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 81
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Our subject was a lad of seven years when he came to this State and with the exception of a few years he has continued to make his home in High- land Township. Ile was born in Brown County, N. Y., January 3, 1829. During his boyhood and youth he resided with his parents, attending school as did other lads until he was old enough to teach, and then devoting the winters to pedagogical work and the summers to further study, until he was of age. Altogether he taught fourteen terms of school, one year having charge of the High School at Mil- ford. In 1856 he engaged in the mercantile busi- ness and for three years carried on a general store in Milford. In 1863 he bought the farm be now occupies and he has since devoted his time to agri- cultural work.
The lady who presides over Mr. Ruggles' home became his wife in Hamlin. N. Y., in 1858. She bore the maiden name of Lydia A. Cary, and is a daughter of Richard and Polly (Sutton) Cary, who were natives of the Empire State. Mr. Cary always lived in New York and died there in 1877. His widow is still living in that State and is now sev- enty-two years old.
Mr. and Mrs. Ruggles are the parents of four sons, named respectively Frank (deceased), Fred
EDWARD COATES.
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C., Charles E. and Harry O. Fred was married December 24, 1890, to Annabel McCall, daughter of Robert and Mary (Ladson) MeCall; Fred has taught school for six years and also paid consider- able attention to farming; he is now in Sanilac County, engaged in the latter occupation. Charles E. was married February 12, 1890, to May Baily, daughter of Adelbert and Elizabeth (Kemp) Baily, and a native of this State.
The first vote cast by Mr. Ruggles was for Zach- ary Taylor, and since the organization of the Re- publican party he has been identified therewith. Ilis intelligence, energy and public spirit have been recognized by his election to several oflices of local importance. He was School Inspector for a num- ber of years and has been Treasurer and Clerk in Highland Township, and in Milford was Justice of the Peace. He is a member of the Free Will Bap- tist Chureb, and his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal denomination. Both endeavor to order their lives aright and, while giving their first thought to their own family, to do unto others as they wish others to do unto them.
E JDWARD COATES. One of the most bean- tiful places in Michigan is found on the shores of Pine Lake in West Bloomfield Township, and consists of a quarter section of land belonging to the gentleman above named. It is located on the east bank of the lake and has eighty rods of water frontage, from which lots have been platted and some already sold for summer rosi- dences. Mr. Coates is now giving his entire at- tention to his farm, on which he lives, although he is unmarried and alone. Not only has he good standing with his fellow agriculturists, but he has a fine war record, having spent some of the best years of his life in the service of his country and filled a rank that took him constantly in danger and exercised to the full his soldierly qualities and executive ability.
Mr. Coates was born in Yorkshire, England, April
25, 1825, and left his native land in the spring of 1832, when his parents, Joseph and Mary A. (Rich- ardson) Coates, bade adieu to their native shire, determined to make their home in the United States. The fall after landing on American soil they came to this State and bought the tract of Government land on section 12, West Bloomfield Township, that is now occupied by the son. There they spent the remainder of their days, the hus- band dying March 12. 1876, at the age of eighty- five, and the wife in 1866 when seventy-five years old. They had ten children, named respectively, William, Mary A., Joseph, Thomas, Edward, Henry, Adelina, Richard, Alfred and Sarah J.
Mr. Joseph Coates was left an orphan when a child and inherited a large property. He received a liberal education and in his own land was engaged in the sale of merchandise. During his early resi- dence in this State he was the only stenographer within its bounds and he did a great deal of report- ing for the government of the Commonwealth and for the Detroit Free Press. In the '40s lie repre- resented this county in the State Legislature, being elected on the Democratic ticket. After the organ - ization of the Republican party he gave it his al- legiance and strong support. He was a Congrega- tionalist in religion but his wife was a member of the Church of England.
Edward Coates, of whom we write, was seven years old when the voyage across the Atlantic took place. IIe remained on the farm in this county until he was seventeen years old. and in the mean- time acquired a thorough knowledge of the com- mon-school branches in the district schools and learned something of the higher studies in Pontiac .. Ile then spent five years as a clerk in the dry-goods store of his brother William at Pontiac and three years at Detroit with the firm of Jack & Coates. He next went to New York City and secured the position of traveling salesman for the wholesale dry.goods house of Ira Smith, Jr., & Co., for which he worked until 1862, when the house went out of business, owing to the progress of the rebellion.
Mr. Coates returned to this State and began raising a regiment at Mt. Clemens, and was placed in charge of the recruiting office for Northern Michigan. November 18, 1862, he went into the
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service as Major of the Eighth Michigan Cav- alry, and for a year or more was with the cavalry corps of the Army of the Ohio under Gen. Burn- side. During that time he participated in the pur- suit of Gen. Morgan and took part in the engage- ment at Buffington's Island. After that he was in the advance of Burnside's troops in the campaign in East Tennessee, during which the engagements at Calhoun, Sweet Water, Campbell Station and many others took place. The cavalry was actively engaged in raiding and outpost duty almost with- out cessation. Maj. Coates took part in the en- gagement against Longstreet in front of Knox- ville and in the eigliteen days' siege of that city, and fought at Bean Station, Newmarket and Dan - dridge.
After the siege of Knoxville Maj. Coates crossed the mountains to Mt. Sterling and in June, 1861, was in pursuit of and in the engagement with John Morgan, at Cynthiana, Ky., Gen. Burbridge in command. After the Stoneman raid the regiment was reorganized and placed under command of our subjeet, who reported to Gen. Thomas at Nashville. Ile subsequently went to Pulaski and to Lawrence- burg, it being his special work to look after the movements of Gen. llood. The Major was finally taken down with rheumatism, and owing to physical disability was honorably discharged and returned to the North. He had taken part in the fight at Atlanta under Gen. Sherman and in numerous skir- mishes not included in the list above. For a year or two after his discharge he remained on the farm and he then spent a short time in business in Pontiac. Following that was a lengthy period as commercial traveler for a New York house, but in 1884 he abandoned his work on account of rheumatism and has since lived on his farm. He bought the prop- erty from his father in 185t.
Maj. Coates has firm faith in the Republican party, and is an unfailing supporter of its princi- ples, but he pays no further attention to polities. lle has frequently been nominated for township and county offices, but has always declined them. Religiously he is a stanch Episcopalian. Ile is a Mason, belonging to the subordinate lodges and the commandery, and is a member of Dick Richard- son Post, No. 147, G. A. R., at Pontiac. His standing
in the community is unquestioned, and his reputa- tion undisputed in the locality he has so long called home. In connection with this sketch, the reader will notice a lithographie portrait of Maj. Coates.
E BER DURIIAM, who resides on section 36, Farmington Township, was born in Wayne County, N. Y., April 11, 1818. The father was Ira Durham, a New York carpenter and farmer, and the mother Elizabeth Brownell, a native of Rhode Island. They were married in New York, where they located in Wayne County on a farm. October, 1835, saw them settled in a new home, a log cabin, in Farmington Township, Oakland County, Mich. Ilere they lived for about twelve years, and then removed to Southfield Township, where they resided with a son, James W. Durham, the remainder of their days. The mother was called away at the age of seventy-two, and the fa- ther completed his eighty-seventh year. They lie side by side in the cemetery in Livonia, Wayne County. This pioneer couple were the parents of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters.
Our subject is the eighth child, and the only one now living. He came to Michigan with his parents when he was seventeen years old. Ilis early edu- cation was conducted in Wayne County, N. Y., and lie completed his schooling at a seleet school in Farmington. When nineteen years old he began working by the month in a sawmill near Detroit. His marriage was celebrated in 1843, and he was then united with Phoebe Jennings, a native of New York, who became the mother of one child, Albert A., and who died in 1852.
The second wife of Mr. Durham was Amy C. Andrews, who was born in Farmington Township, November 29. 1829. The marriage took place in July, 1853. Joseph and Lydia (Smith) Andrews, the parents of Mrs. Durham, came from the east to Michigan in 1826. They located in Farmington Township, and there spent the remainder of their days. The father was called away when only forty. one years old, and the mother lived until she had completed her seventy-eighth year.
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Three children crowned the second marriage of our subject; they are: Charles J., residing in Den- ver, Col., Julia A., the wife of Edward Dickinson, of Farmington Township; and Willard B., also re- siding in Denver. Mr. Durham still carries on the farm, and has now only forty acres. He is a Re- publican, and cast his first and last Presidential votes for the Harrison family. The first office he ever held was that of Highway Commissioner. He was elected Justice of the Peace, but resigned. He was Drainage Commissioner for nine consecutive years, and is still filling this office. Ile at one time belonged to the Farmington Lodge, I. O. O. F.
RANK HIAGERMAN. To one accustomed to business life a cursory view of the estab- lishments in a town will reveal much of the nature of their proprietors and give good ground upon which to base an opinion regarding their tact and sagacity. None could visit the drug store of Mr. Ilagerman at Birmingham without coming to the conclusion that he is a first-class business man. The store is neat and attractive, its shelves are well supplied with drugs and druggists' sundries, and the clerical force is courteous and efficient. Mr. Ilagerman had small means on which to begin busi- ness, and his enterprise was instituted on a modest scale. The business has steadily increased as he has become better known and his methods been more highly appreciated. Besides drugs Mr. Ilager- man carries a stock of groceries.
The parents of our subject were born in New Jersey, and lived there until after their marriage. 'They then took up their residence in Northampton County, Pa., where they remained until the spring of 1862, when they removed to Bloomfield Center, this county. John Hagerman bought a farm, on which his last years were spent. His widow, Ade- line ( Angle) llagerman, survives, and makes her home in Birmingham. Ile lived a quiet, indus- trious life, paying no attention to politics other than to cast a Democratic ballot, giving his atten- tion to farming and the care of his family. He was descended from an old Holland family, but
his father, Francis IIagerman, was born in New Jersey. David Angle, maternal grandfather of our subject, was also a native of New Jersey. Our subject is the fourth in the parental family. His brothers and sisters are: Rachel, wife of W. H. Smith, a farmer and mill-owner in Bloomfield Township; Auna, who lives in Birmingham ; Will- iam, a farmer in Bloomfield Township; and David, who lives at Maxey, Tex.
Frank Hagerman was born at Upper Mt. Bethel, Northampton County, Pa., November 15, 1845, and was reared on a farm in his native county. Ile received a common-school education and re- mained with his father, aiding him in the farm work until some months after he reached his majority. In 1869, the family having come to this county a few years before, he began clerking in a drug store in Birmingham, his employer being George L. Lee. The next winter he bought ont the business, and with the exception of two years, has carried it on, building up his trade and adding to his reputation as a business man. He has held nearly all the vil- lage offices, including those of President and Trus- tee, and has also been Township Clerk. IIe casts his vote with the Democrats. He is a Mason, be- longing to the Royal Arch degree, and his charac- ter is moral and his disposition social.
The marriage of Mr. Ilagerman and Miss Ro- setta Daines was solemnized at the bride's home in Birmingham, July 18, 1870. She was born at Bloomfield Center and is a daughter of John and Alice ( Watkins) Daines. Mr. and Mrs. Ilager- man have two daughters, Alice and Gertrude, who still form part of the parental household, which their intelligence and pleasing ways make bright.
RS. DELAND BOWEN. Among the finest specimens of the early pioneers of Michi- gan, may be mentioned the lady whose name stands at the head of this sketch. She is the oldest living settler of Milford Town- ship, and although eighty-seven years of age, still exhibits a grand mental strength and a robust and splendid physique. She has excellent business abil-
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ity, and has managed the farm herself since her husband's death. Iler father, Orrin Sessions, a native of Pomfret, Windsor County, Vt., was born in 1780, and died in 1832. Her mother was Betsey (Fish) Sessions, a native of Cape Cod, Mass. She was born May 18, 1783, and moved to Vermont when young and was married there. She came to Michigan in 1834, and made her home with her children till her death in 1869. Of her thirteen children, five are now living. Mrs. Bowen was born August 19, 1801, at Pomfret, Vt., and there she grew to womanhood. receiving a common-school education. ller mother brought her up in the faith of the Congregational Church.
The marriage of this young woman took place in 1828. She was then united with Cromwell Bowen, who was born in April, 1798, in Royalton, Vt. Ilis father was David and his mother Betsey (Cushing) Bowen. They were the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters. Two of these chil- dren are still living, one daughter having reached the extreme age of ninety-nine years, and the youngest child of the family being now eighty years old.
Mr. and Mrs. Bowen were very poor in their early married life. They lived in Vermont several years and came to Michigan in 1835, journeying by Erie Canal to Buffalo, and thence by boat to Detroit. They settled on the farm now in the pos- session of Mrs. Bowen, and here she has lived for fifty-six years. The land was entirely new and there were very few neighbors. Like angel visits, they were few and far between. but if lacking in quantity they made up in quality, for as this good lady says. they were as good as gold. Alonzo Sib- ley, one of the old settlers, was living in Commerce Township then. Mr. Bowen cleared all of the one hundred and sixty acres, and put on the present improvements. He died in September, 1878, and is buried in the cemetery at Sibley's Corners.
Our subject and her husband were the parents of five children, three of whom are now living. Bet- sey E. was born in Vermont. Her first marriage united her with Reuben Sample. One ebild of this first union survives-Ora C .- who married Jennie Longeneeker and lives in Commerce Township. IIer second marriage was with Henry Longenecker. She
is now a widow. Mr. Sample died in 1872 and Mr. Longenecker in 1881. Mrs. Bowen's oldest son, Willard, resides at home with his mother. Al- bert, the second son, married Edith Pittenger. Mr. Bowen took an active interest in politics, being a Whig and later a Republican. He was ever awake to the necessity of promoting publie schools and gave all his children an excellent education. Two of his daughters were teachers for some time. Mrs. Bowen is a member of the Universalist Church. She has seen this country grow from a wild condi- tion to its present state. All the property has been accumulated by the industry and frugality of this worthy couple and is being finely conserved by this remarkable and intelligent lady.
R EV. ROBERT BIRD. During a'period of some forty years this highly respected resi- dent of Birmingham was engaged in the active duties of the ministry, and from the fall of 1869 to that of 1874 he was pastor of the Birmingham Methodist Episcopal Church. Dur- ing that time he was instrumental in bringing to completion the present fine house of worship. which was pnt np at a cost of about $15,000. Mr. Bird has a wonderful faculty for raising money for such purposes, and is very liberal-minded, well informed and well read. Although he belongs to one of the most orthodox of churches, he has broad sympathy and many original ideas, and lacks the narrow sec- tarian outlook which was common in former days, but is now passing away, borne down by the char- ity and brotherly kindness that are coming to be considered more truly Christian than strict tenets of doctrine.
George and Agnes (Greenslade) Bird, natives of Devonshire, England, came to America in the spring of 1829 and spent the following year in Great Falls, N. II. They then removed to what is now County Dufferin, Ontario, Canada, locating on a piece of wild land, where the husband cleared np a farm. In August, 1835, he made a trip to Mich- igan with a view of looking up a home, and en- tered one hundred and twenty acres under the
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Government land laws of that date, in Romulus Township, Wayne County. Returning to his Cana- dian home, he made arrangements to sell ont and remove. He and his son Robert, the subject of this sketch, then fourteen years old, came on, travel- ing the entire distance, over two hundred miles, with an ox-team. Shortly after their arrival the father was taken sick and had to return to Canada. He left our subject, giving him directions to cut logs and put up a cabin. This was done as soon as possible, but the house was not prepared for the occupancy of the family until the spring of 1837, as the youth had difficulty in getting it. raised. He refused to furnish whiskey on the oc- casion of the raising-bees and had to make the third one before he could get the walls placed. On the first occasion it was made three logs high, when a call was made for whiskey, and as young Bird would not furnish it the men went home. On the third experience of this kind they declared that the boy had good pluck, and so finished the house for him.
In the spring of 1837 the father brought the rest of the family from Canada, but the next spring he was so affected by the malarial influences that in spite of medical aid he grew worse, and finally he and his wife went back to their former home, thinking the change of climate would benefit him. It did not prove effectual, and he died in Canada about the 1st of November, 1838. Ilis widow came back to Michigan and remained on the land, keeping her four unmarried children at home. She was a sen- sible, kind and resolute Christian woman, and her influence over her family was strong and unfailing. She passed away in 1856. The husband was a wool-comber in England, a trade that has long been done away with by the invention of machinery. After coming to America he devoted himself to agriculture. He was a local preacher of the Wes- leyan Methodist Church in England, and from his carly life had been a devout Christian.
The eldest son in the parental family was Rob- ert, who was born in Devonshire, England, Janu- ary 5, 1821. After the decease of his father much care fell on him and the strength of his character was shown and developed by this means. At the age of eighteen years he united with the Method-
ist Episcopal Church in Romulus, and from the beginning of his religious life he was strongly drawn toward the ministry. His educational ad- vantages were such as he could secure in the little log schoolhouses of the time, when the spelling- book with its reading lessons was the principal text-book, and he had, therefore, but a limited amount of knowledge. The Rev. Duncan McMil- len, a Presbyterian divine living in the vicinity, gave to each youth who would meet at his home a copy of Murray's English Grammar and instruc- tion in that branch. In this way young Bird ob- tained a large part of his education. The Rev. Mr. McMillen took much interest in him, noting his desire for self-improvement, and although their religious belief was so different, encouraged and aided him all that he could.
Our subject remained with his mother and as- sisted in improving the farm until he was past his majority, and then began working out by the month, hoarding his resources and living econom- ically in order to attend a higher school. He bought clothes and books, and did chores nights and morn- ings for his board, while attending a branch of the Michigan University, which was then located at Tecumseh. In the fall of 1845 he united with the Michigan Annual Conference held at the old capitol in Detroit, and for thirty-seven years he was actively connected with that body, but since that has been superannuated. For six years he la- bored in the Lake Superior regions, going there as a pioneer minister when there were no railroads, not even stage routes in his circuit. For four years he was Presiding Elder of the Lake Superior District, Ile continued his active work in the min- isterial field until 1882, when he retired.
August 30, 1849, the Rev. Mr. Bird was married to Miss Emeline Vaughn, at that time a resident of Van Buren, Wayne County. She was a daughter of James C. and Rachel (Congdon) Vaughn, and was born in Greenbush, N. Y., in 1828. Mr. and Mrs. Bird had one pair of twins, but they died in infancy. Mrs. Bird breathed her last in March, 1869, in the town that was her carly home. Our subject made a second matrimonial alliance, being united to Miss Aurilla See in December, 1869. This lady was born in Shiawassee County in 1845,
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and is a daughter of John and Abigail (Catham) See, who were natives of New York. At the time of her marriage her home was in Bushnell, III. She has borne her husband three children, named re- spectively, Robert D., Emma M., and Alta M.
Mr. Bird has been prospered in financial matters and has abundant means invested in real estate. Ile owns some very desirable property in Detroit. Ile is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has taken the thirty-second degree. Ilis first Presi- dential vote was east for James (. Birney, and for many years he was a Republican. Ile is now a Prohibitionist, very stanch and ardent in his views. In 1872 he voted for Black and Russell.
LPHONZO DEWEY, deceased, was born in Monroe County, N. Y .. April 11. 1823. Ilis father, Jonathan Dewey, was a native of Massachusetts and died at the early age of thirty-two years. His wife, Thankful Col- lister, was also a native of the same county. Our subject was the third and youngest child of the fam- ily, and was reared in his native place. When he reached the age of twenty-one he came to Michi- gan, and after remaining about a year he returned to New York. Ile again made his home in the East until about the age of thirty years, when he returned to Southfield Township. and there lived until his death, which took place in 1883. Hle was an earnest Republican in his political views, but was never an ollice seeker.
Mrs. Dewey is the oldest daughter of Nathan and Oliva (Perry ) Aldrich. Walworth Township, Wayne County, was her native home. There she was born June 4, 1824. Her marriage with Mr. Dewey took place September 15, 1852. One child only, a son, Charles, was given to them. He was born May 12, 1859, in Southfield Township, Oak- land County. He was married February 18, 1891, taking as his bride Ester Cole, who was born in Redford Township, Wayne County, Mich., Febru- ary 9, 1870.
Mrs. Alphonzo Dewey has one hundred acres of
beautiful land in a fine state of cultivation. Iler son Charles assists her in carrying on the farm. She has been for many years an earnest and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
LBERT A. MURRAY, deceased, was born in West Bloomfield Township, this county, April 1, 1847. His father, Therion Mur- ray, was a native of New York State, and his mother, Rebecca Welfare, was born in England. Our subject was the second of two sons, and was reared to the occupation of a farmer. He held the office of Treasurer of Farmington for two years and was Supervisor in 1887. Ile was prominent as a Republican and also as a member of the Masonic order, in which he was Master for ten years in Farmington Lodge, No. 151. He was also active in the Grange and was always willing to forward the interests of the farming community. He was at one time a member of the Chosen Friends In- surance Company, and was over respected and honored by all who knew him. He was a liberal contributor to all good causes and in every way a man worthy of remembrance by the people of Oakland County. He passed away from life JJan- uary 26, 1888, and was buried by the lodge with Masonic honors in the North Farmington Ceme- tery.
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