USA > Michigan > Newaygo County > Portrait and biographical album of Newaygo County, Michigan : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county also containing a complete history of the county, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 39
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Mr. Surplice was married in Newaygo, July 11, 1870, to Libby, daughter of Samuel and Lucinda Davie, born in Allegany Co., N. Y., in March, 1851. Of this marriage two children have been born, as follows: Cora H., Aug. 35, 1871, and George S., Nov. 12, 1873. Mr. Surplice is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows.
orace Warren, Postmaster and merchant at Alleyton, was born in Wayne Co., Mich., Oct. 27, 1836. His parents, Chancellor C. and Laura A. (Carlton) Warren, were natives respectively of the State of New York and Ohio. They became residents of Wayne Co., Mich., and afterwards of Newaygo County, where the father died, in 1879. The mother is still living with her children.
Mr. Warren was married at the age of 24 years, when he bought 120 acres of land in Newaygo County, mostly in a wild state. He continued to improve this for seven years, when he rented the property and embarked in a mercantile enterprise at Ætna, where he operated two years. In September, 1872, he opened his present establishment at Alley- ton, and with the exception of three years he has conducted the same. During the time mentioned he was engaged in farming and teaming. He received the appointment of Postmaster at Alleyton under President Arthur. In politics he is a Republican and has held the position of Treasurer of Everett Town-
ship two and a half years, has been Clerk three years, Justice of the Peace four years, and in July, 1883, was appointed Notary Public. He is a mem- ber of the Order of Masons.
He was married in Denver Township, Nov. 10, 1862, to Elizabeth Ann, daughter of Herman and Charlotte (Keirstead) Forbes, natives respectively of Canada and New Brunswick. Mrs. Warren was born in Canada, March 22, 1838. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Warren are: Maria S., Ida C., Au- gustus L. and Ralph E.
8 enjamin Carpenter, farmer, section 31, Big Prairie Township, was born Aug. 7, 1836, in Ontario, Canada, and is the son of Asa P. and Margaret (Ulman) Carpenter. (See sketch.) He accompanied his parents to Michigan in 1853. They settled in Cro- ton Township, and he continued to reside with them until his marriage, obtaining a fair common-school education and employed in farm labor. After his marriage he remained in Croton Township a year, when (in 1867) he went to Morley and was in the employment of Nelson Higbee 15 months. At the expiration of that time he went to Ionia County and bought a farm, containing 40 acres of land. On this he resided six years, rented the place and went to North Plains Center in the same county, where he was resident two years, going thence to Ionia. Six months later he sold his farm and removed to Newaygo County, where he settled on 80 acres of land in Big Prairie, given him by his father. It is all well improved, and under advanced cultivation, with good buildings.
Mr. Carpenter was a soldier of the civil war and belonged to Co. K, Third Mich. Vol. Inf. He served three years, the full time of his enrollment, and was discharged July 20, 1864. He was shot across his mouth and thereby suffered the loss of his teeth; and contracted rheumatism, by which he is yet, at inter- vals, disabled. He was in some of the most promi- nent battles of the war. In political connection he is a Republican.
Mr. Carpenter was married April 12, 1866, to Sarah F., daughter of Benjamin F. and Laura M.
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(Goodwin) Higbee. She was born Nov. 13, 1842, in Ionia, Mich. Her father was born in 1818 at Bing- hamton, N. Y .; her mother is a native of the city of Utica, N. Y. The one was of English parentage, the other of German descent; both are yet alive. Laura E., Maggie E., Frank L. and Edwin Ralph, the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, are all living.
ames Monroe Gibbs, farmer, lumberman and general manager in the lumber inter- ests of G. W. Crawford, resides at White Cloud and manages his agricultural affairs on section 13, Wilcox Township. He was born in Troy, Oakland Co., Mich., Oct. 10, 1825. His parents, Calvin and Deborah (Shaw) Gibbs, were natives of Connecticut and settled near Pontiac, Oakland County, in 1821, where they engaged in farming, and resided until Oct. 5, 1822, when the father died. The mother afterward married Calvin Marvin, of Troy, and resided in that township until 1835, when they settled in Clinton County. She died there Feb. 9, 1873.
Mr. Gibbs was under the care of his step-father until he was 13 years of age, when he began work as a carpenter. Two years later he commenced opera- tions as a cooper and followed that vocation four years. He came to Newaygo County in 1850, and pre-empted 120 acres of land in Big Prairie Town- ship. He cleared and otherwise improved 80 acres, and resided thereon until 1872, when he moved to White Cloud. He built the first residence erected in that village, and operated as foreman in the lumber mill of of S. N. Wilcox. He continued in the posi- tion four years, when he engaged in locating land until the spring of 1879, since which time he has been operating in the interests of Mr. Crawford.
Mr. Gibbs was married Oct. 10, 1848, to Fannie J., daughter of William and Mahala (Willy) Utley. She was born April 30, 1830, in Plymouth, Mich. Her parents were natives of Vermont. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs are six in number : Fred, Flora, William U., Minnie M., Ettie M. and Otie. Addie D. is deceased.
ohn R. Wonch, farmer, section 21, Croton Township, was born in Ontario, or "Cana- da West," Jan. 8, 1850. He is of mixed German and French descent, his father, F. S. B. Wonch, having belonged to the former na- tionality and his mother, Francis (Lefraugh) Wonch, to the latter. Their births occurred in On- tario in 1829 and 1831 respectively.
Mr. Wonch began his independent career at the age of 25, and in 1875 came to Croton, where he has since resided, on the parental farm, which is held as yet undivided by the heirs. He is an adherent to the principles of the National party. His employ- ment, most of his life, has been that of an agricul- turist, save three years, when he served an appren- ticeship at the harness-maker's trade, upon which he entered at the age of 16 years.
He was married Dec. 19, 1877, at Howard City, Montcalm County, to M. Louisa, daughter of Mat- thias T. and Mary A. (Backart) Kline. The father was born in New York in 1827 and resides with his daughter. The mother was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, in 1832, and died in 1873, in Croton Town- ship. The issue of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wonch are two children, Frances Adaline and Mat- tie Lulu.
& yrus Moon, farmer, section 17, Big Prai- rie Township, was born May 20, 1832, in the State of New York, and is the son of James and Susannah (Pool) Moon. The father was born Dec. 6, 1784, in the State of New York, and died in 1869. The mother was of Welsh parentage and was born Oct. 20, 1789, in Vermont, and died May 12, 1871, in Otisco, Ionia County. Their marriage occurred Aug. 7, 1808.
Mr. Moon came with his parents to Jackson Co., Mich., when he was in earliest youth. They located near the present site of the city of Jackson, where they resided three years, after which they went to Otisco, Ionia County. The family remained there resident until 1862. In that year Mr. Moon came
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yours truly Ges & Taylora
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to Big Prairie, located his farm of 40 acres and built a house. After a residence of one year he returned to Ionia County and passed the next year with his parents, coming back at the expiration of that time to his property in Newaygo County, where he stayed two years. After a year spent in Minnesota, he passed a similar period in Allegan County, after which he made a permanent settlement in Big Prai- rie, where he has since devoted his time to farming. He is a Republican and has officiated as Township Treasurer and in other minor offices; is present sex- ton of Big Prairie Cemetery.
Mr. Moon has been twice married. His first wife was Electa French, to whom he was married in Or- leans, Ionia County, in 1856. One child-Arminda -was born March 10, 1858. The mother died April 30, 1866. Mr. Moon was a second time mar- ried, Sept. 8, 1866, in Big Prairie, to 'Mary B. Nye, One child -- Laura N .- was born Oct. 10, 1867. Mrs. Moon was born April 20, 1828, in Rochester, Mass., and is the daughter of Ezekiel and Abigail (Cole) Nye. Of her father little is known save that he was born in Rochester, of French lineage, and was a sailor. He set out on his last voyage in De- cember, 1827, before the birth of his daughter; neither ship nor crew was ever heard from. Mrs. Nye was born in Rochester, July 27, 1796, of Scotch parentage, and is yet alive.
eorge E. Taylor, Register of Deeds of Newaygo County, residing at Newaygo, was born in Quincy, Branch Co., Mich., March 22, 1844, and is the eldest son of Hollis R. and Hannah (Howell) Taylor. His grand- parents were Joseph and Philena Taylor. His paternal great-grandfather, Charles Taylor, came from England in 1781, settled at Harvard, Mass., and was a soldier in the war of 1812. Hollis Taylor was born June 12, 1814, in Danville, Vt., came to Michi- gan in 1832, and was married May 30, 1842, to Hannah Howell, born May 13, 1825, at Hartland, Niagara Co., N. Y.
Mr. Taylor was reared and educated on a farm. As a boy he had all the activity and restless impulses of that inexplicable class of humanity, and
the outbreak of the Southern Rebellion, with all its attendant tumultuous discussion, aroused all his activities and seemed to promise a scope for the ex- ercise of his unrest and the gratification of the laudable ambition of his young manhood to be up and doing in the world's work. He enlisted in the fall of 1861 in the 8th Mich. Inf., but, being only a few months past his 17th birthday, parental authority interfered and he found himself relegated to the "ignominy " of rural life in Kent County, where his parents resided. In February, 1862, he again en- rolled as a soldier in defense of the assaulted flag of the Nation, enlisting in the 3d Mich. Inf., and again he was baffled in his desires. Aug. 9, following, he enlisted in the 21st Mich. Inf., and when his regi- ment went to the front he went with it in all the glory of the regulation blue and buttons bearing the National brand. He enrolled in Co. B., under Capt. Jas. Cavanaugh, and was in the service three years. Among numerous engagements where he was in action were those of Perryville and Stone River. He was captured by the rebels at the latter fight, and was in "durance vile" about ten months, and during that period was chiefly on parole. On the seventh of October, 1862, while undergoing a long, forced march, he received a sunstroke which resulted in an affec- tion of the optic nerve, producing impaired eyesight, which disability has continued and gradually in- creased until his sense of sight is limited to a mere ability to discriminate between light and darkness.
Mr. Taylor was mustered out of the service of the United States in June, 1865, and returned to Grand Rapids. He at once turned his attention to securing an education, and attended school in that city and afterwards completed a course of business study at the commercial college there. His studies finished, he spent a few years in the pursuit of agriculture.
His succeeding business of any marked importance was as teacher, his entire period of work in that capacity comprising 27 terms of school, 18 of which were taught in Kent County, and two of these in the Coldbrook School at Grand Rapids. In Novem- ber, 1874, he came to Newaygo and taught seven terms. He also taught two terms of school in Muske- gon County.
In the year 1878, Mr. Taylor was elected Regis- ter of Deeds of Newaygo County, and has held the incumbency since. He is a most efficient and valu-
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able officer from his ability and memory, which latter qualification is phenomenal. He has become so familiar with the duties of his office and the attend- ant detail that he can locate the precise position of any piece of real estate within his jurisdiction with- out reference to the records. In September, 1879, he began to compile a set of abstracts for the county of Newaygo, which are now nearly completed.
It is sometimes difficult to determine the exact de- gree and quality of the influence which make or mar the careers of men. Some seem essentially the re- sult of circumstances, so hopelessly are they entan- gled in the web of an inevitable destiny. They be- come so involved by events over which they have no control that choice or will is completely overborne thereby, and they float to irremediable disaster on a remorseless tide. Others preserve identity and the purposes of their manhood under all pressure. In presenting the portrait of Mr. Taylor, which appears on another page, the likeness of a man appears who yet retains all the attributes that have characterized every act of his life, though suffering from an affliction which commonly destroys men's usefulness and cour- age. His near approach to total blindness, though keenly felt in all its cost of enjoyment and. labor, has not limited his aspirations, business or social rela- tiens ; has left his courage undaunted, his cheerful- ness unabated and the hopes and ambitions of his manhood unassailed. He is as well informed, intel- lectual and as ardently interested in current affairs as other men. His selection for the responsible po- sition he occupies is a well deserved tribute to the man and a credit to his constituency. He is a mem- ber of the Order of Odd Fellows and of the Grand Army of the Republic, Samuel Judd Post. In ad- dition to the duties of his office he has other busi- ness interests of no insignificant character, and is the owner of some valuable property in the village of Newaygo.
illiam J. Peacock, farmer and lumber- man, on section 32, Garfield Township, was born July 22, 1848, in Dunham, Province of Quebec, and is a son of Richard and Martha M. Peacock. (See sketch.)
Mr. Peacock came to Michigan with his parents in 1863, and remained with them until he became of age; when he turned his attention to the
leading vocations of Newaygo County, lumbering and farming, both of which branches of business he is prosecuting vigorously and successfully. He is a Republican in political affiliation.
Mr. Peacock was married July 4, 1872, to Melsene Dormire, and three children born of their union are living, namely : Stephen W., born March 12, 1874; Sarah M., June 7, 1878; and Arthur L., Nov. 28, 1881. Mrs. Peacock was born April 4, 1855, in Williams Co., Ohio. Her father, John Dormire, was born in Indiana and died Nov. 10, 1881, in Newaygo County. Her mother, Sarah Dormire, was born in Michigan and resides at Kalamazoo.
andrew T. Squier, lumberman, residing at Grant Station, Ashland Township, was born Feb. 22, 1832, in Washington Co., N. Y. His parents, John and Mary (Lampman) Squier, were natives of the same county, and descend- ants from English and Dutch ancestors. They removed, in 1841, to Monroe Co., N. Y., and located on a farm. In the fall of 1848, they came to Michigan, settling near Coldwater, Branch County.
In January, 1850, Mr. Squier came to Newaygo County, where he has since, with the exception of a comparatively brief interval, devoted his attention and abilities to lumbering. He spent three terms at school at Girard, Branch Co., Mich., and afterward attended Eastman's Business College at Chicago to complete his education. With that interruption he has devoted himself to the exclusive pursuit of his business interests in Newaygo County. In 1872 he made a permanent location in Ashland Township, where he is prosecuting the various departments of lumbering, including the management of a saw and shingle mill at Grant Station, which has a capacity of producing daily 20,000 feet of lumber and 30,000 shingles. He also owns 900 acres of land in Ne- waygo County, 600 of which is stocked with pine and not yet changed from its primitive state.
Mr. Squier is a Democrat in political sentiment and action. He is a prominent member of the Masonic bodies of Newaygo, belonging to the Royal Arch Chapter and Blue Lodge, No 331. In the latter he holds the position of Treasurer. He has been the
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incumbent of most of the official positions in his town- ship; has been Supervisor seven years in Ashland and Bridgeton Townships, and School Inspector many terms. He was married Nov. 24, 1870, at Dowagiac, Mich., to Myra L., daughter of A. L. and Myra (Fair) Rich. She was born Aug. 24, 1845, in Macomb Co., where her parents were married. They came of New England origin, and were descendants from Eng- lish and Scotch-Irish ancestors. When the daugh- ter was 14 years old, the family removed to Will Co., Ill , and in the spring of 1869 returned to Michigan, locating in Cass County. The record of the five chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Squier is as follows: Cora L., Nov. 10, 1871 ; Laura N., Feb. 22, 1874; Andrew T., May 12, 1876 ; Alice L., Jan 5, 1879 (died Sept. 14, 1881) ; an infant, born Oct, 3, 1882, died five days afterwards.
illiam Martin, one of the pioneers of Newaygo County, was born in Richfield, Otsego Co., N. Y., Jan. 7, 1814; and is the son of Elijah and Mary Martin, natives of Connecticut. Elijah Martin was a farmer, and had a family of seven daughters and one son. The latter, the youngest of the family, was William, the subject of this sketch. Leaving home at the age of 25, he engaged in farming in Steuben and Allegany Counties, successively. In 1852, he came to Michigan and lived one year in Clinton, Lenawee County. He then went across the plains to California, via Oregon, driving four yoke of oxen attached to a " prairie schooner." He passed one winter in Oregon, and two years in California, and then returned to Lenawee Co., Mich. After a short stay, he took his family to Iowa and Illinois, in search of land; but found that all the desirable Government land had been taken. Retracing his route, he purchased an ox team at Kalamazoo and came to Newaygo, in June, 1856. Until the follow- ing January, he kept boarders in the village of Ne- waygo. With his ox team as a conveyance, he then removed to Dayton Township, and purchased 160 acres of land under the Graduation Act, paying 75 cents per acre. He has bought and sold at different times, and now owns but 80 acres, of which 30 acres are improved.
Jan. 17, 1843, in Bath, Steuben Co., N. Y., he was married to Lovilla B. Herkimer, a native of New York State. They have had five children, of whom three are now living,-George H., Michael and Helen L. The last named is the wife of A. È. Up ton, of Fremont. Nov. 13, 1878, Mr. Martin was stricken with paralysis, and he has not walked a step since. Most of the time he has been in bed.
ohn Emory Webster, physician and farmer, resident on section 21, Big Prairie Town- ship, was born Sept. 29, 1848, in Dunham, Ontario. He was from birth a frail child, and until he attained the age of 16 years had but few and brief intervals of immunity from sick- ness. He early displayed the characteristics of a studious mind, and as he advanced in years devel- oped a fondness for the study of history, and later of medicine. He has become a practitioner of some note, and controls a lucrative medical business, in which he has been engaged since 1874. He also superintends his agricultural and lumbering interests.
Dr. Webster was married April 14, 1875, to Mary E. Bonney. She was born Dec. 20, 1858, and is the daughter of Walter E. and Lydia (Francis) Bonney, natives respectively of Massachusetts and New York.
Corydon M. Alger, farmer, section 6, Grant Township, was born Sept. 14, 1844, in Ontario Co., N. Y., and is a son of J. D. and Mary Alger. Both parents are natives of the State of New York, and in 1854 became residents of Michigan, settling in Paris, Kent County, where they now reside.
In 1875 Mr. Alger purchased 200 acres of land, where he has since been engaged as a farmer. He now has 70 acres under cultivation, with good farm buildings and accessory fixtures. In addition to his agricultural interests he is extensively engaged in lumbering. He is an adherent to the principles of the National Greenback party.
Mr. Alger was married Dec. 24, 1872, to Lucinda,
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daughter of Horace and Ruth Reed, of Paris, Kent Co., Mich. She was born April 1, 1845, at Grand Rapids. Her parents were both natives of New York, and her father is now living in Sparta, Kent County. Her mother died Jan. 16, 1878. Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Alger, two children have been born : Ralph M., July 29, 1877 ; and Archie R., Feb. 10, 1880.
S amuel Hartt, lumberman, resident on sec- tion 23, Monroe Township, of which he is present Supervisor, was born Sept. 15, 1833, in Saltfleet (then Niagara) District, Ontario. He is the son of Jonathan and Jemima (Phillips) Hartt. The former was a native of New Hampshire, the latter of Pennsylvania. The place of birth of the mother was near the city of Philadelphia, and is now included therein. The patronymic was originally Hart, and the change in orthography involves a little account, which fully displays the traits that characterized earlier if not later generations, and affords a fine illustration . of the temper and spirit which ruled the contending elements in the time of the Revolution. The Hart family at that period included five brothers, and the fact that John Hart, grandfather of Mr. Hartt of this sketch, was a member of the Continental Congress, declares their position in social and public affairs. How strong and bitter was party spirit when the question of submission to British despotism was uppermost in every mind, was exemplified by the state of affairs among the Hart brothers, two of whom were Royalists and abandoned country and fraternal relations to preserve their fealty to the king, one going to New Brunswick, the other to the East Indies. Three remained loyal to the principles from which their brethren fled; and so strong was the sentiment that controlled those remaining that they doubled the final consonant of the family name, in order to express as fully as possible their disgust and vexation at the actions and principles of their relatives. In this they accomplished a two-fold re- sult. In addition to setting themselves apart frater- nally, they secured the identity of their family for many generations, the orthography of their name providing an unmistakable clue to their origin.
Later in life Jonathan Hartt went to New Bruns- wick, married there and engaged some years as a lumberman on the Oromocto River, a tributary of the St. John. On leaving New Brunswick he went to the State of New York and finally settled, with his family, 13 miles from Hamilton, Can., where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives.
When Mr. Hartt was 12 years old his father died, and three years later the demise of his mother oc- curred ; but the children remained together until they separated to establish their own homes and families. School privileges were of the character common to the rural districts of the Dominion, and the meager education Mr. Hartt was enabled to ob- tain there he acquired in schools five and six miles distant.
He decided on the trade of millwright as a call- ing, and accordingly passed three years in acquiring the knowledge requisite to its successful prosecution. He worked as such until December, 1870, when he came to Lowell, Mich. He spent the winter there, and in the spring of 1871 went to Grand Haven and carried on the business of millwright. In 1872 he went to Sand Lake and turned his attention to lum- bering, in which he has since been continuously engaged. He worked at Sand Lake until the winter of 1880-1, when he located at Foxville, Monroe Township, where he is largely interested in the vari- ous branches of lumibering. In his long course of business, Mr. Hartt has been associated at times with other parties, and is at present in partnership with William Horning, firm style Horning & Hartt. Their average annual product of 7,000,000 feet of lumber and from 7,000,000 10 10,000,000 shingles, conveys an idea of the solidity and extent of their business.
Mr. Hartt was married Sept. 3, 1854, in Princeton, Canada, to Eliza Jane, daughter of John and Mar- garet Gilchrist. Of this union five children have been born: Emily Caroline (Mrs. H. L. Carter, of Sand Lake) was born July 21, 1855; Cicero Wins- low, Dec. 19, 1857 ; Ella Jane (Mrs. L. B. Bradish, Grand Rapids), July 29, 1860 ; and Sylvia Samantha, May 15, 1865. These are the names of those living. A son, Charles, born March 14, 1874, died Sept. 15, 1875.
Mr. Hartt has been a member of the Masonic fraternity many years, and belongs to King Hiram
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Lodge, No. 33, Ingersoll, Can. He belongs to the National Greenback party, and is now holding his first local official position, to which he was appointed in the spring of 1883, to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Hugh S. Swan. The family are Baptists in religious sentiment.
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