USA > Michigan > Washtenaw County > Past and present of Washtenaw County, Michigan > Part 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105
It was on the 17th of December. 1862, that Mr. Whitaker was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Holmes, a daughter of Rosencrans and Salone (Wakeman) Holmes, who resided at Northville. Wayne county, Michigan, and were pioneer farming people of that locality. Both have passed away but six of their children are yet liv- ing, as follows: Alfred; Hiram : George L .; Sa- rah, the wife Robert Yerkes; Lobisa, the wife of Henry W. Norton ; and Dorinda, the wife of Sam- uel Bassett. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker have been born two daughters, but the elder, Ada M., died in infancy. Anna M., is now the wife of Alfred E. Phelps, who resides in Dexter.
Mr. Whitaker has been active and influential in community affairs and has been called by his fellow townsmen to several positions of public trust. He was supervisor of Lima township for one term. also supervisor of Scio township for nine years and has served as justice of the peace and township treasurer. From 1901 until 1903 he represented his district in the state legislature and this high honor was well bestowed, for he proved .
347
PAST AND PRESENT OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
a capable member of the house, unfaltering in his advocacy of any measure which he believed would benefit the commonwealth. He was made a Mason in 1858 and is now the oldest member of Washtenaw lodge, No. 65. A. F. & A. M .. of Dexter. His daughter, Mrs. Phelps, is a mem- ber of Eastern Star lodge, No. 302. Few resi- dents of the county have longer resided within its borders than has Mr. Whitaker, who for seventy years has made his home in Washtenaw county. Great indeed have been the changes which have been wrought in this time as time and man have worked the transformation that seems almost magical. He has seen the forests replaced by waving fields of grain, in the midst of which towns and villages have sprung up with important industrial and commercial inter- ests. Churches and schoolhouses have been built and progress has been made along all lines con- serving modern civilization. Mr. Whitaker has been an interested witness of all this and his work has not been an unessential factor in the general development here.
MINNIE MINTON DAVIS.
Minnie Minton Davis, who since 1901 has been a member of the piano faculty of the University of Michigan, is a native of Ann Arbor. Her father. George Van Rensselaer Davis, one of the most prominent contractors and builders of this city at an early day, was born on Long Island on the Ioth of December, 1822, and was descended from Welsh ancestry that intermarried with the famous Holland Dutch family of Van Rensselaer in New York.
Mr. Davis remained a resident of the Empire state until his removal to Michigan in 1859. in which year he left Poughkeepsie and made his way westward to Ann Arbor. Here he soon be- came known as a leading contractor and builder and erected many of the finest structures of the city at an early day, including the old Masonic Temple and the principal parts of the First Na- tional Bank building. He also built the tower on the First Presbyterian church, the Winchell resi-
dence on North University avenue, which has re- cently been demolished to make way for more modern buildings, and also Professor Frieze's residence on Cornwell Place. Mr. Davis was the first man to introduce ornamental stucco work on the ceilings of Ann Arbor and was ever in the advance as a contractor and builder and was therefore accorded a foremost place among the representatives of this industrial art in Washte- naw county.
On the oth of July, 1867, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Smith, a native of Rochester, New York, born in 1844. She came to Ann Arbor in 1858, when a maiden of four- teen years with her mother's sister. Mrs. John P. Andross, from Brockport. New York, she be- ing for many years a well known society leader of this city. John Andross served under General Washington in the Revolutionary war and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. Mrs. Davis was also related to the well known Page family of this county. From her girlhood she displayed much literary skill and talent and was a contribu- tor to many leading papers and periodicals. Many of her writings were published by Robert Bonner and other noted publishers of the coun- try. After traveling life's journey together for about twenty-three years Mr. and Mrs. Davis were separated by the death of the former in 1800.
They had a son and two daughters, the former being Rice Beal Davis, who is now foreman of the Sidney Millard printing establishment of Ann Arbor. He is a very prominent Mason and is an active member of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation, the Typographical Union and the Sin- fornia, a national musical fraternity. Beulah Benton Davis is a graduate of the Ann Arbor high school and is now private stenographer to President Angell, of the University of Michigan ..
Minnie Minton Davis, who completes the fam- ily. began to study the piano at the age of five years and made her debut in a public performance when only seven years of age. She continued her musical education under Professor F. H. Pease, of the State Normal School of Ypsilanti ; under J. H. Hahn, of Detroit : and Professor F. I .. Yorke, director of the Detroit Conservatory.
348
PAST AND PRESENT OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
She was also a pupil of Albert Lockwood, who is at the head of the piano department of the Uni- versity School of Music, and was graduated from the University School of Music in June, 1901. Since that year she has been a member of the piano faculty of the school and spent the summer of 1905 in Paris as a student of Harold Bauer, the famous pianist and teacher. Miss Davis has exceptional talent and skill and has received fav- orable criticism from prominent representatives of the art both at home and abroad. Her quali- ties as a teacher are indicated by the fact that she has for four years been retained as a member of the musical faculty of the State University. She is a member of the Alpha chapter of the Sigma Alpha Iota, a Greek sorority, and also of the La- dies' Musical Club of Ann Arbor, being its pres- ent vice president. Together with her brother and sister she is a member of the Eastern Star and they are all members of St. Andrew's church. The mother also attended that church, although not a member of the same. In early life the father belonged to the Presbyterian church of
Moses Seabolt, starting out in life for himself at the early age of twelve years, is now after long and active connection with business interests, en- abled to enjoy rest from further labor save that he is financially connected with a number of the cor- porate interests of Ann Arbor. His is a notable career, containing lessons worthy of emulation to those who have regard for the successes of life and the sure rewards of character. A native of Baden, Germany, he was born on the 15th of Jan- uary, 1837, and when only six months old was brought to America by his parents, Joseph and Madeline (Bumgardner) Seabolt, who were like- wise natives of the fatherland, in which country
they were married. They brought with them their four children, Moses being the youngest.
Joseph Seabolt came direct to Ann Arbor, Michigan, settling on the north side of the city in what was then designated as Lower Town. He was a mason by trade and followed that pursuit for a number of years. His death occurred when he had reached the age of sixty-eight years, and his wife passed away at the age of eighty-two years. They had seven children born in this country. so that their family numbered altogether eleven children. Of these four are yet living : Jacob, a resident of Ann Arbor; Moses; Mrs. Eliza Eisle ; and Martin M.
Moses Seabolt began the mastery of the com- mon branches of English learning in a little log schoolhouse on the north side of Ann Arbor, but his privileges in that direction were somewhat meager as it was necessary that he earn his own living from the age of twelve years, at which time he secured employment in a flour mill, beginning there at fitting barrels. Gradually, however, he mastered the trade Poughkeepsie, New York, but after coming west . and later became a miller on his own ac- he joined no religious organization, though he continued to attend the services of the Presby- terian church. He was also a member of the Odd Fellows lodge in the east but never affiliated with the order here. count, following the business with success for fourteen years. The capital thus acquired per- mitted his entrance into mercantile life and he established a grocery and bakery business as a member of the firm of Rinsey & Seabolt, a rela- tion that was maintained for thirty-four years. with mutual pleasure and profit. Throughout that entire period the house sustained an unassailable MOSES SEABOLT. reputation in business circles and enjoyed a con- stantly growing patronage so that the members of the firm realized a handsome return from their investment. When more than a third of a cen- tury had passed Mr. Seabolt sold his interest to his son and the business is still conducted under the old style, while the subject of this review is. now living retired.
"How blest is he
Who crowns in shades like these
A youth of labor with an age of ease."
As Mr. Seabolt prospered here he made invest- ment in a number of paying business enterprises of the city and is now a director in the First Na- tional Bank, also in the Ann Arbor Gas Company. the Michigan Furniture Company and the Ann
20
MOSES SEABOLT.
MIR. AND MRS. JOSEPH SEABOLT.
353
PAST AND PRESENT OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
Arbor Organ Company, all of which are paying business concerns, contributing not only to indi- vidual success but also promoting the general prosperity of the city.
Mr. Seabolt's advancement in business life here alone entitles him to representation with the lead- ing residents of Washtenaw county, but his activ- ity in other lines are also worthy of public recog- nition. He has been one of the fire commissioners of the city for the past eighteen years and is called the father of the fire department of Ann Arbor. He joined the volunteer fire department fifty years ago when the services of its mem- bers was a matter of patriotism. He was little more than a boy at that time and it was during the period when the company had only hand engines. He acted as chief and he has grown up with the department, taking an interest in its development and its efficiency, and doing everything in his power to make its service such as reflects credit upon the city. He is director in the Forest Hill Cemetery Association and for three years was a member of the school board. retiring from the office in the fall of 1904. He was a vestryman of St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal church and of the moral welfare of Ann Arbor he has not been unmindful. In politics, an unswerving democrat, he was a member of the city council for four years and gave proof of his devotion to general good by a tangible support of many helpful aldermanic measures.
On the Ist of October. 1864. Moses Seabolt was married in Ann Arbor to Miss Mary E. Stocking, who was born in Saginaw. Michigan, and died in 1885, at the age of forty-three years. They have become the parents of five children : Morris M., born July 25, 1865, married Gertrude Clute, of Three Rivers, Michigan, and has one daughter. Ruth Ellen : Grace E., born in 1867. is the wife of Dr. William Saunders and has two children, William and Mary E .: Walter T., born October 26, 1870, married Nellie Kyer and has one child ; Dean M., born in 1873. married Eliza- beth Covert and has two children : and Joseph C .. born in 1876. married Blanche Doane.
It is always a matter of satisfaction to the his- torian to record a life record of usefulness and activity such as Mr. Seabolt has made. He is in-
deed a self-made man, owing his progress and prosperity entirely to his own labors and while he has attained a gratifying measure of success he has not concentrated his efforts alone upon busi- ness affairs, for the city has felt the stimulus of his diligence and co-operation in the approval of many of its leading interests. He has watched its development almost from its infancy and may justly be numbered among its founders and pro- moters.
DEAN M. TYLER, M. D.
In a history of the men past and present who have been prominent representatives of the med- ical profession in Ann Arbor it is imperative that mention be made of Dr. Tyler, whose skill and ability and personal qualities gave him high standing in his profession. A native of Water- town, New York, he came with his parents to Michigan, his father owning and cultivating a farm at Grass Lake. He entered the University of Michigan in order to prepare for the practice of medicine, which he had determined upon as a life work and he completed the course in the med- ical department with the class of 1859. Later he again entered his alma mater as a student in the law department and was graduated therefrom in 1875.
Leaving this city Dr. Tyler removed to Kala- mazoo, Michigan, where for seven years he re- mained as an official of the state insane asylum but owing to failing health he resigned that posi- tion and returned to Ann Arbor, where he after- ward made his home.
Dr. Tyler married Miss Nellie L. Matthewson, of Pulaski, Oswego county, New York, who sur- vives him. She was a daughter of Charles .1. and Ruth H. ( Torrey) Matthewson and is now living in Ann Arbor. She is an accomplished pianist and has had a notable career in music. be- ing for many years a member of the choir of St. Andrew's Episcopal church. She possesses a fine contralto voice and is always a welcome addition to musical circles. She is now an officer of the Order of the Eastern Star and is lieutenant com- mander of the Ladies of the Modern Maccabees
354
PAST AND PRESENT OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
of the World. She was leader of an orchestra for many years and is now assisting Ross Gran- ger, of Ann Arbor, in his school of dancing.
Dr. Tyler held membership in the Episcopal church and was a man highly respected both in public and private life for his high attainments and personal qualities. He held membership in the Washtenaw county bar and was thoroughly familiar with both the principles of medical and legal science. Dr. Tyler remained a resident of Ann Arbor up to the time of his death and his prominence here was the result of an irreproacha- ble private life, of his professional acquirements and skill and of his devotion to the general wel- fare and he left behind him an honorable name.
RODNEY A. SNYDER.
Rodney A. Snyder, who is engaged in the com- mission business largely handling onions and beans and is also engaged in raising those prod- ucts, is a native son of Washtenaw county, born on the 5th of September, 1858. His father, Alex- ander Snyder, removed from the state of New York to Michigan at an early day. He was a son of Robert M. Snyder, who was born in War- ren county, New York, January 8, 1806, while his father was a native of Germany, and in 1775 came to America. He served his country as a soldier of the war of 1812, and reared his family in the Empire state. His son, Robert M. Snyder. was married on the 24th of July. 1830, to Miss Mary Hart, and they became the parents of four- teen children. The mother died in 1873, and in 1874 the father was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Harriett Wheeler. He was a farmer by occupation, and following his re- moval to Michigan, settled in Webster township. Washtenaw county, where he owned and operated a farm of two hundred acres of land.
Upon the old homestead farm there Alexander Snyder was reared, remaining under the paren- tal roof until twenty-one years of age, when he started out upon an independent business career. becoming a partner in a paper store in Detroit. owned by the firm of Cornwell Brothers, and in
the re-organization of the business the firm be- came Cornwell, Snyder & Van Cleve. Later, Mr. Snyder sold his interest and became a dry goods merchant at Ypsilanti, Michigan, in partnership with Jerome B. Cross. He thus continued for several years, on the expiration of which period, he sold out and went upon the road as a traveling salesman, representing a grocery house. For twenty years he continued in that line of business and was a popular salesman, having a good pa- tronage, and thus making money, both for him- self, and the house he represented. He married Miss Adelaide Cornwell, and his death occurred in 1900, while his wife passed away in 1904. They were the parents of three children: Frank, who is living in Philadelphia ; Louis, deceased; and Rodney A.
In his early youth Rodney A. Snyder was a student in the schools of Ypsilanti, and after- ward attended the Normal Institute and the pub- lic schools at Ann Arbor. His education being completed and his text-books laid aside, he se- cured employment in the Cornwell Brothers pa- per mills at Foster Station, where he remained for ten years. On the expiration of that period he came to Chelsea, where he embarked in busi- ness as a dealer in meats and groceries, boots and shoes. He continued in this line until 1895, when he sold out and bought a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres adjoining the corporation limits of the village, but continued to make his home within the boundary lines of Chelsea. After pur- chasing this property Mr. Snyder began raising onions and beans, and to these crops has since given his attention. In the year 1905 he had forty acres planted to onions and twenty-five acres to beans. He is also engaged in the commission bus- iness, in buying and storing onions, and has a warehouse with a capacity of twenty-five thou- sand bushels of onions. He employs from ten to twenty-five people in this place during the season, and spends thirty-five hundred dollars annually in wages alone. He has found this a profitable source of income, and his business is now exten- sively and successfully conducted.
In 1878 Mr. Snyder was united in marriage to Miss Libbie Warren, a daughter of George War- ren, and a representative of one of the old fami-
355
PAST AND PRESENT OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
lies of Washtenaw county, her people having come from Oneida county, New York, to Michi- gan in 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have five children, Addie, Clara, Mary, Burt and Ray- mond. Mr. Snyder has erected a fine residence in Chelsea at a cost of four thousand dollars, and upon this place are large barns, sheds and other equipments. In politics he is a stalwart republi- can, and fraternally is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees. In his business he is enterprising and progressive and has based his actions upon business principles which neither seek nor require disguise.
JOHN M. NAYLOR.
John M. Naylor, a capitalist of Ann Arbor. whose important and extensive investments claim the greater part of his attention in their supervis- ion, was born in Salem township. Washtenaw county, on the 25th of December, 1865. His father, George Naylor, was a native of the state of New York, and came to Washtenaw county about 1838. when only three years old. He mar- ried Jerusha Minock, a native of Michigan, who is now living in Northville, Wayne county. this state. The father lived with a daughter in North- ville for three years prior to his demise, passing away February 3, 1900. In their family were the following named: John M. : Mrs. Effie Simpson, who is now living in Mecosta county, Iowa : Le- roy, a farmer, residing in Wayne county, Michi- gan : and Mrs. Nora Vennetta, of Northville, this county.
John M. Naylor acquired his early education in the Stafford schoolhouse in Superior township. and he afterward attended school in Northville. Later he spent some time on a farm, devoting his energies to agricultural pursuits with constantly growing success, and in 1806 he came to Ann Arbor, where he has since made his home. He is now interested in a large clothing house in Chi- cago and he has extensive realty holdings in Rochester. New York. in Washtenaw county and elsewhere, including his beautiful residence at No. 120 West Ann street.
In 1893 Mr. Naylor was married to Loretta Knight, of Rochester, New York, whose father, Michael Knight, is proprietor of a large hotel in Rochester, where both he and his wife, Mrs. Eliza Knight, are still living. There were nine chil- dren in the Knight family, while Mr. and Mrs. Naylor have three interesting sons, John Earl. Joseph George and Francis Cecil, aged respect- ively eleven, eight and seven years, and now stu- dents in the public schools of Ann Arbor. The family are communicants of the Catholic church, and in his political affiliation Mr. Naylor is a dem- ocrat. He served as supervisor of Ann Arbor in 1900, but has never been an aspirant for public office. content to do his duty to the city as a pri- vate citizen. He is, however, public spirited in an eminent degree and his co-operation has been a potent factor in general progress here. He is a man of sound business judgment, keen discern- ment and sagacity and has the determined force and enterprise which enables him to reach the oh- jective point in a business deal.
JUNIUS EMERY BEAL.
Hon. Junius Emery Beal, member of the state legislature from the first district of Washtenaw county, whose life has been a factor in the mate- rial progress and political interests of Michigan for two decades, stands today as a typical repre- sentative of the spirit of the times, closely in touch with the world's progress, possessing an in- tellectual force that enables him to understand existing conditions, to correctly value possibilities and utilize opportunities, not only in the field of commerce and finance but also in political matters, where the general interests of society are affected. He was born in Port Huron, Michigan, February 23. 1860, a son of James E. Field, but his mother died in his infancy and at the age of eleven months he was adopted by his uncle and aunt. Rice A. and Phebe ( Beers) Beal. The ancestors of the Beal and Field families both came to New England in 1637 and Junius E. Beal is descended from the famous astronomer of Queen Elizabeth's time. Sir John Field.
356
PAST AND PRESENT OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
Junius E. Beal resided in Dexter, Michigan, until 1866, since which time he has made his home in Ann Arbor. His early education was supplemented by study in the Ann Arbor high school and in the Michigan University, from which he was graduated as a member of the lit- erary class of 1882. His periods of vacation were spent in his father's printing office, working at the case and on the press and thus becoming fa- miliar with the mechanical part of the business. He has since been connected to a greater or less extent with journalism and the publishing busi- ness. Following his graduation he became editor of the Ann Arbor Weekly Courier and Daily Times and upon the death of Rice A. Beal in 1883 he took up his work and became interested in book as well as newspaper publication, being thus associated with the "art preservative" for twenty years, when he sold out. He was the pub- lisher of Dr. Chase's Recipe Book, which had a circulation of a million and a quarter copies, and other large orders were also executed in his es- tablishment. Under his guidance the business rapidly developed along substantial lines and yet the extent of this business did not deter him from entering other fields of activity. He is now a member of the board of directors of the Farmers & Mechanics Bank of Ann Arbor ; a director of the Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Company ; director of the Peninsular Paper Company and for twelve years manager, secretary and treasurer of the Ann Arbor Electric Light Company, but he has now disposed of his holdings in the last named. He was one of the prime movers in building the suburban road between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti in 1890 and was president of the company. This was the beginning of the now big electric road running between Ann Arbor, Detroit and Jackson. At first a small steam dummy was used but later electric power was adopted.
Aside from business affairs Mr. Beal's life has been characterized by activity, as he has been identified with movements and events relative to the promotion and conservation of the material, social, intellectual and moral progress of the city. He is president of the Wesleyan Guild and of the board of trustees of the First Methodist Episco-
pal church of Ann Arbor; is treasurer of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity of Michigan; president of the High School Alumni Association; and for twenty-one years a member of the school board of the city. He is likewise a trustee of the Ann Ar- bor Golf Club and was president of the Michigan Press Association in 1893.
His political service has also broadened his reputation, for in republican circles he exercises influence and has been a forceful factor in shap- ing the policy of the party and winning its suc- cesses. He was presidential elector in 1888; president of the Michigan League of Republican Clubs in 1889-90, and on the 8th of November, 1904, he was elected to the state legislature by a good majority over two opponents. He was ap- pointed to the most important committee, that of ways and means, which passed upon all the state expenditures. To illustrate the work the com- mittee had to do, the budget contained expense accounts to the sum of eleven million dollars, but after hearing all of the boards of the state institu- tions and the state officials, this was cut down to eight and a half million dollars by the committee. Mr. Beal did other important service while a member of the legislature. He introduced and secured the passage of two important bills, one to correct many abuses of the pharmacy law regard- ing the sales of poisons and liquors and another in behalf of the millers legalizing warehouse re- ceipts. He was likewise instumental in securing a new charter for Ann Arbor, establishing the park board. Close and discriminating study of the issues of the day has qualified him for leader- ship together with a well balanced judgment that enables him, while working toward ideals, to util- ize in practical manner the forces at hand.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.