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 87
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 87
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OLE LARSON.
From the "land of the midnight sun" have come many of the enterprising citizens of Michigan, and among this number is Ole
Larson, of Sutton's Bay, Leelanaw county. There are many traits of character found in the sons of Norway that are worthy of emu- lation-their reliability, their unfaltering in- dustry and their strong purpose. All these are manifest in the career of Ole Larson, who has wide acquaintance and many friends in the locality which he has chosen as his home.
Born in Norway, he there spent the days of his boyhood and youth and was trained to habits of industry. Possessing a lauda- ble ambition to achieve greater success than seemed possible in his own country, where opportunity is hampered by caste and class, he came to America, "the land of the free," crossing the Atlantic in June, 1884. Mak- ing his way to Sutton's Bay, for some time he followed various occupations which would yield him an honest living, and when his labor had brought to him some capital he engaged in the saloon business with his broter Andrew. They continued together until 1892, when the brother died, and Ole Larson then continued alone. In 1899 he purchased the Bay House, at Sutton's Bay, which he afterward traded for the hotel which he now owns, known as the Park Ho- tel. This he has rebuilt, and it is now a first class hotel, conducted along the most approved plans of hotel life. He has a good patronage from the traveling public and puts forth every effort in his power to promote the comfort and convenience of his guests, who enjoy the hospitality extended them by their popular host. That Mr. Larson has prospered in his business enterprise is indi- cated when we compare his present financial condition with that in which he arrived in this country. Today he is the owner of much valuable village property, then he was
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empty-handed ; today he is a successful busi- ness man; then he had an untried future be- fore him, with nothing but hope to encour- age him.
Mr. Larson was married in Leland, Michigan, on the 26th of February, 1900, the lady of his choice being Miss Anna War- ner, a daughter of Claus Warner, of that city, and it was there that Mrs. Larson was born. Mr. and Mrs. Larson are well known in Sutton's Bay and he has gained the favor- able opinion of those with whom he has come in contact, through straightforward business methods and by reason of his per- severance and energy. Indolence and idle- ness are utterly foreign to his nature and he owes his present prosperity to his own well-directed and capable efforts.
AMOS LONGSHORE.
Success is not a matter of genius, as held by many, but rather the outcome of clear judgment and experience. The suc- cessful man is he who plans his own ad- vancement and accomplishes it in spite of opposition. Difficulties and obstacles will always disappear before determination and unfaltering energy, and, while the road to prosperity does always seem plain, there can ever be found a path that will lead to the goal of one's hopes. Mr. Longshore is among the farmers of Grand Traverse coun- ty who have prospered in their methods and, therefore, he is entitled to distinction as one of the representative men of his com- munity. He was born in Cambridge, Henry county, Illinois, on the ist of April, 1865. His father was the late Samuel J. Long-
shore, a farmer by occupation and a man of the highest respectability. He was united in marriage to Miss Edith Taylor, and they became the parents of nine children, of whom Amos was the youngest. The mother died when only thirty-six years of age, pass- ing away in Cambridge, Illinois. The fa- ther, however, long survived her and died in Cambridge at the venerable age of eighty- two years.
Upon his father's farm near Cambridge, in the county of his nativity, Mr. Longshore spent the days of his boyhood and youth, his time being passed in a manner similar to that of most lads of the period. He ac- quired his education in the public schools of the town and remained at home until he had attained his majority. He then went to the far west, spending two years in California. On leaving the Pacific coast he returned to Henry county, where he also remained for two years, giving his time and energies to farm work during that period. In February, 1891, he came to Grand Traverse county, Michigan, and lived for two years in Trav- erse City, being engaged in the buying of produce. With the capital he had acquired through his industry and economy he then purchased the farm upon which he is now living. Within its borders are comprised one hundred and sixty acres and the work of improvement here has been carried on al- most entirely by Mr. Longshore, who is an enterprising man, willing to work hard. for what he desires. He seldom fails to ac- complish what he undertakes and he has to- day a valuable and well improved farm as the result of his earnest purpose.
On the 8th of September, 1893, in Trav- erse City, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Longshore and Miss Delia Creig, a na-
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AMOS LONGSHORE RESIDENCE.
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tive of Ireland. He took his bride to his home in this county and both Mr. and Mrs. Longshore are now well known in Garfield township, where they have an extended cir- cle of friends. Mr. Longshore has held the office of township treasurer and matters per- taining to the general good receive his con- sideration and many times are aided by his endorsement and co-operation. He votes with the Republican party, believing firmly in its principles, and he is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters. During the greater part of his life he has lived in the Mississippi valley, save for his brief sojourn in California. In this section of the country there has been a steady growth without the hindering conservatisms of the east or the rapid but unsubstantial growth of the far west. The happy medium seems to have been reached here and the citizens have la- bored along lines proving of permanent ben- efit. Mr. Longshore is a worthy representa- tive of the citizenship which has led to the material improvement of his section of the state and is well entitled to honorable men- tion in the history of Grand Traverse county.
CLINTON L. DAYTON.
Clinton L. Dayton is actively connected with a profession which has important bear- ing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or community, and one which has long been considered as conserving the public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights. His reputation as a lawyer has been won through earnest, honest labor, and his stand- ing at the bar is a merited tribute to his ability. He is now prosecuting attorney 43
of Leelanaw county, in which office he is now serving the third term, called to the office by popular ballot-an indication of the trust reposed in him by the public, who recognize his capability and his fidelity to duty.
Mr. Dayton is numbered among the na- tive sons of Michigan, his birth having oc- curred in Berlin, Ottawa county on the 13th of February, 1867. His father, Dr. John T. Dayton, engaged in the practice of medi- cine throughout his business career and, lo- cating in Ottawa county at an early day, he long maintained a foremost position in the ranks of his profession, because of his com- prehensive knowledge of the best methods of medical practice and the success which at- tended his efforts to alleviate human suf- fering. He married Martha Rolfe, and they are still honored and prominent residents of Ottawa county.
The youngest in the family of four chil- dren born unto the Doctor and his wife, Clinton L. Dayton was reared in Berlin, and after acquiring his preliminary education in the public schools he matriculated in Hope College, of Holland, Michigan, where he was graduated on the completion of the regu- lar course. He afterward engaged in teach- ing school for a year and then, with a good literary education to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of pro- fessional knowledge, he took up the study of law and was graduated in the University of Michigan in the class of 1892. Since that time he has devoted his attention to his chosen profession and the years have wit- nessed his advance to a prominent position in the ranks of the legal fraternity of the section of the state in which his lot has been cast.
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In August following his graduation Mr. Dayton came to Leland, opened an office and entered upon. practice, soon demonstrating his ability to successfully cope with the in- tricate problems of jurisprudence. His knowledge of the law is broad and compre- hensive and continued reading and study have made him largely master of the science which is the basis of all our liberty. In 1894 he was chosen by popular suffrage to the po- sition of prosecuting attorney, which posi- tion he acceptably filled until 1899, closing a four-years incumbency. In the fall of 1902 he was once more elected, on the Re- publican ticket, and is now filling the office to the satisfaction of the large majority of law-abiding citizens, while by those who do not hold themselves amenable to law he is feared because of his vigorous prosecution of crime. His preparation of cases is most thorough and exhaustive. Every detail of a cause is given its due prominence and the case is argued with such skill, ability and power that he rarely fails to gain the verdict desired.
In Leland, on September 13, 1895, Mr. Dayton was married to Miss Ella Price, a daughter of Egbert and Anna Price, but in 1897 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 17th of March of that year. They had one child, Ella, who is still living. Socially Mr. Dayton is con- nected with the Masonic fraternity, the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees, and his genial, friendly spirit makes him in hearty sympathy with the humanitarian principles which form the basic elements of these organizations. He has always been a stalwart Republican and has taken a very active and helpful part in the work of the party in this locality, but
he never allows political or personal views of any kind to influence him in the slightest de- gree in the performance of his duties. Na- ture bountifully endowed him with the pecu- liar qualifications that combine to make a successful lawyer. Patiently persevering, possessed of an analytical mind, and one that is readily receptive and retentive of the fun- damental principles and intricacies of the law; gifted with a spirit of devotion to wearisome details ; quick to comprehend sub- tle problems and logical in his conclusions ; fearless in his advocacy of any cause he may espouse, and the soul of honor and integrity, he is richly gifted for the achievement of success in the arduous, difficult profession of the law.
ARCHIBALD A. MILLER
When it comes to enumerating the early pioneers of the Grand Traverse region it is simply an act of justice to head the list with the name of Lewis Miller, father of Archi- bald A. Miller, the subject of this review. He was an Indian trader, born in 1824, at Kingston, Canada. Bereft of his parents while yet a boy, both dying the same month, he was thrown upon his own resources and at the age of seventeen in 1841 he came to Michigan and sojourned for a time among the Indians, the Ottawas and Chippeways, Having acquired a knowledge of their lan- guage and being of a daring, venturesome disposition, he readily took up the business of an Indian trader and followed that voca- tion the greater part of his life. He was married, in 1845, to Catharine Kiley. His was the first white bride that came to the Grand Traverse county and his oldest son,
.
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GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
Henry L., was the first white child born in Grand Traverse county. All of the children were reared and educated among the In- dians, whose language all of them speak with as much fluency as they do English.
Archibald A. Miller, the subject of this review, was born November 26, 1849, at Old Mission, on the peninsula which juts northward into Grand Traverse bay. His parents were the first newly married white couple that ever came to the locality. Some years ago .Dr. M. L. Leach, of Traverse City, wrote a history of the Grand Traverse region which was published in the Traverse City Herald and his description of the com- ing of the bride and groom is well worthy of a place here. He says :
"The first bride who came to the Grand Traverse country on her wedding tour was Mrs. Lewis Miller, whose maiden name was Catharine Kiley. She was a native of Lon- don, England, and, like her husband, had been left an orphan. Somehow she found her way to America and then to the outpost of civilization at Mackinac. During Mr. Miller's frequent visits to that place an at- tachment had grown up between them, which finally resulted in marriage. The wedding took place in September, 1845. Immediately after the marriage they set sail in the lit- tle sloop 'Lady of the Lake,' for their home in the wilderness. Mr. Miller had charter- ed the vessel for the occasion and had loaded her with goods for the Indian trade, furni- ture and supplies for housekeeping. The 'Lady' was but a bit of a craft, but she was a perfect duck on the water, and fleet before anything like a favorable wind. The fates, however, if the fates have anything to do with regulating wedding trips, decreed a. long and tempestuous voyage. It was the
season when the god of the winds, on the northern lakes, desires to ornament their surface with foam-capped waves and tan- talize the impatient mariner with variable breezes and the most disappointing weather. The first day they made the island of St. Helena, when they were compelled to seek shelter in the harbor. There were a dozen sail or more there, waiting for a favorable change. Several times the 'Lady' ventured out, but was as often compelled to put back. Finally, seizing the most favorable opportu- nity, she was able to reach Little Traverse. Here she was compelled to remain four days. The newly married couple went on shore and found comfortable quarters in an Indian house. The woman of the house had been brought up in a white family at Mackinac, and being able to understand the wants of her guests, was in a degree successful in her kind endeavors to make their stay pleasant.
"Leaving Little Traverse, the vessel reached the mouth of Grand Traverse bay, when she was again driven back. At the second attempt she was obliged to heave to in the mouth of the bay, the captain remain- ing all night at the helm. As Miller came on deck in the morning, dull leaden clouds ob- scured the sky and the air was filled with snow flakes. He proposed to take the cap- tain's place at the helm, while the latter should turn in for a little rest. The captain gladly consented. Once installed in author- ity, Miller made sail and let the captain sleep until the 'Lady' was safely moored in the harbor of Old Mission.
"A young bride, coming for the first time to the home of her husband, naturally looks with a great deal of interest at the surround- ings. Sometimes there is disappointment. There was, probably, no serious disappoint-
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ment in this case, but it is a part of the tra- ditional family history, that as Mrs. Miller came on deck, that gloomy September morn- ing, and looked anxiously out upon the scene, beautiful in its gloominess, and saw only the forest-skirted shore and the smoke curling upward from the log houses of the whites and a few Indian wigwams, the first question she asked her husband was "Where is the town?' "
In another part of this volume will be found a review of the career of Edward E. Miller, brother of the subject of this article, in which an account is given of the other children of Lewis and Catharine Miller, Archibald A. Miller was the third child of the family. His early life was spent at Old Mission, the place of his birth. He attended the missionary school with the Indians, he and his brothers being the only white chil- dren in attendance. The school was under the auspices of the Presbyterian church, Rev. Peter Dougherty, a Presbyterian minister, and his two daughters, Nettie and Susie, being the teachers. So close were the relations of the Miller family to the Indians, Ottawas and Chippeways, that the latter insisted on giving each of the children, soon after their birth, Indian names in addition to their En- glish cognomens, with all of the Indian for- malities. The Indian name of Archibald A. ยท Miller is "Ske-wah-bick," which signifies new iron. All of the Miller children acquired the Indian tongue and it is a question with them now which language they became versed in first. When the Indians moved from Old Mission to Omena, the Millers went with them and the relations between the Indians and their pale-faced brethren were always of the most pleasant character.
In 1869 the family moved to Traverse
City and the subject of this review finished his education by attending the city schools two terms. In one of the city stores he se- cured a position and followed clerking un- til about two years ago, when he engaged in business on his own behalf, in partnership with his brother, George W. Miller, under the firm name of Miller Brothers. They have a large, well-stocked clothing store in Traverse City, near the corner of Cass and Front streets, and they are doing a very prosperous business.
The subject of this review has been three times married. His first wife was Mary E .. Dyer, to whom he was united in marriage in 1876. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Dyer, natives of the province of Connacht, in the western portion of Ireland. The father died eight years ago, but the mother still survives and resides with her son, James, who was a lumberman. To this first marriage two children were born. One died in infancy and the other, Patrick, died at the age of nine years. Mrs. Miller died in 1882 and after being a widower for six years, Mr. Miller was again united in mar- riage in 1888, his bride on this occasion be- ing Celia E. Bryant, daughter of George W. Bryant, a native of Canada, who was one of the early pioneers of what is now Traverse City, coming here when there were but two houses in the place. His wife's name was Mina E., also a native of Canada. He died in 1883, while she survived until 1901, when she too joined the silent majority. Two children were born to this, the second mar- riage of Mr. Miller. One child in infancy and the other is Edna V., born October 26, 1889. She is a student in the Traverse City high school and well advanced in her studies for one of her age. Mrs. Celia E. (Bryant)
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Miller departed this life in 1894. Five years later, in 1899, in South Boardman, Kalkaska county, Archibald A. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Janet Robertson, born in Essex county, Canada, September 26, 1878, the daughter of George and Elizabeth (Kinsman) Robertson, both natives of Can- ada. They moved to South Boardman in 1880, where they purchased the Leamington Hotel, which they have since continued to conduct very successfully. Mr. Robertson is in the woods much of the time getting out telegraph poles, ties, logs, etc.
In politics Archibald A. Miller is a Dem- ccrat, firm in his convictions and consistent in his political views and conduct. The im- mense Republican majority of his native county has no tendency to shake him in his political faith. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Miller belongs to no fraternal society, but is not opposed to such organizations. The family owns a comfortable, well furnished home at 508 Fifth street, and are very sat- isfactorily situated financially. Despite his sorrows. and bereavements. Mr. Miller is a man upon whom the hand of time has been laid very lightly. His appearance by no means indicates the years that he has seen. Supple and agile as a youth of twenty, he can accomplish more in a given time than inany a man twenty years younger.
GEORGE L. FENTON, M. D.
George I .. Fenton, leading physician of Kingsley and proprietor of the splendidly equipped drug store of that thriving little village, was ushered into existence June 8,
1857, on a farm in Noble county, Indiana. His parents, John and Eliza (John) Fenton, moved to Muskegon county, Michigan, when he was a little lad of six years, and five years later located in Wexford county on a farm about three and one-half miles west of Man- ton. Here the father died, at the age of seventy years, and the mother again mar- ried, her second husband being Elder A. L. Thurston, a Methodist clergyman.
Young Fenton remained at home and as- sisted with the farm work, but he had a strong desire to enter the medical profession, and to this end he eagerly devoured any and all works bearing on the subject. At the age of twenty he took up the study in earnest and with such good success that in 1882 he opened an office at Walton. One year later, in 1883, he came to Kingsley, and has been in the practice of his profession ever since. He kept up his studies and was graduated from the Cincinnati Eclectic College in the class of 1893, but is even yet a close student and keeps closely in touch with all the latest discoveries and improved methods in the world of medicine. He has built up a large and extended practice and is alike kind and painstaking, whether his patient be from the higher or lower walk of life. Kind hearted and skillful in the treatment of disease, he has demonstrated his ability by his success, and few physicians enjoy a wider popularity or more deserved confidence. In 1884 he opened a drug store in Kingsley, which he has conducted in connection with his prac- tice, later putting in a more extensive stock of goods, which gave him the finest and most complete pharmacy in this section.
Dr. Fenton was married April 28, 1896, in Traverse City, Michigan, to Miss Anna Allen, a native of Wisconsin, and a lady of
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rare charm. They have one child, Allen Lane, who is the pride of the family. The Doctor is a busy man, but finds time to take part in most of the enterprises of a public nature that are taken up in Kingsley. He is a member of the village council and village treasurer, and any movement to promote the good of the community is sure of his en- dorsement and support. He is a member of Strict Account Tent No. 662, Knights of the Maccabees.
GERMAIN H. CORDES.
The prosperity of any community, town or city depends upon its commercial activity, its industrial interests and its trade relations, and therefore the real upbuilders of a town are those who stand at the head of its leading enterprises. Mr. Cordes, whose name in- troduces this record, is a member of the firm of Cordes Brothers, well-known merchants of Leland, Leelanaw county, and he bears a name that has long been prominently and honorably associated with commercial in- terests here. Today the firm is controlling one of the leading mercantile enterprises of the county, and Germain H. Cordes is wide- ly known as a young man of excellent busi- ness ability, executive force and marked en- terprise.
Mr. Cordes has spent almost his entire life in Leland, which is his native city, for here it was that he first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 16th of April, 1866. He comes of German lineage, his father, Peter A. Cordes, having been a native of Germany, as was the mother of the subject, who bore the maiden name of Christina Dunkelau. For
many years the father carried on merchan- dising here, taking up his residence in Leland in the early sixties. He was prominent in an early day and his energy and progressive spirit proved of value in the establishment of the business prosperity here. His death occurred in Leland, on the 20th of January, 1876, and he left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name, for his reputation in business circles and in private life was unassailable. The hope that led him to America was more than realized, for in this land he found the opportunities he sought which, by the way, are always open to the ambitious young man, and by the ex- ercise of unfaltering industry and sound judgment he gained a good patronage in his store that made him one of the substantial citizens of the community.
Of a family of five children Germain H. Cordes is the eldest. He is indebted to the public school system of the state for the edu- cational privileges he enjoyed in his youth. He was reared in Leland and has always re- sided here with the exception of a brief period of eleven years, which he spent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during which time he was employed as a clerk in a grocery store and thus he gained a good knowledge of business methods. When he began busi- ness on his own account he was fitted for his work by broad, practical experience and from the beginning he prospered in his un- dertakings. It was in 1898 when he joined his brother, Oswald J. Cordes, in a partner- ship for the conduct of a mercantile enter-, prise under the firm style of Cordes Brothers. For five years they have conducted the store and they carry a large and well-assorted stock of general merchandise in order to meet the varied tastes of the public. They
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