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 25
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yours Truly Charles Draper
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Soon afterward a branch office was opened in Milford, and Mr. Bissell took charge. The two gentlemen practiced together in Circuit Court mat- ters until 1874. when Mr. Baker returned to De- troit. Mr. Bissell was doing so well that he re- mained in Milford. In company with Mr. Baker and Edward Thornhill, under the firm name of Baker, Bissell & Thornhill, he is interested in a ranch known as the "Thornhill farm." It consists of about thirty-two hundred acres, and is located in Kidder County, N. Dak .; general farming and stock -raising is carried on there. Full-blooded Short-horn cattle, imported Shropshire sheep and Percheron and standard-bred horses are also raised by them. Mr. Bissell is also a member of the firm of Bissell & Thornhill, manufacturers of the Little Giant potatoe and corn scoop at Milford, Mich., and Walkerville, Ontario, and the firm also deals in buggies and cutters, and runs a feed mill in Mil- ford.
In Bay City, September 27, 1877, Mr. Bissell was married to Miss Carrie Ilovey. She was a daughter of Dr. Ilovey, a prominent physician of that city, and was born in Fenton, Genesee County. After a few short years of wedded happiness she and her hus- band were parted by death, she dying in 1882. She left one child, a son, Clarence. Mr. Bissell was Village Clerk four terms and Circuit Court Com- missioner two terms. Ile exercises the right of suffrage in behalf of Democratic principles and policies. Ile has displayed mich business acumen, and is full of energy, as his manifold interests show.
h ON. CHARLES DRAPER, of the firm of Baldwin, Draper & Jacokes, attorneys-at- law, Pontiac, was born in Marlborough, Middlesex County. Mass., November 22, 1811. His father, William Draper, was born in Dedham, Mass., in 1780, and died in 1858, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was a graduate of Harvard College and commenced the practice of law at Concord, but afterward removed to Marlborough. There he became very prominent
and was President of the Middlesex County Bar Association, and in many important ways was iden- tified with the progress of the county. For many years he was an influential attorney in Dedham. In July, 1833, he removed to Pontiac, Mich., where he continued his law practice and was re- spected as a prominent member of the early bar.
William Draper was President of the first Terri- torial Convention convened by act of Congress at Ann Arbor for the purpose of acting upon the ac- ceptance or rejection of Michigan as a State upon the conditions reported by Congress. The main point of those conditions was as follows: To surrender the southern part of Michigan to Ohio and to take the northern Lake Superior country in lieu thereof. These terms were rejected by the convention. A few months later a convention was called which was known popularly as the "Frost Bitten Con- vention." This gathering convened at the court- house at Pontiac and had no authority from Con- gress, in fact was irregular in every particular. Yet it embodied the sense of the people of Mich- igan; its plea was accepted by Congress, and upon its conditions Michigan was admitted as a State.
Early in life Mr. Draper was an old-fashioned Federalist and later became a Whig. He was Pres- ident of the Oakland County Bar Association and continued to hold this important position in the profession of the county until his death. A devout Christian, he belonged to the Congregational Church at Pontiac. He was a personal friend of A. W. Ilovey, and their chief diversion was in go- ing fishing together. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Eliza Payne and was a daughter of Phineas Payne, a Major in the Revo- lutionary War. Maj. Payne was of English de- scent, and his mother was a Babcock, of Welsh (lescent, and an early settler in Massachusetts.
The boyhood of our subject was passed in his native town. Ile prepared for college in the acad- emy at Marlborough, and was graduated at Har- vard College in 1833. He accompanied his parents to Michigan and began the practice of law in his father's office at Pontiac. In 1836 he formed a partnership with his father, which continued until 1851, when he entered into the partnership with A. C. Baldwin, which has never been dissolved.
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After a time they associated with them James A. Jacokes, making a strong combination of legal tal- ent, and the firm now practices in State, Federal and local courts.
In 1840 the Hon. Mr. Draper was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary E., daughter of Olmstead and Mary C. Chamberlin, the marriage being sol- emnized at the bride's home in Pontiac. Mrs. Draper is a native of Lewiston, N. Y., and in social circles is one of the most cherished ornaments. Mr. and Mrs. Draper have been the parents of five children : Charles Stuart, who is an attorney in Saginaw, Mich .; Ella L., deceased; Warren N., an attorney at Duluth, Minn .; William C., a miner and ranch man in Montana, and an infant who died unnamed.
The Hon. Mr. Draper was elected Prosecuting Attorney in 1842, and held the office three terms, a term then being two years. Ile was appointed Internal Revenue Assessor by President Johnson, but was removed by him on account of refusal to carry out his instructions. In the year 1867 he was elected State Senator and took an active part in the discussion of important bills, among which were changes made in the law regulating the rights of widows in the estates of deceased hus- bands, and also the rights of husbands in regard to the wife's estate. lle was a member of the Judiciary Committee in the State Senate and had charge of the Committee on the Asylum for the blind at Flint. Ile has been an active member of the Republican party since its organization and is very strong in his convictions of right and wrong. He was a member of the first convention which assembled "under the oaks." at Jackson, and which formed the Republican party in Michigan in the summer of 1854. Mr. Draper was a member of the Committee on Resolutions, to whom two sets of resolutions were presented, one drafted by Jacob M. Howard and the other by Isaac Christiancy. After consideration those drawn by Mr. Howard were adopted. This convention was not what is commonly termed a delegate convention, but was rather an uprising of the people. Both Mr. Draper and his wife are consistent members of the Con- gregational Church, and their influence is felt for good in every direction. Their delightful home at
No. 181 North Saginaw Street, is a pleasant resort for their many friends.
A portrait of the Hon. Mr. Draper accompanies this brief biographical notice.
R ICHIARD E. PEPPER, an intelligent and prominent farmer residing in Springfield Township, was born on the farm which he now occupies, December 20, 1850. His father, Robert Pepper, was a native of County Cavan, Ireland. Ile was a weaver by trade and came to America when a young man and settled in Genesee County, N. Y., where he worked in a factory for several years. In 1835 he removed his family to their present home in Springfield Township. They came by canal and lake to De- troit, and from there to Springfield Township, with two yoke of oxen, one of which died on the way. lle bought the present farm, then all wild land, one hundred and eighty acres from the Government, and the family lived with a neighbor until he could erect a log cabin which was to be their home. Deer were then so plenty that he frequently found a drove of ten or fifteen herding with his cattle, when he went into the woods after them in the evening. Ile had to go to Pontiac, eighteen miles away for provisions and clothing. He helped lay out what is now known as the White Lake Road, running past the farm north and south. Ile was a great worker, and at his death, which occurred in 1881, when he was eighty years old, he had his once unbroken farm finely improved. In Ireland he was an Orangeman.
Lydia Urwin, the mother of our subject, was born in County Cavan, Ireland. All of her five children grew to maturity and are yet living, namely: William J., John T., Margaret (Mrs. Stin- son ), Richard E. and Martha, (Mrs. Cogshall ) Their mother died at sixty-one years of age. Both she and Mr. Pepper were members of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. Our subject now owns and lives on the homestead farm a mile and a half southwest of the village of Davisburg, upon which he was born and reared. He attended the log
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schoolhouse on a corner of his father's farm. Ilis latest schooling was taken in the Business College at Flint. He worked the home farm on shares until the death of his father, when it was willed to him on condition that he would buy the interest of the other heirs. He raises a great number of cat- tle and horses, and also some fine Shropshire sheep. lle makes most of his profits on wheat and stock. Ilis pleasant home is conspicuously placed upon a rise of ground and stands back from the main road where it easily attracts the eye of the traveler.
Mr. Pepper was married May 4, 1870, to Juliet Rhone, who was born in Niagara County, N. Y., May 19, 1850. This has proved a union of un- usual happiness and congeniality, Mrs. Pepper be- ing a lady of great loveliness and ability. She became the mother of three children, two of whom are living, namely: Lena C., now attending school at Flint, and Ethel M., who is at home. Both Mr. and Mrs. Pepper are active members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church at Davisburg. Mr. Pepper is a Republican in his political views and socially is a member of Charter Oak Lodge, No. 60, A. O. U. W., at Davisburg.
G EORGE D. COVERT, an old settler of Groveland Township, is one of the men who have seen both prosperity and hard times in Michigan. Hle has a fine farm with excellent barns and a pleasant home, but tells us that he cried for hunger when a boy, for his father and mother were very poor, and settling in the woods, under- went great hardships and privations.
Our subject was born in Seneca County, N. Y., July 15, 1832. His father was HIenry, and his grandfather Joshua Covert, bothi natives of New York, and of Holland descent. The grandfather was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. The father came to Michigan, traveling by Erie Canal to Buffalo, and by boat to Detroit, and bought eiglity acres of land where he built a log house. Ile traded at Pontiac and Detroit, and cleared up his farın, using oxen instead of horses. Ile was a hard worker and fared poorly. lle was famous as
a rail splitter. His political views were Demo- cratic. His wife, Ann Emmons, was the mother of eight children, five of whom grew to maturity. She used to go on foot twelve miles to neighbors and do their washing to earn a little money in the carly days. She was seventy-one years old when she died in 1865, and her husband passed away in 1866, when seventy-two years old.
The boy George was in his fifth year when he came West, but he recollects the journey distinctly. Ile attended a log schoolhouse two or three miles from home under the rate bill system. The woods were full of deer and bears. IIe often stood at the door and counted as many as twenty deer in one drove, and he used to lie awake at night and hear the wolves howl about the cabin. Ile began life for himself at the age of nineteen years and worked out by the month and day, often cutting as much as five cords of wood a day. Ile built his present home in 1874, having erected his fine barns in 1860 and in 1870.
Mr. Covert was married October 15, 1855, to Anna McBratney, a native of Ireland. Three chil- dren blessed this union: James H., who married Elva Clark, and farms in this township; Charles A. living in Denver, Col., and George L., who is still at home. One hundred and thirty acres form the home farm, ninety of which are under cultiva- tion. Ile raises both stock and grain. His politi- cal views are in accord with the principles of the Democratic party. This old settler looks back with just satisfaction upon the life which has re- sulted so prosperously.
ICHIAEL HENNESSY, a prominent farmer on section 24, IIolly Township, was born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1830. Ilis father. Patrick, was a farmer in that county, and lived and died there. Ile was an ad- herent of the Roman Catholic Church. His wife, Abbie Farrill, the mother of our subject, was a native of the same county. Four children were granted unto them, namely : John, Thomas, Johan- i na and Michael. Of this number the subject of
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this brief notice is the only one now living. The mother died in Ireland.
Young Michael spent his boyhood days in Ire- land on a farm and there attended school. Ile came to America in a sailing vessel in 1847, and was forty-four days on the water. lle located at Syracuse, N. Y., and worked there in a brickyard, and at odd jobs for five years. Ile then removed to Auburn, N. Y,, and worked for seven or eight years in the shops of the New York Central Rail- way.
The subject of this sketch came to Oakland County, Mich., in 1859, and bought the farm where he now resides. Only thirty acres of it had then been cleared of trees, and the only buildings on it were a log house and log barn. Seventy acres of his one hundred are now under cultivation, and he raises stock and grain of all kinds. Ile now has fine buildings on his land, having erected his commodious and capacious frame house in 1881, and his large frame barn in 1878.
The marriage of Mr. Hennessy with Anna Ash took place at Albany, N. Y. She was born in County Kerry, Ireland. Eight children were sent to brighten their home, only four of whom are now living, namely: Joanna, John, Thomas and Mary. The subject of this sketch is a member of the Catholic Church, as is also his wife, who is an exceptionally fine woman in both character and ability. Mr. Hennessy is a Democrat in his polit- ical affiliations. He has a nice frame residence, much better furnished than the average farm- house, brightened with pictures and cheered with music.
APOLEON B. ARMSTRONG. An hon- orable station among the farmers of Iligh- land Township is occupied by the gentle- man above named, who operates a pleasantly located farm on section 33. His landed estate in the township comprises one hundred and twenty acres, and he has twenty acres in Milford Town- ship. He has put on the various improvements- buildings and fences, and has his land well stocked with good grades of Merino sheep, Short-horn cattle and Percheron horses. He began his career
as a full-fledged farmer not long after he became of age, and has demonstrated his skill and good judgment by increasing his acreage and bringing it all into fine condition.
Mr. Armstrong traces his ancestry to Connecti- cut, in which State his grandfather, Lee Armstrong, was born, reared and married. Ilis wife was Edna Smith, and their family comprised seven sons and three daughters. Grandfather Armstrong died in his native State in 1817, but his widow breathed her last in New York while living with her eldest daughter, in the year 1836. Grandfather Arm- strong was a Presbyterian in religion. In his fam- ily was a son, Stephen, who was born in Franklin, Conn., and who. in 1811, at the age of twenty-one years, went to Monroe County, N. Y. There he made his home until 1834, when he came to this county and located on section 33, Ilighland Town- ship. Ile bonght seven hundred acres of land in this and Milford Townships, together with prop- erty in the town of Milford, and in that place he also owned a half-interest in a grist and sawmill. Ilighland Township was his home from his arrival in the State until his demise, which took place in 1843, and he was always engaged in farming. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. Hle served as Supervisor and Overseer of the Poor.
Stephen Armstrong was married in Connecticut to Eunice Peck, who bore him four children. Ile was again married in New York to Orpha Clark, daughter of Ethan A. and Lavina (Lockwood) Clark, natives of Massachusetts and New York re- spectively. The second union was blest by the birth of six children, named respectively: N. B., Thomas J., Andrew J., Fanny E., William G, and Stephen D. The eldest of these children was born in Monroe County, N. Y., April 2, 1830, and was a child of four years when he came with his par- ents to this county. He has since made his home in Highland Township, and he is perhaps as well known as any man now living within its borders. As a boy and man, he has helped to bring it to its present condition of prosperity, and his influence has been especially felt in the agricultural field. When he was twenty-two years old he bought forty acres of land, and when the father's estate was divided he inherited eighty acres.
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March 31, 1859, Mr. Armstrong was united in marriage with Miss Rosetta Hays, the ceremony being performed in Milford. The bride was a daughter of John and Almira Hays, who were na- tives of Erie County, N. Y. The union has been blest by the birth of three children-Leroy L., who is now living in Milford ; Calvin, whose home is in Tuscola County; and Effie, who is her father's companion and housekeeper, the wife and mother having died in 1866. The political allegiance of Mr. Armstrong is given to the Republican party.
BRAHAM L. CRAFT. No one can be better deserving of representation in a volume of a biographical nature than those who are giving their attention to the guid- ance of the young and endeavoring to cultivate their minds and morals. We are therefore pleased to represent in the pages of this ALBUM, Mr. Craft, who has acceptably filled the position of Principal of the Clarkston High School for the past six years. In gaining his own education he showed the quality of his character as well as his mind, and the determination he manifested in his early years and his eager desire for thorough schooling gives him an added fitness for the work which he has undertaken, as he knows how to encourage and guide as he might not otherwise have done.
Mr. Craft is the son of Charles B. and Lydia (Lyman) Craft, and was born in Springfield Town- ship, this county, July 30, 1854. Prior to his eighteenth year he lived on a farm and attended the district school. Hle then spent two years in pursuing the studies that belong to the curriculum of the High School of Holly, after which he taught a year and earned the money with which to pay his expenses at Fenton. There be still further advanced his knowledge, studying industriously three years and being graduated in 1880.
Mr. Craft next taught at Highland two years, and then took a commercial course at Bryant & Stratton's Business College in Detroit. Returning to Highland he again took up his work there, and continued it until he was elected Principal of the
Clarkston High School. He is a worthy represen- tative of one of the families that made an early settlement in what was then the Territory of Mich- igan, his grandfather, Abraham Craft, having come hither in the '30s and settled on the farm now owned by our subject's father. Grandfather Craft was a native of Wayne County, N. Y.
The marriage rites between Mr. Craft and Miss Belle Jennings, daughter of H. N. Jennings, editor of the Fenton "Independent"' were solemnized at the bride's home August 14, 1889. The young couple now occupy an attractive residence on Main street, which was recently erected. Its doors are ever open to the intelligent and upright people of the place, and to those who desire aid or encour- agement in mental growth or progress toward noble characters.
In the political issues of the day Mr. Craft takes quite an interest, and his judgment concurs in the principles laid down in the Republican platform, which he therefore earnestly supports. Ile is a Mason of high degree, and his name is found on the rosters of Cedar Lodge, No. 60, F. & A. M., Oakland Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M., Pontiac Com- mandery No. 2, K. T., and Council, No. 3. Hle is also identified with the Maccabees Lodge, No. 85. and Pontiac Lodge, No. 19, K. P.
MERIC M. JOSLIN, one of the old set- tlers of Holly Township, can look back upon a life well spent. Ile and his estimable wife will, if living, celebrate their golden wedding in July, 1891. He is a man of substantial character and is beloved by all his neighbors. He was born in Madison County, N. Y., October 2, 1813. Ilis father, Daniel, and grandfather, Thomas, were both natives of Rhode Island. The family eame from Wales to America in Colonial times. The grandfather died in middle life when the father of our subject was but thirteen years old. This lad became a mechanic and worked at the trade of a carpenter and joiner. When quite a young man he came to New York State, and was there married, He both farmed and worked at
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his trade. In 1841 he retired from business and came to Michigan to make his home among his children. Here he tarried until death called him at the very advanced age of eighty-six years. He was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a kind-hearted Christian man. lle was a Democrat and conservative in his political views and was Supervisor for a great many years in New York State. He was a hearty, healthy man. broad ehested and full in habit, weighing from one hundred and eighty to two hundred pounds. His wife, Martha Jinks Joslin, the mother of our sub- ject, was born in Connecticut. She reared nine children and lived to be sixty years old. She took an active interest in religious matters and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church from early girlhood. Her father, Dickerson Jinks, was an old Revolutionary soldier and a pensioner until his death.
The subject of our sketch worked on the farm and at the carpenter's trade during his early years. He never attended any school except in a log schoolhouse. Ile began for himself at nineteen years of age, making the journey to Buffalo, a dis- tance of one hundred miles, on foot. He erossed the lake to Detroit and then footed it to Romeo. Macomb County, this State, where he had a brother living. For a year he lived with his brother and worked at his trade. He was then seized with fever and ague, and obliged to return East on account of his health. Two years later he returned and bought forty acres in Macomb County. Ile finally sold that and in December, 1842, came to Oakland County and bought the forty aeres where his house now stands. Ile first built a rude log eabin and began to clear up the farm. Fenton was his nearest trading point. No building stood where Holly now stands, and he helped to put up the first building erected there. Ile now has one hun- dred and twenty acres here and a handsome frame residence, in which he now lives a retired life.
Mr. Joslin took to himself a wife, July 28, 1841, in the person of Margaret Van Allen. She was born in Canada, near the Vermont line, January 31, 1823. She came to Michigan in 1840 with her brothers, as her parents had died when she was quite young. Nine children have been granted
to Mr. and Mrs. Joslin, namely : Edwin, Thomas; Sarah, Mrs. Hadley ; James; Carrie, Mrs. Rodden; Imogene and John. The family finds its religious home in the Methodist Church. Mr. Joslin is a Republican through and through, and has held office as Treasurer of the township for a great many years, and also as Commissioner of Highways. In this capacity he has helped to lay out almost every road in the township. He has served on juries at Pontiac many times, and is a member of the Ma- sonic order at Holly.
B EN. STURGIS. This venerable man has a line farm of two hundred and thirty-three aeres on section 23, Troy Township. Like the village blacksmith, he can look "the whole world in the face, for he owes not any man," and his worldly possessions have been gained by toil and perseverance, as he was a poor boy when Le came to the State. He has reared a large family and has been able to meet all his obligations and lay up a store for his old age. He was born in Mt. Pleasant, Canada, September 3, 1808, and was about nine years old when his parents removed to Detroit. Thence he came to Troy Township, and the father died in Michigan. Ile was a native of Pennsylvania and was a soldier in the War of 1812. Thomas Sturgis and Lucy Winstead were married in Canada, whence they came to this State as before noted. They had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to manhood and womanhood.
The second child and eldest son in this family is the subject of this biographical notice. Having scarcely passed school age when he came to this State his first pursuit of the knowledge found in text books was in a log schoolhouse in Troy Town- ship. He obtained as sound a foundation as the circumstances would permit, but the curriculum was not extended nor did his yearly instruction cover a period of more than a few weeks. He left home when twenty-one years old to make his own way, and his first occupation was farm work which he did by the month. Ere long he married and located in Avon Township, where he remained
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