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 48
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After investigating the issues between the par- ties Mr. Shattuck gave his allegiance to Repub- licanism. He is a member of Pontiac Lodge, No. 3, I. O. O. F. ITis wife is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has been identi- - fied with that denomination for many years and is a liberal contributor toward its support. ller husband likewise attends the same church. Ile and his wife stand high in society 'and exert an influence on the side of right and true civilization.
C HARLES C. BOWLBY is. in his declining years, enjoying all the comforts that heart can wish and the pleasures that can be found in town life, having removed from his farm to Pontiac and taken possession of a substantial brick house on Auburn Avenue. Mr. Bowlby has been successful in prosecuting the affairs of life and has a competency, so that he is able to indulge every reasonable taste and to contribute liberally to the enterprises in which he is interested. He has been closely identified with the financial interests of Oakland County since 1835, with the exception of a short time, and in this county he carried on farm work and has also loaned money and made various investments.
Gage and Anna (Chrisman) Bowlby, the par- ents of our subject, were natives of New Jersey and were of German ancestry. Their wedded life was begun in their native State, whence they subse-
quently removed to Steuben County, N. Y., and later to Cayuga County. In the fall of 1837 they came to this State and established themselves in Orion Township, Oakland County. There the father followed farming during the remainder of his active life and died in 1852, in the eighty- fourth year of his age. The mother breathed her last in her sixty-third year. They were the parents of two daughters and five sons, and the only sur- vivors are, Thomas, Charles C. and Jacob M.
The birthplace of our subject was Warren County, N. J., and his natal day July 26, 1814. Ilis boyhood was passed in Steuben County, N. Y., in- an alternation of study and work such as is usually the case with those who live on farms and attend the common schools. In 1835 he came to Michigan and his first business here was to act in the capacity of clerk in the dry-goods store of his brother in-law, John Hankinson, with whom he remained two years. He then returned to New York and spent a year in Cayuga County, then coming back to this State followed his parents to Oakland County. He located on a tract of un- broken land, cleared a part of the estate, and then sold it and bought seventy-six acres on the Lapeer gravel road. He spent several years there, then disposed of his property and bought one hundred and thirty-six acres in another part of the town- ship, and later added twenty acres more. Ile car- ried on general farming there until 1869, when he sold the property for $11,100 and took up his resi- dence in Pontiac. Hle had built a dwelling, barns and other edifices on the farm, and so increased its value very decidedly. Since he came to Pontiac he has been chiefly engaged in money loaning.
In Orion Township, Oakland County, in 1840, Mr. Bowlby and Miss Tacy Ann Clark were united in marriage. The bride was born in Wayne County, Pa., and came to this state with her parents, Elijah B. and May A. (Yerkes) Clark, about 1829. Her father was born in Connecticut and was of English descent, and her mother was of German extraction. Mr. and Mrs. Bowlby have five children : May II., wife of Lewis Morgan ; Helen I., who married John C. Buchner; Orcelia, wife of John Whitsell ; Charles F .. and Georgia, wife of E. V. Allison.
Mr. Bowlby atfiliates with the Republican party
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in State and national matters, but in local elections votes independently. For one term he was an al- derman of the city. While not a member of any church he has been a liberal contributor to differ- ent denominations, believing that their work is of a civilizing and elevating nature. lle has a good reputation for honesty and uprightness and has made many friends during his life journey.
b ERMAN G. RIES. This young gentleman is rapidly coming to the front among the farmers of Royal Oak Township, where he has been living since his boyhood. He took possession of his present estate, which consists of eighty acres on section 36, some five years since and now has thirty six acres under cultivation. Ile built the house and barn and is gradually but steadily bringing the farm into good condition. Mr. Ries was born in Detroit December 16, 1860. his parents being William Henry and Augusta(Schultz) Ries, who were natives of Germany. The mother was the youngest child of George and Minnie Schultz, and had four brothers and two sisters. Our subject's mother died in Detroit in 1867. Mr. Ries, the father, is now living in Flint, still work- ing at his trade of a tailor. He was married a sec- ond time when the son, of whom we write, was nine years old, his bride being Mrs. Isabel Thompson.
At that time Herman came to Royal Oak Town- ship to make his home with Charles Watts, but after a short time he became a member of the household of John Watts, and still later lived with John Ful- ton two years. Ile then spent five years with George Besancom, of Redford, Wayne County, and at the expiration of that period went to Detroit and worked a year in the car shops. He then re- turned to Redford and made it his home for three years, after which he settled where he is now living. lle was married March 10, 1886, to Alice J., daughter of William and Jane Fulton, for whose history the reader is referred to the biography of John Fulton. Mrs. Ries is the youngest in a fam- ily consisting of three daughters and two sons. She and her husband have two children-Clarence
W., born Jannary 30, 1887, and lloward F., May May 4, 1889.
When national candidates are before the people Mr. Ries always votes for those named on tlie Re- publican ticket, but in local work he is independ- ent, looking to the character of the man rather than to the political element he represents. Both husband and wife belong to the Congregational Church of Royal Oak and Mr. Ries is Trustee, and Superintendent and teacher in the Sunday-school. Ilis character is irreproachable and his general in- terest in that which is worthy in civic and social matters redounds to his credit among the people. Mrs. Ries is intelligent, kind-hearted and capable, and she has many friends.
OIIN W. COLLINS. That Oakland County has advanced far beyond the pioneer state, is attested by the fact that the first white child born in Farmington Township is now and has been for many years a business man, and a prominent citizen. This child, who bears the name of John W. Collins, was born September 26, 1824. Ilis father, George W. Collins, was born in On- tario County. N. Y., and became a farmer and merchant. He came to Michigan in 1824, and in March located in Farmington Township, upon a tract of land which was entirely unbroken and un- cleared. He built a log house and proceeded to improve the place. He afterward removed to Farmington, where he opened up a general store. Ile was also Justice of the Peace. Town Clerk and Postmaster for a number of years. He died in 1865, leaving behind him a widow, Cynthia M. (Newton) Collins, who lived to be ninety-three years old. They were the parents of three sons and four daughters. After being educated on the farm and in the log schoolhouses of that day our subject started in life for himself at the age of twenty-one, but remained at home, working for his father on the farm and in the store.
Esther Wixon, the only child of Civilian and Martha Wixon. of New York, became the wife of John W. Collins in 1854. To this couple were
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yours Truly I can Crippen
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given five children, all of whom grew to maturity. They are: Minnie, a book-keeper in the Harter Hospital, in Detroit; Jessie, the wife of J. M. Green, of Farmington Township; Corinne, a type- writer in Detroit; Henrietta, head type-writer in Charles Wright's Medicine Company, in Detroit, and is considered one of the best in Michigan ; and William E., who graduated at the head of the C'lass of '90 in the pharmaceutical department of the University at Ann Arbor.
Mr. Collins is carrying on a general store in Farmington, where he has been for forty years. Ile is a Republican and wide awake in regard to po- litical affairs. He was at one time Treasurer of the township for many years, and has been Ilighway Commissioner. He was Postmaster of Farmington for twenty-five years.
W ILLIAM W. CRIPPEN. Various business interests are represented in Milford, and few are more important than that of Mr. Crippen. He is a dealer in agricultural imple- ments, and carries the largest and most complete stock in the place, so full that he requires several buildings for storage. Himself a practical farmer, he knows well what machines and implements will be found serviceable and cheap by reason of their usefulness, and his supply is well selected and of reliable makes. Mr. Crippen, whose portrait ap- pears on the opposite page, is one of the old set- tlers, having been born in Highland Township in 1842, his natal day being September 3. When he was four years old his mother removed from the farm to the village of Milford, where he had the advantages of the common school. As soon as he was strong enough to do so, he began working on the farm, and until his marriage that was his home and his efforts were given for the general good of the family.
Samuel Crippen, a native of Vermont, grew to manhood amid the Green Mountains and became one of the first settlers in Highland Township, this county. Here he was engaged in farming until his death, which occurred not long after his removal.
He married Margaret Porter, who was born in Ire- land near Londonderry, and whose father, John Porter, settled in this eounty immediately after his immigration, and farmed in Bloomfield Township the rest of his life. Mrs. Crippen was left a widow with three children, and kept her family together, rearing them carefully and giving them practical edueations. Her last years were spent in the home of her son, our subjeet, who had been her mainstay from his boyhood. She died in 1883, when more than fourscore and ten years old; she was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church. Her children are Mrs. Mary J. Bowman, now living in Colon; Mrs. Fanny A. Dickinson, of Hillsdale; and William W.
When William Crippen was nineteen years old, he entered the Union Army as a member of Com- pany I, Twenty-second Michigan Infantry, the date of his enlistment being July 11, 1862. He was mustered in at Detroit, and sent to Covington, Ky., and his first active service was during Kirby Smith's raid on Cincinnati. Ile took part in the engagement at Mt. Sterling, and in the noted bat- tles of Resacs, Chickamauga and Lookout Moun- tain. He was one of the participants in the Georgia campaign, from Chattanooga to the capture of At- lanta, and then returned under Thomas to Tennes- see, where he remained until the order was received for his company to be mustered out. Ile was dis- charged in August, 1865, after an army life of over three years, during which he was away from his company but two weeks, and then was in the hospital suffering from fever.
On his return home Mr. Crippen engaged in the harness business and carried it on some eighteen months. From that time until 1872 he was en- gaged in farming, and he then went to Kalkaskia County, in the Grand Traverse country, and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. Hle cut his way into the woods six miles from any settler, and had the honor of naming Excelsior Township, where he was the first pioneer. Ile hewed out a farm on which he remained ten years, placing one hundred and forty acres under the plow, and erecting substantial and sufficiently num- erous buildings. He called the township meeting, and gave the locality its name, because it was the best township in the county. For two years he
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was its Supervisor. For eighteen months he was engaged in the grocery business in Kalkaskia, but his home was on the farm. In 1882 he rented the property and returned to Milford, where he has since been carrying on his present line of trade.
The wife of Mr. Crippen bore the maiden name of Mary J. Stephens, and is a native of Milford, in which place she reared and educated. Her father, Willis Stephens, was born in Ireland, and further facts regarding his history will be found in the bio- graphical sketch of Charles W. Soulby, to which the reader is referred. Mrs. Crippen has in her own right a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in New Hudson Township. Her marriage was sol- emnized in 1875. She and her husband have an adopted daughter, Fanny E. Mrs. Crippen is a well-informed, kindly woman, and a sincere be- liever in the tenets of the Presbyterian Church with which she has been identified for a number of years.
In the spring of 1889 Mr. Crippen was elected Supervisor of Milford Township, and he has been a member of various committees, the chief of which are those on County Buildings, Justice Claims and Miscellaneous Claims. He has been President of the Village for three terms, and Village Trustee as long. and still holds the latter otlice. For years he acted as Justice of the Peace. In politics he is a Democrat, and he has been a delegate to county and State conventions. He belongs to Col. La Favor Post, No. 181, G. A. R., and Union Veteran Union, Thomas Ward Command, No. 39.
OL. SAMUEL E. BEACH is one of Oak- land's worthiest citizens, a brief sketch of whose life we place upon the pages of the history of the old county. Ever a prominent man among the citizens of the county he has received the tokens of his fellow-citizens' regard and con- fidenee by numerous elevations to official stations within their gift. He has been one of the workers of the community, whose labors have redounded more to others' substantial benefit than his own.
Samuel Elmore Beach was born in Lewiston, Niagara County, N. Y., April 7, 1823. His father,
Noah Beach, was a native of Whitney, Rutland County, Vt., where he was born October 3, 1788, and died in Bridgeport, Saginaw County, Mich., May 23, 1866. Ilis mother was Eunice Cooley, daughter of Col. Benjamin Cooley, of Revoln- tionary fame, who was born at Pittsford, Rut- land County, Vt., April 30, 1747. She was born in the same town, April 16, 1791. She died at Bridge- port, Saginaw County, Mich., to which State she and her husband came in 1837. Noah Beach, the father, was a member of the lower house of the State Legislature from Saginaw County, in 1842, and a member of the Senate in 1848, from the senatorial district composed of the counties of Oak- land, Saginaw, Shiawassee and Lapeer.
The subject of this sketch attended the district school in his native place until he arrived at the age of fourteen years when, in November, 1837, in company with Martin Miller, he left Lewiston to go to Michigan, traveling on foot through Canada, and arriving at Detroit the night previous to the descent of the patriots of 1837. on Windsor, who burned a portion of that place. On the last day of November the lad ( Beach) arrived at Pontiac, whither his father had preceded him in August. In February, 1838, the father removed to Spring- field, to a farm. accompanied by the son, who wrought upon the farm during the spring, summer and fall following, and taught school during the winter of 1838-39. In September, 1840, the young man returned to Pontiac and engaged with Samuel Chamberlain as a clerk in a dry-goods and grocery store, in which situation he remained until August, 1842. when he removed to Franklin to take charge of a similar store and flouring-mill for D. M. Hins- dale, who also had a general store at Pontiac.
Young Beach remained at Franklin, conducting the business of his employer until the spring of 1845, when he returned to Pontiac and engaged with the firm of Mathews & Beach, in the dry- goods line, and remained with them until March 1. 1847. When he was but fourteen years of age he was a member of a rifle company in Lewiston, un- der command of Capt. Robinson, which company was called out and stationed on the line between New York and Canada, to preserve the neutrality of the United States in the Patriot War. This
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brief experience gave him a taste for military affairs, and when the United States Congress authorized the President to raise ten additional regiments for the prosecution of the Mexican War, the feelings of patriotism engendered in the bosom of the young salesman proved too ardent to allow of further service in the measurement of tape and calico, and he at once resigned his position behind the coun- ter, and calling on his associates soon raised a com- pany of forty-five men, and received a commission as Second Lieutenant in Company A, Fifteenth United States Infantry, commanded by Col. George W. Morgan, of Ohio, assigned to service in Mexico.
The regiment was filled up with recruits from Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin. The forty- five men recruited by Lieut. Beach were enlisted by him in a few days, prior to his departure to De- troit. Before he left Pontiac to join his command the citizens of that place presented him with a handsome sword, belt and sash. After about a week's stay in Detroit he left that city under orders to report to Col. Morgan, at Vera Cruz, Mexico, and arrived at his destination in June, and within two weeks the command proceeded via the paved road of the Spanish conquest, to Pueblo, and joined Gen. Scott's forces at that point. The command was brigaded with the Ninthi United States Infantry, commanded by Gen. Franklin Pierce, afterward President. On August 17, Lieut. Beach with his regiment left Pueblo for the valley of Mexico, where the entire command of Gen. Scott concen- trated and moved toward the capital. At Contre- ras Lieut. Beach participated in the storming and capture of the works, on the morning of August 20, 1847, and in the afternoon of the same day was engaged in the desperate assault and final capture of Churubusco. For meritorions conduct in these engagements he was breveted First Lieutenant. On the 8thi of September following he was engaged in the battle of Molino del Rey, and on the 13th of the same month he and his company were foremost in the storming of Chepultepec. Lieut. Beach's company received eight of the fifteen certificates for bravery and merit which were awarded by Con- gress to participators in this last-named assault, the balance of the Fifteenth Regiment receiving the other sever. Lieut. Beach placing and ascending
the first ladder successfully raised against the walls of the castle, by which the same were scaled. The Fifteenth regiment, in honor of its priority in the capture, was posted in the citadel of the castle at Chepultepec. About the 1st of February, 1848, the regiment was ordered to Cuernavaca, and on the 23d of the month Lieut. Beach received his promotion to the rank of First Lieutenant in the United States Army. Peace having been declared his command was ordered to Covington, Ky., where on its arrival it was mustered out of the service, and in August following the Lieutenant returned returned home to Pontiac with the surviving members of his company who enlisted thercat, and with them was received with demonstrations of joy and accorded an enthusiastic public reception.
In the following April Lieut. Beach was elected Justice of the Peace of Pontiac, then a thriving and bustling village, for a term of four years, and while holding that office, in the fall of 1850, was elected to the office of County Treasurer for a term of two years, and re elected thereto in 1852 and 1854. IIe was nominated by his party (the Democratic) in 1856, but was defeated by a small majority by Judge Harry Andrews. In the fall of 1860 he was a candidate for Sheriff of the county, but the great political revolution which swept over the Northern States left Lieut. Beach defeated. He was, how- ever, at that time Cashier in the Custom House at Detroit, and remained at his post until the spring of 1861, when being again elected Justice of the Peace of Pontiac, he returned to that city. but be- fore taking the position (July 4) the War of the Rebellion had burst upon the country, and the charms of home and emoluments of office were but a feather's weight in the scale as against his coun- try in the breast of this patriot, and he at once threw his whole influence into the work of raising volunteers under the President's call for seventy- five thousand men. So strong was the patriotic ardor of the community, and earnest the zeal of the leader, in one week's time one hundred and forty two men were enlisted and eager for duty. The call having been filled, and troops being offered every day, more than the Government could clothe and equip, enlistment ceased for a time, but the men already enlisted in Michigan
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were gathered into a camp of instruction at Ft. Wayne, near Detroit. On the defeat of the Union arms at Bull Run the call for more troops was issued, and the skeletons of regiments in Ft. Wayne were ordered to their places of rendezvous to fill up their ranks. On June 19, 1861, Lieut. Beach received a commission from Gov. Blair as Lieuten- ant. Colonel, and was assigned to the Fifth Regi- ment of Michigan Infantry, and July 22. 1861, was ordered to report with his regiment at Washington, where he arrived about September 15, and the regi- ment was assigned to the brigade commanded by Gen. Israel B. Richardson, and went into camp south of Alexandria, Va. When the general ad- vance was made the brigade went to Fortress Mon- roe, and a few days afterward participated in the siege of Yorktown.
While in the trenches before Yorktown Col. Beach was the first to discover and report the evac- nation of those fortifications by the enemy. Col. Beach's regiment was in the advance in pursuing the retreating foe, and was early engaged in bat- tle with him at Williamsburg, May 5, 1862, where his regiment lost one hundred and forty-three killed and wounded, Col. Beach being among the latter. While charging the rifle pits of the enemy he was severely wounded in the left thigh by a minie ball, and was taken from the field, from the effects of which wound he has never recovered. lle was taken to Baltimore and was confined to his hed, at the residence of Dr. Robinson, Vice Presi- dent of the Relief Society, for six weeks. Ile was then sufficiently recovered to travel, and was taken to his home in Pontiac, where he slowly regained his usual strength, and the wound healed sufficiently to enable him to get about on erutehes, when he was assigned to recruiting service in December, with headquarters at Pontiac, where he remained nearly a year, when believing he was able to resume active duty in the field he joined his regi- ment, then upon the Rapidan, at Brandy Station. But it required a few days only in the saddle to develop serious difficulty with his wound, and he was forced to relinquish the idea of doing further field duty, yet despite intense suffering he partici- pated in the movement on Mine Run. When the command returned to Brandy Station he applied
for and received a transfer to the hospital, and after his health had somewhat improved he was assigned to duty on the general court martial, at Washington, Gen. Griffin, President. On Gen. Griffin's resumption of active service with his com- mand Col. Beach succeeded to the Presidency of the court martial, which position he filled until the term of his enlistment expired, and he was mus- tered out of service in August, 1864. In Novem- ber following he was elected to the office of Sheriff of Oakland County, and re-elected in 1866, his term expiring December 31, 1869. In April, 1871, he was elected Justice of the Peace, of Pontiac, for four years from July 4, 1871, and in April, 1875, was re elected to another term of four years, which office by re-election in the spring of 1891, he is at the present time filling to the entire satisfaction of the people.
On October 11, 1849, Col. Beach was united in marriage to a daughter of John Thompson, of Broome County, N. Y. She was born in the town of Lisle, in said county, January 15, 1827. There are now surviving four children of this marriage, three daughters and one son, who are named as follows; Mary; lIattie, wife of Robert J. Lons- bury, attorney, of Pontiac; Katie E., wife of Dr. M. W. Gray, of Pontiac; and Samuel E., a clerk in the First National Bank at that place. In 1883 Mr. Beach was made Justice of the Peace and served for a term of four years, since which time he has been engaged in the business of insurance collections and pensions. Col. Beach is, and ever has been, a Democrat in politics. Ile was elected President of the village of Pontiac for two years, about 1854-55.
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