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 56
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JOHN GLYSHAW. One of the substantial citizens of Clyde township St. Clair county, Michigan, who carved for himself a successful career and accumulated a moderate fortune entirely through his own efforts and untiring exertions was Mr. John Glyshaw, who for many years was engaged in profitable farming operations but later retired from active work and left the management of his place in the competent hands of his son, George. Mr. Glyshaw well earned his years of rest, and his life was well lived, honestly and uprightly throughout. There coursed through his veins the blood of sturdy German ancestors, who bequeathed to him health and strength and habits of prudence and industry, which were so valuable to the young man under necessity of making his own way in the world.
He was born in Baden, Germany, May 2, 1837, the son of Baden par-
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ents, Thomas and Theresa (Geitman) Glyshaw. Mr. Glyshaw died in Germany when thirty-five years old, leaving a family of five children, namely : Frank, John, Martin, Sylvester and an infant daughter. The mother of this family later remarried, her seeond husband being Frede- riek Bonnea, and of this union two children were born, Theresa and Mary. The family immigrated to this country in 1852, loeating first at Cleve- land, Ohio, but three years later settled permanently in St. Clair county, Michigan. They became residents of Ruby Clyde township, at which place Mr. Bonnea followed the occupation of a wagon maker throughout his life. His demise occurred there in 1875, while his wife died in June, 1887.
John Glyshaw received his education in the schools of his native country and early learned habits of thrift and industry. IIe was in his fourteenth year when the family left Germany and came to Cleveland, and immediately upon arrival there he began to make his own way, ae- cepting employment at whatever tasks he could find. One year while the family lived in Cleveland he worked on a farm near that city. In 1855 he came to St. Clair county with his parents, and upon his arrival here had just a dollar and a half in his possession, and this sum of money he gave to his mother, this little ineident signifying in a marked way his filial affection toward her. It did not take him long to find employ- ment here, for honest, conscientious workers are always in demand, and he accepted a position with John Beard to work on the farm and in the mill, his renumeration at first being fixed at twelve dollars per month. Later he received the larger sum of fourteen dollars, which was consid- ered good wages in those days. He worked for Mr. Beard seven years, then, having diligently husbanded his earnings, was able, in partnership with his brother, Martin, to purchase 300 aeres of stump land. The young men paid twenty dollars down on their purchase and two hundred dol- lars per year thereafter until the whole of the price had been paid. It required years of hard work to clear their land and make it suseeptible of profitable cultivation, but they immediately secured a stump pulling outfit and were untiring in their industry until the task was done. The farm was later divided, each of the young men taking a half of the aere- age and the land is now very valuable. The improvements are high elass, the fine house on the place having been ereeted in 1883, and the present barn in 1905.
The marriage of John Glyshaw and Miss Lydia IFamacher took place May 20, 1861. Mrs. Glyshaw is a native of Waterloo county, Canada. born September 12, 1842, the daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Gable) Hamaeher, both native Canadians, the father having been born in that country May 16, 1811, and the mother July 17, 1812. The Hamacher family settled on a farm near Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1860, and the parents lived there the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Hamacher died May 8, 1851. and Mr. Hamacher died JJanuary 12, 1870.
Mr. and Mrs. Glyshaw became the parents of ten children : Frank, born April 23, 1862, died when eighteen years old; James was born Sep- tember 5, 1863, and married Nettie Smith ; Mary, born January 22, 1866, married Paul Metzger, and both are deceased; Hattie, born November 17. 1868, is the wife of John Monroe; Theresa, born February 19, 1870, mar- ried Charles Merritt; George, born April 4, 1873, married Mary Brown : Rosanna, born August 15, 1875, is the wife of Lewis MeFadden; Bertha.
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born April 15, 1878, married Edward Workmaster; Ernest, born May 26, 1881, married Bessie Van Luven; Fred, born February 23, 1884, married Florence Knight. The strength and virility of the family is demonstrated through the fact that at the present time there are four generations living, for Mr. and Mrs. Glyshaw had thirty-two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Throughout his long and useful life Mr. Glyshaw, as has also his wife, took great interest in all affairs of importance in the community and well earned their position among the most prosperous and highly respected citizens of Clyde township. Mrs. Glyshaw is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and while her husband was not a member of any church organization he was a liberal supporter of the one to which she belongs. He filled several local offices in the township at different times, among others being that of highway commissioner. He was a man of the most conscientious type, whose honesty and integrity were unim- peachable and he enjoyed the entire confidence of a host of friends and acquaintances with whom he had dealings during his life time, and now since he has passed away and attest strongly to his many fine qualities. He was called from this life on the 30th of May, 1912, full of years and rich in the respect of his fellowmen.
JOHN LETT. A substantial and prosperous agriculturist of Green- wood township and an esteemed citizen of that vicinity is John Lett, whose biography is one of especial interest, not only of his own life and work, but also because he is the worthy descendant of one of the notable pioneers of St. Clair county. The Letts, Hollanders, went to England with William Henry, Prinee of Orange, Nassau, and afterward William the Third. There the race developed, mingling German and English blood. They embraced Protestantism, and like many other Englishmen desiring religious liberty they lived for a time in Holland. The parental grandmother of John Lett, Elizabeth Jacobus, came from Holland also, and there Thomas Lett, father of John, was born. When he was but an infant he was taken to Wexford, Ireland, which was his home for eight years. He subsequently lived in Canada until 1861. There he married Jane Craig, who had been born in Ireland and had been brought by her parents to Canada when nine years of age.
In their home in Ontario, Canada, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lett the son whose life is the subject of this account, and the date of whose birth was May 2, 1848. Besides John Lett, nine other children came to share their home. Four sisters are deceased, and of the four brothers one, at the early age of nineteen, lost his life by drowning while assist- ing in log-rolling.
When Thomas Lett removed with his family to Michigan, the boy, John, was about twelve years of age. They settled in Greenwood town- ship, St. Clair county, after making the journey by stage from Port Huron to Old Brockway and making the last two miles of their way through a dense woods that was all but trackless. Forty acres of wooded land in section 6 were purchased and improved and have ever since re- mained the property of the Lett family. John Lett well remembers the primitive conditions of that country in those first years of his life there. Settlers were few and far between, but deer, wild cats, bears, wild turkeys and game of all kinds were plentiful, thus assisting greatly in
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keeping the family larder well stocked. Seeuring these supplies and clearing the wooded farm required the services of the youthful members of the family as their father's assistants. John Lett therefore had little opportunity to acquire the edneation to be derived from books. Instead he had the practical training to be gained from the purposive endeavors of life. The theory and pratice of agriculture having been the chief motive of his life, he has attained thorough skill in many of its phases. He remained on the parental farm through youth and much of his man- hood. Ilis parents passed from earthly existence some years ago, Thomas Lett having reached the age of seventy-eight and his wife that of sev- enty-three.
John Lett's marriage occurred on March 29, 1870, his bride being Sarah F. Currier, a native of Concord, New Hampshire, and the daughter of Henry and Eliza Currier. Mrs. Lett's mother had been a member of the Morrill family; she, like her husband, had been born in the New Hampshire town which was the birthplace of their daughter. The Mor- rill and Lett families came to St. Clair county when the country was all a wilderness. Mrs. Lett still reealls the time when only one house stood on the site which has sinee become the city of Yale. Her father died during her earliest years, and Mrs. Currier, her mother, died at the age of sixty-six years.
To Mr. and Mrs. John Lett four children were born. Their son, Thomas, is now living in his parents' home, as is also his daughter, Hazel, who is fifteen years of age. Loretta, the older daughter of John Lett, is Mrs. Lyman Guillard, of Greenwood township. The second son, Jesse, lives in Yale, Michigan. The younger daughter, Lydia. died in 1897, at the age of twelve years.
In 1908 Mr. Lett bought his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres. The attractive appearance of this home and premises indicate the care and supervision of an exeellent manager and throrough-going, skillful farmer. In addition to the son and his daughter, the hospitable portal of that home has also received a niece and nephew of John Lett, Nygie and Clarence Lett. The family is one in which the ties of kinship are ever kept fine and true. The one other member of his father's family of ten children who still survive to share in old age the memories of their childhood home is his sister, Sarah J., the wife of George Yeets, of Sanilae eounty.
Unlike his father, an active Republican, who served as road commis- sioner and in various sehool offices, John Lett has preferred not to aceept publie office. He and his wife are among the most estimable members of the Mennonite church.
GEORGE MINNIE, of Avoea, Michigan, has spent his life in this see- tion of the country ; a life filled with industry, hard work and many kind- nesses to friends and neighbors. He began life as a farmer's hoy, but he was elever enough to see other opportunities in connection with his work as a farmer and he was not slow to seize these. His life has been one of continued progress, and his chief ambition has been an unselfish one, to give his family all the comforts and luxuries he could afford and keep them happy. This ambition he has well fulfilled, and in so doing has wrought honor for himself. Ile is upright and honest in his business career, and has the confidence of all who know him.
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George Minnie was born in China township, on the 18th of May, 1847, the son of Lambert and Ursula (St. Barnard) Minnie. Lambert Minnie was born on the St. Clair river in Michigan, and his wife was born in this county. He was a prosperous farmer, and a man of fine char- acter. He and his wife were both devout Catholics, and were the parents of ten children, of whom George is the youngest. Both the father and mother are now dead.
George Minnie was educated in the public schools, where he received a common school education, attending school until he was sixteen years of age. After his school days were over he worked on the farm until he was twenty-one. He did not feel that he had ever been intended for a farmer, but nothing else seemed to come his way, until finally he hap- pened to discover that meat was in great demand in the surrounding country and that it was very hard to secure. With this idea in his mind he began to buy cattle and peddle meat. He later learned the butcher trade, and since the people to whom he sold his meats knew that they were of the best quality he soon had a thriving little business. He was in this business in St. Clair county for several years, and found his business was growing rapidly. However, he decided he would prefer to settle in some fixed location and with that end iu view came to Avoca in 1907. He bought the store in which he is now doing business, and the reputation which he gained in the country followed him there. He has a fine trade and will always have it because he never sells anything but the best goods, goods that he is personally certain are all right.
He married Christina Robinson, and she became the mother of five girls and two boys, all of whom are living. Viola and Nancy are twins, the others are Alfred, Tildon J., Dorothy, Annie and May. All of these children are married. On the 31st of May, 1909, he married Marilla Lock, the widow of John McCormack. She had two children, Fannie Mc- Cormack, who was born in 1893, and George McCormack, who was born in July, 1891.
Mr. Minnie is a member of the Presbyterian church, and his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal. A difference in religion usually disrupts the peace of families, but Mr. and Mrs. Minnie are wise enough and broad minded enough to realize that everyone must worship God as it suits them best. Mr. Minnie is a member of the Tribe of Ben Hur, and in politics he is an ardent Republican. He has served as a commis- sioner in China township, carrying out his duties in the same con- scientious way that he managed his business affairs. Mr. Minnie is a delightful man to meet socially, and he and his wife are always ready to throw wide their hospitable door and welcome in the stranger.
WILLIAM ANDREW J. BOWER. Rightly estimated, the mission of the undertaker is not less one of helpfulness and comfort than of the mere burying and preparing for burial of the dead for a price. Viewed in the higher aspect it is on a plane with that of the physician, and but little less sacred than that of the minister of the gospel. The proper discharge of the duties calls for tact and genuine human sympathy, and the con- scientions funeral director who labors for a long term of years in a com- munity comes, through association in most trying times, to know the peo- ple intimately and to be their friend, regardless of their social position. Such a man is William Andrew J. Bower, of Marine City, Michigan, who
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for more than a decade has been the proprietor of a modern undertak- ing establishment, and who belongs to one of the prominent families of this section. Ile was born in Marine City, September 6. 1879, and is a son of Andrew and Carrie ( Roeder) Bower.
Andrew Bower, who was also a native of this city, was engaged in the lumber and planing mill business and in contracting for twenty years, and a great deal of his work stands today as a monument to his ability. Among his most notable accomplishments may be mentioned the present City Hall and Water Works at Marine City, as well as the Al- gonac Water Works. Standing high in the esteem of his fellow mien, he was elected assessor at a time when the whole work was done by him, and subsequently he acted as mayor of the city.
William Andrew J. Bower secured his education in the public schools, and for some time after completing his education acted as clerk in the postoffice. Subsequently he became the first mail carrier on the Marine City Rural Route, a work which he carried on for six years, and had charge of the first mail received at Marine City hy railroad, and the last mail received from St. Clair by the Star Route. In 1901 he engaged in the undertaking business, establishing an office in Marine City, and as a side line engaged in selling pianos and in doing artistic picture framing. On August 11, 1904, he received his lieense from the State Board of Ilealth as an embalmer, and from 1905 to 1909 maintained an office at St. Clair. Mr. Bower carries a full equipment for the digni- fied proseention of his business, and his rooms have been fitted with the latest improvements known to the seience of embalming.
In June, 1903, Mr. Bower was married to Miss Goldie Walker. of Marine City, who was born in this city, a daughter of ('apt. Thomas E. and Elizabeth (Smith) Walker. Capt. Walker, who was born in Ire- land, was an ocean captain, and had charge of ships crossing the At- lantie to foreign ports for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Bower have had two children: Thomas Raphael, born September 28. 1906; and Helen, born March 18, 1908. Politieally, Mr. Bower is a Republican, but he has never entered into active politics. His fraternal connections are with the Knights of Pythias and the Arbiters, and his religious belief is that of the Episcopal church. He takes an active part in the maintainance of the church at Marine City, and at present aets as vestryman. Both he and Mrs. Bower are well known in Marine City and are popular in re- ligious and social eireles.
WILLIAM LEE JENKS was born in St. Clair, St. Clair county, Michi- gan, on the 27th of December, 1856, the son of Bela W. Jenks, who was horn in Crown Point, New York state, on the 6th day of June, 1824. He came to Michigan in 1848, locating at St. Clair, and he spent the remainder of his life in this county. William Lee Jenks was the next to the eldest in a family of five sons and two daughters. He grew up in St. Clair, and attended the public schools of the town. Ile was graduated from the high school in 1873 and in 1874 went to the Uni- versity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he was gradnated in 1878. He had not decided what should be his vocation in life when he entered the university, so he took the literary course, which was proba- bly the best thing he could have done, for in this way he received a broad foundation upon which to build, no matter in what he determined Vol. II-27
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to specialize later. Law was his choice, so in January, 1879, he came to Port Huron and entered the law office of Brown & Farrand, and was admitted to the bar in October, 1879. In 1880 he went into partnership with a cousin of his, J. W. Jenks, who is now a professor in political economy at Princeton University and is a well known authority in his field. In 1882, after Mr. J. W. Jenks went into pedagogical work, Wil- liam L. Jenks formed a partnership with B. C. Farrand, the firm be- ing known as Farrand & Jenks. Later Mr. Jenks resigned from this firm and formed a connection with A. R. Avery and Lincoln Avery. The name of this firm was Avery, Jenks & Avery, but it was not destined to exist but a few months. Mr. Jenks then became a member of the firm of Phillips & Jenks, which is still doing active business.
In addition to his law practice Mr. Jenks has many interests in the business world. He became interested in the City Electric Street Rail- way in 1892, which later passed into the the ownership of himself, with Messrs. A. and F. J. Dixon. Afterwards, in 1899-1900, they built the electric railroad from Port Huron to Marine City, uniting it with the Rapid Railway System. It is now a part of the Detroit United Railway, and Mr. Jenks is no longer connected with it, having sold his interest in 1901. This enterprise was not only financially successful, but it served to open up the country through which it runs and increases property values along its route to a considerable degree. Mr. Jenks has been closely connected with the financial interests of Port Huron, having been a director in some of the most important concerns in the city. He is a director of the First National Exchange Bank of Port Huron and holds the same connection with the Port Huron Engine and Thresher Company.
Perhaps the greatest of his activities in behalf of the general public has been his work in connection with the public library. He was instru- mental in securing the amendment of the city charter in 1895 so that it was made to provide for a public library. From that time to the pres- ent he has been on the library committee. He has been tireless in his work for this institution and for the past ten years has served as presi- dent of the library board. Coming from a family that was among the first to settle in St. Clair county, he has taken much interest in the his- tory of the state and county. He is president of the Pioneer Society of St. Clair County, and for some time was vice-president of the Michigan Pioneer Historical Society. He is now one of the Board of Historians.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Jenks is a member of the Masonic order, being affiliated with the Port Huron Lodge, No. 57, and also belonging to the Knights Templars. He was married on the 10th of August, 1881, to Margaret Willson, a daughter of Dr. M. B. Willson, of Ohio, where his daughter was born. Mr. and Mrs. Jenks have one daughter, Elizabeth, who is the wife of Carl Lassen, a wholesale fish dealer of Port Huron. They also have one granddaughter, Margaret Marie Lassen.
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