USA > Michigan > Grand Traverse County > Sprague's history of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw counties, Michigan embracing a concise review of their early settlement, industrial development and present conditions...to which will be appended...life sketches of well-known citizens of the county > Part 62
USA > Michigan > Leelanau County > Sprague's history of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw counties, Michigan embracing a concise review of their early settlement, industrial development and present conditions...to which will be appended...life sketches of well-known citizens of the county > Part 62
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THOMAS T. BATES
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slavery man through all the thirty-five years preceding the Civil war. A man of strong conviction and great ability, he occupied a prominent place in his church, and lived to see the triumph of the cause to which he had given the best years of his life. His moth- er was of the old New York family of Tom- linsons, prominent in New York city in Revolutionary times and the years immedi- ately following.
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Thomas T. Bates was educated in the public schools. At sixteen he began life for himself, clerking at one dollar a week and boarding himself. A year later he was general helper in a bank at Glens Falls, New York. At eighteen he occupied an impor- tant position in a banking house in Memphis, Tennessee, but came north at the outbreak of the war. He removed to Traverse City in 1863, was cashier for Hannah, Lay & Company two years, and resigned to open a real estate office with Hon. D. C. Leach, whose interest in the business he bought in 1871. In 1858 his uncle, Hon. Morgan Bates, established the Grand Traverse Her- ald, and sold the paper in 1867 to Hon. D. C. Leach. Thomas T. Bates, who had had the management since 1865, bought the Herald of Mr. Leach in 1876, and has since that time been its editor and proprietor. His wife, Mrs. M. E. C. Bates, is associate edi- tor, and his daughter, Miss Mabel, local and society editor and associate manager. Mr. Bates has always been active in politics. He was prominent in eastern New York in 1856, when only fifteen years old, in the youth's organization of "The Rocky Mountain Boys" in the Fremont campaign. His first presidential vote was for Lincoln in 1864, and he has never missed voting a straight Republican ticket since. He has never been
a political office-holder, with the exception of that of postmaster at Traverse City, 1881-3, resigning the position on account of the increasing business of the Herald, which demanded his time. He was for several years chairman of the township and county committees. In 1880 he was chosen a member of the state central committee of his party, and served ten consecutive years, the longest consecutive service ever given by any member of the party. He repre- sented his district as delegate in the Repub- lican national convention in 1892, and was made secretary of the delegation.
In 1885 Mr. Bates was appointed a member of the board of trustees of the Northern Michigan Asylum, located at Traverse City, and which was opened to patients that year. He was re-appointed in 1889, again in 1895, and again in 1901, and is still acting on the board. In the fall of 1885 he was also appointed a member of the board of building commissioners for the same institution, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Hon. Perry Hannah, and was at once chosen chairman of the board, serving in this capacity until the com- pletion of the work of the commission in the fall of 1886. He was elected secretary of the Traverse City Railroad Company upon its organization in 1871, and served in that capacity until the road was leased to the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Com- pany ; was then placed upon the board of di- rectors of the Traverse City Railroad Com- pany, and for several years was president of the company. For a number of years he was a member of and president of the board of library trustees of Traverse City. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Ma- sons, and Royal Arch Masons, the Knights
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of Pythias and Knights of the Maccabees organizations, and was for a number of ` years president of the Traverse City Busi- ness Men's Association, which has been in- strumental in locating at that point nearly all the important manufacturing establish- ments of Traverse City. In 1897 he estab- lished, with J. W. Hannen, the Evening Record, and the enterprise has been very successful. Both that and the Herald are aggressively Republican in politics.
The subject was married, in 1867, to Miss Martha E. Cram, daughter of Jesse Cram, who for many years was identified with the early history of Wayne and Gene- see counties, and who was also one of the pioneers of Grand Traverse county. The family consists of two daughters, Miss Ma- bel and Miss Clara, and a son, George S., who is in the publishing business in Chi- cago.
ELON G. KINGSLEY. -
Elon G. Kingsley, a pioneer of Grand Traverse county, Michigan, and a man who is held in the highest respect by everybody, was born in Chenango county, New York, September 10, 1826, and is the son of a Baptist clergyman, Rev. A. C. Kingsley and his wife, Chloe B. (Leonard) Kingsley, being of English extraction. They moved to the western part of New York at an early day and from there to Walworth county, Wisconsin. Later they settled in DeKalb county, Illinois, where they died. They had a large family of twelve children and did more than their share towards developing the county and elevating the masses.
Elon G. Kingsley grew to manhood and
was married in his native state and has al- ways followed the occupation of a farmer. After marriage he located in Monroe county, New York, and from there moved to DeKalb county, Illinois, remaining there and carrying on his farming operations until June, 1866, when he came to Grand Traverse county, Michigan, and took up one hundred and sixty acres of land for a home in Paradise township. Later he disposed of forty acres, the remaining tract having been improved and cultivated by him and transformed into a cheerful, pleasant home.
Mr. Kingsley was married in August, 1848, to Miss Elizabeth A. Demorest, a native of New York, and a lady of rare and striking personality whose influence on those about her has resulted in untold good. Six children added to the happiness of this already happy married life, all of whom are living. They are Chloe J., who is the wife of William Rose; David A .; Delos C .; Cora, wife of David Crawford; Sardine M .; and Effie M., wife of A. M. Jeffrie. These chil- dren were all at different times teachers in the schools of Grand Traverse county. Fif- ty-two years from the time of her marriage, and in the same month of the year, August 24, 1900, Mrs. Kingsley was at the home of her daughter in Big Rapids, when her gentle spirit took its flight to join the choir invisible, leaving a wide circle of friends to mourn her. Mr. Kingsley is now in the evening of life but has retained a wonder- ful vitality and takes deep interest in the cur- rent events of the day. He is a Democrat.
It is related of Rev. A. C. Kingsley that in 1865 he paid a visit to Grand Traverse county and upon his return he took passage upon the little steamer "Sunnyside," intend- ing to connect at Northport with the main
MRS. E. G. KINGSLEY
E. G. KINGSLEY
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line of steamers for Chicago. While wait- ing at Northport Rev. Kingsley formed the acquaintance of another Baptist clergyman and they there and then organized the first Baptist church in Northport, which still exists. One of Rev. Kingsley's character- istics was punctuality, as is evidenced by the remarkable fact that during a ministry of forty-nine years he never disappointed a congregation. Of the Kingsley family whose ancestry traces to the Old Bay state there are now three living: Amanda C., wife of M. A. Miller, of Spencer, Iowa; the subject of this sketch, and Mary J., widow of Asel Ladd, who resides with the subject.
EDWIN S. PRATT.
It was that redoubtable Kentuckian, Henry Clay, who said, "I would rather be right than be President." The sentiment has been quoted many times since in refer- ence to lesser political positions than that of President, and often by people who knew that they did not speak the whole truth when they uttered it. Actions, however, speak louder than words, so when the words of a man are not only sustained but emphasized by his acts, full and complete credence must be given to his utterances. These observa- tions apply with special force to Edwin S. Pratt, the subject of this sketch. Reared a Republican of the most pronounced type, in complete concord with that party during his early manhood. he, like Whitelaw Reid, Chauncey Depew and other distinguished gentlemen of national reputation, espoused the cause of the Liberal Republicans during the campaign of 1872 and voted for Horace
Greeley for President. Unlike the gentle- men named, Mr. Pratt has never since seen a time when he felt that he could consist- ently return to the Republican fold. He has been continuously a resident of Grand Traverse county and his old party associates would gladly welcome his return, but, true to principles as he sees them, he prefers other political associates. The customary Republican majority of Grand Traverse county is eighteen hundred. Had Mr. Pratt chosen to affiliate with that party there is little doubt that he might have had ample access to the political flesh-pots, but by word and deed he has clearly proven that he "would rather be right than be President." Edwin S. Pratt is a native of Michigan, born in Deerfield, Livingston county, April 23, 1844. His father was James Pratt, a farmer, who died in 1881. His mother, who is still living, was ninety-three years old the Ioth of January, 1903. The boyhood of Edwin S. Pratt was spent on a farm in his native county, engaged in the usual work of a boy on a farm. He was educated in the common schools and the Fenton high school at Fentonville, Genesee county, Mich- igan, and there laid the foundation for a most successful professional career. By nature he is a student, and when confronted with the necessity of choosing a calling in life he pronounced in favor of the law. In 1864 he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, from which he graduated in 1866, receiving his diploma as attorney at law. May 22, 1866, he opened an office and began the practice of his profession in Traverse City. There he has remained ever since, having made no change during all those thirty- seven years, either in locality or calling. The
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law is said to be a very exacting mistress, but to Mr. Pratt her very exactions are his most supreme pleasure. Few men are more devoted to their profession than is he, a de- votion which seldom goes unrewarded. His practice has steadily grown from the begin- ning, until at this time it extends into most of the counties in northern Michigan, and he is engaged in all of the courts, including the United States courts and the supreme court of the state. He served as prosecut- ing attorney of Grand Traverse county a number of years, and during his early prac- tice was circuit court commissioner.
August 13, 1869, the subject was united in marriage to Ada K. Sprague, who is a sister of Mrs. Reuben Hatch, of Grand Rap- ids, and of Elvin L. Sprague, of Traverse City. They are the parents of three chil- dren, viz: Lewis A., born January 6, 1872, Winifred E., born January 9, 1874, and E. Sprague, born July 16, 1878. Each has received a good education and is well fitted for the labors of life. Mr. Pratt occupies his hours of recreation in superintending the management of his farm, which is ad- jacent to the city. The duties of his pro- fession are so exacting that little time is left him even for this, but by systematic labor and the judicious selection of em- ployes, he has been far more successful in his agricultural pursuits than was his worthy political leader in 1872-Horace Greeley. His is a splendid fruit farm, ex- cellently cultivated and finely improved. He is greatly interested in the breeding, raising and feeding of stock of all kinds, but takes special interest in horses and cattle, and has many head of each, among them some val- "uable animals.
Politically Edwin S. Pratt is classed as
a Democrat, although it is very doubtful if he could conscientiously subscribe to all or even nearly all of the doctrines of Democ- racy. As before stated, he was born and reared a Republican, and it is well known that very few are able to wholly divest themselves of their early teachings. Still, he has affiliated with the Democratic party so long and so zealously advocated its poli- cies, in a region that is hopelessly Republi- can, that, although politics is said to make strange bed fellows, Mr. Pratt is not likely to change his political couch. In the cam- paign of 1880 he was the Democratic candi- date for congress in the ninth congressional district. His Republican opponent was Hon. Jay Hubble, a man of much popularity and considerable ability, and there was a Republican majority of ten thousand in the district. It takes no small amount of physi- cal fortitude to face a phalanx of that mag- nitude. but no one ever yet questioned the courage of Mr. Pratt. He fought through the campaign with all the zeal and earnest- ness of a man who had hope of election, and was gratified at the close of the campaign to see the majority of his opponent greatly re- duced. He had accomplished even more than he had reason to expect. The counties composing the judicial circuit of which Grand Traverse county is a part usually gives a Republican majority of six thous- and. Twice Edwin S. Pratt has been a can- didate for circuit court judge in this dis- trict. Each time he carried his home coun- ty, despite the fact that its normal Republi- can majority is eighteen hundred, and the last time he ran the six thousand majority in the district shrank to six hundred. Such achievements are a much better attestation of Mr. Pratt's ability as a campaigner than
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anything that could be said here. They also indicate in some small degree what he might accomplish were his efforts put forth on behalf of a majority confident of suc- cess, instead of a minority, the enthusiasm of which has been crushed out of it by re- peated and continuous defeats. Mr. Pratt is not a church member, but he has much re- gard and respect for all religious organiza- tions and for the opinions and beliefs of those who chose to become members of such organizations. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1870. It is the only lodge to which he belongs and he is deeply interested in the work of the order and in all matters relating to its welfare. He is a man of integrity and ability and of great firmness, being rarely diverted from any course he once determines upon.
PARMIUS C. GILBERT.
Traverse City, the county seat of Grand Traverse county, is a place of some twelve thousand inhabitants, having grown mar- velously during the interim since its incor- poration, ten years ago, and the next ten years will probably see a much greater growth in its population than the last de- cade has witnessed. The incorporation of a city is not the easy, formal proceeding that some people might suspect. Very often the best legal talent is required to see that all of the various forms of law required by the statutes are strictly complied with and that all of the proceedings in the transition from a village to a city are regular. There must be strict compliance with the statutes in each step taken, for the incorporation is
liable to be attacked at any time by parties whose interests would be subserved by show- ing that the proceedings were illegal. The first city attorney of the city of Traverse was Parmius C. Gilbert, the subject of this sketch. He was the counsellor and ad- visor of the authorities in each step taken looking to incorporation. He was a young man, a graduate of the Traverse City high school and of the law department of the University of Michigan, with very little practical experience in the law at that time, but he was a thorough student, familiar with all the requisite forms in such cases, and so well did he perform his duties that the incorporation of the city has stood the test of time and no one, even the most tech- nically critical of the legal profession, has ventured to question a single step taken in the proceeding.
Parmius C. Gilbert was born May 24, 1864, in Vandalia, Cass county, Michigan. His father is Jeremiah B. Gilbert, a con- tractor and builder and later a farmer. He is still living, at the age of sixty years, upon a farm in Manistee county, Michigan. His wife is Harriet A. (Rudd) Gilbert, a native of Michigan, now fifty-nine years of age. They are the parents of twelve children, nine of whom are still living. One son, Sumner, is a clerk in the law office of his brother, Parmius, the subject of this re- view.
The early life of Parmius C. Gilbert was spent upon his father's farm in Manistee county, his parents having moved to that locality when he was two years old. His early education was received in the public schools in the neighborhood in which he lived. He later took the regular course in the Traverse City high school and gradu-
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ated in the class of 1889. At the Uni- versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, he im- mediately entered the law department, took the regular course and graduated in 1891. During the time of attending school at Traverse City, and also at Ann Arbor he defrayed the expense incidental to his schooling by his personal earnings from day to day and during vacation. During the second year he was the assistant librari- an of the law department of the university. The same year he opened an office for the practice of his profession in Traverse City, and has been actively engaged therein ever since. During the twelve years of his prac- tice he has been retained in many important and hotly contested pieces of litigation and has achieved much more success than many of his older and more experienced brethren in the profession. While yet what might be termed a novice in the profession he be- came city attorney, being the first to occupy that position in Traverse City, and so well did he discharge the duties of the office that he held the place for five years and under three different administrations of the city government. At the present time he is en- gaged in important litigation. Among the cases in which he is interested may be men- tioned the election contest over the office of probate judge of Leelanaw county and the McKnight murder trial in Kalkaska county.
November 30, 1892, Parmius C. Gilbert was united in marriage, in Traverse City, to Miss R. Emma Thomas, who is a native of Henry county, Indiana, born January 19, 1869. She is the daughter of Jeremiah and Luzena S. (Johnson) Thomas, who are both natives of Indiana. The family moved to Traverse City in 1880, in which place Mr. Thomas is now engaged in the real estate
business. Mrs. Gilbert is well educated and accomplished, the foundation for her education being laid in the city schools of Traverse City. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert are the parents of four children, viz: Harold, born January 16, 1894; Ester, born Janu- ary 19, 1896; Grace, born December 5, 1898; Miriam, born March 1, 1900. The two older children have been attending school, are bright and intelligent and take very kindly to their studies.
In politics Mr. Gilbert is a very pro- nounced and prominent Republican, and, especially during political campaigns, is alive to the interests of his party. In 1898 he was solicited to become a candidate for circuit judge in the Grand Traverse circuit, which comprises four counties. He re- ceived the hearty endorsement of the dele- gates from Grand Traverse county and was only defeated for the nomination by a com- bination of the other three counties against him. Defeat sours and embitters some per- sons in politics. It is not so with Parmius C. Gilbert. His failure to receive the nomi- nation has not in the least abated his ardor 011 behalf of his party. Previous to his marriage Mr. Gilbert was a Baptist in re- ligion. His wife, however, is a member of the Friends church, and he, soon after their union, for the sake of religious harmony in the family, very complaisantly transferred his membership from the Baptist church to that of his wife. They now worship at the same altar, which, considering the little dif- ference in teaching and form of worship be- tween the two denominations, is a much more sensible way of doing than each at- tending service in a different house of wor- ship. He is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Independent Order of
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Foresters, and is much interested in the work of those lodges. There are few young men who have entered any of the learned professions and have won so high a place in the same length of time as has Parmius C. Gilbert. With youth, ambition and al- most an unlimited supply of vital force, there is no reason why, in the next twenty- five years, he may not reach the most ex- alted position in his chosen profession.
SIDNEY A. KEYES.
Michigan is especially famous for three things, its great lumber forests, its horti- cultural interests and its summer resorts. Nature has certainly been bountiful in her gifts to the state. Along the two first men- tioned lines many of her citizens have won success and fortune, and in more recent years the entertainment of summer guests has become a leading industry and one of profit to those who engage therein. There is no more attractive resort to those who wish to enjoy the beauties of nature and at the same time have a quiet retiring life than "The Clovers," which is the property of Sidney A. Keyes. It is beautifully situated about a mile south of Omena, on an emi- nence overlooking Grand Traverse bay. The broad expanse of water stretches out before it and every enjoyment in which the tourist takes delight is here afforded.
Mr. Keyes was born in Coldwater, Branch county, Michigan, on the 13th of November, 1839, and is a son of William and Samantha (Hutchinson) Keyes, the father a native of Winsted, Connecticut, and the mother a native of New York. They
came to Leelanaw county in 1868, in the year in which their son Sidney A. also cast his lot with the settlers of this portion of the state. Establishing their home in Leelanaw township, they there spent their remaining days, both reaching an advanced age, the father passing away when in his eighty- third year, while the mother was in her eighty-seventh year at the time she was called to her final rest. Of their family of nine children the subject of this review is the youngest.
During the winter of 1847-8 Sidney A. Keyes accompanied his parents on their re- moval from Michigan to Iowa, the family settling upon a farm in Muscatine county, where he was reared to manhood and when not engaged with the duties of the school- room in an attempt to master the branches therein taught, his time was largely occu- pied with the work of the farm. He contin- ued to live in Muscatine county until 1868 and then returned to the state of his nativ- ity. It was in the month of April that he and his father came on a tour of inspection to Leelanaw county. Being pleased with the district the other members of the family joined them and they settled in Leelanaw township at the Omena Mission. In the fall of 1870 Mr. Keyes of this review pur- chased the farm whereon he now lives, com- prising a tract of eighty acres, and here he has resided continuously since with the ex- ception of a period of five years, during which time he was engaged in merchandis- ing in Ringgold county, Iowa. About ten years of the time, from 1876 until 1886, he was also engaged in general merchandising and in dealing in lumber and wood in con- nection with the operation of his farm. His business interests have been carefully con-
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ducted. He is a man of resourceful busi- ness ability, of marked energy and keen dis- crimination, and he never fails to carry for- ward to the goal of success whatever he un- dertakes, for he brooks no obstacles that can be overcome by persistent and honorable ef- fort. He is today devoting his attention to the cultivation of his farm and in the con- duct of his beautiful summer resort. "The Clovers" has become far famed and he now has four elegant residences, built in modern style of architecture, in which entertainment is given to about seventy-five summer guests. This is one of the best resorts on Traverse bay. The rooms are large, airy and well equipped and the appointments of the houses in every particular are of the best. Beautiful is the surrounding scenery. "The Clovers" stands on an eminence com- manding a splendid view of the bay and from it one can look to New Mission Point, a half mile away. The place seems to have been especially designed by nature as a place of rest, comfort and healthy recreation. It is only a mile from the village of Omena, which is on the peninsula separating Grand Traverse bay from Lake Michigan, so that the air is tempered by contact with these bodies of water and is pure and bracing. It is far enough north to insure comfortable days and cool restful nights in the summer and yet escapes the sudden and disagreeable cold waves of the extreme northern resorts. A variety of pleasures is afforded. Grand Traverse bay furnishes excellent deep water fishing and in the many small streams speckled trout are found. There are also fine roads for wheeling and an excellent beach for bathing. The steamers of the North American Transportation Company stop here and the boats of the Traverse bay
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