until his death. James was the sixth of eight chil- dren, six of whom are living: Alexander, born in Ireland, December 5, 1837, died there at the age of four years ; Anna Eliza, born in Ireland, December 26, 1839, died in New Jer- sey, in April, 1903, having married Richard Tathem and having had one child, Richard;
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Helen, who was born in Canada, June 23, 1846, and who lives at Flushing, married John H. Bailey, and they have two children, Her- man W. and Arthur; Phoebe, who was born in Canada, September 18, 1847, and who lives at Maple Grove, Saginaw county, married Melvin C. Holly, and had four children, Edna and Burt, both deceased, and Clare and Lloyd. Mary J., who was born in Canada, April 6, 1849, and who lives at Bancroft, married Rev. J. B. Goss, and they have six children,-Geo. W., Amy, Arnold, Stella, May and Jay B .; John M., who was born in Canada, February 18, 1854, and who lives on a farm in Mani- toba, married Jennie Cook, and has five chil- dren,-Fred, Charles, Ethel, Nellie and Mary ; Rev. George A., who was born in Canada, July 1, 1858, and who preaches at Adrian, Michigan, being a member of the Methodist Episcopal conference, married Fannie Part- ridge, and they have three children,-Robert, Eva and Amy.
James Fee started for himself at the age of fifteen years, learning the trade of wool carder, in Canada. He was forced to quit that. however, on account of poor health. In October, 1868, he found his way to Bay City, Michigan. He sailed on the lakes during the summer and worked in the lumber woods in the winter. In July, 1875, he removed to Hazelton township, Shiawassee county, where he had previously purchased eighty acres of wild land, on section 1; he cleared fifteen acres and in 1876 sold the property and bought a forty acre farm on section 11,-thirty acres of which he cleared the same year. He next sold the last purchase and bought sixty acres of wild land on the same section. There was a "shack" on this place and some sixteen acres cleared. He built a frame house and barn and cleared most of the land. In 1899 he sold the last purchase and removed to New Lothrop and opened an agricultural implement store. He bought a pleasant home and ad- joining his residence built a store two stories high. It is situated on the main street of the village. He also does an insurance business.
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