USA > Michigan > Oakland County > Portrait and biographical album of Oakland County, Michigan, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 100
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school for all who desire information regarding the seientifie principles on which good farming is based. He also belongs to the Masonie order and his vote is cast with the Republican party, by which he was eleeted Sheriff in 1868, holding office one term.
Among the earliest settlers in this county were Samuel and Susan ( West) Satterlee, parents of our subjeet, who came from Cayuga County, N. Y., in 1823, and took possession of land upon which their son is now living. They were at that time in pos- session of sufficient means to take up Government land, but had little with which to carry on its de- velopment. Securing one hundred and sixty aeres Mr. Satterlee entered upon the industrious and well-directed efforts which resulted in easy eireum- stances. Ile spent the remainder of his life on the farm and died January 10, 1850, at the age of fifty- seven years. He was an old-line Whig and during the Territorial days was a member of the United States Legislative Council from Michigan. At one time he was one of the three County Judges and he was County Treasurer for a number of years. Ile took an active part in the political matters of this section and was one of its most prominent citizens with a reputation that was widely extended. IIis wife died October 23, 1848, at the age of fifty-one years. They had five children-George II., Mary A., William, Richard C. and Lucy A. The first and last named are deecased.
The subject of this biographieal sketeh,although his early life was spent upon a farm, had good sehool privileges and spent one year in an academy in Auburn, N. Y. Ile was married January 3,1855. to Miss Caroline A. P'eck of Waterford, this county, but a native of West Bloomfield, N. Y., where she was born December 20, 1833. Her parents, Abel II. and Sarah (Darrow) Peck, came to this State at an early date and established their home in Pontiac. Mrs. Satterlee was an excellent housekeeper, a good neighbor and a devoted wife and mother. She de- parted this life October 29, 1889.
The family of our subject and his wife consists of three sons and one daughter. The first-born, William A., married Miss Eva Hause of Tecumseh, this State, and is now living in Kansas City, Mo .; he has two children-Bertrand and Mary. Frank
P., the second child, married Julia Prehm of Shasta, Cal., where their home now is, and has one child, who bears his own name. George II. and Mary A., the younger members of Mr. Satterlee's family are un married and still cheer the father by their pres- ence under the home roof.
S AMUEL H. LAMB, one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of Farmington Township, resides on section 18 of the township where he was born, May, 13 1844. His father, C. A. Lamb, was born in Palmyra, N. Y., in June, 1792, and came to Detroit in 1831. He practiced medieine and also pursued the work of the ministry in that city for two years, after which he came to Oakland County where he built up a praetiee. He was a minister of the Baptist Church and preached wherever and whenever an opportu- nity offered. Ile belped to organize the church at Farmington which was the first in the county and received a call to act as its pastor. He preached for them for eight years and at the same time pur- sued the practice of medicine.
Dr. Lamb was well and favorably known throughout the county and is held in high esteem as one of the earliest and most worthy settlers. He cleared up a farm in Farmington Township at the same time he was attending to his double profes- sional duties. In 1849 he removed to Clinton County, this State, where he eleared another farm, but previous to that time he spent two years in Pontiac in the practice of medicine. After remov- ing to Clinton County he gave up all duties except those connected with his farm. He removed again to Oakland County and in 1871 made his home at Ypsilanti where he remained until his death in 1884 at the advanced age of eighty-five years.
The mother of our subject, Alvira A. Gilbert, was born in New York in 1797 and lived to be fifty-four years old. Of her eleven children six grew to manhood and womanhood. This son, Samnel, was her youngest child; he was reared in his native place and remained with his parents un- til his marriage which occurred in 1861 when he
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was seventeen years old. Ilis bride, Emma J. C'ant- well. a native of New York, was born in 1844. She was the eldest child of her parents, John and Ann (Morgan) Cantwell, natives of England.
To Mr. and Mrs. Lamb have been given seven children-two daughters and five sons. Lillie is the wife of John Angel and resides in Redford Township, Wayne County, this State; her husband is a farmer by occupation and they have one boy -Russell. Fred S. is now principal of the schools of Farmington. Ile was graduated at the State Nor- mal School; he took a scientific course and was admitted to the bar in 1889. Hle took his legal studies with Judge Taft and Samuel Smith, of Pontiac, and intends to devote himself to the prac- tice of law; Frank M. is also a teacher and a grad- uate of Ypsilanti where he took the English course. receiving his diploma in 1889 ; he taught one year in the Normal Department of the Lansing Business College. George is a farmer and resides in Farm - ington Township; he married Lizzie Lamb and is the father of one beautiful little girl -- Edna. Perry is at home and attended school at Farmington where he was graduated at the lligh School in June. Arthur and Sarah are also at home.
Mr. Lamb has one hundred and fifty acres of splendid land in the best state of cultivation. Ile keeps a fine grade of stock and is doing a general farming business. He is a Republican and a con- scientious citizen, and he has never missed but one opportunity of casting his ballot since he was old enough to vote. For four years he filled to the satisfaction and benefit of the community the re- sponsible position of Justice of the Peace.
JUDSON PHILLIPS is the eldest son of one of the first pioneers in Milford Town- ship and was born here December 7. 1836. Hle is the oldest native-born person now living in the township, and it has always been his home. He attended distriet school in the primi- tive log schoolhouse and continued his studies at the lligh School at Milford and the State Normal School at Ypsilanti. Ile has always been engaged
in farming. and until he was thirty-four years old remained at home and worked on his father's es- tate. Ile then established his own household on an eighty-acre tract on section 17, where he has re- mained, adding to the extent of the property and to its practical value.
The land bought by Mr. Phillips prior to his marriage was somewhat improved, but of his two purchases he cleared forty-four acres. Ile now has one hundred under cultivation, and raises va- ried crops, changing their order from season to season as is best for the land. . Ile has not only cut down the trees that once stood here, but he has rid the property of stumps and stones and has set out upon it sixty pear. sixty-six peach and a number of apple trees, together with small fruits. Ile has also built various structures by which he could add to the celerity and ease with which he cultivated the land. Ilis barns cost $1,000, the tool- house and henhouse combined $100, and the wind- mill, the shaft of which is one hundred and sixteen feet deep, $100. The dwelling he now occupies, and a view of which appears on another page, was put up in 1881 at a cost of $1,800, exclusive of his own time and work.
The Phillips family is of English descent, and Grandfather Phillips, whose given name was Jona- than, was born in the Bay State. Leonard Phillips, father of our subject, was born in New York in 1811, and followed in the footsteps of his ancestors by becoming a farmer. Ile married Rosetta R. Albright, who was born in New York in 1816 and whose father was a tailor by trade. Not long after their marriage the good couple came to this State, locating in Milford Township in 1833. They se- cured forty acres of land on section 15, where a log house stood, and some little attempt had been made toward development. Mr. Phillips cleared off the tract and other lands, which he added to it. At the time of his decease he had one hundred and seventy-five acres, all improved but thirty, and a good frame house, barns, sheds, etc., stood upon it. The mother of our subject died in 1850, and the father subsequently married Mrs. Henrietta Lapham, who still survives, aged sixty-nine years.
By his first marriage, the father of our suh- ject had twelve children, seven of whom are now
RESIDENCE OF A. J. PHILLIPS, SEC.17, MILFORD TP., OAKLAND CO., MICH.
TENANT HOUSE.
RESIDENCE OF EDWARD FOSDICK, SEC. 15., BLOOMFIELD TP., OAKLAND CO., MICH.
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living, viz .: A. Judson, Mrs. William P. Johnson, Mrs. Ferd Holbrook, Jonathan, John Selim, Henry A. and Alendor D. Of the second marriage there were five children, all now living. Mr. Phil- lips was a Democrat, and was strictly a temperate man. He took deep interest in the district schools, and was a member of the board for many years. Ile was nominated for the office of Supervisor, but refused to accept the position. He belonged to the Presbyterian Church in Milford, and so too did the mother of our subjeet.
February 1, 1871, A. Jndson Phillips was mar- ried to Mary Adelia Travis. The bride was born in Oxford Township, this county, April 6, 1844, and was one of a family of eight children, of whom the other survivors are Lucetta A., now Mrs. Sel- den Vincent (see sketch), Jay W. F., George E. and Eliza N. Her father, James W. Travis, was born in New York, whence he went to Wayne County, Pa., and remained until 1836. He then settled on a new farm in Oxford Township, this county, and changed it from the raw state to one of good improvement. In 1853 he removed to Milford Township, and located on section 14, where he improved land and built a good house, barns, etc. Ile held a place on the School Board and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a Democrat until the Rebellion, when he became a Republican and remained so until death. Ile died in 1873 at the age of sixty- eight years. Ilis widow, formerly Narier Me- Carty, a native of Milford, Pa., is still living, aged seventy-nine years. She is a Presbyterian in religion.
Mrs. Phillips first attended the district school in Oxford and Milford Townships, and then studied in a select school at Romeo. She also took up higher branches in the Milford High School, and turning her attention to teaching, she carried on her work in this township during three terms. She belongs to the Presbyterian Church at Milford, and so too does Mr. Phillips, and both attend the Sunday-school and take great interest in the local organization. They have no children.
Mr. Phillips was formerly a Democrat, but is now an active and earnest member of the Prohibition party. He has always believed it to be the duty
of every citizen to exercise the right of suffrage un- failingly, and he makes use of the privilege he has of easting his influence for or against candidates. He held the office of School Inspector in Milford Township a dozen years ago and has been a candi- date on the Prohibition ticket for the same posi- tion. lle was the first candidate of the party for Township Supervisor.
E DWARD FOSDICK. Among the native- born citizens of this county who have con- tributed so largely to the development of its unlimited resources is the gentleman whose name introduces this brief biographical sketeh. Industrious and persevering, success has naturally rewarded his efforts and he now ranks among the most prominent citizens of Bloomfield Township, where he was born November 30. 1845. He grew to manhood amid the pioneer scenes of a frontier country, where few improvements had been made and wild game abounded. In his youth his eduea- tional advantages were limited, and he is mainly self-educated, keeping posted on all topics of eur- rent interest and being considered a well-informed man. As a pioneer and honorable citizen, his name will he held in reverence long after he shall have passed hence.
In Canandaigua, N. Y., the parents, Alvin and Jane A. (Adams) Fosdiek, were united in marriage, and from the Empire State they removed to Michi- gan in 1837. The father was a life-long farmer, and although he started in life with no capital except a good constitution and an energetie disposition, he became the owner of a good estate. He supported and reared to maturity a large family of children, all of whom he sent to the common schools of the district and trained for useful positions in the world. They were named: Helen M., Jay, Wal- ter, William M., Edward, Jerome, Julius, and Wal- ter B. Jay and Walter are deceased. Mr. Fosdick was a Demoerat politically, and belonged to the Masonie fraternity.
The subject of this sketch was reared on the old homestead and remained at home and worked
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for his father until he reached his majority. ITe then bought his farm of one hundred acres where he has since resided. He has made all the improve- ments which are to be seen upon it, and has a fine two-story brick residence and several large barns. On another page is shown a view of his residence, which he erected in 1873. Ile had but a small start in the world, and it is by his own efforts that he has gained this handsome competency. His wife owns a farm of eighty acres adjoining his. Mr. Fosdick raises a high grade of cattle, horses and sheep.
The wife of our subject bore the maiden name of Helen J. Knight. She was born in Avon, this county, March 21, 1816. and is a daughter of Pot- ter and Marian ( Adams) Knight, natives of Maine and Vermont respectively. Of their five children Mrs. Fosdick and a brother, Alvin M., alone sur vive. The deceased are-Harriet F., Hester L. and one who died unnamed. Both Mr. and Mrs. Knight came to Michigan when they were young and were married in Farmington, this county. They are now deceased. The marriage of Mr. Fos- dick and Miss Knight was solemnized in Bloomfield, this county, January 14, 1866, and it has proved a congenial union. Mrs. Fosdick is a lady of reline- ment and culture, whose many graces of heart and mind win for her the esteem of all who know her. In his political views Mr. Fosdick is a Republican, and has served his fellow-citizens in various ca- pacities. He was llighway Commissioner three years. Township Treasurer five years, and Super- visor six years. Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity at Birmingham.
USTIN N. KIMMIS, Jr., is a young man, a lawyer by profession, who is at present managing his farm. He has taken up this work from filial devotion, on account of the broken condition of his father's health. Ilis father was born August 21, 1813, in Washington County, N. Y., and in early life was a shoemaker and later & farmer. His father Samuel was a native of Salem Township, Washington County,
and died at the extreme age of ninety-two years. He was one of the soldiers in the War of 1812, in that patriotic service following the example of his father, who fought in the Revolutionary War. The mother of our subject was Rhoda M. (Coldren) Kimmis, a native of Ontario County, N. Y., born May 2, 1829, Iler father was Elijah Coldren, a native of Pennsylvania and a soldier in the War of 1812. She was one of twelve children, and her husband belonged to a family of ten children. Both families removed to Michigan about the year 1836. Mr. Coldren settled in Salem Township, Washtenaw County, where he took a farm from the Government, and clearing and cultivating it, made it his permanent home. Ile died in 1863 and his wife followed him to the grave in 1870.
Mr. Kimmis made his first home in Lyon Town- ship and followed his trade for a number of years. He had a wife and five children, the latter all born in Michigan, only one of whom is now living: Sarah R., wife of Mr. Bogart of Novi Township. The see. ond marriage of Mr. Kimmis took place October 26, 1847. He had a farm already in Plymouth Township, Wayne County, and now bought one in Lyon Township, this county. Ilere he built a log house and cleared off the land. Hle afterward sok this property and lived for a year on the Plymouth farm, when he returned to Lyon Township. In 1858 he traded property for his property here. Ile had at first six hundred and thirty acres which were partially improved. Hle continned improvements and added to the buildings besides being a general farmer he carried on Short-horn breeding. He has now retired from active life. The three children who are now living are: Emma J., wife of W. A. Whipple; E. Belle, wife of Levi W. Mosher, and our subject. The father was Sheriff of Oakland County from 1861 till 1865, and Deputy United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Michi- gan for some time. lie was also Assistant Asses- sor of the L'nited States Internal Revenue, and has been Supervisor of Novi Township for many years.
The subject of this sketch was born June 20, 1860, on the farm where he now lives. He was given the best advantages for education, attending Milford High School, and being two years a student
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at the State Normal School at Ypsilanti. Later he was a student at Kalamazoo College and took his law course at Ann Arbor, receiving his diploma in 1884. He was admitted to the bar in Washtenaw County and after this made a trip to Nebraska and Iowa.
The marriage of our subject in 1881 with M. Blanche Peck, united him with a lady of unusual talent and a superior education. She graduated from the ' Cassopolis High School when sixteen years old, and passed the finest examination for entering Kalamazoo College of any applicant. She took four years in Latin, and three years in Greek and two years in German, and proved herself in every branch a fine scholar. This was prior to en- tering college at Kalamazoo, and when but sixteen years of age. She is without doubt one of the best equipped woman of Oakland County as far as men- tal ability and culture go, yet is possessed of a modest and unassuming loveliness which makes her many friends. She is indeed a suitable and conge- nial companion to the brilliant and well-balanced young man who chose her as his wife. Iler parents, William and Elizabeth (Norton) Peck, were mar- ried thirty-seven years ago, and made their home in Cassopolis where Mr. Peck was in the dry-goods business. He was called away from life in 1879 at the age of forty-nine years. He was a man of education and refinement and his loss was deeply felt in this community. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church although his wife, who survives him was attached to the Baptist Church. For many years he was Supervisor of LaGrange Township, Cass County, and was also Superintendent of the Poor. Mrs. Kimmis' only surviving sister, Allene, lives with her mother. Mrs. Kimmis was born November 25, 1863.
Our subject and his wife are members of the Baptist Church at Novi Corners, in which this gen- tleman has been a Trustee, and where he has taught and acted as Assistant Superintendent for four years. His wife has had a class in the Sunday- school for five or six years. She devotes her mu- sical talent and education largely to the aid of the church and Sunday-school. Mr. Kimmis' polit- ical views are embodied in the declarations of the Republican party and he is considered a leader
among the young men of his party, being often made a delegate to county and congressional con- ventions, and now serving his third term as School Inspector. He is also a Justice of the Peace. Ile advocates temperance, but is not a third party man. He carries on general farming and breeds Ilolstein- Freezians cattle and Shetland ponies. He is giv- ing his entire attention to his farm, which is oue of the largest in the county, and which is in first- elass condition and very productive. This is a family of more than usual ability and standing, and the father when in his prime filled many im- portant offices in the county.
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ON. JOHN L. ANDREWS. It is impossi- ble in a brief biographical record to do justice to the character and works of any man who has been more than ordinarily conspicuous in the community. We can only out- line the life history of such an one and leave the details to the imagination of the reader. Of the Hon. Mr. Andrews we may say that he is a large landowner of Milford and has during the past fifty years been a potent factor in the progress of this section and labored earnestly in different lines of business. He has also advanced the interest of the people by his action in the legislative halls, and by his fine character has been made donbly de- serving of the title he bears.
Grandfather Andrews was a farmer in Albany County, N. Y., and the line is traced back to the Puritan fathers. John Andrews, father of our subject, was born in Albany County and learned the trade of a carpenter. He was one of the early settlers of Rochester where he worked at his trade until 1833. He then came to this State and loca- ted on land in Livingston County that had been entered by his son Abraham the previous year. IJe then devoted himself almost entirely to farming. In 1846 he sold the property and located in Mil- ford, where he resided until his decease, when eighty-three years old. He was a prominent citizen and was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church. His wife was Elenore Wilsey, who was born in Albany
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County, N. Y., and died in Milford when fourscore years old. The family consisted of fourteen chil- dren, twelve of whom grew to maturity and came to this State and six are now living.
The subject of this biographical notice was born in Chili. Monroe County, N. Y., April 8, 1822, and was six years old when his parents removed to Wheatland Township, where his father kept an hotel. When ten years old the lad went to live with a sister, Mrs. Hubbell, and in 1836 he came with her family to Michigan, They settled at Brighton, and young Andrews worked out on a farm. In the spring of 1842 he came to Milford Township and began working on the farm he now owns. During the winter of 1812-13 he began the miller's trade at the old Fuller Mill and in 1846 he became manager of the Pettibone Mill. With the exception of one year he remained there until 1859 in the capacity of manager, and he then bought the plant and site and engaged in the man- nfacture of flour for the wholesale trade. He operated a sawmill in connection and did a big business.
In 1872 Mr. Andrews sold the mill and embarked in business as a private banker under the style of ,I. L. Andrews' Exchange Bank. He built the bank building now used. In 1875 he sold out and loca- ted on the Fuller farm, which he had purchased a few years before. Since that time he has given his attention to general farming and stock-raising. Ilis estate consists of four hundred and ten acres on section 10 and II, and two-thirds of it inside the corporation. Mr. Andrews is engaged quite exten- sively in sheep-raising and has a larger flock than any other man in the township. It will average five hundred head per year. IIe keeps full-blooded and graded Short horn cattle and markets quite a. number of fat animals. His property is watered by Huron River, and three hundred and fifty aeres are under improvements.
In Milford in 1846 Mr. Andrews was married to Miss Delphia ('. Bartlett, a native of Massachusetts, who left one child-Charles B., now living in Mil- ford. The second marriage of Mr. Andrews was solemnized on the farm he now owns, in 1859, and the bride was Miss Laura E. Fuller. She was born here and is one of the family of Luman and Clarissa
(King) Fuller, formerly of Monroe County, N. Y. The Fullers are numbered among the early settlers of this county and Mr. Fuller was a large land- owner and the builder of a mill on Huron River in 1836. Of the second union of Mr. Andrews there have been born four sons-Luman II., now farming with his father; Ilarry C., engaged with the I'nion Mutual Life Insurance Company of Port- land, Me .; Walter K., an employe of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad at Saginaw; Arthur E., who is attending the Commercial College in Detroit.
In 1870 Mr. Andrews was elected to the State Legislature on the Republican ticket and served during the sessions of 1871-72. Ile sat on various committees and took part in the discussions regard- ing bills brought before the august body, throwing his influence on the side of right and progress. Mr. Andrews was one of the incorporators of the Ilolly, Wayne & Monroe Railroad and worked hard to push the project to completion. He spent the greater part of four years in working for it, and gave the right of way through his property, and money, the whole amounting to some $6,000 or $7,000. To him and Mr. Lappin of Northville is due its success. Mr. Andrews was the only Director from Milford and held the office until the road was sold to the Flint & Pere Marquette Rail- road in 1872. Mr. Andrews is a Royal Arch Mason. Politically he is a firm Republican. Mr. Andrews and wife belong to the United Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, and he is a liberal con- tributor, both of time and money, to the work car- ried on by the societies.
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