Portrait and biographical album of Gratiot county, Mich., Part 65

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 856

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Jan. 1, 1859, he came to Alma, and on that day purchased a stock of merchandise belonging to Gen. Ralph Ely, on credit. On the following morning, before breakfast, he opened trade, and continued in the mercantile business and in settling up until June 9, 1861, when disaster overtook him in the form of robbery, arson and fire, and he lost all he possessed except his real estate, purchased by Mrs. Gargett in her own right from the avails of her father's estate.

The next fall, associated with H. B. Hulbert, he bought a stock of goods from James Shearer, on three, six, nine and twelve months' credit, and once more established himself in business. The war having broke out, by possessing the pluck to keep well stocked with goods, the rapid advance sent him on the high road of prosperity, and thus he continued until the fall of 1867. In June of that year Messis.

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Gargett & Hulbert built a flouring mill This enter- prise was put in operation owing to its need by the community, flour being $if per barrel, and many men desiring employment. In the fall of 1867 the joint proprietors made a division of property, Mr. Gargett taking charge of the flouring-mill and Mr. Hulbert assuming sole proprietorship of the mercantile con- nections and the management of its unsettled affairs. It had been previously conducted in the name of H. B. Hulbert, owing to embarrassed conditions. Mr. Gargett zealously prosecuted his milling interests, and in 1869 erected a woolen-mill, which he leased for a period of five years to parties from Ohio, who filled it with first-class modern machinery. The lessees made a failure of their venture, and the con- cern changed hands three times. Disastrous results were the consequences every time, and in order to retain the enterprise at Alma, Mr. Gargett was com- pelled in the spring of 1873 to purchase the machin- ery and fixtures, and he gave his attention to the manufacture of woolens until 1880, when the mill was destroyed by fire. He had also conducted his milling interests to the same date and the same fire swept away both branches of his business, and in both he met with a total loss of his interests. Dis- aster in one form or another had marked his business career, and only his indomitable will and courage and determination to wrest success from circumstan- ces kept him afloat. In the fall of 1870 he com- menced the construction of an elegant dwelling. which was completed a year later at a cost of $18,000. In the summer of 1876 the fire-fiend destroyed the beautiful residence. In the spring of 1872 he was induced to lend assistance to Josiah F. Lathrop in getting a drive of logs down Pine River, and enable him to pay $1,490 he owed for supplies from the mill, -a piece of good nature and desire to aid him in every possible manner and the business prosperity of the locality, which resulted in the loss of $28,000. In 1873 he found himself with his mills and real estate in his possession, but without a dollar for the transaction of business. ITis reliability, integrity and perserverance stood him in good stead, and he obtained means to operate his woolen-mill, and devoted to it his entire personal attention until its destruction in November, 1880. Four years previous to that event his prosperity was most satisfactory. Since that date he has prosecuted the business of a

real-estate broker and attended to the management of his general interests.

Mr. Gargett is a Republican in political principle, and in the fall of 1862 was elected to the Legisla- ture of Michigan, and served during the biennial term of 1862-3. During this session he was Chair- man of the Committee on Towns and Counties. He has also been Supervisor of Pine River Township one year.

He was married May 24, 1849, in Lyons, Wayne Co., N. Y., to Louisa, daughter of Joseph and Ele :- nor (Seaton) Gee. She was born in Lyons, May 24, 1831. Fler parents were natives of the Empire State. where the father died in the year 1840. leaving a valuable estate. The mother removed to lonia Co., Mich., and died Feb. 9, 1883, while on a visit to Mrs. Gargett, her daughter. Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Gargett, two children have been born, one of whom survives, Minnie L, born April 5, 1850. George, born Dec. 5, 1858, was accidentally scalded Dec. 5, 1860, death resulting in a few hours. The parents are both members of the Seventh-Day Ad- vent Church.

The personal record of Mr. Gargett presents a fine exhibit of what a man may accomplish, despite a long series of business disaster and personal afflic- tion. The tragic termination of the lives of his par ents, his losses by fire and the mismanagement of others to whom he extended a helping hand, the sud- den and irreparable loss of his only son by a painful accident, and the long illness of his wife, who in 1873 was stricken by paralysis, from the effects of which she suffered three years, constitute an appalling array of adverse circumstances, and would have utterly crushed common men. But no misfortune has over- whelmed him. Each new disaster developed in him the essential traits of his character which have ren- dered him one of the most valuable citizens of Alma, where he resided before it held even a promise of the importance to which it has attained, and in which he has been a prominent factor. The village was plat- ted by him in 1859, and he has since been continu- ally interested in its progress.

The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Gargett are present- ed on other pages of this work. They are an acces- sion to the list of prominent persons whose like- nesses appear in the Album of Gratiot County, from the business relations of Mr. Gargett in his town-

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ship and county, and the high social position which his family holds. Mrs. Gargett, though still suffering from impaired health, retains all her vigor of intellect and exercises all the interest and solicitude for the happiness and comfort of her friends and associates which have characterized her through life. In 187 1 Mı. Gargett determined to give his wife the benefit of a long out-of-door excursion, believing it would tend to the restoration of her health. He had a " palace coach " constructed, at a cost of $1, 100, fitted in ev- ery way for comfort, and on the 27th of September, 1881, they set out for an overland trip from Michi- gan through the Southern States. Mrs. Gargett's facile pen supplied a graphic and entertaining account of the trip for publication in the Gratiot County Rec- ord, published at Alma. Her letters gave interesting items of incidents of travel, meeting with old friends, data of agricultural probabilities and possibilities in the sections traversed.

He returned to Alma Oct. 21, 1882, to witness the prosperity of the village of which he had had so much anxiety in years past. And now, as he lays aside in a measure the cares of life, he desires to leave on record that he owes much of his success in overcoming se- vere trials and obstacles to the faithfulness and good counsels of his wife, and of the fact that he had al- ways allowed her to retain her own property in her name, whereby she could aid him as no one else would when disasters come thick and fast, and those who are friends in prosperity turn a cold shoulder in adversity.

erome Vernon Johnson was born in the township of Emmett, Calhoun Co., Mich., Sept. 20, 1844, in a log cabin, which was built at the first settlement of the county, on the north bank of the Kalamazoo River, six miles west of Marshall, and within a half mile of the station now known as Wheatfield, on the Michigan Central railroad. His early youth was passed as that of other pioneer boys in those days. At the age of eight years his parents moved to Marshall Township, in the same county, where they still reside. The only education he obtained was that furnished by the common district school of the times.

At 17, becoming tired of the monotony of farm life, with the consent of his parents, he selected for an occupation the printing trade, mastered the intricacies of the art, and entered the broad arena of life with brilliant anticipations and an ambition to be some- thing more than a follower among his fellow men.

March 4, 1868, at Galesburg, Ill., he was married to Miss Sadie H. Bell, by Rev. George Norcross. Six children have blessed the union, four of them-three girls and one boy-now living: Jessie Gay, born May 8, 1870; Lamont Kinyon, March 28, 1877 ; Sadie Alta, May 27, 1879; Bessie Bell, Sept. 14, 1881.

The same year of his marriage he purchased at Charlotte, Mich., the Charlotte Argus (afterward changed to Leader), which paper be published and edited until the close of '74, when an almost fatal illness compelled him to give up the business. In June, 1876, he established the Ingham County Dem- ocrat, at Mason, Mich., but in the fall of '77 disposed of it, returned to Charlotte and re-purchased his old office. In 1882 he sold the office and established in September of the same year the Gratiot County Dem- ocrat, at St. Louis, Mich., which had been suspended a year previous. This he has published since with very satisfactory success, notwithstanding the office was burned out on the night of January 4, 1884.

Mr. Johnson's parents may well be called pioneers in Michigan. His father, Kinyon Johnson, was born near Smyrna, N. Y., and came to Michigan in 1836. Kinyon's father, Nathaniel Vernon Johnson, was a Rhode Islander, and served faithfully through the Revolution, returning to his farm and family at the close of the war. His mother, nee Miss Mary Potter, was born near Oswego, N. Y., and came to Michigan in 1831, living in the State six months without seeing another white woman's face, and undergoing all the privations and hardships consequent upon the settle- ment of a new country. Her father also served dur- ing the Revolution with fidelity and honor. Both parents are still living upon the old homestead in Marshall Township, enjoying the days of their de- clining years with a contentment which is the out- growth of a busy, industrious life, being now upward of 73 years old.

During a busy and eventful life, Mr. Johnson has found time to work more or less in local and State politics, having served two terms as Recorder of the

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city of Charlotte, four years and a half as Chief En- gineer of the Fire Department of that city, and was elected Alderman there in 1882 for a two years' term, resigning to move to St. Louis. At present he is Chief Engineer of the St. Louis Fire Department, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the village, to which latter place he was elected for a two years' term March 5, 1884. During 12 years, he has been a member of a volunteer fire department, ten years ago aiding in the organization of the Michigan State Firemen's Association at Battle Creek.

the portrait of Mr. Johnson may be found on page 638, and is presented with much satisfaction as a citizen and journalist of Gratiot County, as well as in his pioneer relations to the State of Michigan.

amilton Pritchard, farmer and stock-raiser, section 1, Sumner Township, was born in Gorham Township, Yates Co., N. Y., June 16, 1818, and is a son of Levi and Lydia ( Pratt) Pritchard, natives of Connecticut, of New Eng- land ancestry. The father was by occupation an iron smelter and charcoal maker, and came to Clinton County, this State, where he died in 1863. The mother died in Yates Co., N. Y., when Hamilton was two and a half years old.

When he was eight years old, the family removed to Seneca Co., N. Y., and two years later he began, while yet a young lad, the battle of life, working out by the mouth for farmers. In 1841, in Hornellsville, Steuben Co., N. Y., he was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Lucy Brown, who was born in that county in 1824. She died Jan. 16, 1863, in Isabella County, this State, having been the mother of seven children. There were four daughters and three sons, and three of the former and one of the latter are dead. The living are: Francis S., born Nov. 9, 1844; Charles H., May 24, 1848; Henry C., June 8, 1853. The deceased are : Mary H., born March 30, 1842; Martha and Martin (twins), born Aug. 26, 1857; Lucy, April 10, 1860. She was a good woman, and a fit companion to Mr. Pritchard in his strife with the sturdy forests of Michigan.

Aug. 1, 1864, he took for a second wife Mrs. Mi- nerva Hahn (nee Newville), daughter of Charles and Lucy (Corkins) Newville, natives of New England.

She was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., Aug. 21, 1836, and came with her parents to Wood Co., Ohio, when it was very sparsely settled. There she was edu- cated, and lived until her first marriage. By her first husband she has a son, Lewis, who is living with her still; and by her second, five children : George (mar- ried), Levi, Nora, William and Melita.

Mr. Pritchard is one of the pioneers of Gratiot County, having come here September, 1854. He located on 160 acres on section 1, Sumner Township, and Oct. 19, 1854, he brought his family here. He was the first person to make a permanent settlement, and his was the first family to come into the township of Sumner. There was buf one family between him and Alma, and it was on the site of Mr. D. Sulli- van's present residence. From that point he cut his own road, at a cost to him and Timothy Bordwell of a day and a half's labor. Mr. Bordwell was the sec- ond settler in the township, and is now a resident of Edmore, Montcalm County.

The third year after coming, Mr. P. raised his first crop of wheat, which he failed out on the ground. After getting it out of the straw, he hauled it in the chaff a distance of 33 miles to get it cleaned and threshed for the bread necessary to live on. He has known a neighbor to start out with a hand-sled for 100 pounds of flour, and before returning be obliged to make a new sled, the first being worn out.

lle has now a fine farm of 280 acres of land, of which 200 are nicely improved. He has a productive orchard, three acres in extent; and a comfortable residence has succeeded the log house which he suc- ceeded in raising after he and wife and four children had slept ten nights on the ground, covered with shakes laid on a pole resting on forks driven in the ground. Mr. P. is politically a National. He has held all the various school offices. Mrs. P. is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

ames Fry, farmer, section 24, Pine River Township, was born Nov. 13, 1806, in Pennsylvania, and is the son of Peter and Sarah (Chapman) Fry. He resided at home until he was 20 years old, when he engaged as a farm laborer, and spent five years in that capacity working by the month. In 1836 he rented a farm, and continued to pursue agriculture after

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that method for several years, when he bought a farm in his native State. He remained there until the spring of 1865, when he came to Gratiot County. Tle bought 280 acres of land in Pine River Town- ship. On this he resided, and carried on farming with success until 1871, when he exchanged the farm for the place where he now resides. In politi- cal views, Mr. Fry is a Republican.

He was married Sept. 9, 1829, in Pennsylvania, to Ilannah, daughter of Benjamin and Rhoda (Pruden) Wilson. Mrs. Fry was born Jan. 8, 1811, in Wash- ington Co., Pa. Her parents were natives of New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Fry have had 12 children : Sarah, Rhoda, Mary, Benjamin, Peter, David, John C., William, Eliza A., Woodruff, George W. and Elizabeth A. John died when he was six years old. The family are attendants at the Disciples' Church, of which the parents are members.

lias W. Lyon, photographer, at Ithaca, was born May 29, 1847, in Clinton Township, Essex Co., N. J. He is a son of Hervey and Elizabeth J. (Whaley) Lyon, both of whom were natives of New Jersey. His father was born July 20, 1810, in Clinton. He was a shoemaker by trade, and in 1851 removed his family to Essex Township, Clinton Co., Mich., where he bought a farm and resided until his death, which oc- curred Dec. 13, 1880. The mother resides on the homestead, which is a fine farm of 102 acres, with first-class improvements.

Mr. Lyon left home when he was 22 years of age for the purpose of fitting for the business which he has pursued thus far in life. He went to St. John's, and after a course of thorough preparation he went to several places in Michigan to prospect. In Octo- ber, 1870, he came to Ithaca and established his present business, which has been popular and pros- perous. Mr. Lyon owns his place of business and residence in Ithaca, and So acres of land on section 4, Washington Township, with 20 acres under culti- vation.

He was married Aug. 19, 1871, to Viola R., daugh- ter of Thomas L. and Anna R. (Good) Wasson. She was born Feb. 15, 1852, in Charlotteville, Niagara

Co., N. Y. Floyd R., born Sept. 15, 1880, at Ith- aca, is the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Lyon.

The maternal grandfather of Mr. Lyon was a Major in the war of 1812, and his epaulets and cap were preserved some time in the family.

As one of the representative business men and prominent citizens of Gratiot County, we take pleasure in presenting the portrait of Mr. Lyon in this Album.

oseph Wiles, Jr., farmer, section 21, New Haven Township, was born in Wayne Co., Ohio, Dec. 29, 1829. His father, Josepli Wiles, Sr., was a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent, or "Pennsylvania Dutch," and was formerly a minister in the Dunkard Church, but now a retired farmer, on section 21, New Haven Township. He came from Ohio to this State in the spring of 1855, as one of the first set- tlers in the above named township He has ever been closely identified with the religious interest of this community. He has reared 12 children, one of whom is a minister.

The subject of this sketch is the second son, sec- ond child and the eklest now living, of the above mentioned family. He lived in his native county until about 12 years of age, when the family moved to Seneca Co., Ohio. When 20 years of age he set about taking care of himself and obtaining the rudi- ments of an education. At 21 he set out as a com- mon laborer, working as such for four years. In the meantine he purchased So acres of land in Seneca Co., Ohio, making some improvements thereon pre- paratory to marriage. March 1, 1855, in Seneca Co., Ohio, Mr. Wiles was married to Lucinda E., daughter of Philip S. and Elizabeth (Countryman) Jones, na- tives of New York, the former of New England par- entage and the latter a descendant of the Mohawk Dutch. Mrs. W. was born in Danube Township, Herkimer Co., N. Y., Oct. 29, 1835. Her parents came to Ohio when she was a small girl, and she re- mained with them until her marriage. Shortly after that event they sold their property in Ohio and came to Michigan, purchasing 160 acres of wild land where they now reside. They moved here in May, 1855, and commenced the laborious and monotonous work of a pioneer, surrounded by the wild forests and an-

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imals, whose music only lends fear and silence to the inmates of the human home. The advance Mr. Wiles has since made has left the mark of progress and prosperity upon the premises, demonstrating their possessor to be a practical and shrewd farmer. He has also held nearly all the offices of his township. He is a strong Republican. Mrs. W. is a member of the Baptist Church. Their children are: William L., Angenette. Loretta A., Adelbert F. and Minnie R.

amuel McCutchean, farmer, section 5, Washington Township, is a son of James and Jane (Springer) McCutchean, natives of Pennsylvania. They followed farming, moved to Fulton Co., Ohio, and afterward to Seneca County. James McCutchean died in 1870, while visiting in Fulton County. Mrs. McCutchean died in Texas, in 1878 Samuel was born Sept. 11, 1836, in the State of Pennsylvania. At the age of 25, he left home and married Mary Anspaugh, daughter of Jonas and Catharine (Hiple) Anspaugh, natives of Stark Co., Ohio. . They moved to Williams Co., Ohio, where they resided 24 years. Both are dead. Mrs. Anspaugh died March 26, 1861, leaving 12 children, of whom Mary was the ellest.

In 1864, Mr. and Mrs. McCutchean came to this State and county, and located on 160 acres of wild land on section 5, Washington Township. He has now about 80 acres improved and in 1883 be built one of the best barns in the township, at a cost of Sr,ooo. Mr. and Mrs. McCutchean have had nine children, five of whom are living. Their names are as follows: Ella, Charles F., Amelia, Rutherford B. and Catharine. In politics Mr. McCutchean is a Re- publican.

inley Dodge, farmer on section 23, Ful- ton Township, is a son of Thomas and Jane (Wilson) Dodge. They were natives of New York, and removed to Indiana, where Mr Dodge died. His wife afterward came to Monroe, Mich.

The subject of this biographical sketch was born in the State of New York, Sept. 5. 1833 He lived

with his grandparents in Genesee Co., N. Y., until he was 16 years old, at which time he went to live with an uncle in Buffalo, N. Y. A year and a half later he returned to Genesee County, where he lived till the fall of 1858. He then came to Gratiot County, and bought So acres of wild land on section 23, Ful- ton. He has 65 acres under cultivation, and has good farm buildings.

Nov. 29, 1857, in Orleans Co., N. Y., he was mar- ried to Miss Caroline McDonald, a native of Scot- land. This marriage was blessed with seven chil- dren, of whom five survive: Mary J., Charles R., Fred. J., Cora M. and Roy J. The deceased are Mabel L. and Maggie L. Losing his first wife by death, Mr. Dodge was again married, at Maple Rap- ids, Mich , May 1, 1881, to Miss Minerva L., daugh- ter of William H. and Polly (Stafford) Kellogg. She was born in Livingston Co., Mich., Aug. 3, 1854. By this marriage, Mr. D. has one daughter, Gertrude. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and politically he is a Republican.

aniel Wiles, minister and farmer, section 21, New Haven Township, was born in Wayne Co., Ohio, Jan. 1, 1839. His par- ents left Pennsylvania, and moved to Wayne Co., Ohio, before Daniel was born. From that State they moved to Indiana and thence to Wood Co., Ohio. The parents emigrated from the latter State to this county and located on section 21, New Haven Township, where our subject remained and assisted in the care and support of the family until he attained the age of manhood.

On attaining this period in life, Mr. Wiles returned to Ohio and was united in marriage to Miss Mary, daughter of John and Catharine (Heller) Ronk, na- tives of Pennsylvania and of German descent.

She was a resident of Wood Co., Ohio, and was born in Dauphin Co., Pa., March 15, 1838, going to Ohio when quite young.

The newly married couple, immediately after marriage, returned to this State and located on sec- tion 17, this township, procuring 40 acres of land. Six years later he sold his 40 acres and purchased So acres on section 21, same township, where he has since constantly resided and of which land he has placed one half under good improvement.

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Mr. and Mrs. Wiles have three children, namely : Florentine F., Calvin D. and Benjamin E. They are both connected with the Church of God, and Mr. W. has held the Eldership of the Church for three years. He is an active worker and one whose efforts have been rewarded.

Mr. Wiles has held an official position in the School District, and is an able worker in the educational interests of his township.

Politically, Mr. W. is a believer in and supports the principles of the Republican party.

R. Wheeler. M. D., homeopathic physician and surgeon at St. Louis, was born in York, Washtenaw Co., Mich., Dec. 20, 1858. He is son of Charles and Eliza J. (Miller) Wheeler, who remained residents of York Township un- til 1872, when they removed to Ypsilanti.

Dr. Wheeler was then 14 years of age, and he be . came a pupil at the State Normal School, where he graduated in 1876. In the fall of the same year he began his professional studies at the University of Michigan, and was graduated in the department of Homeopathy with the class of 1879 He officiated one year, during his connection with the University, as Assistant to the Chair of Surgery, and was the first resident physician and surgeon who held the position at the State Homeopathic Hospital connected with the University, from its opening until Oct. 1, 1882. He was Instructor in Minor Surgery and Botany in the Homeopathie College during the years 1881-2.

The predominating characteristic of Dr. Wheeler is a love for the natural sciences, and he has devoted a large amount of time to botany. He made import- ant additions to an exhaustive list of the flora of his native county, published in 1881, among which were two species of Dicentra, one of which had been some time extinct. The fine herbarium at the Homeo- pathie College of the University was collected and arranged by Dr. Wheeler, and includes nearly every indigenous medicinal plant, together with a respect- able showing of foreign plants of like character, col- lected by exchange. In this he contributed materi- ally to the benefit of the classes, as the advantage of the specimens for practical instruction during lectures can be readily estimated. The private herbarium in

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Portrait and biographical album of Gratiot county, Mich., Part 65

Author: Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman brothers Number of Pages: 856

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 856