Past and present of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Part 18

Author: Beakes, Samuel W. (Samuel Willard), 1861-; S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 886

USA > Michigan > Washtenaw County > Past and present of Washtenaw County, Michigan > Part 18

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In his political views Mr. Chalmers is a stal- wart republican, and while living in his native state filled a number of local offices, while in Michigan he has served as justice of the peace. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of the Maccabees, and Zeta Psi fraternity, and is a member of the Presbyterian church. An enter- prising business man. he capably conducts his farming interests and is meeting with a gratifying measure of prosperity.

ALONZO D. PARKER.

Alonza D. Parker, whose connection with the printing business in Ann Arbor gives him rank with the foremost representatives of business life in the city, was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. December 27, 1869. his parents being Willard R. and Lydia M. ( Brown) Par- ker, both of whom were natives of the Empire state. The year 1880 witnessed the arrival of Willard R. Parker in Michigan. He settled in Kalkaska county with his family and there en-

gaged in general agricultural pursuits for a num- ber of years, but is now living retired in the well earned enjoyment of a life of ease, making his home in Ann Arbor with his son Alonzo D. His wife passed away in 1904. They were the par- ents of five children : James T .. a miller of Cow- derport, Pennsylvania ; Nelson E., who is a ma- son and contractor of Kalkaska county, Michi- gan : Frank P., who is engaged in the jewelry business in Litchfield, Michigan; Alonzo D., of this review : and Levi D., also a contractor of Kalkaska.

Alonzo D. Parker began his education in the public schools of Harford, Pennsylvania, where he continued his studies for five years prior to the removal of the family to northern Michigan. He then resumed his studies in Kalkaska and his more specifically literary education was ob- tained in the Tri-State Normal School at Angola, Indiana, from which he was graduated with the class of 1891. Throughout his active business career he has been connected with printing and publishing and undoubtedly one of the strong factors in his success is the persistency with which he has continued in the line of activity in which as a young tradesman he embarked. He entered the publishing and printing business in Kalkaska as a publisher of the newspaper Kal- kaskian. Later he sold his interest to his partner and in 1897 came to Ann Arbor, connecting him- self with the Register, now the Courier-Register. In 1901 he embarked in printing and publishing business under the name of The Campus Press. which was later changed to Parker & Snyder. On the Ist of September, 1905. Mr. Snyder sold his interest to Otto H. Haus and Horace G. Prettyman and the firm name was again changed to The Ann Arbor Press. The business has now reached extensive proportions and employment is furnished to many people. It has been devel- oped along modern business lines and through the watchful care of all indications pointing to suc- cess. Mr. Parker has so utilized and improved his opportunities that he stands to-day at the head of a large and profitable concern.

In 1902 Mr. Parker was married to Miss Lois (). Bond, of Saline. Michigan. Mr. Parker fra- ternally is connected with the Masons and the

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Maccabees, while his political allegiance is given to the republican party. He is a man of action rather than theory and with a clear brain and will- ing hands he applies himself seriously to the rule of labor and responsibilities of life. He has feared not that laborious attention to the duties of business so necessary to achieve success and this essential quality has ever been guided by a sense of moral right which has tolerated the employ- ment only of those means that will bear the most rigid examination and by a fairness of intention that neither seeks nor requires disguise.

MAJOR WILLIAM C. STEVENS.

Major William C. Stevens, a resident of Ann Arbor and connected with many industrial and financial enterprises, which owe their success in appreciable measure to his wise counsel and co- operation, was born in Plymouth, Wayne county, Michigan, November 14, 1837. His father, Wil- liam Nelson Stevens, was a native of Elizabeth. New Jersey, and at the age of fifteen years went to New York city, where he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner. In 1833, before his twenty- tieth birthday, he came to Plymouth, Michigan, working for a few years at his trade. Early in 1834 he returned to New York, and March 4. 1834, was married to Jane Y. Forbes, returning to Plymouth with his bride soon after his mar- riage.

While Michigan was still a territory he took up the work of collecting and conveyancing. When Michigan became a state he was elected a justice of the peace, and was re-elected several times. continuing in the office until he removed to Whit- more Lake in 1847. where, for many years, he kept a general store. He was commissioned by Governor Mason first lieutenant in the Plymouth Rangers at the time of the "Toledo war." He was a member of the legislature in 1861-2, and clerk of Washtenaw county in 1873-4. He died in Ann Arbor, November 26. 1004. lacking but a few months of being ninety-two years old. He retained his mental faculties unimpaired to the

last, and enjoyed good health until a few weeks before his death.

Major Stevens, the only surviving member of the family, was in his tenth year when he re- moved with his parents to Whitmore Lake. Washtenaw county, where he attended district school, and later assisted in his father's store, be- coming a partner at the age of twenty-one. He was active in its management, and from the time he was seventeen years old until the breaking out of the Civil war he went to New York once each year to purchase goods. During these years he spent much of his spare time in study.

In 1861 he responded to his country's call for troops, enlisting as sergeant in Company G, Third Michigan Cavalry. He was commissioned lieu- tenant in November of the same year. He left Michigan with his regiment, November 28, 1861. going to Missouri, and was with his regiment at Benton Barracks and at or near New Madrid. Missouri, until the capture of Island No. 10, his first engagement being at New Madrid. From there he went with his regiment to northern Mis- sissippi and remained with it until the evacuation of Corinth. On May 28, 1862, he was discharged on surgeon's certificate of disability and returned to Michigan. In October, 1862, having partly re- gained his health, he commenced recruiting for the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, and in January. 1863, he was mustered in as captain of Company C of that regiment. He was promoted to major in May. 1864. The regiment went to Kentucky in the spring of 1863 and did service in that state. mostly against guerrillas, and in the pursuit of Morgan during his raid through Kentucky. In- diana and Ohio. After his capture the regiment joined General Burnside's army and went to East Tennessee, remaining there on continuous duty before and during the siege of Knoxville and until March, 1864, when it returned to Ken- tucky to be remounted.

Major Stevens commanded the detachment of the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, which, with a detail of men from a Tennessee regiment, familiar with the country, about midnight. September 7. 1863. drove in the rebel outposts and burned the mill at the south entrance to Cumberland Gap. The mill was strongly guarded, and was indispensable

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to the enemy. The next day the rebel force of two thousand five hundred men. intrenched within the Gap, surrendered to the Union forces.

After being remounted the regiment joined General Sherman's army, taking part in the siege of Atlanta and accompanying him on his march to Savannah and through the Carolinas, the sub- ject of this sketch being in every engagement in which his regiment took part, and skirmishes with Wheeler's Cavalry were of almost daily occur- rence. In May. 1865, after the surrender of Johnston, Major Stevens was selected by special order of General Cox, commanding the Twenty- third Army Corps, to go, with a detachment of picked men from his regiment, to the mountain- ous district of western North Carolina to do spe- cial and important work in the way of hunting out guerrillas, protecting Union men returning to their homes after three or four years' exile, and to pacify the country, and at his discretion, to re- sort to execution by drumhead court martial. He did the work assigned him to the satisfaction of his superior officers, remaining there until or- dered to join his regiment to be mustered out. He was honorably discharged July 21. 1865.

After the war he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, graduating with the class of 1868. He then went to East Tawas, Iosco county, practicing law there for fourteen years. A large portion of the time while a resi- dent of losco county he was either prosecuting at- torney or county treasurer of that county.

In 1882 he was elected auditor general of the state of Michigan for a term of two years, and was re-elected in 1884 for a similar term.

He removed to Ann Arbor in 1883. having that year built the residence in which he now resides. He is a man of keen business discernment, sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise, and readily masters intricate business situations. He has the persistency of purpose that enables him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he un- dertakes and gradually he has worked his way up- ward until he is numbered among the capitalists of Ann Arbor. He is now the vice-president of the Michigan Milling Company of Ann Arbor. with which he has been connected since its organ- ization, and he is also vice president of the Farm-

ers and Mechanics Bank of this city, in which lie has been a director since its organization.

Politically Mr. Stevens is a republican and in former years was recognized as one of the prom- inent members of the party, which honored him with important official preferment. He is a mem- ber of G. K. Warner post, No. 63. G. A. R., of East Tawas, and is also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and he attends the Methodist church.

In April, 1869. Mr. Stevens was married at Green Oak, Michigan, to Miss Laura C. Warden, a native of that place and a daughter of Robert Warden, who was born in Scotland and came to Michigan in the early development of this state. Mrs. Stevens' mother was a sister of Governor Bingham. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens became the parents of eight children, of whom five are living : Mrs. Adda Laura Crow, the wife of Dr. Samuel C. Crow, by whom she has one daughter. Eliza- beth : Mrs. Bess Bingham Bartlett, wife of Ed- win S. Bartlett and the mother of one child, Laura : Colin M., who married Blanche Clements and has three children, Clara Mae, William C. and Colin J. : and Nelson F. and Russell A., who are at home. Surrounded by the comforts of life, Major and Mrs. Stevens are now occupying a beautiful home in Ann Arbor. the hospitality of which is greatly enjoyed by their many friends.

SAMUEL W. BURCHFIELD.

Samuel W. Burchfield, engaged in business in Ann Arbor as a merchant tailor, and serving as coroner of Washtenaw county, was born in Pier- pont Canon, Colorado, November 16, 1870. His father. William G. Burchfield, leaving his native city of Meadville, Pennsylvania, went to Colo- rado in 1850, attracted by the rich mineral re- sources of that state, and there he was exten- sively engaged in mining. He married Miss Louise Gallagher, of Charleston, Massachusetts, and they became the parents of five children : Mrs. Lily St. Clair, of St. Joseph, Michigan : Samuel W .: Edward, a practicing dentist in St. Joseph, Michigan : Winona, living in Texas City.

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Texas ; and Mrs. Carrie Strong, of Galveston, Texas.

Samuel W. Burchfield acquired his early edu- cation in the public schools of Youngstown, Ohio, and became a resident of Ann Arbor in 1882, being at that time a youth of twelve years. Com- pleting his education, he has for a number of years been actively connected with the mercantile circles here, entering business life as a merchant tailor on Liberty street. He established his pres- ent store in 1895, having a large and handsomely equipped building on Huron street, opposite the courthouse. He draws his patronage from the best citizens of Ann Arbor and his trade is con- stantly increasing-a fact which indicates that his workmanship is thoroughly modern and his busi- ness methods reliable.

In 1895 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Burchfield and Miss Lillian Hobson, of Ann Arbor, and they now have two interesting daugh- ters : Cosette, who is a student in the Ann Arbor schools : and Ruth. Mr. Burchfield is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, while his political allegiance is given to the re- publican party. He is now serving as coroner, but is not an active politician in the sense of office-seeking. He is ardent sportsman, finding this pleasure a recreation in the forests. In man- ner he is genial, having gained a host of warm friends and he is highly respected in both busi- ness and social life. His success may be ascribed to positive, determined pursuit of commercial in- terests and the fact that he is a man of honesty and integrity.

C. H. KEMPF.

C. H. Kempf, vice president of the Kempf Commercial Savings Bank, of Chelsea, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, January 1, 1831, his parents being Jacob and Rosina Kempf, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they crossed the Atlantic to the new world in 1830. taking up their abode in Bucks county, where they resided until 1838, when they came to Wash- tenaw county, settling at Ann Arbor. The fa-

ther was one of the early butchers of that city, and had to go to Ohio for his cattle. He was also identified with farming interests, and had eighty acres of land in Scio township, which he owned and cultivated, transforming it into a productive tract of land. He likewise owned property in Ann Arbor. By his first marriage he had one son, Jacob, and by his second marriage there were seven children, two of whom died in in- fancy. The others are: Reuben, C. H., Dean, Godfrey and Rosina. Both of the parents are now deceased, and in their death the county lost two of its worthy pioneer people.

C. H. Kempf was a youth of about seven years when brought by his family to Washtenaw county ; and in the public schools of Ann Arbor he acquired the education that fitted him for life's practical and responsible duties. He afterward learned the tinsmith's trade, at which he worked for six years, or until 1852, when he embarked in business for himself as a member of the firm of Kempf & Risdon, of Chelsea. This relation- ship was maintained for a year and a half. About 1857 his brother Reuben learned the trade and the firm became C. H. & R. Kempf. They were thus associated for a long period, or until 1877. Mr. Kempf, of this review, also embarked in the hardware business, and, later, in connection with his brother, he engaged in the produce business as a member of the firm of R. Kempf & Brother. In 1876 they turned their attention to the bank- ing business under the same firm style, opening a private bank, which was thus conducted until 1899. when the business was incorporated under the style of the Kempf Commercial & Savings Bank of Chelsea, with Mr. Kempf as vice- president. He is also interested in loans and in operating in farm lands. He now gives his at- tention to the supervision of his invested inter- ests and the management of the bank.

In 1855 Mr. Kempf was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Feer, of Lima, Michigan, and unto them have been born four children ; but Charles, the eldest, died at the age of one year and ten months. The others are: George, who is now living in Detroit : Wilbur G., a resident of Hills- dale : and Myrtle, the wife of C. J. Chandler, of Detroit.

C. H. KEMPT.

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In his political views Mr. Kempf is a stalwart republican, and has taken an active and com- mendable interest in public affairs. He was one of the presidential electors when Hayes was elected. He served as president and trustee of the village, and has ever exercised his official pre- rogatives in support of measures for the general good. He belongs to Olive lodge, No. 156, A. F. & A. M., and is a member of the Congrega- tional church. His life has been marked by con- secutive progress in business affairs, and his ready recognition and utilization of opportunity have been salient features in his success. He has worked steadily and persistently, first as a trades- man, later as a merchant, and subsequently as a banker, and now with a handsome competence. derived from his own labor, he is enabled to largely enjoy a period of rest from further active connection with business interests.

THOMAS C. FULLER.

Thomas C. Fuller, conducting one of the lead- ing tailoring establishments in Ann Arbor, is a native of England, his birth having occurred in London on the 8th of April, 1868. His father, Charles Fuller, was a draper of London, his business being largely that of a clothier and tailor in America. He wedded Mary Wade, also of London, and they became the parents of eight children, but only three are now living: Thomas C .; John, who has retired from business life and makes his home in London ; and Martha, who is living in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Thomas C. Fuller spent the first sixteen years of his life in the land of his nativity, but became attracted by the reports he heard concerning the business opportunities and advantages of the new world, and with a desire to improve his financial condition he sailed for the United States in 1884. making his way to Ypsilanti, Michigan. There he secured employment in the large paper mills. being thus engaged for four years, and he pre- pared for the practical and responsible duties of a business career by a course in a commercial college in Ypsilanti. Removing to Ann Arbor

in 1806, he has since maintained his residence in this city, locating first in a tailoring business on State street, where he remained for two years. In 1898 he removed to his present exceptionally favorable location at No. 69 East William street, where he has the patronage of a great majority of the students of the university. His business has reached very extensive and profitable pro- portions and he turns out clothing of the latest styles and most expert workmanship. At the time of the Spanish-American war, however, Mr. Fuller put aside business and personal considera- tions and entered the quartermaster's department. becoming second lieutenant of Company G, Thir- ty-first Regiment of Michigan Volunteers.

In 1892 occurred the marriage of Thomas C. Fuller and Miss Victoria McCarty, a native of Deerfield, Lenawee county, Michigan, and a rep- resentative of a prominent and influential family there. Although of English birth there is no more loyal American citizen than this adopted son, who is in thorough sympathy with the insti- tutions of the United States and the great prin- ciples which underlie our republican form of government. He has found here, too, the busi- ness opportunities which he sought and which by the way is always open to ambitious and ener- getic young men. His record, too, is another proof of the fact that it is the young men who are working their way to the front and utilizing the business conditions which have developed and displaying an adaptability and force of character that make them leaders in the commercial world.

CLEMENT W. STONE.

Clement W. Stone, deceased, was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. His father. Dr. James A. B. Stone, was the first president of Kalamazoo College at Kalamazoo. Michigan. He married Lucinda Hinsdale, and they were prominent factors in social and intellectual life of the city in which they resided. Brought to the west by his parents, Clement W. Stone pur- sued his education in Kalamazoo College under the presidency of his father and fitted himself

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for the profession of the law. He was, however, his remaining days, his death occurring in 1881. for many years identified with journalistic inter- His wife died in 1873, at the age of seventy-two years. They were the parents of eight children, but only two are now living. The son, Charles HI. Moore, is a prominent citizen of Detroit, con- nected with the fish commission there. He mar- ried Miss Sarah Butterfield, of Greeley county, Michigan, and they have six children : Mrs. Carrie Campbell, of New York city; Mrs. Sarah Carruth, of Tampa, Florida ; Mrs. Lena Doty, of Highland Park, Illinois: Charles Harry; Mrs. Hastings Achsah ; and Winifred. ests, and lived for many years in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he became the founder of the first daily paper there, called the Kalamazoo Tele- graph. He conducted it for a number of years, making it one of the leading journals in this part of the state, conducting the paper along pro- gressive lines and keeping in touch with the modern thought. After disposing of the paper he entered upon the active practice of law, which he followed up to the time of his death.

In 1863 Mr. Stone was married to Caroline Moore, who was born in York township, Wash- tenaw county. Her father, Loren Moore, was a native of Colrain, Massachusetts, born in 1802. and was only a year old when his parents re- moved to Orleans, Ontario county, New York. He was a son of Washington and Susan ( Rice) Moore, and his boyhood days were spent in the Empire state. After arriving at years of ma- turity he was extensively engaged in farming there for a number of years. He married Miss Philena Amsden, a native of Phelps, New York. and a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth ( Gates) Amsden, who were natives of Massachusetts. Following his marriage Mr. Moore came to Michigan in 1831 with a number of other mem- bers of the Moore family. They were among the earliest settlers of Washtenaw county and took up their abode in York township, estab- lishing a village which was called Mooreville. The journey was made by team from Detroit through forest and over new roads, which made the trip a very arduous one, and they established a pioneer settlement, meeting the various hard- ships, privations and dangers incident to a life on the frontier. Loren Moore purchased two hun- dred and sixty acres of land from the govern- ment which was entirely covered with trees. He cut away the heavy timber and cleared away about two-thirds of that farm, transforming the wild tract into richly cultivated fields. After liv- ing there for a number of years he sold the prop- erty and took up his abode in Ann Arbor in 1864. He had in the meantime accumulated a comfortable competence that permitted of a life of ease and in rest from further labor he spent

U'nto Mr. and Mrs. Stone were born a son and daughter, Charles P. and Lucille. The former is a graduate of the University of Michigan, hav- ing completed a course in the dental department in the class of 1801. He is now practicing his profession in Saginaw, this state, and he was there married to Louise Schirmer, by whom he has one child, Clement A.

Mrs. Stone's father, husband and son were all supporters of the republican party. Mr. Stone passed away in 1887. He had long figured promi- nently in journalistic and legal circles in Kala- mazoo, where he was well known as a man of strong intellectuality, of genuine public spirit and of commendable personal qualities. Following the death of her husband Mrs. Stone came to Ann Arbor, where she has since made her home.

FRANK HAGEN.

Frank Hagen is the owner of a well improved farm property in Ann Arbor township, compris- ing two hundred and ten acres of land. He was born in this township August 21, 1860, his par- ents being John and Anna (Felkamp) Hagen. The father was born in Schalle. West Prussia, January 19, 1820, and came to the United States in 1844. He was married in this country and after working as a farm hand for three years he located on a farm of eighty acres on section 15, Ann Arbor township. This was in 1847 and with characteristic energy he began clearing it of the brush and timber. He had worked for one hundred dollars per year and this gave him his

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start in life. Having cleared sixty acres of land he then purchased seventy acres on section 15, and as his financial resources were further in- creased he bought one hundred and eighty acres and subsequently a tract of forty acres from the Burlingame estate. He also made investment in two hundred and two acres in Salem township and he had one hundred and sixty acres on sec- tion 10, Ann Arbor township, so that his landed possessions aggregated six hundred and fifty-two acres, in addition to which he owned town prop- erty. He was notably successful, for when he came to the United States he had no capital and was obliged to depend entirely upon his own re- sources and industry for the necessities and com- forts of life. As the years passed, through his judicious investment, capable management and unfaltering industry he gained a place among the most prosperous agriculturists of Washtenaw county. He gave personal supervision to his farm in Ann Arbor township, while in Salem township he rented his land. His death occurred in 1897, while his first wife passed away in 1870. He later married Mrs. F. Danky, who now sur- vives him and is living in Ann Arbor. In the family were ten children: Mary, Jacob, Frank, Emma, Louis, Lydia, Matilda, Fred, deceased, Emma and Herman.

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Past and present of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Part 18

Author: Beakes, Samuel W. (Samuel Willard), 1861-; S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago : The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 886

Author: Beakes, Samuel W. (Samuel Willard), 1861-; S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 886