USA > Michigan > Isabella County > Portrait and biographical album of Isabella county, Mich., containing portraits and biographical sketches > Part 50
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Mr. Vansice came to Mt. Pleasant in March, 1876, and became the proprietor of the Bamber House. He continued its management until the spring of 1880, when he took possession of 80 acres of land he
had purchased in Union Township, a mile and a half south of the village of Mt. Pleasant. To this he has added by later purchase until he now owns 160 acres on the northwest quarter of section 27, which is in a fine agricultural condition, with 11o acres un- der cultivation, having well assorted orchards, good barns, fine house and other creditable farm fixtures. He also holds a lease of ten acres of land adjoining the corporation of Mt. Pleasant, on which he has set out all the best varieties of peach-trees.
The hotel in which he is established be bought in the fall of 1880. It is arranged for the accommoda- tion of about 40 guests, and has good stables attached. The structure and other buildings occupy four lots. Mr. Vansice owns, besides, a residence and six lots at St. John's. While a resident of that place he served 18 months as Deputy Sheriff of Clinton Coun- ty and in various village and township offices. He is a member of the Order of Masonry.
He was married in November, 1852, in Monroe Co., N. Y., to Laura L., daughter of Harry and Clarissa Olmstead. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Vansice, in the following order: Harriet (deceased); Sidney A., residing at Mt. Pleas- ant; James N. (deceased); Clara, Mrs. Thomas Samson, of Mt. Pleasant; Laura, wife of Warren Taylor, a farmer of Chippewa Township; Franklin (deceased) ; Charles, Dora and Eva.
amuel Kennedy, farmer and lumberman on section 20, Coe Township, is a son of Junius and Nancy (Reid) Kennedy, natives of County Down, Ireland, and he also was born in that county, on Easter Sunday, 1823. He was eight years old when the family came to America, and he lived at home most of the time until 25 years of age. When 19, however, he began work in a saw-mill in Carroll Co., Ohio, and he has been engaged in milling ever since with the exception of four years. Ile came to this county in the spring of 1863, and bought So acres on section 20, Coe. In 1875 he built the fine frame house he now occupies. He has 45 acres under cultivation.
Ile was married in Carroll Co., Ohio, April 30, 1849, to Mary, daughter of Stephen and Rebecca (Leslie) West. She was born in Carroll Co., Ohio,
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May 16, 1828, and is the mother of three children,- James M. R., Stephen S. S. and A. Denight.
Mr. K. has been Supervisor of Coe one year. He is now Sexton of the Salt River Cemetery. He was superintendent of the building of the court-house at Mt. Pleasant, and clerk of the building committee. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and F. & A. M. He has been a Republican, but is now a supporter of the Prohibition party. He and wife are members of the Christian Church.
illiam I. Cutler, real-estate, loan, abstract and insurance agent, at Mt. Pleasant, was born Jan. 16, 1853, in the township of Adams, Hillsdale Co., Mich., and is a son of William and Esther (Van Auken) Cutler. His father was a farmer in the State of New York, whence he emigrated in an early period and became one of the first pioneer settlers of Adams Township, where he died, July 9, 1869. The mother is a resident of Hillsdale.
Mr. Cutler was reared on a farm and attended the common schools until he was 16 years of age, when he became a student at Hillsdale College, where he studied one year in the commercial department and a second year in the classical course. In 1873 he went to St. John's, Clinton County, where he obtained a position in the First National Bank as clerk. He officiated in that capacity 13 months, when he en- tered the real-estate office of Cutler & Walker. The senior member of the firm was his brother, and he remained in their service about a year and a half. In 1877 he came to Mt. Pleasant, and obtained the position of teller in the banking house of Hicks, Bennett & Co. He discharged the duties of the po- sition eight months, and on the first day of Decem- ber, 1878, he opened his office. He became asso- ciated with D. Scott Partridge April 1, 1882, and the relation continued to exist until Dec. 1, 1883, when Mr. Partridge withdrew.
Mr. Cutler represents the following named fire in- surance companies : Germania, Underwriters' In- surance Co. of North America, Detroit Fire & Marine, and the Cooper of Dayton, Ohio. He effects loans on real estate, buys and sells property on commission, and is operating with gratifying results. He has
built an attractive cottage of the Queen Anne order of architecture, in " Kinney's Addition;" and he also owns two farms in Isabella County, -80 acres on section 8 of Chippewa Township, and 40 acres on section 35, Nottawa Township. He is a member of the blue lodge, Masonic Order, and in the years 1880-1, he served as Clerk of Union Township.
Mr. Cutler's marriage with Mary Lynch, daughter of John and Elizabeth Lynch, took place Jan. 16, 1879, at Mt. Pleasant. She is a native of London, Ont. The family circle now includes one child, Es- ther J., born Oct. 18, 1879.
S ilas Fosgitt, farmer on section 33, Chippe- wa Township, is a son of Silas and Abigail (Weymouth) Fosgitt, natives of the State of New York and the Province of Nova Scotia. The parents lived first near Rochester. N. Y., then in Monroe County, same state, and in 1835 they removed to Oakland County, this State, where they died, he Sept. 22, 1841, and she July 15, 1850. Their family numbered three: Abigail, Elias and Silas. The two latter were twins, and were born in Avon, Livingston Co., N. Y., May 31, 1818.
The subject of this biography was 17 years old when his parents removed to this State. He received a common-school education and made his home with his parents until 23 years of age. He then worked out for two years, and then, his father having died, he carried on the farm for an equal period, when it was sold. He next returned to Monroe Co., N. Y., and three years later came to Oakland County again, where he bought a farm. This was his home for five years, when he sold, and worked a farm on shares in Calhoun County four years. In January, 1857, he came to this county and settled on 160 acres in Chip- pewa, bought under the Graduation Act at 50 cts. per acre, in 1855. He at once built a log house and set out to clear his farm, which was covered by a dense. forest. Maple Rapids, Clinton County, was his nearest trading point. He has since disposed of 80 acres, and has 50 acres improved.
He was married in Monroe Co., N. Y., Nov. 14, 1842, to Lydia, daughter of Robert and Susan (Broadley) Carver, natives of Vermont. Mr. and Mrs.
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Carver removed to New York, where she died, in Monroe County, July 2, 1839. He removed to Cal- houn Co., Mich., about 1850, and died Dec. 5, 1858. Mrs. Fosgitt was born in Rupert, Vt., Dec. 7, 1822. Of six children born to Mr. and Mrs. F., three sur- vive, Abbie, William W. and Cynthia. The de- ceased were Robert, Sophia and an infant.
The parents are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. Politically he is a Republican.
evi S. Smith, farmer, section 26, Coldwater Township, was born April 23, 1831, in the town of Fairfield, Harrison Co., Ohio. His parents, Hiram and Betsey E. (Longley) Smith, were both natives of the State of New York. In 1837 they emigrated to Allen Co., Ind., where the father purchased a farm, which he sold two years later and bought a tract of Government land in De Kalb Co., Ind., where he remained eight years, sold out and removed to Lenawee Co., Mich., in 1847. He purchased a farm and Mr. Smith remained as his father's assistant until he was 21 years old.
On attaining his majority, he engaged by the month as a farm laborer about three years, when he fitted himself for the trade of a builder, to which he de- voted the next 17 years without intermission. When he was about 22 years old, he bought 80 acres of Government land in Montcalm County, 13 miles north of Ionia, which he sold not long after in the same original state in which it was at the date of purchase. May 2, 1859, he started for the West, and went through Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and then, commencing May 20, traversed the length of the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge, thence up the Red River, which he followed into Texas, where early in July he engaged in freighting from Shreve- port, La., to Sulphur Springs, in the Lone Star State, a distance of 225 miles. He remained there until the last of October, 1860, and during the time he made the longest journey of his life on foot, walking from Sulphur Springs to Gaines' Landing on the Mississippi River, 333 miles, occupying 10 days on the journey.
He returned from Texas to Hudson, Lenawee Co., Mich., where he engaged in working at his trade. Ile bought a house and lot, and resided there be-
tween six and seven years, when he removed to Coldwater Township, Isabella County, reaching here in January, 1868. He took up his residence on land which he had entered under the provisions of the Homestead Act, Dec. 6, 1866. On this he resided until June, 1876, when he sold the property and bought the farm where he has since resided. It in- cludes 80 acres, 70 acres of which are cleared and improved. Mr. Smith is a Republican in his politi- cal connections, and has been Justice of the Peace and School Assessor. He has been a member of the Order of Odd Fellows, but has withdrawn from active membership in the fraternity.
He was married Dec. 2, 1856, to Fannie M., daughter of Warren J. and Melinda Louisa (Ells- worth) Ashley. Her parents were born respectively in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and are both deceased. Mr. Smith was born May 4, 1840. Of her marriage to Mr. Smith, eight children have been born, as follows: Perry L., Dec. 9, 1857 ; Warner A., March 17, 1862; Wallace D., May 11, 1864 (died Feb. 24, 1865); Florence R., Nov. 18, 1867 ; Clarence E., Jan. 27, 1870; Milo J., Dec. 17, 1871 ; Clara M., July 28, 1873 (died Aug. 25, 1873); Bur- nett L., Sept. 7, 1878.
ichael Devereaux, an attorney at law and Justice of the Peace of Mt. Pleasant, was born Jan. 17, 1845, in the township of Irondequoit, Monroe Co., N. Y., about 8 miles from the city of Rochester. His parents, Patrick and Mary (Conklin) Devereaux, came to Michigan in 1845, settling on a new farm of 40 acres in Osceola Township, Livingston County, which the father had purchased at a previous period. The family continued to reside there until 1855, when they removed to Deerfield Township in the same county and settled upon a farm of 80 acres, where the mother died in November, 1858, leaving a family of six children. In 1859 they removed to the town- ship of Hartland in the same county, where the father, now about 70 years old, still continues to reside.
The subject of this sketch, when but ten years old, met with an accident, cutting one of his knees while making a hand sleigh, in such a way that it unfitted
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him for farm work. His father then exerted himself to keep him in school, so that he might fit himself for some trade or profession. Mr. D. attended the common schools until he was about 18 years of age, when he became a student at the private semin- ary of Mrs. P. C. Dayfoot, in Howell, Livingston County. After a year of study there he spent some time at the Howell union school and then com- menced teaching. His first teaching was in a district school in Osceola Township, where his father first settled. After this he taught the village school at Fowlerville, in the same county, for one winter, and also had charge of the village school of Zilwaukee, in Saginaw County, for one year.
He had an ambition for a more liberal education, and having earned sufficient money to prosecute his studies further, he went to the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, where he studied two years in the classical course. He then received an appointment as Princi- pal of the union school at Ontonagon on Lake Superior, the school having at that time a corps of four teachers. He continued its management for five years, and in the fall of 1874 left the field of teaching and entered the Law Department of the University an Ann Arbor, where he graduated with the Centennial Class of 1876, and in May of the same year came to Mt. Pleasant and formed a part- nership with S. W. Hopkins for the practice of the profession. This relation existed until November, 1878, when his associate was elected to represent the county in the Legislature, and in the same month Mr. Devereaux was elected Prosecuting Attorney of the county, by a majority of 171 votes over his Re- publican competitor, Dr. S. C. Brown, himself and the Sheriff, Charles M. Brooks, being the only ones elected on the Democratic ticket.
In May, 1882, he entered into his present business relation, under the firm name of Hance & Devereaux, for the transaction of a general real-estate and loan business. They also deal in lumber, in connection with the regular business of their office, their interests in that branch being situated in Midland County, where, with Charles Stirling, they own the timber on 2,000 acres of land. Their logs are put into Salt River, and from there into the Chippewa and run to Saginaw.
During the summer of 1883 Messrs. Hance & Devereaux built the fine business block where their
office is located. It is of brick, 45 x 90 feet in dimen- sions and two stories high above the basement. The first story is devoted to mercantile business, while the second is utilized for offices. Mr. Devereaux is actively interested in the educational interests of the county, being at present Chairman of the Board of County School Examiners, and he has also been Secretary of the School Board since 1877.
The portrait of Mr. Devereaux is given on another page.
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oshua J. Upton, farmer on section 17, Coe Township, is a son of Joshua and Priscilla (Taggart) Upton. The parents were natives of Peterborough, N. H., where they lived until about ten years after marriage. They then lived one year in Warren Co., Pa., and then re- moved to Chautauqua Co., N. Y., where they resided the remainder of their lives. He died in December, 1870, and she in the spring of 1878. The nine mem- bers of the family were named Priscilla, Albert, John A., James M., Joshua J., George W., William H., Thon.as J. and Mary P.
The subject of this biographical notice, the fourth son, was born in Peterborough, N. H. Jan. 8, 1832, and was an infant of one year when his parents re- moved to Pennsylvania, and two years old when the family settled in New York. He received the ele- ments of a common English education in the dis- trict schools of his neighborhood, and worked on his father's farm until 21 years old. He then began to work at the capenter's trade, which he followed most of the time ten years. In February, 1864, he bade adieu to the Empire State, and, selecting Isabella County as his future home, bought So acres of land in Coe Township, where he has since resided, and on which he has erected a creditable residence and other buildings. In connection with farming, he has worked at carpentry, and has built or assisted to build many buildings in the vicinity of Salt River. He has improved about 36 acres of his home farm, and owns in the township 157 acres, 1 1 3 of which are improved.
He was married in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., Sept. 29, 1862, to Wealthy M., daughter of Elijah and Samantha (Wilkins) Moore, natives of Chautauqua
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Co., N. Y. Mrs. U. was born in Crawford Co., Pa., July 31, 1842. Myrtie B., Lola L., Jedde L. and Iva P. S. are the four younger members of the family circle.
Mr. Upton has been Township Clerk one year, and School Inspector. He is a director of the Farm- ers' Mutual Insurance Company of Gratiot and Isa- bella Counties. Politically, he is an ardent and influential member of the National party. Being an anti-monopolist, he is a believer in railroad competi- tion as a legitimate agent in developing a new coun- try, and he is largely interested in the proposed To. ledo & Ann Arbor line through this county. He is very liberal in his religious views, and does not hesi- tate to denounce priestcraft as a cloud over human progress.
lbert A. Preston, residing at Mt. Pleasant, is a son of William and Mary (Fisk) Pres= ton. The former was born in Stratford, Vt., June 28, 1803, and the latter in the same locality Jan. 31, 1806. They were married Sept. 7, 1824, and were blessed with nine children, of whom five are now not living. The survivors are the following: Albert A .; Ellen L., wife of Samuel Woodworth, veterinary surgeon at Mt. Pleasant (she taught the first school at Mt. Pleas- ant, while her husband was absent in the army); Wallace W., now County Treasurer; and Althea M., wife of Hon. Isaac A Fancher, of Detroit. The de- ceased were Sarah E., wife of John Fuller; Mary A., second wife of John Fuller; Walter Scott; Celia E., wife of E. H. Bradley, of Mt. Pleasant ( their marriage, the first in Mt. Pleasant, was celebrated Oct. 10, 1865); and Emma A., wife of Albert Fox, who was at one time editor of the Isabella County Enter- prise.
Mrs. Mary (Fisk) Preston's father was born at Boscawen, N. H., April 18, 1773, and her mother was born at Newbury, Mass., May 28, 1777. They were married June 22, 1795, and of their nine children three are yet living,-Mary, mother of Albert A .; Ephraim, a farmer in Geneva, Kan .; Levinda II., wife of Josiah Beckwith, a farmer of Buchanan Township, Berrien County, this State.
William Preston's father, Robert G., was born Aug.
12, 1766 ; and mother, Hannah, nee Brown, Dec. 6, 1770. They were married at Chester, N. II., May TT, 1786, and were the parents of 14 children,-John, Robert G. (first), an unnamed infant daughter, Will- iam (first), Roswell, Edward, Oliver W., Hannah, William (second), Hazen, Almira, Eunice, Robert G. (second) and Royal.
Robert G. Preston's parents (Albert A.'s great- grandparents), Edward and Edna (Greenough), were married Jan. 27, 1763. Their six children were Moses, Robert, Edna, Molly, Edward and an infant not named.
The subject of this biography was born in Strafford Township, Orange Co., Vt., Aug. 16, 1827, and was reared on a farm. When he was eight years old (1835) his family moved to Bethany Township, Gen- esee Co., N. Y .; and in 1839 they again moved, to Java Township, Wyoming County, where his father bought 100 acres. Here Albeit developed into man- hood, having attended school most of the winters of his youth.
In the spring of 1855 he moved to Sauk Co., Wis., returning in the fall of the same year to New York. In May, 1862, he came to this State and settled in what is now Lincoln Township, Isabella County, homesteading 160 acres of timbered land on section 2. At that time his nearest market was St. John's, 48 miles away. He has given his son Wilbur 60 acres, and now owns 100 acres. Of the whole farm, he cleared roo acres. It was at first difficult to get lumber, and he had a bark roof, which let in the rain profusely, often saturating his bed and clothing. After getting in his first crop, however, he found time to construct a roof of shakes, which he split from the surrounding pines. Deer were plentiful, -- also bear. His first team of horses were brought from New York State when he first came. His route was by lake to Detroit, thence by wagon via St. John's to his new home. The roads were muddy, the wheels were often in the mud to the axle, and he was five and a half days in making the trip.
Mr. P.'s parents came to Mt. Pleasant in February, 1864. On account of the illness of his father, Mr. Preston moved to Mt. Pleasant in the fall of 1881, and he cared for his father until the latter's death, Nov. 10, 1881. His present residence was the first frame house in Mt. Pleasant, and was built by Dr. Burt. Mr. Preston helped build many
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of the first buildings in the village, including the three first stores.
He was married in Java Township, Wyoming Co., N. Y., April 13, 1851, to Miss Martha Nichols, daughter of George and Mary Nichols, who was born in Keene, N. H., April 16, 1833. Of five chil- dren given to Mr. and Mrs. P., four survive. The record is as follows : Mary E., born in Java Dec. 15, 1852, and now the wife of Arthur B. Caldwell, a farmer of Fremont Township, this county (she has had three children,-Lillian (deceased), Genie and Alice); Wilbur E., born Oct.21,, 1854, now a farmer on sec- tion 2, Lincoln Township, and married to Marilla Abbott ; Alice, born Feb. 20, 1860, now the wife of William Atkins, farmer of Coe Township; and Wendell B., born Dec. 16, 1867, and now living at home. David D. was born May 19, 1863, and died when three and a half years old.
B enjamin Wing, farmer on section 33, Chippewa Township, is a son of Benjamin and Bathsheba (Tobey) Wing. natives of Best Hampshire and Franklin Counties, Mass. The parents settled in Hawley, Mass., where they lived till the father's death, March 1, 1835. The mother died while on a visit to Kansas, Oct. 17, 1871. Their children numbered four,- Elizabeth M., Sarah, Benjamin and Bathsheba T.
The subject of this sketch, the only son of his parents, was born in Hawley, Mass., March 20, 1832, and received the rudiments of an English education in the common schools, attending also one term at the Sanderson Academy at Ashfield, Mass. Losing his father when three years old, he lived with his mother until 21 years of age. He then worked out by the month for four years, when he bought a farm in Ashfield, Franklin Co., Mass. This he tilled until 1869, when he sold and removed to De Kalb Co., Mo. He bought a farm there, but not meeting with the success he expected, he sold out, and in the fall of 1875 came to Isabella County and bought 40 acres of wild land on section 33, to which. he has since added 60 acres. He has 80 acres under cultivation. He was married in llawley, Mass., May 22, 1860, to Hannah M., daughter of Clark and Emeline
(Kelly) Sears, natives of Franklin Co., Mass. Mrs. Wing was born in West Hawley, June 22, 1839. The four children added to the household are Walter S., Wallace B., Lizzie G. and Clara E.
Mr. Wing has been Supervisor of Chippewa three years, and School Director several terms. Politically, he is a staunch Republican. He and wife adhere to the faith of the Universalist Church.
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ames Davis, stave manufacturer, resident at Mt. Pleasant, was born Dec. 27, 1847, in Oxford Co., Can. His parents, Thomas and Catherine (Rourke) Davis, are both deceased. Mr. Davis was reared on his father's farm, and in 1867 went to Green Bay District, Wis- consin, where he engaged four years in lumbering. In the spring of 1872 he came to Tuscola, Mich., where he established himself in the stave business. He spent some time subsequently in Clare County, Mich., and in 1878 came to Mt. Pleasant and founded his present establishment. He moved his family hither in 1879. His business relations afford em- ployment for a force of assistants numbering from 75 to 125 men. He ships his products chiefly to Quebec and New York. He manufactures yearly from 100,000 to 200,000 hand-made Canada Pipe staves.
Mr. Davis was married Nov. 3, 1879, at East Sag- inaw, to Mary, daughter of James and Mary Sweeney. She was born May 20, 1857, in Ireland. Three daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis, as follows: Mary C., Aug. 12, 1880; Margaret L., Sept. 23, 1881 ; Helen E., Sept. 1, 1883.
charles W. Sawyer, farmer on section 16, Coe, is a son of Charles 1). and Mary (Covey) Sawyer, natives of Vermont. The parents emigrated first to New York, then to Illinois, and three years later to Michigan, locating in Barry County. In 1864 they came to Isabella County and settled in Coe Township, where they lived till their death. The mother de-
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parted this life June 20, 1869, and the father Jan. 1, 1879.
The subject of this sketch, their second son, was born in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Sept. 20, 1842, and lived with his parents, following them in their several removes, until the death of his mother in 1869. He learned the carpenter's trade of his father, which oc- cupation he has followed a small portion of the time since. He was for one year at Salt River a clerk for Aaron Wessels, but he has been principally engaged in agriculture. In 1865 he bought 40 acres of land on section 16, and he now has 25 acres under culti- vation.
He was married in Coe Township, April 3, 1870, to Louisa C., daughter of Richard and Louisa (Gleason) Hoy, and adopted daughter of Dunham D. and Mary A. Burnham. Mrs. Sawyer was born in Colchester, Vt., Oct. 27, 1850. Of three children born to Mr. and Mrs. S., two died in infancy. The surviving one is Richard R., born Jan. 15, 1878. Mrs. Sawyer died at her home in Coe, Oct. 10, 1878.
Mr. S. supports the principles of the Republican party, is a Freemason, and has been Township Treasurer two years.
oseph Myers, farmer on section 21, Coe Township, is a son of Michael and Eve (McCoy) Myers, natives of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The parents first settled in the Keystone State and afterwards removed to Stark Co., Ohio, and thence to DeKalb Co., Ind. In the fall of 1855, they came to this county, where the mother died. The father afterwards went to Williams Co., Ohio, where he died, in May, 1866.
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