USA > Michigan > St Clair County > St. Clair County, Michigan, its history and its people; a narrative account of its historical progress and its principal interests, Vol. II > Part 48
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His father, James MacDonald, spent his earlier life in Scotland, liv- ing in his native land until 1841. Immigrating then to America, he resided in Canada until 1849, when he moved with his family to Saint Clair county, Michigan. Loeating in Grant township, he bought from Mitehell & Miles one hundred and sixty acres of land now included within the limits of his son Alexander's farm. Clearing a space in the deep forest, he erected a log eabin, and on the farm which he improved spent his remaining days. Ile was a man of energy and good judg- ment, and in his agricultural labors met with genuine sueeess, becom- ing owner of four hundred acres of valuable land. He married Anna Ferguson, a native of Scotland, and to them six children were born, namely : James, who died in California; Jeannette, widow of Jerome B. Cadwell, lives in Jaekson, Michigan; Alexander, the subject of this brief biographical sketeh; Duncan, of Seattle, Washington: Ann, who died in 1910; and George, of Port Huron, Michigan.
Gleaning his first knowledge of the three "r's" in the schools of Canada, Alexander MacDonald continued his studies in Saint Clair county, attending the district schools much of the time until seventeen years old. Beginning life for himself then, he worked first in the lum- ber camps, later serving as a sailor on the lakes and the ocean, and sub- sequently being for three years with Dan Rice and Levi J. North, cirens managers and proprietors, with them traveling all over the United States. In 1861 Mr. MaeDonald enlisted in the First Michigan Volunteer In- fantry, and with his eomrades took part in the first and second battles of Bull Run. After the battle of Fredericksburg he was sent with the wounded to Washington, D. C., and was there transferred to the Sixth Michigan Cavalry, commanded by General Custer. Hle afterward took part in the Seven-Days battles, and in the battles at Gettysburg and Cold Harbor, serving bravely until the close of the war, when he was mustered out, April 9, 1865, at Washington, D. C., in all of his engage- ments having escaped without a wound. Remaining in that city a few days after being mustered out of the army, he was at Ford's Theatre on the evening of April 14, when President Lineoln was assassinated.
Returning then to Michigan, Mr. MaeDonald, in partnership with Mr. Pettis, built three mills at Lakeport, and conducted them success- Vol. II-23
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fully for five years, when the mills burned, and Mr. MacDonald lost everything he possessed. Purchasing then two hundred and forty acres of the parental farm, he embarked in agricultural pursuits, and as a farmer met with success, acquiring a competency.
Politically Mr. MacDonald is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party. He belongs to Sanborn Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and is a member of several fraternal organizations, includ- ing Pine Grove Lodge, No. 11, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; the Knights of the Maccabees, and the Independent Order of Foresters.
Mr. MacDonald married, April 19, 1866, Thalia Carren, who was born November 1, 1837, in New York state, a daughter of Dennis and Imogene (Capron) Carren, who settled in Michigan in June, 1838. Her father was born and bred in Ireland, while Mrs. Carren was born in the United States, of French Huguenot ancestry. Mrs. MacDonald received a com- mon school and academical education, and after her graduation from the Grass Lake high school taught school several terms. Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald are the parents of two children. Imogene C. was born Sep- tember 25, 1871. She married Edgar F. Boyd, and has five children, as follows: Elma E., born May 3, 1901; Mary T., born February 3, 1903; MacDonald A., born March 9, 1905; George E., born November 4, 1907; and Myrtle A., born April 26, 1910. The second child of Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald was Donald R., who was born February 14, 1877, and died in 1896. Mrs. MacDonald and her daughter, Mrs. Boyd, are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
FRED J. WALKER. Many people gain wealth in this world, many gain distinction in the learned professions, and many are honored with public offices of trust and responsibility, but to few is it given to attain so high a place in the esteem and affection of their fellow citizens as that enjoyed by Mr. and Mrs. Fred J. Walker, who are well known throughout Clyde township, where they reside on a fine estate of one hundred and forty acres and where he is the present able and popular incumbent of the office of township clerk. Mr. Walker was justice of the peace for a period of eight years and in his political proclivities is a stalwart Democrat.
In the city of Port Huron, Michigan, November 6, 1857, occurred the birth of Fred J. Walker, who is a son of James and Margaret (Brew- ster) Walker, both of whom are now deceased, the former having passed away in 1887 and the latter having died in 1908. James Walker was born in Ireland, in 1822, and in the Fair Emerald Isle he was reared and educated. As a youth he learned the trades of wheelwright and wagon-maker, and when he had reached his legal majority he came to America, locating first in Canada, whence he came to St. Clair county. Michigan, in 1856. He was a Democrat in his political faith and for twelve years served most creditably as justice of the peace. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Brewster, was likewise a native of Ireland, where her birth occurred in 1819 and whence she was brought to Canada by her parents as a child. Mr. and Mrs. Walker became the parents of six children, four of whom are living, in 1912, namely : Jane. who is the wife of Egbert Cribbins, of Kenockee; Jay B., of Chicago ;
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Fred J., whose name forms the caption for this review ; and John S., a resident of Clyde township, a highly respected and well-to-do farmer.
Fred J. Walker was reared to adult age in Port Huron, to whose excellent public schools he is indebted for his preliminary educational training. In 1874, at the age of eighteen years, he came to Clyde town- ship, where he has since maintained his home and where he is highly esteemed by his fellow citizens as a man of sterling integrity and the utmost reliability. lle owns and operates a farm of one hundred and forty acres, eligibly located in sections 25 and 26 of (lyde township, and on the same is engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high- grade stock. In polities he is a Democrat, as already noted, and in 1891 he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of jus- tive of the peace, which incumbency he retained for a period of eight years. In 1910 he was further honored by election to the office of town- ship clerk, a position he is filling at the present time, in 1912, with the utmost efficiency. In fraternal circles he is a valued member of the Knights of the Maccabees, in which he is finance keeper of Numen Tent.
On September 24. 1889. Mr. Walker married Miss EHa M. Atkins, whose birth ovenrred in Clyde township. April 7, 1872, and who is a daughter of Alexander and Josephine (Payfer) Atkins. Alexander At- kins was a son of Alexander W. and Eliza (Lewis) AAtkins, the former of whom was born in Scotland, and who was the first township clerk of Clyde township, and the latter of whom was a native of the state of New York, where her birth occurred in December. 1809. Eliza (Lewis) At- kins eame to Michigan with her parents in 1817, and location was made in the city of Detroit, where her marriage to Mr. Atkins occurred May 29, 1831. Mr. Atkins came to America From Scotland in 1828, and settled in the Black River country. Ilis son Alexander was born March 9, 1837. and the latter's marriage to Josephine Payfer occurred March 27, 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are the parents of five children, as follows: Fred- erick A., born Jannary 18, 1891. is a student in Ferris Institute at Big Rapids; Neal S., born April 3, 1894, is a student in the Port Huron Business College ; Kenneth W .. born May 6, 1898, remains at the parental home, as do also Alexander W., whose birth occurred April 27, 1902. and Margaret J., born August 1, 1904. In their religious faith the Walker Family are devout members of the Congregational church, to whose good works and charities they are most liberal contributors. The family is one of high standing in Clyde township, where Mr. and Mrs. Walker are honored and beloved by all with whom they have come in contact.
REV. HENRY DEGRYSE. Rev. Fr. DeGryse, priest in charge of the parish of Anchorville, was born in West Flanders, Belgium, on June 4. 1858. ITe is the son of Louis and Melania (Gheysen) DeGryse, both of whom lived and died in their native land. They were the parents of four children, of whom Rev. IT. DeGryse was the youngest, and these parents have the distinction of having reared and given three of the four children born to them to the services of holy church. One is superior of the convent of the Carmelites at Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land, and a danghter is Mother Superior of a large city hospital in Ypres, Belgin.
Father DeGryse was educated in his native land and there ordained
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to the priesthood in 1887, in Bruges, Belgium. He became a professor in a Catholic college and from there he immigrated to America in 1889. His first position in this country was that of assistant priest at a church in Kalamazoo, where he remained three months. He was then stationed at Lexington, Michigan, for eight months, after which he spent about two years in Detroit in a similar capacity. In 1892 Father DeGryse took charge of the church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Anchorville, where he has since continued in faithful and efficient service among his people. He is a popular man in his com- munity, not alone among his parishioners, but among all classes, and occupies a position of prominence and much influence in the town and in the surrounding community. He has the interests of Anchorville at heart and his influence is ever on the side of right and justice, and he has fulfilled in every respect the highest duties of a citizen. Among the many branches of work which Father DeGryse conducts in connection with his regular church duties is the maintenance of a school, to which he gives much of his time and attention.
Father DeGryse is a member of Council No. 856 of Marine City of the Knights of Columbus, and is also a member of the C. M. B. A., in both of which societies he is popular and prominent.
WILLIAM H. DANE. A well-known agriculturist of Birchville town- ship, William H. Dane, is engaged in the prosecution of a calling upon which the wealth and prosperity of the nation largely depends, his farm lying in sections one and twelve. He was born on the estate he now owns and occupies, May 15, 1858, of pioneer ancestry.
His father, the late Horace Dane, was born and reared in New York state. He subsequently migrated to Saint Clair county, Michigan, and soon after his marriage bought land in section one, Birchville township, and was here employed in general farming until his death, in 1860. He married, in Saint Clair county, Elizabeth Bradley, a native of Canada, and they became the parents of two children, William H. and Horace. Horace married Anna York, and now lives near Harbor Beach, Michigan.
Being left fatherless when but two years of age, William H. Dane was brought up by his mother on the home farm, and was educated in the district schools, which he attended pretty regularly until about twenty years old. Succeeding to the ownership of the parental estate, Mr. Dane now owns one hundred and twenty acres of land, advantageously located in sections one and twelve, and is carrying on general farming, includ- ing stock raising and fruit growing.
Mr. Dane married, in March, 1890, Lillian E. Roberts, who was born in Saint Clair county, Michigan. January 28, 1861, a daughter of Noah and Sarah (Freeman) Roberts, natives of England. Mr. and Mrs. Dane have two children, namely : Horace E., born April 11, 1891; and Lynne D., born July 26, 1900. Politically Mr. Dane is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and has served as township treasurer, township clerk, and at the present time, in 1912, is justice of the peace. Fraternally he is a member of Lexington Lodge. Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, and takes great interest in the organization.
GEORGE GORDON MOORE was born in Wyoming, Ontario, October 9, 1874. Receiving a common school education, he came to Port Huron
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in the summer of 1891 and in the fall of the same year entered the law office of Bryon J. Atkinson, the leading lawyer of St. Clair county. He was admitted to the bar shortly after becoming of age and formed the law partnership of Moore & Brown, which later was added to, be- coming Moore, Brown, Ladd & Miller. He became interested in elec- tric railroads through acting as counsel for John E. Mills in the Lan- sing & St. Johns Railway, which was added to and expanded into the Michigan United Railways. Abont 1907 he moved to Detroit.
JOHN L. PATTERSON. Noteworthy for his good citizenship and many excellent traits of character. John L. Patterson, a well-known farmer of Brockway township, is actively engaged in an ocenpation upon which at the present time, more than ever, the wealth and prosperity of the nation largely depends, his farm being pleasantly located in section thirty-six. A native of this county, his birth occurred in Gratiot town- ship, February 24, 1874.
His father, the late William Patterson, was born in county Down. Ireland, in 1825, and was there reared. In 1850 he came to the United States, an immigrant with neither means nor friends in this country. Ile lived first in Saint Clair county, Michigan, where he found employ- ment in the Inmber camps. Ever loyal to the land of his adoption, he enlisted, December 29, 1863, in Company D. First Regiment of Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, and served until after the close of the war, being honorably discharged September 22, 1865, in Nashville, Tennessee. Returning to Saint Clair county, he bought land in Fort Gratiot town- ship, and began the improvement of a homestead. Selling out in the spring of 1888, he came to Broekway township, purchased a farm in section thirty-six, and although badly handicapped by the lack of finan- cial means he was eminently successful in his agricultural operations, and at the time of his death, in March, 1898, was the owner of two hun- dred acres of rich and fertile land, a part of which is included in the farm now owned and occupied by his son John. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha Reed, was born in county Down, Ireland, and is now living in Broekway township with her only son, John L. Patterson. the special subject of this sketch. She has one other child, Agnes, wife of William Wilks. of Broekway township.
Spending his youthful days on the home farm, John L. Patterson was edneated in the rural schools of his native district. Fourteen years old when his parents settled in Broekway township, he assisted in the improvement of the home farm, and prior to the death of his father had entire charge of its management. He has succeeded to the ownership of a part of the estate. and still operates not only his own share, but the entire two hundred acres included in the original farm, and is continu- ing the improvements already inaugurated. Affiliated in politics with the Republican party, Mr. Patterson was elected township supervisor in 1905, and served so acceptably in that position that he has been re- elected every year since. Ile was for six years justice of the peace, dur- ing which time he filled the office ably and intelligently.
Mr. Patterson married, in December, 1900, Agnes Russell, a native of Kenoekee township, Saint Clair county, Michigan. Her father. Calvin Russell, was born in New York state, October 9, 1839, and is now a resi- dent of Greenwood township, while her mother, whose maiden name was
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Margaret Shannon, was born in Canada, and died in Saint Clair county. Michigan, October 1, 1904, aged fifty-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Pat- terson have a family of four children, namely : Mildred, born January 16, 1903; Russell, born April 24, 1904; Frederick, born January 26, 1906; and Harland, born July 23, 1907.
FRED A. LEATOMO. Edward Leatomo, the father of Fred, was a Frenchman, whose father had settled on a farm in the northern part of the township of St. Clair and lived with his family on his eighty acres there until his death. When Edward was twenty-one he bought a farm near his father's place, which he cleared and improved generally. Here he lived for a number of years and then disposed of his place and moved to Alba, his present place of residence. He was married to Jane Burnham, who was of English descent and who had come to Michigan from Canada. Her son Fred was born in 1870, on August 3, and four years later she died. Fred had four brothers and one sister, Anna, who became Mrs. Abraham Boktin, of Alba, Michigan. Peter Leatomo is a farmer residing in Kimball and all the other brothers follow the same occupation. Edward lives at Smith Creek and is a well digger in addi- tion to being a farmer. George's home is at Alba and Oliver lives in Kimball.
Fred Leatomo was only eight years of age when he began to make his own way in the world. By the time he was twelve he was driving a yoke of oxen in the lumber woods. For about twenty years he worked in the woods, in the shingle mills and in the saw mills. Five years he spent on the lakes, sailing with the freighters, and then he bought his farm in Kimball township, upon which he lived until 1905. It was then that the mercantile business engaged Mr. Leatomo's attention and he purchased the store at Thornton which he still conducts.
The marriage of Mr. Leatomo to Miss Elsie M. Truax took place at Metamora and four children have come into their home circle. These are Nellie, Dorothy Dean, Blanch and Velma. Nellie received a district diploma at the early age of thirteen and will enter the Port Huron high school in the fall of 1911.
In political matters Mr. Leatomo endorses the policies of the Re- publican party. He is an eminently public-spirited man and is director of the public school board in his district. At present he is chaplain of the order of the Gleaners. His career has been one of successful enter- prise, and his untiring industry and perseverance entitle him to the pros- perity and honor he has achieved.
JOHN L. SHEPHERD. One of Berlin township's successful agricul- turists and representative citizens, who is living on the farm that has been in the family name for fifty-three years, is John L. Shepherd, a man who has gained the confidence and esteem of his fellow-townsmen to such an extent that he has been called upon to fill various township offices and is now acting in the capacity of supervisor. Mr. Shepherd is a native of Scotland, that country to which Michigan is indebted for many of its best citizens, and was born May 21, 1856, a son of David and Anna (Lamond) Shepherd, natives of Scotland. The family immi- grated to the United States in 1859, settling on the farm which Mr.
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Shepherd now occupies in Berlin township, and here the parents spent the remainder of their lives in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Shepherd was an active Republican, and served in various offices, principally those dealing with educational matters. Eight children were born to him and his wife, and five are now living.
The youngest of his parents' children, John L. Shepherd, was nearly four years of age when the family came to St. Clair county, and his education was secured much the same as that of other farmers' sons of that time, his summers being spent in work on the home farm, while during the winter terms he attended distriet school. He was given the additional advantage, however, of attendance at the high school at Al- mont, receiving instruction that enabled him to take up the vocation of teaching. Subsequently he was employed in the lumber woods for some- thing like five years, and he then turned his attention to farming, con- ducting the place four years for his father and then purchasing it. On April 10. 1879, he was married to Miss Delsina Holida, who was born in Ray township, Macomb county, Michigan, and at the age of nine years removed with her parents to the village of Romeo, where she attended the graded and high schools. She subsequently became a teacher and prior to her marriage to Mr. Shepherd taught for five years in Lapeer and Macomb counties. Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd have had two children : Neal. born February 27. 1881, who died in 1890; and Helen M., born June 28. 1896, who was edneated in the public and high schools and resides at home with her parents.
Mr. Shepherd is a member of Forest Lodge, No. 126, A. F. & A. M .: Capae Lodge, No. 31. K. of P., of which he is past chancellor ; the Mod- ern Woodmen of America ; and the Grange, of which he was master for four years. ITis wife is a valued member of the Grange, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Rathbone Sisters. Mr. Shepherd has long been active in the ranks of the Republican party. In the spring of 1879 he was elected township clerk, and following that was chosen drain commissioner for six years, during which time thirty-five miles of drain were connected. In the spring of 1895 he received the election to the office of supervisor, and while serving in that capacity, in the fall of 1896, was elected county clerk. During the two terms that he held this responsible office he resided in Port Huron. He then moved to Capac and lived there for two years, after which he returned to his farm in Berlin township, and in the spring of 1907 was again elected supervisor. an office which he still retains. He owns one hundred and twenty-four acres of excellent farming land, on which he carries on general opera- tions and stock-raising. His land is peculiarly fertile and productive, raising superior erops, and his prodnet commands the top-notch priec. while his property has the best of improvements, inehiding a commodions dwelling and all necessary outbuildings, and is considered one of the most valuable in this favored section of the county. As a business man and agriculturist he has shown much more than the average ability. while the manner in which he has discharged the duties of his official positions shows him to be possessed of much executive capacity. In all the relations of life he has displayed the same conscientious regard for duty. and he well merits the esteem and respect in which he is uni- versally held.
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JOHN A. Ross. The enterprising and prosperous agriculturists of Grant township have no more worthy representative than John A. Ross, who stands high among the keen, progressive and business-like farmers who are so skillfully conducting the farming interests of this section of Saint Clair county. A son of Robert Ross, he was born November 23, 1847, in Quebec, Canada, of substantial Scotch ancestry.
His paternal grandfather, William Ross, was born, reared and mar- ried in Scotland. He subsequently came with his family to America, and having bought land in Canada was there engaged in cultivating the soil until his death. He reared seven children as follows: John, Isa- belle, Robert, William, Samuel, James and David, but none of whom are now living.
Robert Ross was born in Canada, where he lived for several years after his marriage. Coming to Michigan in 1859, he located in Saint Clair county. In 1862 he bought a tract of land in Grant township, and was here a resident until his death, in 1868. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Marion Cochran, eight children were born, namely : John A., the special subject of this brief sketch; James, of Ashtabula, Ohio, married Sarah A. Harris; William, engaged in farm- ing in Grant township, married Louisa King; Robert, a farmer in Sanilac county, Michigan, married Ann Harris; George, deceased; Samuel of Grant township, married Emma Hull; David; and Albert, deceased.
Twelve years old when he came with his parents to Saint Clair county, John A. Ross completed his studies in the district schools, and remained beneath the parental roof-tree until attaining his majority, although from the age of fourteen years he worked by the month for neighboring farmers, giving his wages to his father. Beginning life for himself at the age of twenty-one years, he purchased from John Beard eighty acres of the farm which he now owns and occupies, it being en- tirely covered with timber. Immediately beginning the improvement of his property, Mr. Ross made annual payments of one hundred dollars until he was free from debt. He placed his land under a good state of culture, and has since added to his original purchase, having now a finely improved farm of one hundred and ten acres, on which he has made im- provements of an excellent character.
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