USA > Michigan > Ingham County > Lansing > Past and present of the city of Lansing and Ingham county, Michigan > Part 56
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and came to Michigan in June, 1836, and located upon the place where the son, L. A. Royston, now resides. Here the father pur- chased an extensive tract of land, comprised of fourteen hundred acres, to which place he removed his family from New York, coming by the way of Buffalo to Detroit on the lakes and from Detroit to his farm by ox teams. This primitive method of travel was exceedingly slow and on the way they en- countered many difficulties, traveling at the rate of about five or six miles per day. Ar- riving here, he built a log house, in which the family resided for one year, which was later supplemented by a more pretentious frame dwelling. Little by little the father cleared and placed under cultivation this property and there resided until his death, which occurred in 1884, November 25th, at the age of seventy-six years, eleven months and eleven days. Prior to this time he had deeded away the greater portion of his es- tate, in fact all but two hundred and eighty acres. He was a man of more than ordinary force of character, strong in determination of purpose and ambitious to surround his family with all the comforts that this new country then afforded.
L. A. Royston, the subject of this review. is a native of the Empire State and was born in Seneca Falls in 1835, on February 16th. He is one of a family of six children, of whom three are now living, namely, our sub- ject, Mrs. Elias Sanders, widow, and Mrs. James Rappelye, widow. L. A. Royston's brother, William, was the first white boy born in this county and died in the war. It is also interesting to note in this history of the Royston family. that the father of our subject. James Royston, as was also the son, L. A., were at the memorable gathering which resulted in the formation of the Re- publican party, "Under the Oaks." at Jack- son.
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Continuing, however, the individual sketch of our subject, we would state that his early education was acquired in a little log school house in the home locality and when he first started out in life for himself, he began by learning the carriage maker's trade and first found employment with John Patton of Detroit. In this line he became quite proficient and has been all over the United State working on the construction of hacks, carriages, etc. In this particular line of business he has been engaged for himself and has acted in the capacity of foreman in Ohio, where he remained for two years. He then returned to Leslie and resumed the sash, door and blind business again: selling this out, he removed to Otsego, Michigan, where he resided for three years. At the expira- tion of this time he returned to the home farm to look after his father and his interests and upon the father's death he purchased the interests of the other heirs and here has since resided.
On the 17th day of November. 1858, Mr. Royston was united in marriage to Miss Ann Eliza Morehouse, a native of New York, and unto them have been born six children, namely : Herbert, married and resides at Les- lie ; Phebe D., wife of Wm. B. Olin of De- troit : Jesse, resides at home and is engaged in farming ; Luella Ellen, the wife of Homer Taylor ; Mabel, married to Lyman Rumsey of St. Louis, Michigan ; and Vene, married and lives at Grand Ledge. Vene has ac- quired considerable reputation as a decora- tor.
Mr. Royston is a member of the I. O. O. F. of Leslie and has been pathmaster for thirty years and efficiently served on the school board, while his children were in school. He affiliates with the Republican party.
An honored pioneer resident of this local- ity, he is a man of highest respectability and
those who are most intimately associated with him speak in unqualified terms of his integrity and honor in business and fidelity to all the duties of public and private life, and unto such men and families, Ingham county owes its history.
JAY M. SMITH, LANSING.
Jay M. Smith, a leading hardware mer- chant of Lansing, was born in Freemont, Ohio, in the year 1860, being a son of J. M. and Rachael Smith. His father was a na- tive of the Empire State, coming to Ohio when a boy and removing to Clinton county, Michigan, in 1864. There he purchased three eighty acre tracts of timber land, which he cleared and added to, from time to time. until he was the owner of eleven hundred acres. Most of the land in the vicinity of his location was of a swampy nature, but, as he was a firm believer in the efficacy of tile drainage as a means of bringing it under cultivation, he set vigorously at work to im- prove his own and his neighbors properties. In this work he was eminently successful. He was elected Drainage Commissioner- took a deep interest in the Agricultural Col- lege of Lansing, and was one of the most practically progressive men in Clinton county.
Our subject passed most of his boyhood, and all of his youth and early manhood in Clinton county, attending the Agricultural College in 1879 and Olivet College in 1880- 1881. He then commenced the practical work of farming, taking active charge of his father's interests for about three years. They did not confine themselves to raising products of the soil, but operated a fine stock farm, being widely known as the first im- porters and breeders of Galloway cattle in Michigan. Their first cows were imported from Canada, but later the stock came direct
JAY M. SMITH
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from Scotland, and eventually they owned a herd of over one hundred fine registered cattle. As breeders of that variety they stood as high as any cattlemen in the Middle West. and for years were prominent exhibitors at all the State fairs in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and adjoining states.
In 1884, the father, Jay and another son, left Lansing to engage in the cattle business in the Black Hills. In a terrible blizzard, which overtook them, the elder Mr. Smith was frozen to death. His body was not found until several days afterwards. He was at first buried in the Black Hills, but after- wards disinterred and laid to rest at Mount Hope cemetery.
Neither were these the sum total of his calamities, for nearly all his cattle were frozen, or lost, and he was obliged to start back to Michigan, fatherless and almost pen- niless. On his way he stopped in Chicago, told of his experience to a capitalist of that city and was offered a chance to return to Dakota as a stockman. This opportunity, however, was not accepted. as Mr. Smith had decided for more reasons than one that he preferred Michigan as a home above all other states.
One of the reasons for his return to Lan- sing soon developed in his marriage to Miss Ella Howard. They have had one child, who died at the age of five years.
When he first returned from the West, Mr. Smith was employed on his father-in- law's farm, teaching school during five months in the winter. For a number of years prior to 1891 he worked for P. E. Dunham, and later was in the wheel works of which W. K. Prudden was president. In 1892 he bought the hardware business of Mr. Dunham and the firm of Price & Smith continued in that line for ten years. The former then sold his interest to Mr. Barton. the partnership of Smith & Barton being
thus formed. The house, which is now firmly established and prosperous, carries a complete line of hardware, stove, tinware and paints.
Mr. Smith has not only a good business, but he is the owner of considerable village property, and not only is he substantial in worldly goods, but he is a man of most en- viable public reputation. At present, he is an Alderman for the First Ward, the third Republican who has ever been elected from this stronghold of the Democracy. He has also been Township School Inspector, Town- ship Treasurer and a member of the School Board. He is identified with the Masonic Fraternity, the I. O. O. F. and the Royal Arcanum.
GEORGE A. REID.
George A. Reid was born upon the farm where he still resides, in Stockbridge town- ship, on section thirteen, May 15, 1877, and is the son of Robert and Eva (Stevens) Reid ; the father born in New York, March 28, 1840, and the mother in Stockbridge in 1853, and died at the age of twenty-six years.
Robert Reid was one of five children of Alexander Reid, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, about 1794, and died at the age of fifty-three on his farm, and Ann Cullen who was born near Glasgow in the year 1800. Alexander Reid was a tailor by trade in Scotland and was there mar- ried in 1825 and came to America, set- tling in Canandaigua county, N. Y., in 1828. In 1846 they came to Michigan and settled in Stockbridge township on one hundred and sixty acres of wild land. They built a log house and began clearing up the place, when the father died and left the sons to finish the work. After the death of the mother. Robert, our subject's father, bought
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out the heirs and made this his home.
To Alexander Reid and wife were born the following children: Alexander, born in Scotland and died in New York when a child: Henrietta Catherine, September 27, 1828, the wife of H. F. Lyman living in Stockbridge township; Alexander, No. 2, died at the age of forty years, married Agnes Craig and was a farmer of Stock- bridge : John Cullen, died at the age of fifty years, was single and made his home with the brothers and sisters ; Lucy Ann, died in 1900. Her third husband was A. W. Park- hurst of Mason.
To Robert Reid and wife were three chil- dren given : Lucy. April 28, 1875, wife of Chauncey Doolittle of Delhi township; our subject, and Edith, August 24, 1880, the wife of Clarence Bullis lives at Howell.
Our subject was educated in the district schools and afterwards in the village school of Stockbridge, and has always been on the father's farm. September 20, 1899, he was married to Vina Howlett, daughter of Thomas and Charlotte (Leek) Howlett. Mrs. Reid was born April 7, 1879, and her father was a native of England, born Sep- tember 18, 1838, while her mother was born July 18, 1841. Mrs. Reid's parents were married about thirty-five years ago and lived in Livingston county on a farm purchased in the early days of Robert Howlett, father of Thomas. Our subject's wife is one of seven children, all living: Louis, April 24, 1869, married and lives in Howell ; Henry, August 8, 1872, married and lives at Greg- ory: Fred, August 24, 1874, married and lives at Gregory: Ed., January 20, 1876, married May Rockwell, our subject's wife, Robert, April 18, 1884, single and at home, and Bessie, September 13, 1889 at home.
To Mr. and Mrs. George Reid has been born one child. Robert, October 5, 1901. Mr. Reid is politically a Democrat and fra-
ternally a member of the Odd Fellows and the Royal Guard. Mrs. Reid is a member of the Baptist church and connected with the Rebecca Lodge.
Mr. George Reid is one of the prominent and rising young men of this locality, and has before him the promise of a bright future.
RUSH J. SHANK, M. D., LANSING.
Dr. Rush J. Shank is a prominent physi- cian, and widely known in G. A. R. circles, having for several years held the position of President of the Board of Managers of the Michigan Soldiers' Home, at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lansing is proud to claim him as a native, his birth in that city occurring December 15, 1848. He is the son of H. B. and Frances P. Shank, and his father was a prominent member of the profession before him.
Dr. H. B. Shank obtained his early edu- cation at Auburn, N. Y., and at the age of twenty-one began to his medical studies un- der Dr. Wertz of Waterloo, N. Y. Soon after completing a four years' medical course at the Geneva (N. Y.) Medical College he came to Lansing, locating there in Septem- ber, 1848. About three months thereafter our subject was born. At the time it was not a very promising locality in which to commence practice, it being in the thick of the woods, with a few scattering houses in the vicinity. But Dr. Shank cleared the land and erected the building which he used for years afterward as an office; and upon its site the boy who had been lately born, was, in his mature manhood, to also engage in a prosperous and honorable practice, after the rugged spot had given place to a large and flourishing city.
Dr. Shank, the father of our subject en-
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tered the military service during the second year of the Civil War, being commissioned by Governor Blair as Surgeon of the Eighth Michigan Infantry. After one year in the field, he resigned to accept the appointment of surgeon of the Third Congressional Dis- trict, his duties being to examine those who drafted into the army and who were resi- dents of that district. He remained in this capacity until the close of the war, when he returned to Lansing and continued in prac- tice until his death.
The early education of our subject was acquired in the common schools of Lansing and at the Oakwood Academy, N. Y. He took the full four years' course in the med- ical department of the Michigan State Uni- versity, graduating with the class of 1871. During his senior year he was an assistant in the surgical department. After his grad- uation he at once located in Lansing, begin- ning practice where his father commenced his professional career twenty-three years be- fore. He has never changed his location, as good fortune seems to have followed him, or he has brought good fortune by his hon- orable skill, from the very first.
At the breaking out of the Civil War Dr. Shank was a lad of thirteen. Notwith- standing his youth he was much interested in the progress of hostilities, and this feeling was intensified by his father's connection with the surgical branch of the service. As he was large and strong for his age, his attempts to enlist were finally successful in 1864, and he went to the front with the 148th N. Y. Infantry, under General Butler. He was present at the battles of Cold Har- bor, Weldon Railroad and the surrender of Lee, and was mustered out June 25, 1865.
Upon his return to Lansing he was elected commander of the G. A. R. post, and has ever since been deeply interested in the af- fairs of that partriotic organization. For
many years he has also been prominent in the management of the Soldiers' Home, at Grand Rapids, serving as President of its Board of Managers-for six years. In the Masonic fraternity he has attained to the thirty-third degree. For eight years he filled the chair of the Blue Lodge (Capital Lodge No. 66), and is a member of Lansing Chap- ter.
Dr. Shank was the first-born in a family of five, the other members being Charles, Ann, Robert B. and Edward. He was mar- ried in the fall of 1876 to Ella W. Williams, daughter of W. H. and Carrie Williams. Their one child, Ruth, a graduate of the Lansing High School, is the wife of Mor- ris Montgomery.
Our subject is a man of domestic tastes and after he has attended to his professional duties and given himself to home relaxations, little time is left to indulge in politics. De- spite all, he has also fulfilled his duties as a citizen by devoting not a little of his really valuable time to the public service, having for eight years been a leading Democratic member of the City Council.
GEORGE A. ROWE, M. D.
The profession which represents the be- neficent healing art has many noble mem- bers whose lives are filled with acts of goodness, and whose most strenuous effort is to attain that skill which is necessary in saving life and restoring health. Such a life work raises a man above the sordid motives which actuate many of mankind, and gives to life a meaning, which more mercenary callings cannot grant. We are therefore always gratified to be able to intro- duce to our readers the physicians who have won for themselves a high place in the pro- fession in Ingham county.
Dr. Rowe of Stockbridge is a prominent
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physician, whose birth occurred Aug. 20, 1859, in Lyndon township, Washtenaw county. His father, George Rowe, was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1830, and came to the United States with his father and step-mother in 1846 and settled in Livings- ton county. The mother of our subject, Adaline Finch, was born in 1837, and died in 1876.
George Rowe, Sr., first settled on eighty acres of partly improved land in Lyndon township, Washtenaw county, and later add- ed eighty acres more to his possessions. He has improved most of the land, and is now on the same farm. He first moved into a log house, but has since built a frame house and good barn. Our subject's father is a Re- publican and cast his first vote for Fremont. He is a member of the United Brethren church.
Dr. Rowe is the third in a family of nine children, eight of whom are living at the present time : James, born in 1856, died in 1890; Clarence, 1858, married Clara Cro- man, resides on the old homestead and has four children: Susan, George, Mable and Floyd; our subject ; Foster, born in 1861, married Hattie Finch, and resides in Ing- ham county on a farm and has one . child, Ethel; Dillon, born in 1863, married Belle Hubbard, and resides at Grass Lake and they have two children: Everett and Eleanor; Luella, born in 1865, married. Irvin Pickell, and resides on a farm in Washtenaw county and has three children : Emery, Eva and Nellie: Stella, born in 1866, married William Bott, and resides on a farm in Jackson county, and they have five children : Walter, Clarence, Addie, Aus- tin and Frederick ; Ernest and Emery (twins) were born May 14, 1868, Ernest mar- ried Belle West and resides on a farm in Wastenaw county and they have one child, Clair. Emory, married Lizzie Hammack,
and has rented the Hugh McCloy farm for a term of years.
Dr. Rowe acquired his early education in the district school, and later attended the State Normal at Ypsilanti, from which he graduated in 1884. and the University of Michigan. For two years he was principal of the high school at AuSable, Michigan. Desiring to enter the medical profession, in 1886 he commenced the study of this art at" the U. of M. and graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1889. Immediately after his graduation from the University he com- menced the practice of his profession in the village of Stockbridge, where he has since been located. He is a member of the Ing- ham County and State Medical Societies.
Over Dr. Rowe's home presides with gra- cious dignity. the lady who became his wife in December of the year 1890. Her maiden name was Nellie Runciman, and she was born in February, 1866. She is the daugh- ter of William and Maggie (Thompson) Runciman now residents of Williamston. Mr. Runciman and his father were early set- tlers in Michigan, coming from Scotland and locating in Sylvan township, Washtenaw county, where the father lived until his death. In 1880 Mr. William Runciman pur- chased three hundred acres of mostly im- proved land in Wheatfield township, Ing- ham county. Mr. and Mrs. Runciman are members of the Methodist church, as also are Dr. Rowe and his wife. The Republican party receives the support of these two high- ly esteemed citizens.
To Dr. Rowe and his esteemed wife have been born two children, both dying in infancy. Our subject's father had two brothers, who fought for the good old flag in the Civil War. They were James and John Rowe. One brother of Dr. Rowe's mother was also in the war.
Dr. Rowe's popularity and skill in his
ORLANDO E. SPAULDING
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chosen profession is marked by many posi- tions of trust which are given him by his fellowmen. He has been medical examiner for the Maccabees twelve out of fourteen years. Is examiner for the N. Y. Life, Equitable Life, N. Y. ; Mutual Life, N. Y .; Northwestern Mutual Life ; Manhattan Life, N. Y. : Michigan Mutual Life ; Penn. Mutual Life, and Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company.
Dr. Rowe is identified with the Masons, Odd Fellows, Maccabees and Eastern Star. He is a man who is looked up to with all deference and regard by his associates and fellow townsmen.
ORLANDO E. SPAULDING.
The business men of Lansing, Ingham county, are a class of men of whom the city may well feel proud, as they have added greatly not only to her financial strength, but also to her reputation among the cities of Michigan. Our subject is engaged in the manufacture of brick in the city, and is a man of genuine and widespread popularity. He was born in Chesterfield, New Hamp- shire, February 11, 1841, and was the son of Sumner and Betsey ( Andrews) Spaulding. New Hampshire was Mr. Spaulding's boy- hood home. Here he lived until nineteen years of age having acquired his education in Keene, N. H. He lived with Gov. Dens- more until he came to Michigan in 1859 and landed in Detroit, accompanied by his mother and brother, the father having died when Orlando was but seven years old.
Mr. Spaulding's first labors in Michigan were performed in the brickyard at Ann Ar- bor, working for John Vanderhayden and Chas. A. Wood. He remained here until he came to Lansing in 1860 on the 9th day of December, where he attended school for four months, then started out for himself by
working as foreman for John Wood. He remained with Mr. Wood for about six years and then went to Fenton and started in busi- ness for himself, making brick, three years, then returned to Lansing and resumed work for J. Wood and remained with him for some time. Shortly after his marriage he went to Pontiac and worked as foreman for Abail Wood and remained there one year. thence to Howell and was there four years, returned to Lansing and was again with John Wood for three years, after this he was with William Vanderhayden at Ionia as foreman for three years, when he returned to Lansing and worked for one year for Conrad Clippert of Detroit, and was again in the employ of John Wood for two years and finally started for himself in Lansing, and at the end of two years formed a partnership with George C. Clippert, which lasted for sixteen years, when A. C. Bird was taken into the firm, which is now known as Clippert, Spaulding & Company, of which Mr. Spaulding is president.
Orlando E. Spaulding was married Jan- uary 1, 1867, to Miss Jane Russell of Ypsi- lanti, Michigan, and this union has. been blessed with seven children, four of whom are living: Walter S., Charles L., George O., and Ida G.
In fraternal relations Mr. Spaulding is allied with the I. O. O. F. and has unfailing confidence in the principles of the Republi- can party. He is also an active member of the order of Masons.
Mr. Spaulding belongs to the class of self-made men, all that he owns being his by reason of his activity and intelligence. Today he possesses a splendid brickyard. equipped with all the latest machinery, in- cluding a new machine, which has a capac- ity of fifty thousand, a drying room, which holds ninety thousand brick at a cost of six thousand dollars-manufactures brick and
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tile, and employs about seventy men when in full capacity, and is counted as one of Lansing's influential men.
J. EDGAR ST. JOHN, LANSING.
Mr. and Mrs. St. John are Superintedent and Matron, respectively, of the Industrial School at Lansing. As the former quaintly expressed it, "We have had no children and so have had to borrow them." The institu- tion shelters 725 boys, a part of their prac- tical education being the cultivation of the large farm operated in connection with it. For about a dozen years Mr. St. John has been the executive head of this important State institution, and no one could have been selected who combines in greater perfection the necessary qualities of practical ability and human parental kindness. For thirty years in his work, both at the Reform and the In- dustrial Schools, his wife has been his faith- ful, cheerful and invaluable assistant.
J. Edgar St. John was born in Somerset, Hillsdale county, Michigan, May 30, 1848, the son of Jason and Lucy Ann St. John. Three brothers on the paternal side of the ancestry came to America in the "May- flower." His father, a native of Ridgebury, Conn., born in 1804, sailed the ocean as super cargo. Later in life he engaged in the flour business in New York City, coming to Michigan in 1840. He seems to have been a man of versatile parts, being successively farmer, brick mason and bookkeeper. In 1850, while the gold excitement was still high, he emigrated to California, and re- mained in that land of deceptive promise for about three years. He died in 1895 at the venerable age of ninety-one.
Our subject lost his mother when he was only three years of age, and as his father was in very moderate circumstances he became a wage earner when quite young. He man-
aged, however, to secure a high school edu- cation, and by self-application in after years became as thoroughly informed as many a man who has enjoyed the advantages of a college training. At fourteen years of age he was working in a foundry. This was followed by a mercantile experience of about ten years, four years of that period being passed in Dansville, Ingham county. From the age of eighteen to twenty he spent in New York, and during the following three years he was an employee and partner of D. L. Crossman of Dansville. He finally bought out his partner and conducted the business alone. But Mr. St. John was not destined to be simply a money making mer- chant : something better was in store for him and the community at large.
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